Resting her hand on her belly, she felt the baby kick. A wave of excitement washed through her. If only Jack could be here to feel the kick as well.
She’d told her mother that her father had died. She’d also told her about Jack and that she was pregnant with his baby. Her mother understood, having gone through the same thing with an American man so long ago. But her mother told her it was the way it had to be. She never could have married Jonathan Starke, because the Quechuas only married amongst their own kind. It took ten years for any of the native men to finally ask for her mother’s hand after Eden was born. Eden knew it was because her mother had a daughter of mixed blood.
She wondered if her baby would be an outcast. It made her sad that the child would never get to know its father. Eden would never have enough money to buy a ticket back to the States. She had made her decision to leave and now she would never see Jack again. It was what he wanted, she reminded herself.
Her mother called to her from the house, and Eden made her way across the field. Pabla Ramirez took Pia from Eden’s manta and told her that her uncle had found an American wandering around at the train stop. Since none of them knew the English language, they didn’t know what he was saying. But her uncle recognized the name the man kept repeating. Eden. And so he had shown the man the way to their little village in the mountains.
Eden’s heart skipped a beat as she listened to her mother’s story. Could this be Jack? Would he be crazy enough to venture so far into a foreign land trying to find her in the mountains of Peru?
She heard the squeals of laughter from the village children, and saw them jumping around a man in a poncho as he blew up balloons and tossed them out to them. Then she saw that the man in the poncho wore a pair of mirrored sunglasses. A smile came to her face and tears filled her eyes.
“Jack?” She hurried toward him.
He looked at her coming across the field and removed his sunglasses. She stopped in her tracks and they both stared at each other, his eyes interlocking with hers and reaching down to her very soul.
“Eden!” he called and waved an arm in the air. He pushed through the crowd of kids and ran toward her. The children thought he wanted to race and ran after him squealing with laughter.
He scooped her off her feet and into his strong arms. Laughing, Eden held on to her hat as he twirled her around in a full circle. When he finally set her down, he pulled her into his arms for a kiss. Her hat fell off in the process, but she did nothing to retrieve it.
By now, the kids were crowding around them, and Eden couldn’t hear a word Jack was trying to say. He took his sunglasses and showed them to the kids, and then threw them as far as he could. The kids rushed off to find them.
“That should keep them busy for a while.” He laughed, but immediately was serious again as he looked into her eyes.
“What are you doing here, Jack?” she asked. “I can’t believe you found me.”
“I would have searched to the ends of the earth to find you, Eden. I need to ask you something and I wanted to ask you face to face.”
“You nut!” she said, hitting him on the arm playfully. “What did you need to know? How the scoring system works in sapo, or just the recipe for ceviche?”
“Neither.” He dug his hand into the front pocket of his white jeans. “I already know both of those things, Eden. What I don’t know is this.” He held up a gold band. A wedding ring if Eden wasn’t mistaken. He then took her hands in his and got down on one knee. “Will you marry me, Eden Ramirez? Will you be my wife and mother of my children?”
Eden wiped the tears from her eye and pulled him to his feet. “Get up, Jack. You’re getting your white pants dirty.”
“I don’t give a damn about that. All I care about is you.”
“But what about the ticket I found in your desk drawer? You were going to send me home.”
“I had another ticket in the mail,” he explained. “For me. I was coming with you, Eden. And I was also going to give you this ring the night of your birthday, but you ran off before I could.”
“You mean – you wanted to marry me then?” she asked.
“I love you, Eden. I wanted you then, and I want you now. Please say you’ll marry me.”
“I love you, too, Jack. But I’m not sure it’ll work.”
“Why not?” he asked. “If two people are in love, they can make anything work.”
“But this is my homeland. I think I want to raise my children here to learn my people’s ways. I want them to play in the mountains and breathe in the mountain air. I want them to feel the freedom I feel every time I look around me. I’m not sure I’m ready to come back to the States.”
“Then you don’t have to, because I’ve already decided to stay here with you.”
Eden couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Jack living in the mountains of Peru? She laughed at the thought. “But what about your bistro? And your father and friends back home?”
“What bistro?” Jack asked, making Eden realize his father must have taken it away from him after all.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“About what? My father has moved to Greece, and hell if I’m going there. Too much of a culture shock, you know.”
