My heart fluttered as if it were a butterfly taking flight when he pressed the tip of the marker to the latex and began to carefully scrawl one word after another across the nearly transparent blue tint.
Feeling my stare, James looked up. “Eyes on your own balloon, beautiful,” he joked, eyes twinkling. “No cheating.”
Effortless laughter spilled past my lips and swirled around me, wrapping me in a sheet of warmth that, at that moment, felt as though it were impenetrable. “Fine, Guapo,” I sassed. “Whatever you say.”
“You’re damned right it’s whatever I say.”
I scowled in mock outrage. “That’s not funny.” Eyes narrowed, I playfully kicked him beneath the table. The childlike gesture hurt my toes more than his rock-solid shin.
Yet he still played along.
“Son of a…” he hollered in faux outrage before letting his words trail off. “Baby, I’m old. My bones are brittle. You can’t take cheap shots like that at me. You may break something.”
I rolled my eyes. Old my culo. The man had muscles bigger than my head and less wrinkles than people ten-years his junior. El hombre was insano.
Dramatic as well.
He and Little One will get along perfectly…
“You’re correct,” I replied, not missing an opportunity to tease him further, something I surprisingly found both heartwarming and addicting. “You truly are no longer a spring chicken; therefore, I promise to be more careful. Wouldn’t want to harm your geriatric bones.”
His eyes narrowed.
I bit back a laugh in response.
“Get to writing, smartass.”
Lip sinking into my bottom lip, I pushed my wind-blown hair back over my shoulder. “Fine.” I huffed out a breath. “But just know that I stand by what I said.”
Happier than I had been in many years thanks to a man I’d almost sworn off before giving him a chance, I pressed the felt tip of the marker to my balloon. Then, I wrote the hopeful words my rapidly beating heart whispered.
Happy birthday, hermanito.
I love you.
I miss you.
I pray that you’re okay.
Happiness and sorrow.
Both emotions consumed me as I stood next to James, shins pressed to the roof ledge. Balloon string in hand, I focused on the starry night sky and blew out a pent-up breath.
“One day, when mi chicas and I are finally free from the bastardo,” I whispered, “I want to search for Alejandro.” Leaning to the side, I rested my head against James’s arm. “Even if he’s gone, which I suspect he likely is, I need to know.” I paused, the mere thought nearly too much for me to handle. “And if he’s still alive, then I must see him again.”
Mi hermanito may have shunned me during our last encounter, but I knew, without a single doubt, that there was still much good left in him.
And that good? I’d save it.
Someway. Somehow.
Turning my head, I looked up at the man who was quickly becoming my best friend, along with something a whole lot more.
“That night…” I once again paused. All these years later, and the pain still stole my breath. I doubted it would ever change. “The night I was taken, I promised I’d find my way back to him. And that promise, Guapo? It is one that I absolutely cannot break.”
Understanding filled James’s eyes. “I’ll help you.” His words washed over me, numbing my pain. “Anything you need, sweetheart, I’ll do it. All you have to do is ask.”
A boulder formed in my throat.
I needed to change the direction this conversation was heading in.
If I didn’t, I’d only cry more.
“How far is the ocean?” I asked, memories from my childhood flooding back.
“A little over an hour.”
Wanting me as close as possible, something I was quickly learning he craved, he turned, bringing us face to face—or rather, face to chest.
“Why? You planning on hijacking a boat and sailing away from me?” he asked, tightening his hold on my hand. “’Cause if that’s your plan, know that it won’t work. I may be scared as fuck of sharks, but I’ll still chase after you without a second thought, even if I have to do so in a rowboat amid a category five hurricane.”
I smirked. “All that rowing seems as if it would be awfully tiring, especially during a hurricane. Maybe you should rethink such a threat—”
“That’s what Tuck is for,” he interrupted. “My boy too. Knowing those two, they’d make it a competition—see who could out row the other.” I laughed at such an image. Though I didn’t know either young man well, I could picture it. “I’d catch you in no time then.”
Tears of amusement streamed down my face, erasing the pain-driven ones from minutes before. “It’s not that I want to sail away,” I said, finally getting ahold of myself enough to speak a single coherent word. “It’s just that I always had this dream…”
Falling silent, I looked back up.
The stars were such a bittersweet sight. Mamá had loved gazing at them on clear summer nights. Staring at them always made me think of her.
And thoughts of her hurt.
“What kind of dream?”
I hesitated for the briefest second. Then, “One where, as a recent university graduate and newly registered nurse, I’d stand on a Florida beach, ankle-deep in the soft sand and gaze out over the sparkling ocean as the Atlantic washed over my feet. To my left would be mi hermanito, and to my right would be mi madre.”
A sad smile found my lips.
“Such a thing is no longer possible with Mamá gone, but I’d be lying if I said that my heart didn’t still yearn for such an opportunity with Alejandro.”
Sliding his crooked finger beneath my chin, James dipped his face closer to mine. “Give me your eyes.” Without hesitation, I did as he demanded. “It won’t be today, and it probably won’t be tomorrow, but one day soon, me and you will find out what happened to your little brother. Then, we’ll act accordingly.”
My chin trembled. “You mean it?”
“I do,” he replied, nodding. “Just like everything else I say.”
“James,” I whispered, overcome with so much emotion I felt
