Her Little Spanish Secret. Laura Iding
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until Juliet had gone off to college. Thankfully, her friend Diana had been there for her, even offering to be her labor coach.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured, reaching across the table to capture her hand in his. “We both lost our parents about the same time, didn’t we?”
“Yes. We did.” His fingers were warm and strong around hers, but she gently tugged her hand away and reached for her glass. She tried to think of a way to ask him if he was married or seeing someone, without sounding too interested.
“I have thought of you often these past few years,” Miguel murmured, not seeming to notice how she was struggling with her secret. He took her left hand and brushed his thumb across her bare ring finger. “You haven’t married?”
She slowly shook her head. There was only one man who’d asked her out after Tommy had been born. He was another nurse in the operating room, one of the few male nurses who worked there. She’d been tempted to date him because he was a single parent, too, and would have been a great father figure for Tommy, but in the end she hadn’t been able to bring herself to accept his offer.
She hadn’t felt anything for Wayne other than friendship. And as much as she wanted a father for Tommy, she couldn’t pretend to feel something she didn’t.
Too bad she couldn’t say the same about her feelings toward Miguel. Seeing him again made her realize that she still felt that same spark of attraction, the same awareness that had been there when they’d worked together in the U.S. Feelings that apparently hadn’t faded over time.
“What about you, Miguel?” she asked, taking the opening he’d offered, as she gently pulled her hand away. “Have you found a woman to marry?”
“No, you know my dream is to join Doctors Without Borders. But I can’t leave until I’m certain my brother has the Vasquez olive farm back on its feet. Luis has a few—ah—problems. Things were not going well here at home during the time I was in the U.S.” A shadow of guilt flashed in his eyes, and she found herself wishing she could offer him comfort.
“Not your fault, Miguel,” she reminded him, secretly glad to discover he hadn’t fallen in love and married a beautiful Spanish woman. “How old is Luis?”
“Twenty-six now,” he said. “But too young back then to take on the responsibility of running the farm. I think the stress of trying to hold everything together was too much for my father.” He stared at his glass for a long moment. “Maybe if I had been here, things would have been different.”
She shrugged, not nearly as reassured as she should be at knowing his dream of joining Doctors Without Borders hadn’t changed. She should be thrilled with the news. Maybe this would be best for all of them. He’d go do his mission work, leaving her alone to raise Tommy. Miguel could come back in a few years, when Tommy was older, to get to know his son.
All she had to do was to tell him the truth.
Diana wanted her to wait, but she knew she had to tell him or the secret would continue to eat at her. She’d never been any good at lying and didn’t want to start now. She swallowed hard and braced herself. “Miguel, there’s something important I need to tell you,” she began.
“Miguel!” A shout from across the street interrupted them. She frowned and turned in time to see a handsome young man, unsteady on his feet, waving wildly at Miguel.
“Luis.” He muttered his brother’s name like a curse half under his breath. “Excuse me for a moment,” he said as he rose to his feet.
She didn’t protest, but watched as Miguel crossed over towards his brother, his expression stern. The two of them were quickly engrossed in a heated conversation that didn’t seem it would end any time soon.
Kat sat back, sipping her soft drink and thinking how wrong it was for her to be grateful for the reprieve.
“Luis, you shouldn’t be drinking!” Miguel shouted in Spanish, barely holding his temper in check.
“Relax, it’s Friday night. I’ve been slaving out at the farm all week—don’t I get time to have fun too? Hey, who’s the pretty Americana?” he asked with slurred speech, as he looked around Miguel towards where Katerina waited.
“She’s a friend from the U.S.,” he answered sharply. “But that’s not the point. I thought we had an agreement? You promised to stay away from the taverns until Saturday night. It’s barely five o’clock on Friday, and you’re already drunk.” Which meant his brother must have started drinking at least a couple of hours ago.
“I sent the last olive shipment out at noon. I think you should introduce me to your lady friend,” Luis said with a sloppy smile, his gaze locked on Katerina. “She’s pretty. I’d love to show her a good time.”
The last thing he wanted to do was to introduce Katerina to his brother, especially when he was intoxicated. Luis had been doing fairly well recently, so finding him like this was more than a little annoying.
What was Luis thinking? If he lost the olive farm, what would he do for work? Or was this just another way to ruin Miguel’s chance to follow his dream? He was tired of trying to save the olive farm for his brother while taking care of his patients. He was working nonstop from early morning to sundown every week. It was past time for Luis to grow up and take some responsibility.
“Go home, Luis,” he advised. “Before you make a complete fool of yourself.”
“Not until I meet your lady friend,” Luis said stubbornly. “She reminds me a little of our mother, except that she has blonde hair instead of red. Are you going to change your mind about going to Africa? She may not wait for you.”
Miguel ground his teeth together in frustration. “No, I’m not going to change my mind,” he snapped. He didn’t want to think about Katerina waiting for him. No matter how much he was still attracted to her, having a relationship with an American woman would be nothing but a disaster. His mother had hated every minute of living out on the farm, away from the city. And far away from her homeland. He was certain Katerina wouldn’t be willing to leave her home either. “Katerina’s sister is in the hospital, recovering from a serious head injury. She’s not interested in having a good time. Leave her alone, understand?”
“Okay, fine, then.” Luis shook off his hand and began walking toward the bar, his gait unsteady. “I’ll just sit by myself.”
“Oh, no, you won’t.” Miguel captured his brother’s arm and caught sight of his old friend, Rafael, who happened to be a police officer. “Rafael,” he called, flagging down his friend.
“Trouble, amigo?” Rafael asked, getting out of his police car.
“Would you mind taking my brother home?” He grabbed Luis’s arm, steering him toward the police car, but his brother tried to resist. Luis almost fell, but Miguel managed to haul him upright. “I would take him myself, but I’m on call at the hospital.”
“All right,” Rafael said with a heavy sigh. “You’ll owe me, my friend. Luckily for you, I’m finished with my shift.”
“Thanks, Rafael. I will return the favor,” he promised.
“I’ll hold you to that,” Rafael muttered with a wry grimace.
Miguel watched them drive away, before he raked a hand through his hair and turned back towards Katerina. As if the fates were against him, his pager went off, bringing a premature end to their time together.
“My apologies for the interruption,” he murmured as he returned to the table. “I’m afraid I must cut our meal short. There is a young boy with symptoms of appendicitis. I need to return to the hospital to assess whether or not he needs surgery.”
“I understand,” Katerina said, as he paid the tab. She gathered up the papers he’d given to her. “Thanks again for translating Juliet’s chart for me. I’m sure I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Of course.” When