Page 36 of Wilde In His Arms

She rolled her eyes.“She washed her hands of Javier years ago.She calls him a sinner.”

“Well, I have to agree.Which is why I’m trying to find him.To hold him accountable for all his sins.To make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone else.”Nick stepped into the kitchen and noted the boxes of cereal, two gallons of milk, and frozen pizzas on the counter where Julia had unpacked them from the bags at her feet.

Mrs.Lopez had a sweet tooth with all the sugary cereal Julia had bought for her.

The giant box of taquitos probably didn’t meet Mrs.Lopez’s standards but they were fast and easy for someone who had trouble getting around.She probably couldn’t stand over a stove for very long anymore with the arthritis in her knees.

“Good luck finding him.”Julia put away the milk in the fridge.

He glanced at the counter and saw a brand-new bottle of a children’s fever medication.“Why the kid’s medicine?”His gut went tight.

“My mother doesn’t tolerate pain meds very well anymore, so I give her the low dose stuff, which means I can give it to her more often during the day to manage her pain.”

And yet when he’d looked down the hallway, he’d spotted several prescription meds on her bedside table.“Just to satisfy my curiosity, mind giving me a tour.”

“He’s not here.”

Nick waited, hoping his silence and scrutiny would get him what he wanted, just so Julia didn’t have to suffer his presence any longer.

“Fine.”She waved him off.“Go look.”

Well, that was even better.He made his way down the hall to the first room.It was set up with a sewing machine on a desk under the window with a twin bed opposite.The closet was closed.He took a peek inside.Stacks of fabric and tulle and sequin in an array of colors.

“My mother used to make quinceañera dresses before the arthritis made her hands ache too much to sew.”

There was a beautiful aqua-colored gown hanging in the closet.“Yours?”

She nodded.“From another time.”

“It’s beautiful.Your mother did exceptional work.”

Julia’s eyes went soft.“And now she can barely hold a fork to eat.”

“I’m sorry.”He meant it.

“Come.”She waved him to follow her with an exasperated expression.“Mama, the fed is going to check your room.”

Nick did it quickly, trying not to stand in front of the TV or upset Mrs.Lopez further.“You have a lovely home.The dress you made Julia is gorgeous.”

Mrs.Lopez nodded, then shooed him away with one hand, so she could finish watching the telenovela on TV.

He gave the bathroom a quick glance then walked back into the living room.“Would you mind showing me the cabins?”

She rolled her eyes again.“I need to make my mother dinner.”

“Then we better get to it so you can get it started.”

Julia flipped her long dark hair behind her back.“Ugh!Fine.Let’s go.”She went to the back door off the kitchen, grabbed a set of keys from the holder by the door, and walked out ahead of him.

When they reached the bottom of the steps, he noticed a cellar door that led under the house.It had a brand-new shiny lock.

“The old door rotted away.I had someone come and build a new one.”

“What do you keep under there?”

“Until we got the new door, rats.Sometimes squirrels and larger animals.My mother is an old woman.She wants to live in peace with a roof over her head and no rodents keeping her up at night.”Julia walked off toward the trees.“You coming?”

He didn’t have much of a choice.If she didn’t open up the cellar door, he couldn’t get in without a warrant.She was accommodating him now.And he enjoyed the walk through the trees.The first cabin wasn’t very far.He turned and looked back at the house, noting that he couldn’t see the main house.And anyone at the main house couldn’t see this cabin.Tire tracks led to the cabin as well.They weren’t fresh, but they weren’t grown over by weeds or obscured by falling leaves either.

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