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“Nope. I remember you talking about it, but didn’t know you’d ever put them up.”
“Daniel helped. Vivian directed.” Her lips twitched as she recalled the day.
“Elliott strung these up?” I didn’t bother to hide my disbelief.
“You’d be surprised what he can do.”
“Like what?”
“He fixed my leaky toilet once.” She popped a chip into her mouth.
“You got proof?”
Her eyes glittered with mischief. “Next time I’ll take a picture.”
I took a swig of my water. “Elliott fixed a toilet.” I shook my head, unable to visualize it. “You heard from them?”
“Just a couple of texts. I think they’re afraid to call me.” She shifted in her chair.
“He doesn’t want to mess things up with you any worse than they already are.” Some guys were smart enough to realize sometimes the best thing to do was keep their mouth shut rather than risk saying something stupid.
“I miss them,” she confessed. I felt bad I’d kept her from her family on a holiday even though I selfishly loved she’d been with me. “They’re my life. Until recently, it never really occurred to me to get my own.”
“Is that what you want?”
She swallowed hard. “I want both. Does that sound crazy?”
“Not at all. You can have both.” I set my glass down. “Truth be told, I think you already do.”
Muriella looked away like she couldn’t stand to hear it. “The children loved you coming by Paths today.”
“I guarantee I enjoyed it more.” Hanging out with them let me go back to being a kid myself.
She lifted her glass to her lips, tipping it back before she carefully set it in front of her. “When I saw Corey grab your hand so easily, the blind trust she had…she inspired me to try harder.” She twisted toward me. “If she can trust after what she saw with her mom and dad… Did you know she saved her mom? That she was the one who called 9-1-1?”
“I didn’t,” I said through a lump in my throat.
“She shouldn’t have faith in anyone, but all of those kids—” She sniffled and took a second to compose herself. “You’d never know they didn’t have the perfect life.”
“You’d never know you didn’t either.” Other than her wariness toward me, Muriella had always appeared happy on the outside. I’d felt her sadness, but she kept it so well hidden sometimes it was easy to forget to be cautious with her.
“I didn’t talk for a long time after I came here. Not just because I couldn’t speak English.”
My throat closed up. I’d asked Daniel what she was like when they’d met, but he’d refused to tell me. I pictured a little girl so terrified she couldn’t speak, yet so brave she kept going.
“Everyone deals differently. Doesn’t make it right or wrong.”
She fiddled with the collar of her sweater. “I know. I just—I think that’s why I like being around the children. They remind me that the world is good.” She straightened. “We should eat before it gets cold.”
“What have we got?” I asked as she unwrapped something.
“Drip beef sandwiches.” She placed it on a plate in front of me. Next came a pile of homemade potato chips.
I hadn’t been doted on since the last time I’d been home. Sure, I’d been served a thousand meals, but it was different when someone who cared put it in front of me. It made Muriella happy to see after the people she cared about. Mothering was natural to her, even when it was Daniel, Vivian, and me on the receiving end of it.
I didn’t need another mother, though. I wanted a woman who would take care of me the same as I would her. It was coming home to her after a long day, talking…I’d always wanted exactly this. She’d been right here for six years, but I’d let Daniel’s warnings and my determination to make sure the ranch was set dictate my actions. And I’d been afraid of pushing her away.
I dug into the sandwich and grunted my approval around a mouthful. “That’s good,” I said after I swallowed.
