Moreno's (Moreno Brothers Series) - Elizabeth Reyes Page 0,43

been rushed to the hospital. When Isabella arrived, her mom was already there. They were told her grandmother had suffered congestive heart failure.

Shortly thereafter, Isabella’s aunt arrived from El Paso. They were just going through the paperwork the doctor had given them on CHF, when they were told Isabella’s grandma would be going into emergency surgery. They hadn’t even been able to get the word to her other aunt in Mexico about the surgery, when they were told her grandmother hadn’t made it.

It was all so sudden, and they were all beyond devastated. With none of them having anticipated something like that happening so unexpectedly, no one was prepared financially for putting her grandmother to rest. They decided to take her back home to the city she was born in back in Mexico where her grandmother would’ve wanted her last resting place to be anyway. It was also much cheaper than burying her in the states.

One good thing did come of her abuela’s passing. Her mom and her sisters, who’d been at odds since the falling out that separated them, decided that, in honor of their mother, they’d let bygones be bygones. They didn’t go as far as moving back in together, but they promised to stay in touch more than they had in the months since the fall out.

When Isabella and her mom returned to Las Cruces after the funeral, Isabella’s mom suggested the idea of moving to California. Specifically, the San Diego area, near Sea World, the area her mom and sisters had fallen in love with way back. Isabella was thrilled by the idea. She visited the library more than once to get more information about San Ysidro.

She knew a few things for sure. San Ysidro was in San Diego county, and San Diego was an expensive county to live in. Most importantly, it’s where she knew Alejandro had last lived. He might even still be there. As long a shot as it may be, she had a better chance of reuniting with him if she was living in San Diego. So, instead of making less of her mom’s suggestions, she began to really look into it. They’d have to save up for the first and last on an apartment out there, and they had to have enough saved to give them time to find jobs. It’d take some time, and there was no guarantee that Alejandro was even out there anymore. But it was definitely doable and an idea that now excited Isabella.

Alejandro

The moment his family was situated in the US, Alej did what he’d promised Isa he would. He sent her his new address and waited to hear back. He didn’t immediately panic when he didn’t hear back from her. Maybe his letter hadn’t made it. Maybe he’d written the address down wrong. The addresses in the US were formatted a lot different from the ones in Mexico. So, he sent her another after not hearing back from her in over a week. Weeks later, he’d still heard nothing. There were many possibilities to why he may not have heard back from her just yet. Alej had taken all into consideration except for one.

That she’d stopped waiting for him.

Even as the months passed and he still received no word from her, he wouldn’t even entertain the idea. She’d given herself to him, in every way sin medidas ni reservas. Each one of her letters to him had been just as heartfelt as his had been to her. In each one, she professed her undying adoration for him as he’d done to her and said she could hardly wait until the day they were reunited again.

As her eighteenth birthday rolled around, Alej planned his trip out to El Paso with his father to ask for her hand in marriage. Despite the loss of contact, he was keeping his promise and he was holding her to hers, no matter what her reasons for having stopped responding to his letters. It’d been as disappointing as it’d been a relief to find out it’d been just over a six months since the new tenants had moved in. Alej had done the math. That would’ve been right around the time he’d moved out to San Ysidro. It made perfect sense, but he was at a loss now as to how to find her.

His dad, who still stayed in touch with family members and friends back home, had asked for him if they’d heard anything about the Franco women. If perhaps