“Oh, really?” She laughed, looking at her surroundings. Her mother and family stood by their simple, small house. The men worked in the fields while the children took a break from work and played with Jack’s sunglasses and the balloons. The mountains stretched out over the vast sky, bright green rolling meadows as far as the eye could see. Women sat at their looms weaving ponchos, and the alpacas wandered around looking for food.
“Besides,” said Jack. “I sold the bistro to Missy and Nathan. They decided to form a partnership and are taking over the place. They said we can come visit them whenever we want.”
“You did?” she asked in shock. “That’s great,” she said, “I guess. Jack, do you realize what you’re committing yourself to by marrying me and staying in Peru?”
“I don’t care,” he said. “As long as you’re with me.”
“The Quechuas don’t accept outsiders living in their village. We’d have to move to Cuzco or Arequipa or one of the larger towns.”
“That would be perfect,” he said. “Then we could start up our own bistro here. We’ll still be close enough to your family for them to see our baby.”
Eden suddenly realized what Jack said. “You – you know I’m pregnant?” she asked.
Jack smiled and nodded.
“Tisha told you, didn’t she?”
“You know women can never keep a secret,” he said. “And by the way, I’m a little hurt you didn’t tell me yourself.”
“I planned on telling you, but I was afraid.”
“Afraid? What on earth for?”
“Well, you always wanted to use protection when we made love. I figured you didn’t want a baby.”
“Then you don’t know me very well, Eden. I want that baby, and I want you, more than anything in the world.”
“You’d be giving up so much, though.”
“I’d be gaining more than you’ll ever know. You were the one who taught me money can’t buy happiness. You taught me so much, Eden. I’ve taken a big chance by selling everything and coming to Peru to find you, so I hope you’ll want me. But if you don’t, I’ll understand. Just say the word and I’ll leave you forever and never bother you again.”
“Ari,” said Eden.
Jack looked at her and raised a brow. “What?”
“If you’re going to be living here, you’d better start to learn Quechua,” she said. “After all, my family doesn’t speak any English.”
“Then, ari means yes?” Jack asked hopefully.
Eden smiled and answered, “Sí.”
“That one, I know. Alfredo’s little Spanish lesson wasn’t a total waste on me.” He let out a loud whoop that caused everyone to come running. He took the ring and slid it onto Eden’s finger, then pulled her in his arms and kissed her. I
t felt right to Eden, and so good to have Jack’s arms around her once again. She knew with Jack she was truly home.
Her eyes opened wide when she felt the baby kick. She took Jack’s hand and pressed it against her belly. “Feel the way your son kicks, Jack.”
He kept his hand still for a moment to feel it. “How do you know it’s a boy?”
“I don’t,” she answered. “But whatever it is, it’ll be as strong as an ox.”
Her family joined them, and she introduced Jack to her mother and stepfather, and also to her half-siblings and the rest of her relatives. They looked at him cautiously as he waved and smiled, not understanding a word that was said. Then everyone returned to the fields to work.
“They’ll get used to you eventually,” Eden told him. “And by Quechua standards, we’ve already shown it’ll be a fruitful marriage.”
Jack got to his knees and kissed her belly. She liked the way it felt to have his hot breath so close to her thighs.
“Jack,” she said, looking around. “We’d better find somewhere private to go if you’re going to be doing that.”
He stood up and pulled her against him. “What?” he asked. “All I was doing was kissing our baby.”
“There’ll be plenty of time for that later. Right now, we have to find a place to live.”
“Well, maybe you can show me around Cuzco. With luck, we’ll be able to get a place where we can start up our new bistro.”
“I like that idea,” said Eden. “Maybe near the train depot, where the tourists will stop on their way to Machu Picchu.”
“We’ll serve American food,” added Jack. “Just to be different.”
Eden laughed again, feeling like the happiest girl in the world. She was with the man she loved. Once she was a foreigner in his land, now he was one in hers. This would be very interesting, but if anyone could pull it off, it was Jack Talon. He’d probably be the most prosperous restaurant owner in the country, and she’d be right there by his side to help him.
“Now, we need a name for our new place,” said Eden. “Got any suggestions?”
“I know exactly what to name it,” he said in a low voice and kissed her on the forehead. “We’re going to call it, Eden’s Garden.”
