Instant Family
Cruz Maldonado has vowed to provide for his beloved cousinâs orphans. With his estranged motherâs health failing, they might soon be Cruzâs only family. But the kidsâ immigration status brings complications. Mostly âMiss Roryââtheir idealistic young teacherâand Cruzâs court-appointed co-guardian. Cruz has the means to give the kids a good home, yet Rory Gallagher wonders whether he has the heart. That is, until she glimpses the sweet small-town boy inside the polished, handsome Wall Street exterior. Soon they both begin to wonder if this temporary partnership could turn into moreâa chance to raise the children as husband and wife.
Cruz didnât move.
He sat right there while Rory smooched little Javier and ruffled his hair, and when she was done kissing him, Cruz leaned in and kissed the boy, too. They said one last good-night, then he followed her out, into the hall. Before they were halfway down the stairs, she paused and looked back. âYou surprised me in there.â
âBecause I knew prayers?â
âNot that.â She stayed on the second step and faced him. âYou kissed them good-night.â
âI believe thatâs customary with small children, isnât it?â
âIt is, but you donât have small children, do you?â
He shook his head.
âAnd I donât expect you do a lot of babysitting in Manhattan.â
âNo, again.â
She almost spoke again, then stopped herself. âI just thought it was nice, thatâs all. You made them smile.â
She started back down the stairs to rejoin the others. Five little words made her stop again.
âThatâs why I did it.â
She turned and looked up, and when she did, her heart did that shuffle-step dance once more.
Multipublished, bestselling author RUTH LOGAN HERNE loves God, her country, her family, dogs, chocolate and coffee! Married to a very patient man, she lives in an old farmhouse in upstate New York and thinks possums should leave the cat food alone and snakes should always live outside. There are no exceptions to either rule! Visit Ruthy at ruthloganherne.com.
âAnd I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me,â says the Lord Almighty.
â2 Corinthians 6:18
To my dear friend Mia Ross,
who has shared a delightful number of years with me⦠Thank you for always being a shining light of common sense and humor! We are so blessed to be able to work together!
Acknowledgments
To my sons, Luke and Zach, whose lives in Lower Manhattan help me mold characters from all walks of life, and to my amazing editor, Melissa Endlich, whose keen eye helped hone the lump of coal into a polished gem of a story! Thank you!
To show respect for our police forces across the USA, all men in the Grace Haven series have been given names of fallen police officers, both local officers here in my upstate area (A. J. Sperr and Daryl Pierson) and from the 2014 fallen-officer list provided on the Downed Officers website. My husband and I have friends and family who wear the uniform with pride and grace, and our respect for them never falters. Cruz Maldonado was named for Deputy Sheriff Steven LaCruz âCruzâ Thomas of California.
Huge thanks to my beautiful friends Karen and Matt Varricchio of Canandaigua for their help on locations, seasonal workers and life in a Finger Lakes town. We love you guys!
Chapter One
One minute Cruz Maldonado was a sought-after Manhattan financial investor with a law degree, a force to be reckoned with on Wall Street.
The next he was the guardian for two children whose existence probably sprang from the jaws of Mexican cartels.
This couldnât be happening. And yet, it was.
Cruz frowned as he drove his pricey rental car toward the Grace Haven town hall. The long midsummer day gave him a good view of the hometown he hadnât seen in years. At some point heâd greet the mother he hadnât visited since his fatherâs funeral, the woman whoâd raised him to be just as tough and jaded as she was.
You need to come home, Cruz, Reverend Steve Gallagher had told him during the unexpected phone call that morning. Two kids, no records, a falsified paper trail and your motherâs dealing with heart disease complicated by type 2 diabetes, seriously compromising her health. It would be wrong of me to make any decisions without you.
Cruz didnât just tamp his emotions down. He fought them into submission. For long years he hadnât heard from his mother. His phone calls went straight to voice mail. His Christmas gifts came back, unopened. By the fifth year, heâd stopped trying and worked to make himself one of New York Cityâs toughest investment funds managers, respected in international circles, and heâd succeeded.