Easter's Lilly Read online

  We got back to the house and the men took off their jackets and ties as though they were on fire. It was funny to watch. The three of them went into the kitchen and Elizabeth sat down on the couch next to Diego Jr. I sat beside him. “Diego, this is Elizabeth. She is daddy’s sister from New York.”

  “Johnny’s sister?” he asked.

  “It’s confusing for a little guy,” I said to her. “Yes, Johnny’s sister.”

  He put out his hand to shake hers. “That makes me your aunt,” she said. “Do you have any other aunts?”

  “Aunt Elena,” he answered. “She’s my other daddy’s sister.”

  “I see how this can get confusing.” She laughed.

  “Why didn’t Cammy come with you?” I asked. “I would love to see her.”

  “She wouldn’t love to see Diego,” she answered.

  “Oh, right.” I remembered how he told us John was dead. She thought he killed him.

  “They used to sleep together, you know,” she added. I made a face and she laughed. “Yes, they all had sex-lives before you came along.”

  “Why are you so hostile?” I asked. “Have I done something to you?”

  “Your family has stolen everything from my family. Diego took you and John’s son. Max took Patrick and Patrick’s girlfriend. Have they shared the story with you?”

  “Yes, of course,” I answered.

  “You took Diego from my mother.” She paused. “Where did Hector come from?” She looked very interested in that piece of information.

  “Mexico,” I answered. “He used to work for Jorge. He came for a visit and never left.”

  “Hmmm…” she continued. “Have you had a turn at him yet?” she asked curiously.

  “Eww!” I said making a sour face. “He is very much like a brother to me. Nothing more.” I thought for a moment. “He’s the best brother anyone could ever ask for.”

  “Was that a ‘watch your step’ comment?” she asked.

  “Could be,” I said. I was a little surprised at how protective I was over him.

  “You and Diego seem to get along very well.” She looked surprised. “I assumed you would hate his guts after taking Johnny away the way he did.”

  “He’s Max’s brother,” I answered. “It’s for the best if we get along.”

  “Ah…” she continued. “But it is more than that now, isn’t it.” I think my face flushed at that comment. Thankfully, Hector came out of the kitchen and rescued me.

  “Why don’t you all join us? I have some snacks out for you before dinner.”

  “They are wonderful in the kitchen,” I added.

  “Not just in the kitchen.” Hector winked at her with enthusiasm. I almost threw up. She giggled like a little girl and the two of them took off into the kitchen. I followed behind.

  Max came over to me and kissed my neck. I got chills and shuddered. “Just checking,” he said again.

  “Cut that out,” I told him. He did it again and pulled me to him. “Did I tell you today how beautiful you are?”

  I smiled. Diego was watching us carefully from behind Max. I caught his glance and Max looked behind him. “When are you leaving again?” he asked Diego.

  “I’m sorry, I’ll behave,” he promised. “She just looks so good. You know, Max. Good enough to taste.” Max let me go and started towards Diego. Diego didn’t flinch. Hector, as usual, got between them.

  “Diego stop!” Hector shouted. “If you want her, dream about her. Keep it to yourself. She’s Max’s now. Leave her alone.” Diego continued to chop up vegetables for the stuffing but said nothing.

  “Wow,” Elizabeth said, looking at me. “I knew I felt some heat between the two of you.”

  “There is no heat!” I shouted.

  “Then why is your face all red?” She had a smug look in her expression like she won the lottery or something.

  “I know I’m not perfect,” Diego said. “But neither was David and he was a man after God’s own heart.”

  “Who’s David?” I asked. I felt foolish asking the question when everyone else seemed to already know.

  “David was a king,” Max started, “who fell in love with someone else’s wife.” He turned and looked at Diego.

  “We are both guilty of that,” Diego reminded him.

  “David arranged for the husband of this woman to be away in battle so he could sleep with her. Once he slept with her, she became pregnant.” Diego cleared his throat intentionally. “Finally, David tried to have the woman, Bathsheba was her name, sleep with the husband so the husband would think the baby was his.” He stopped for a minute and started to pace. “Oh my God, I’m going to hell,” Max blurted.

