RW motioned for Henry to come forward. “That’s unacceptable. And the school you go to—”
“Sucks,” Henry finished. “It’s like a hundred years old and the teachers are even older.”
“Henry,” Julia admonished.
“What? It’s true.”
“I agree with the young man. How can a student learn in these conditions? How can young, bright, teachers be attracted to such a dilapidated school? No, I am building a school in Pueblicito and that is the end of it. I will hire the best teachers and create the best programs in the state and our little friend here will have the best education possible. You can’t talk me out of it.”
Jeff, Matt and Julia all looked at each other.
“That sounds great, really. I mean, who wouldn’t want to go to the school on the beach? I’d do that any day of the week instead of going to math class. But I’d go to math twice a day if we could save the birds. Kids should learn about saving stuff like the environment and creatures who are smaller than us. Can’t we do that, too?” Henry asked.
Julia’s hand went to her heart. Matt felt a burning pressure behind his eyes. Damn, he was proud of that kid.
“So...you want me to move the school off the beach?” RW spoke directly to Henry.
“Yes, sir. And thank you. Sorry, I should have said that first.”
RW nodded. “Okay. It’s done. Miss Espinoza, perhaps you and I can work together to locate a spot for the school that will not impact your birds.”
Julia’s eyes were wide with shock. “They’re our birds, Mr. Harper. And I’d be delighted.”
“Excellent,” RW said.
Henry fist-pumped the air. “Woot! You aren’t as bad as they say.”
RW laughed. It was the most casual and easy sound Matt had ever heard his father make. “Don’t tell anyone, son.”
When RW winked and messed up Henry’s hair and added, “I hope you come back and see me again,” it was too much to process. The school, the wink, the hospitality? Matt’s head exploded.
What in the hell was happening to his father?
As Jeff, Julia and Henry started to leave the hall, Matt held back.
“We need to talk, Dad,” he said.
“Yes, I suppose we do.” He seemed old in that moment. Tired. “There’s a lot to say, but I’ve been so screwed up...” RW shook his head, unable to voice the words.
“Me, too, Dad. Later tonight?”
RW nodded and rose to his feet. Before Matt got blindsided again, he took the offensive and threw his arms around RW.
Hugging seemed to be his new thing.
* * *
Matt jogged to catch up to Henry and Julia.
“It’s like a museum. I can’t believe people live here.” Henry took in the art, the crystal chandelier and the mosaic tiles while they walked through the long hallway.
“Living is such a big word for what goes on in this house. It’s nothing like your home. You’re really lucky,” Matt said.
Henry chewed on that a moment. “Yeah, you’re right. It’s too quiet here. There’s no laughing. No music. No dancing.”
“Sometimes there’s dancing.” Julia’s eyes twinkled. “Captain was the greatest of them all. A legend.”
He leaned into her, tucked her hair behind her ear and whispered, “There’s a lot more where that came from. Better moves than you’ve ever seen.”
She bit her lip. “I’d like to see those moves.”
“Later. When you are naked.” His whispered words made her shiver in anticipation.
They stepped out into the sunlight. Matt smiled every time he saw Julia’s ugly lime-green Cube. When they were young she’d talked of saving enough money to buy her own car. He’d secretly vowed to give her one. Hell, he would’ve done anything, short of stealing, to make it happen. It must’ve been quite a day when she drove her very own car off the lot. He wished he’d been there to see it.
Before Julia turned the ignition, she said, “I think I might have misjudged your father.”
“You and I both know how he used to be. I have no idea who that man was back there in the hall, but he isn’t the RW I grew up on the wrong side of. I say we don’t complain and roll with it. Whatever has changed him, it seems like Pueblicito might actually get something good out of the deal.”
Julia’s cell phone rang inside her purse. She dug around and pulled it out. “¿Hola? Okay, we’ll be right there.” She glanced up at Matt. “Tía Nona asked us to stop by her place on the way home.”
“Is everything all right?”
“I don’t know, she sounded...strange. Worried. She asked us to come right away.”
Julia drove quickly and parked her Cube in Tía Nona’s driveway. Just as she was about to knock on the door, they heard Tía Nona inside saying, “Angel left! ¡Dios mio! She didn’t even say goodbye. I can’t lose her again.”
“We’ll find her.” It was Tía Alana’s voice.
“Just like we did the last time.” Tía Flora seemed to agree.
Julia looked at Matt. “Who is this Angel everyone’s talking about?”
“I don’t know, sweetheart. But your aunts do.”
“Angel?” Henry poked his head between them. “She’s their sister.” Without another word, he opened the door and stepped inside without knocking.
Grabbing Matt’s arm, she pulled him back before he stepped over the threshold. “Another sister I didn’t know about? One who’s in trouble and involved with your father? How is that possible?”
Matt took her hand. “Let’s go sort it out.”
Twenty-Two
Stepping inside Tía Nona’s small living room, Julia could feel the nervous energy.
Tía Nona rubbed her red, dripping eyes, which made no sense since she’d always said she was too malgeniosa to cry. Tía Flora paced and Tía Alana was...smoking? An open bottle of tequila sat on the floor by the couch.
