by Leah Atwood
“Maybe she accepted because she loved him,” Arturo said through clenched teeth. Curiosity got the best of him. He clicked on the attachment of the email Sean had sent him.
Pictures appeared on the screen. There was a reason she’d appeared vaguely familiar when he’d met her. He’d probably seen one of the photos in passing and forgotten. But he hadn’t identified the stick-thin blonde with long, straight hair and bright blue eyes in stilettoes with the shy small-town nurse in gray scrubs, glasses, and sneakers. Her eyes, her hair, her height, everything about her had been different.
“I talked to many people, discreetly, of course, including her circle of friends. So if you want my opinion, she seems to be a master manipulator, and she usually gets what she wants. Apparently, what she wants is famous confirmed bachelors. Jones finally seemed to realize it and broke off their engagement. So she calculated her next move. I might be making assumptions here, but why do you think your grandfather became her patient?”
“Because she’s a home health nurse.” Arturo tried to keep sarcasm out of his voice but failed.
“To get access to you! She stopped being a nurse when it suited her. I think she set her eyes on you. Either to win you over or to use you to win back Jones. I hate to hurt your ego, but I’m afraid it’s the latter. Why else would she trade a glamorous life for one dealing with wounds and pills in a place with no great opportunities for her?”
“She likes being a nurse and small-town living.” Arturo stared at the photos of a beautiful woman dressed in gorgeous evening gowns and covered with diamonds. She was smiling, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. The eyes were a striking blue color. Which color, gray or blue, was the real color of her eyes? Was she really a blonde or a brunette?
“Maybe. Like I said, I might be jumping to conclusions here. Besides, I don’t think you’d fall for tricks like hers. But it’s better not to risk it at all.”
“This can’t be true. Lana isn’t a manipulator. She’s the sweetest, kindest, the most caring person I’ve met.” Arturo believed every word he’d just said.
“Oh, man,” Sean groaned. “It’s already too late, isn’t it? She must be better than I gave her credit for. Do you… like her?”
He didn’t hesitate before he answered, “Yes.”
There was a pause. Finally, Sean asked, “Are you falling for her?”
“All I know, she makes me feel joyful, hopeful, happy. I haven’t felt that way in a long time. I mean, I was happy, but this is happiness on a deeper level.”
“Why her? I admit that she’s very attractive. But you’ve met many stunning women over the years, fawning over you. You didn’t have a long-term relationship with any of them.”
“Because what you told me doesn’t make sense. She’s lovely and smart and funny. She’s different from anybody I’ve ever known. I can talk to her for hours. I can’t wait to see her, and then I’m reluctant to let her go. I have to use all my willpower not to reach out and touch her because I don’t want to scare her away. It’s not just physical. She makes me think about things. Important things. She makes me grateful for things I took for granted before. She’s special. She’s… real.”
“Well, I’m just looking out for you. I gave you the information. It’s up to you what to do with it.” Sean disconnected.
Arturo stared at the computer screen for a long time. Sean had never lied to him before. And the pictures didn’t lie, either. He rubbed his forehead. Okay, so Lana had been engaged to a famous actor and had omitted that fact. To be fair, he’d dated several actresses and hadn’t told Lana about any of them.
Sean was wrong in his conclusion. Lana couldn’t be using him to make Michael jealous. No way. All that kindness, compassion, shyness couldn’t have been an act. But the fact that Jones and she had been breaking up and reconciling for years bothered Arturo. Apparently, she’d left Jones several times but had always taken him back.
Grandpa used to say, “Donde hubo fuego, cenizas quedan.”
Where fire was, ashes remain.
She said she didn’t love Michael anymore. But at this point, Arturo needed to know for sure, and her avoiding his calls on Sunday didn’t help. He printed out several photos and headed to Lana’s place.
* * *
Lana finished decorating the Christmas tree and stepped back, happy with the results.
