Page 14 of Rafa's Convenient Wife

“To pack!” she hurled back with irritation.

“No!” He rushed up the stairs behind her and cut her off before she reached halfway. “You can’t go. You can’t take Jasper.”

“Yes, I can. I’m his guardian now. Jaime and Maddie left letters for everyone, and the one they left me made it very clear they want him raised in San Antonio in their home.”

“Letters? What letters?”

“Their lawyer has them.”

“Miguel?” he asked, remembering the older man who had been so helpful in handling all the legal headaches of retrieving Jaime and Maddie’s bodies from Coast Guard custody and obtaining the necessary paperwork and permits to fly them across the border for the funeral. “Is that what you two were discussing in the library when I found you with your heads together?”

“Yes. He explained all the instructions and arrangements Jaime and Maddie left for me. He said they were very thorough in their planning because Maddie was so paranoid about something happening to them and Jasper being left alone.”

He could believe that. Maddie had always been a bit high-strung, and she planned every single minute of her life out to the most minute detail. He had no trouble imagining her sitting down at her desk to write letters as a maybe-possibly-someday insurance policy. Jaime would have gone along with whatever she wanted because he loved her so much.

The knowledge that Jaime hadn’t trusted him or their siblings enough to leave Jasper in their care stung. Irritated by that uncomfortable fact, he said, “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

She frowned at him. “What does that mean?”

“You’ve played at being a mother part-time, but Jaime and Maddie were always there. What are you going to do now without that support? Just you and Jasper alone in San Antonio?” He shook his head. “It’s too much, Sky. You won’t be able to handle it.”

“You don’t know anything about me and what I can handle, Rafael.”

“Fine,” he acquiesced, “but what are you going to do when you’re tired and need help?”

“I’ll hire a sitter,” she said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“With what money? You don’t even have a job! How are you going to support Jasper and yourself?”

“Jaime and Maddie left a trust. If it’s not enough, I’ll figure something out once things calm down. I’m not afraid of work.”

He hated that she had an answer for everything. Maybe she would be fine financially with whatever life insurance and trust Jaime and Maddie left behind. “Money isn’t enough, Sky.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means a child should be raised with their family!”

“I’m his family!”

“You’re one person, Sky! That's not a family!”

“Says who? You?” She rolled her eyes at his high-handedness. “Not all of us are lucky enough to have brothers and sisters and cousins, Rafael. Some of us have to make do with much less—but that doesn’t mean our families are any less worthy than yours!”

“Yes, but Jasper doesn’t have to make do,” he argued, wishing she would see reason. “He has a real family here. A grandmother, aunts, uncles, a cousin. He has a whole village to help raise him here where he belongs.”

As if on cue, Jasper took hold of the hand Rafael had been gesturing with and then shifted in Sky’s arms as if he wanted to be held. To her credit, Sky didn’t refuse to let go of their nephew.She handed him over willingly, even though it was clear as day that it hurt her to do it. It was as if Jasper had taken his side and spurned hers.

“I think I need to rest for a bit,” she said, her voice little more than a whisper. “Do you mind watching him while I nap?”

“Of course not, Sky. Please, get some rest. We’ll take care of him for you.” He realized belatedly how that sounded, but there was no taking it back. She nodded sadly and climbed the stairs, leaving him alone with Jasper.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Dina hissed angrily when he reached the bottom of the stairs. “Why would you say those horrible things to her?”

Feeling attacked, he scowled at his sister. “Were you eavesdropping?”

“It’s hard not to hear you two arguing. You know everything echoes in this house!” Dina crossed her arms and glared at him. “How could you, Rafa? You know what that girl has been through, and you pick today to bring up the fact that she has no family? That she’s all alone in the world now?”

“I didn’t mean it that way!”

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