Meeting the she-devil

A few days later

Andres' POV

"Felipe!" My luggage fell at my feet as I yelled out his name. It took a while for him to recognize me, squinting his eyes to take a better look. His tools dropped as he ran straight for me. His arms were wide in the air and I ran into them in a warm embrace.

"Andres, Mi Hijo. Why are you back here? Is everything alright at home?" He threw endless questions at me. I had to calm him down.

"Felipe, relax. Everything is fine and going smoothly." I patted down his frail hand. Veins were prominent under his skin, signs that he wasn't as young as he use to be.

"Why are you here then?" He asked, almost quietly. He spoke as little as his hoarse voice would let him.

"Felipe, things are totally fine," I reassured him but it was clear he didn't believe a word I said so I explained further. "Dad isn't getting younger and he talks about this place a lot. He misses his time on the ranch."

"That doesn't explain what you are doing here," his voice was inquisitive, urging me to go on and I did.

As I spoke, I walked a few steps away from him. "Well, I know the ranch is slowly dying so I'm here to bring it back."

Felipe stared at me for a while. He looked like he was seeing me for the first time and I didn't know how to respond to that. His lips parted, a sign he was about to speak but then he closed them. It happened a few times while I waited anxiously for his reply.

The suspense killed me slowly on the inside, causing me to speak up. "Please say something," I said, practically begging. His opinion was important to me. He has been taking care of the ranch for as long as I remember. If there was anyone who knew the ins and outs of the place and how to salvage it, it was him.

"The ranch is not slowly dying, it's already dead. That's why your parents moved to the big city, remember? There was no hope for it then, why do you think you can help out now?" He finally spoke up. He did have a point, I couldn't help then because I was too little to help. I wasn't my parents and wouldn't have made the same mistake as they did. I didn't have a problem with their choices but I know I wouldn't have gone down the same path.

My answer was straight and precise, "I'm not a child anymore." I continued, "and, I've thought of solutions to our problems. All we need is to-" Felipe cut me off, ranting about some fence.

"What?"

"You can start from there." He suggested, crossing his hands over his chest. "There's a new boss at the neighboring ranch. Rumors have it that she's the devil. Some worker was caught stealing and she burned down his house which was on her ranch. She said she doesn't allow thieves on her land. She showed no mercy even as he begged."

"Firstly, why would he steal and what has this got to do with me?" I asked, not particularly interested in the tale. It was news but I wasn't in town for gossip.

"Well, his father was ill and he didn't have the money to pay the bills and this has got everything to do with you because her cattle and horses broke down our fence to graze here. I tried speaking to her once about it but she turned me out, and barely listened to my complaints. She's so disrespectful!"

Snapping his fingers as he remembered, he spoke. "I heard her name is Catalina, Catalina the she-devil. That's what everyone calls her around here and she has barely spent a week."

"Which ranch is hers?" I asked, genuinely curious as I picked an apple from my bag.

"The Diaz ranch." As soon as the words left his lips, I stopped in my track. The apple I was munching on slipped from my fingers.

"Wait! Didn't her parents die in a plane crash?" I asked, giving him my full attention.

"Yes, that's her. I felt sorry for her when it happened. No child should have to go through that. Losing both parents on the same day is not something I'll wish for, not even for my worst enemies." His voice was laced with pity.

"But that still doesn't give her a right to be so evil. She should be called a snake, that's what best suits her. She knows what it's like to lose a parent so why wouldn't she forgive him? If she could, she'd have stolen to save her parents." His pity was turned to disgust and I sensed a hint of annoyance.

"Now, you are judging Felipe. We don't know what she has been through. We can't believe the rumors flying about. She could be nice," I said sincerely which caused Felipe to scoff in disbelief but I paid him no attention. I was more interested in meeting the she-devil.

"Enough about her already. I'll show you to your room, I didn't change a thing since you were last here." He walked past me to get my bags but I was faster. "Let me, you must be tired from your trip."

