Duh! What else should I do? Stand there and wring my hands? “I shut it off, crawl underneath, and put it back together with baling wire.”
Chris rubbed the back of his neck and mumbled to himself as Angel began cursing in rapid-fire Spanish that she couldn’t understand.
I guess it would be bad if I told them I had to do that once already last weekend.
Angel grabbed her overnight bag and motioned with his chin for her to go around to his truck, still mumbling in Spanish under his breath. Gwen looked back at Chris and gawked incredulously when he pursed his lips and gave her a kissie-face.
“Until later, Elmer Fudd.”
She shook her head dazedly, not even bothering to protest as she went around to Angel’s truck. She should dismiss him from her mind but she couldn’t. He practically vibrated with personality and she loved that in a guy. So many times, pretty cowboys turned out to be nothing but pretty cowboys, but she really liked a guy with personality.
You shouldn’t be looking forward to seeing him…or Julián. Do not get tangled up here in Divine! This is a temporary stop.
She looked at her phone again, and began scrolling through the many unanswered text messages, e-mails, and phone calls. Guilt at causing her friends worry swamped her. Something was up with Teresa, and Gwen felt especially bad about ignoring her calls.
She’d driven from place to place in Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas in a sort of daze. Starting the trip fatigued from being on the road for so long already, she knew that she needed rest, but sleep had been nearly impossible.
Roger and her father had tried hard to talk her into staying at his ranch which was just down the road from the Bucking H Ranch but she’d needed to get away. She couldn’t really even remember much of what Roger and her dad had told her. The only thought in her mind at the time had been removing herself from the source of the pain she’d felt. She couldn’t be around her dad right then.
“You warm enough?” Angel asked as he directed the heater vent at her.
She nodded automatically. “Yeah, I’m just fine—”
Angel held up his hand to cut her off. “Don’t start that with me. You’re not fine.”
She stopped looking at her phone and turned her gaze on her friend. “No, I’m not fine at all. I’m numb right now.”
“Is your dad all right?”
She nodded. “Far as I know.”
Angel squeezed her shoulder. “We’ll be home soon. We’ll sit you down with a cup of coffee and you can talk, okay?”
Relieved, Gwen nodded. She didn’t think she could tell this humiliating story more than once. The phone went into her pocket as Angel’s big truck ate up the miles between Divine and the Divine Creek Ranch, where the Martinezes’ home was located. Everyone who’d been trying to catch up with her could yell at her in person. She’d get back in touch with her dad and Roger…later.
Angel let out a disgruntled sigh as he pulled up in the driveway to their house and saw that Teresa was already outside waiting for them on the porch. He softly murmured, “Woman.”
Joaquin came out the door behind Teresa and gave his wife the stink-eye and then walked over to Gwen’s door, opening it before she could.
“Hey, Gwen. Welcome home,” he said with an easy smile and hugged her when she hopped down from the truck. His word choice struck her heartstrings. She’d had a home but now she felt anchorless.
Teresa came around the truck and pulled her into a hug. “I’m so glad you’re here and you’re safe.”
Angel came up behind Teresa, opened his jacket, and pulled her back against his chest and pulled the jacket around her. “Woman, it’s thirty-five degrees out here. Where’s your coat?”
“I only just came out when I heard you pull up,” Teresa murmured as she cast her gaze up to Angel. The loving exchange created an uncharacteristic lump in Gwen’s throat. She’d seen such affectionate communication between them on numerous occasions, but for some reason this one caught her off guard. Made her feel vulnerable.
“Here, Mama!” five-year-old Michael hollered as he came running out the front door carrying Teresa’s coat. “You need this! My little sister is gonna get cold!”
Gwen’s jaw dropped. “You’re pregnant! That’s why these two are acting like overbearing daddies to be. I should’ve known!”
Teresa rolled her eyes and laughed as she accepted her coat from her well-meaning son. “We don’t know yet if it’s a girl or not. That was supposed to be my surprise to tell.”
Michael toed the pavement with his boot and said, “Sorry, Mama.”