Page 3 of His Forever

“I think you may have,” he told her as he slowed to pull into the parking lot. “Take your time. The cats and I will be right here waiting.”

She thanked him and got out of the truck and headed into Walmart. Thirty minutes later, she came back with a cart full of things and he helped her load it into the back seat of his truck. “Did you get what you needed?”

“I got the necessary items for the next few days. Probably need to see about a rental car on Monday so I can get around, but I should be okay.”

***

Arriving at “the compound” she was beyond impressed. He pulled up to what was obviously the main house and the door opened and a petite older female stepped out onto the porch. He parked the truck and then came around and helped her out, not missing the look his mother gave him.

“Mamá? This is Marleigh Cross, the woman I told you about who will be renting the garage apartment.”

As she reached out her hand, she was engulfed in a hug that was so warm and inviting, she found herself blinking back tears. Rapid-fire Spanish commenced from the petite woman until Zeus said, “English, Mamá, English. She doesn’t understand.”

He was right about that one! She had barely passed high school Spanish and they were steeped in it, speaking it at a speed that had her head spinning.

“Si, you’re right, Jesús. My apologies, Marleigh. I am María-Luisa González Álvarez, welcome to our home.”

“Thank you. I’m so sorry to be an imposition.”

“Nonsense. Now, let’s get you up to the apartment, si?”

He helped carry in her bags and the items she had gotten from the car. Looking around, he realized that there weren’t as many furnishings as he had remembered.

“We’ll let you get settled. Mamá? She is a massage therapist so maybe tomorrow you can take her to the salon to see if she would be interested?”

Once again, María-Luisa started talking in rapid Spanish, switching over to English when she saw the look on the young woman’s face. “You’re an answer to a prayer, Marleigh! I will come get you around eight tomorrow morning. I believe that Sunny had appointments booked already, so you will be able to jump right in, si?”

Her head spinning at how fast life had changed in less than twenty-four hours, Marleigh merely nodded.

Chapter Two

As he walked into his house and greeted his dog, Duke, he thought about the furnishings the apartment lacked. Going into his storage room, he grabbed the air mattress and pump, then found sheets and a blanket, as well as pillows. He then went and grabbed a few towels, confident that she hadn’t bought those at Walmart. Stopping long enough to feed the dog, he headed back out and over to the garage.

***

“Well you two, what do you think?” she asked her feline companions as they prowled the apartment. Since the garage itself could hold four cars, the apartment was quite large with two bedrooms, a master bathroom off one and a bathroom with a walk-in shower in the hallway. The kitchen was in one corner and opened out into a rather large living room. While tears still occasionally threatened and even overflowed, she focused on putting up the items she had bought and then she called Paulie to tell him where she had landed. He promised that he and Gray would bring the truck the next day so it wouldn’t be long before she had a bed.Now, where do I sleep tonight?Hearing a knock on the door, she brushed the tears from her face and went to see who could be there.

Holy smokesshe thought. Seeing Zeus standing waiting for her to open the door, she took him in; longish dark hair that he had pulled back in a tie, warm brown eyes, skin that was tanned in a way she knew it was a part of his heritage. And those lips! Full lips surrounded by a neatly trimmed mustache and goatee.Stop itshe thought to herself.There’s no fucking way you’re going to get involved with him!

Opening the door, she looked at him expectantly before saying, “I know you haven’t looked at my car yet. Did you forget something here?”

He looked down at her and could see she had been crying again, but her stance showed a lot of sass behind her sadness. Smiling at her, he said, “It dawned on me that we didn’t really leave any furniture in here so I brought over an air mattress, sheets and some towels so you would have somewhere to sleep and could take a shower if you wanted.”

She closed her eyes and dropped her chin to her chest. Taking a deep breath, she looked back up at him and said, “Thank you. I was just wondering where I would sleep before you got here! Paulie and Gray said they’d be here tomorrow with my stuff so I’ll have more options, but right now, it was looking like it would be the floor.”

“If you’ll let me, I’ll get it blown up for you then get out of your hair so you can relax. It sounds like it was an eventful day,” he told her as he started walking toward the master bedroom.

“You have no idea how eventful,” she muttered.

He made quick work of blowing up the air mattress and then said, “You broke down on the right road, mi siempre hermosa. I’ll look the car over tomorrow and let you know what I find, okay?”

“Uh, sure, that’s fine. I think I’m going to work with your mom tomorrow,” she replied.Mi siempre hermosa? What does that mean?

“Good night, Marleigh. Sleep well,” he said as he headed out the door. “I’ll speak with you tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Zeus. For everything,” she replied.

“My pleasure,” he responded, a smile on his face.