Vi’s hand went up to the St.Rita medallion around her neck—a nervous habit.
“Ricky,” she said, a plea against his unrelenting advances.
“It’s just church,” he said, quietly enough so none of the nearby busybodies could hear. “I can’t very well bite you with Father Horatio in the next room.” A teasing twinkle lit his eye as he held out his arm.
Vi laughed, despite herself. “All right then.” She slipped her arm around his firm bicep and allowed him to escort her to a waiting pew.
True to his word, he had been the perfect gentlemen. He put the kneeler down for her and, after prayer, cupped her elbow to help her up.
During the giving of the peace, he gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek, but it still made her heart dance a wild cha-cha-cha that was hardly appropriate given their circumstances. His smell and the familiar feeling of his bristled cheek against hers ignited the spark of a million different kisses from the past.
“Peace be with you.” His incendiary whisper turned the fire inside of her into an all-out blaze.
Vi’s breath caught in her throat as she inhaled him again. Being around him like that was dangerous. She needed to get away, she thought as she turned to the others in her aisle.
“Peace be with you, Maria,” she said to the woman on the other side of her.
Afterward when everyone was once again in their seats, he leaned over and whispered in her ear, “You forgot me.”
That was the problem, she couldn’t forget him. The memories of his touch and kiss had been branded into her memory. She had to stay strong, though, because her intense love for him was the very reason she’d pushed him away. He deserved a family, a life of peace and happiness, none of which she herself could offer him.
“Peace be with you, Ricky,” she said at last.
When the service finally ended, the parishioners, who had stayed after Communion, stood around outside the church chatting. Ricky followed Vi through the double doors and into the sweltering heat. They walked in silence under the shaded canopy of a top-heavy oak tree. His fingers played with the brim of his hat as he seemed to be searching for the right words to say.
“I don’t suppose you’ll let me take you out for coffee?” he asked at last.
His request wounded her. He wasn’t making it easy on her at all. But before she could officially turn him down, Father Horatio arrived before them, wearing a bright and knowing smile.
“Ricky, it’s so good to see you again. It’s been too long.”
Ricky pinched the brim of his Stetson and placed it back on his head. “Thank you. It’s good to be back again.”
“Are you just in town for the rodeo?” Father asked.
“Yes. It’s my last one. I'm giving up bull riding.”
What? He loves the rodeo.
When they were kids he’d told her time and again that he was going to die a bull rider. Why would he be giving it up now at the height of his career? What would he do for money in the meantime? Did he already have a job lined up? He was horrible with money—did he have enough cash to get by?
She watched as he stuffed his calloused hands into his pockets. He always did that when he was nervous.
“Oh? What are your plans?” Father asked.
Vi looked at Ricky, eager to hear his explanation for giving up the one thing she knew he loved above all else.
“I’m not getting any younger so I thought it might be time to settle down. Get a stable job and find me a nice girl to marry.”
Father Horatio slapped Ricky on the back. “That’s wonderful, Mijo.”
Marry. The word stabbed and twisted her like a knife in her gut. A wave of panic washed over her. Did he mean her? Another woman? Even though it was what she said she wanted for him, the thought of him being with another woman was too much. When she realized both men were looking at her, her face grew hot. She needed to redirect the conversation—quick.
“Forgive me, Father, but we should really be going.”
“Sí,” Father said as he shook Ricky’s hand and leaned in. “I look forward to hearing more about these plans of yours.” He eyed Vi with a conspicuous grin.
Ricky’s hand brushed against hers. “So I guess coffee is out for today, but are we still on for next weekend? I was able to get you and Joy VIP passes. I even got tickets to hear that band you like. You know Marmalade Sunshine?”
Vi nodded, awestruck that he had thought to get tickets to the band that they had seen on their first date ten years ago. His brown eyes searched hers for answers she just couldn’t offer. Swallowing hard, she looked away from him.
“Yes, we will be there. Thank you for the passes. Joy will be tickled pink.”
“I'll see you then.” Rick kissed her on the cheek, lingering a little longer than was proper.
“Give Abeula Rose a kiss from me.” Ricky winked.
Vi watched him as he walked away. Why couldn’t he just take the hint and leave her alone? She had told him countless times that she didn’t have the time or the energy for another relationship. Caring for her sister and her aging grandmother while holding down a full time job kept her busy enough. Besides, why would he want to share that responsibility with her, when even she didn’t want it? No, she loved him too much to rob him of a normal life with the family she knew he dreamed of having someday. But apparently for him, that someday was this day.
Father Horatio touched her arm, bringing her back to reality. “You look tired, Mija.”
She nodded distractedly as Ricky got into his truck and drove away from the church, away from her, again.
Father Horatio followed her gaze. “Maybe you wouldn’t be so tired all the time if you asked for help. Let someone in.”
“Does having Mitsy make the muffins for the bake sale count?”
Father laughed as he stuck his hands into his pants pockets. “Maybe a little, but still I worry about you. It’s not right for you to shoulder all these burdens alone. Especially when there is someone who seems willing and able to share in the journey with you.”
