California Girl by Rice Patricia

Author:Rice, Patricia [Rice, Patricia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: humor, contemporary, roadtrip, romance, Route 66, women's fiction
ISBN: 9781611382969
Publisher: Book View Cafe
Published: 2013-09-03T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

“Jell-O tastes good, but green beans will make your eyes prettier.”

Mame had told his brothers that vegetables would make them stronger and put hair on their chests, but Elliot didn’t think that trick would work so well with a little girl. Lucia seemed to be studying the matter while she picked at her plate.

He’d pulled the hotel’s small table over to the bed so she could reach her food, but her chin barely extended above it. She eyed him skeptically, picked up a bean, and pushed it into her mouth.

The door opened and Alys blew in. The sound of sirens racing by caused Lucia to glance up in alarm. Staying on a major highway had its drawbacks. Alys hastily slammed the door.

Elliot couldn’t tear his gaze away from her. She was so slight she ought to blow away in a good wind, but she’d broken a board with her bare hand and rode a huge horse down a difficult trail without faltering. And he’d spent a night in her bed. She wasn’t frail.

She had curves in all the right places, but it was her expressive face he watched now. He’d seen her smile of pleasure when she entered. She’d been bouncing and happy—her natural state, he suspected. But as soon as she’d walked inside, a light inside her had turned off, and he didn’t know what had flipped the switch. Or who. She set her package down on the dresser and checked her flyaway hair in the mirror.

One thing Alys did not do was primp. She was avoiding him. Or Lucia.

She hurt his heart in ways no physical pain could. He wanted her to look at him with the joy he’d seen in her eyes last night. He needed her laughter and teasing to lift him from the rut he’d dug for himself.

He needed her to teach him how to enjoy life, but he couldn’t ruin her life in the process.

“What did you find?” he asked, helping Lucia spoon up Jell-O.

“Books. No herbal remedies, just antacids. I used Lucia’s camera to take some pictures and left her film there. We need to pick up her photos before we leave. Maybe they can tell us something about her.”

He could hear the avoidance in her voice. She was distancing herself already.

He thought she’d been ready to share his bed again when they’d arrived at the hotel. The only thing that had changed was the presence of the dark-eyed child.

Elliot studied Lucia. She was sturdy and wholesome, not in danger of departing the world soon. Her silence was heartbreaking but not a reason to deny her existence.

So maybe it was children in general Alys ran from. She didn’t have any. Couldn’t? That would be a tragedy for someone so specifically designed to bring joy and love into lives.

“What kind of books?” He cut another piece of chicken for Lucia to chew and took the children’s books Alys handed him. “Spanish and English? Do you think she speaks Spanish and that’s why she doesn’t talk?”

“She understands English.

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