Ginny closed her eyes, thinking again of Elizabeth Cady. Beth had been nothing like what she’d expected. There was none of the flamboyant beauty of Francesca or Concepciόn, or any of the other women Steve had been with over the years. Instead, Beth Burneson had possessed a quiet serenity and a beauty of spirit and soul that shone out of her intelligent eyes like a lamp in the darkness. It had taken away Ginny’s breath, seeing her pregnant and still so graceful despite her bulk, seeing the way she clung to her children.

And Matthew…so much like Franco, except for the eyes. The boy had his father’s eyes; deep blue, with ridiculously long lashes, still innocent, but with light of mischief shining in their depths. There had been such pride in the way Elizabeth regarded her children, mixed with fear that their happy life might be shattered.

It was a life Ginny envied, one of great stability. A contentment radiated from Elizabeth that was deep-rooted, unshaken even by her fears.

Ginny realized she was glad she’d met Elizabeth. It was a revelation that Steve had loved the woman enough to ask her to go with him, and a fluttering twinge in her own heart that he had forgotten her so quickly. It was one thing to share his body, but if he had shared his heart, it would destroy her.

But do I have his heart? Have I ever had his heart? If only she knew that, maybe she wouldn’t have found herself here….

Yet here she was, lingering in a town she detested, waiting for a ship to take her away from Mexico again. Here, where the oceanfront held little more than desolate sand dunes shaped by the wind into layered hills scattered with palm trees, the only beauty provided by the beautiful peak of Orizaba in the distance. Snow crowned its summit, white and gleaming in the sunlight.

She went daily to the ticket agent’s office to secure passage on a ship leaving Mexico, and each day was told that she must come back.

“Mañana, señora. Come back tomorrow.”

Finally, restless, impatient to be gone, she heard with relief the ticket agent inform her that the ship would be leaving early the next day.

“Don’t be late, señora, for there are others who will gladly buy your passage. Space for passengers leaving Mexico is limited, for the captains fill the ships with cargo for other countries. Soon, Mexico will be as prosperous as other nations. El presidente has promised it!”

He seemed glad to talk, though rather curious about the gringa who spoke the dialect as well as any native, and who looked so sad. Too lovely to be so sad, he told her. Ginny only smiled as she promised to be back early the next day.