Julia reached behind her and grabbed Matt’s hand. When he took it, her nerves eased to a dull pounding. He had a way of centering her. “What’s going on?”
Tía Nona blew her nose and then said, “Angel is gone. I went to her place and it is empty. We have to find her.”
“Angel?” Julia asked.
“Yeah, um. Well, you don’t know her, she’s a...a...”
“Friend,” Tía Alana said.
“Cousin,” Tía Flora said.
“Neighbor,” Tía Nona finished.
Henry snorted. “And they tell me not to lie.”
“Henry, why don’t you go down the street and visit Anthony? This sounds like adult problems.”
“Ah, Mom...”
“Get going.”
“Fine.”
When Henry left, Matt spoke up. “We know Angel is in trouble. My father hinted that much. Let’s start there. We can argue about who she is later.”
Nona sighed. “I bet RW is beside himself. He cares for her very deeply. She saved his life, you know.”
No, Julia did not know. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Matt’s eyebrows rise, but he didn’t say a word.
“What can you tell us about her?” Julia prodded.
Nona sighed. “Not much. We’ve been sworn to secrecy.”
“On account of the gang that is after her.” Alana nodded.
“Because she saw too much,” Flora finished.
“¡Tontas! Might as well tell them Angel is our baby sister.” Nona covered her mouth. “Merida de burro. Forget I said that.”
Too late. Tequila had a way of opening Nona’s lips.
“Your sister lives here, in Pueblicito, and I’ve never met her? How is that possible?” Julia asked.
“’Cuz she’s been incognito. Like when you wore Nona’s wig to RW’s party. She’s been hiding in plain sight,” Flora said.
�
��The gang must’ve found her. That’s the only reason she’d leave. We need to get to her before they do!” Nona was wailing now.
“Angel thinks she is protecting her family, but we’d be lost without her,” Alana said.
“What should we do?” Flora asked.
Matt spoke up. “Let me talk to my father. He has men in place, watching out for Angel. He’ll know where she went and what to do next.”
Flora pressed her hand to her chest. “See? That man loves Angel. I knew it.”
Alana huffed. “He has asked her to marry him half a dozen times. She turns him down on account of the gang.”
“And Julia.” Flora nodded.
“What about me?” Julia asked.
“Nothing!” Tía Nona gave both her sisters the evil eye. “Go on, Matthew. Call your father. Maybe he can stop her.”
* * *
Matt stepped outside the house to place the call. It was a strange conversation full of pregnant pauses, cloaks and daggers and deflection, but he got the answers he needed from RW.
Walking back inside, he saw Julia’s face light up. She knew even before he said a word that he had good news. That’s how connected they were.
Would he ever find that with anyone else?
“Dad says she’s fine. He’s moved her to a secure location for a while. He says not to worry.”
All the women in the room exhaled at once.
“Oh, thank you.” Julia rose off the couch and threw her arms around his neck. In front of everyone, she kissed him soundly.
He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her. He didn’t want to let go.
“Madre de Dios, they are so cute. When’s the wedding?” Flora asked with a smile.
Matt looked down and saw that panic had replaced the blood in Julia’s face. Her eyes had a wild frenzy to them, too. He was holding a caged animal.
He let her go.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Matt said to the aunts.
Julia took a large step away from him. “Matt’s right. Sometimes...” Her cheeks were pale and her brow was furrowed. Her eyes welled. It was her determined face mixed with great sadness. “Sometimes people leave because that’s what they’re supposed to do. Matt and I won’t be getting married. He’s leaving tomorrow. His life is not here. I need to... I have to...” She opened the front door. “Walk.”
He knew she hadn’t been saying goodbye, not really. But the emotions that had been hanging on a precipice this entire weekend slipped when she shut the door. It was like getting crushed by an avalanche.
There really was no future for them.
“Matthew?” Nona’s voice broke through the landslide in his head.
He didn’t move. Couldn’t think.
“Listen to me now, it’s important.”
He turned toward her voice.
“Remember I had something to show you? Come with me.” Nona took his hand and pulled him toward her room. She gently guided him to an old chair and pushed him into it.
“Now, you hear me, Matthew Harper. No two people were ever meant to be together more than you and my Julia.”
“She loves someone else.” Damn, the words tore through his innards even worse when said out loud.
“That’s straight caca from the bull. Julia wants you more than anything, silly boy. She always has. She’s just scared. When you left, she went to the bad place. It was all we could do to snatch her from the devil’s hands. She’s afraid of giving her heart to you again because, if you break it, we might not be able to beat the devil a second time. Do you understand?”
He blinked. “I’d never hurt her. Why would she think that?”
“You tell me. These are the letters she wrote to you when you left. They were all returned unopened.” She dropped a large pile of envelopes wrapped in a red ribbon. “Hundreds of them.”
He was shocked. “I never got these. I wrote to her, too. Every day until she forgot about me. Until she married someone else.”
“Forget about you? Never.” Tía Nona shook her head. “She didn’t get any letters, mijo. Not one.”
