"I don't think that will be a problem, senorita."
"Even if things don't go your way?"
"I'm pretty certain that things will go my way, but yes."
"You *have* done this before haven't you?"
"Most men have, I suppose."
"I didn't ask about most men."
"I'm fairly familiar with the activity, yes."
"So am I."
"The pressure's not bothering you is it?"
"No, you?"
"Of course not. I always perform better under pressure."
"Well, then, shall we get to it?"
"Would you two just get on with it!"
Tessa Alvarado and Robert Helm turned to look at Marta's exasperated face as she stood in the midst of her herb garden.
"If you two are going to race, then just do and stop talking about it," she told them.
Helm and Tessa faced each other again. She sat astride Chico and he was on the horse he kept at the stables in town. It had all started off innocently enough. A little tease here. A little barb there. Like most friendly squabbles it had ended in a dare of sorts. Who was faster? Tessa felt she had this wrapped up. After all, she certainly had enough practice fleeing from Montoya's soldiers.
She and Dr. Helm had been spending quite a bit of time with each other lately. Ever since they had shared a dance in the Rose Courtyard he seemed to be showering her with attention. And she certainly wasn't complaining. Pretending to study the path ahead of her, she glanced at him from the corner of her eye. He wore no jacket or vest, just a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up. The top three buttons of the shirt were undone and she could just see a hint of perspiration on the exposed skin. His hair was slightly mussed from the riding they'd done earlier.
He'd come out to see her on this lazy Sunday afternoon with a story about having no patients to see and nothing else to keep him occupied in Santa Elena. She liked to think that even if he had a line of patients out the door, he would somehow find time to come and see her.
"We've yet to discuss the outcome of this little demonstration," Helm was saying, a wry smile firmly on his lips. He was enjoying this immensely. Things in town had been quiet lately and therefore there had been no need for the Queen. He was actually starting to believe there might be chance for a normal relationship between him and Tessa. He could always hope.
He watched her as she surreptitiously watched him. She had on a red blouse that clung in all the right places and a long pair of dark blue gauchos. Her dark hair was pulled back in a loose braid with a few wisps escaping around her slightly flushed face. She looked a far cry from the Senorita Maria Theresa Alvarado that he usually saw in town, and he was very pleased.
He admitted to himself that this race had been his idea. His casual goading had spurred her on and she now felt it was her duty to prove him wrong. Yes, he was enjoying himself immensely.
"I take it you're referring to what you'll get if you happen to win?" she asked impishly.
At his nod, she said, "Okay, if you win, I'll cook you a magnificent dinner here at the hacienda."
"You're supposed to be *encouraging* him to win, Tessa, not scaring him out of it."
Tessa looked sharply at Marta who was now kneeling beside a pail of fresh soil and so didn't catch the twinkle in her charge's narrowed eyes.
"As I was saying," she continued sweetly. "If you win, I'll cook you dinner. Or if that doesn't suit you, I could help out at the clinic for a week?"
"Just what I need, a nurse with absolutely no experience," he replied, the smile on his face taking away the sting of the words.
"How soon you forget!" she exclaimed. "How about that time I bandaged your hand after you got into that fight with Grisham?"
"I'll have you know that bandage fell off the moment you left," he said archly.
"It did not!" she replied indignantly.
"Did so."
"Did not!"
An impatient groan from Marta ended the debate.
"Dinner would be lovely," Helm conceded. "And if you win?"
"And if I win," she said, pausing to think it over. An evil grin spread over her face. "If I win, you can help me clean out my stables."
He stared at her a moment open-mouthed, as he remembered the last time he had entered the Alvarado stables. It had not been a shining moment for him. Then he seemed to screw up his courage and faced her unblinking. "As long as you keep your hands off the oat bags."
"Well I've never heard it put quite that way, doctor," she giggled, "but rest assured I'll keep my hands to myself."
"You're raising a wicked woman here, Marta," Helm threw over his shoulder.
"You have no idea," Marta replied with a mischievous grin.
"Shall we?" Tessa asked with a sweeping gesture toward the path ahead of them. "I could give you a head start?"
"That won't be necessary," he assured her grimly.
"Alright then. Marta? Will you do the honors?"
Marta stood off to the side, watching as the horses skittered beneath their riders. They too seemed to be enjoying the tension. She raised her arm and in her hand she held a red handkerchief. Tessa and Helm were both watching her intently. When she quickly lowered her arm Tessa urged Chico forward with the ease of familiarity and in moments all Marta and Helm could see was a trail of dust.
Helm sat calmly on his mount enjoying the sight of the lovely senorita barreling towards the horizon. Marta just stood there, hands on her hips.
"You should have taken the head start," she informed him wryly.
He turned to her and smiled a contented smile. "In this particular situation, it seems to me I win either way."
Laughing, he urged his horse forward and galloped after her.
