to talk to my sister. Alone.”
“Sí.” The full-bodied woman lowered the child to the ground and clasped one of Angela’s hands. “Hold on to Senor Kyle, too, Natalie. We don’t want him to get lost.”
The child complied, slipping her small hand into Kyle’s and holding tight, then looking up at him in awe. “He’s real big.”
Rachel smiled and almost chuckled until her niece added, “I think he could beat up my daddy if he had to.”
Rachel’s heart clenched. Of course. Angela wouldn’t be the only victim of her live-in’s temper. Peter would have lashed out at anyone who displeased him. The way he had at Angela. And the way he had at her when he’d driven her out of her sister’s life that last time.
Returning her full attention to her weeping sibling, Rachel tried to apologize. “I’m so sorry. I should have found the courage to stay with you.”
“Nonsense.” Sniffle. “You begged me to go away with you and I was too stubborn and stupid to listen. That’s not your fault.”
“I wrote. You never answered.”
“I couldn’t. I just couldn’t admit what a horrible mistake I’d made. By the time I thought I was ready to leave Peter I’d lost touch with you.”
“You knew I was close by.”
“Not for sure. I’d had your unlisted cell number in my phone but Peter took it away. When your letters stopped coming I figured you had washed your hands of me.”
“No way. I didn’t stop trying to keep in touch,” Rachel vowed. “He must have intercepted my letters. I was only writing once a month or so after the first year. It would have gotten easier for him to destroy your personal mail before you saw it.”
Falling silent, Angela seemed to struggle to breathe.
“Do you want me to call a nurse?”
“No. No. Just give me a second.” She inhaled a little more deeply, wincing and groaning as her chest expanded. “I want you to promise me something.”
Rachel leaned closer. “Of course. Anything.”
“I want you to take Natalie, look after her and tell her about me so she remembers and knows I loved her.”
“I’ll be glad to babysit. You can tell her you love her, yourself.”
“Promise.”
“All right. I promise.”
Shuddering, Angela tightened her grip on Rachel’s hand. “Don’t let Peter get his hands on her, whatever you do.”
“How can I prevent it? He’s her father.”
“Not legally. I never put a father’s name on her birth certificate, and we never married. Besides, I have high hopes he’ll rot in jail after doing this to me.”
“From your lips to God’s ears,” Rachel quoted, meaning every word. “Is it all right if I take her to the base with me while you’re recuperating? I can’t be away from my duties too long, and there’s a good preschool there for when I’m working.”
“Did you take that veterinary aide course you kept dreaming about?”
“Yes. Kyle’s the head vet in the military K-9 training program at Canyon Air Force Base and I’m one of his techs. That’s what he meant when he said we worked together, although actually I work for him.”
Angela managed a lopsided smile. “Wonderful. You’ll be with all those protective dogs they train. Couldn’t be better.”
“And when you get well we’ll find you an apartment close to Canyon so we can see each other all the time.”
The dreamy, weary expression on her sister’s face comforted Rachel. When Angela closed her eyes and sighed, she did the same. Hands still clasped together, Rachel began to pray with her and for her. “Thank you, Father, for healing old wounds in our hearts and for the healing You are about to do in Angela’s body. Amen.”
Rachel watched Angela’s eyelids flutter. Her breathing had been noisy all along but now it began to sound labored even though the beeping machines kept up their even cadence. Rachel wanted to tell Angela how much she loved her but was hesitant to disturb her further. Time ticked past so slowly that every second felt as if it lasted minutes.
Praying silently, Rachel listened to the mechanical manifestations of her sister’s life until suddenly Angela was squeezing her hand. Rachel met her gaze, mirrored Angela’s smile and felt her heart breaking. An amazing peace and release settled over the bruised face. Angie’s pain and suffering were over. Her sister was finally free. Peter couldn’t hurt her anymore.
But what about Natalie? The little girl had never met her aunt Rachel before today and now she was going to have to take her away from the only home she’d ever known. How could she possibly make a child understand and accept the situation when she hardly could herself?
Three ICU nurses and a doctor had finished confirming Rachel’s fears and had left by the time she heard the sound of boots on the bare floor. Kyle was back. And Natalie was undoubtedly with him. Angela was positioned as if asleep, but Maria Alvarez guessed what had happened in their absence and gasped, beginning to mutter a prayer as she stepped ahead to block Natalie’s view.
Kyle, too, quickly closed the distance. He stopped behind Rachel and laid a hand of comfort on her shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”
Without hesitation she accepted his condolences by placing one of her hands atop his and saying, “Thank you.”
“I wanna see my mama,” the little girl whined. She was trying to wiggle past the adults.
“Let her come closer,” Rachel said, surprised at how calm and in control she felt despite everything. She held out her hands and Natalie let her pick her up. The urge to kiss the child’s hair and stroke her back as a mother would surged through Rachel and squeezed her heart. “I’ll take care of you now, honey. You can come and live with me.”
The big blue eyes, lashes wet with tears, looked up at Rachel as if she had just promised the world. “I—I don’t have to go back to Peter?”
Rachel pulled her close again and dried her cheeks. “No, baby, no. We’re not going to have anything more to do with Peter. I promise.”
As she comforted her niece and glanced at the others, she saw concern in Maria’s expression and disbelief in Kyle’s.
“What else can I do?” she asked him aside. “If I send Natalie with Maria, Peter will know how to find her and try to take her back. I have as much legal right to her as he does.”
“How do you figure?”
“Angela said they never married and his name is not on the birth certificate. He’d have to go to court to prove he actually is her father, and I’m sure a background check will show him as an unsuitable parent.”
“Then we should call the authorities and do this the right way, the legal
