Unbridled. Diana Palmer

of it, but it belonged by right of inheritance to John. He and the cousin were best friends, and John had given him a large share in the property—more wealth than the older man would have imagined only years before. It was to the cousin’s credit that he wasn’t greedy. He loved his cousin John and the feeling was mutual.

      Tonio wasn’t privy to that information, about the wealth of the Ruiz family. John had decided just after his birth to keep his family background secret. He didn’t want his son to grow up with a distorted sense of values, least of all in a small community where most people with his Hispanic background had far less. John wanted him to grow up valuing all people, having less respect for things than for other human beings.

      So far, it had worked well. Tonio, while rebellious, had friends who were mostly below the national average in financial wealth. That was when he was in school in Jacobsville, the county seat of Jacobs County. As Tonio’s behavioral problems in school had accelerated, his list of friends dwindled to just Jake. It disturbed John to see the ongoing deterioration of his son’s attitude. He knew that his job was part of the problem; it required him to be away from home often in the course of his duties. But he loved the work he did. He felt that it contributed to the protection of the community he loved. The life of a rich ranchero had never appealed to him. He left the yacht and the aristocracy to his cousin, who loved it. John devoted his time to being a Texas Ranger.

      He tapped on Tonio’s door and opened it. The boy was sitting in front of a wide-screen TV with a gaming controller in his hands. There was a battle going on, in his favorite game, Destiny 2.

      “Supper,” John said curtly.

      “Aw, Dad, I’m in the middle of a—”

      “Damn, Tony, watch what the hell you’re doing! You let that bast—”

      “Hey!” John said shortly.

      There was a sharp pause. Tonio looked at his parent with flushed cheeks. There was a small voice coming from the television. “Hey, Tony, I think I better go now. See you!”

      There was a click. Tonio grimaced and turned off the game.

      “Who the hell was that other boy?” John demanded, black eyes flashing.

      Tonio swallowed. He could cross tongues with the meanest of other students, even teachers, but he quailed in the sight of his father’s muffled fury. “Uh, that was, that was David,” he began.

      “Who’s David?” came the softer, more dangerous question.

      Tonio got up. “You said supper?” he asked, trying to soothe his father.

      It didn’t work. “I said, who’s David.”

      Tonio grimaced. “Okay. He’s a guy from school. We play online together. He’s in my clan.”

      “Your what?”

      “We have clans in Destiny,” Tonio explained. “It’s like guilds in other games. Groups of us play together.”

      “You still haven’t answered the question.”

      “He’s in eighth grade,” he said finally. That was two grades above Tonio. “He plays Destiny with me, and we talk back and forth.”

      John’s eyes narrowed. “I cuss. You don’t,” he said. “And I don’t want you around kids who do.”

      Tonio laughed.

      “What’s funny?”

      “I’m in an alternative school, Dad,” the boy said. “Not exactly church, is it?”

      “You’re in alternative school because you attacked a teacher at Jacobsville Middle School,” came the sharp reply. “And you’re lucky Sheriff Hayes Carson didn’t arrest you. The teacher saved your neck, even though you were expelled.”

      “He pushed me,” Tonio said, repeating what he’d told his father before, but he kept his head down when he said it.

      “We’ve been through this before,” John said quietly. “He was trying to get you away from the other boy, who was hitting you. You thought the teacher was attacking you, so you punched him in the stomach. That’s assault,” he added curtly.

      “Then why didn’t they arrest Teddy? He was hitting me!”

      “Doesn’t work the same way between students as between students and teachers,” he replied. “The world is changing. You have to change with it.”

      Tonio bit his lower lip. “I don’t like the new school.”

      “So? You didn’t like the old one, either.”

      “Jake goes to school in Jacobsville,” he said. “I only have David in San Antonio.”

      David. The boy who cursed like a sailor. For not the first time, John worried that he’d made a mistake taking his son to San Antonio for his education. But he hadn’t had a great deal of choice.

      “That fancy chicken again.” Tonio sighed, making a face as he and his father sat down at the table.

      “It’s elegant chicken,” Adele chided, “and you like it.”

      He made the face at her, too, but he smiled. He loved Adele. “I’ll eat it. Go ahead. Use me for a guinea pig for all your recipes.”

      “I will.” She dropped a kiss on his head and finished serving the meal. She pulled off her apron. “Leave the dishes, I’ll be back when I feed my brood!”

      John chuckled. “Thanks, Adele.”

      “No problem.”

      * * *

      “I miss Mama,” Tonio said suddenly.

      “Yeah. Me, too,” John replied tersely.

      Tonio’s cell phone rang. They could both hear it coming from his room.

      “Leave it,” John said. “No electronic devices at the table.” That had been the psychologist’s advice. It did seem to be working, a bit. At least the two talked, although not much.

      “How was school?” John asked.

      Tonio grimaced as he picked at his food. “Older kids just love to torment us.”

      “That’s life. Get used to it. There’s a pecking order everywhere you go. I have a lieutenant who tells me what to do, he has a captain who tells him what to do. That’s life,” he repeated.

      “David’s sister went to the school and raised...she raised the devil,” Tonio said, “when an older kid picked on him.”

      “I don’t interfere unless I have to,” he was reminded. “Listen, son, you won’t learn to stand on your own two feet if I fight all your battles for you.”

      “Sure.” His dad never fought any. The first time he’d even been to Tonio’s school in Jacobsville was after the fight. Other kids had both parents, and they took an interest in what their children were doing. Tonio’s parent was rarely even home. His job took up almost all his time. Tonio got what little was left. At least at the supper table they could exchange one or two sentences. Not that it would last long. He sighed. Any minute now...

      Sure enough, the pager on John’s belt buzzed. He pulled it out and looked at it. He didn’t even glance at his son as he went to retrieve his cell phone from the pocket of his shepherd’s coat. He punched in a number.

      “Ruiz,” he said.

      “It’s Alice. Autopsy’s in an hour. You coming?”

      “I’ll be right there.”

      He hung up and swung on his coat. “I have to go back to the city. I’ll be late. Finish your supper, do your homework and get to bed early. Adele will make sure you do.”

      “Okay.”

      John swung on his coat, grabbed his keys from the holder