“I like it,” she said with a smile and a nod. “But what I like even more is that I’m going to be your wife, Mrs. Jack Talon.”
“Do you think you can get used to that?” he asked her, taking her hands in his.
“I do,” she said, already practicing for the marriage ceremony. “But the real question here, is do you think you can get used to being a husband and a father?”
“I do,” he answered, mimicking her words. “Eden, I promise, I will be the best husband and father to walk the earth. Gone is the man who used to drink and smoke too much.”
“You gave up drinking, too?” asked Eden in surprise.
“I did. I’m starting a new life with you, Eden. It might not be easy, but with you at my side, I’ll have the strength to start being the man you want me to be. To be the man I want to be. I’m going to be married now, and I take being a husband and father very seriously. Gone are the days of being nothing but a Bistro Bachelor.”
From the Author
I hope you enjoyed Bistro Bachelor. This book was inspired by a trip I took with my husband to Peru right after we were married. I fell in love with the beauty of the mountains of Peru, the Quechua people, their colorful clothing and their customs. We also visited the jungles of Peru, and my husband blew up balloons and handed them out to the excited native children. This wasn’t an easy feat to do, considering the altitude. I, on the other hand, was dizzy just from being atop Machu Picchu, the Lost City of the Incas.
We climbed to the top of Huayna Picchu which was a thousand feet higher than Machu Picchu. It was breathtaking up there. We saw a double rainbow and were so high up that the rainbow was below us! By the way, all there was at the tip top of Huayna Picchu was flies.
I tried to bring you the culture of this land and the Peruvian people, as well as some of my experiences by weaving them into the story.
This story was actually released by a traditional publisher back in 2000 and was titled Eden’s Garden. It was the first book I ever had published. Since then, the book is out of print and the publisher closed down. Since I had my rights back, I revised the story, had it re-edited, and gave it a new title and cover. I also added in a couple of secondary characters from my Bad Boys of Sweetwater: Tarnished Saints Series.
If you want to read about Levi Taylor, one of the twelve sons of a preacher who lives in Sweetwater, his story is called Luring Levi. It is Book two of that series. You’ll also find Mabel Durnsby (the food critic in Bistro Bachelor) in all of the books of the Bad Boys of Sweetwater: Tarnished Saints Series. She is the town gossip, and a lot of fun to read about.
Be sure to also read the other books in my Working Man Series. Start out the series with Starstruck Cowboy – Book 1.
Thanks!
Elizabeth Rose
About Elizabeth
Elizabeth Rose is a multi-published, bestselling author, writing medieval, historical, contemporary, paranormal, and western romance. Her books are available as EBooks, paperbacks, and audiobooks as well.
Her favorite characters in her works include dark, dangerous and tortured heroes, and feisty, independent heroines who know how to wield a sword. She loves writing 14th century medieval novels, and is well-known for her many series.
Her twelve-book small town contemporary series, Tarnished Saints, was inspired by incidents in her own life.
After being traditionally published, she started self-publishing, creating her own covers and book trailers on a dare from her two sons.
Elizabeth loves the outdoors. In the summertime, you can find her in her secret garden with her laptop, swinging in her hammock working on her next book. Elizabeth is a born storyteller and passionate about sharing her works with her readers.
Please be sure to visit her website at Elizabethrosenovels.com to read excerpts from any of her novels and get sneak peeks at covers of upcoming books. You can follow her on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads or BookBub. Be sure to sign up for her newsletter so you don’t miss out on new releases or upcoming events.
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Also by Elizabeth Rose
Medieval Series:
Legendary Bastards of the Crown Series
Seasons of Fortitude Series
Secrets of the Heart Series
Legacy of the Blade Series
Daughters of the Dagger Series
MadMan MacKeefe Series
Barons of the Cinque Ports Series
Second in Command Series
Holiday Knights Series
Medieval/Paranormal Series:
Elemental Series
Greek Myth Fantasy Series
Tangled Tales Series
Contemporary Series:
Tarnished Saints Series
Working Man Series
Western Series:
Cowboys of the Old West Series
And More!
Please visit http://elizabethrosenovels.com
Bistro Bachelor: Working Man Series - Book 2 Page 21