Heavenly Angel by Heather Rainier Page B

shirt, he wore the little denim vest Grace had given him. His cowboy hat was perched on his head as he rode his little stick horse. She looked up at Angel standing beside her, his arm around her and his hand resting on her hip. Her heart was so full it felt like it would burst.
    Angel said, “Why don’t we take the little cowpoke in the backyard and let him run that horse a little. I want you to open my gifts now.”
    “But Joaquin—”
    “Joaquin will come out with us and keep an eye on Michael.” He gathered several boxes and twined her fingers with his. “Come on.” He pulled her to the back door that opened onto the covered porch built onto the back of the house. His backyard was fenced, and the fence was lined with mature trees and shrubs.
    Joaquin found a rope and showed Michael how to tie it to the stick horse. While the toddler held the rope, Joaquin galloped in a circle around Michael, hollering “Yee-Haw!” Michael cackled ecstatically at Joaquin’s antics with the toy. She imagined what Michael would look like in years to come if he stayed within the loving shelter of Angel and Joaquin’s guidance here on the ranch, if Joaquin stayed. He’d probably grow up to be an expert horseman, strong and hard-working, just like them. Though she hadn’t seen him work with the animals yet, Joaquin’s reputation had preceded him on the ranch.
    Teresa watched appreciatively as Joaquin interacted with her son, unable to ignore the strong, handsome lines of his muscled body or the noble profile that was currently turned to her. Like Angel, he was poetry in motion. He talked and joked with Michael easily, judging by their combined laughter at something Joaquin had said. She feasted her eyes on the way his faded blue jeans clung to the backs of his thighs as he bent to help Michael adjust the little chaps that were strapped on him. Her body responded to the sight, as well.
    As her eyes roamed over Joaquin, Angel took a gift from the stack on the table near the porch glider. She turned her attention guiltily to him as he handed it to her, and her cheeks felt like they must be beet red. She wondered how she could act and think like that when the man she loved most in the world sat beside her. To make matters worse, she had a feeling that he knew what was going on inside her.
    Grace lived a life of utter happiness with her three men, and Teresa had never questioned the rightness of it because of what Grace had gone through to find that happiness. She could admit to a spark of curiosity over what it would be like, and she knew about the unique family Angel was a part of.
    But she’d met Joaquin less than twenty-four hours ago. She had no business thinking about him as anything other than a possible future brother-in-law down the road.
    This attraction for him was the newness of his arrival, with some hormones thrown in for kicks and giggles. The fact that she was even daring to stare at his body appalled her. That was not like her at all. She turned her full attention on Angel, feeling inexplicably blue. Casting her eyes down, she smiled at the contents of the first box. She looked up at him, an eyebrow arched.
    “Rosemary took you shopping, didn’t she?” She smiled up at him, thinking what a generous man he was.
    “Yes, she did point me in the right direction. She said you liked that top. I agreed with Rosemary that it would look pretty on you.”
    “I love it. Thank you, Angel. You spoil me.” She tilted her lips up to him as he leaned in for a kiss.
    “I’m only just getting started, darling,” he drawled as he handed her another box. He smiled at her gasp as she opened the long, rectangular-shaped velvet box.
    “Angel, this is lovely.” She touched the shimmering onyx facets on the teardrop necklace and earrings with her fingertip. “Just lovely. Will you help me put it on?” she asked excitedly as she removed the pieces from the box and handed him the necklace. He stood and clasped the necklace as she