Chapter 237 - They'll Have Our Help - mdtres
Roland
I had my beautiful wife in my arms, my hand as usual clinging to her breast, and the faint cry of Liam woke us up.
"I'll take care of it, honey. Last night, you went to bed late with what happened to Lupe."
"Don't worry, I'll do it. I need to get to work; I have a lot of things pending. After bathing them, I probably won't be able to help you much." I turned her around and bit her erect nipple.
"Don't start something we can't finish." I smiled, turned her around again, and bit her hard on the butt. "Roland! You're going to leave a bruise."
"One that only I will see. I just marked my property."
"Possessive, am I a cow?"
Half asleep, she rubbed her butt. With my erection, I resigned myself to the fact that I couldn't keep playing, but I knew Veronica. I had just left her hot, and we were going to be in a state of excited groping all day.
I got out of bed and peeked into the crib of my little intruders. My beautiful princess was asleep, her hair starting to grow and looking like her mother's, which made me even more infatuated. Having a mini copy of my wife, loving her in a different way, made me believe that the greatness of God was immense.
My two older sons were sprawled out with their arms and legs spread wide. They were getting big and chubby. As Veronica said, they were little chunks. My little one sighed, and when he saw me, he tried to smile. He already knew that Dad was here. They were three months old now. I picked up Liam.
"Good morning, little one."
I took him out of the crib. I was already an expert. With my baby on one side, I grabbed his bottle and prepared his first meal. I sat in the rocking chair and fed him. It seemed like they synchronized to ruin our mornings, because it wasn't that they woke up at the same time, no! It was a different one each day, at four in the morning. I burped him, and this time he didn't feel like going back to sleep.
"Dad has to work." I laid the baby next to Veronica, who smiled and pulled him close to her chest, and he shamelessly began to close his eyes. "Trickster."
"He just wanted to snuggle with Mommy."
"I'm going to take a shower."
After getting ready, I put on my boots and grabbed my hat. I reached the stables, where Jacinto was finishing milking the cows. Lupe had asked us not to tell her parents anything, but Arnold talked to me last night and asked for several favors. Besides, my beautiful wife said something very true. Now that we had children, I also wanted to make sure nothing happened to them, and if something did, I wanted to be close to help.
"Good morning, boss."
"Good morning, Jacinto. Are you done?"
Duwer carried the bucket full of milk and placed an empty one for the foreman to continue milking. Jacinto's right-hand man took the milk to the kitchen. I waited for Jacinto to finish. He released the calves and took the half-full bucket.
"Come with me, Jacinto. I need to talk to you about something delicate."
Something I liked about the people we hired was how hardworking they turned out to be. I liked proactive people by my side, and this man, at forty-five years old, was the most correct and hardworking person in the world. He knew the job, and little by little, I had given him the freedom to make decisions concerning the ranch.
We reached the kitchen. I grabbed a green apple and kissed Inés on the forehead, who was overseeing breakfast. My mother had called us last night to say that they expected us at Las Alondras on Sunday for lunch and to spend the whole afternoon together as a family. She decreed that starting this Sunday, it was mandatory, so we all had to attend. The grandparents were starting to lay down the law. Jacinto kissed his wife.
"Lupe didn't call me last night. When I talked to her at noon, she said she was staying for a job and would leave first thing in the morning. Keep trying to reach her."
"Don't worry, woman. You know that phone of hers doesn't work well. She might come with young Arnold."
Only a good reader of body language would notice that Arnold wasn't his favorite person. His smile wasn't genuine. My darling rubbed his arm.
"You know my boy will take good care of her."
"Let's go, Jacinto." We entered the office, and I closed the door and asked him to sit down.
"Boss, have I done something wrong?"
"No, man, you're my most trusted employee on the ranch. It's just that this is a matter concerning Lupe." He stood up from the chair.
"What happened to my girl?"
"Take it easy, wait and listen to all the information. She's fine now. Last night, she was mugged after leaving the university late. She resisted, and they beat her badly. She has two broken ribs, bruises all over her left side, and a swollen face."
Only because Veronica told me to be subtle in breaking this news. She said I should think about how I would like to be told if my princess were attacked. I would kill, skin, and incinerate anyone who dared do such a thing. Otherwise, "take it easy" wouldn't have been my first words.
"Did they do something irreparable to my daughter?" His lips trembled, and I understood his fear.
"They didn't abuse her, it was just physical assault. Arnold, Simon, and Miguel messed up the three guys who robbed Lupe. But I'm letting you know I didn't leave it at that. Last night, I sent photos of the thieves to Luisa and asked her to use her contacts to get them jailed for attempted murder."
"Thank you." His hands were shaking. "We don't have medical insurance..."
"Don't worry, Simon took care of that."
"Boss, tell me how much it is, so I can pay it." I liked this kind of person.
"Don't worry about it, we'll talk about that later."
"Could you give us a couple of days off to go see her and take care of her?" I smiled at him.
"Jacinto, as soon as Daniel arrives, you go with him, leave Duwer in charge." He frowned. "I'm going to speak to you as a man and a father. You're holding back, and your hat shouldn't pay for the broken dishes."
"You notice everything, boss, but being told your daughter was beaten, and you weren't there to protect her, that tears your chest apart."
"She has someone who cares for her now. And I want to talk to you about that. Arnold called me last night after Lupe fell asleep. He said the second university is very far, and you have to walk several deserted blocks.
"Lupe is stubborn and saves money by not paying for a taxi. This week, he left her the keys to his truck. Last night, she didn't tell him she was staying late, so he didn't go to pick her up. She had been followed before."
"You're explaining things to me like Mrs. Vero does." I laughed.
"I'm doing it for her, otherwise, we would have finished talking already." Jacinto smiled.
"Be yourself, boss, it's okay."
"Thanks. Daniel is coming in a car that Arnold bought for Lupe, and he wants you to give it to her, saying you asked for a loan to feel secure and so she wouldn't be exposed to danger. We already saw what could happen. He also said that at the same university where she studies business administration, there's a teaching program in the afternoon, so she wouldn't be out at night."
"Boss..."
"We know you're paying for your two sons' education, and a third one would mean your salary would decrease. That's why Arnold asks you to tell her you'll pay half of the tuition, and she puts the other half. We know how your daughter is, but Arnold will cover all the expenses."
"Why is he so interested in my daughter? I remember how much he insisted on letting her live with him."
"That's something you need to talk to him about. Jacinto, you know what we were like, our hands don't tremble when pulling the trigger, especially when it comes to defending those we care about. You know us all, you see how we are with our women. Arnold is the youngest of our group, but with the intelligence worthy of being my successor."
"Are you telling me that the young man is interested in my daughter and wants her to be his woman?"
"I'll say it again, that's something you need to discuss with him. I can only tell you that Arnold suffers from repressed anger due to a childhood trauma. When he fights, he's a force blinded by rage. Only I could calm him down, and it was because I hit harder. A few good beatings I gave him calmed him down.
"But last night, Simon told me he was about to kill the guy who hit your daughter. He had already destroyed his face, and before pulling the trigger, Lupe intervened. Just by touching him, she calmed him down. She hugged him and asked him to take her home." Jacinto processed the information. "Do you agree with the plan for Lupe to accept the car, so she doesn't have to transfer to another university and is safer?"