Page 12 of Searching for Valor

A flash of worry crossed Marisol’s face before she hid it. Izzy opened her mouth to assure her mother she was fine but was cut off by the youngest Delgado sibling.

“No, no, no!” Sofia was hunched over her laptop at the table, her brow furrowed in concentration. “The stock market can’t crash now. I just invested everything in tech startups! My portfolio is ruined!”

Izzy’s other sister, Lucia, arched a brow. She was still dressed in her scrubs from her overnight shift at the hospital and looked tired as she poured herself a mug of coffee at the counter. “Yourfakeportfolio. In yourgame.”

Sofia spun around, looking genuinely distraught. “It’snotjust a game, Lulu. It’s preparation for therealworld.”

Abuela Ramona, already seated at the head of the kitchen table, watched the exchange with amusement. “You need preparation for therealworld? Start by doing your own laundry.”

Sofia groaned and collapsed dramatically back into her chair, mumbling something about no one taking her goals seriously.

“Sofia Mariana, put that laptop away,” their mother chided gently. “It’s family time.”

Izzy chuckled as she found a seat beside her grandmother. Her sister was determined to become a Wall Street tycoon, and she fully believed it would happen someday, stock marketsimulation crashes notwithstanding. Sofia’s ambition knew no bounds.

As she sat, she felt her grandmother studying her with a critical eye.

“Ay, niña. Estás muy flaca,” Ramona said, shaking her head. “Too skinny. Here.” She took the plate from in front of Izzy and plopped a tamale onto it before handing it back. “You’ll never find a man if you don’t fatten up those hips.”

Lucia rolled her eyes as she took her seat. “Abuela, we are strong, independent women who don’t need a man to fulfill our lives.”

“Men are stupid,” Sofia agreed.

“Those guys you date at school areboys,mija,” their mom chimed in. “Not men. But, yes,” she added with an affectionately exasperated grin toward her husband. She slapped his hand away from the pan dulce. “Men are stupid most of the time.”

“Hey,” Javier, Mateo, and Diego said simultaneously.

Abuela ignored them all and put another tamale on Izzy’s plate. “You work too hard, Issa. Your eyes, they have shadows. You need rest and a good man to take care of you.”

Izzy sighed. “I don’t have time to rest, Abuelita. Or for a man. I have to focus on my new career.”

“Ah yes, this detective business.” Abuela waved a hand dismissively. “Chasing cheating husbands and lost dogs. This is what you want to do?”

No. It wasn’t. She wanted her old job back. She poked at the tamales but really had no interest in unwrapping them and eating. “It’s not always like that. I’ll be helping people. Making a difference.”

“You want to make a difference? Have a baby. That’ll make a difference in this old woman’s life.“

“Here we go,” Lucia muttered.

“¡Mira!All of you and not a ring or a baby between you,” Abuela continued, wagging a finger at her grandchildren. “When I was your age, I already had three little ones clinging to my skirts.”

Lucia wrinkled her nose. “Gross. No way am I having kids any time soon.”

“We’re focusing on our careers right now, Abuelita,” Mateo said, grabbing a tamale from the stack. “Plenty of time for babies later.”

“Says you,” Sofia grumbled. “I’m not having kids. I’ve got plans. Big plans.”

Ramona sighed dramatically. “Dios mío, what is the world coming to? Strong women, yes, but there is strength in family, too.”

Izzy took a sip of her coffee, letting the familiar banter wash over her. It was a conversation they’d had countless times, but it never got old. Abuela’s relentless quest for great-grandchildren was as much a part of their family dynamic as her youngest sister’s grand plans and her father’s obsession with fixing things that weren’t actually broken.

This was her family.

Her world.

And this was why she’d done it—why she’d made the choice that had shattered her relationship with Rylan. She’d do anything to protect them, even if it meant ruining her career and her shot at happiness.

The betrayal was worth it for moments like this.

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