Page 95 of Justice for Francesca

“What?”

“Well, you see, when I left Dallas this morning, I took all of my stuff. I dumped every single piece of it at a donation center. I canceled my phone. My car was a bureau vehicle, which I left at the San Antonio office. I am literally here with only the clothes on my back, and I have nowhere to stay. You know anyone who might be willing to take me in and take care of me for a little bit?”

“Fuck, yeah. I know just the guy. He’s been dying to take care of your every need.” He crushed her to him again, then stood up, wrapping her legs around his waist. She gave a tiny screech as he strode purposefully out of the bar, leaving an amused bartender in his wake and passing a few patrons on their way to the carnival alley, smiling knowingly at what looked like a couple who were searching for a dark corner.

Michael saw them from where he was talking with Cosmos. He jogged over to the couple walking toward what looked like a solid wall. Opening an invisible door that led out to a hallway that was used as an emergency exit, he offered Tripoli a relieved smile, then shut the door behind them.

31

THE MOST IMPORTANT DAY

Tripoli - One Month Later

The wind mostly covered the soft strains of The Chainsmokers and the vocals of Chris Martin playing over the radio in Tripoli’s Mustang. The sun was out, the top was down, the local highway was relatively empty of traffic, and today was about to be the most important day of his life.

He glanced over at the woman in the passenger seat, with her head rested against the seatback, sunglasses covering her closed eyes, and her head turned toward the passenger window. Her blonde hair hung loose over her jean jacket and blew around her face as wind rushed over her. Right now, she looked at peace for what he thought might be the first time in her thirty-six years.

Just looking at her made his heart seize. He’d almost lost her. Not once. Not twice. Three times. Well, four, if you counted patching her up on his dining room table.

She’d been out as soon as they’d hit I-90, and he’d hated to disturb a much-needed nap, so he’d detoured off the main highway to take back roads to their destination. He wasn’t in any hurry. He had the rest of his life with this woman. Or he hoped he did. He’d know shortly.

“Sorry. Too much fresh air.” Francesca’s voice was soft and sleepy, his favorite way to hear it. She made a failed attempt to push her blowing hair behind her ears. He smiled and held his right wrist out to her. Traffic had picked up a little bit, and he didn’t want to take his eyes off the road, or he’d miss the turn, so he watched her with his peripheral vision as she removed the hot-pink elastic from around his wrist and tied back her hair into her typical bun. “Where are we?”

He flicked his turn signal and turned right. “Just outside of Castroville.”

“You’re being awfully secretive today. What’s out here?”

“A surprise.”

“You know I hate surprises.”

“I know, but I think you’ll like this one.”

Lord, he hoped she would.

They drove past a few new subdivisions and entrances to several hiking trails for the national park. Finally, Tripoli turned his car onto a newly paved road that traveled along empty plots of land on either side, the ones on the left extending to the edge of the national park. One last turn took the vehicle onto a hard-packed dirt road, which slowed travel down to prevent damage to the car.

When the road ended, he parked the car and turned off the engine but left the keys in the ignition. He sat and looked ahead of him. They were at the top of a bluff, the land full of long scrub, green trees to their left, and looking down into the park. Out in front of them and down below was the town of Castroville itself.

He turned his head to her. “Take a walk with me?”

Francesca pushed her glasses up onto the top of her head. The look she was giving him was a puzzled one, but he’d satisfy her curiosity shortly.

Without waiting any longer for an answer, he opened his door and unfolded himself from the car. She let herself out, stretching the kinks out of her back from her nap by raising her arms straight up to lace her fingers above her head. When she joined him at the front of the vehicle, he clasped her hand and helped her over the uneven ground and through the brush to about thirty feet from the edge of the bluff. There he wrapped his arms around her from behind and pulled her back tight to his front, his head against the side of hers.

“What do you think?”

“It’s quiet. Pretty.”

“I thought so too. The bulk of the tourists come here for the hiking trails, but those don’t come close to these parcels of land. The sunset’s beautiful from here, and there’s no city noise at all. You can actually see stars at night unless there’s cloud cover.”

“Okay. What am I missing?”

“Well, I was picturing that, right where we’re standing, would be an awesome spot for an outdoor kitchen. Far enough back from the bluff that a dog would have room to run around, especially if I put a hedge line in front of a fence there to prevent them from tumbling over the edge of the bluff. Only thirty miles to San Antonio if you feel the need to be around people, or people can come to us.”

She turned in his arms. “What are you saying, Ethan?”

He put his sunglasses on top of his head and wound his arms tighter around Francesca so that there was no space between their midsections. “What I’m saying, very poorly, is that I put a deposit down on this plot to build us a house. Well… five plots, actually, so that we’d have space between us and our neighbors,who I’m pretty sure once they see it out here are going to be Cosmos on one side and Triumph on the other.”

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