She chewed her lip, like Julia did when she was thinking, debating. “Julia’s mother was young when she had Julia. Very young. She made mistakes and is still paying for them. What she doesn’t want is for Julia to pay for them, as well.”
“Julia’s mother is alive?”
Julia always wondered if her parents were alive or dead. At least that was one pain she’d been spared.
“Sí, she is alive, but Julia must not try to find her. A deadly gang from Los Angeles is after her because she saw things. Bad things. Kidnapping, murder, drug running, this is their business. Understand? Long ago they said they’d kill her to shut her lips. They warned that they’d hurt everyone she loves.”
“What the hell? So she just disappeared? Why didn’t she go to the authorities?”
“She had her reasons. All of them involved keeping Julia safe.” Nona was talking fast now, getting the words out in a rush. “This is my familia, Matthew. My loved ones. That horrible gang can’t hurt my girl or sweet little Henry.”
“I have to do something.”
She studied him. “What would you do?”
He ran his hands through his hair. He had no answers.
“I have thought on it for years. There is nothing. Julia’s mother has to keep hiding to protect them. That’s the only way. You have to keep Julia out of this.”
Was this the intel that RW had on Julia’s family? The story he’d threatened to go public with ten years ago? What sort of a bastard would put a young girl at risk like that?
Anger pounded in Matt’s chest.
“Julia’s mother should’ve gone to the police and turned state’s evidence against the gang. She should’ve worked with the FBI to have them all arrested. Running away from the problem? From her child? That’s not acceptable.”
She huffed. “One to talk.”
“Excuse me?”
Nona crossed her arms, lips sealed.
Matt pushed up from his chair and paced the yard. Frustration and fury roared through him. All he could think about were those times Julia had cried on his shoulder, missing a mother who’d left her behind. Julia had grown up feeling unworthy because her parents had dumped her. He knew exactly how that felt and it pissed him off.
He turned to face Nona. “What sort of mother abandons her child?”
She puffed up in that chair like a little toad. “A mother who loves her baby more than a life of freedom. A mother who sacrificed everything—even a relationship with her child—to keep her family safe. A mother who would never hurt her daughter. Never beat her. What sort of mother beats her four-year-old son?”
He blinked. “What?”
He walked back and sat beside Nona.
She exhaled deeply. “You were screaming. I ran in and found her hitting you with a silver hairbrush. You had red marks all over your little arms, your sweet cheeks...” Tía Nona’s eyes welled. “Your mother was a brutal woman. I fought with her. Got the brush out of her hand. She called for the guards and had me dragged out of Casa Larga. I was forbidden to return. She told everyone that I was the one who hurt you, but I swear, mijo. I didn’t. I would never.”
He looked down to see her hands holding his. Her expression was pure sorrow.
“I don’t remember that,” he said softly.
“It’s true. Every word.” She cupped his face with her hands. “Not a day went by that I didn’t worry about you. I thought of you as my own, too. Just like Julia and Henry. You all are the children I couldn’t have. I wanted to protect you, save you. I’m sorry I couldn’t. Sometimes the world is too strong for one woman. We do what we can and that is all. Don’t hate Julia’s mother for her mistakes. Mine are worse. I hope you forgive me one day for not rescuing you, too.”
Matt was struck silent as Nona continued to hold his hands. It was hard to process all the news he’d heard in the last couple of hours. The desire to fly a plane, any plane, tugged at him like an addiction. He needed to get into the clouds and fly away from this dysfunctional world for a while. To breathe.
“Matt! Matt!” Henry came running into the backyard, followed by a dozen kids. He stopped short in front of them. His eyebrows shot up like he’d never seen anything quite so strange as Tía Nona holding a man’s hands before.
“Come on. Anthony’s mom bought a huge piñata that looks like SpongeBob. It’s about to pop with all the candy stuffed inside.”
Matt had seen a piñata at a birthday party before. Blindfolded kids took turns swinging a bat at a papier-mâché creature until they busted it to bits and all the candy came flying out. To make the game more difficult, adults pulled the piñata up and away when the bat came close.
Matt patted Nona’s hand and gently pulled his free. “What do you need me to do? Pull the rope?”
“No, Anthony’s brother has that covered. We want you to swing the bat with us. Maybe after me, so that I get one good shot.”
“Really? Isn’t that for you kids? I don’t want to take someone’s turn.”
Henry took his arm and pulled. “Pleeeease? I want you to. The guys all say it’s okay.”
No kid had ever looked at him with such adoring eyes before. It made Matt’s heart swell with an emotion he couldn’t identify. “All right, then. Let’s go annihilate SpongeBob.”
To Tía Nona he said, “Thanks for everything, tía. I mean it. You raised Julia in a loving home. There’s nothing to forgive.”
He hadn’t asked if she believed RW truly had a mental illness. Part of him already knew the answer.
Sixteen
Julia watched them through the living room window.
Matt had asked her to be the keeper of his cell phone and car keys while he “taught SpongeBob a lesson or two.” He lined up as if he was on a baseball diamond, moving his hips and loosening his shoulders. Man, he was cute. She snapped a picture of him with his cell phone. He took one giant swing and the piñata was toast. Poor SpongeBob’s head went flying off and the rest was broken into ragged pieces. With Matt’s final hit, candy shot out and rained sweet hail all over the backyard. The kids scrambled to grab it all up. She took another picture.