Grandfather De La Vega had already invited her for Christmas, and there was hope that Arturo would be there, too. Just thinking about him made her heart flutter. It had been such bad timing to lose her phone right before Sunday, with the stores closed, but she finally had a new phone.
At the sound of the motor outside, Lana rushed to the window and peeked through the blinds. A red truck caught her attention.
Yes! Arturo had come to see her. Her heart beat so rapidly she was afraid it would break her ribcage. She took a deep breath to calm down.
At the first knock, she opened the door, wide grin spreading over her face. “Hi, Arturo. Come on in.”
“Hello.” He stepped inside. A shadow passed over his handsome face, and he didn’t greet her with his usual smile.
Her heart dropped to the floor. “Did something happen? Is it your grandfather? I’ll just grab my medical supplies bag.”
He snatched her hand as she whirled around to get the bag. “Stop.” His voice was gruff.
Puzzled, she turned to him.
He released her hand. “Grandpa is fine. He just called me to let me know that he’d be spending more time with Evelyn. He sounded happy. I believe I have you to thank for that.” The darkness in his eyes disappeared for a moment but then returned.
“Don’t thank me. Thank God.”
She stepped back. So if the news was good, why did she sense an accusatory tone in his voice? She found herself saying a silent prayer.
“We need to talk, Lana.”
That didn’t sound good. Her stomach clenched. “O-okay. Take a seat.” She gestured to the sofa, but he sat down at the table instead. She noticed a large envelope he’d been holding in his hands and then placed on the table. Her curiosity was piqued. What was in that envelope? She joined him at the table.
Slowly, he took out the pictures one by one. Some of them were of her with Michael, the rest of her by herself, all taken during the time she’d dated Michael.
She frowned. “Why do you have these?”
“Because I wanted to know the truth about you.”
Anger bubbled hotly inside her, at herself for omitting the details, at him for searching about her past. “So you started digging about me behind my back.”
His eyes narrowed. “I called off the investigation, but my PI apparently never received that email. The reason I started it in the first place was because experience has taught me to be careful about people who are close to me or my family. I have to make sure they don’t lie to me. Or use me to their advantage.”
“And that’s what you think I’m doing?” A nervous laugh escaped her lips.
“Are you laughing about this?” An incredulous expression entered his eyes.
She didn’t want to explain that her laugh was from nerves and not from joy. “I don’t understand why you’re so angry. I told you about Michael.”
Arturo folded his arms on his chest. “You didn’t tell me that you broke up and reconciled many times.”
“I meant what I told you before. I don’t love Michael anymore.” She raised her chin. “I thought you knew me better than that by now.”
“Do I? Lana, I tried to call you on Sunday. You didn’t answer a single call. You didn’t return any of them.”
“I lost my phone.” Her throat constricted.
“I didn’t know.” His eyes softening, Arturo touched her arm. “Lana, I want to…”
A knock on the door interrupted his words. Weary, she rose to her feet and walked to answer the door. Her eyes widened when a delivery guy handed her a huge basket of orchids. She groaned as she placed it inside and signed for the delivery.
She didn’t need to look at the card to know who the flowers were from. Michael had always given her orchids, considering them more sophisticated than other flowers, though she preferred roses. Besides, the bouquet looked identical to the one he’d sent her on Saturday.
Arturo reached her in several long strides. He didn’t ask her anything, but she figured she had to be honest with him. “The flowers are from Michael,” she said.
“Did you answer his calls?”
“Yes.” She swallowed a hard lump in her throat. “Today. I needed to tell him to stop sending me flowers. He sent me orchids on Saturday.”
Her phone rang.
“Let me guess. It’s Michael.” Arturo left quietly.
She let the call go to voice mail.
Only after she closed the door behind Arturo did she let the tears spill from her eyes. She sent a text to Michael.
Don’t ever call me again.
* * *
Arturo entered his grandfather’s house, feeling as if a mountain weighed on his
chest.
Grandpa looked up from his rocker, smiling. “I just got home. Evelyn dropped me off. What a woman.” He took in his features, and the smile disappeared from his face. “What happened, nieto?”
