by Leah Atwood
How come she was back? Running her own business?
“I lost the pigtails and the teddy bear. The freckles are still with me.”
“Happy to see you again.” He suppressed a chuckle. And he’d thought she was excited to see him because she was a fan. He really needed to deflate his ego. Interestingly enough, when he’d run errands, several other business owners had greeted him as Amaro De La Vega’s grandson. He’d probably needed that humbling experience.
“Happy to see you, too.” She smiled. “As you can see, I returned to Rios Azules. After I graduated from high school, my mom couldn’t tell me what to do anymore. So I came to visit my father and my brother. I kept coming for summers while in college and then after I graduated. During one of those visits, I met a great guy and ended up marrying him. And then…” Her voice broke, and she looked away.
Something happened.
But it wasn’t his right to pry.
Kelly gave him a forced smile. “Would you like to come for dinner sometime? I’m sure my brother would be delighted. His boys, too. They love football, and Dylan says you’re some big-shot football player now. If you have time…”
“I’d love to. We already decided to meet up for steaks, but a family dinner sounds wonderful. What should I bring?”
“Just yourself.”
If he managed to patch up things with Lana… “Could I bring a friend?”
“Lana?” A hand flew to Kelly’s mouth. “Oh, oops. I assumed you meant Lana, right?”
“Yes.” Indeed, there were no secrets in a small town.
“Of course, please bring her. Lana was Dylan Jr.’s nurse when he was sick. My brother’s boys adore her, especially Dylan Jr.”
Was there anybody in town who didn’t adore Lana? He wasn’t used to not being the popular one. But then the townsfolk’s opinion of Lana just confirmed how wrong Sean had been about her. Guilt slammed hard into Arturo again.
Kelly slapped her forehead. “What am I doing, keeping you waiting when you probably need to be on your way? What kind of flowers are you interested in?”
“I have no clue what flowers Lana would like. I guess orchids.” He shrugged.
“I happen to know that roses are her favorite flowers. Lana mentioned that when she bought a bouquet for her patient’s birthday,” Kelly said with authority.
Arturo brightened. “Roses then. As many as possible.”
Kelly eyed him suspiciously. “Just how badly did you mess up? If you don’t mind me asking…”
“How many flowers do you have on hand?” He looked around the store.
Kelly gasped. “That badly?”
Arturo sighed.
“Okay, I’ll see what I can do. Now, what color?”
“Um, help?”
Kelly tsked. “The color is important. Pink would be a safe choice. It shows admiration and gratitude. White is a symbol of purity, new beginnings, spirituality. Yellow is great for friendship and get-well messages. But I’ll be honest, in some countries, a yellow flower is a symbol of separation.”
“Definitely not yellow then.” He didn’t need any help in the separation department.
“Okay, if you really want to make an impact and you have true feelings for her, go with red. Everybody knows what the red rose symbolizes. So do you have feelings for her? And I’m not asking this to gossip. It’s a professional question. Though I admit I’m curious.”
Apparently, Dylan’s sister didn’t hold anything back. Arturo cleared his throat. It was unusual for him to talk about such thing as feelings. “I’m… developing feelings for her.” There, he said it, and it wasn’t that painful.
“But you’re a little cautious to show her that, right?” Kelly nodded in understanding. “I’ll make a huge bouquet with red and white roses, and you’re welcome to the baskets with pink, red, and white roses. If that’s not enough, I can call another flower shop in town and have them deliver more.”
“I hope what you have will be enough.” An idea struck him. “Would it be possible to have a bouquet of red roses sent to her every day until Christmas? And a large basket with red roses for Christmas?”
Kelly’s eyes widened. “Seriously? My nephew Travis can deliver them after school on his bike. But really, seriously?”
“Yes. And could you provide flowers to decorate the church’s altar for Christmas?”
Kelly nodded. “Sure thing. I go to the same church Lana does and can talk to the pastor there.”
