Gerardo wandered in, still adjusting his jeans.
“What do you do?” Milagros asked.
“Acquisitions,” Deacon answered, to my way of thinking, interestingly.
“Whas’ that?” Gerardo butted in and Deacon looked down at him.
It was then it was proved you could fall in love in an instant.
This was because badasses melted in the face of pregnant German Shepherds.
But the sweetness that came over Deacon’s features when he trained his gaze to the young boy was a vision so magnificent it was almost, but not quite, painful to behold, such was its beauty.
I knew Milagros saw it too and felt the same way I did. I knew this because she leaned in to me and did it deep, like she couldn’t hold up her own weight.
“I get things for people,” Deacon explained.
“I’m Gerardo,” Gerardo shared.
“I’m John,” Deacon lied.
“Hola, John.”
Deacon smiled.
“Dios mío,” Milagros breathed.
Good to know I wasn’t the only one.
“Mi amor, it’s late. We should let John have his dinner,” Manuel called to his wife.
“No!” Esteban yelled and I looked his way to see he’d had his face wedged in the sliver of an opening of the fridge door, the only thing he could get with Milagros and me standing in his way. “Tía Cassidy has lemon pie with that fluffy stuff on top.”
I felt the awe leave Milagros as she set up to let loose on her son but she didn’t get there in time.
Her husband did.
Thus ensued a wave of Spanish where I caught only a few words—all of them fatherly in a scary way—then I heard the fridge door close and watched an ten-year-old boy shuffle toward his father with head bowed.
“Lo siento, Cassidy,” Manuel murmured.
“It’s okay,” I replied on a smile. Then I said to Esteban’s back, “I’ll save some for you.”
“Thanks, Tía Cassidy,” he muttered.
“Mis hijas!” Milagros shouted. “Nos vamos! Ándele!”
Pandemonium ensued as the girls rushed in from the porch. They didn’t bother attempting to take turns with giving me a hug, they pretty much collided with me, squeezed me, and dashed out, waving perfunctorily at Deacon (with Silvia, I noticed, avoiding his hot guy eyes in a sweet, shy girl way). Esteban and Gerardo didn’t bother with hugs, they just shouted their farewells, Gerardo giving cute waves, and raced after their sisters.
“We should have called,” Manuel said as I heard the front door being opened.
“You’re welcome here anytime,” I replied, moving his way. “You know that.”
His eyes slid to Deacon. They were not questioning, they were assessing.
I felt Milagros come up to my side. “We must have you to dinner. Are you here long?”
It took effort not to whoop with glee when Deacon answered, “Got a break. I’ll be here three, four weeks.”