Azalea sighed and dropped her head. “Okay, so I wouldn’t change that part. But I would still send you and Rosie away. I’m not sure I believe the story about the glass. You had a habit of making excuses for him.”
She dug into her purse and pulled out her gold tube of lipstick. Lowering the visor, she used the mirror to reapply the bronze color. “Sweetheart, it doesn’t look good. I mean we found him eating lunch at Esperanza’s Kitchen. You know that’s for homeless people. He’s fallen further than even I would have guessed.”
Jazmine wanted to beat her head against the windshield. “We don’t know why he was there. His family still owns the Diamondback Ranch.”
“His family might own land, but they have major issues. If he’s been kicked out of that family, he’s really sunk low. You shouldn’t go alone. We’ll arrange to have him come to the law office. He can be reminded who he’s up against.”
“No. I’m not going to have this turn into a legal battle. That would just drag it out. Rosie doesn’t deserve a messy court battle between her parents.”
“What if he hasn’t changed?”
Jazmine took a moment to stifle the words she wanted to scream at her mother. “Rosemarie’s older. She’ll be able to call me if she needs to. She—”
“You’re not going to let him be alone with her!”
“Not right now, but when she’s older. Keeping them apart is wrong.”
“What he put you through was wrong. What would you do if Rosie was in the same situation?”
Jazmine bit her lips to hold in words of frustration. There was really no arguing with her parents. “They don’t know each other, so any meetings we set up now will be with me. I’m not going to just drop her off with a stranger and leave.”
“We need to get something in writing, some sort of legal agreement before you allow him to talk to her. We have to protect her and make sure he can’t—”
Jazmine’s fist hit the steering wheel. “Stop. She has as much right to know about her father as he does to know about her. We’re meeting tonight, and I’ll make a plan from there.” She twisted and faced her mother. “You’re going to have to trust me on this. Okay?”
Her mother sighed. “I’m not sure I trust you when you’re in the same room as him.”
“That love-struck girl has grown up. I’m not going to allow anyone to hurt my daughter. If he is sober, we’ll come up with a plan that protects her.”
“If I can’t change your mind, then please be careful. I don’t want to see you hurt again. And you have to think about that innocent little girl.” She looked out the window. “With your father down, I just can’t...”
Jazmine reached across the center console and threaded her fingers through her mother’s. “I know. But if nothing else, this has reminded me that our lives can change in a blink. I can’t put this off any longer.”
“Rosemarie is so trusting.”
“I won’t let anyone hurt her. That includes her father.” She gave her mother a hard look. “And her grandparents. Have you thought about the questions she’ll have in a few years when she learns we kept her father from her?”
With a quick nod and a deep sigh, Azalea got out of the car and headed for the stairs.
Jazmine rested her forehead on the steering wheel. Her heart wasn’t so sure she would be fine with Elijah being in Rosemarie’s life, but for her daughter’s sake, she couldn’t hide behind her parents any longer.
Elijah was going to find how much she’d changed. The meek girl was gone. She was a full-grown mama bear now, and if she thought he would hurt Rosemarie in any way, she was walking out. Even if she left behind another piece of her heart.
Chapter Three
Jazmine arrived at the Painted Dolphin thirty minutes early. She wanted to be there before Elijah so she could pick the table where this meeting would take place. The seat of power had to be hers. She walked around the building, then went up the steps.
A few boats with lights strung over every mast and piece of rigging sailed by in the bay. A longing surprised her.
A young staff member in a tie-dyed T-shirt came over to her. “Can I help you?”
A nervous laugh slipped out. Why did she felt like a teenager sneaking out of her parents’ house? “Yes. I’m meeting someone.” She scanned the large room. Several life-size sculpted dolphins painted with bright patterns still hung from the ceiling, but everything else looked new. The place was a surprising mix of modern and bohemian charm. Elijah had said it had been reopened a couple of months ago.
“Ma’am?” The blonde, sun-kissed girl looked at her with concern.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I use to come here all the time. It looks different.”
She smiled. “It looks great, right? So, do you want to sit inside or on the deck? The singer will be starting up again, so if you want to talk, then I suggest the deck. Sitting by the water is nice. It’s my favorite place.”
Jazmine nodded. “I always sat next to the railing.” She glanced across the room at the long wooden serving counter and froze. He was already here.
Working? He shook hands with someone and laughed.
Then he saw her and his smile vanished. With a few words to the man, he left the register area and headed straight for her. The work-worn clothes were gone. A blue dress shirt was open at the neck, the long sleeves rolled up to his elbows.
Oh my. The beach bum cowboy cleaned up well. Very well.
He moved with the easy grace she remembered from the early days. Like he owned everything around him. The confidence that he had shown the world was always in conflict with his self-esteem.
Without a doubt he had always been gorgeous, and she had never understood what he had seen in her. All the local girls had wondered the same thing. Her parents said he had just been after her money and social standing, but she had never believed that.
