33

A mockingbird trilled his song as Bailey and Danny walked toward the barn. Bailey inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of fresh-turned dirt from where her dad had used his tractor to break up the garden. What a difference a week made. It was still windy, but the cold weather had receded northward.

Once Joel was able to talk, he confessed his part in the kidnapping, confirming that the two men captured were the masterminds. Ben was able to pit the two against each other, and the facts began to emerge. Edward was indeed El Jefe and had told the one named Enrico where to find Danny’s gun. According to the other man, Enrico killed Franks, and it had been Enrico who coerced Joel into helping them.

Danny took her hand, sending a delicious shiver up her arm. She was going to miss him when she returned to Mexico. But return she must. Besides the contract with the school, there were things she’d left undone. “I love spring in Mississippi,” she said. “I’ll miss our walks when I leave.”

“Stay here, then.”

“You know I can’t.”

He stopped and she stopped with him and turned so she could see his face.

Danny’s face was impassive, and he’d folded his arms across his chest. “I wish you would reconsider going back to Mexico.”

Bailey ignored the shiver of anxiety that crawled down her back. “I have a contract to fulfill. Besides, we need time to sort out our feelings.”

“I don’t. I want you to marry me.” He took a small box from his pocket and opened it. “I want us to live the rest of our lives together.”

Bailey pressed her lips together as she stared at the square-cut diamond. It wasn’t the same ring he’d given her before. She lifted her gaze to Danny. Hope, love, fear—all were reflected in his eyes.

“It was my mother’s.”

Four simple words. But she knew what they cost him. He’d come to terms with his mother’s death. She loved him. More than anything on this earth, she loved him. Bailey struggled to find words.

“Don’t give me an answer yet,” Danny said before she could speak. “Take this ring to Mexico with you. It will remind you how much I love you.” He held the box out to her.

She swallowed. He knew it would be harder for her to give the ring back than to simply tell him no, she couldn’t marry him. In spite of that, she took it from his hand. “I’m not making any promises, but I’ll think about it.”

His grin lit up his face.

Bailey held up her hand. “There’s something you have to think about as well. What if God wants me to stay in Mexico? Will you still want to marry me?”

He started to speak, and she shook her head. “I’m coming back to Logan Point for a couple of weeks at the end of the school year. Let’s take these next two months to think about it—and pray about it.”

Slowly he nodded. “Deal.”

“Come on, Daddy!” Maria yelled over her shoulder.

“We have to wait on Solana,” he called back. He turned to the dark-haired woman beside him. It had been a week since she and Maria had food poisoning, and while his daughter had bounced back, Solana was just recovering her strength. “You sure you feel up to walking to the swings? You can stay at the picnic table.”

“It’s too beautiful and warm to just sit.”

He admired her spirit and laughed, agreeing. The weather was strange in Mississippi. Freezing cold one week and 75 degrees the next, although the March wind still blew.

When they reached the swings, Maria had already climbed in one. “Push me, Daddy!”

He would never get tired of hearing her call him Daddy. He pulled her back and let go.

“Higher!”

“You sure?”

For an answer, she pumped her legs, trying to get the swing higher.

He glanced at Solana, and his heart thudded in his chest as he caught her watching them, yearning blazing in her dark eyes. Her beauty radiated from the inside out, and like a thunderbolt, the desire to know this woman who had hidden his daughter from the drug cartel almost knocked him to the ground. He held his hand out to her. “Want me to help you into the swing?”

Color tinged her cheeks. She nodded, shyness suddenly evident in her eyes.

Their hands touched, sending an electric shock up his arm, and he held her gaze. “I never thanked you properly for what you did for Maria.”

She shook her head, her black hair shining in the sunlight. “I didn’t do anything special.”

“But you did. It took a brave person to hide Bailey and Maria.”

Sadness flashed in her eyes, and she turned away from him to sit in the swing.

“Did I say something wrong?” he asked as he bent to put his hands on her shoulders. She didn’t answer, only shook her head.

“Push me again, Daddy.”

“Okay, baby.” He gave her a gentle shove and then turned his attention back to Solana. She’d stopped the swing, and when she turned around, her cheeks were wet.

