Page 43 of Echoes and Oaths
“Sure. He can’t talk in full sentences, but he knows words and can parrot. So, no curse words,” she warned as she set the glass in front of Teo.
The boy reached with both hands and brought it to his mouth. He slurped and sloshed the milk but drank his fill without Mateo wearing the rest of it before offering it to Mateo. Taking the cup fromhim, Mateo set it on the table, then wiped off the milk mustache with his finger. “I missed so much.”
“You have.” Eira wasn’t going to let him off the hook. But she wasn’t going to beat a dead horse, either. It was a fact. He’d missed so many milestones.
Mateo was quiet for a long moment. “How long has the farm to the west been abandoned?”
Eira blinked at the question. “Over a year. They loaded up their truck and left. I don’t know where they went. Why?”
“Simón wants to meet me,” Mateo said as Teo turned and slithered down his legs to the floor.
He lifted his arms while walking to her. “Momma, up.”
She lifted him up, and he tucked his head under her chin. “Yeah, it’s almost nap time, isn’t it?” Eira rubbed the baby's back and glanced at Mateo. “I’ll be back.”
“Can I help?” he said and stood up, picking up the plates off the table.
“Put him down?” She frowned.
“Yes. I should know how to do that, shouldn’t I?” Mateo looked at her. The sincerity in his eyes almost floored her.
“If you’d like, sure.” She went into the bedroom. Mateo took the cloth diaper from her and changedTeo before picking him back up. He sat in the chair with his son. “What do you do now?”
“Sing him a song.”
Mateo chuckled and began singing a lullaby she suspected was American. He hummed some of the words that he probably couldn’t recall. When he was done, she took Teo from him and laid him down in his crib. He fussed for a moment but quickly lost the battle to stay awake.
She kissed his soft hair, and Mateo did the same. They left the small room and she closed the door behind her. She leaned against the door and watched him walk back into the kitchen. It took her a few moments to swallow the emotion that had built in her chest as she’d silently watched father and son.Please, don’t hurt us.She drew several deep breaths and pushed her shoulders back before she walked into the kitchen.
Mateo was cleaning the dishes when she walked back into the kitchen. “Why would Simón want to meet with you?”
Mateo shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s the only person who detests Ortega as much as I do. Did you know he has a woman?”
“Yeah. Adriana. She lives in town. Her husband died in the wars. Simón has paid for her house andhas food for her delivered from Ortega’s convoys. She’s ostracized because of it. A kept woman. I talk to her because we’re both tainted. She really is a nice lady.”
Mateo stilled, and he slowly turned his head toward her. “Say what?”
Eira blinked and looked at him. “A baby out of wedlock. The people here don’t say it as openly as they do about Adriana, but the religious implications are the same.”
He straightened, and she could sense an anger rising in him. “Has anyone treated you badly?”
“Badly? No. My family knew what you were, although they didn’t tell me until later after you’d left.” She took a dish towel and wiped the dishes he’d washed, setting them back in the stack on the shelf. “Your reputation kept things to cold shoulders, whispers as I pass, things like that.” She shrugged. “As you’d expect.”
“I wouldn’t expect that at all.” Mateo handed her the last bowl, and she wiped it and placed it in the small cupboard. “We can marry immediately.”
Eira snorted. “Not likely.”
“Why not?” Mateo frowned.
“Oh, I don’t know.” Eira crossed her arms and looked at him. “Why don’t you take a guess?”
“Listen, this wouldn’t be for me. It wouldn’t be a way to edge myself back into your life. I would give you my name in a heartbeat.” Facing her, he put his hands on her hips before quickly removing them as if he’d forgotten he didn’t have that privilege anymore. “No one should look down at you. Especially because of me.”
“Too late.” She shrugged. “I need to go collect the eggs while Teo is sleeping.”
“Do you need help?”
She stopped and looked back at him. “Do you know how to gather eggs?”
