Izzy’s stomach bubbled with excitement as the sleek white jet flew over jagged, green mountains then started its descent. She turned to Mama with an open mouth. “It’s so beautiful!”

Mama chuckled. “You’d better come visit me in Denver if you like mountains this much.”

Izzy had immediately fallen in love with the tall lady, with her dark hair in cornrows and a huge smile on her face. Xavier had definitely gotten his dimples from her.

“I would love that.” She caught Xavier staring at her and blushed. She would love to spend more time with Mama and Xavier, but she didn’t want to impose. She still couldn’t believe she’d been so impulsive and come on this trip. Xavier definitely pulled out her fun, brave, and flirtatious side. Yet she still felt compelled to be careful about giving her heart away. She loved that he’d understood and was trying to show her that she could trust him. She’d been disappointed when he hadn’t kissed her last night but appreciated that he was taking it slow, especially after their impulsive kisses that morning. If only she could forget how good those felt.

“Haven’t you seen mountains before?” Xavier asked.

“I went to Kauai a couple of times in high school. Hiking to the waterfalls was my absolute favorite thing.”

“You’ll have to take her to Horsetail Falls.” Mama instructed.

“Sure thing,” Xavier agreed.

Izzy noticed that he agreed with anything his mama said. Luckily, his mama seemed to have a heart of gold. Izzy already loved her, but she’d never been the type to be obedient, so it was kind of strange to her.

“Why haven’t you traveled much?” Xavier asked in a low tone.

She met his gaze. How did he keep drawing things out about her past? She didn’t let people in like this. At the hospital, she’d heard that if a doctor wanted to ask her out, another doctor would explain that she had “ice in her veins.” Dr. Murphy calling her an ice queen last week confirmed it.

“We vacationed a lot when I was little, but I don’t remember it much. After my mom got sick, we just stayed at home and prayed.”

Mama’s eyes widened. “Oh, sweet girl.”

Izzy bit at her lip and gave Mama a nod. “I’m okay.” She focused back on Xavier. “After she died, my dad and I did our best to ignore each other. When he married Dolly, they vacationed nonstop with Hailey and always tried to bring me along. I usually threw such a fit they let me stay home. The Kauai trips were the only exceptions. Hailey and I had a lot of fun there. I left home at eighteen, and vacations are a little hard to come by when you’re putting yourself through school and starting a career.”

She glanced away from their sympathetic looks and out at the industrialized city.

“It’s so modern.”

Mama nodded. “One of the most modern cities in Mexico, but sadly, there’s a huge discrepancy between the upper and lower classes. That’s why our help with the children is so invaluable.” She squeezed her hand. “Bless you for coming.”

Izzy felt blessed just being here with the two of them. Getting the time off work had been surprisingly easy. Since she’d never asked before, and tried to help out when she could, she was able to get other nurse practitioners to cover her shifts without any persuasion.

Things were a whirlwind of activity as the plane landed and taxied down the short runway. Soon, they, their luggage, and boxes of supplies were transferred to a Chevy Suburban. The driver took them directly to the orphanage, New Life, a two-story building with a metal roof and tan siding. There was an open yard with a playset and grass, but the entire area was surrounded by large fences.

“Please don’t go outside the fences,” Mama asked her. “Unless Xavier and the driver are with you.”

“Okay.” Izzy nodded quickly, the excitement from earlier diminishing a bit at her serious tone.

“Even if you’re out with Xavier, don’t look at another man. They will take that as an invitation, and I don’t want my boy having to get in a fight to protect you.”

Izzy laughed then realized Mama wasn’t teasing. “I’m sorry. You’re serious?”

“There is a lot of organized crime in the city, and that’s terrifying enough, but the men will definitely see you as either an attraction or an opportunity to make money, so be very careful, love.”

Izzy nodded.

The car rolled through the gate, and as soon as the gate was shut behind them, Mama jumped from the car and ran for the playground. “Mis hermanas!”

The children saw her and set up a cry of joy of their own.

Xavier got out and offered her his hand. “Don’t worry.” He smoothed his finger across her forehead.

“Do I look scared?” She felt scared.

“Mama’s just trying to keep you safe. I’ll protect you.”

