Page 44 of His Secret Wish

The gentleman placed the pies into a little bakery box and then rang her up. She thanked him, grabbed the plastic bag he held out to her, and headed back to the van. Owen had finished gassing up, and was sitting in the driver’s seat, the motor running.

She climbed into the van. Claudia was awake and chattering away, although at a slower rate than before. Clearly, her tongue was still mostly asleep.

“Hello, sleepyhead.” She turned and smiled at the little girl. Marissa was still sound asleep. “I have a treat for you.”

Claudia’s eyes widened. “Really?”

Isabella’s heart squeezed at the surprise in her voice. She glanced at Owen, who was looking annoyed. He looked at her, and one corner of his mouth ticked down. Sounded like she didn’t get treats that often. Or at all.

Both she and Marissa had been so excited when Isabella had bought them their new coats, it had been hard to wrangle them down a notch. They’d been even more excited when Owen had suggested they grab some food at McDonalds. Obviously, they didn’t go out to eat, either.

“Yup, just for you,” Isabella said, opening and then passing her a bottle of juice. If she’d thought Claudia’s eyes had been big before, it was nothing compared to the size they got when Isabella passed her the hand pie.

“I don’t got to share?” The awe in Claudia’s voice made Isabella’s stomach clench.

“Nope, it’s all for you.” She turned back around and snapped on her seatbelt with a little more vigor than required.

Owen glanced in the rearview mirror. His lips twitched. “She’s going to be a sticky mess by the time we get back. There’s jam everywhere.”

Isabella shrugged. “Oh, well. Then I’ll make sure she gets a bath.”

He looked at her, hard—for what had to be the millionth time this weekend—and she felt like he was searching for something inside her, but for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out what. Then he nodded, like he’d come to some sort of conclusion, turned back to the road, and they were off.

The whole exchange lasted less than ten seconds, but she couldn’t shake the feeling something bad had just happened. Too bad she had no clue what it was.

Owen dusted his hands off on his pants and took a step back from the tent. It was massive, but then, so was Izzy’s family. When they’d gotten back from town earlier, the rental company had just arrived with the stuff for Yaya’s party. The massive tent, a couple of smaller ones, round tables and matching chairs, tablecloths, twinkle lights, the whole shebang.

Marissa had still been sound asleep, so he’d unbuckled her car seat and lifted her out. She’d opened her eyes a crack, and when she saw him, she gave him the biggest smile ever. Then she’d laid her head on his shoulder and went back to sleep.

The warmth that had washed through him had been intense. And not a little frightening. Mostly because he didn’t understand the feeling. It was new to him, and completely out of left field.

He’d grabbed the shopping bags—both he and Izzy had spoiled the girls rotten—and followed Izzy and Claudia into the house and up to the third floor. Izzy fussed with Claudia, who, as predicted, was covered in strawberry rhubarb pie filling. There was even a sticky patch in her hair. He’d placed Marissa on the single bed in the closet, still absolutely disgusted that Yolanda and Jorge had okayed the girls staying in there, and made a hasty retreat, telling Izzy he’d promised to help with the set up outside.

It wasn’t a complete lie. He had promised to help. It just probably wasn’t as urgent as he made it out to be.

Once outside, he’d felt like he could breathe again, and looked forward to actually doing something with his hands. It had been too long, even if it only had been a couple of days. He was a doer, someone who didn’t like sitting around. This would be good for him.

“Thanks for the help.” Luis, his father-in-law, held a beer out to him.

He took it and gave Luis a nod. “You’re welcome. And thanks for the beer.”

Luis clapped him on the shoulder. “And thanks for coming this weekend.” He’d always gotten along with his father-in-law, it was only Rosa that hated his guts. He’d never been able to figure out what he’d done. Maybe it was because she thought he’d held Izzy back. Izzy had gotten a scholarship to the University of Tennessee, but decided not to go once she and Owen decided to get married.

Not that Owen had pressured her, at all. It had been her decision, her choice. He told her he would wait for her, and he’d meant it. But she’d decided she didn’t want to go, especially once she realized he was staying at the ranch. They’d fought about that, but he stood his ground, not willing to abandon his dad and the ranch so soon after Mason had left.

In the end, she’d decided to stay. And he couldn’t deny that he’d been relieved. His biggest fear had been that she’d head off to university, realize what a dumb cowboy he was, dump his ass, and then meet and fall in love with some science or marketing major, and ride off into the proverbial sunset.

Christ, he’d been such a fucking prick. If he really loved her, and wasn’t such a selfish douche bag, he would have insisted she go, experience something new, something different. Set her free to have the life she deserved, and not shackled her to his side, locked into a conception struggle she didn’t deserve.

Owen cleared his throat, the troubling thoughts an unwelcome distraction to his conversation. “Of course.” He took a sip of his beer. “Wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”

Luis laughed and patted him on the shoulder again. “You’ve always been a terrible liar.”

“You’ve got me there.” Owen clinked his bottle against Luis’s and took another sip.

The silence stretched between them, not quite uncomfortable, but barreling quickly in that direction. Owen took another sip of beer and let his gaze dance around. Folks were hustling and bustling about, getting everything ready for the party. He glanced at his watch. Which was officially set to start in an hour.

“Look, son.” Luis turned to face him directly. Owen felt the urge to run, because whatever his father-in-law had to say, it couldn’t be good. Not with such a serious look on his face. “I know things between you and Bella have been difficult these past few years. And while I would never claim to understand your situation, I know how much you love my daughter.”