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“I thought it was adorable,” I say, and all eyes turn my way. The men have their eyes narrowed while Sara’s glisten with tears. “The Lucas men as kids were total badasses.”
“Is she mocking us, primo?” Alejandro asks, sitting forward with an evil smirk on his face.
“I think she is.” Javi walks closer, stopping a few feet from me and his dog quickly takes a stance in front of me. “And look at this; she’s stolen my best friend too.”
“Total disrespect.” Alejandro tsks while his mom shakes her head, a few tears falling, and my heart clenches because I know this is hard. It was her sister we put to rest yesterday and her daughter that could’ve been killed, and yet, she’s here and entertaining me as if I’m the most important person here. She’s doing what Ida would’ve done had I been blessed with meeting her.
“We should teach her a lesson.” Javi comes a little closer and my eyes narrow, lip curls into a mock-sneer. “Lucas men are to be respected at all times.”
“Really?” Taking her hand in mine, I squeeze it while Sara rolls her eyes. She wipes away the fallen tears discreetly while Javi focuses on his pet, silently commanding Chulo to pick his side. God bless the women of this family with endless patience. “My threat from the first day still stands, Javier, and I’ll extend it if I must.”
“What threat?” Lourdes walks out holding a tray with coffee and my newest addiction: pan de Bono. It’s always to be eaten a few minutes out of the oven and is soft, the bread and cheese combination melting in your mouth, and I can’t get enough of these. Placing the tray on the coffee table between the seats, she hands me my cup first and then Javier’s, her mother and brother grabbing their own. “I feel like this is a story that needs to be told.”
“Quit being nosy, kid.”
“Don’t ruin our fun, nephew,” Sara says, but her attention is on me. “What threat are you talking about, Mariah?”
“You want to do the honors?” I ask and he shakes his head, smiling at me in that boyish way that makes my heart flutter. However, it’s his eyes that captivate me. There’s sadness in them, a pain he can’t escape, but a sliver of love remains and it’s directed at me. As if I’m what’s holding him together and it’s a heady feeling, to know that my being here gives him a semblance of peace—comfort. “Are you sure? I’m giving you a chance to look good here.”
“Go on.” He waves a hand around us. “Tell them how horrible you’ve been to me.”
My glare makes his family grin. “Threatening to shoot you isn’t the worst thing I could’ve done.”
“You did what?” Lourdes screams, laughing at the annoyed look on her cousin’s face. “That’s priceless.”
“I need all the details.” That came from Sara.
“You’ve gone soft, primo.” Alejandro had to add his two cents in.
I shrug, taking a sip from my cup. “Not the first or last time, either. It’s almost a daily occurrence and a bit of foreplay for him,” I mumble the last part under my breath, but they heard and coupled with my slight embarrassment at the slip, they all crack up. And it’s worth it because for that brief moment they’re not thinking of death and violence or retribution.
Moreover, I’d gladly become a comedian to watch him let go even if it’s just for a moment.
“Good morning, Muñeca,” he whispers from behind me, his arm and leg thrown over my body. I’m almost pinned in place by Javier—the little spoon to his giant one—and the vibrations from his chest when he speaks cause goose bumps to rise across my flesh. “You ready to start the day?”
“No.” I’m being honest. Being here has been amazing the last week, but I am exhausted and in need of more than the seven hours of sleep I got last night. Javier’s home where we are all staying is grand and beautiful, sitting on almost thirty acres of farmland that needs tending to.
He has horses and pigs and chickens—crops of marijuana that he and Alejandro cultivate and then test the strains before any sales occur.
Then, there is his mother’s house near the large stream that runs along the back end of the property. Where she was killed, and Lourdes terrorized. He’s had it demolished in the last few days after a day spent taking out what he wanted to keep, and what his aunt wanted as mementos.
It was a grueling day. The women cried and the men comforted, but it was in my arms that night that Javier truly let go.
He allowed himself the few tears that fell before rage took root instead. And I embraced it; his anger and need for revenge.
“What are you thinking, Javi?” I cup his face, needing to keep his troubled eyes on mine. “Quit worrying about anything but what you need. Tell me, and we’ll find a way.”
“Let it go. I’m fine.”
“Bullshit.” I’m pushing him. Have been doing it since he came out of isolation, and after the emotional days he’s had, Javier will snap if he doesn’t accept—confront his emotions. “And we’re not leaving this room until you’re honest with me. Nothing you say will make me see you differently or leave; I’m here for the long haul.”
“I’m hanging by a thread, sweet girl, and don’t want you to—”
“I accept all of you.”
“Thank you.” His eyes soften, the slightly, red-rimmed edges crinkling when he smiles. A genuine one, and not the fake/forced one he puts on for the women of this family. Not because they need to be coddled, but because he cares and wants to shoulder their pain.
“Let me help and then thank me.”