Living in a small town had its advantages. “I’ll write and sign a blank check. You’re welcome to fill in the amount.” His accountant would faint if he heard this.
“Okay.” She wrapped up a gigantic bouquet and rang up the sale. “I heard Lana is sick with a flu or a twenty-four-hour bug.”
So Lana hadn’t lied about being sick in order to avoid seeing him. He wasn’t sure whether he felt more relieved or guiltier at that.
“What place would you recommend to get some good takeout soup?” he asked. The town had changed during his absence, and some businesses had closed while new ones appeared. Yes, things had changed, but the old feeling of attachment tugged stronger at his heartstrings now.
“The Café. They serve great seafood soup. Do you need an address?”
Arturo shook his head. “No. I know the place.” He signed the blank check and handed it to Kelly. He had to make several trips to the car to get all the flower baskets and a heavy bouquet.
“I’ll pray for you and Lana,” Kelly called out when he was leaving.
He used to like Rios Azules when he was a child, but now he liked it even more. People took care of each other here. It would be a good place to raise a family. He pushed the thought away. His concentration should be on helping his team win the championship, not anything else.
Besides, there was a good chance that Lana would kick him out, even with all the roses.
He prayed, first on the road to The Café, then to Lana’s place.
* * *
A knock on the door caused Lana to groan. Her eyelids seemed to be filled with lead, and her head was so heavy that she could barely lift it off the pillow.
“Go away,” she muttered under her breath.
The knock repeated.
She’d already received several visitors with bowls of soup and mugs of hot tea. She was grateful to them, she really was. She was blessed that people cared about her, even though she was still a relative newcomer to town. Mari had stayed the longest and brought the largest amount of food. Her friend had also made sure Lana had eaten some of it.
Lana forced herself to get up, waited for the dizziness to pass, and then dragged her heavy feet toward the door. Most likely, the visitor was Evelyn, who’d called and promised to bring fish soup.
Of course, Arturo wouldn’t show up. Lana’s heart still ached at the way he’d talked to her.
Once near the door, she looked in the peephole and smiled at the sight of red roses. Lots of red roses. How thoughtful of Evelyn to bring her favorite flowers, too.
She opened the door and gasped. “Arturo…” From surprise, she flung the door closed. Then she sneezed.
“Bless you! And I guess I deserve to have the door slammed in my face.” Arturo’s voice filtered through the door. “But...”
Unable to stop herself, she sneezed again.
“Bless you! Lana, could you…”
She sneezed again, her eyes becoming watery. Anger warred with joy inside her, and joy won. Okay, she was glad to see him. She just wished she was in better shape.
Dear Lord, please help me. Please help me do what’s right.
She opened the door only a fraction, making sure he wouldn’t be able to see her. She felt another sneeze coming. Oh, no.
“Lana…”
She lifted her hand. “Hold on.” Silence followed but no sneeze. “Why are you here?”
“Could you please…”
She sneezed again, doubling over. Was it her impression, or did the house really shake?
&nb
sp; At least she managed not to close the door in his face this time. She straightened.
“…letmeinside?” he said the sentence so fast it sounded like one word. He was probably afraid she’d sneeze and interrupt him like she’d done the last three times.
“I might’ve gotten this from one of my patients. I don’t want you to catch it, too.” To top off her humiliation, she had a nasally sound.
“I have a strong immune system. I’ll risk it.”
“Okay.” She opened the door a little more.
“I’m very sorry for the way I treated you. Grandpa pointed out to me, and rightly so, that I was jealous.” Arturo moved inside.
She’d never been one to hold a grudge. And his admission of guilt made her heart flutter with hope. But they needed to have a long conversation, and she wasn’t looking forward to that.
Her eyes widened at the bouquet in his hands, which looked gigantic up close. Maybe she was getting a fever. “I… don’t have a vase big enough for this. I mean, thank you, but…”
“Do you have a bucket?”
“A bucket?”
