“ASL instructor?”
“Sorry. It stands for American Sign Language. Dani is deaf and teaches ASL classes at the university.”
“Oh wow. Does that mean you know sign language?” she asked.
“Yeah, I grew up learning it, though now we stay in touch pretty regularly via texting.”
“That’s awesome. I’ve always wanted to learn sign language—well, reallyanylanguage,” she said, pausing for a moment as if to regain her thoughts. “Wait, you said you’re the oldest of four siblings. What about the other two?”
Now for the hard part. “Manny was next in line, but he passed away a few years ago.”
“Oh God, Hector, I’m so sorry,” she said, reaching her hand out to put it on top of mine.
I knew it was just meant to be a kind gesture, but damn if it didn’t feel nice having her soft hand on top of mine, even briefly.
“I vaguely remember Anna mentioning something about your brother working with her husband years ago as a cop and being killed on the job, but I forgot. I’m so sorry.”
There was a lot to unpack there, but I didn’t want to bring the mood back down again, so I continued on.
“No need to apologize. After Manny is my youngest sister, Rita. She’s an elementary school teacher on the north side of town.”
“That’s great that you all live so close,” she said wistfully. “I love my job so much, but I do miss my family. I get to see Cora quite a bit because our jobs intertwine a lot, even though she’s based in Reno. She spends a lot of time down here in Vegas, especially during monsoon season.”
We pulled up to my carport and parked. I looked over to see her face all lit up talking about her sister.
“That’s great,” I told her.
“It is,” she replied, smiling. “I love having her semi-close by.”
God, this woman was gorgeous and tempting at any given time, but when she smiled, she was a whole other level of temptation and beauty.
I stared down at her lips, wondering how perfect they would feel as I slid my tongue between them and tasted her—a thought I’d had nearly a million times since I’d first met her…and a thought I needed to shut down this very instant.
“Thanks for letting me stay with you tonight,” she said softly. “I’ve got a few friends I can reach out to tomorrow to stay with.”
“It’s not a big deal, Iris. I’ve got a spare bedroom that no one uses. You’re welcome to it as long as you need it.”
The bedroom that was right next to mine.
This may not be the best idea.
9
“The unique smell before a rainstorm is really a thing. It’s called petrichor.”
—It’s science
Iris
Hector’s property was idyllic.
He lived on the west side of Lake Echo in the town of Thunder Cove. To get to his house, we had driven through the Arroyo Wash, which was one of my favorite spots. It was a little oasis in the desert—literally. It was a wetland area filled with greenery and foliage that you didn’t often see in arid regions. And on the few times it did rain, this place became full of color.
Thunder Cove was a great area, but since a lot of it was actually under the jurisdiction of Lake Echo National Park, there were very few houses allowed there.
“I don’t see any other houses nearby,” I mentioned as we got out of the car and began walking up to his house. “How much property does it sit on?”
“Several dozen acres, though I’m not entirely sure,” he responded. “It actually belongs to the Park Service and sits on their property. It was built about three decades ago for whoever was chief ranger so they could get to our home base quickly if needed but also provide some privacy if they had a family.”
