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ChapterOne
Isabella Fuentes pulled the dark, heavy curtain aside and peeked down into the driveway. The large pickup truck pulling up to the house had seen better days, with its forest green paint chipping in the front and several dents on either side.
She tried swallowing, but her throat was too dry. Her shaking hands made the curtain brush against her hair. To get a better view of the driver, she pressed her forehead against the cold glass.
Tonight everything would change. And the man who just arrived would decide how.
The truck pulled to a stop next to her father’s car.
Squeal!
Bella grimaced at the piercing noise. If it was that loud inside the house, it had to be even worse outside.
The headlights cut, and the man fiddled with things in the cab. In Washington, dusk fell early in mid-October, cloaking his movements in shadow. If only he would turn on the dome light, or better yet step outside. Then she could see him. The man who—
“Isabella!” Her mother’s sharp tone grated even more trust than the truck’s brakes.
Bella turned around, her heart pounding. “What?”
“Excuse me?” she snapped.
“I mean, yes ma’am?”
“Better.” Her expression remained pinched. “Get downstairs. You can’t leave him waiting when he gets inside.” She turned around and grabbed the doorknob. “And fix your hair first. Now!”
Slam!
Bella jumped before turning to the cracked mirror in her vanity. The curtain had barely messed up her hair. One quick swipe of her fingers through the curls fixed it.
“Hurry!” Her mother pounded on the bedroom door.
Normally Bella would be annoyed, but her nerves were off the charts tonight. She couldn’t get her hands to stop shaking.
She’d give anything to go back in time to when she was a little girl and hardly had a care in the world. Anything to avoid meeting the man in the truck. She hurried back over to the window to see if she could get a quick peek. Prepare herself before meeting him.
The door flung open, hitting the wall behind it.
“What are you waiting for?” Her mother tapped her foot rapidly.
“Nothing.” Bella’s shoulders slumped as she followed her mother down the staircase.
No voices below. That meant he wasn’t inside yet.
She hadn’t kept him waiting.
“Faster!” Mother nudged her hard.
Bella stumbled and grabbed onto the railing. She couldn’t wait for the evening to be over.
Unless the man wasn’t as bad as she feared. But given what her sister Margarita had been through, Bella had every reason to dread meeting the driver of the pickup.
He would change her life forever, for better or worse.
When she reached the bottom step, her dad glared at her and waved her over to where he stood next to the door. “You very nearly left him waiting, Isabella.”
Ding-dong!
Knock, knock!
