Belle wrapped her arms around Cassie. She was growing so fast. “Nothing he said was true. The hate and loathing spewed out of him because it had nowhere else to go. I’m so sorry, baby.”
“Why are you sorry? He...he’s the sorry one.” Her voice shook. She wiped her face. “Will you ever marry again? I mean, you don’t need to, but it would be nice to have someone like Meg and Hannah’s dad. He’s really nice.”
“Cassie.”
“Never mind. Boys are stupid. We don’t need a dad. Everything is good without one.”
The yearning and loneliness in her daughter’s voice pushed an ache so deep it went past her heart. Taking Cassie into a full hug, Belle pressed her cheek against the thick dark hair that smelled of the apple shampoo she’d used since she was a toddler. The other day, her daughter had asked for a new type of shampoo. A grown-up one.
“Not all boys are stupid. Your uncles are good men. They’d never hurt someone smaller or weaker than them.”
Cassie hugged her tighter. “But they left you, Mama. You had to keep everything together when they couldn’t. We don’t need anyone else. Unless you like Mr. Quinn. Do you want him to like you in that way...like a boyfriend?”
“No.” Even to her own ears, that sounded sharp and a bit defensive. “No.” Again, but calmer this time. “We’re just friends, and we’re working together to figure out a way to help the ranch and protect the coastline.”
That had to be the reason he was coming. Had he gotten good news about the project? It was too soon. There were still a couple of months left. Or at least one. She hated surprises. Why not tell her?
Cassie put the dishes away. “Go take a shower, Mom. Lucy and I will finish. Right, Lucy?”
Lucy nodded and gave her a big smile, too big. “We’ve got this, Mama.”
Deep breath. It was dinner with a friend. She’d won the hard-fought battle to control her own life, and she wasn’t about to hand it over to him.
Quinn wasn’t sticking around. In a few months—or sooner—he’d leave, and she could relax and go back to the way things were before he busted into her life.
She went to her room. He’d be gone soon, and all this internal turmoil would settle.
* * *
Quinn took the porch steps two at a time. Belle was going to be so excited about the news he had to share. It had happened so much faster than he had thought possible. God was smiling on them, and he couldn’t wait to tell her.
He might even be more excited that she had invited him to dinner at her home. Just them, no other De La Rosas other than her girls. This was good.
His family gathered behind him as he knocked. There was so much he wanted to share with her. Whistling, he knocked again.
“Are they in the barns?” Hannah asked, as they stood there for what seemed to be far too long.
He knocked again, a little harder this time. What if she had changed her mind? He looked at his phone. No texts.
Jonah was careful not to crush the bundle of sunflowers and larkspur they had picked out for Belle.
Since they were from the kids and not him, it would be easier for her to accept them. That was the plan, anyway.
Should they just walk in? In the morning they went straight to the barn from their cabin, then followed them into the house through the back. They’d never come through the front before.
The door opened. He blew out a breath he hadn’t even been aware he was holding.
Cassie poked her head out and smiled. “Flowers!” She stepped back to let them into the house. “Mama’s still getting ready.”
“It was nice of your mother to invite us to dinner.”
All five children giggled. “What’s funny?” He eyed the kids. He had a feeling they were up to something.
Cassie glanced to the hallway, then to him. Her fingers were interlaced in a tight knot. “Let me get Mama.”
Lucy waved them into the kitchen. There were candles and fancy dishes on the table set for seven.
Seven was a nice number. He watched as their kids worked together to get the dinner ready. Pitas stuffed with peanut butter, apples and bananas. “Your mom made this?”
“Nope. Cassie and I did. We’ve been helping Mama more around the house. There’s a lot to do, and the more help, the easier everything is.”
Meg nodded. “When we all do a part, it is more fun, too.”
The kids chatted, and he leaned on the counter to listen. This was what he wanted every day with Belle. Raising their children together as one family. Jonah made a strange noise, and before Quinn could tell him to stop, he had seized an empty pita in each hand like they were puppets. The girls were laughing so hard he didn’t want to break it up.
