INSTANTLY, EVERY MUSCLE IN ELENAS BODY FROZE. After all they’d done, even fixing a flat in record time, they weren’t going to make their flight.
Their canceled flight.
An ache bloomed in her chest. Her breath stalled in her lungs and her eyes stung with tears.
“No,” she exhaleed.
In an effort to comfort her, Cesar patted her thigh. “I’m sorry, querida.”
Fingers trembling, her hand fluttered around her face, touching her lips, her chin, the lump that filled her throat. “Maybe they’ll open the airport later. We could—”
“Margo said O’Hare’s likely to stay closed for at least forty-eight hours,” Sarah said. “Maybe longer if this weather keeps up.”
Two days! They’d miss the better part of the flamenco competition.
“Maybe the weatherman’s wrong. We could drive to Chicago and wait,” she pleaded, feeling foolish even as she realized there was no way in the world to save the trip they’d planned. “Maybe they’ll open the airport tomorrow. We’d only be a day late.” Her chin trembled.
“Thanks for chasing after us,” Cesar said to Sarah. “You’d better get back inside before you freeze out here.”
Snowflakes stuck to Sarah’s blonde hair and her pale gray eyes filled with regret. “I’m sorry, Elena. I know how much you wanted this trip.”
She stepped away from the Jeep, and Cesar shifted into reverse. Slowly, the SUV inched back toward the house. Snow crunched under the heavy tires. Wind and snowflakes blew in the open window, chilling Elena to the bone. Her teeth started to chatter. Tears spilled out of her eyes, hot streams racing down her cheeks.
Cesar parked the SUV in the carport.
Rafael climbed out and offered his hand to Elena. “Come on, Mama. Let’s get inside and warm up. I’ll start a fire in the fireplace.”
Elena didn’t want to go inside. She wanted her dream! A dream deferred once again.
With force of will, she let Rafael help her out of the SUV and went inside.
“Buela! You came back!”
“Yes, sweetie, we came back.” She ran her hand over the top of Izzy’s head, the hair a soft caress on her palm.
The men brought in the suitcases, and Sarah helped Elena out of her coat.
“Margo said you could call her,” Sarah reported. “She’ll try to reschedule your trip for another time.”
His hand on the small of Elena’s back, Cesar ushered her into the living room. “I’ll take care of it, querida. We’ll still go to Spain. I promise.”
Cesar had always been good about keeping his promises. Elena knew that. But at the moment, “another time” seemed like pipe dream.
Without chains on the car, Heath and Candace never would have made it home from work. The snowplows were falling behind clearing the main roads, and none of the side streets had been plowed. Few vehicles had ventured out. Everyone was talking about the storm of the century.
Heath pulled into the garage, and they both got out of the car.
“Before we left the hospital,” Heath said, “I heard that O’Hare had been closed. They don’t know when it will reopen again.”
Yawning, Candace opened the door to go inside. “I hope Elena and Cesar got off on their trip.”
“Just hope they didn’t get stuck at the airport. There have been so many canceled flights, you can bet there isn’t a vacant hotel room within twenty miles of O’Hare.”
The day had been so dreary, Candace could barely keep her eyes open.
“Mommy and Heath are home!” Howie charged toward them at full speed, his stockinged feet flying. “I beat Grammy and Brooke three times at Candyland, and then Brooke didn’t want to play anymore.”
“Good job!” Heath gave him a high five.
“We went outside to build a snowman but my pants got all wet, and Grammy said I had to come in.”
“Good for her.” Candace grabbed him long enough to give him a kiss. In the family room, she noticed Legos were scattered everywhere. She’d worry about Howie putting them away later.
She found her mother in the kitchen peeling potatoes, her slacks and sweater protected by a frilly, pink apron. “Hi, Mom. Sorry about you having to deal with housebound children.”
“It’s fine, dear. I did finally let them outside so they could use up some of their energy, but that didn’t last long.”
Candace sniffed the air. “What am I smelling?”
“Chicken cacciatore. It’s in the slow cooker.”
As Candace lifted the lid, the scent welled up to her, stronger than before—the biting aroma of garlic and onions with a layered undercurrent of stewed tomatoes. Her stomach took a tumble.
“Hope that’s all right for dinner,” Janet said, her tone worried.
“It’s fine,” Candace said, trying not to show her distaste. “I’m not very hungry, though. I think I may have caught something.”
“Why don’t you go rest? Dinner will be a while yet.”