“Right. I’ll get you a vase. Or three.” He glanced at the flowers. “Or seven. I have more stuff in the truck. But please don’t close the door on me again. I might be playing Santa Claus for Christmas, but I don’t think I can fit into a chimney in order to get inside.”
“That powerful torso must be getting in the way,” she muttered as he hurried to his vehicle.
Hold it.
Arturo playing Santa Claus? She definitely needed to check her temperature. How had she managed to get this sick so quickly? She was a nurse, and judging by feedback, a good one, but she couldn’t even treat herself efficiently for a simple cold. Just like when she’d been a kid.
Nobody wants to adopt a sickly child.
No, she needed to think about the present, not the past.
And in the present, she must look like a raving beauty. Not.
Lana rushed to the bathroom. Once there, she cringed. Her hair looked like a bird’s nest, and her nose could rival Rudolph’s.
Just great.
She ran the brush through her hair and put some foundation on her face, paying special attention to her nose. She added strawberry lip gloss. Well, that would have to do. She was tempted to put on mascara. But considering she didn’t have a waterproof one, with her watery eyes, it would be a recipe for disaster. And looking at her life, she could always create disaster all on her own.
She changed into a magenta shirt and blue jeans that looked more presentable than the old sweatshirt and pants that she’d been wearing before.
When she came back to the living room, the floor was covered with baskets of roses. Two containers with soup had been placed on the table. However, Arturo was nowhere in sight. She felt a sting of disappointment. But he did bring two containers of soup. That had to mean he’d intended to stay.
Now she stopped sneezing. Couldn’t it have happened a little earlier?
If her nose hadn’t been stuffy, she could’ve appreciated the flowers’ scent that surely filled the room.
Arturo charged inside, with several shopping bags in hand. “This should be enough vases. I might’ve emptied the stock of the shop down the street.” He darted into the kitchen, poured water into the vases, put flowers in them, and placed them on every available table in the vicinity.
Pleased, she smiled. It felt good to be fussed over.
“Let’s eat while the soup is hot.” He waved at the table.
The steaming seafood would look appetizing if not for several bowls of soup she’d already eaten, two with chicken, one with beef, and one clam chowder. There was no way she could eat anything more.
But she didn’t want to disappoint Arturo.
She sat down and said grace.
“Amen,” Arturo said when she was done.
She looked up and studied him. He was changing. He still had an impressive presence and obvious strength about him. But his gaze had grown softer and kinder.
They dug in, and she did manage to fit in more than a few drops. Hot liquid soothed her aching throat. Even with her taste buds numbed somewhat by her cold, the soup was delicious. But after several spoons she reached her limit.
“This is great, but I can’t eat any more.” She leaned against the back of the chair. She didn’t think she could get up, either.
“You know, it would be easier if you yelled at me. How can you be so forgiving?” Arturo asked as he finished his bowl.
“I can’t yell right now,” she croaked, proving her point. “If it makes you feel better, I’ll give you hard time about being a jerk in a couple of weeks.” She felt another sneeze coming. At least it hadn’t happened during dinner.
“A selfish jerk. Thank you.” His forehead wrinkled. “I think.”
She sneezed. “I wasn’t always very forgiving,” she continued, taking advantage of her throat feeling a little better. “In fact, I was bitter for years. And angry. At my birth mother for dumping me in the trash can. At my foster parents for not wanting to adopt me and passing me to a new set of foster parents. At my friends, who were better off than me because they had parents. At my teachers for giving me bad grades, though those were well-deserved because I didn’t study much. I was angry pretty much at everybody I came in contact with.”
“And then what happened?”
“I ran away and met Mari. I stole a wallet from my foster mother’s purse and took the first bus. It happened to be to Austin. I got to Austin and wandered the streets without any plans. Before I knew it, some guy in dirty, smelly clothes attacked me and took the wallet and my phone. I was devastated. I didn’t know what to do or where to go. Hungry and shivering, I ended up under one of the bridges, trying to hide.” She interrupted her story to sneeze a couple times.