As she watched him, she saw a difference in him. He seemed more...more something. What, she wasn’t sure, but wow. Okay, so it looked as if he had a steady job. That was good.
“Hey, Jenny. I’ll seat Ms. Daniels.”
“Hi, Mr. De La Rosa. Oh.” She looked back to Jazmine. “You’re meeting Mr. De La Rosa.”
“Yes. She’s meeting me. We’re going to be outside at table seven. Will you bring us some chips with guacamole and some lemonade?”
“Of course, sir. I’ll have it right out.” Her long blond hair swung as she turned to do his bidding.
With his most charming wink, he grinned at her. “You’re early.”
Caught. She glanced around. “I wanted to—”
“Get here first to get the lay of the land.” He chuckled. “I’m not surprised.” He lifted his right arm and gestured to the doors leading out to the deck. “Ladies first.”
She glanced around as they walked under the giant garage doors made of glass. Two of the three were rolled up into the ceiling, leaving the restaurant open to the water. On a small platform, a man was strumming a guitar and softly singing. The dining area looked busy. “Will you get in trouble for talking while you’re at work?”
With a half-hearted chuckle, he shook his head. “No. I’m good. I’m pretty tight with the owner.” He pushed back his hair.
Her brain was trying to catch up. The Elijah she saw this afternoon was not matching up with the Mr. De La Rosa she followed now. “You work here?” Was he the manager? “You’re not... Why were you eating at Esperanza’s today?”
Outside, they walked to the far corner of the railed deck. He pulled out the chair on the opposite side of the table and waited for her to sit before seating himself across from her. “I volunteer there, and I have a few men there I visit with whenever I get the chance.”
“Oh.” Her cheeks felt warm. “Are they in AA?”
He gave her a tight smile. “We’re here to talk about our daughter.”
“Of cours
e.” Opening her purse, she pulled out an envelope. “I printed these up for you. I can send you more if you want.”
His hands shook a little as he picked up the pictures. Was he nervous or was it a side effect from all the drinking? The gentle lapping of the water against the pier was the only sound as she watched him.
He flipped through the pictures one at a time, studying each one as if devouring every detail. They started with the first hospital pictures and ended with a selfie they had taken yesterday while waiting for the car to take them to the airport. He looked through them again.
The only indication of what he was feeling was the flicker of muscle on his jawline and the bounce of his Adam’s apple. Unable to watch any longer, she let her gaze follow the boats in the harbor.
The clearing of his throat brought her attention back to him. He held the envelope out to her.
“No. Those are yours.”
“Thanks.” He slid them into his shirt pocket. For a moment his hand rested there.
Needing to focus on something else, her gaze swept their old hangout. “It’s nice. I like the changes. How long have you worked here?”
“About six months.” He sighed. His gaze darted around like he was embarrassed.
“You have the look of a manager.” She tried to keep her face neutral, rather than judgmental, but she wasn’t sure how successful she was. “So, you’re not homeless? You run the restaurant? That’s great.”
He shifted to the side and opened his mouth, then clamped it shut.
There was something in his eyes that seemed off. Was he ashamed? “It’s the perfect job for you. Outdoors, no sitting still. And you were always good with people. Working at a desk indoors everyday was not a good fit.”
“What about you? Have you moved back to Texas for good?”
“No. I took family leave to help my mother. I’m an event planner for a large resort in Denver. I have eight weeks, and then we’re going back.”
“Eight weeks?” He popped his knuckles. “I have eight weeks to get to know her before you leave.”
Nodding was all she could manage.
He leaned back, one arm draped across the empty chair next to his. The silky blue shirt pulled taut across his shoulders. He studied her, those intense gray eyes making her look away. She took in the boats. There were the normal charters and sailboats, but at the very end there was a new addition. A huge, old-fashioned ship bobbed in the water.
There had to be something safe she could talk about. “Is that a pirate ship?”
“Yeah. It’s new. I’ve been out on it a few times. It’s fun to watch it go by when I’m eating dinner on our deck at home.”
Biting the inside of her lip, she shut her eyes. The little beachfront cottage they had bought in the first months of their marriage.
It was on the opposite side of town. Her parents had given them the down payment to the fixer-upper. She had loved that place. “Our deck? I thought the house was sold in the divorce.”
“They didn’t tell you anything, did they?” This time his look of disgust wasn’t directed at her.
“No. They thought it would be easier for me.” Why was she suddenly afraid to hear what had happened to their little home? They had worked so hard together to restore the beach cottage until it was just the way she wanted it.
“Originally, they told me to sell it.” He shrugged. “I wanted to keep it. We had put so much sweat equity into it. It was the first time ever I had a real home.” He took a drink of his lemonade. “It looked like I was going to lose again. I didn’t have the money to buy you out.” His fingers ran along the braided leather bracelet he wore on his left wrist. “Then the hurricane hit. There was a great deal of damage. We wouldn’t have been able to sell anytime soon, so I made an offer to buy your half at a discount. My cousin Xavier helped me out. I still live there.”
