Whatever anger Josh felt toward his father had been pushed out, thanks to his ex-wife and her addiction. His heart had only so much room for bitterness and disappointment.
“Hey. How’s it going?” Reese McGraw peeked inside, a smile on her face.
It was hard to tell who brightened more, Gabe or Raquel.
“Come in,” Raquel beckoned to Reese. “Don’t just stand there.”
“Wow, you’ve been busy.” She walked straight to Gabe and, standing on tiptoes, kissed his cheek. “Can I help?”
His eyes roved her face as if committing every detail to memory. “You already have.”
Josh was happy for the two of them. His marriage and that of his parents may have tanked, but that didn’t mean he’d lost faith in the institution. He liked to believe that with the right two people, anything was possible.
Unfortunately, his parents couldn’t have been more wrong for each other. According to his mother, Raquel was the reason his father had left her. Josh had bought the story hook, line and sinker—at first. He’d been eighteen when his grandmother had inadvertently let it slip that his parents’ marriage was in trouble long before his father had met and fallen in love with Raquel.
“The closet’s all yours.”
Raquel’s remark returned Josh to the present. Good. He was weary of traipsing down memory lane and welcomed the interruption. “Thanks.”
“If you don’t need me anymore,” Gabe said, “I’ll see you later.”
“Appreciate the hand,” Josh said.
“Anytime, brother.”
Brother? Another surreal moment. Who’d have guessed he and Gabe would ever act like normal siblings? They’d grown up apart, hating each other for different reasons, the product of their parents’ animosity. Reese was mostly responsible for the changes in Gabe. She’d encouraged him to love and forgive.
Josh and Cole could benefit from some encouragement. They’d made considerable progress these past few months, learning to be a family with Gabe, but they still had a long way to go.
“Bye, Josh.” Reese waved, then hurried behind Gabe, warning him to watch his step.
Raquel sighed with contentment, her hand resting on her heart as she watched the happy couple leave.
“Children are such a blessing,” she said to no one in particular.
“Why didn’t you have more?” Josh should have been heading downstairs. There was a lot left to unload and carry up. Something made him hesitate.
“It wasn’t in God’s plan.” She turned a lovely smile on him.
For a fleeting moment, Josh saw a beautiful young woman, the one who must have captivated his father.
“I was lucky to have Gabe. And Cara.”
“You and her mother were friends?”
“More than friends. Leena was like a sister to me. After her husband died in that terrible car crash, she and Cara stayed with us for a while.”
Josh thought it interesting that he and Cara had both lost their fathers. Though, in her case, a beloved father.
“There was never a question where Cara would live when she and Javier’s father separated,” Raquel continued. “Or that she would remain after Javier’s death.”
“I can see why she’s attached to the place.”
“More than attached. Dos Estrellas is her home.”
If Raquel was trying to make a point, she was succeeding. “I don’t want her to leave,” he said.
“Then why are you trying to take away her purpose?” she asked.
“Is the sanctuary really that important to her?”
Raquel drew herself up as if affronted. “If you have to ask, you can’t possibly understand how she feels.”
“Then help me understand.”
She studied him for a moment, then resumed unpacking a box. “She and Manuel didn’t divorce right away. They saw a marriage counselor twice a week up until Javier died. After that, Cara saw a grief counselor.”
Josh hadn’t heard this part of the story before. “Did Javier die in the apartment?”
“No, no!” Raquel crossed herself. “There is no reason for you to be afraid of living here. You and your children are safe.”
“I’m not afraid.”
“They were at her old house. Manuel stayed there during the separation, and Cara took Javier for a visit. Javier was climbing the shelving unit when he fell and hit his head. He never woke up and died four days later in the hospital.”
“I’m sorry.” Josh couldn’t imagine something so horrible.
“Such a lovely little boy. My pain is nothing compared to Cara’s. I had many wonderful years with your father. Her time with Javier was cut short.”
Josh had been through a lot, between his ex-wife’s addiction, their divorce and bitter custody battle. His two children were alive and healthy, however. He had much to be thankful for.
The closest he’d come to understanding Cara’s loss was when his ex had taken off with the children. Those weeks of not knowing their whereabouts, if they were all right or lying dead on the side of the road, had been unbearable.
“It will be good for us, having children again.” Raquel wiped at her eyes. “I am so excited to meet your little ones.”
Josh was excited to see his kids, too. He’d seen very little of them recently. As much as he’d hated not being with them over the holidays, he knew he’d done the right thing by his former in-laws and his ex.
Josh didn’t hate Trista despite the hell she’d put him through. But he didn’t trust her, either. Running off with the children had been bad. Coming home and finding her in a drug-induced stupor, the children filthy, hungry, crying and neglected, had been too much.
He accepted some of the blame. He’d been gone a lot, competing. That wasn’t going to happen again. He would be the best parent possible, better than he’d been so far. Better than his father had been to him.
“I’m excited,” he admitted. “I’m told Kimberly is almost walking and Nathan can ride a tricycle.”
Raquel’s expression melted. “They sound like angels.”
“Kimberly doesn’t sleep through the night yet. Nathan does. Probably because he spends all day getting into trouble and tires himself out.”
“Just like a boy.”
He pulled out his cell phone. Raquel had asked to see pictures of the kids before, so he didn’t think he’d annoy her by sharing the latest batch his former in-laws had sent.
She gasped with delight. “They’re adorable. You are truly blessed. If you ever need a babysitter, you simply have to ask.”
“I don’t want to impose.”
“If you don’t ask me, I will be hurt.” When he laughed, she insisted, “I am serious.”
He had no doubt of it. “I am fortunate you built this apartment. Not sure what else I would have done or where I would have gone.”
Her smiled dimmed. “Your father and I, we had hoped my parents would stay here during their visits. That is why we built it.”
“They didn’t?”
“No.”