Armando Returns (Barboza Brothers) (20 page)

Patty shrugged.
“No idea. I promise.” She let out a sad sigh. “Oh, but I already had my hopes up about another grandbaby. Are you sure you’re not pregnant?”

“
Pretty sure, yeah. Don’t worry, we’re talking about it. Victor definitely wants a family.”

Patty turned her attention to the window, gazing at the clearing outside.
“Have you thought about getting married here?”

“
No.”

“
You should. It’s lovely.” She pointed. “You could put an arch right over there, in front of those trees. There’s plenty of room. It’d be so beautiful.”

“
But I don’t know anyone down here. The relatives would have to travel—”

“
Oh, who cares? Let ‘em travel. It’s too pretty to waste.”

In no mood to argue with her mother, Cara decided it was time to change the subject and show her the kitchen. So, she started across the room and motioned for Patty to come along.
“Let me show you the rest of the house.”

Patty followed Cara into the kitchen, immediately giving it a hard once-over.
“Hmm. Interesting. Looks a little run down.” She looked up and down the counter at the paltry selection of appliances. “Oh no, this won’t do.”

Cara watched Patty float around the kitchen, going from cabinet to cabinet, then opening the refrigerator door.
“You know, if you’d like to make a few...uh...
suggestions...
about this kitchen, Victor will gladly cover the costs—”

Patty raised an eyebrow at Cara as she closed the refrigerator.
“Oh really, now? Is that why you invited me all the way down here? To get this dilapidated kitchen in order? Maybe have dinner on the table every night?”

“
Uh…” Cara struggled for words. “No…”

Patty rushed to her, beaming.
“I’d love to!” She folded her hands together, her eyes dancing around the room. “Oh, there’s
so
much to do. New recipes. I’ll need to go to the store right away to get started.”

“
Are you sure you’re okay with this? We’ve got a full house here. It’s a lot of work. We’ve been ordering take out.”

“
Are you kidding me?” Patty’s eyes widened. “It’s a dream come true! A big family. Lots of hungry men.” She smirked and waved a dismissive hand. “Don’t even worry about it.”

Cara let out a quiet sigh of relief.
“Okay, great. But I have to warn you. Ramon probably won’t like you infringing on his turf. He really needs to hire someone to do the cooking and housekeeping but he’s stubborn.”

Patty shrugged.
“It’ll be all right. He knows we’re here, doesn’t he?”

“
Yes. He didn’t seem too happy about filling up the very last bedroom but he knew Isaac missed you. Victor thinks he’s secretly happy to have a full house.” Cara took a deep breath before changing the subject. “But anyway, about the housekeeping. We’re hiring a service to come in during the day when Ramon’s not here. This house is too big and too crowded for one of us to do it. And God forbid one of these guys lift a finger. Armando and Victor have had maids for years.”

Patty asked,
“Have you thought about hiring Marcy? You know she keeps losing clients to some other office cleaning service.”

“
We don’t know how long we’ll be here and I didn’t want her to miss out on some new business because she’s out of town.”

“
Yeah, I get it. You really don’t know how long you’re staying?”

Cara briefly glanced behind her, then quieted her voice.
“No. Both of Victor’s brothers are going through some stuff. He wants to make sure they’re both doing better before we leave. Says he feels like maybe he’s neglected them for a long time.”

Patty brought her hand to her heart, her lips in a sympathetic pout.
“Aw. So nurturing.”

They both turned to the sound of small feet running into the kitchen.

Isaac stopped at Patty, hugging her leg. “You gonna make me somethin’ good, Gwammah?”

Patty opened her mouth wide in a quiet gasp.
“Of course I am!”

Cara smiled. This house
felt a little more like a home now.

* * * * *

When his conference call was over, Armando took off his jacket and emerged from Ramon
’s office to the echoes of excited voices filling the hallway. As he arrived in the foyer to turn to the living room, Isaac ran out of the kitchen toward him.

“
A-mando!” Isaac reached for his hand, pulling him toward the kitchen.

Chuckling, Armando went where Isaac led him. He spent a few minutes chatting with the vivacious Patty in the kitchen, then he went to the living room where Victor introduced him to Patty
’s husband, Tom.

After several minutes of greetings and pleasantries, Victor gave both men a serious glance and suggested they go to Ramon
’s office for some privacy.

They entered the office and closed the door. Armando sat behind the desk, while Tom and Victor sat in front of it.

Tom spoke first. “So, I guess this is regarding that job you told me about on the phone yesterday?

Victor nodded.
“Yes.”

Groaning a little, Tom said,
“Well, I gotta tell you, I’m not sure how much I can help. The reason I’m good in New York and New Jersey is because I know people. I know exactly where to look for everything. But I’ve never been to Texas until today.” Tom squinted at Victor. “Seems like a couple of guys like you should be able to pull some strings and find some information.”

Armando spoke up for both of them.
“We’ve both made some phone calls, called in a few favors. But this good ole boy network…” Armando rolled his eyes.

Victor let out a heavy sigh.
“Yeah. My guy at the IRS says everything looks squeaky clean so far. And he’s not the first person to tell me I might as well give up. We don’t know how far back this goes.”

Tom licked his lips and took a tiny notepad out of his back pocket.
“Let’s go back to the beginning here. I need to know what I’m dealing with. So, the guy who moved you to Texas. His name?”

“
Henry Platt,” Victor said.

The brothers took turns explaining that Henry found them in Mexico and moved them to Turnbrook, Texas to work on his ranch when Victor was twelve, Armando was ten, and Ramon was eight.

