Chapter Thirty-Five
Later that afternoon, Caleb and Gia drove to Zach’s hogan.
Gia’s happiness lit up the car as she chattered about her meeting with the clinic director, more animated than he’d ever seen her.
“I explained everything and assured her there’s no longer any threat to me or her staff.” She grinned. “She’s keeping me on.”
A familiar red pickup sat parked beside Zach’s cruiser and Dodge Charger when they arrived.
“Jennie’s here.” Gia unbuckled her seatbelt.
Caleb smirked. “Maybe she’s nursing him back to health.”
They exchanged a knowing glance as they walked to the hogan and knocked.
Jennie flung open the door. The swelling in her eye had gone down, the bruising now a mix of purple and yellow.
“Oh, thank God!” she breathed, dragging Gia inside and wrapping her in a fierce hug.
Caleb followed, chuckling.
Zach lay sprawled on his cowhide sofa, bare-chested in jeans, his left arm in a sling. A white bandage peeked out just below his shoulder.
He started to rise.
“Sit,” Jennie ordered. “You just got home from the hospital.”
Zach sank back, grumbling. “Didn’t know you were this bossy.”
But Caleb caugh t the amused glint in his cousin’s eye—and the way Zach’s gaze lingered on Jennie, not Gia.
After Gia greeted Zach, the women drifted into the kitchen, chatting about his recovery.
Caleb settled onto the cushion beside his cousin. “I saw Grandfather today. Chief Nez cleared us.”
“Not before he tore me a new one for bypassing procedure and involving civilians,” Zach grumbled. “But yeah, he came through.”
He lifted a brow. “And the Feds?”
Caleb recounted what had happened in Albuquerque and their summons to the FBI Field Office in Phoenix.
“Assistant Director Caldwell’s a friend of my bosses at Dìleas. When he realized his task force was compromised, he had the US Marshal’s Office deputize us to give us legal cover.”
Zach glanced toward the kitchen. “And Gia?”
“She’s in the clear. Vincente Lopez Garcia and his cousin are dead. Diego Lopez’s brother tried to engineer a coup—he’s on his way to supermax, but he won’t last long. Right now, Gia and I are the least of the cartel’s problems.”
“So now what?” Zach studied him. Like their grandfather, his face gave nothing away.
“Gia is staying here. So am I.”
A smile tugged at Zach’s lips. His eyes gleamed with mischief.
“Navajo Nation Fair’s in September. There’s an open bull riding competition. Bet I can stay on longer than you.”
Caleb snorted. “I rode Northern Alliance ponies in Afghanistan. If I survived those demons, I can handle a bull.”
“Absolutely not.” Jennie marched over, arms crossed, leveling them both with a glare.
Gia caught his eye, shaking her head with mock-disapproval, though she bit her lip, trying not to laugh.
Caleb and Zach looked at each other—and grinned like fools.
It was mid-afternoon by the time they left Zach and Jennie and drove to the cemetery.
Caleb held Gia’s hand as they stood before the fresh mound of earth that marked his mother’s grave.
“I brought you home, Mom.” His throat closed up.
Gia squeezed his fingers and rested her head on his arm, lending him her strength.
The grief he'd buried beneath his need for vengeance bubbled to the surface. His chest heaved. He looked to the sky as tears blurred his vision.
It wasn’t a day for sadness. Not anymore.
He had something special planned.
“I brought you home,” he repeated, his voice stronger this time. “And I’ve decided to stay. See, there’s this girl—”
Gia gave a quiet laugh, softening the edges of his sorrow.
He told his mother his secret, his silent words consigned to the wind, certain she’d hear and approve.
Wish me luck.
“Have you been to Canyon de Chelly yet?” he asked Gia.
She shook her head. “I haven’t done much besides work and go home. I was too afraid.”
“Come on, let’s go for a drive.”
An hour later, Caleb parked at an overlook on the South Rim.
The late afternoon temperature dipped into the low thirties, but the wind was calm. They hiked the half-mile paved trail.
When they came to the viewing platform, Gia gasped.
Towering sandstone cliffs blazed red and orange in the fading light, carved by ancient rivers, tectonic shifts, and time. The iconic red stone spire of Spider Rock soared from the canyon floor below. Shadows spilled into the valley, casting a blue haze over the cottonwood and juniper trees.
“It’s beautiful.”
He smiled at the wonder on her face, pride swelling in his chest—as if he’d somehow been responsible for this miracle of nature.
Caleb pulled Gia into his chest, wrapping his arms around her for warmth. Snowflakes drifted through the air, landing in her hair and on his shoulders.
“Spider Rock,” he murmured. “My grandmother used to say this is the sacred home of Spider Woman, who wove the universe, taught my people to find beauty and balance.”
He turned her in his arms to face him.
“You’ve brought beauty and balance into my life, Gianna Barone.”
He took a breath. Dropped to one knee.
“Marry me. Build a future and a family with me.”
For a beat, she simply stared, wide-eyed.
Then her smile bloomed—warm as a desert sunrise. Her eyes shimmered with tears.
“Yes to all of it. I love you, Caleb.”
He stood, and they kissed as the last sunbeams set Spider Rock ablaze in a fiery burst of red.
Gia drew back slightly, her fingers curled in the front of his jacket. Her voice was soft, sure.
“I spent so l ong looking over my shoulder, afraid of being found. Afraid to want too much. But I’m done running, Caleb. I’m choosing you. This place. Our life.”
Tears fell, glistening on her cheeks. Happy tears. “For the first time in a long time…I’m not afraid.”
He’d spent a lifetime on the outside—never letting anyone in. Never letting himself belong.
Now, he’d found a love he never dared dream of.
A family he hadn’t known he’d needed.
And a bond with his teammates—his brothers—he finally understood.
For the first time, Caleb saw his future.
And it was more than he’d ever dreamed possible.
THE END