“I’m sorry to make you worry, Father. There is no need to be. I’m fine. I just had a long night at work.”
“If you insist.” He studied Vi as if waiting for more, but when she failed to respond he spoke again. “I’ll drop this for now, but promise me that you will think about what I said?”
Vi looked away from him to hide her glassy eyes. “I’ll think about it.”
“Good. Well, let’s go then. We don't want to keep your Abuela Rose waiting.”
Vi swallowed hard. It had been an emotional day. As she fished her keys out of her bag she got a text from Brooke.
“What all do you know about this Anna chick? When I was out walking last night with Tiara I saw her husband, what's-his-name, asleep on the couch. Are they fighting? I told Jesse and he thinks there is more going on with those two than meets the eye. We need to do a little digging. Meet me Monday at the Cellar at 9.”
Below the message was a meeting invitation from Brooke that linked to her phone’s calendar app.
Vi clicked accept and dropped the phone back into her purse. She didn’t have time for both Abuela and Brooke right now, a realization which confirmed her decision to stay as far away from Ricky as she possibly could.
Vi felt herself being pulled apart into a million little pieces. Here a piece for Brooke, there a piece for the women at the shelter. The biggest piece of all, of course, went to her sister. But what happened when there were no more pieces left to give? Would Vi just disappear completely?
Chapter Six
Brooke
Brooke groaned and tossed her iPhone across the long, mahogany table before sinking back into her plush dining chair. Why wasn’t Vi answering? Vi always answered.
Of course, she knew her best friend had a life outside of her, but she still struggled with feeling rejected by the one person she could generally depend on to be there for her. She waited a few more minutes, tapping her French-tipped nails on the table. A quick
glance toward her phone confirmed that her message had still gone unanswered.
She’d run out of options. It was time.
She tore into the package with quivering hands and stared the cruel piece of plastic down, as if she could intimidate it into delivering the result she wanted. She’d be a good mother, right?
Of course, she would.
So then why did getting from point A to point B prove to be so difficult here? Things always came easy for Brooke, because she made them happen. And she’d been dutifully following her fertility diet, taking her folic acid, and even following the old wives’ tales about the best, most effective sex positions. So what was the deal? They’d been trying for months now, and nothing. She doubted this test would be any different than the others, but still she had to take it to know for sure.
So she took the test, then waited. Those three minutes felt like pure and utter agony.
Brooke tried not to think about how this result had the power to change her entire life, but here she sat again—month after month—waiting for confirmation of what she already knew to be true.
She squinted at the results window, and, as expected, it remained hopelessly empty. Just like her womb.
Still.
Again.
Always.
No longer a surprise, just a heartbreaking reality.
Tiara jumped up onto Brooke’s lap and gave her a kiss on the chin.
She smiled and scratched the tiny dog’s head. “Hi, baby.” The only baby she’d ever have at this rate.
Tiara wheezed excitedly and wagged her tail like a tiny, off-season jingle bell.
The thunderous sound of the garage door opening boomed in Brooke’s ears. He’d come home early, ever the optimist that this would be the month she’d greet him with good news.
“Brooke?” Brian called as he stopped at the coat closet to hang up his jacket.
“I’m back here,” she answered from her place on the hallway floor.
A moment later, he came into view. Brooke couldn’t bring herself to look up past his knees. She didn’t want to see that pained expression she knew all too well. Couldn’t they just pretend for a little while longer?
“I take it the test was negative.”
Brooke nodded and buried her face in Tiara’s fur.
He stooped down and wrapped his arms around her.
“Next month, then. We’ll get it next month.”
For Brian, each cycle was a new opportunity to become parents, but for Brooke, each negative pregnancy test felt like another baby they had lost before they’d even had the chance to meet it.
She put on a smile for his benefit. “Yes, next month. Absolutely. Anyway, Vi just called a few minutes ago. Says she needs my help with something or another. You know Vi. Can’t do anything without me.”
Brian stood and helped pull Brooke to her feet. “Tell Vi that I need time with my wife sometimes too.” He kissed her on the forehead. “I’ll be here. Waiting.”
She grabbed her purse, phone, and Tiara’s leash, then left just as the sound of the nightly news began to flood the living room.
She’d nearly made it out the door when Brian called after her again. “Brooke, when will you be home?”
“Oh, just a couple hours.” She ground her teeth, should have claimed she needed more time for her invented outing.
“Maybe when you get home, we can go have dinner at Genova’s.” A statement, not a question.
“Sure, I’d like that.”
“Okay, you two lovely ladies have fun with whatever it is you’re up to. Fill me in on the details over dinner, okay?”
“Okay.” Brooke hovered at the door for a moment to make sure the conversation had truly ended.
It hadn’t.
“Wait, you can’t leave without a kiss.” Brian jogged over to her and saddled her with a deep, full-contact kiss. “Maybe after dinner, we can try to—”
“Bri, I’ve gotta go.” She kissed him again before he could finish the sentence she definitely didn’t want to hear. “Love you. Bye.”
