Every Wound We Mend

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Every Wound We Mend Page 23

by J. E. Parker

He pushed away from the wall. “Yes, ma’am.” Moving through the group of chicas who continued to dance around me, not a single care in the world, at least for the time being, he reached me a second later and grasped my waist, his fingers digging into my flesh.

  Shaking my head, I encircled his wrists and yanked his hands free before spinning and pressing my back to his front. Peering up at him over my shoulder, I banded his arms around my belly, resting my hands over his.

  “Dance with me.”

  His lips touched my temple. “Move, baby.”

  Lost in the way he was watching me, his eyes never leaving my face, I did as he said and began to move, letting myself get lost in the sound comforting my soul, along with the man who was busy healing my heart.

  First my hips, then my upper body.

  From side to side, I swayed, letting the music guide me, just as Mamá had taught me to do so long ago, while Guapo moved right along with me, his rhythm matching mine beat for beat.

  The way he danced was downright sinful.

  “Good God almighty.” From the corner of my eye, I saw Clara freeze in place, Hope too, as they gawked at us, not an ounce of shame to be found. “Is it hot in here, or is it me?” She fanned herself. “I mean Jesus!’

  Hope blew out a breath and lifted her long black hair from her nape. “Well, I’m sweating.” She looked at her sister-in-law. “And it’s not from shaking my non-existent butt either.”

  Ashley covered her flaming face, cheeks on fire as laughter spilled past her lips. “For Heaven’s sake! There are children present.” She was joking since neither Addie nor Olivia had any idea what Clara meant. “Besides, I don’t want to hear”—she peeked through her spread fingers at James and me—“or see this!”

  “Oh, come on!” Jade jumped in. “I think love looks good on Mama C. Dad too.”

  Behind me, James froze.

  Same as I.

  “Dad?”

  Still turning circles around Chiquita, Little One glanced up at Guapo, her green eyes twinkling with pure happiness. “That’s what you are, isn’t it? I mean, I know Hendrix and Shelby call you Pop, but as your newly claimed daughter, I downright refuse to—”

  She squeaked, then squealed when James released me and grabbed her. Pulling her into his arms, he crushed her against him, one of the biggest smiles I’d ever seen from him overtaking his face.

  “You can call me whatever you want,” he replied, face buried against the crown of her head. “Just as long as I get to keep you.”

  Jade didn’t hesitate.

  Wrapping her arms around him, she hugged him right back. “I’m here”—her eyes slid closed—“and as long as everyone wants me, I’ll stay.”

  James opened his mouth to respond, but never got the chance, because standing in the opened backdoor, where none of us had seen him lurking alongside a grinning Shelby, was Hendrix.

  “We’ll always want you, Shorty,” he said, bringing tears to my eyes and causing Jade to open hers. “And if you ever get it in your head that we don’t, and you try to leave, this entire family will be on you before you make it out of the driveway. Are we clear?”

  Stepping back, she spun, facing him and a nodding Shelby. “Yeah, we’re clear, butthead.” Bouncing between her Converse-covered feet, she huffed out a breath and pushed her hair back. “But now that we’ve got that out of the way, want to play a game of one on one with—”

  Hendrix’s eyes widened.

  Snapping his stare to the stove as the unmistakable stench of smoke met my nose, and my mind blanked, blocking out whatever Jade was about to say, he yelled, “Pop, the pan!”

  I squeaked in surprise when Guapo turned and ripped the blazing chorizo, ham, and egg-filled pan I was supposed to be monitoring from the stove.

  Dropping it into the cast iron sink, he grabbed a pot lid from the countertop and slammed it down on the mess I’d created, suffocating the flames that danced over the scorched meat, filling the room with pungent smoke.

  Burning food?

  Mamá is probably rolling in her grave!

  I stared at the ruined meal without blinking. “Mierda, this is a first,” I mumbled, trying not to laugh when I truly felt like crying. Gaze sliding to the towering platter of cachapas I’d cooked before starting on the eggs and meat, I shrugged. “Well, it could’ve been worse.”

  I peeked up at James, whose lips were pressed into a thin line. “Yeah, it could’ve. The house could’ve burnt the hell down.”

