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He sat down and took a sip of the hot brew. Nice and strong, just as he liked it.
“Angelina’s brother, Harper, is also a lawyer,” Dallas said. “Well, a rancher who’s trained as a lawyer, same as me.”
Rafe nodded and swallowed another sip of coffee. “I know, but I can’t talk to him about this.”
“Okay,” Dallas said. “So what’s up?”
Where to start? “It’s a long story.”
“Best to start at the beginning then.”
“Do you know my father, Jack Grayhawk? He lives over in Echo Gardens?”
“No, can’t say I do. He in some kind of trouble?”
“No, nothing like that.” He took another sip of coffee and let the strong liquid soothe his parched throat. He hadn’t slept at all last night. Sat up inhaling Angie’s scent still clinging to his sheets, wondering how he could make this up to her…and knowing there was no way he could.
“My father has a thirty-five-year-old Mexican woman who lives with him. She’s been there for about five years, since before my ma died. She cooks and keeps house. Her name is Lilia Martinez.”
Dallas nodded. “Okay.”
“Lilia—” Rafe closed his eyes and inhaled. “She’s my wife.”
Chapter Fifteen
“I didn’t know you were married, Rafe,” Annie said.
“Well, I’m not. Not really. It’s a marriage on paper only.”
“Oh?” Dallas said. “What do you mean?”
“Lilia moved to the trailer park about six years ago, and my parents became quite fond of her. She didn’t have much money and she rented a room from one of the other residents. She was cleaning houses, but having a hard time making ends meet. When the other residents moved out and sold their trailer, she had no place to go.”
“Surely she could find another place to live.”
“She wasn’t making enough cleaning houses to find her own place.”
“Then why didn’t she get a different job?”
“She… She couldn’t. She didn’t have a green card and she couldn’t get one.”
Annie touched Rafe’s forearm in a motherly way. “Was she here illegally?”
“No. At least, not at the beginning.” Rafe inhaled. Time to pay the piper. “Her visa had expired.”
“So she came here legally?” Dallas said. “At least originally?”
“Yeah. Some friends helped her get the necessary documents and leave before her father and brother found out.”
“I see.” Dallas drummed his fingers on the table. “So she has a valid Mexican passport?”
“As far as I know, yes.”
“And what type of visa did she carry?”
“She was in a hurry, and the quickest way to get a visa was for study abroad here in the U.S.”
“Did she actually study?”