  Diego started to laugh. He decided to finish since the similarities were too overwhelming for Max. “Long story short, due to David’s orders, Bathsheba’s husband was killed in battle. He got her all to himself.”

  “That’s a man after God’s own heart?” I asked.

  “He repented,” Max said, coming back into the conversation. “They got married and had another child.”

  “So, who looks like David now?” Diego asked.

  “Wow,” Max said. “A little shocking isn’t it?” He took my hand and looked at Diego.“I did try to pass our baby off as yours. I did marry your wife. We did have another child. You probably should hate me.”

  “But I don’t,” he said. “I love you. I know you hate that but you are my favorite brother.” He looked at Hector and Hector made a face.

  “All this brotherly love is making me hungry,” Hector said. “So, no more fighting. It’s Easter Sunday. It’s also Max and Lilly’s anniversary and I have a new friend…” He stopped as if in mid-sentence. He put his fingers on her chin and looked at her longingly. Elizabeth smiled. “Let’s have some fun.” He looked over at Max. “Would you mind if I took her for a walk around the property?”

  “Be careful,” Max said. “Do you need to stop in my room first?”

  Hector smiled. “Got it covered, brother, but thanks for the reminder.”

  They walked out the back door of the kitchen, obviously heading for the creek. “You guys are disgusting,” I said to Max.

  “Why? You and Max made love there a thousand times,” Diego said sarcastically.

  “Twice,” I corrected him. Max laughed. “And we knew each other more than five minutes.”

  “It’s been a while for him,” Max said. “Cut him some slack.” They continued to cook. Diego put on some salsa music and Max and I started to dance. Diego poured us all some wine and they took turns spinning me around the floor. A few hours later Hector and Elizabeth came back covered in leaves and grass. We all started laughing… hard. It was fun to be on the other end of all this. Finally, it wasn’t me.

  “We sat down for dinner and Diego and Max started bringing the food out. They cooked a turkey this year with all the fixings. They usually cook a ham but they were continuously trying to change our luck on Easter. It looked amazing. I was getting some baby food ready for Chris and Max strapped Dieguito in his booster seat. When I came back out, Elizabeth had secured a chair next to Hector. “Have you seen your brother lately?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I was going to get to that,” she answered.

  “This is the real reason you showed up here on Easter, isn’t it?” Hector asked.

  “Well, I didn’t expect you to be so nice.” She took Hector’s hand. “Not this nice, anyway.” Hector smiled.

  “It’s okay,” Hector said. “I’m a big boy, what’s going on?”

  “I have three brothers left,” she said as she shot a dirty look at Max.

  “Rory, and Sean are the other two,” Diego interrupted.

  “Of course, you’d know that.” She was still very angry with him. “They are in Sedona now with John.”

  Max started to cough. I looked up at him. “Max, what is it?”

  “We’re talking about an Irish Mafia now, aren’t we.” He looked over at her angry face and she smirked.

  �
��Well, Ray’s in prison and your organization has dried up… for now anyway.”

  “Please tell me John is not back to using drugs?” I pleaded. “We told Diego the truth.” My little son was busily eating as much sweet potato casserole as he could. Covered in marshmallows; he wasn’t really paying attention to our conversation.

  “Using, dealing… same old, same old.” She looked at Hector who was watching her with such intensity that her face began to flush a little. “It’s Easter and I’ve heard all about Easter’s Lilly.” She looked at me dismissively. “I wanted to make sure Dieguito…” she cleared her throat, “Johnny’s son… was still all right.”

  “Well, as you can see, he’s fine,” I answered. “But I’d be lying if I didn’t think this was going to be a problem.”

  “See Max,” Diego said. “You still need me to stick around.” Max looked at him with a serious stare. Not angry, just concerned.

  “What do you think, Hector?” Max asked. “Should we all head back to Sedona?”