  His tone wasn’t angry, just kidding.

  Still, I scoffed.

  “Si, it could’ve, but it didn’t so silencio.”

  Waving a dismissive hand in his direction, I used the other to raise the window above the sink. Eyes squinted, I stared across the space that separated James’ house from Grandmama’s, hoping I’d spot her through one of her open windows.

  Which I did right away.

  “Grandmama!”

  Broom in hand and hair full of hot-pink curlers, she pushed her glasses up her nose. “Mornin—” Catching a whiff of the stench I’d created, she grimaced. “What in the shit-fire is that charred smell? Why, I swear, it stinks enough to gag a maggot!”

  I sighed. “I may have burnt half of breakfast.” Her eyes flared. Clearly, I’d committed a southern sin of some sort. “And since I’m out of eggs now but still have a familia to feed, I’m hoping you can help me out.”

  Standing straight, she puffed out her chest. “I’m on it!” I could see the wheels in her head turning as she looked around her kitchen. “Rally the rest of the grandbabies, Beauty, and be at my breakfast table in thirty, else I’m gonna tan each of y’all’s hides!”

  Then, like a ghost, she was gone.

  Smiling, I turned and looked around the room, meeting everyone’s eyes. “You heard her,” I said, clapping my hands. “Vámonos or else our culos are grass, and Grandmama is the lawnmower.”

  James picked up the cachapas as everyone filed out the back door except for us, his forearms tensing beneath the weight of the platter. As innocuous as the move was, it still made my lower belly clench.

  The effect he had on me was intoxicating.

  Not to mention delicious.

  “Lead the way, beautiful.”

  Noting the wickedness that gleamed in his eyes and knowing why he wanted me to walk out first, I did as he said and moved.

  My hands fisted, the need to spin around and touch him nearly overtaking me when he hissed at the sight of my rear as I headed for the front door, the furthest exit, exaggerating the sway of my wide hips with each step.

  A low growl echoed down the hall, making my belly flip. “I’m buying you more jeans. Far as I’m concerned, you need to live in the damn things.”

  Still moving, I glanced at him over my shoulder. “I’ll make you a deal, Guapo.” His brow rose, waiting for me to continue. “Since you like them so much, if you can catch me before I make it off the porch, I’ll let you peel them off of me later.” I paused. “With your teeth.”

  A growl was the only warning he gave before he charged, somehow still holding onto my cherished cachapas as he gave chase, determined to get his hands on me.

  Already halfway up the hall, I squealed in excitement and took off running, only half-heartedly trying to get away from him.

  Or at least, make it seem as if I was.

  Luckily for me, though, it didn’t matter because I didn’t make it out the front door, much less down the steps before his right arm wrapped around me and lifted me off the ground from behind, leaving my bare feet dangling in the air.

  “Caught you, Pixie.” His warm breath met my ear a second before he nipped me, his teeth sending chills of excitement racing through me. “And now you’re mine.”

  I whimpered as his fingers slipped beneath my tank top, tracing over the flare of my hip. “I’ve always been yours,” I whispered in reply, skin flushing from head to toe. “Just as I always will be. I swear it.”

  Like the other vows I’d wholeheartedly made, the
oath I’d just spoken was one I intended to keep.

  Period.

  I’d fallen in love with a two-year-old.

  It was a truth that anybody with a set of eyes could’ve attested to as I sat on Grandmama’s front porch swing beside James after breakfast, holding a sleeping Brielle, Ty and Heidi’s preciosa hija, on my lap.

  Completely lost in her, I ignored the drool she was getting all over the front of my shirt before tracing each of the hearing aid molds that were tucked behind her little ears, first one, then the other, both amazed and thankful that a child as young as she could wear such devices.

  The fact that they were pink, just like the ones Heidi wore, only added to her infinite adorableness. Like her kind-hearted yet sassy Mama, she was perfect.

  And if anyone ever dared argue against such a truth, so help me they’d be removing my nails from their eyeballs, along with my foot from their culo.

  “Guapo,” I whispered, quiet as could be, afraid to wake her. “Where do I go to learn sign language?” His hand clasped my knee, squeezing it the slightest bit, pleased with my question. “I want to speak with Heidi and Brielle using both my hands and words.”

