“That they are. The kind who will give you the shirt off their back. No one, and I mean no one, ever goes hungry with Damita. She’ll feed you until you’re so stuffed you can’t move.”
“How long have you known them?”
“Feels like all my life, but it’s only been about six years since they bought Crooked River from old man Percy.” He paused, his gaze roaming over him.
Devlin stiffened beneath the scrutiny, his hands gripping Challenger’s reins tightly. “What?”
“You seemed a little uncomfortable when Alfonso brought up Cassidy. If it had been me, I’d be crowing about it from the time the sun came up until the sun went down and then some.”
“I was just doing my job, Rafael. The newspapers made it out more than it was. Let’s drop it, all right?”
Rafael tilted his head to the side, his gaze now more intense. After a moment, he said, “Sure thing,el jefe. Whatever you say.”
He was as good as his word and didn’t speak about Cassidy again, but he did talk. A lot. About everything and anything to the point where Devlin wanted to tell him to shut up. He didn’t though. He listened and supplied a comment if it was warranted but otherwise kept his own counsel until the big house at Montaña del Trueno came into view. Unlike the house at Stone Creek, and Alfonso’s cozy home at Crooked River, this one was huge and very well taken care of. Flowers bloomed from planters on the front porch, which was wide and welcoming and filled with wicker furniture, inviting anyone to take a seat and relax.
Rafael dismounted before him and rushed up to the front door, his weight shifting from one leg to the other, as if impatient. Before the door opened, Devlin glanced around. Tresia had mentioned that Montaña del Trueno was one of the best ranches in the area and from the looks of it he had to agree.
The door opened to reveal a beautiful young woman. She didn’t just smile. She beamed, her eyes lighting up with happiness, and she squealed, “Rafael!” before she practically jumped into his arms and hugged him. Devlin hid his smile. It wouldn’t be an assumption to say these two knew each other well. “Come in, come in. They’re on the patio.”
As they passed through the door, the young woman paused, her gaze rising up to his. She held out her hand. “Hello,” she said, “I’m Ana. Rafael’s cousin by marriage.”
“Marshal Goodrich. A pleasure to meet you, Ana.”
She gave him a quick nod, grabbed Rafael by the hand and pulled him down a hallway, chattering a mile a minute the whole way. Apparently, she hadn’t seen him in a while, and there was all kinds of news to share.
Devlin followed along, listening to everything Ana was telling him about the extended Zepeda-Ruiz-Castillo family, and he bitback a smile as his deputy couldn’t get a word in edgewise. They entered the kitchen where the aroma of something sweet filled the air.
“I’ll bring out some more coffee,” she said as she opened the back door and ushered them through. “Go on.”
There were six people on the patio sitting around a table, two older couples and another couple just a little bit older than he was, all of them enjoying a quiet conversation though he couldn’t decipher what they were talking about. It didn’t matter what the topic was. The love shared between these six people was almost a tangible thing, so much so that he could feel it, deep in his bones.
Conversation on the patio stopped as all eyes turned toward Rafael and him.
“Sorry to interrupt, folks,” Rafael said as he drew closer, “but there’s someone I’d like you to meet.”
The people gathered around the table rose almost as one.
“Marshal Devlin Goodrich, meet my second family.”
Introductions were made and he committed the names and faces to memory. The woman named Felicity seemed kind and gentle, but he suspected she had fortitude and backbone, much like his mother had. Another older lady, her steel gray hair braided into a coronet atop her head, gave him the most intense scrutiny he’d ever received before she smiled and introduced herself as Hilde in a thick accent he couldn’t quite place.
An older man, introduced as Charley, shook his hand. “If you ever need a consultation about the law, come and see me. I retired from the bench a few years ago, but I still keep up with the legal profession.”
“Thank you. I might take you up on that, but I’m hoping I won’t have to.”
“Antonio Lucero. Welcome.” A big man with an impressive horseshoe mustache introduced himself.
“Nice to meet you.” Devlin shook his hand and turned to a tall man introduced as Jake Hannigan. Jake appeared easy-going and very likeable, but didn’t seem like he missed a thing, and yet, it wasn’t obvious—only to someone else who’d spent a lifetime studying people and their habits.
And then there was Everleigh Miller Hannigan—“just call meTiaEvie.” He liked her immediately. Like Felicity, she seemed kind and gentle, but also like her, she had a quiet strength about her, an air of courage with maybe a touch of stubbornness, but most of all, he sensed her loving, giving nature. No wonder Tresia was fond of this woman.
“We can’t stay long. We’re heading over to my folks after this,” Rafael said, shifting his weight from one leg to another.
“Nonsense. Have a cup of Hilde’s coffee and someLebkuchen.” Antonio said.
“If you insist,” Rafael laughed.
Evie laughed, too, apparently very fond of Rafael. “We do. Sit. Make yourselves comfortable.” She gestured to some empty chairs then took her own seat. The others around the table did as well. “Tell us about yourself, Marshal,” she said as Ana came outside with the coffeepot and two mugs, which she placed on the table before leaving.