“I’m glad your date went well.” Arturo handed him the envelope and fell in a chair. He
tried to be happy for his grandfather but felt as tired as he would after a day in training camp.
“What’s this?” Grandpa opened the envelope. “Ah, okay.”
Arturo’s jaw dropped. “You knew about it?”
Grandpa shrugged. “Miss Lana told me some things about her life. I read newspapers regularly, including the entertainment section. So I put two and two together.”
“Why haven’t you said anything?”
“It wasn’t my business to tell. Besides, haven’t we agreed that you won’t pursue a romantic relationship with her?”
Arturo preferred not to answer that question. “Who else knows?”
“Evelyn. The head of the home health agency. Members of the knitting club, including Lady Grace. Lana’s friend Mari…”
Arturo shook his head in disbelief. Was he the only one taken for a fool? “The entire town?”
“Only people close to her.”
Apparently, he wasn’t one of them. “My private investigator thinks she might be using me to make Michael jealous. I don’t think it’s true. Do you?” His grandfather was always a great judge of character.
Grandpa snorted. “Of course not! In case you haven’t noticed, she tried to avoid you at first. I believe you’re the one jealous. Michael Jones is a very handsome guy. And they have a history together.”
A stab inside him told him his grandpa had nailed the reasons for his anger. “He sends her flowers. He still calls her.”
“So what? It shows he’s interested in her, not that she’s interested in him. I heard through the grapevine several guys here asked her out. Are you going to hold that against her, too?”
Arturo shook his head. His grandfather had a point.
“Grandson, don’t even think of barging into her place and throwing accusations around. Por favor.”
Regret sliced through him. He’d done just that. He should’ve had this conversation with his grandfather before going to talk to Lana.
Grandpa’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, no. You already did that, didn’t you? I know that look, when you’ve done something you weren’t supposed to.”
Arturo’s shoulders sagged as if he were a schoolboy again who’d broken a window while playing football. Only now he’d broken much more than a window. “I’ll go and make it right with Lana. I’m not going to be jealous any longer. Jones doesn’t intimidate me in the least. If I have to fight for the woman I care about, so be it. Yes, Jones and Lana have a history. But she and I are going to have a future.”
“Now I recognize the grandson I raised.” Grandpa grinned. “But what are you waiting for?”
“Well…” Arturo drew out the word, not wanting to say he didn’t want to leave his grandfather alone.
“I’ll stay in this chair until you return. I’m not gonna fall. Or faint. Or something. Now, scoot.”
Arturo shot out the door. But when he drove up to Lana’s pink rental house, her old sedan wasn’t there. He glanced at the clock on the dashboard. Seven o’clock. He parked at the curb and waited for an hour, probably looking like a stalker. He called her, but she didn’t answer.
As he called his grandpa to check up on him, he was relieved to hear that Lady Grace had paid a visit.
When Lana hadn’t returned another hour later, Arturo called his grandfather again. “Grandpa, are you okay?”
“Claro. Lady Grace just left. I take it Miss Lana still isn’t at home?”
“No.”
“She’s probably at Mari’s, crying on her friend’s shoulder. Pues, ni modo. She’ll be visiting me tomorrow. So there’ll be your chance.”
Arturo didn’t want to wait until tomorrow. But he might not have a choice. He started the engine and headed back to his grandfather’s place.
He tossed and turned the entire night and finally managed to drift off when the sun was already up.
* * *
Tuesday morning, Arturo woke up to a racket coming from the kitchen.
“Grandpa!” He jumped out of bed and rushed in that direction.
Sure enough, his grandfather was trying to make breakfast with a large pan. Arturo hurried to pick the pieces of broken eggshells from the floor.
“I can do it myself!” Grandpa glared at him.
Arturo decided it was best not to point out to his grandfather that it would be difficult to do so while moving with his walker.
“Please let me help you.” Arturo threw the eggshells into the trash can.