She felt reassured by his strong, solid presence and turned her attention to the children who were swarming Mama. This was why they’d come. It wasn’t a vacation, so staying within the protective walls should be no big deal. Though she had to admit she’d love to see the waterfall Mama mentioned on the plane.

Xavier took her hand and walked toward the children. He didn’t get very far before they were running toward them. Xavier released her hand and caught a five-year old boy, tossing him in the air. Two more were reaching for him, and a third was tugging at his pant leg. The first little boy squealed with joy. “X!”

Izzy noticed two girls shyly approaching her, their dark eyes wide. She bent down. “Hola.” It hit her how little Spanish she knew. How was she going to communicate?

“Bella señorita,” the taller girl said, touching her hand reverently.

“You’re the pretty one,” Izzy told her.

The girl beamed, and Izzy thought she must’ve understood.

They eventually went inside and unloaded their suitcases and supplies. Izzy was busy up until dinner. She started again as soon as dinner was finished, doing checkups on the children who needed immediate help. There was a broken ankle she needed to set, which was awful as it had been broken for a while. She dealt with ear infections, a case of tonsillitis, and almost a dozen children who were manifesting AIDS symptoms. The last cases were so heart-wrenching she had to steel her mind and not think about it.

She was exhausted when she finished up and took a quick shower. Mama had shown her the room the two of them would be staying in earlier that day. Dragging her feet along the hallway, she heard a deep voice singing, “Jesus said love everyone …”

Xavier? The exhaustion fled as she crept toward the nursery and peeked in the doorway. The light from the street outside filtered in the windows. Xavier had an infant cradled against his bare chest and was pacing the tiled floor of the nursery, singing softly. The infant was only in a diaper and Xavier held her close.

Izzy watched him for a while, peace overcoming her. Was he truly this good and kind? He’d wanted her to learn to trust him this week. Moments like this were a perfect start. She forced herself to not drool over the cut lines of his arms, shoulders, chest, and abdomen. She’d seen him without a shirt on yesterday on the boat and been impressed, but this was much more intimate and appealing.

He finally noticed her and tilted up his chin, giving her a soft smile. “Hey,” he whispered.

She crossed the distance to him and peered down at the innocent child. Probably only a few weeks old and much too small to be healthy, the baby’s eyelids fluttered quickly, and she sucked at her pacifier like she wasn’t content.

“Mama said her mother was taking cocaine and meth. So it’s hard for our sweet Isabella to settle down and rest.”

Izzy jolted, and her eyes flew to his face. “Her name’s Isabella?”

“Yes. Isn’t she beautiful?”

“She is.” He’d stopped pacing but he kept bouncing slightly.

“Skin to skin contact?” she guessed, heat creeping into her face as she let her eyes dip to the sculpted musculature of his abdomen.

He grinned but sobered quickly. “It helps calm her down, Mama’s done all the research.”

“I’ll bet she has.” Mama was a force to be reckoned with but everything she did was to help someone else. Izzy adored her. “You’re good with all of the children.”

“Lots of practice.” He grinned, and those dimples dragged her in like always.

“Do you want me to hold her so you can get some rest?” Izzy offered to distract herself. Those muscular arms of his holding a sweet baby were more attractive than anything she’d ever seen.

“No. You’re much more important than me.”

She started to protest but he shook his head. “Truly. You’ve already done so much for the children, and tomorrow you’ll start the immunizations and that will be tough. You get your rest. Isabella and I will be just fine.”

Izzy stepped closer to him and touched his face with her hand. “You’re a good man. Thank you for bringing me here.”

The words hung between them, and she wondered if he’d try to push her to be with him physically. Other men she knew definitely would.

Instead, he smiled softly. “Thank you for being here, Izzy. These children need you much more than they need me.”

“I don’t know about that.” She glanced down at the baby who had relaxed and was now sleeping peacefully in his arms. She’d seen a lot of babies withdrawing from drugs, and it was vicious. The baby would most likely sleep fitfully through the night, if at all. Xavier was in for a long haul. He was made of much stronger stuff than just his fine-honed muscles. “Goodnight, X.”

He focused in on her and smiled. “Goodnight, Izzy.”

She turned to leave, surprised at how hard it was to walk away.