Finally, she’d managed to escape, even though she’d accidentally agreed to dinner in the process. She hated being around her husband on days like this, but it wasn’t as if she could say no either.
At least her alibi hadn’t been a complete and total lie. If Vi wouldn’t answer her texts, Brooke would find some other way to make herself heard. She knew her best friend’s schedule well enough by now to know she’d be able to find her at her grandmother’s nursing facility.
Abuela Rose had become so senile she didn’t even know Vi was there half the time, but that didn’t stop Vi from dutifully visiting each and every week.
And she also knew that if she confided to her friend what was really happening at home, she’d drop everything to be there for her. She’d wrap Brooke in her arms and sway back and forth with her, just as she so often did for Joy, for the girls at the shelter, and any other hopeless case she came across.
She let herself fantasize about being taken care of by her friend, but soon she reached the nursing home and had to push all such thoughts far from her mind.
“You are strong. You are powerful. You are in control,” she said, eyeing herself in the rearview mirror as she spoke her daily affirmation.
After applying a fresh coat of her signature Ruby Woo lipstick, she tucked Tiara under one arm and her Kate Spade bag under the other, then marched into the old folks’ home like she owned the place.
Confidence, as always, was key. She smiled at the orderlies and patients as she clacked through the halls in search of Vi and Abuela. Her practiced pageant wave came in handy as various residents called greetings to her, but she just pointed at her wrist and shook her head to indicate that she just didn’t have enough time to stick around for a chat. Nobody knew that her beautiful social performance was just that, a performance.
Inside she was dying just a little bit more every day. But she refused to let anyone know that there was anything wrong with her marriage, life, womanhood. As far as anyone suspected, Brooke led the perfect, charmed life, and she planned to keep it that way—even if that meant hiding her pain away from her best friend in the process.
“B-Brooke? What are you doing here?” Vi stood before her, still dressed in her overly formal church attire.
“You didn’t answer my texts. I was worried about you, honey.”
“But you only sent them an hour ago, and you know I visit with—”
“I just needed to make sure you were okay. I mean, how was I supposed to know that Anna—whatever—didn’t have you hogtied in her basem—”
“Brooke, shh!” Vi hissed and pushed her out into the hall. “You’re going to scare Abuela with all that crazy talk. Besides, how could you even say such a thing? Annabeth is nice, and it’s not really fair for you to be so suspicious of her. Can’t you just give her a chance?”
Decision time. She could either shrug off the whole Annabeth thing and move on, or she could take it up a notch. Well, the answer to this little dilemma was obvious.
“I’m telling you, something’s not right about those two. Didn’t you see my text?”
“So her husband sleeps on the couch. So what? All couples fight… Well, except you and Brian that is.” Vi smiled apologetically, having not the slightest idea how right she’d actually been.
Brooke heaved a big, dramatic sigh. Theatrics were often the best way to get through to Vi. Something about her Spanish blood. “I just… Well, I have a feeling, okay? Please, Vi. I need you to help me with this.”
“Fine.” Vi gave in with a slight eye-roll. “What exactly did you have in mind?”
“Well, we can start by breaking into their house.”
Chapter Seven
Annabeth
Beep, Beep, Beep. The grating sound of her phone’s alarm startled her awake. It was the first day of classes at the University. Where had the weekend gone? Annabeth hated mornings and everything they stood for. Mondays were the worst—a form of lawfu
l torture that left her bitter and angry at the world, at least until she had her coffee.
Coffee made everything better.
Marcus reached over her to snatch the noisy cell from the nightstand and toss it out of reach before she could press snooze. “Good Morning...time to get up, sleepy-head.”
His familiar teasing made her smile. “There is nothing good about mornings,” she said, speaking directly into her pillow, which felt like heaven right about now.
Annabeth felt the bed shift as Marcus lifted the covers and joined her. Goosebumps rose along her spine and arms as his deft hand slipped under her tank top, rubbed the muscles of her lower back, then inched up along her side. His rough hands stopped just shy of her naked breasts. The light touched tickled her, causing her to squirm and giggle. How easy it would be to skip class and stay in bed all day with the sexiest man alive—at least to her.
“Anna-banana.” He teased her as his nose pushed aside the hair covering the back of her neck. “Mmm...you smell good. Good enough to eat.”
When his teeth nipped the sensitive skin at the base of her neck, she let out an involuntary gasp. Annabeth shifted underneath him until she was on her back with his warm, minty-fresh breath on her face.
He smiled wide and nudged his nose against hers.
Something about that simple gesture brought it all flooding back—the reason they had moved to Texas and why she needed to shut down his advances sooner rather than later.
“We need to get going.” She put both hands on his chest and pushed him away.
His teasing smile fell away as she put space between them.
A part of her enjoyed seeing how her actions had hurt him.
Marcus’s full lips flattened and formed a thin line as he pushed off the bed. “Yeah, aren’t you teaching this morning before your classes?”
Annabeth slid out of bed and grabbed the clothes she had set out the night before. “Yeah, at 8:00.”
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