“You’ve helped plenty already.” Another glare. Today Mr. Grumpiest lived up to his nickname. “By the way, Miss Lana called. She said she was sick and another nurse would come today.”
“I’ll go to her place right now.” Arturo glanced over himself. “Well, after I clean up here, change, and brush my teeth.” Worry made him hesitate as he cleaned the floor. Would Grandpa be okay while he was gone?
His grandfather seemed to understand his reason for hesitating. “I’ll be fine. I can take care of myself. Besides, Evelyn is coming over soon. I could use some alone time with a beautiful lady.” Grandpa winked at him, his foul mood apparently gone. “I can appreciate a good woman when I see one. Unlike someone else I know.”
Arturo figured it was a good time to disappear into the bathroom. Several minutes later, he stopped near his grandfather’s rocker.
“How do I look?” He’d never been one to try to impress a woman. Until now.
“Not bad. But don’t pay attention to your looks. Pay attention to the words that come from your heart.”
“She might not let me in. Or she might decide to leave town altogether. It’s not as if she has any family here.” Where was all his usual confidence? He’d learned to brush aside self-doubt a long time ago. It had been the only way to win.
“Nonsense. She has a family here. We’re her family. Our community. But okay, let’s say she doesn’t let you in or tries to leave. In the first scenario, break down the door. Are you an athlete or not? In the second scenario, stop her. Even if she runs you over with her car in the process.”
Arturo couldn’t believe his ears. “Grandpa?”
“In fact,” his grandfather said slowly, as if deep in thought, “it would be better if she ran you over. Then as a nurse she’d have to help you.”
“Grandpa!”
“I’m joking. Sort of. Now, hurry. Evelyn and I will pray for you.”
Chapter Twelve
Arturo passed the church as he drove away from his grandfather’s house. A restless feeling overcame him. He needed to pray, and what better place than in church?
He turned around, and within minutes, he was inside the church. Time seemed to stand stil
l. It had been years since he’d come here with his grandparents for Sunday services. The last time he’d been in this church had been for his grandmother’s funeral.
His throat constricted.
He walked to one of the pews and sat. He didn’t remember how to pray, so he simply started a conversation with God.
Arturo thanked the Lord for His many blessings. Arturo asked for forgiveness. He prayed for his grandfather, for Dylan and Dylan’s sons, for teammates and coaches, and yes, for the championship win. After a long hesitation, he prayed for his parents. And then he prayed for Lana and asked for a miracle, for a chance for them to be together in spite of his mistakes, his career, and her painful past. He asked for knowledge of what he truly wanted and guidance on how to reach that once he figured it all out.
Peace and serenity overcame him.
Then and there, Arturo felt as if he’d finally come home. In the empty, quiet church, he felt God’s presence like he’d never felt it before.
When Arturo headed to Lana’s place later, a small shop with the name Kelly’s Flowers came into his view. He slowed down and parked near the flower shop. He rushed inside, and was met with a wonderful scent.
A woman with auburn hair framing her heart-shaped face greeted him with a smile. “Welcome to Kelly’s Flowers.” Then the smile became a hundred-watt grin. “Wow! What a wonderful surprise! I can’t believe it though I heard you were in town. Aren’t you…”
Arturo braced himself for another fan asking for an autograph. He’d always treated his fans with respect and attention, but right now he just didn’t have time. He needed to get to Lana before she decided to pack up and skip town.
He plastered a smile on his face. “Yes. I am Arturo De La Vega…”
“Dylan’s childhood friend! You don’t remember me, do you? I’m Kelly, Dylan’s sister.”
His jaw dropped. “You’re that little girl with pigtails and freckles? The one who always had a teddy bear with her?” That was the way he’d remembered her, before Dylan’s parents had divorced. Dylan’s mom had left for Dallas and taken Kelly with her while Dylan stayed in Rios Azules with his father. Dylan had seen little of his mother since, and Kelly hadn’t visited her father, either.