Reese’s eyes welled up with tears. She couldn’t imagine how scared Isabella must have been, but knowing that her brother had remained calm and so sure that they’d be okay made her love him all the more.
“Okay, now I’m crying,” Alaska said as she wiped her cheeks.
“Right? I need to find me someone like Woody,” Luna said.
“I love my husband, but I’m thinking if we found ourselves kidnapped by a drug cartel, Eric wouldn’t be nearly as competent,” Jess said with a chuckle.
Everyone laughed, lightening the mood.
“Well, thank goodness you won’t have to worry about that,” Henley said. “None of us will. We’re here, The Refuge is safe, and we’re going to celebrate with a wedding in less than two weeks!”
“What did you guys think of number three?” Alaska asked, pointing to the piece of cake on the right side of their plates. They were tasting three different cakes at a time, and they were all numbered to keep them straight.
As everyone discussed their favorite samples, Reese looked over at Ryan. She didn’t know the other woman very well, but she was always friendly and willing to help with anything that needed to be done around the lodge. She was quiet, kept to herself, but, much like the owners of The Refuge, always seemed to be very aware of everything going on around her.
“You okay?” she asked quietly as the others debated if they liked the chocolate swirl or the red velvet cake better.
Ryan looked at her and smiled. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Well, I can be forgiven for being mushy since it’s my brother who’s getting married. Isabella’s enthusiasm is obvious, Alaska and Henley are insanely happy with their men, Jess is married to a man she adores, and Luna is too busy with college to seriously think about settling down. So…that leaves you.”
Ryan shrugged. “I’m good.”
“You’re single, right?”
“Oh, yeah. Totally single,” she said fervently.
“You’re pretty,” Reese told her. “I mean, really pretty. And there are a lot of good looking guys at The Refuge. You ever thought about getting together with one of them?”
“No,” Ryan said almost too quickly.
Reese managed to hide her smile. She wondered which of the guys had caught her eye. “Why not?” she asked.
Ryan shrugged. “I’m not going to be here forever. I took this job to get away from…well, let’s just say I needed a break from life. And where better to do that than in the middle of nowhere?”
Reese frowned. She didn’t like the note of…trepidation…she heard in the woman’s voice.
“Although,” Ryan went on, “it’s actually been kind of exciting so far. I don’t mean that in a bad way, but I was expecting to come here and be bored out of my mind. But it’s been anything but boring.”
Ryan turned to face Reese, and the intense look in her brown eyes pinned her in place. “You’re lucky to have Woody,” she said. “He loves you so much, it’s easy to see. You guys have a great relationship. Even when you’re sniping at each other, you can tell neither of you are seriously upset. I don’t get along with my brother, like, at all, so seeing the two of you is…nice.”
Reese reached out and put her hand over Ryan’s where she was holding her fork with a grip so tight, her knuckles were white. “I know we just met, but you can talk to me, Ryan. If something’s wrong, I can help. Or I can talk to Woody or Gus and they—”
Ryan interrupted her by laughing. It was a forced sound. Almost painfully so. “Oh, no, I’m good. Promise.” Then she leaned forward and asked, “Do you think the others—or the owners of the chocolate shop—would rebel if I suggested that we try a vanilla or strawberry cake?” She smiled, but the emotion didn’t reach her eyes.
Reese wanted to call her bluff and encourage the woman to talk to her, but if she didn’t want to share whatever was troubling her, Reese suspected no amount of pushing would make her open up. So she let the subject drop…but she vowed to keep her eye on Ryan. “I was thinking maybe a pound cake,” she said.
For a moment, she saw relief in Ryan’s gaze, before she wiped all emotion from her expression except for the fake smile. She turned to the others. “Reese and I vote for trying something that isn’t chocolate.”
Everyone began to talk at once, and the owner of the bakery, who was standing nearby, stepped forward and offered to bring out a marble cake with both vanilla and chocolate mixed together.
The rest of the tasting went without a hitch, and by the time they were all ready to leave, Isabella had chosen a dark chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, and ice cream with every slice served to break up the richness.
Everyone split up at that point. Henley was going to the school to pick up Jasna, Alaska and Luna were headed back to The Refuge, Jess and Ryan were going to their own homes in town, and Reese was taking Isabella to the grocery store before they too headed back to The Refuge.
“How are you acclimating to life here in the States?” Reese asked as they drove toward the store.
“I love it here,” Isabella said with a huge grin. “It’s weird not being in a city though.”
Reese smiled at her. “Yeah, this isn’t exactly Bogotá, is it?”
“No. But I like it.”
“Kansas City isn’t nearly as crowded as Bogotá was, but it’s got a lot more going on than Los Alamos,” Reese told her. Then she went on to tell her about some of her favorite restaurants and things to do in the city. She got serious as she pulled into a parking spot and turned off her engine. “Do you think you can be happy there?” she asked.
Isabella turned to her and nodded. “I can be happy anywhere Woody is.”
Reese loved hearing that. “I know he’s already working some of his connections to see if he can find you a good job—and of course he can do his accounting work from anywhere—and there are more and more Spanish-speaking people in the US, so I have no doubt you’ll be able to find something you love that pays well.”
“I hope so,” Isabella said. “But even if I don’t find something, that’s okay too. Because Woody and I want to start a family together as soon as we can.”
Reese’s eyes lit up. “Seriously?”
Isabella nodded a little shyly. “Yes. I’ve always wanted a baby, but raising Angelo was hard by myself and I didn’t want to do that again. Do not get me wrong, I love him, but it was extremely difficult. Especially in Bogotá.”
Reese wanted to do a little jig at hearing she might become an aunt sooner rather than later, but she refrained. “How’s he doing? Angelo, that is. I was really happy he came up to the lodge for lunch with me the other day, but he seems…stressed. Or maybe sad.”
Isabella sighed. “He does not like it here. I was hoping he would be as relieved as I was to get away from the city. To leave the constant worry and fear behind. But instead, he seems lost.”
“It can’t be easy for him to be uprooted from everything he knew.”
“It is not. But what he knew was mostly poverty, gangs, and struggle,” Isabella said. “He’s being…I am not sure what the word is…ingrateful?”