Page 20 of Choices

"Is that...not good? I thought you'd like..." He turns in his seat slightly so he can look at her.

She reaches out and grabs his hand from his lap, interlacing his fingers with hers.

"It's good...it's so good. This is the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me."

Ah, Christ, I can hear tears in her voice.

Santiago stops theSUV and puts it in park. The main section of the house is a large stone manor, built in the 1820s. Flanking each side of it are the 'wings' that contain the bedrooms and bathrooms. Each wing is compromised of mismatched portions of building, as addition after addition was added over the centuries. I've always loved it.

Diego steps out of the main front door (because of course there are three) and greets his brother with a strong hug and manly back-slapping. Santiago opens Hannah's door for her and waits patiently for her to step out, hand held out for hers.

Since Diego and Rico have already launched into a heated whispering debate, in Spanish, Santiago and I show her to the stables. He steps in front of her, stopping her forward movement. He stoops slightly, catching her eye, before signing something to her.

She gasps and beams up at him. "You started learning!"

He...smiles?...at her? I don't think I've ever seen him do that before. He nods.

Ahhh, ASL. What he doesn't tell her is that he doesn't sleep at night, and on more than one occasion I've walked by his door late at night and heard him watching ASL YouTube videos.

"And you didn't conceal yourself." She whispers, looking at his neck.

She throws her arms around his shoulders, pulling him in for a hug, burying her face in his chest. Santiago wraps his arms around her, holding her close to him, and buries his face in the crook of her neck. I've definitely never seen him do that.

I don't miss the way he turns his head towards hers slightly, and closes his eyes. Fuck, are all three of us interested? I've never seenSantiago give a second glance at a woman, let alone hug one, and sniff one?

"That makes me so happy." She says, pulling back slightly and squeezing his bicep. "You deserve a voice."

"Let me show you to the barn." I chirp, wanting her attention on me, not him. I press my hand into her lower back and direct her down the brick path and down the hill a little to where the barn is.

"Diego said Lauren was in town today for a doctor's appointment, but that you were welcome to help yourself to the barn. Lauren just doesn't want you riding, yet, until she gets here."

"Rico told them about me?"

I nod.

"But why?"

"Somehow, you've caught the eye of the ruthless head of the Columbian mafia," I say, shooting her a wink as we walk through the open barn doors.And his seconds.

Hannah gasps loudly, setting Santiago and me on high alert, but when she rushes forward to the first stall, halfway falling through the open top, we relax. She closes her eyes before taking a deep breath in, savoring the scent of hay, wood shavings and...horse shit?

Gross.

"Oh my gosh, you're just beautiful!" She squeals to a large black horse. Girl horse I think? Or boy? I don't know, I never learned anything about horses. But I'll have to start studying up if my girl likes them.

She turns to look at me and the sheer brilliance of her smile almost knocks me on my ass. Then her eyes fall behind me and she walks over to where horse brushes lay in a bucket.

"May I?" She asks, her hand resting on the stall door latch.

"Lauren said you were welcome to hang out with them, groom them, whatever you want except ride until she's gotten a chance to see where your riding's at and pick a suitable horse for you."

"I couldride?!" She squeals again, and suddenly she's a teenager again, all energy and charisma. My girl has a magnetism around her that causes people to gravitate towards her. She can't exist without your eyes following her, and your ears straining to hear her.

I'd lost her when we went to separate colleges, but when I got out I hired a PI to find her. And he did. Only she was married with a kid already and another on the way. So I let her be, thinking she was happy.

If I had known what Rico told me after that first night I would have come for her a long time ago.

But regardless, she's here now. And I will make her happy.

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