Contents ( 66)
- Cover
- Books by Valerie Fraser Luesse
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Map of Florida
- one
- two
- three
- four
- five
- six
- seven
- eight
- nine
- ten
- eleven
- twelve
- thirteen
- fourteen
- fifteen
- sixteen
- seventeen
- eighteen
- nineteen
- twenty
- twenty-one
- twenty-two
- twenty-three
- twenty-four
- twenty-five
- twenty-six
- twenty-seven
- twenty-eight
- twenty-nine
- thirty
- thirty-one
- thirty-two
- thirty-three
- thirty-four
- thirty-five
- thirty-six
- thirty-seven
- thirty-eight
- thirty-nine
- forty
- forty-one
- forty-two
- forty-three
- forty-four
- forty-five
- forty-six
- forty-seven
- forty-eight
- forty-nine
- fifty
- fifty-one
- Epilogue
- Keep Reading for a Preview of Valerie Luesse’s Next Book!
- Prologue
- one
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Back Ads
- Back Cover
He kissed her on the cheek. “I thought about your family every day that I was gone. Thank you for feeding us, Mama Eva.”
Gina led them to a breezy table on the porch and called for another waitress to deliver Cokes. “No menus from now on. Mama decides what everybody eats.”
“Hey, Gina, how’s Rolando?” Peyton asked.
“I can’t wait for him to see me in my wedding dress!” she said with a big smile. “And thank you for giving me your tips, Peyton. You did not have to do that.”
“You didn’t have to take me home with you, but you did. He’s still in the Philippines, right?”
“That’s right. He has rented a little house for us by the water. Can you believe that? My own house. I will not know what to do with so much room.”
“I guess you’ll have to fill it up,” Peyton said with a grin, nodding to the children.
Gina threw her dish towel at him. “You are trouble. I have always known it. Keep an eye on him, Lisa, while I check on your food.”
“What’s that big smile all about?” Peyton asked Lisa after Gina had gone.
“These people love you,” Lisa said. “You only stayed with them for a little while, and they treat you like family.”
“I’m pretty sure they treat everybody like family.”
“Maybe so, but I still think you’re special to them.”
“You will be too.”
“What about me and Jasper?” Bonnie asked. “Will we be special too?”
“You two will be super special,” Peyton said.
By the time Gina’s family closed the restaurant, enjoyed their Saturday night gathering, and started home, it was nearly one o’clock in the morning. Bonnie and Jasper had long since fallen asleep, tucked into makeshift beds in one of the booths just like all the other children in the family. Gina’s brother Ramone helped Peyton carry them to Mama Eva’s house and put them to bed. Lisa slept with them so they wouldn’t awake in a strange place and be afraid, while Peyton took an empty bed in the brothers’ room.
Before he fell asleep, Peyton said a silent prayer of thanks for this family’s warmth and hospitality, for Gina’s friendship, for Jasper and Bonnie’s safety, and for Lisa’s love—for that most of all.
“Promise me you will write,” Gina said to Peyton. “You too,” she said to Lisa.
“We promise,” Lisa said with a smile, hugging her goodbye. “Oh, Gina, your family is amazing. I hope we have a family like that one day.”
“Ah, so you are thinking about it!”
Lisa blushed, but Peyton couldn’t have been prouder.
“Come here, little brother,” Gina said, hugging Peyton and kissing him on both cheeks. “The little ones already on the boat?”
“Jasper’s a little shy,” Lisa said.
“Well, you give them both a kiss for me. Here is a sack filled with more of Mama’s food than ten people could eat. You know where you are going?”