Page 93 of Grasp The Moment

You see, Emiliano’s also a single father, only he and his wifewere married before she gave birth and ran off with some singer from Tennessee. Now, Emiliano’s raising his baby girl, Isabel, alone.

“How are you?”

His eyes speak a thousand words, but he doesn’t answer me; instead, he turns to Georgia and gives her the smile that I’ve grown to imitate as an adult.

He likes to call it the “E Look,” which is his way of saying a “panty-dropping smile.” I smack him upside the head, clenching my jaw lightly as he chuckles. “That’s mywife, Georgia.”

My cousin's eyes nearly bug out of his head, “Wife?!”

“Baby cousin, you’re home! I’ve been waiting to pick your brain about that ice sport you play. You see, there’s this guy that I met, and he—who is this? Is she lost? Emiliano… ¿Quién es esta chica contigo?3?” Elena, myotherolder cousin, questions Emiliano. Her southern accent might be the thickest of all of ours, which is surprising considering she spends most of her time in the city. Elena flips her blonde hair over her shoulder before folding her arms with pursed lips, resembling her mom, Tía?4 Carmen.

I give her a sheepish smile, putting an arm around Georgia’s shoulder.

Elena’s eyes nearly fall out of their sockets as she eyes the two of us, “This is your girlfriend?”

“¡Suesposa?5!” Emiliano exclaims as if he’s shared the golden ticket with Elena as she gasps.

Georgia chuckles awkwardly, looking between the three of us, causingElena to frown.

“Tú no sabes?” Elena asks, her brow furrowed as I cringe.

“No sabes… She’s an English speaker. This is my wife, Georgia. Georgia, meet Emiliano, my oldest cousin, and Elena, the one who’s never home,” I say as Elena rolls her eyes before a bright smile takes over her face.

She walks around me, pushing me to the side before wrapping an arm around Georgia. My wife eyes me over my cousin's head as Elena begins to talk.

“Well, welcome to the family, Georgia. Treat my cousin right, okay? Derek looks broody, but he is a softy—I’m not.”

Oh, dear God…

“And that’s enough ‘Elena time’ for tonight… I was trying to show Georgia around the grounds,” I say, taking my wife back as she chuckles, relaxing under my arm.

Elena and Emiliano share a look, and even though they’re cousins, they resemble one another more than their own siblings as they give us a smile.

“Well, looks like you’re in the right place. This here is the Apolonia stable. We have one black stallion, Shooter. Two American Quarters, one Azteca, an Arabian, a Shetland, and two Thoroughbreds,” Emiliano says, gesturing to each horse before stopping in front of a familiar stable, the one horse he didn’t mention.

“Nora,” I say, my smile can be seen from the moon as I jog over to the Dutch Warmblood that has been my horse since she was a pony. She neighs and purrs as I pat her snout. Georgia stands a few feet away, the glimmer in her eyes evident as she watches my horse and me. I gesture her over, and she comes in an instant, her hand reaching out to pet Nora.

“This is my horse, Nora. She’s also the reason that I haven’t ridden any other horses since I left for college,” I say, chuckling as Nora neighs. Emiliano passes me an apple from his sack, and I grin as Nora chomps it up.

“We like to make sure that all of our horses are properly maintained, which is why they’re my priority,” he tells Georgia, gesturing to the vast room of animals. She nods as he continues, explaining each breed to her.

We spend about twenty minutes in the stable with Elena and Emiliano before my cousins, Soledad and Miguel, come to fetch all of us for dinner.

Lita made molletes with pastelitos for dessert, and it’s safe to say that both of my girls loved it. It feels good to be back home and surrounded by the people that I love. Soledad and Elena have practically taken my wife hostage while the guys and I have been catching up.

The air in the main house is lively with chatter and music. Lita’s been cooking nonstop as more and more people come down to the main house for food, and soon enough, more than half of our neighbors are here, chatting and eating molletes.

Georgia’s glowing as she and my cousins talk. Somewhere along the way, she’d convinced both Elena and Soledad to rock sunglasses with her, and now the three look like the three blind mice as they joke around with one another.

Delilah and her cousins, Cristal and Isabel, play throughout the house, chasing one another, giggling everywhere.

I couldn’t ask for a more perfect start to a great vacation, but I need some air. It’s been so hectic these past few weeks that I haven’t even gotten the chance to be alone with my thoughts.

The second I step outside, I feel better. The warm April air is a bit chilly tonight, but the stars are out shining.

This is what I miss about living in Texas—not the food or rodeo, but the sky. Here, especially on the ranch, I can see any and every constellation up above. Sucking in a deep breath, Istalk toward the first house slightly off the path to the main house and lie flat on my back in the grass, staring up.

I let my brain breathe whenever I’m out here, clearing it completely. Out here, I can be one with myself and nature. Out here, I’m not a dad or a husband… I’m just Derek.