That kid had the weirdest sense of humor. He was also getting too old to play with food.
“What’s going on?” Belle stood in the doorway.
They all froze. Jonah snapped his hands behind his back, attempting to hide the now mangled bread pockets.
Quinn stepped forward. “The kids were putting the finishing touches on dinner. Thank you so much for inviting us over. It’s great timing. I’ve got news I can’t wait to share.”
She glanced at her girls, then toward the flowers at the center of the table. “Those are pretty. But I think we’ve been played.”
Narrowing his eyes, he studied the now very guilty-looking kids. “I was told you called and wanted us to join you for dinner.”
Meg nudged Jonah.
“I’m sorry.” Jonah smiled tentatively and held up the pitas to Belle.
Lucy stepped next to him. “Mama. He’s so funny. He had one pita speaking Spanish, and the other was speaking Japanese, and they couldn’t understand each other, so he was translating but getting it mixed up.”
“My bread speaks Spanish and Japanese?” Hand on her chest, Belle eyed the basket of bread wrapped in a white-and-red kitchen towel. “Do any of my food speak English?”
Serious as could be, Jonah shook his head. “No. A little German, but not very well.”
Quinn had to bite back a snort. “Baba is introducing German to their lessons. I’m so sorry, Belle. We can leave.”
“No. No. No. The girls made dinner. It’s not fancy, but it’s one of their favorites. Where is Baba?”
“She’s having a girls’ night out with Buelita and a few of the ladies from the church,” Hannah answered. “She said she’d stop by later for dessert.”
With a smile that made him want more, she knelt in front of his son. Slowly, her tanned hands cupped his small ones, which were still holding the bread. “It looks as if the bread will now be visiting the barn. Do you make a habit of turning dinner into entertainment?”
Hannah and Meg gasped. “No, ma’am. Jonah, tell her you’re sorry, and you won’t do it again.”
He frowned. “I am sorry, but I don’t know if I’ll not do it again. Sometimes my brain comes up with an idea, and my hands do it before I think about it.”
“Jonah.” Both girls sounded horrified at his confession.
Belle laughed. “It’s called an impulse. As you get older, you’ll learn to control it.”
The boy’s scowl deepened, and he looked at his dad. “That doesn’t sound fun.”
Meg crossed her arms. “It’s called socially acceptable behavior. You want to be socially accepted, don’t you?”
“Not if it’s dull and boring.”
Hannah’s eyes narrowed. “You want Ms. Belle to like you?”
Horror crossed his face and his gaze swung to her. “I’m sorry. I promise to try to stop my impulse thinking. At least maybe not letting my hands do what my brain wants. I can’t stop my brain from coming up with ideas.” He looked at the bread. “I wasted good food that you made for us. I’m sorry.” He looked like he was about to cry.
Belle pulled him close. “Oh, sweetheart. It’s oka
y. All any of us can do is try to do better than the day before. On a positive note, the goats will love the special treat. You can take it to them later, after we eat. How does that sound?”
“It sounds okay if you still like me. Please don’t get mad at Daddy. He does his best to teach me manners. I’m just not always very good at remembering. The girls are very good, though.”
Lucy put an arm around him in solidarity. “I forget, too. That’s why we have moms and dads.”
Behind Belle, the twins were making motions for Jonah to hug her. Quinn narrowed his eyes. What were they up to? When Hannah noticed him watching, she elbowed her sister. They both stopped and tried to look innocent.
Jonah wrapped his arms around Belle, the bread still in his hands and now in her hair. She hugged him, then stood. “Come on. We’ll put this in the scrap bucket. After dinner, the girls can take you out to feed the goats.”
Like a faithful puppy, he followed her.
Quinn crossed his arms and pinned the girls with his best I-mean-business dad stare.
Cassie wrung her hands. “We want my mom to like Jonah.”
Hannah’s head bobbed at an overly fast rate. “You know how he can be, Daddy. He doesn’t know how to act, and he annoys people.”
