The Heart of a Stranger by Sheri Whitefeather

semen?” he asked.
    â€œYes.” She glanced away. “You’re not going to ask me to explain how it’s collected, are you?”
    â€œNo.” He was already aroused, feeling hungry andplayful all at once. He wanted to pull her into his arms, nibble her neck, bump his fly against her hips. “We’ll save that for another lesson. If that’s all right with you.”
    She didn’t respond.
    â€œLourdes?”
    â€œYes. Another lesson,” she agreed, her voice suddenly soft and shy and much too alluring.
    Â 
    â€œMama?”
    Lourdes blinked and turned to the sound of Nina’s voice. Her first-born twin sat at the dinner table with a perplexed expression.
    â€œYes?” Lourdes asked.
    â€œHow come you’re staring at Juan?”
    Lourdes’s heart banged inside her chest. Juan sat across from her, taking man-size bites from his plate, scooping chunks of an enchilada casserole onto his fork.
    He glanced up at the mention of his name, and her heart pounded even harder.
    â€œI wasn’t staring at him, honey.”
    â€œYes, you was, Mama. Just like this.” Nina trained her gaze on Juan and mimicked her mother in a dramatic, starry-eyed look.
    Lourdes wanted to sink under the table. She had been staring. And now everyone—Cáco, Amy, Paige and Juan knew it. Thanks to Nina, the chatterbox.
    Juan seemed flattered yet embarrassed. He smiled a little at Lourdes, then decided to shovel another forkful of meat, cheese and baked tortilla into his mouth.
    â€œCáco says people shouldn’t stare. Didn’t she teach you that when you was little, Mama?”
    Wonderful. Now her precocious, pigtailed daughterwas giving her a lesson in etiquette. “Yes, of course, she did.”
    â€œThen how come you did it anyway?”
    Because he’s gorgeous, Lourdes thought. Because the conversation I had with him earlier made me feel sexy.
    Courting rituals, a stallion covering a mare, semen collection.
    How could such clinical things affect a woman with a degree in animal science? A woman raised on a horse-breeding farm?
    Of all people, Lourdes knew better.
    â€œMama?” Nina pressed, pestering for a response.
    â€œI didn’t know I was staring, sweetie.”
    Cáco raised an eyebrow at that, but had the good sense to keep her opinion to herself.
    No one else reacted. Amy didn’t seem to care, Paige simply observed the entire scene and Juan continued eating.
    Keeping her hands busy, Lourdes added more lettuce to her bowl, then doused it with too much dressing.
    Nina chirped like a blue jay. “Juan?”
    He stopped eating. “Yes?”
    â€œHave you ever seen the Little Mermaid? ”
    â€œNo. I can’t say that I have.”
    â€œIt’s me and Paige’s favorite movie. We have it on tape and everything. Wanna watch it with us after dinner?”
    â€œSure.” He gave the child an easy smile, grateful, it seemed, with a new topic of conversation. “If that’s okay with your mom.”
    Lourdes spoke up quickly. “That’s fine. But the girls will have to take their bath first. And put theirpajamas on.” She knew her kids would fall asleep in front of the TV before the movie ended.
    Nina bubbled in her seat. “Can we make popcorn?”
    â€œYes, but after your bath.”
    â€œYou can watch the movie, too, Mama,” Nina invited graciously, letting Lourdes know her daughters didn’t intend to keep Juan to themselves.
    At least not completely. She suspected they would horde him a little. But she couldn’t blame them. She knew their tiny hearts were starved for a masculine presence.
    Ten minutes later, the meal ended.
    Cáco volunteered to monitor the twins in the tub, and Juan offered to help Lourdes with the dishes. Amy behaved like a typical teenager and managed to dart off to her room to call a friend.
    Alone in the kitchen, Lourdes and Juan worked as a team.
    He stacked