  “You can learn online,” Maddie said, having heard me from across the porch where her nosy self had been watching James and I for the past thirty minutes. “You can sign up for classes through the community center too.”

  Smiling, she nodded at Heidi, who was also watching me. “Or you can just have Bug teach you herself. She won’t mind. Heck, she’s the one who taught Hendrix and me.”

  I swallowed, nervous as could be since I didn’t want to put Heidi on the spot. Making sure I was looking straight at her, I spoke slowly, giving her the chance to read my lips just as I’d been told to do when we were first introduced. “Will you teach me, Heidi?” I paused. “Because I’d like to learn, si?”

  Her lower lip trembled and something I couldn’t quite read flashed across her face before she hid it. Raising her right hand, she fisted it, then rocked it up and down. “Yes,” she said, signing and speaking simultaneously.

  The sight nearly brought tears to my eyes. Her answer, like her, was beautiful, and I couldn’t wait to sign fluently with her.

  I smiled, then winked. “Gracias, gorgeous.”

  Sliding an arm over my shoulders, James chuckled. “I’ve got a feeling you two are going to cause me a whole mess of trouble. And God help me too because Bug and Ashley Jo already—”

  A white truck pulled up in front of the house, drawing my attention and muting Guapo’s words. I’d never seen the vehicle before, and didn’t know who was driving it, but the moment Heidi stood with the help of the sparkly purple cane she always used to help her walk, a giant smile overtaking her face, my stomach fell.

  Because right then, I knew...

  I knew things were about to go bad.

  “James—”

  “I’m on it, baby.” Standing, he climbed to his feet and crossed the porch, then jumped down the steps and headed straight for the truck, intent on intercepting the man who was driving said vehicle before he could come closer.

  Only, he didn’t make it in time.

  Because just then, Jade shrieked as she ran from around the side of the house and into view, Colby and Wyatt hot on her heels, the super soaker water guns they held in their hands aimed at her back.

  “Stop it, you little turds!” she shrieked again, laughing. “If you don’t, I swear I’ll get the water hose and—”

  Seeing her coming to a stumbling stop as Ty, Clyde’s eldest son and Heidi’s husband, rounded the front of his truck and stepped into her direct line of sight, was like watching a train wreck.

  Even knowing that there was only one way this would end, in emotional carnage, I couldn’t look away, though my heart and soul both screamed for me to do just that.

  “Jade,” Guapo said, moving toward her, hand raised in a placating gesture. “Breathe for me.” Face reddening, Little One’s lower lip trembled as she stared at a silent Ty and shook her head, the demons she possessed fighting to take hold. “Just breathe, beautiful girl.”

  Two seconds from having a full-blown emotional meltdown, I stood and rushed forward with Brielle still in my arms but stopped short of reaching the steps when Anthony—where did he come from?—stepped in front of me, blocking my path.

  “Let James do this, sweetheart,” he whispered, his words low so only I would hear them. “Jade needs to see that her new father can protect her, that he can make her feel safe.” He paused. “And trust me, he needs it just as badly as her.”

  Though every fiber of my being demanded I go to Jade now that I’d shaken myself free of the fear-driven fog that had descended, I nodded, understanding where he was coming from.

  But not liking it one bit.

  Wrapping her arms around James’ middle, Jade buried her face against his side, peering at a devastated looking Ty from her peripheral. Like many others, I’d been told by Anthony that he was a victim of his father as well.

  It made me irate to think of it.

  How many people had Clyde hurt?

  Probably more than I could count.

  “He’s not his father, Jade,” I heard Guapo say, holding my favorite redhead just as tightly as she was holding him. “And he’s not going to hurt you. No one ever will. Not again, and not while I’m still breathing.”

  Her shoulders shook.

  “But Anthony lied to me.”

  Next to me, where he’d moved to stand, Anthony stilled at her words. “He lied because he said that Ty looked like Clyde.” She hiccuped.“But he looks nothing like that monster.”

  Hope bloomed inside me.

  Please, please, please.

  Please let her be okay with this...