“Who did this? Who blocked our letters...?” He ran his hand through his hair, suddenly knowing the answer. There were only two people who had wanted to keep them apart. Only two who had told Julia he’d died. “My parents.”
Nona rubbed his shoulder. “I would think so, yes. They control this town, it would be nothing for them to control the mail delivery.”
Julia’d thought he’d abandoned her before he died. “That’s why she moved on so soon.” He hadn’t meant to say the words aloud, but they slipped out. And that’s why he had moved on, too. He’d focused his entire adult life on starting the airline because he couldn’t have what he really wanted. Needed. Suddenly, the thought of taking RW’s offer and staying in Plunder Cove didn’t sound so bad.
Nona kissed the top of his head. “She hasn’t moved on yet, mijo. You still have a chance.”
He ran out of the house to find Julia.
Twenty-Three
She didn’t walk, she ran all the way to the beach. Our beach.
Matt was everywhere—in the tall grass, the white sand, the lapping waves. Tonight, when the stars came out, he’d be there, too. Making promises he couldn’t keep and soaring over the moon.
Her heart was completely thrashed, but it was still beating. She was alive and determined to stay out of the dark place because she was Henry’s mother. She couldn’t fail him.
She could do this. Somehow, she’d survive saying goodbye to Matt Harper again and go about the business of living.
Oh, Lord, it was going to hurt. The internal shredding had already begun and would only get worse.
She took her shoes off and walked across the sand. No snowy plovers here. The patches of grass were too sparse for them and they preferred the other beach with better cover for their hatchery. She dipped her toes in the cold water and tried to breathe. It was hard, what with the crushing ache in her chest.
“Thought I’d find you here.” His deep voice rolled over her like a wave. A wish. A promise she had no business hanging on to.
She was too broken to turn around.
“Julia, please.” The quake in his words was her undoing.
She went to him. He opened his arms and she put her head on his chest. She fought tears by deeply breathing in his scent. He always calmed her.
Matt and Julia against the world.
“I learned something today,” he said softly. “You never got any of my letters.”
She sucked in a breath. “You must not have gotten any of mine, either. The ones I sent before I went to your funeral.”
He tipped her chin up. “I didn’t. I had no idea all that you went through and I am so, so sorry. Hell, I wouldn’t have survived. No way. Just shows how strong you are.”
She shook her head. “I’m not strong, Matt.”
“Wrong, babe.” He kissed her cheek. “I just wanted you to know that I understand now why you needed to go forward without me.”
“Part of me never did go forward.”
“Same here. You’ve always been inside me, Julia. A sweet song I never forgot the words to. You are in my bones. In my heart.” He kissed the other cheek. “I love you, Julia. Always have. I told you that in those fifty letters.”
He still loved her? She covered her mouth and blinked the hot tears, unable to speak.
He went on, “Someone blocked our correspondence. Not certain, but I’d bet it was my mother.”
“Your mother?” Her voice cracked.
He rubbed her back. “Yep. My father was having his own issues. I think she was the one trying to keep us apart. She has strange ideas about class. And, honestly, she probably was jealous of us. She didn’t know how to love. Seeing us happy probably ticked her off.”
Julia h
eld him as he continued. “She wasn’t a great mom.”
Except...maybe she was. Julia understood the gripping painful decisions that came with motherhood. What would she have done to protect her son from a terrible mistake?
“She was trying to save you, Matt. You were only seventeen with a glorious future ahead. She didn’t want you to ruin your life with a mistake. I understand that now.” She loved him. Would always, but he deserved to know the truth. She owed him that much, so she took a deep breath and told him, “Henry is your son. He’s the best gift you ever gave me.”
His hand froze on her shoulder. His eyes widened. His mouth opened. No sound came out. She pressed her hand to his chest to feel the thundering train beneath her palm.
“He’s...he’s mine?”
“Henry Matthew Harper is most definitely yours. I’ve never slept with anyone other than you. You’re his daddy.”
“You named him after me?” He scrubbed his jaw, as if feeling for the beard that wasn’t there. “But I thought... He said his father was a pilot who died in Afghanistan...oh. It was me this whole time?”
“Yes.”
“Henry said the only guy you ever loved was...” He blinked. “Me, again?”
“Yes.”
Slowly his face cracked open like a sunrise. “I’m the only man you’ve ever slept with?”
She narrowed her eyes. “After everything I said, that’s the one thing you’re honing in on?”
He swooped her up in his arms. “No way, sweetheart. What I heard was I’m a daddy to the greatest kid on the planet and the one true love to the best woman in the universe. What I’m honing in on is ten years I missed making love to my woman. If we don’t start now, we’ll never catch up.”
He laid her down on the sand and kissed her as if he’d never stop.
Her heart was racing. He tasted so good that she let her mind center on him and not on all the revelations that had come tonight. He nibbled down her jawline and kissed her neck. She laughed beneath him. He cupped her breast through her blouse and rolled her nipple under the material.
“Matt, the sun hasn’t gone down yet.”
“And?” He pressed his erection against her. Being the pirate’s harlot that she was, her hips lifted in response.
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