She wasn’t sure why the idea of him fighting for their house made her heart flutter, but she needed to move on to other thoughts. “Were you able to rebuild?”
“I discovered that I have a skill for rebuilding.”
She turned her attention to the busy restaurant. “You always enjoyed being out on the water. You talked about owning your own fishing boats.”
He looked away and waved to some people on a boat gliding by. “I talked to my lawyer about child support. She’s going to do some research and figure out how much I owe you.”
“What?” The change of subject startled her. “No. I don’t want your money. I’m fine.”
His attention returned to her. Now his eyes were a steel gray. “It’s not for you. I’m not a deadbeat dad.”
“Elijah. You don’t—”
His fist clenched. “I will not be my father.” He took a deep breath and relaxed into his chair. “Buy her shoes or a pony or put it aside for college. I don’t want her to ever think I didn’t support her.” He pulled a card out of his shirt pocket where he had slipped the pictures. “Here’s my lawyer’s information. She’ll set up payment. Whatever is easier for you.”
She nodded, but her stomach turned. If he was paying child support, he’d start thinking he could have more say in Rosemarie’s life. She wasn’t ready to share her.
An awkward silence fell between them. When they had first met, talking had been so easy. They would stay on the beach late into the night discussing family, horses, the plans he had for the ranch, the boats he wanted to buy.
Sometimes they just talked about silly things that didn’t matter. All that counted was that they were together. He was only two years older, but she had been eighteen. The world had revolved around him and he owned it all. She never could figure out what he had seen in that shy, clumsy girl.
Leaning on his elbows and lacing his fingers together, he stared straight at her. “I’m really trying to understand. I know I scared you, but how could you keep her from me for so long?” The hard lines on his face and the white in his knuckles betrayed the anger he was holding in.
She shifted in her seat and looked away. It was hard to forget how strong her love for him had been in the early days. Then, a few months into their marriage, the drinking had started. That’s what she needed to remember. “You had become too unpredictable.”
“You didn’t even give me a chance.” His voice was low and harsh.
“I tried to help. When you had a difficult time with my parents or your uncle, I tried to intervene, but I know now that I only made it worse.”
She had been so sheltered, and it had shocked her to see at firsthand how ugly people could be to the ones they loved. Elijah’s uncle Frank had been a cruel, violent man who had no problem hitting someone small or weaker. The people he should have protected.
She shook her head. “I didn’t have the life experience to help you. I couldn’t imagine being abandoned by a mother and abused by an uncle. When it got worse, you started stumbling home hours after dinner. The one person I would have turned to for help was the one I was afraid for. I didn’t know how to get you to stop drinking.”
He grunted.
She knew Elijah had been suffering, but the more she had tried to help him, the worse the problems grew.
Looking down, she captured her hands and held them still. Her napkin was now an organized pile of neat shreds.
“The night I was going to tell you I was pregnant was the night you really seemed out of control. I thought about all the horror stories I’d heard about your uncle and the abuse. It overwhelmed me. I was scared of you.” The cold seeped through her skin.
“I’m not my uncle.” His voice was hard.
She wasn’t sure if he was trying to convince her or himself.
If Elijah was truly sober, then she owed it to her daughter to let her know him. But it didn’t mean she had to trust him.
He pulled out the pictures again.
With his attention on the photos, she
had the luxury of studying him. His golden skin looked darker, but he had lighter streaks in his hair. The stubble from this afternoon was gone, leaving his skin smooth. Had he shaved for her?
With a heavy sigh, he looked up at the night sky. The string of white party lights highlighted his features. “I don’t even know where to start. We had a baby. I still can’t believe you left without telling me.” Lowering his head, he stared straight at her.
Gripping the edge of the wooden seat, she forced herself to sit still. Despite the anger that radiated from him, his body language told her he was in control.
He had a right to be upset, but she couldn’t back down. “The minute I found out I was pregnant, that baby became the most important person in my world.” She allowed her brain to take her back to that night.
She would not regret her decision. “You were out of control. Each night was getting worse. I was waiting up later and later. When you finally came home, it was an hour of yelling and ranting before you passed out. The violence was escalating. That last night I was so scared.”
“I never hurt you.” His lips tightened as his hard jaw flexed. “Did I?”
He looked down, but not before she had seen anger mixed with loathing. And something else. Doubt?
She sat back. “Not physically.”
“I’m not my uncle. I would never have touched you with violence.” His voice was low and gravelly. “Why didn’t you talk to me? Maybe if you had told me, I would’ve sobered up sooner.”
Now her own anger burned. “Are you serious?” The words forced their way out from between clenched teeth. “I did talk. You had three modes.” She held up one finger, keeping her scar facing her. “Drunk.” The second finger went up. “Asleep.” Then the third, the one she used to wear her wedding ring on. “Hungover. When was I supposed to reason with you?”
“You took my child and ran.” He closed his eyes and rolled his shoulders. When he opened them, his gaze bored into her. He appeared calm, but clearly determined.
The Texan's Secret Daughter Page 3