  With him.

  Almost as if she could hear my mentally whispered plea, Jade dropped her arms and tentatively stepped back from James, putting mere inches of space between them.

  Gathering her courage, which she had a lot more of than I’d given her credit for, she turned to face Ty fully, proving just how downright mighty of a woman she was growing to be, then wiped away her tears.

  At the sight, I exhaled in relief.

  “Anthony lied,” she said, repeating her words from seconds before. “He said you looked like your father, but that isn’t true, because your eyes aren’t hard like his, and your face isn’t mean.”

  Across the porch, Maddie covered her mouth, tears falling down her face, just like mine, as Jade continued without slowing to take a breath.

  “And you have laugh lines.”

  She shook her head.

  “He didn’t have those.”

  Ty nodded, sliding his fisted hands into his pockets. “I know you have no reason to believe me, but like your old man said”—she and James both smiled—“I won’t hurt you. I’d shoot myself first.”

  Little One quickly frowned. “Please don’t do that. I’ve been shot. It doesn’t feel good.” Ty’s face reddened, his anger over what she’d said apparent. “Besides, before Chase left to workout this morning, he told me I could trust you. Well, except when it comes to food.” Her eyes narrowed. “He said you’d scarf down anything I didn’t eat or hide first.”

  I bit back laughter when Ty shrugged, not bothering to deny it. “What can I say? I’m a growing boy.”

  Hands going to her hips, she pursed her lips, her theatrics returning tenfold. “You eat my food, Ty Jacobs, and I may just steal Anthony’s gun like Mama C did and shoot you in the knee before I can talk myself out of it.”

  “Wait,” Hendrix said, rounding the corner of the house just in time to hear what she’d said. “Ma really stole Anthony’s gun? I thought Tuck was just screwing with me.” Cracking up, he looked at his brother-in-law. “There’s a lot I could say right now, Moretti, but I’ll keep my mouth shut since there’s kids present.”

  Turning to the side so Colby and Wyatt couldn’t see, Anthony flipped him off, making him laugh harder. At the sound, or maybe it was only a
coincidence, Brielle woke, her big blue eyes blinking up at me as she sat up in my arms.

  Eyes seeming to find her father right away, almost as if she could feel him there, his presence calling out to hers, she yelled, the perfectly enunciated syllables taking me by surprise since I’d only heard her squeal and grunt before.

  “Da-Da!”

  My heart melted.

  Knowing what—or rather, who—she wanted, I stood her on her feet and watched as she took off and bounded down the steps with Heidi’s help, then tore down the walkway to her father, her light up Beauty and the Beast shoes flashing with each step.

  “Da-Da!”

  Meeting her halfway, Ty scooped her up into his arms and hugged her close, burying his face against the side of her head. “Hey, Bumblebee,’’ he said, mouth close to her ear. “I missed you.”

  Hands pressed to the puddle that had once been my heart, I glanced at Jade, who was leaning back against Guapo, tears once more pouring down her cheeks.

  “Yeah,” she said, hair blowing in the slight breeze that had stirred. “He’s nothing like his father.” She laughed, the fear she’d felt minutes before melting as she continued to watch Ty with Brielle. “Therefore, I guess I’ll keep him.”

  Laughter erupted around me, Ty’s included, but I ignored it as my eyes remained glued to Jade and the beautiful man who, even after living a life of Hell, making more mistakes than any one person ever should, and having his heartbroken in the worst conceivable way, had become her father when she needed it most.

  Oh how I loved him.

  “Mama C!” Little One hollered, claiming my focus from my thoughts and turning my attention her way. “I see you up there, looking like you’re about to faint.” Was I that obvious? “Just letting you know you can breathe now. Because me and Ty, we’re going to be okay.”

  It was the best news I’d heard all day.

  Not only because she’d gained yet another family member, one who I had a feeling she’d tease endlessly, but also because now that she saw Ty for who he was, and not for whose son he’d been, it was one more sliver of her heart that had been mended.

  Before long, every piece of her, and of me too, would be repaired. And when that beautiful day came, it would be one of the sweetest we’d ever lived, along with one we’d never forget.

 

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