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To my surprise, he pulled a letter from his pocket. It was addressed to him at the restaurant, and the return address listed Eddie’s name. My pulse jolted. “Just throw it away.”
“I can’t.”
“Yes, you can. He’s not part of our lives. He doesn’t matter.”
Salvador stared down at the letter. “I have to take Brandy to see him before she turns eighteen.”
“What? No. Absolutely not.”
“I made a promise to Eddie.”
“I don’t care.”
Salvador shoved a hand through his thick hair, mussed from the wind. “Do you remember that last time we took Brandy to Texas? When she was ten?”
I nodded, unable to forget that horrible trip to the prison when Brandy and I had gotten so sick.
“On that last day,” he continued, “I went back to the prison and told Eddie how damaging these visits were. How unfair it was to Brandy. How sick she’d gotten.”
“And you convinced him stop demanding that she visit him. I know that.”
“What you don’t know is how I got him to change his mind. You don’t know about the deal we struck.”
My blood ran cold. “What kind of deal?”
Salvador stared down at the letter. “He agreed to relinquish his parental rights as long as—”
“As long as what?”
Salvador’s gaze met mine. “As long as I sent him regular updates—pictures, letters, report cards—”
“You sent him pictures? Pictures of Brandy? Please tell me you didn’t send that man pictures of our precious, innocent niece.”
“I did. Not all the time, but whenever she got new school pictures, I’d send him a few.”
My stomach pitched, imagining pictures of sweet Brandy hung on the jail cell wall for Eddie and all the other perverts to gawk at. “How could you do something like that?”
“I didn’t have a choice.”
“You did.”
“No, I didn’t. Not agreeing would’ve meant more trips down to Texas.”
I shook my head. “And what? Now he wants to see her before she becomes a legal adult and can decide for herself whether or not she wants to cut off all ties?”
“Yes. That was part of our agreement. I promised to bring her down before her eighteenth birthday. Before she no longer had to abide by a court mandate for visitation.”
“And you plan to honor this deal?”
“I have to. If I don’t, there could be legal ramifications. Besides, he kept his end of the bargain. I gave him my word that I would do the same, and that means something to me.”
“You also gave your word to be faithful when we got married.” It was a low blow, and I knew it, but I was mad. “I can’t believe you’re more concerned about your stupid promise to a murderer. Do you even care about Brandy?”
“Of course, I care about her.”
“Then how can you be more concerned about honoring your promise than you are about the emotional health of your niece? You know how upset she was after finding out what he did. She didn’t want anything to do with him. She had nightmares, remember?”
“I remember.”
