Harmony (Part 6 Of 16)
$
Stacy woke with her head on Eduardo’s shoulder. It felt right there. Comforting. He was comforting, so sure of everything. Was he right about Daniel? No. Daniel had said he loved her. Twice. Although he was not one for excessive displays of emotion, that didn’t mean he didn’t feel love. He loved her. He did.
There was a humming between their bodies. Eduardo pulled out his phone, looked at the screen, and frowned.
“Is your friend coming?”
“No.” He held out the phone to her. “The Boss wants all the men to stay near to the village. He worries that the bad men will cause trouble tonight.”
Stacy read the message. There was a mention of taking care of children. “You have children?”
“Of my heart, not of my blood. The village children.” He snatched back the phone. “It is nothing. Javier assures me of their safety.”
It was not nothing. Children of his heart. Like Izel, the little Mexican girl who captured her affections last year. She’d cried when Stacy told her she was going to a new school. Daniel had pushed those feelings aside, telling her there’d be more little girls at the new school. He hadn’t understood. But she understood Eduardo now. “You wish you were there…,”
“Then I would not be here.” Eduardo summoned up a smile. “And I would not have met you.”
“And I would have died.” Dead in Belize. Her parents and Daniel might have worried but they wouldn’t have known something was wrong. Not for two more weeks, when she didn’t return.
“You should not be traveling alone, little dove.” He rummaged through her backpack treating is as his own. “If I was your almost fiancé, I would travel with you.” He pulled out the patties she purchased before crossing the border.
She had asked him. “Daniel was working.” And his idea of a vacation was a five star resort in the Mediterranean. “He couldn’t come.” She took the patty Eduardo passed her and bit into it, the spices hot in her mouth.
“He decided not to come. There is always choice. I chose to be with you today.” He chewed on a patty. “He chose not to be.”
Stacy didn’t want to talk about it. “Are we walking again?” Her body ached and the sun was setting, but she was rested after her nap and her stomach was full. The big man stood up, looked around, they were in a cozy clearing.
“No. We walked enough. Now, we build our bedroom. We sleep here tonight.”
on August 11th, 2010 at 1:16 pm
Looking forward to more honey!! Hugs to you! Hope all is well!