Victor and Armando shared an uncomfortable glance when Tom asked if Henry was romantically involved with their mother before she died. Armando reluctantly answered, “Yes, but in secret.”

Next, they explained what happened to Armando ten years earlier. When Tom heard the part about Armando being kept in a holding cell then waking up in Mexico, his face took on a horrified look, but he continued taking notes.

They went on to explain that Henry left the ranch eight months earlier, after selling his remaining part of the business to Ramon, but they had their doubts about what really happened.

When they took a break, Tom shook his head. “I really don’t think I’m the man for this job. I don’t know where to start. Probably the courthouse. Find whatever public records I can find. Maybe I’ll make up a reason to meet with Judge Dwayne McCormack, act like it has something to do with Henry. If he’ll even meet with me.”

Victor chuckled.
“See? That’s more than I probably would’ve thought to do.”

“
Yeah.” Armando nodded in agreement. “You probably know how to tell if someone’s lying, at least. Talk to people. Pay attention to how they respond. And whatever you do, don’t tell anyone you know us. You’re probably at an advantage. You’re the Yankee from out of town, asking innocent questions.” Armando shrugged.

Victor said,
“Anything you find will be helpful. And don’t feel like you have to spend all your time on this. Do this only if you want to. And please know, we don’t expect a miracle.”

“
Good.” Tom grinned. “Because the more you tell me, the more I have doubts about it.”

“
I’m sorry,” Victor said. “Seriously, if you don’t wanna help, it’s okay. We’ll pay for your time, regardless.”

Tom shrugged.
“It’s okay. It’ll be fun for me to get to know a new place. So, your brother Ramon can’t know about this?”

Armando and Victor both groaned at the same time.

Victor said, “No. We told him we called some connections but he won’t know we’ve told you a thing.”

Tom
’s eyes flashed around the room. “Well, from what you’ve told me so far, I have a feeling there’s some answers in his office right here about what happened eight months ago.”

Armando shook his head.
“We’ve already looked through everything. Even the stuff he’s got locked up. Nothing.”

Tom said,
“Well, you may not know what to look for.”

Armando chuckled.
“You’re right.” Then took let out a deep sigh, hoping his brother wouldn’t judge him too harshly for what he was about to ask. “I actually have another request. It’s about Dwayne’s daughter, Katie.”

Victor almost smiled. Tom leaned forward, ready to take notes.

Armando continued.
“She’s engaged to this guy. Mitch Nelson.”

Tom nodded and wrote his name down.
“Okay.”

Armando said,
“He just became the youngest partner ever at the biggest law firm in San Antonio. One of the biggest firms in the state. I wanna know if Dwayne had something to do with it.”

“
Hmm,” Tom said as he wrote.

Armando folded his hands together on top of the desk.
“You see, Dwayne’s an elected official, and I know Mitch is considering politics. I keep thinking maybe Dwayne didn’t like me because I was born in Mexico. Can’t run for President.” Armando rolled his eyes. “But I really doubt it’s something that simple.”

Victor
’s head shook. “No, it’s way more serious than that. I can’t imagine anyone caring that much about politics to chase you down across the state and do what he did to you.”

Sighing, Armando said,
“I know. It’s just a thought. Besides, Katie overheard that conversation about Dwayne making a deal with Henry.”

Tom straightened his glass
es, then started writing again as he said, “You never know. Might be a reason in there somewhere. You guys both U.S. citizens?”

Armando and Victor both nodded and said,
“Yes.”

“
Hmm.” Tom nodded. “Well, Dwayne might’ve helped grease the wheels. Might’ve done something that would get him in trouble for a long time. Immigration laws have gotten stricter the past few years but he might’ve pulled some strings back then to get you legal faster. And maybe he didn’t want you marrying his daughter because he wanted a lot of distance between the families. Shady men with a lot to lose will do just about anything to keep their misdeeds from catching up with them.”

“
Huh.” Armando put his arms across his chest and leaned back in his chair, thinking about what Tom said.

Victor nodded.
“Yeah. You might be on to something.” He looked at Armando. “I can’t believe we didn’t think about that.”

Tom shrugged.
“It’s just a theory.” He cleared his throat and said to Armando, “So, what’s the name of that law firm where Mitch Nelson works?”

They discussed the case for a few more minutes until Cara knocked on the door to tell them lunch was ready.

After lunch, Armando took a few more conference calls. Then he prepared for his next move with Katie.

* * * * *

It was Tuesday evening, and Katie was just about to do her final walk-through of the restaurant when one of the servers whistled for her attention. With a knowing grin, he pointed at the front door.

Sure enough, it was a bouquet from the flower shop down the street. The third one she had received today from Mitch. One bouquet awaited her when she arrived at work that morning. The second bouquet came at lunchtime. The third and biggest bouquet was
a box filled with two dozen long-stemmed red roses.

Katie begrudgingly signed for it and turned around to the almost
empty dining room to see the employees all laughing at her.

Jonny, a bartender, called out from behind the bar as she walked by,
“Whatever he did wrong, I say you forgive the poor schmuck!”

Katie gnashed her teeth and swallowed her retort as she breezed by on her way to the back of the restaurant so she could toss this gift into a dumpster. She hadn
’t told anyone why she wasn’t wearing her engagement ring today, or why she had received all those flowers. Rumors were spreading and she didn’t care. Heck, she didn’t even care enough to read the cards that came with all those flowers.

She used the same routine with each bouquet: