Falling with Grace - Page 192

“Who?” I raised a brow.

“Grace.”

I pushed my other sleeve up my arm and declined the cup Alba offered. “She’s…as good as one can be given the circumstances.” My hand brushed down my tight jaw. “She’s walking around now, not staring out the window.”

Mamá nodded. “Mmm. That’s good.” She sipped her tea and winced, then plopped a sugar cube inside. “Tell her to step outside and eat some of my tomatoes.”

I let loose a quiet sigh and glanced at the dried-up garden that had gone dormant a few weeks ago. “I’m sure she’ll enjoy that.”

Grace ventured outside only when the sun went down and the staff had left for the evening. She’d sit by the poolside, staring at the rosary, and kick her feet in the warm waters.

I’d sit beside her in silence, allowing her to process for as long as it took, then follow her back inside, where she’d fall asleep in my arms.

Standing, I stole one last glance at the bird, then left Mamá to her tea.

“Do you love her?”

My feet stuck as though I’d walked into sticky swamp mud.

It’s more than that.

She’s my everything.

“I do, Mamá.”

She hummed, and I glanced back, catching the tail end of her nod. “You take care of her, then. She’s too good to let go.”

A tranquil smile settled on my face. “I will, Mamá.”

“Eh, Elias.” Javier met me in the hall and handed me a manila envelope. “You’ll never guess what I found.”

I turned into my office, my confession looming like a gentle perfume, and dropped it on the desk. “You’re right. So just tell me.”

“The girl.” He sat in his chair on one side of my office.

I raised a brow and opened the flap at the top. “Already?”

“Yeah, of course.” He shrugged. “It was easy once I had the right location, contact, last name—”

I held up my hand. “I got it.” Reaching into the envelope, I pulled out the photograph and paper, including her information. “She’s not far.”

“El Paso. We could drive.” He pulled out his knife and scraped it beneath his nail. “When do we want to go?”

“It’ll be a while.” I shook my head. “She needs time to recover and be herself to fully appreciate this.”

“Okay.”

Okay.

“Thanks for this.” I dropped the information back into the envelope and sealed it away in my desk.

“No problem.”

Rounding my desk, I stepped over the pristine space, not a drop of evidence left behind, then ventured to my room, where Grace and I spent most of our time. “Grace?”

Her somber frame perked up, and she turned towards me, a smile pulling at her lips. “Hi.”

My serene happiness matched hers as I stepped into the bright room, her knees drawn up in the bay window, staring out over the valley.