The Texan's Secret Daughter. Jolene Navarro

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СКАЧАТЬ had been six long years since the sounds of the waves and the feel of the salty breeze filled her senses.

      This was her daughter’s first trip to Texas.

      She pulled into the long, bricked driveway lined with tall palm trees and large fuchsia flowers. The soft blue house trimmed in pristine white stood three stories tall. By the time Jazmine parked in the carport, Rosemarie was climbing out of her booster seat.

      “Momma, unlock the door so I can show Becca to Papa.”

      “Remember he needs to be resting.” She turned to her daughter. “Don’t wake him if he’s asleep. Can you be quiet?”

      Rosemarie’s dark curls bounced as she nodded. “I can be as quiet as a mouse.” In a heartbeat, she jumped out of the SUV and leaped up the stairs.

      Jazmine waited for her daughter to disappear inside the house before turning to her mother. “Thank you for not making a scene in front of Rosie. Go ahead. Out with it. What have you been champing at the bit to tell me?”

      “First, I don’t champ. Second, this is a mistake. She does not need that man in her life. You need to pack up and go back to Denver.” Azalea’s arms were crossed, and her face was set like stone.

      “His name is Elijah. Not saying his name will not make him go away. She’s his daughter. The least I can do is talk to him.”

      Jazmine looked at the organized walls of the garage. Everything fit in a perfect space. If it didn’t, it was tossed out. No room for anything undesirable. “I’m not leaving you alone with Daddy. He’s not a good patient. In less than a week, he will drive you crazy. You need me as much as he needs you. With Rosie around, he might be easier to handle.”

      “There is nothing easy about your father.” The perfectly lined lip quivered.

      Jazmine reached across and placed her hand over her mother’s. “He’s going to be fine. Dr. Brent feels good about a full recovery. It is going to take all of us to keep him from overdoing it. I’m not going anywhere. I can be just as stubborn as you.”

      With a harsh exhalation, her mother rolled her eyes. “You get that from your father. We can’t tell him that Rosie...that...her father...” She shuddered. “I just don’t like this. What if he causes problems? He was always good at that.”

      “Mother, what we did was wrong. He had every right to know about Rosemarie. I know I had to leave, but we should have told him.” She pressed one arm over her middle, trying to ease the sick feeling. “I have to meet him. We should have never done it.”

      “Your father and I did exactly what we needed to do to keep our daughter and our granddaughter safe. I would do it all over again, with not a single regret.” She rubbed the edge of her purse.

      “That night you came to us, you were so scared, and you had that nasty cut. I can’t get the blood-soaked towel you had wrapped around your arm out of my head. There is no reason for me to say his name.” Her shoulders squared.

      “I told you. He never hurt me. I got cut trying to pick up the shards of glass. My hands were shaking.” Jazmine relaxed her grip on the steering wheel, revealing her scar again. “If you had been able to stop us from getting married, we wouldn’t have Rosemarie.”

      Azalea sighed and dropped her head. “Okay, so I wouldn’t change that part. But I would still send you and Rosie away. I’m not sure I believe the story about the glass. You had a habit of making excuses for him.”

      She dug into her purse and pulled out her gold tube of lipstick. Lowering the visor, she used the mirror to reapply the bronze color. “Sweetheart, it doesn’t look good. I mean we found him eating lunch at Esperanza’s Kitchen. You know that’s for homeless people. He’s fallen further than even I would have guessed.”

      Jazmine wanted to beat her head against the windshield. “We don’t know why he was there. His family still owns the Diamondback Ranch.”

      “His family might own land, but they have major issues. If he’s been kicked out of that family, he’s really sunk low. You shouldn’t go alone. We’ll arrange to have him come to the law office. He can be reminded who he’s up against.”

      “No. I’m not going to have this turn into a legal battle. That would just drag it out. Rosie doesn’t deserve a messy court battle between her parents.”

      “What if he hasn’t changed?”

      Jazmine took a moment to stifle the words she wanted to scream at her mother. “Rosemarie’s older. She’ll be able to call me if she needs to. She—”

      “You’re not going to let him be alone with her!”

      “Not right now, but when she’s older. Keeping them apart is wrong.”

      “What he put you through was wrong. What would you do if Rosie was in the same situation?”

      Jazmine bit her lips to hold in words of frustration. There was really no arguing with her parents. “They don’t know each other, so any meetings we set up now will be with me. I’m not going to just drop her off with a stranger and leave.”

      “We need to get something in writing, some sort of legal agreement before you allow him to talk to her. We have to protect her and make sure he can’t—”

      Jazmine’s fist hit the steering wheel. “Stop. She has as much right to know about her father as he does to know about her. We’re meeting tonight, and I’ll make a plan from there.” She twisted and faced her mother. “You’re going to have to trust me on this. Okay?”

      Her mother sighed. “I’m not sure I trust you when you’re in the same room as him.”

      “That love-struck girl has grown up. I’m not going to allow anyone to hurt my daughter. If he is sober, we’ll come up with a plan that protects her.”

      “If I can’t change your mind, then please be careful. I don’t want to see you hurt again. And you have to think about that innocent little girl.” She looked out the window. “With your father down, I just can’t...”

      Jazmine reached across the center console and threaded her fingers through her mother’s. “I know. But if nothing else, this has reminded me that our lives can change in a blink. I can’t put this off any longer.”

      “Rosemarie is so trusting.”

      “I won’t let anyone hurt her. That includes her father.” She gave her mother a hard look. “And her grandparents. Have you thought about the questions she’ll have in a few years when she learns we kept her father from her?”

      With a quick nod and a deep sigh, Azalea got out of the car and headed for the stairs.

      Jazmine rested her forehead on the steering wheel. Her heart wasn’t so sure she would be fine with Elijah being in Rosemarie’s life, but for her daughter’s sake, she couldn’t hide behind her parents any longer.

      Elijah was going to find how much she’d changed. The meek girl was gone. She was a full-grown mama bear now, and if she thought he would hurt Rosemarie in any way, she was walking out. Even if she left behind another piece of her heart.

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