Free The Sooner the Better by Debbie Macomber

garlic.”
    â€œIt smells delicious. Please thank her for me,” Lorraine said.
    â€œI will.” Thomas showed his daughter to the bathroom, where she could wash up.
    She returned a few minutes later. The table was setwith steaming ceramic bowls filled with rice, tomatoes and the delectable-smelling shrimp.
    Lorraine took a seat. “When is…your housekeeper’s baby due?”
    â€œAny day now,” he answered as he passed her the rice, hoping to avoid further questions for the moment.
    â€œThose were her children outside?”
    Thomas nodded.
    â€œHer name is lovely.”
    â€œIt means lily.”
    The irony of the situation didn’t escape him. At one time Azucena had, in fact, been his housekeeper. The school had hired her on his behalf, and for six months he’d hardly been aware of her. His house was kept spotless and his meals cooked every night. Beyond that, he was absorbed by the demands of teaching and enjoying his newfound profession. He’d never intended to take Azucena to his bed. He was married, although no one in El Mirador knew about his American wife. Nor did he wish to indulge in behavior that would be viewed with disfavor by the church-supported school.
    To date, the headmaster had never mentioned Thomas’s living arrangements. He’d eaten meals in this house, so he had to know what was going on. Nevertheless he always referred to Azucena as Thomas’s housekeeper. And for those first six months that was exactly what she was. Thomas hadn’t made so much as an untoward gesture, and in the end, Azucena, whose name was regarded as a symbol of purity and perfection, had been the one to seduce him.
    The meal was excellent. Azucena had chosen his favorite. He could see that Raine was enjoying it, too.
    â€œShe really is a wonderful cook,” Raine said as Azucena carried a plate of hot tortillas to the table.
    It was difficult for Thomas to disguise his fondness for his common-law wife. He knew Lorraine had seen the smile he’d given Azucena and might have commented, but their meal was interrupted by a loud demanding knock on the door. Both women looked at Thomas.
    He set his napkin aside and hurried across the room, unsure what to expect. The knock was not that of a friend. He knew trouble when he heard it.
    Two uniformed policemen stood on the other side of the threshold. He’d rarely seen armed police in this town; not only that, he didn’t recognize either man, which was unusual in itself. He knew almost everyone in El Mirador, if not by name then by sight.
    â€œCan I help you?” Thomas asked, taking care to pronounce each word distinctly and with authority.
    â€œWe’re looking for Lorraine Dancy.”
    â€œMay I ask what this is about?”
    â€œDad?” Raine said from behind him. “I heard my name.”
    He ignored her, refusing to break eye contact with the two officers. “Why are you looking for my daughter?”
    â€œWe need to ask her a few questions,” said the taller and more muscular of the two.
    â€œQuestions about what?”
    â€œJason Applebee,” the second policeman informed him. “We need to know what her relationship is to this man.”
    â€œDad?” Raine had joined him. “What’s this about?”
    â€œDo you know anyone by the name of Jason Applebee?” he asked in English.
    She nodded. “He’s an American I met in Mérida. He helped me buy my bus ticket. Is everything all right? Nothing’s happened to him, has it?”
    Thomas asked the two police officers those veryquestions. Raine had said nothing previously about meeting this other man, but Thomas could see that she cared about his welfare.
    They answered, and he turned back to Lorraine. “They’re holding him at the police station. They won’t tell me why.”
    â€œOh, no.” She covered her mouth with her hand. “Something’s wrong. We’ve got to