“What’s the matter?”

Solana ducked her head. “Nothing. I will wait for you at the bench.” She hurried to the wooden bench behind them.

He slowed the swing. “Maria, I’m going to sit with Solana for a few minutes. Okay?”

Maria nodded solemnly. “She’s been sad today. Make her laugh, Daddy.”

“I’ll try.” Not quite sure how he’d accomplish that, Angel walked to the bench and sat down.

“I’m okay,” Solana told him. “You didn’t have to come babysit me.”

“Babysit you? I’m not that much older than you.”

“What?”

“To babysit implies one person is much older than the other, like a father to a child. You do not look at me like a father, do you?”

A tiny smile tugged at her lips. She ducked her head. “No.”

“Good. Now, do you want to tell me what’s wrong?”

She traced an outline in the dirt with her foot. “Thinking of that day when I hid them reminds me of Juan. And the restaurant.”

“Oh.” Everything had changed for her, plus she’d lost a good friend. “You have had a lot of casualties lately.”

“I think I must decide if I will stay in Chihuahua or go live with my sister in Arizona.”

His heart sank. He had no idea she was considering leaving Mexico for good.

“I don’t want to leave, but I have no job now.”

“I’ll give you a job.” The words jumped out of his mouth.

She shook her head and lifted her tennis-shoe-clad feet. “You have already done too much for me.”

“A pair of shoes and some clothes are nothing.” He lifted her chin. “Would you consider being Maria’s nanny?”

A mixture of emotions crossed her face. Hope, questioning, and briefly something else. Disappointment? He swallowed. “Solana, I don’t know what the future holds right now. I don’t know how you feel about me, but I want you to know I care very much for you.”

She started to speak, but he placed his finger on her lips. “Hear me out. The past few days have been very intense, and we both need time to sort out what we feel. In the meantime, I will be going back to Chihuahua. Do you want to come with us?”

Her dark eyes never left his face. Slowly she nodded. “I would like that. Do you think Maria will be pleased if I become her nanny?”

“We’ll ask her, but I’m sure she’ll love it.”

A grin stretched across her face. “I hope so. What will you do when you return?”

“I’m taking over Montoya Cerámica. Legally, I’m the owner, anyway. And I’m moving back into my parents’ house—the one Edward kicked me out of. If you come and live there, it would be completely proper—there is a cook and a housekeeper.”

“What about the drug cartel? Do you think they will allow you to operate?”

“With my uncle out of the picture, and the information from the men who were captured, we can break the back of the cartel. While they are unorganized, the merchants and factories must band together and stand up to them.”

Maria hopped out of the swing and ran to the bench. “Daddy! Come go down the slide!”

“In a minute. First, I want to ask if you would like for Solana to come and live with us at Tio’s house.”

Her mouth formed a small O. “Is she going to be my new mommy?”

Solana had a coughing fit while Angel struggled for an answer. His daughter was much more observant than he imagined. “I, ah, I don’t know. Would you like that?”

Without hesitation, Maria bobbed her head. “I like her.” Her smile faded. “But I miss Tio. And Uncle Joel.”

“I know, baby.” Angel had told her that Tio had died and that Joel was in the hospital, but nothing of the circumstances. He would have to someday, but not today.

“Can we go see Nana Sue and Papa Joe before we leave?”

“Maybe when we come back for a visit. But for now, you can make them cards, and we’ll mail them. Okay?” Joel’s father had come through the surgery and was on the mend, but he was still too ill for visitors. And Angel wasn’t sure how Joel’s mother would handle a visit from them right now.

Maria tilted her head. “When are we going home?”

“Tomorrow.”

She lifted her shoulders and let out an exaggerated sigh. “Good. I miss my friends at kindergarten.” She grabbed his hand. “Come on, let’s go down the slide. You too, Solana.”

Angel glanced down at Solana and took her hand. “Game for it?”

With shining eyes, she nodded. “I think I can handle anything you two throw at me.”

Laughing, he pulled her up. He wasn’t sure where their relationship was headed, but he knew it would be an adventure.