Moreno's (Moreno Brothers Series) - Elizabeth Reyes Page 0,2
he’d yet to so much as have a crush on any girl, let alone feel this struck over one he’d hadn’t even spoken to yet. Aside from her name and what little the teacher had told them, he knew nothing else about her. So, what was his problem?
The rest of the week, he was up bright and early and ready to go each day—something so unlike him even his dad had asked what was with him. Of course, Alej had just shrugged and feigned ignorance of what his dad might mean.
It wasn’t until the end of the week that he finally conjured up the nerve to talk to her. They’d exchanged glances plenty of times since that first day. He was certain she knew about his careless declaration since Juana had wasted no time in going over to talk to her during their first recess that day. Several girls had huddled around her, and they’d all giggled when Alej, Cido, and a few of the other guys had walked by.
He’d been surprised to find out she was only in the fourth grade. Not only did she look older, she seemed far more mature than some of the other annoyingly silly girls at school. He also knew now that La Vuida Franco was her mother and she, Isabella, and her grandma had moved out of the city to Pueblo De Oro to raise Isabella when her father was killed, because it was cheaper than the city. They’d moved into the old house the Infantes had built and lived in for years. Word about the new folks in town had gotten around fast. As everything always did.
Alej’s older sister Lucia was making dinner that Friday evening when she ran out of onions. His dad gave him money to run down to the pueblo’s mercantile to buy one. He’d just walked into the small store when he saw Isabella and their eyes met. Just like all the other times that week when their eyes had met, he felt oddly panicked again. Only this time he was determined to say something to her.
Isabella was standing over by the barrel of frijoles. She was filling a small plastic bag with them. Her hair wasn’t in braids as it had been all week at school. It was long, thick, almost black, and fell beautifully over her shoulders. She wore a red bow in her hair, and unlike the rest of the week when their eyes had met at school, she smiled at him this time. Her dimples seemed even deeper now than when he’d first noticed them.
Alej wasn’t even sure he smiled back. He was too busy trying not to look as panicked as being this close to her made him. After just a moment, she glanced back down and focused on what she was doing. Taking a deep breath, Alej walked over to her.
“Hey,” he said, his heart beating so wildly as those big dark eyes met his again. “I’m Alej.”
“I know.” She smiled sweetly, and once again he was at it like a big sap, breathing in deeply. “Alejandro, but everyone calls you Alej. So why does the maestra call you Salvador?”
“My first name is Salvador. But so is my dad’s, so my parents have always used my middle name to avoid confusion. Only Señorita Munoz is a stickler for using first and full names. So, to her, I’ll always be Salvador.”
She nodded. “I have a Tio Alej in El Paso,” she informed him. “My aunt’s husband. But I’ve never met him. Just heard a lot about him.”
Alej couldn’t care less about her uncle. Only he did want her to keep talking. Her voice matched his first impression of her. It was the voice of an angel. A couple of boys ran into the store, boys Alej knew from around the pueblo and school. One of them took a look at them standing there chatting and was instantly smirking like a pendejo.
At first, Alej had been annoyed that word of his declaration about marrying Isabella had gotten around school so quickly. But now he was glad it had. Without realizing it, he’d instantly called dibs on the prettiest girl in el pueblo.
Ignoring the smirking idiota, Alej turned back to Isabella, who was now tying a knot on the plastic bag full of beans. “You here with your mom?”
She shook her head. “She’s home with my abuela making dinner. But they wanted to get a pot of beans soaking tonight, and we were out.”