Page 54 of The Crush
“Mija.” Unsurprisingly, Eva’s voice is plenty loud enough to be overheard. “Are you all right? I’ve been doing what I can to keep your papá from driving over there to drag you out of that house.”
I tense, hugging Isabel to me.He could certainly fucking try.
“How long has this been going on?” Eva continues, asking another question before Isabel can respond to her first. “And do not lie to me again.”
“Um.” Isabel glances up at me, and I nod for her to give whatever answer she wants, but she still hesitates before answering. “I guess since about a month after Danny got home.”
Eva hisses out a breath. “Iknew. I knew something was off with you. Of course, I didn’t think it wasthis. You know, when María and I were little, we used to talk about our kids ending up together, but we both assumed that was off the table when you didn’t come along untiltwelve yearsafter Danny.”
“Surprise,” Isabel mutters, and I have to bite the inside of my cheek to stifle a laugh. Eva is less amused.
“Funny.Tell me, what exactly are you planning to do?Dios mío, are you pregna—”
“No, I’m not pregnant,” Isabel answers quickly, and I press a kiss against the top of her head as I shift behind her. “We’re being careful.”
“Carefulwould be remaining in your own bed at night.” She sighs. “I can’t believe you kept this from me. Formonths.”
“I’m sorry,” Isabel says. “We had been figuring out how to tell people, but then Aarón and his big mouth screwed everything up.”
“Yes.What a proud day it was for our family.”
Isabel’s shoulders sag, and I know she said she wants to be the one to handle this, but it’s taking everything I have not to ask for the phone so I can put the blame where it belongs.
“I only hope you know what you’re doing.” There’s noise on Eva’s end. “I should go, but I’ll call again later this week, okay? I love you.”
“You too.” Both of them exchange one more goodbye before Isabel hangs up the phone with an unsteady hand and turns to bury her face in my chest.
I promise right then that this time I really will fix it.
Forty-One
Isabel
Everything always looks better in the morning…unless it’s the morning after your boyfriend and your brother get into a fist fight at church and you’re thrown out of your childhood home. Then it’s still a bit dicey.
Can I actually even call Daniel my boyfriend?Ishe my boyfriend? That doesn’t feel like quite the right fit but “guy I have had a crush on for the last decade then started secretly sleeping with and am now staying with” doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue either.
I peek over at Daniel as he navigates his truck down the ranch’s uneven dirt roads, one hand on the wheel and one hand on my leg as he’s taken to doing anytime we’re in the car together. Although the deep frown on his face tells me his thoughts are not remotely in the truck cab.
He’s probably wondering how the hell he let you talk him into this mess, I think. After all, it had been me. Even if Daniel had been the one to suggest we start trying to tell people, I had been the one to suggest we could keep it a secret in the first place.
And now Daniel would pay for it.AndTadeo.
My mother’s disappointment would be nothing compared to my father’s resentment. Proof of it in the way he hadn’t simply cast me out the door but also years of friendship and partnershipwith Tadeo. The latter definitely needed this time of year as both ranches got set for winter. Without my family to help this time, it would only be him and Daniel here. And me.
Does Tadeo even want me here? Does Danny?It seemed yesterday like he did. He said I could stay, but does he actuallywantme here? Or did he only tell me I could stay because he felt bad?
Daniel’s truck rumbles to a stop beside Tadeo’s outside the horse barn, and he puts it into park before switching off the ignition and leaning back with a deep sigh, wincing as he stretches his side.
“Are you sure you don’t want to take something?” I ask, looking between his grimace and the fresh bandages on his right hand. “You’d feel better.”
“I’m just a bit stiff,” he says, patting my leg. “I’ll be fine.”
I arch an eyebrow at him, then pull the small bottle of ibuprofen from my pocket. “Here. I took some. You should, too.”
When he continues to stare at them stubbornly, I change tactics. “Please? I won’t be able to focus on riding if I’m worried about you being in pain.”
His eyes narrow, knowingexactlywhat I’m doing.