“Oh, no, you don’t! That’s mine.” Matt lifted his blindfold and dove into the grass with them. It was a mass frenzy of arms and legs as they all fought for the loot. The laughter and squeals permeated the yard and came through the open windows.
“Hope he’s okay,” Julia said to herself. And snapped more pictures.
“Oh, that man is way past okay. He is divine,” Tía Flora said behind her.
Julia turned to see her three aunts and her cousin Linda all peeking out the window at her boyfriend.
Um. Boyfriend? Was that what he was?
Her boyfriend for the weekend.
“He’s a very good boy,” Tía Nona said.
All during Julia’s growing-up years, Nona had tried to keep her from seeing Matt, always warning Julia about dangerous pirates, and now he was a very good boy? What had Matt put in Tía Nona’s drink?
“I should know, I raised him myself.” Tía Nona nodded.
“You did what, now?” Julia faced her aunt.
“Didn’t I tell you?” Nona waved her hand as if this revelation was no big deal. “I was his nanny a long time ago. Bottle-fed him myself.”
“No, you never told me,” Julia said. “Why didn’t you—?”
Tía Alana interrupted. “¡Cuidado! Hope those boys don’t squish his manhood with that wrestling.”
Linda shook her head. “Mother! Only Julia can talk about his manhood.”
“Right, right. Sorry, Julia. It’s just not that often I have such a good-looking man right there in the backyard.”
“Um, it’s okay.” But she, too, hoped the boys didn’t squish his manhood. She had plans for him later.
Matt flipped over and shielded Henry from the other wrestlers. When
had Henry laughed that hard before? She couldn’t remember.
Linda gripped her elbow. “That’s daddy material right there.”
If only Henry’s daddy would decide to stay.
* * *
“Uncle! Uncle! You win. The candy is all yours. Get off me, you bandits.” Laughing, Matt lifted the last kid off his shoulder. “Go. Eat it all.”
They scrambled away, high-fiving each other for taking down the man.
He hadn’t had this much fun since...huh. He couldn’t remember. Did these rascals know how good they had it? They got to be real kids.
He dusted off his pants. He had grass stains everywhere. And he bent to rub some of the dirt off his shoes. So much for trying to make a good impression.
“Having fun?” Julia stood over him.
He grinned. “Best party I’ve been to in forever.”
“Better than RW’s pirate party last night?” There was a whole lot of heat in her eyes. It charged him up.
“The dancing was the best part of that one but...” He shrugged. “This one has candy.”
She laughed. “You really do like sweets, don’t you?”
“Oh, babe, you have no idea. I have a bad craving.” He stepped close and tipped her chin up.
Her lids were hooded. “Are you hungry now?”
“Starved.” By the blush on her cheeks, she knew what he meant. “After we take Tía Nona home, we’re going back to my place. I have a promise to keep. Four times in a row. I’d like you to think on that for a while.” No use in him being the only one hot and bothered.
She shivered in a good way. “Promises, promises.”
“I keep them.”
They passed the group of folks eating chips and salsa and drinking margaritas. Julia walked beside him, her arm casually hooked with his as if they went to family barbecues like this every weekend.
Was this what it was to be at peace? Happy?
They walked over to Maria and her boyfriend. Jaime was grilling steaks and roasting some evil-looking peppers. The smoke was loaded with flavor and Matt’s stomach growled.
When she saw Matt, Maria tipped her chin in a tough-girl maneuver. “Looks like the eye is healing.”
“Yep. Didn’t feel a thing.” He ignored her and focused on the food. “Looks good.”
“Here, man. Try this.” Jaime sliced off two chunks of steak and dipped it in homemade salsa. He gave one mouthful to Matt on a toothpick and ate the other himself.
“Mmm. That’s good.” Matt chewed. “Spicy.” His eyes started to water almost as badly as when Maria had punched him.
“That’s my special volcano salsa. Like it?” Jaime acted like his mouth wasn’t burning like lava.
The heat growing in Matt’s mouth was blowing out his sinuses. His ears were tingling. He didn’t dare spit it out or Jaime would think he was a total wimp. But if he swallowed, it might burn a hole in his intestines.
“Yeah,” Matt croaked. “Water.”
Julia hustled over and grabbed him a water bottle. He downed half of it in one gulp.
Julia was concerned. “Too hot for you?”
“I might have burned my tongue off.”
“On no, that is a real shame. Right, Julia?” Maria said.
Julia gave her the side-eye.
“Steaks are ready, baby, just the way you like them. Thick and juicy.” Jaime swatted Maria’s butt.
Julia was watching their exchange.
“Is that the way you like your...meat? Spicy?” Matt whispered in her ear.
She gulped. “Yes?”
“Question marks, babe. They’re your tell.” He kissed her temple. “I know what you like.”
“Really? Is this on the menu?” In one of the biggest surprises in a day chock-full of them, she swatted his behind.
