Page 4 of The Final Deal

“I’m sorry, babe,” he murmurs, hardly audible over the sound of Shannon’s favorite Disturbed playlist, and parks himself past Adrian’s drumset in the guitar corner.

Don’t push him, I remind myself as I dump tacos onto the kitchenette counter to the right of the front door. With the way Adrian and I fought after Zak and I made up, there’s no telling how bloody that scene was when I was passed out.

In any case, I don’t want to air that laundry in front of my brother, my best friend, or his daughter. We’ve all had a brush with the devil, but little ears shouldn’t hear that—even if her daddy is a devil, himself.

“What’s y’all’s schedule at the botanica lookin’ like?” Shannon asks over the sounds of his favorite band and whatever video Andrea is watching on her tablet as she’s curled up in Robbie’s side.

The ache in my chest grows at the sight of Andrea’s face lighting up when her gaze breaks from her tablet. She scans the room between her dad and tios. “Has Mom been there?”

Shannon sighs heavily and closes his eyes. “Baby, we’ve already been over this. Mama isn’t at the botanica, and she’s not at home when you’re at school.”

Drea looks to Zak with hope in her eyes. “Tio, has Tia Rosa said?—”

“Andrea Lupita, stop it,” Shannon snaps. The severe glare burns his hazel eyes into a vibrant golden green. “If your mama wanted to be here, she would be. She doesn’t want me anymore.”

Zak whistles sharply, returning Shannon’s glare. “No es su culpa.”

“You’re right,” Shannon says through gritted teeth, huffing like he’s about to start roaring. “It’s mine.”

Andrea sits beside Robbie with a bowed head and a trembling bottom lip. I worry mine between my teeth as my eyesslant to Zak. With a slight jut of his chin, I understand what he wants.

“Hey, princess,” I call out, “come with Abby for a minute—I got a surprise for you.”

She perks up at that. With a swipe of her hand across her cheeks, she sets her tablet aside and drags her feet my way. I don’t miss the heated stare down between Shannon and the twins or the apprehension on Robbie’s face as we abandon ship to let them duke things out.

“Mind getting the door? My hands are covered in barbacoa grease.”

“Ew,” Drea says softly as she twists the doorknob. “I don’t like barbacoa.”

Inside the Ramos house, I wash my hands and spin around to find Drea searching, peeking around the corner cautiously as if her mother might be playing a bad game of hide-and-go-seek.

Shannon might be devastated, but with her long brown hair cascading in neat waves down her back and her orange and white striped shirt as clean and crisp as it probably was on the shelf in the store, we don’t have to worry about him taking care of her. He just misses his soulmate and he doesn’t know how to go on without her.

I clear my throat, startling Drea, and approach the pantry. “This is our secret, okay?”

She nods solemnly and comes to my side to peek into the walk-in, big brown eyes dawdling all over the shelves that are a little bare. “Do you cook for Tio Z and Dree?”

I snort, unable to help the amusement on my face as I enter the pantry and head straight for the faded pink basket with the sign I drew by hand that saysDrea’s Treats. The amusement morphs into a genuine smile when I realize it’s still here. “I haven’t in a long time. Why?”

“Oh. Mama cooks all the time for Dad. I think he misses it.”

Pulling the basket off the shelf, I spot a small wooden box hidden behind it, shoved in the very corner. My head tilts to the side as I hold the basket out for her to rummage through. Raised letters reveal it’s a recipe box.

“Can I have two?”

“No, ma’am,” I say, quickly retracting the basket. “Only one. Don’t need your daddy upset with me, too.”

“Please?”

I cast her a warning glance. “Ask again and I’ll take what you got in your hand.”

“Shoot.” She sighs, mumbling under her breath.

I grab the wooden box and lift the lid. Someone’s pretty cursive writing in black ink is scrawled all over yellowing index cards, the first one titled “Lupe’s famous salsa roja.”

A bright beam lifts my cheeks into my line of sight as I riffle through the cards. Recipes for meals I’d long forgotten about stir up all the delicious scents tucked away deep in my memory and instantly make my mouth water.

“Maybe it’s time I cook dinner for your tios again.” I turn to face Drea and hold up an index card for her to see. “These are your abuela’s recipes, and I think they’d really like to have some of ’em. You wanna learn a couple to show your mama when she gets back?”

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