Defending Raven (Mountain Mercenaries #7)(20)
He’d proudly pinned it behind the bar and told her that now when he was working, all he needed to do was turn around to see her beautiful face whenever he wanted.
The night had been magical. They’d talked about expanding their family. They both wanted at least two kids, but she wouldn’t mind three. They’d made love back at their house that night without using a condom for the first time. Secure in the knowledge that their love would last forever, and hopefully, within a year, they’d be expanding that love to include a baby.
A tear fell from Mags’s eye before she could wipe it away. Of course, that wasn’t how things happened. There had been no babies, even though they’d tried damn hard to make them, and she’d been stolen away during what had been one of the most fun trips of her life. She’d been so excited to visit Vegas. She never would’ve guessed an innocent trip to celebrate their anniversary would end so horribly.
Mags listened carefully and didn’t hear anything from outside their hut. She knew Dave wouldn’t have left. She felt guilty that he was sleeping out in the open on the hard dirt. But it also felt . . . good. She’d never expected to see her husband again. Had resigned herself to living the rest of her life here in Peru. She wanted to cling to him, to tell him to take her away, that she’d prayed to see him again every day since they’d been separated. But she couldn’t. Not only was she not the same person he’d fallen in love with, she had . . . responsibilities here.
Raising her head, Mags looked around the hut. She could barely make out the other women, but knew they were there. Sighing, she laid her head back down. Seeing Dave every day would make her weak. Weaker than she was already. She couldn’t let him talk her into going with him . . . and she knew he would try. She loved the man with everything she was, but he didn’t belong here in her world.
Making one of the hardest decisions she’d ever had to make, Mags closed her eyes. Tomorrow, she’d slip out the back side of the hut early, before Dave was awake. She’d stay away all day. If he couldn’t talk to her, he couldn’t convince her to go back to Colorado.
Eventually, he’d get the message and leave. It was for the best. For him and for her.
She refused to admit how depressing that thought was.
Chapter Five
Dave sighed in frustration. He’d been in Lima for a full week, and he’d only seen Raven a small handful of times. She was avoiding him—and it was starting to piss him off. He was trying to be patient, giving her space to work through the fact that he was there, that he’d found her, but the bottom line was that her refusal to be anywhere near him gutted him.
When he’d imagined what his reunion with his wife would be like, at no time did he ever even consider that she wouldn’t be thrilled. He figured things might be awkward, that she’d be uneasy, but eventually she’d come to realize how lucky she’d been, and they’d go back to Colorado. But of course, that was far from how things were turning out, and Dave wasn’t sure what to do about it.
He’d spent every night since he’d arrived sleeping outside the hut Raven called home. And every morning, when one of the other women slid open the metal door, he found that his wife had snuck out so she didn’t have to talk to him.
The other women seemed to like him. Even if they couldn’t exactly have any in-depth conversations, they found ways to communicate. The Mountain Mercenaries brought food and water every morning, and Teresa and the other women cooked. They laughed and smiled and seemed genuinely happy to have them there. On the contrary, Dave had seen his wife for only a few minutes each night. She always looked stressed and haggard, and he wanted to whisk her away to the motel and force her to talk to him.
He’d realized after waking up the first morning that there was a back way out of the hut, but instead of having one of the other guys tail her, he’d decided to give her some space to work through whatever was fucking with her head . . . but now, several days in, he was done with that.
Zara had come over to eat breakfast with the women this morning—escorted by three of Dave’s team; no one was ever left alone in the barrio—and she happily acted as translator. She seemed surprised and dismayed to hear that Raven had been gone every day that week. According to the other women, she never talked about where she’d been, but it was obvious she wasn’t eating well, and that she seemed at the end of her rope.
“How are the clinic details progressing?” Dave asked Zara when they were seated on the dirt floor of the hut eating.
“Good. Daniela is thrilled. Says there’s a bigger house not too far from the one she’s using now that would be perfect.”
An idea hit Dave then. “What’s going to happen to the house she’s using now?”
Zara shrugged. “I guess someone else will move in.”
Dave leaned toward her. “I want to buy it.”
Zara blinked in surprise. “What?”
“I want to buy it. Teresa, Bonita, Gabriella, Carmen, and Maria can move into it. It’ll be safer than this. At least it has a locking door, doesn’t it?”
“I was already planning on buying them a house,” Zara replied.
“Well, now you don’t have to. You can save your money. Or give it to Daniela for the new clinic,” Dave told her, not backing down.
Zara stared at him for a moment, then finally nodded.