“He’s a little boy. When you were his age, you did the same things.”
Both girls looked horrified. “We were not that bad.”
“You told me we were invited to dinner, but Belle seems to think we invited ourselves.”
Before the girls could answer, Belle and Jonah came back into the room, holding hands and speaking Spanish.
His heart took an extra jump. Belle met his gaze with a smile. Then she straightened, and her lips tightened. “Beautiful flowers and the best dishes on the table. Qué pasa?”
“Daddy has a surprise.” Jonah probably didn’t realize he was still speaking Spanish. Once he started one language, it was hard to get him to switch back. Jonah kept his hands in hers as he led her to the table. “I carried the flowers into the house and didn’t crush one petal,” he continued in Spanish.
“It’s Spanish night?” Lucy clapped. She had also switched to Spanish.
Cassie sighed. “Does it have to be? English is so much easier.”
“That’s because you don’t practice enough.” Belle looked at Quinn. “Do you all speak Spanish enough to hold a conversation?” she asked in Spanish.
So he replied in kind. “Sí. Meg needs more practice, too.” He smiled at the girls. “Like anything else, learning languages is easier for some than for others, but extra practice helps you gain confidence. It’s okay to make mistakes.”
There was some mumbling among the kids. Then they suddenly scrambled around the table, leaving two empty chairs next to each other. He rolled his eyes.
They really couldn’t be more obvious.
But if they were on his side, it was all good.
As they sat, Belle leaned a little closer to him. “I love that you encourage different languages with your children. My ex didn’t allow me to speak Spanish to the girls. He freaked if he heard anyone speaking Spanish. Cassie has a harder time, since she was older when he left.”
He hadn’t thought it was possible to like this guy less than he already did; he’d been wrong. “Why? It’s part of your culture. And the more languages you speak, the more opportunities you have in the world.”
“He wasn’t a global type of guy, and he didn’t want his kids to sound like...”
He waited for her to finish, but then again, he could imagine a few words the sad, sorry excuse for a man might have used. And they would be offensive in any language. Jared hadn’t deserved Belle and her girls.
“Would you lead us in prayer?” Her soft voice brought him back to the table and the family sitting around him, holding hands and waiting.
They bowed their heads as he led them in prayer. Everything about this was good and right.
As soon as their hands dropped and they raised their heads, Belle turned to him. “So we were tricked into having dinner, but you said you had news?”
They all turned to him. He grinned and let the silence hang in the air for a moment.
She growled. “Quinn Sinclair.”
With a laugh, he leaned in and grinned at her.
Her phone rang. She growled again, like a real growl from her chest. “It’s Xavier. He never calls unless it’s important.” She put the phone to her ear. “Hey. What’s up?”
Did she realize she was still speaking Spanish?
“Really?” She was silent for a long while, nodding her head as she listened. “That’s more than fair.” She nodded again. “Okay. Do you need anything from me?” She looked at Quinn and smiled. “Good. Once we get all the details, I’ll do it. Thanks. Love you, too.”
“My mom has agreed to the deal.” Her grin went wider. “We’ll have all charges dropped, and she’ll sign over her part of the ranch to me. I’m going to meet with Jacoby to allow him to borrow my bull as restitution for his missing cattle.” She sighed and leaned back, her face to the ceiling. “It’s over. We’re buying her out at a very manageable amount paid over the next year. She has signed over ownership of the ranch to me. Elijah didn’t want it.” There was a hint of moisture in her eyes when she looked at him. “I own a piece of the ranch now.”
“That’s awesome.” He grinned as he took her hand and lightly squeezed. “Her stealing from you worked out.”
“Yeah. I guess it did. I’m not sure I can take more, but you have to tell me your big news.”
Shifting his weight forward on his elbows, he held her stare. “It came through. We have the first grant that is big enough to set up the endowment. The paperwork has been started. Two of the agencies we need to work with are on board. I have a great feeling about the rest. It looks as if we’re going to be able to set everything up the way we want.”
