Emily Keller owned a small bakery with her parents. She’d given his mother work there. Alan Keller had helped to employ his father as a handyman. On that snowy December night, when his parents were killed, it was Emily Keller they called to the hospital to sit with him. By then, he was seven. The Kellers immediately took him in. Like Regan and Arianna, he never left.

The Kellers had only one child that they’d given birth to, and that was Curtis. But he was not favored or loved more than the three children that God had given them through other means.

Carlos gave Kathy’s hand a squeeze back. He hadn’t had to explain what he was thinking, she knew.

“What do you remember about that wedding?” she asked softly.

“I remember a plate of money. The priest would bless it and give it to the husband to give to the wife. Or something like that. And there was a doll.” He shook his head. “I don’t really remember why they had a doll dressed like the bride. First of all, it was a girl thing. Second, it was a little freaky.” He laughed. “But it had charms on it, and they gave me one.”

“Tradition?”

“I guess so. I was probably five, so I don’t really remember it very well.”

“Are most of your memories of you living with your mom and dad? I mean the Kellers?”

“Yeah. I had a grandmother in Puerto Rico, but I only remember her being old. She was too old to take care of me. So, when my parents died there wasn’t the option of her taking me. She’d write to me, and my mom—Emily—would read them to me. But my grandmother died by the time I was nine.”

She scooted closer to him so she could rest her head on his shoulder. “I love your parents. I’m very lucky to have them for future in-laws.”

“I couldn’t have gotten any luckier under the circumstances.”

“What about Regan and Arianna. What about their birth parents?”

He gave a shrug of his other shoulder. “A young couple is all I know. The state took them away from them when Arianna was two and Regan was only a few months old. So Mom is really the only mom Regan has ever known, and Arianna doesn’t remember her birth parents at all.”

“Do you think Zach and Regan will have more kids?”

“Oh, yeah. At least one more. Regan knows the joy of having siblings.” He shook his head with a laugh. “Okay, maybe not the joys, but we’re a team. When one of us needs anything, the other ones are there. We all support Arianna’s acting dreams. We all helped get Curtis though med school. When Regan lived in Hawaii with that guy”—he couldn’t even say his name—”we supported her. And when she came back and needed support physically, mentally, and financially, we were there for her.”

“So she would want Tyler to have that.”

“I think so. And Zach sees the importance in it, having been an only child. He was shipped off to a boarding school in France.”

Kathy lifted her head. “Zach speaks French?”

“Yup. It’s funny too. You don’t expect it, but when his friend Simone calls, it spews from his lips like it’s his only language.”

“Hmmm, I still have so much to learn about my new family.”

Carlos gave a nod as she rested her head on his shoulder again. Family pulled together in times of trouble. There hadn’t been a day since he was fifteen he didn’t think of Madeline as family. Marrying Kathy wouldn’t change that. He didn’t expect it to. But how could he feel so far from Madeline now, and need her so much?

Chapter Four

Eduardo stood in the hallway and listened to the sounds of his mother getting sick in the bathroom. “Mom, are you okay?” he asked as she threw up for the third time since he’d awakened.

“I’m fine, baby,” she said as he heard her again.

“I’m worried about you. Let me call Dad.”

“Just get ready for school. You can’t be late.”

He stood there for a few more minutes with his ear pressed against the door and a pain in his chest that he didn’t like. His mother was never sick, and he didn’t know what he could do to help her. So he did as she’d asked and went about getting his shower and making sure everyone else was ready for school.

He made breakfast for Christian and Clara and made his mother a piece of dry toast. When she turned the corner into the kitchen, he went to her and helped her to a chair.

“Eat this.” He set the plate down in front of her.

She gave it a look of consideration and then pushed it away. “I don’t think I can.”

“You’ve lost ten pounds already. You don’t have a lot to lose. Eat it.”

Madeline nodded as he went back to packing lunch for Clara. “Thank you guys for being here with me. It really helps me.” She reached her hand out and covered Christian’s. He only nodded his head. “So when is your choir concert?”

“In two weeks. I have extra practices next week. I have a note.”

She smiled. “Okay. We’ll make sure you get there.”

Eduardo handed Clara her lunch. “Okay, Mom. I made you some soup and it’s in the fridge. You just have to warm it up. Don’t forget your medicine and get in lots of fluids today. I’m going to call you between classes, and you’d better answer.”

“Yes, sir.”

“We’ll be home by four.” He bent down to kiss her cheek. “You’re burning up.” He put his hand to her head. “Mom, how long have you been like this?”

“Just since this morning.”

“But you’ve been throwing up for three days.”

“It’s normal.”

“I’m calling Dad.” He pulled out the cell phone and she grabbed it from his hands.

“You will do no such thing.”

His mother made eye contact with each of them. “This is normal. I’m okay. I have an appointment to see the doctor tomorrow. We’ll see what they say. Maybe they can give me something. But I don’t want you calling your father. Do you hear me?” She looked directly at Eduardo, who hesitantly nodded. “Okay.”

“Why don’t I just stay with you?” he offered. It was killing him to see her look so weak.

“I’d rather you get an education. And you’d better get to the bus.”

Carlos missed the kids. The mornings were fuss free, but quiet wasn’t something he particularly enjoyed. For five years, he’d had the children at his house every other week. It had only been a few days, but he knew they’d be gone for weeks. However, with parent-teacher conferences coming up, it was giving him time to get his reports for each student in order.