Page 78 of Rio's Release

Bella giggles at how excited the dog is to see Rio, its tail wagging and hitting her in the face.

Once Rio has given the dog enough attention, he straightens and holds out his hand. “Hi, Bella. It’s nice to meet you.”

She shakes it, then looks at me, like she wants an explanation for why this man came to our house.

“I used to know Rio years ago. We lost touch for a while, but now he’s back. He was excited to hear I adopted Hurley.”

“I sure was. I knew your mom would take good care of him.” He scratches the dog’s ears. “He’s got a little gray around his face now, doesn’t he?”

“Yes,” my daughter replies. “Mom says he’s getting old.”

Aunt Fannie comes to stand by us and extends her hand. “I’m Fannie. Nice to meet you.” Then she looks at me. “Well, I guess I’ll head out.”

“Thank you for taking care of Bella.I hope she wasn’t too much trouble.”

“She was an angel. She always is.” Fannie squeezes Bella and kisses the top of her head. “I had fun, honey. I’ll see you soon.”

“Bye, Aunt Fannie.”

Once she’s gone, Rio’s gaze moves around the place, taking in Bella’s drawings on the fridge, the smallness of the place, and our meager furniture. Everything is clean, but it’s all secondhand.

“So, want to give me the fifty-cent tour?”

“I will. I will.” Bella jumps up and down and grabs his hand, leading him up the hall. “This is my room.”

I follow, watching him take in the pink painted paneling, the bed covered in stuffed animals, and the small chandelier I found in a thrift store. I made it as cute and princess worthy as I could on a budget.

“Wow. You have a lot of pink in here,” Rio says.

“It’s my favorite color,” Bella says proudly, then grabs her teddy bear off the bed. “This is Esmerelda. I’ve had her since I was a baby.”

“Well, hello, Esmerelda.” Rio leans over and shakes the bear’s hand. “I like her dress.”

“My mommy made it for her. I have a matching one in the closet, but it doesn’t fit me anymore.”

“Oh, sorry to hear that. Maybe you and Esmerelda can get new matching outfits. Not as nice as the one your mom made you, but I bet if we go shopping, we could find something.”

My smile fades at his offer. I don’t want him promising her things, and I move to touch her shoulder. “We’ll have to see about that, Bella. Why don’t you and Esmerelda play while I talk to Rio, okay?”

“Okay, Mommy.”

I jerk my chin to the door and Rio follows me out to the living room, where I whirl on him. “Do not do that.”

“Do what?”

“You know what. Start promising her shopping trips and new clothes. This isn’t a game. She has feelings, and I don’t want her little heart getting shattered when you don’t come through.”

“Who says I’m not coming through?” He glances around the place and continues in a low voice. “You keep a nice home. You’ve obviously tried hard to do what you can with the place, but you both deserve so much more than this. I plan to see you get it.”

“What are you talking about?”

The sound of a vehicle carries to us, and I move to the door, looking out the curtain, then jerk my head back to Rio, my eyes wide. “Why is Zig here?”

“I told him to come in my truck. Figured we’d need the room to cart your belongings with us.”

My brows shoot up, and my mouth drops open. “Are you under the impression I’m going somewhere?”

“Yes. I’m moving you and Bella, and”—he glances to the dogs and cat—“all of them home to Las Cruces.”

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