He had no words. In a crowded backyard, full of her relatives and easily a third of the town, she kissed him. It was one of the highlights of the day. He couldn’t wait for more.
The rest of the night was filled with laughter, good food and good-natured grilling. Matt and Julia sat with the adults while Henry went to the kids’ table. When Julia’s family started asking questions about their plans, Matt suddenly wished he could sit with the kids. Man, Julia’s relatives were relentless.
Julia tried deflection and subject-changing, and when those stopped working, she raised her hands in defeat. He ended the line of questioning with, “You know, folks, we just found each other again. Please give us a chance to work through everything in private.”
They finished eating and people carried their plates to the kitchen to be washed. Matt was busy watching Julia bend over to put the plates in the dishwasher when Henry came up behind Matt and yanked on his shirt. “Is it true?”
“What’s that?”
Henry’s eyes were wide. He had a goofy grin on his face. “Are you going to be my dad?”
All the family’s talk about the future...they’d led to this. And the emotions. He couldn’t even begin to sort them out. It was like a rogue tidal wave that came roaring out of a glassy sea. His heart was utterly and completely swamped. With regret that Henry wasn’t his. With longing, for what it would be like if Henry was his son. With heartbreak because he didn’t know how to be a father, or how to create a future with Julia that would allow Henry to remain in his life.
And because Matt didn’t know what to say, he spoke the truth. “That would be an honor, Henry. Any man would be lucky to be a dad to a great guy like you.”
For the third time that day, he was bro-hugged. Only this time it wasn’t a surprise because Matt started it.
Julia turned around to see them. “What’s this all about?”
They released each other.
“Nothing,” Henry said.
Matt didn’t lie to Julia. Never had, never would. It wasn’t like he could speak with the lump in his throat, anyway, so he said nothing at all.
“One more time for the camera,” she said, lifting his cell phone. He’d forgotten he’d given it to her for safekeeping.
Matt put his arm around Henry and they smiled for the picture.
Seventeen
It was after ten when Julia drove Tía Nona home and Matt followed behind her in the Lamborghini. Henry rode shotgun in his car. The kid was so tired that he fell asleep on the leather seat and was snoring two minutes after they’d left the party.
Matt didn’t mind. He drove nice and easy and kept the sound system off. He idled the sports car outside Tía Nona’s house and waited for Julia.
Tía Nona herself toddled over to his side of the car to speak to him.
He put his window down. “Good night, tía. It was nice hanging out with you.”
“Buenas noches, mijo.” She leaned in and put her hand on his shoulder. “Don’t be a stranger. Come see me before you leave town. I have something for you.”
He frowned. “What is it?”
She shook her finger at him. “Visit me tomorrow and find out.”
When they got to Julia’s house, he carried the dead-to-the-world kid to his bed. Julia removed Henry’s shoes and socks and tucked him under the covers.
“He’s amazing, Julia. So damned cute,” Matt said softly.
“They all are when they’re asleep.”
“Can I?” He took out his cell phone for a picture.
“He won’t mind if you take his picture. He’s pretty ga-ga over you, in case you didn’t know.” There was a rap on the front door. “It’s my neighbor. She’s going to babysit for a few hours while we go to your place. But I need to be back by midnight, okay?”
“Sure.”
He took the picture while Julia gave her babysitter final instructions. Matt had never been conflicted about sleeping with a woman before, but for some inexplicable reason, he wasn’t racing out the door and draggin
g Julia with him. Part of him wanted to stay right here, in Julia’s comfortable, beautiful, love-filled home, with her and Henry.
He knew she didn’t want him to sleep over, he got that. She was the mom and he respected her wishes.
But he couldn’t help thinking about how cool it would be to see Julia first thing in the morning and wake her with kisses down her back. And he’d never had a kid jump on the bed or want to climb in when monsters scared him. He’d never slept night after night with a woman, either.
Damn, he wanted—no, a better word was craved—things he couldn’t have. Might never have.
You’ve got tonight, man. Don’t ruin it.
He kissed Henry’s forehead, tucked the blankets in tighter and followed Julia out.
* * *
They held hands and walked through the gardens to the pool house. It was scary how comfortable she felt strolling the Harper grounds. With Matt, everything felt good.
She wouldn’t let herself think about the flip side of that coin because she only had about twenty-four hours before he flew away.
He opened the door and turned on the lights.
“We’re back,” Julia said softly. Why did she feel like she had to whisper?
He pulled her into his arms. “Finally.”
“Did you have fun tonight?”
“I did. I enjoy hanging out with your family. Because they love you and aren’t afraid to show it.”
She put her head on his chest. The pounding in her ear was strong. “I know.”
“Julia?”
“Hmm?” She looked up. His expression was serious.
“You’re surrounded by so much love... Do you still want to know what happened to your mom?”
She frowned. “Yes, of course.”
He exhaled slowly. “What if knowing could put your family in danger? Would you still want to know?”
She stepped back. “What’s this about, Matt?”
“Seems your mom got mixed up with a tough crowd before she had you. She left you with Tía Nona to keep you safe. That’s about all I know. But I have a source I can talk to. Maybe I can get you closure on this. Do you want me to try?”
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