salon, garden shops, the high school, and sports teams. Old cars. New cars.
Shiny red fire engines.
Happily, Luis embraced them all. While getting him there had been a bit of a struggle, he was content to watch the parade go by.
She rediscovered the joy of childhood, minus the ache of a father who wasn’t around for major holidays.
“He’s doing well,” Sarah said, holding a squirming Hannah in her arms. “This one, on the other hand ...”
Hannah howled her protest when her mother kept her from twisting out of her arms to grab the candy flung from the mayor’s car.
“Let me take her,” Hunter said.
“Gladly.”
“Is he coming to the inn?” Sarah asked Alicia.
“He said he was.” What would it be like for her friends to meet Raúl? Would they like him?
“Can’t wait to meet him without his doctor clothes.” Sarah giggled. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.”
“Uh-huh. I think Hunter makes you think about sex too much.”
“Hard not to.” Sarah looked toward Hunter, who’d transformed Hannah into a happy child.
“Are you going to have another one?”
“It’d be good if we got married first, don’t you think? Ouch!” A piece of candy bounced off Sarah’s forehead.
“I’m sorry.” A familiar-looking young man in a soccer uniform trotted over to them. “You okay? I forget how hard these things are.”
“Not a problem,” Sarah said.
“Oh. Hi, Alicia,” he said. “Josh. From sociology.”
“Oh, yes.”
“Cute kid. Gotta run.” Josh dashed back to the parade.
“Well, if Dr. Raúl doesn’t work out, looks like you have a backup plan,” Sarah said.
“He’s just someone in my class.”
“Not the way he looked at you.”
Alicia followed Josh’s progress up the street as he engaged with the little kids anxious for treats. He
was
nice. Certainly less troubled than Raúl.
But he didn’t create any heat in her belly.
“One guy at a time for me,” she said, and immediately regretted it. There’d been a time when Sarah had been trying to decide between Hunter and Hannah’s father. “Sorry. Didn’t mean it to come out that way.”
Sarah waved her hand. “Don’t worry. That’s all in the past.”
“Do you ever hear from Rick?”
“Not recently. There was a while there when he was threatening to hire a lawyer, but then he stopped.” She frowned. “I feel bad in a way. Hannah should know her real father, but Rick doesn’t seem interested.”
“Some men are like that. Eduardo doesn’t think Luis is his. I’ve asked him to take a paternity test, but he refused.”
“A court can order him to do it, if you want child support.”
“And where is he going to get it?”
“You told me he had pretty fancy cars. He’s getting money from somewhere,” Sarah said.
“I don’t want to know where. Besides, if I go after child support, I have to have him in my life—and in Luis’s life. Not what I want.”
The thought of Eduardo anywhere near her son chilled her. What if her ex decided he believed her and wanted to assert his rights?
That wasn’t his style. Besides, he’d denied the boy was his. The matter was over.
Unless Graciela stirred him up. What if he decided he wanted a son to carry on his sick lifestyle? She’d seen it happen in gang leaders before.
Nausea rose in her throat.
“The parade’s almost over.” Hunter was back with Hannah. “After I dropped you off, I managed to find a parking place in the shopping center, so we don’t have too far to walk.”
As Alicia followed them to the car, she worried how the afternoon would go. Would Hunter and Raúl get along? Of course, there’d be other people at the party, including the inn’s guests, but Alicia was most concerned about her sister’s fiancé. Hunter could be tough on people—natural for an ex-marine.
Luis began to squirm as they walked through the parking lot. She held him closer and whispered, “I’m so proud of you. You were Mama’s good boy during the parade.
Shiny red fire engines.
Happily, Luis embraced them all. While getting him there had been a bit of a struggle, he was content to watch the parade go by.
She rediscovered the joy of childhood, minus the ache of a father who wasn’t around for major holidays.
“He’s doing well,” Sarah said, holding a squirming Hannah in her arms. “This one, on the other hand ...”
Hannah howled her protest when her mother kept her from twisting out of her arms to grab the candy flung from the mayor’s car.
“Let me take her,” Hunter said.
“Gladly.”
“Is he coming to the inn?” Sarah asked Alicia.
“He said he was.” What would it be like for her friends to meet Raúl? Would they like him?
“Can’t wait to meet him without his doctor clothes.” Sarah giggled. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.”
“Uh-huh. I think Hunter makes you think about sex too much.”
“Hard not to.” Sarah looked toward Hunter, who’d transformed Hannah into a happy child.
“Are you going to have another one?”
“It’d be good if we got married first, don’t you think? Ouch!” A piece of candy bounced off Sarah’s forehead.
“I’m sorry.” A familiar-looking young man in a soccer uniform trotted over to them. “You okay? I forget how hard these things are.”
“Not a problem,” Sarah said.
“Oh. Hi, Alicia,” he said. “Josh. From sociology.”
“Oh, yes.”
“Cute kid. Gotta run.” Josh dashed back to the parade.
“Well, if Dr. Raúl doesn’t work out, looks like you have a backup plan,” Sarah said.
“He’s just someone in my class.”
“Not the way he looked at you.”
Alicia followed Josh’s progress up the street as he engaged with the little kids anxious for treats. He
was
nice. Certainly less troubled than Raúl.
But he didn’t create any heat in her belly.
“One guy at a time for me,” she said, and immediately regretted it. There’d been a time when Sarah had been trying to decide between Hunter and Hannah’s father. “Sorry. Didn’t mean it to come out that way.”
Sarah waved her hand. “Don’t worry. That’s all in the past.”
“Do you ever hear from Rick?”
“Not recently. There was a while there when he was threatening to hire a lawyer, but then he stopped.” She frowned. “I feel bad in a way. Hannah should know her real father, but Rick doesn’t seem interested.”
“Some men are like that. Eduardo doesn’t think Luis is his. I’ve asked him to take a paternity test, but he refused.”
“A court can order him to do it, if you want child support.”
“And where is he going to get it?”
“You told me he had pretty fancy cars. He’s getting money from somewhere,” Sarah said.
“I don’t want to know where. Besides, if I go after child support, I have to have him in my life—and in Luis’s life. Not what I want.”
The thought of Eduardo anywhere near her son chilled her. What if her ex decided he believed her and wanted to assert his rights?
That wasn’t his style. Besides, he’d denied the boy was his. The matter was over.
Unless Graciela stirred him up. What if he decided he wanted a son to carry on his sick lifestyle? She’d seen it happen in gang leaders before.
Nausea rose in her throat.
“The parade’s almost over.” Hunter was back with Hannah. “After I dropped you off, I managed to find a parking place in the shopping center, so we don’t have too far to walk.”
As Alicia followed them to the car, she worried how the afternoon would go. Would Hunter and Raúl get along? Of course, there’d be other people at the party, including the inn’s guests, but Alicia was most concerned about her sister’s fiancé. Hunter could be tough on people—natural for an ex-marine.
Luis began to squirm as they walked through the parking lot. She held him closer and whispered, “I’m so proud of you. You were Mama’s good boy during the parade.
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