The Texan's Surprise Return. Jolene Navarro

to anyone about their problem. No one knew. Her husband didn’t even know.

      When they’d gotten married, he’d told her that he would love her forever and that nothing would ever separate them. He’d vowed back then that, even if he lost everything, she would be the one thing he clung to. Apparently, forever had a time limit.

      The day he left for the job, the anger had consumed her. In a rage she had gone online and had found the website to start legally ending their marriage. She had wanted the paper in hand when he walked through the door to prove how serious she was about ending his secret work. But he had never walked back into their house.

      So much in her life had changed. She had to tell him about the triplets. That would be a shock, even if he had all his memories.

      Before he left for the last job, they had gotten another negative result on a pregnancy test. As he had held her, he’d said it might be for the best.

      At the time, that had torn her heart in two. They had always been on the same page, but she had drawn into herself, had pushed him out. The love that had burned bright had gone out. They had been left with nothing but ashes.

      Now she wasn’t even a part of his memories.

      She would never forget staring at the door after he left, waiting for him to come back. He hadn’t returned. Until now. But it wasn’t real. He hadn’t returned to her.

      There would be no starting over.

      She wouldn’t think of the past. Instead she chose to focus on the boys. They had their father now.

      “Selena.” Belle stood in front of her, a duffel bag over her shoulder and a plate of food in one hand. She crouched down. “Sweetheart, are you okay?”

      She nodded.

      “So, you didn’t tell him about the boys?”

      Her throat was too tight to speak. She just shook her head.

      Dropping the bag and setting the food aside, Belle pulled Selena into her arms. She shifted, leaning against the wall. “We have him back. It’s something straight out of a movie. But we’re De La Rosas, and we don’t do anything the easy way. Not even death or reunions. And, man, his timing. ‘Home for Christmas’ has a whole new meaning.”

      Selena couldn’t help but snort against the denim jacket Belle had put on over her formal gown. “It’s the most amazing gift ever. Belle, I spent the last so much time telling myself that he was gone forever. Now I’m so afraid I’ll wake up and find out this is some twisted dream.”

      “I know. But for Xavier this has to be a nightmare. We don’t have a clue what he’s been through.”

      “I should have told him about the boys.”

      Belle shook her head. “No. It would have been too much. In the morning, after we’ve all had time to process, we’ll talk. This is better. This way, as soon as you tell him, he can meet them. There’s no point in telling him now. He already has too much information to process. You did the right thing.”

      Or had it just been the easier thing? She wriggled out of Belle’s embrace and stood. “Let me take this to him. Then I want to go check on my boys.”

      Understanding and warmth radiated from Belle’s deep gray-green eyes, so much like Xavier’s. A sob escaped her throat,

      She needed to hold her babies and snuggle them, to feel their little heartbeats. They didn’t even know their world had just changed.

      Four years ago, she’d been too angry at God to trust him with her marriage or anything else. Not leaning on Him had led her to push her husband away. This time she had to stay in her faith. She had to trust God.

      One thing was for sure. She couldn’t trust her heart or the stranger that the world saw as her husband.

       Chapter Three

      Yellows and soft pinks marbled the sky as the sun rose from the watery horizon. Selena glanced into the rearview mirror, checking on the boys out of habit. In the far backseat of the Suburban, her nieces were singing. From the corner of her gaze, she caught her own reflection.

      Puffy, bloodshot eyes made it obvious there had been no sleep for her last night. She’d lost track of the hours she and Belle had talked on the phone. Every time one of them had said good-night and promised to go to sleep, the other would call again.

      Her phone vibrated and she cast a glance at her father seated beside her. “Dad, would you check that and see if it’s someone I need to talk to?” The phone had not stopped for the last few hours. Word had spread that her husband was back from the dead. She wanted to turn it off, but with so much going on, she didn’t dare.

      Riff glanced at the screen, then shook his head. “Not anyone you need to talk to right now.”

      “Tía Selena!” Cassie, Belle’s older daughter, yelled from the third-row seat. “Lucy and Rosie won’t stop singing. I have a headache.”

      Elijah’s six-year-old daughter’s eyes went wide, and she clamped her lips closed. Lucy just sang louder.

      “Lucy, I love your voice, but it is a bit early. Be nice and wait to sing once we’re out of the car.”

      The tight pressure pushed harder at the front of her skull.

      Her father stared at his coffee without taking a sip. “This has to be a crazy dream. How is Xavier back from the dead? Are you sure it’s him?” Even though his voice was low, he twisted and looked at the boys, worry on his face. “Oh, I shouldn’t say stuff in front of them, but I can’t even start…” His voice dropped, and tears hovered in his eyes again.

      Riff had loved Xavier from the moment she had introduced them. Other fathers cleaned guns and threatened new boyfriends, but not her dad. No. One look at the young Xavier and her father had wrapped his arms around him and encouraged her to keep that boy around. Then he’d taken off on another tour.

      When they’d received word of Xavier’s death, her father had come home and hadn’t left. She kept expecting to wake up one morning to find him at the door with his bags packed, but for the first time in her life, he had stayed.

      Sawyer, Finn and Oliver chattered in the nonsensical language they all seemed to understand completely. Even Oliver, usually the quiet one, was full of energy and giggles today.

      It was as if they knew something very important was about to happen.

      How was Xavier going to react? Fingers tightening around the leather of the steering wheel, Selena focused back on the road.

      She was taking the boys to the ranch to meet—Her stomach heaved, and she couldn’t finish the thought. She glanced in the rearview mirror to check the boys. “They don’t even understand what it means that their father is dead. Was dead.” She blew out a puff of air. “Belle’s going to watch them while we talk. The baby goats are in the barn, so they’ll keep the children occupied. I thought you’d want to see him before he meets the boys.”

      Her father shook his head. “What if he doesn’t remember me? I’m not sure. Meeting the boys is more important.” Lifting his mug, Riff sipped at the hot liquid.

      Selena turned west toward the ranch, the sunrise now in her rearview mirror. There was a new day ahead of them. One that she never saw coming.

      Her three nieces had fallen quiet in the back, but her boys chattered in the second row. Her father remained silent for the fifteen-minute ride out of town to the ranch. With each inch, Selena’s nerves pulled tighter. Xavier was alive. Her babies had their father. Just in time for Christmas. But to her he was a stranger.

      Arriving at the house, Selena pulled up to the front porch. Before she cut the engine, Belle rushed out the door.

      Glancing to the back of the Suburban,