“Thanks, Mom. Both Heath and I really appreciate—”
“Go on, dear. You look tired.”
Despite the fact she was tired, Candace wished people would stop saying she looked that way. Still a relatively new bride, she ought to be bubbly and energetic. The past few weeks she sure hadn’t felt that way.
Maybe she was simply getting old.
Heath had already shed his jacket and was on the floor playing with Howie. They had some wild looping track set up that one car after another shot off into the air, only to crash onto the carpet accompanied by great laughter on their part. Boys!
“I’m going upstairs,” she said, although neither of her boys acknowledged her message. She smiled to herself. Howie had so needed a man’s attention and approval. He had been thriving since Heath had become a permanent part of his life.
Please, Lord, help them to always have a special bond between them.
She stopped at Brooke’s door. Sprawled on her bed, Brooke was reading a book. “Hi, honey, how was your day?”
“Boring.”
“Well, I’m glad you found something good to read.”
“I guess.” She lifted her shoulders in a typical teenage I-can’t-be-bothered shrug.
In her own bedroom, Candace took off her work clothes intending to put on something more comfortable. But the bed looked so enticing. If she simply rested for a moment or two, she’d feel refreshed. She could be a better mother. And wife.
So she crawled beneath the sheets and closed her eyes.
Some time later, the bed shifted as Heath climbed in beside her.
“Is dinner ready?” Her voice croaked, thick with sleep.
“You missed dinner, sweetheart. You were so deep asleep, I couldn’t wake you. Are you all right? I’m worried about you.”
She raised herself on one elbow. “I’m fine. Just tired.” She couldn’t remember ever sleeping through dinner. That wasn’t like her at all.
“Your mother put your dinner in the fridge. She said you could microwave it if you were hungry.” He leaned over to kiss her. “The kids are in bed, and the toys are picked up.”
“That’s good. Thank you for watching out for us. All of us.” Candace dropped her head back on the pillow.
Actually, there was one time when she’d missed dinner. She and Dean had been married a couple of years by then. They’d had a lovely vacation together, just the two of them. When she returned to work, she’d felt exhausted. Readjusting to long hours on her feet had been particularly difficult.
With a gasp, she sat up, her back as straight as if someone had fused her spine together. She remembered why she’d been so terribly tired!
After a hastily pulled together dinner, Elena sat alone in the living room. It seemed so empty. Here it was, the twenty-sixth of December and there was no indication that Christmas had been celebrated in her home. Already the day with all of the hours of baking and cooking and excitement was nothing but a memory.
Just like her dream of visiting Andalusia.
Tears filled her eyes and she blinked them away. She had so much to be thankful for; she shouldn’t be feeling sorry for herself. Andalusia was simply a dream delayed.
Cesar came and sat beside her. “Are you okay?”
“Disappointed. But I’ll be fine.”
“I just checked. O’Hare’s still closed. They think it will be for at least another twenty-four hours. Maybe longer. Thousands of people are stuck at the airport. They’ve brought out cots for them to sleep on.”
Elena shuddered. “Then I’m glad we didn’t drive all the way to Chicago. Spending two days at the airport doesn’t sound like much fun.”
“I’ll talk to Margo tomorrow. See what she can arrange for us.” He looped his arm around her shoulders, and she leaned her head on him.
“I’ll call the hospital in the morning. See if they need me.”
“You could take a couple of more days off and rest.”
“If Margo can reschedule our trip, I’ll need to take vacation time then.”
“You’re right. I guess we both need to go back to work so we don’t use up all of our vacation.”
She looked up at Cesar, noting the gray that had started to appear at his temples. With his thick head of hair, he would look very distinguished when he turned fully gray. She’d always admired good-looking gray-haired men.
She’d recently noticed a few gray strands appearing in her hair. She wasn’t quite so eager for her hair to turn silver like her mother’s and grandmother’s.
But then, it was right that she and Cesar grow older together. He was her best friend and the man she had vowed to love until death parted them. She prayed the Lord would grant them many more years together.
Cesar gave her a crooked smile. “You didn’t eat much dinner. There’s still a couple of pieces of pie in the refrigerator. Want to join me?”
“There’s also ice cream in the freezer.”
“Ah, apple pie à la mode. Perfect!”
“Since we’re on vacation, at least for today, the calories don’t even count.”
Laughing, he helped her up. Together they strolled into the kitchen to enjoy their last night of vacation and anticipate the next one.