I picked up the bags with ease and turned to him. Ignoring his previous statement. "How have you been Felipe? You look younger than when I last saw you. What is Aunty feeding you?"

******

It was over an hour already and I still hadn't met anyone. The place looked deserted. I paced the room back and forth endlessly and just when I was tempted to leave, I decided to give it a few extra minutes.

"Excuse me, where's Catalina?" I asked a maid walking past me with a dust brush. A huge chandelier hung from the ceiling and a grand table was right underneath. Adjacent to the table was the stairs. All in all, her house was bigger than mine.

"You mean Boss Catalina. You can't call her by her name. She could get angry." She screened my appearance. I didn't meet her criteria if the scowl on her face was anything to pass by.

"Where's Catalina please." I ignored her previous statement causing her to shoot me a disapproving gaze.

"Boss is with Gilberto, he's still showing her around town. They should be back soon."

"I guess I'll wait for her."

"I'm sorry but you can't do that. I'm going to have to ask you to leave. Boss doesn't like having strangers around." She was nearly pushing me when the large doors behind us opened. A gorgeous woman walked in, her walk was confident and savvy, exuding power. The maid quickly scurried off around some corner leaving me in her presence.

"Who are you?" Her radiant voice asked as she looked at me with her piercing gaze.

I was left stunned. Felipe didn't mention anything about her beauty. With my hands tutted in my pockets, I gave her a second look. Her black orbs gave depth and her hair covered almost half of her face. A cute, straight nose and full lips graced her face with the bottom lips being a little fuller. I could get even the littlest details of her as she walked closer to me, and we were almost swapping breath.

Seeing as I wasn't responding, she asked again. "What are you doing on my ranch?"

A pause went across the room for a second. "Catalina?"

Her eyes looked at me fixedly, examining every inch of me. "That depends on who's asking." Her voice was firm, she spoke with authority but still kept that soft tone

"Wow! No one told me you were this beautiful. If I had known, I would have put in the effort into a nicer outfit." Those words were supposed to melt her icy glare but her features hardened even more. "They did mention that you are quite welcoming either," I added sarcastically which earned me an eye roll from her.

"You seem like a hard nut to crack, are you always this cold?" I was doing it again. I had a habit of making stupid jokes when uncomfortable.

"Are you always an ass? Or am I just unlucky?" She was throwing shades back and for a moment I admired her. Most women I knew especially around these parts wouldn't have the courage to do what she just did.

"That's not what you are going to be saying tonight." I threw a smirk and she turned red. She was highly embarrassed and just when she was about to give a retort, I jumped in, "Anyways, I'm from the Moreno ranch, I'd-"

"That's because I'd be too busy trying to kill myself from your lame attempts at flirting." I opened my mouth but seeing this, she continued, "Did Felipe send you?" She stepped back, asking with raised brows, her eyes roaming over my body. She huffed before continuing, "Listen to me, tell him I'm not going to fix that fence. If it bothers him so much, he can get it done himself!" Slender fingers were pointing at me. Her aggravated expression was unsettling, I knew then and there she was hot-tempered.

"Why are you yelling? You are already practicing for tonight huh?" It took a second before realization set in but I didn't give her a chance just like she did to me. "I'm here to reason with you but here you are trying to bring down the roof. If you are as loud as this tonight, I might just be willing to let it slide. Destruction of private property is a criminal offense. I could get you arrested." Words left my lips so calmly I was used to doing this every day. I always get the women in the end.

"I couldn't care less who you report me to. Besides, I have other plans for that ranch." The flirty side of me died in an instant. My heart was beating fast in my chest, I was certain she could hear it. I couldn't wrap my head around what she meant.

I took a step back, "What do you mean?"

She smirked, "Good night, close the doors behind you." She walked away from me, hips swaying from side to side in a nice rhythm.

Stopping at the top of the stairs, she said, "don't let it hit you on your way out." She took some steps and paused. "You know what? Let it hit you." With that, she was out of my line of sight.

I was left alone to gather my thoughts. Her words resounded in my head like a broken record as I wondered what she meant.