Getting a little reprieve from sneezing, Lana continued. “There, I witnessed a fight between a teenage girl and a homeless man who seemed to outweigh her by more than a hundred pounds. I froze in shock. I was sure the girl was going to die. I wanted to help her, but I didn’t know how. It was like watching a movie in slow motion. The girl kicked with her legs and threw punches with her small fists. Several times, she was thrown to the ground. But every time, she got up and fought again. She was bleeding from a wound on her arm, but that didn’t stop her.
“After some time, I think the man just gave up. He walked away, leaving me with the girl. She turned to me, rage in her dark eyes, her features twisted. Scared, I stepped back, intending to run away. But I stumbled and ended up on the ground. I swallowed the salty taste of fear in my mouth. I thought she was going to kick me. Instead, she gave me her hand, lifted me up, and introduced herself.
“Her name was Mari Del Lobo. She lived in southern Texas, in a small town, Rios Azules. She ran away from her father, who was beating her up badly and locking her in a basement with no food. But she didn’t look angry anymore. She was friendly. She left for a while and came back with a hamburger and water. Then she broke the hamburger into two parts and gave the bigger one to me. Water, too. At that moment, it hit me. I never lacked food or a nice, warm place to sleep. Nobody ever raised a hand at me. Most of my foster parents treated me with kindness, even though I scowled and talked back to them. And here was a girl, badly abused, and she was smiling and sharing her meager meal with a person she’d just met.
“Then Mari said grace. She was a believer, too! She told me the fight had been about the man trying to take her silver cross. Can you imagine? That cross meant so much to her that she defended it with her life. After the meal, she prayed for me.
“Something changed in me that moment. I decided to find my way back no matter what it would take. I started praying with Mari. And then I took whatever water we had left and cleaned her wound. I tore part of my T-shirt and bandaged her arm the best I could. My heart ached at how many old scars and bruises she had. She thanked me, and an incredible feeling entered my heart. Then and there, I knew this was going to be my profession.
I’d help people heal.
“I told her I wanted to go home, and she took me to the nearest police station. We had to say good-bye. She decided to go back to Rios Azules, not to her father but to other good people in town, her group of friends nicknamed the ‘Danger Girls,’ and Evelyn Velasquez, the rich but kind grandmother of one of her friends. I didn’t know how she’d make it back on her own, but I somehow knew she would. The police officers called my foster parents, and they came to pick me up with tears in their eyes. I didn’t even get punished. From that day forward, I made it a point to study, help around the house, and be friendly to everybody around me. I received grades good enough to get into a nursing program in Austin on a scholarship. And one day, I received a call from Mari. She found me. We’ve kept in touch ever since. I’m sure it was God who put her in my path that night under the bridge.”
Arturo kept quiet for a long time after she finished speaking. “I agree with that.”
Lana figured she should say the rest, too. “She encouraged me to leave Michael for a long time, but I didn’t want to face the truth. So when I finally did leave him, I didn’t take anything except my documents, my phone, and the clothes on my back. All my friends took Michael’s side. I called Mari. She wired me the money for the trip to the airport nearest to Rios Azules, met me when I landed, and drove me to her place. For days, she provided a shoulder for me to cry on, meals to eat, clothes to wear, and a couch to sleep on. Then I found a job and rented a place of my own.”
“I’m sorry you had to go through all this. But I’m glad you met Mari. I have a selfish reason for it. Meeting her eventually brought you to Rios Azules,” he said.
“God brought me to Rios Azules.
“I needed to escape the life that wasn’t mine. I gave up my profession for Michael. Went by the name he invented for me. Lived in the places he chose. Wore colored lenses. Had my hair colored and straightened. Spent all my free time with a personal trainer. Survived on carrots and celery sticks. I even agreed to plastic surgery to change my nose shortly before I caught Michael cheating. The real me wasn’t good enough for him.”