Familia by Lauren E. Rico

Author:Lauren E. Rico [Rico, Lauren E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington Books
Published: 2023-10-06T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 29

GABBY

Today

When I answer the door, I find Isabella standing there with a bag of cookies in one hand and a half-gallon of milk in the other.

“A peace offering,” she says, holding them up for me to see. “They’re not homemade, but like Matéo said, I’m not a cook. Still, you’ll notice I did spring for the Pepperidge Farm ones.”

As she says this, she waggles her eyebrows up and down.

“Isabella—”

“Listen, Gabby, I know they’re not your mom’s, but I thought maybe a little something to remind you of her might make a difference in how you’re feeling.”

“Isabella—” I try again, but she holds up a hand to stop me again.

“Just give me a second. I need to get this all out.” I fold my arms across my chest and watch her take a deep breath as if gathering her courage. Then she speaks again. “It’s a lot to take in, and I haven’t done a great job of giving you the time and space to process it all. And I’m sorry about that. And I’m really sorry about the confusion over Alberto’s . . . status. May I please come inside?”

I throw the door open so she can walk past me into the living area of the suite. “That’s what I’ve been trying to get you to do, but you wouldn’t shut up.”

Once she’s inside, she drops the cookies and milk on the table and turns to face me. “Listen, I’m sorry, I really had no idea you thought Alberto was dead. And, in all fairness, you didn’t ask—you just kind of assumed.”

I throw up my hands. “What was I supposed to think? You rarely mention him and, when you do, it’s always in the past tense.”

Her eyes are glued to mine. “There’s a lot of baggage there. More than I can unpack right now. But I promise I’ll tell you more about it later. For now, we really need to get on the road.”

“What? Where?”

“To Ponce. I was able to get in touch with Beatríz, and she’s willing to meet us this afternoon, but we need to get moving if we’re going to make it on time. You in?”

Am I? Well, I’ve come this far . . .

“Depends. Are there any more un-dead relatives I need to know about?”

She shakes her head. “Nope. He’s the only one.”

“Ugh, fine,” I huff in exasperation. Then I grab my purse and sunglasses and start toward the door. Isabella puts the cookies on the counter and is about to stick the milk in the fridge when I stop her. “Hey! That comes with us,” I command.

She puts her hands up in surrender, milk jug still looped around her thumb. Her smile a mixture of amusement and relief.

“You got it, boss. Hey, do you mind if we make a stop on the way? It won’t take long, I promise.”

“Whatever,” I reply with overly dramatic indifference, rolling my eyes as I pluck the cookies off the counter.

* * *

“You’re sure you’ll be okay out here for a little while?” she asks me, even as she’s got one leg out of the car already.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.