They all cheered. She bit her lip. “Are you sure?” Doubt was heavy in each word. “That was so much faster than you said.”
“Yeah. I wasn’t expecting it to go this smoothly. This is a gift. Your mother is out of the picture now. That was the one part I had no control over. It’s all falling into place. Why do you look worried?”
All the kids sobered and stared at her. Smiling at them, she shook her head. “I’m in shock. Good news hasn’t been knocking down my door lately. But this is a double blessing, so let’s eat and give thanks for all of God’s goodness.”
The dishes were passed around and everyone talked. They laughed and teased each other. A few English words slipped in and they started a game of counting words. The one with the most words in English had to do the dishes. Cassie and Meg groaned.
A couple of times, Quinn had to remind Belle to eat. She was throwing questions at him faster than he could answer, and she still had a plate full of food when the kids had finished. There were warning signs that their restless children needed a new activity.
“Looks as if dinner is over and I lost.” He slipped back to English. Meg and Cassie clapped and high-fived each other for not losing.
“Mom, since we’re done, can we take the scraps to the goats?”
Belle stood. “Sure.” Going to the door, she was blocked by Lucy.
“It’s a celebration. We need ice cream.”
Cassie nodded. “There are fresh strawberries in the fridge. Can you make the ice cream?”
“You make your own ice cream?” Quinn said. His kids were in awe.
Shrugging, Belle waved off their admiration. “We have an ice-cream maker. It’s not that difficult.” Facing the kids, she gave them a smile that lit up the room. “Y’all feed the goats and I’ll get the ice cream going.”
“I’ll go with the kids now and do the cleanup when I return.” He reluctantly stood to follow them.
“No!” all five voices cried out as one. Cassie shot
a glare at the others. She gave them a look that was straight from Belle’s game book. With a serene smile that resembled the cat in Alice in Wonderland, Cassie turned to them.
“Mom, why don’t you show Mr. Quinn how we make the ice cream? It’s fascinating. You don’t have to worry about us. You can see the barn from the back porch. We want to play with the babies, so we’ll be there awhile. A good while. You can help him wash the dishes.” With that, she led her small group of mini matchmakers to the barn.
“Wait. I didn’t use a single English word during dinner.”
“Mom, he’s a guest. Come on, guys. Let’s go.” She led her troops to the barn.
Hands on hips, Belle shook her head. “They couldn’t be more obvious. Today, Lucy was going on about us becoming one family.” She went into a large walk-in pantry at the end of the screened porch and returned with a tub-looking thing. “I can’t believe our plan might work. Does this mean you’ll be leaving sooner?”
His gaze went to the happy little troop running and skipping to the barn. They stopped to inspect something on the ground before marching off again. “I’m glad we found a way to keep your family on the ranch. You’ve given your children a wonderful place to grow up.”
All her attention was on the barrel-like appliance. “You’ve given your children the world. I mean, Jonah is only five—” she flipped her braid over her shoulder and stared at the kids making their way across the field “—and he speaks, like, four languages. Your girls are so self-assured and speak more like adults. Actually, better than most adults I know.”
He’d been doing the dishes and finishing kitchen cleanup. Now he sat on the stool next to the rustic pine table. “Yeah, but there are drawbacks. Last weekend, Jonah told his Sunday school class that he needed prayer because we were homeless and had been his whole life. I’m not sure he sees all the traveling as a gift.”
She stopped what she was doing and placed a hand on his arm. “Homeless? He doesn’t really think that, does he?”
With a shrug, he sighed. The kids had gone into the barn. “He asked his class to pray for us to have a real home. Ann, the Sunday school teacher, let me know because she was worried and told me the church could help us if we needed it.” He grinned. “I was slightly offended. She wanted to help, but it made me look at the life I’ve been dragging my family through since my wife died. The girls have never been allowed to decorate their rooms or even hang posters. Next month is their birthday, and they want a room they can decorate the way your girls have theirs. The plotting they’re working on is about more than just my children wanting a real home. They want what you’ve given your girls.”
The Texan's Promise Page 15