  “As much as I hate to admit it, Diego’s right. Egos out of the way and all… there is safety in numbers. We have to think about the children.”

  “I’m going back there myself,” she said. “I want to see Sean and Rory. I want to know what they’re up to this time.”

  “Didn’t they used to live in Colorado?” Diego asked. “Why would they go to Arizona of all places?”

  “You,” she said. “Their nephew is certainly part of it. Let’s not forget that John is now the head of his own organization.” Then she looked at Max. “You’re FBI, right?”

  “I guess the news blew my cover,” he answered.

  “My brothers will certainly be after you.” She turned and looked at Hector. “Did you do something to them that I don’t know about?”

  “I spent most of my time in Mexico,” he replied. “I have really only been here for the last year and a half. I barely knew Johnny or Pat for that matter.”

  “But Jorge,” she said thoughtfully. “Won’t they hold you responsible for his actions?”

  “Possibly,” he answered. “I was his hit-man for years.”

  “Enforcer,” Max blurted. “Why can’t anyone get that right?” I knew this had to be serious or he wouldn’t be making jokes. We were in danger. We had to stick together.

  Diego started clearing and I helped him pick up plates. Max, Hector and Elizabeth had their heads together. “I think you’re stuck with me for a while.” Diego smiled and started taking dishes from my hands.

  “I wouldn’t say stuck.” I smiled at him. “It’s okay, I really don’t mind.” He turned the music back on and started washing dishes. I went out to the dining room and brought in some more dishes for him. I grabbed a towel and started drying the plates.

  “You know a small part of you will always love me,” he said as I began to start drying.

  “Very small,” I answered, laughing a little.

  “But it’s there,” he continued. “I can feel it.”

  “So tell me,” I said, changing the subject. “What are you going to do now? Who is going to hire Diego Montiago?”

  He smiled for a minute. “Lilly, part of the deal I made with the FBI is I get to keep my money. I knew this would be an issue when I quit the business.” He handed me another dish. “I have enough investments that I don’t ever have to work again if I don’t want to.”

  “So, you don’t want to?” I asked.

  “There is something that I want to do but I haven’t told anyone yet.” He hesitated. “I am certainly not worthy.”

  I put another dish down. “Tell me,” I urged him. “I’d be honored to be your first for something.”

  He laughed a little. “Wow, you remember that?” he asked.

  “Every detail,” I answered. “So spill…”

  “I think I want to be a preacher,” he confessed. I let go of the newest plate that he handed me and he grabbed it just before it fell. “Lilly, you are going to have to stop drawing attention to us when we talk like this.” I laughed. “Do you want them to shoot me or something?”

  “Of course not,” I answered. “I’m sorry, you just took me by surprise, that’s all.”

  “It took me by surprise too,” he said. “I get to give a mini sermon every Wednesday night to the youth.” He handed me another plate. “Why don’t you come and check me out in action?”

  “I don’t know, Diego.” I was starting to feel… weird. “Hearing you preach…” I began to look around the room to see if we were still alone. “It might be too strange.”

  “Lilly…” He looked off into the living room. He could see Max, Hector and that woman still deep in the throes of conversation. “It is all I can do not to lay you down right now and make love to you.”

  “Oh my God,” I said under my breath. He looked around again and touched my face.

  “Admit it, you still want me?” I looked at him and could feel that my face was hot.

  “Diego, I never wanted you,” I reminded him. “Let’s not forget that.” He was really pushing me.

  “Come and hear me preach,” he suggested again. “I promise,” he crossed his heart, “best behavior.”

  “Like you’re doing now?” I asked. “Is this best behavior?”

  “I’m sorry, I can’t help myself.” He looked away.

  “I’ll have to bring Max and Hector, you know.” I looked at him for a reaction.

  “I would love that,” he said. “Really, come.”

  “Okay, I will ask Max about it later.” I looked again for company.

  “What are you so nervous about?” he asked.

  “Max is insanely jealous of you, you know that,” I said, still looking.

