Rafael (The Santiago Brothers Book One) by K. Victoria Chase Page A

chose California, but he and
his mother didn't part well.
    Did she remember his words to her? He
wouldn’t repeat them now. He had hurled hate, spewed curses, and
promised to never return. He gazed up, searching his mother’s eyes.
They showed neither sadness nor regret. No anger or resentment
laced her tone. Instead, she grinned widely at him, her hands
warming as they gripped his, her voice as cheerful and as loving as
he had always remembered.
    She wiped
a tear off her round cheek. “Oh, mi hijo , I forgave you so long ago. I knew God would bring you
back to me and He has.” Her smile was filled with gratitude and
love. “Nothing you did could ever take away the love I have for
you.”
    Tears of joy continued to well in her eyes
and stream down her cheeks. Those tears caused his throat to
thicken, the muscles in his jaw to tremble, and his heart to swell
with love for the woman who’d endured more than her fair share of
pain from the men in her life. She laughed joyously, as she patted
her eyes dry with a napkin.
    “How do you do it?”
    Her brows
bunched in confusion. “Do what, hijo ?”
    Rafa took a sip of his soda, loosening the
rigid walls of his throat. “Survive. What me and my brother
Alejandro did… and Ricardo—”
    “ Enough,”
she stated firmly, but her eyes still smiled. “I’m still praying
for Alejandro — Dios help that
boy — and little Ricardo, but I have so much joy, more joy over you
now than the day you were born, and I never thought anything than
the birth of you three could be better. But now that you have come
home, my heart is so full.”
    Rafa chuckled. “You might have to wait awhile
for Ale and Ric.”
    Alejandro was older than Rafa by two years
and equally rebellious. Nearly fifteen years later, Ale remained
away. Soon after Rafa began walking a better path, he attempted to
reach out to his older brother, but Alejandro’s phone had been
disconnected. The family knew little of his location and
profession. He left their grandfather’s residence not long after
arriving in Texas and didn't make it a habit to keep in regular
contact.
    Ricardo. At almost two years younger than
Rafa, on Ric’s eighteenth birthday, he was shipped to Florida. A
few years back, the family heard Ric had entered the service,
possibly with the Marines. A solid choice for the younger and
impressionable brother. At least two out of three Santiago men
turned out okay, even though no one had heard from Ricardo in a few
years.
    His
mother sighed and sat back in the booth, her eyes revealing the
weariness of years of pain and prayers. “I know, I know. Sometimes
I feel they will
not return to me, but I must believe they will. So many are praying for your
brothers.”
    “As am I.” But he didn’t possess her level of
confidence. Although he had more hope for Ricardo, Rafa never knew
anyone more bullheaded than Alejandro… except maybe Genie.
    Rafa smiled at the way his mother rubbed her
round belly. She pulled a compact out of her purse, reapplied her
signature red lipstick, and puffed her head of curls. She snapped
the compact shut and placed it back in her purse. She folded her
small hands on her belly. Rafa’s grin grew.
    “Did you know Eugenia Green is single?”
    Rafa blinked. “What?”
    “She’s single.” His mother’s eyes twinkled
with mischief.
    “What a shock.”
    “Very smart, that girl,” his mother continued
as if she hadn’t heard his sarcasm. “And she’s active in the
church. Or at least she was. I know she’s busy with work. Oh! You
should see her with the children!”
    Rafa bit back a smile. Genie with children?
Now that was a sight he’d like to see. His mind began playing
tricks on him, and he could imagine her having children, a little
girl with as much will to match her mother. His cheeks heated from
the mental picture, and he filed it away. He took a sip of his
ice-packed soda to cool the burn. His mother would notice and then
ask whether he was thinking of Genie. He