Tae moved around the edge of the kitchen without drawing attention. Cochise went with him and he was glad for his company. When he got close to Kane, Tae pressed up beside him. Kane looked at him and smiled and wrapped his arm around his shoulders, drawing him into the safety of his partial embrace.
“Do you want me to introduce you?” Kane asked low.
Tae thought about it and shook his head. He was content to stand back, unnoticed, and merely observe the others as their attention remained toward Zoe. His “invisibility” didn’t last long when he realized a pair of soft brown eyes had sought him out and were now glued to him. Tae met the gaze with trepidation, fearful of what he would discover behind it. Had they heard about him—of the things he’d done inside that brothel?
Things you were “forced” to do—you weren’t given a choice.
Would that matter? To some, it didn’t. Sometimes victims were shamed. Tae knew—he’d been shamed back in Korea, at the orphanage. Shamed by those who should’ve come to his defense—protected him. Adults who should have known better.
The one staring back at him wasn’t an adult… but a boy, like Tae himself.
Not like you. He isn’t Asian. A foreigner. An unwelcome intruder in this country.
As Tae looked deeper into those eyes, his cold fear turned to warmth as he found no judgment or condemnation there… but something else. Something he’d never seen before—not in the eyes of someone looking back at him.
His throat knotted, startled him. The boy’s face swam, and Tae lowered his eyes, terrified if he looked too long… all the bad stuff he’d been afraid of seeing would begin to materialize. He didn’t want to see it.
He wanted to hold on to that look for as long as he could.
●●●
Axel almost missed it as he focused on Zoe and Devlin. It was the discreet nudge from Noah that redirected his attention. Axel glanced at Clint—standing at the rear of the small group—and knew immediately the cowboy saw it, too. Cochise as well—nothing escaped the Egyptian’s keen eye.
Noah pursed his lips, suppressing a smile as his twin stared starry-eyed at Tae who’d slipped into the kitchen unnoticed. Almost unnoticed.
When Noah and Noel had first become part of the family, it was Noel who’d been the shyest of the two, quieter and taking longer to open up to others. As they’d settled in, though, Noel had grown confident and even surpassed his brother when it came to an outgoing personality. Axel watched him now, curious to see if the boy would tap into that emerging personality… or succumb to his former shyness in the face of an obvious instant attraction.
Both Clint and Cochise seemed to be waiting as well, neither making a move that would draw attention to the two boys.
Noel must’ve been holding his breath, because he suddenly released a shaky exhale that sounded like a soft gasp. Without a shred of his former shyness, he suddenly broke from his entrancement and walked toward Tae, the awed expression clinging to his adorably sweet face.
●●●
Tae glanced uncertainly at the approaching boy and ducked his head, pressing against Kane. Standing nearby, Cochise watched the other boy, exhibiting none of the anxiety coursing through Tae. When Tae chanced a look at Kane, the man had a smile on his face, directed at the advancing boy, but he didn’t speak.
The boy gazed at him dreamily. “Hi.”
As afraid as he was to look deep into those eyes, Tae couldn’t help himself. The soft brown orbs pulled him in, captured him, and held him captive. He swallowed a couple of times and rasped, “H-ii.”
“I’m Noel.”
Noel. One of the twins that frequently visited Luke.
Before Tae could introduce himself, Noel blurted, “And you’re beautiful.”
Tae blinked, shocked and shaken and at a loss for words.
Noel smiled shyly, though he clearly was not. “You are. Like… flawlessly beautiful. I’ve… I’ve never seen anyone so… perfect.”
Tae blinked again and glanced anxiously at the others in the room. Focus was shifting to them, heightening Tae’s nervousness.
The cute boy before him suddenly looked apologetic. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I-I didn’t mean to embarrass you, but…” The dreamy look resurfaced. “… but you really are beautiful.”
Clearing his throat, Tae avoided looking directly at anyone else and lowered his eyes to the floor. “Thank… thank you.”
Kane squeezed his shoulder and Cochise moved closer.
“Do you…” Noel licked his lips and glanced toward his brother and Luke. “Do you want to hang out with us? We can play ball in the backyard or something.”
“I-I don’t know how,” Tae mumbled.
Noel smiled. “Me neither. We’ll make up our own game.”
Maddy spoke up. “I know a little bit about football. When some of the other guys get here, maybe we can have teams.”
“That’d be fun, don’t you think?” Noel continued to smile at Tae.
Despite his mounting nervousness, Tae swallowed thickly and nodded.
“Great.” Noel grinned and startled Tae by grabbing his hand. “Come on.”
As he was dragged from the room, Tae’s wide eyes swept over Cochise and Clint—both of whom seemed pleased and amused. The cowboy winked at him as Noel led him from the kitchen—that tiny gesture easing the fear in his heart and urging him to go with it.
CHAPTER 2
You Can’t Hurry Love
Last night to this morning was one huge mind fog—like a dream in which one was lost in the mist, thoughts numb, unsure if this was a good dream… or a nightmare.
Carmen had no rational cause to think it was the making of a nightmare. In her heart, she understood that these were good men. It was her mind that continually thrust her back to the not-so-distant past, recalling incidents that she trusted seemingly good people. None of them were good.
Here she was again—trusting seemingly good people. What choice did she have? She didn’t know why anyone would go to such extravagant lengths to “fool” her. She was nobody and nobody would notice if she went missing. No one but Roberto and Camille. If they’d wanted to use her, abuse her, kill her… they would’ve done it by now. Wouldn’t they? There was no cause to play games, pretend. No one was watching.
Carmen left her siblings sleeping in the big comfortable bed and crept down to the kitchen. The night before, Cruz Santiago had introduced her to his father, Lorenzo Santiago, and his sister, Caterina, who had taken over and helped Carmen with the children, providing clean clothes and comfort. The young woman was a few years older than Carmen and immediately felt like a “big sister.” She was there to listen but didn’t try to force Carmen to talk about things she wasn’t ready to talk about. When Carmen remained quiet, Caterina told her a little about herself and her fiancé, Flynn. She admitted there was much more to their story and she would tell Carmen later, once she was settled in.
There was nothing deceitful or threatening about this family. Caterina had even stayed with Carmen until she finally fell asleep. It hadn’t been easy to sleep. Too many fears clutched at her, preventing her the comfort of slumber. But exhaustion won out and she crashed—hard.