  “He should be,” he answered. “I will not honor this divorce. Not ever.”

  “Diego, once you become a preacher man,” I looked around and then said in a whisper, “you will have to let me go.”

  “There was a man named Paul.” He seemed to be moving away from the subject. “He was just like me. God saw favor in him.”

  “There is so much I don’t know,” I told him.

  “I can teach you, Lilly. God can use me to teach you.” He handed me a glass.

  “This is weird,” I told him. “You and God. You and me… Who are you?”

  “The devil took everything away from me.” He made another check for Max. “I am grateful for those bullets. God has given me the chance to redeem myself.”

  He reached over and handed me another plate. He didn’t let go of my hand. “Diego…” I warned.

  “Are you saying you don’t like it when I touch you?”

  “I’m saying that I love my husband, so cut it out!”

  “Shhh!” he said. “Remember what I said about that.” Max came in at that time. He was watching us innocently wash the dishes.

  “Lilly? Is there coffee?”

  “There’s coffee and Diego’s famous flan,” I answered. “I will bring them both out to you.”

  Max got a little closer and put his arms around my waist. “Is he bothering you?” he asked.

  “Not at all,” I answered. “He was telling me about his work in the church. I think we should go see him Wednesday night. What do you think?”

  “I don’t know,” he looked suspiciously at Diego. “What do you do?”

  “It’s no big deal,” he answered. “I give a mini sermon to the youth.”

  “I would love to see that,” he said with a hint of sarcasm. I hit him gently with the towel. “All right, all right, we’ll go.” He walked out.

  “He’s a lucky man,” Diego said.

  “Reality check.” I put up the last plate. “I have a son by John and a son by Max. How would that make you feel? Do you just want me because Max took me from you?”

  He looked into the living room and put his hands on my shoulders. He moved us farther from their view. “I know what I lost,” he said, almost in a whisper. “I will love and cherish you. I will never raise my hand to you or force you to do
something you are not comfortable with again.” He looked behind him. We were still alone. “Like I told you before. I will not take you, this time. You will come to me.”

  I could feel my face getting hot again. He looked behind him and quickly kissed my lips. It was gentle and soft. “Remember,” he said. “I’m not Johnny.” I pulled away and began to wipe my face furiously. I grabbed the coffee cups and tried to pour the coffee but my hands were shaking. He took my hands and said, “Relax Lilly.” He started pouring the coffee for me. “Everything will work out the way God wants it to.” I brought the coffee out and Diego was behind me with the flan. We served it and observed a little of the conversation. We cleared the table of the rest of the used dishes and continued to clean.

  “You have to stop that,” I whispered. “Really, I mean it!” I was still whispering but fiercely.

  “As soon as I know you don’t like it,” he stopped and winked at me, “I’ll stop.”

  “I don’t like it, Diego. Really, no more!” I could tell by the look on his face that he didn’t believe me. The truth was… I was kind of aroused. We continued to clean up together. I tried to think of something to say but I was way too embarrassed. I could only imagine what Hector would have thought of me if he walked in on us. Max would’ve shot Diego for sure. I had to make him understand that there would be no romance.

  So tell me,” he said, trying to change the subject. “When you and Max were alone at the creek, what did you do together before the affair?”

  “You really want to know?” I asked. I was pretty sure he didn’t.

  “I want to know as much about you as I can,” he answered. “What kind of things did you do together?”

  “Do you like poetry?” I asked him. “He used to read me poetry.”

  “I am not as educated as my brothers. I was pushed into the cartel at 16 and that was all I knew,” he answered. “What else?”

  “We shopped together,” I answered.

  “With my money,” he added. I laughed. “I was always happy to see you smile when you bought something new.”

  “We did everything together, Diego. Everything except for what I was doing with you.”

  He paused for a minute. He stopped washing and turned to me. “I will forever regret the way I treated you.”

  “I know,” I told him. “If I have forgiven you…” I paused, “and God has forgiven you… don’t you think it’s time for you to forgive yourself?”

  “I suppose you’re right,” he continued. “If Paul can forgive himself, certainly I can forgive myself.”

  “Whose Paul?” I asked again.

  “A story for another day,” he told me. “Let’s just say a murderer and a non-believer. Very much like me.”

  “Like you used to be.” I felt that correcting him was the thing to do. I could see he had become very hard on himself. Max finally came in and pulled me away. He brought me into the dining room and placed me on his lap. “I love you, daddy.” I kissed his cheek. He smiled and Elizabeth made a face.

  “I know,” Hector said. “Just imagine living with them.”

  “I’d better get going, anyway,” Elizabeth started. “I don’t want to overstay my welcome.”

  “We’re going to church Wednesday night to see… wait for it…” Max was having way too much fun with this, “Diego preach to the youth.” Hector laughed out loud.

  “Stop it, you two.” I had to say something. Someone had to defend him.

  “We are so there!” Hector blurted.

  “Please join us Elizabeth,” Max offered. “You’re not in a hurry to get back, are you?”

  “You couldn’t keep me away,” she admitted. She grabbed Hector’s hand. “Please, walk me out.” She reached over and put her hand on his cheek. She kissed him and we all just watched for some reason. We couldn’t look away.

  “Thank you for the meal, Maxwell. Lilly,” she began. I could tell it was hard for her to say something nice to me. “Thank you for the hospitality.”

  “Anytime,” I said. “I hope you will come back soon.”

  “We’ll pick you up before church,” Max added. “Be sure to give Hector your information.”

  “I’m staying with my mother,” she said. Then she opened her purse and took out a card. She grabbed a pen and scribbled something on the back. “This is her address.” She held the card up for him to take. “On the other side is my personal information.” Hector smiled at us and then took her hand and walked her out. When the front door closed Diego, Max and I, like little children, went running to the window.

  “Can you see anything?” Max asked.

  “I think they’re kissing,” Diego answered.

  “He’s pressing her up against the car,” I said. “Okay, we’ve had our fun. Let’s leave him alone.” They both stood back. I was pretty sure whatever was happening next out there was something Hector wouldn’t want watched. “He’s put up with the three of us for years. Let’s give him some space.” They both laughed a little and we went back into the living room. Hector walked back into the house and glided over to us like he was already in love.

  “I don’t like it,” Diego said. “It’s too convenient. What’s she doing here anyway?”

  “I like her,” Hector said.

  “We can see that,” I added. “Why’d you invite her to the church on Wednesday, Max?”

  “Keep your friends close,” Diego said.

  “Keep your enemies’ closer,” Max finished. “I don’t like it either.”

  “Max, I expected you to at least be on my side.” Hector had real disappointment in his tone.

  “Just be careful,” he said. “Don’t give away too much too soon.”

  “Too late for that,” I said laughing.

  “You’re loving this, aren’t you?” he asked me.

  “Yup.” I laughed again. “Finally, someone else to talk about.” Diego shot me a glance. My stomach sank a little. I think Hector caught it.

  “Finally a nice Easter, right Lilly?” Hector asked. “No real drama.”

  “So far, so good.” I told him. “Let’s finish cleaning up and get ready for bed. We have to start packing tomorrow if we’re planning on leaving by Thursday.” We all went our separate ways, except of course for Max and me. We put the boys down together. Diego walked passed the nursery and Max poked his head out to watch him walk to his old bedroom. He came back inside and looked at me. “Do you believe him?” he asked me. “Really?”

  “I do,” I said. “You should hear the excitement in his voice when he talks about doing work for God. It’s spooky.”

  He laughed and reached for my face. “Do you still melt when I touch you?” He pulled my body into his and my knees almost buckled. He pulled me up. “Glad to see that sometimes.” He put his mouth on mine and caressed my lips. I was helplessly under his spell. I was glad to see it too. “Let’s go to bed,” he suggested. “I think we need each other tonight.” We walked hand in hand down the hallway. It felt so right… so very right.

  CHAPTER 32

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