A Greater Love (22 page)

Knew who I was?
Miguel heard but didn’t understand.
Had Sara been right? Had Daniel known his mother? Or maybe even his father?
Another thought slipped in, unbidden.
Was it my father’s shoe I put under the Christmas tree?

 “Let me go,” he said aloud. There was movement behind him and from the corner of his eye, Miguel caught a glimpse of Cristina. Sara was in her arms, clinging to her and crying.

“I can outrun you,” Daniel said. “At least right now. But I don’t want to make you do anything. Can’t you just hear what I have to say? Then”—his voice choked—“if you don’t want to stay with us, that’s all right. I’ll find you another place with a family who’ll take care of you.”

“What about Sara?”

“She goes with you—you belong together—but not like this. Don’t you see? She might get sick again. You almost died yourself. Don’t let me have this on my conscience as well.”

Miguel hovered with indecision. Part of him wanted to hear what Daniel had to say, the other was afraid. What did he mean when he said “before I knew who you were” or “if you don’t want to stay”?

“Please, Miguel.” It was Cristina’s voice, not Sara’s, but it had the same pleading quality Sara’s had held when she’d asked to stay until Christmas was over. What should he do? The hopeful expression on Daniel’s pale face finally convinced him. How desperately he craved for Daniel to want him!

“All right. I’ll listen.”

“Come on, then.” Daniel didn’t walk too close to him, but Miguel sensed he was alert and ready to catch him if he ran.

 
Alone,
Miguel thought,
I could make it.
He glanced at Sara and rejected the idea.

“I knew Manuel Silva, your father,” Daniel said, as if reading his thoughts. “We were friends.”

Miguel jerked his head toward him in disbelief, but the name struck a chord within him. How much could Daniel tell him about the man he couldn’t remember?

“I knew your mother, too. Ana Paula.”

A tear leaked from Miguel’s left eye. Ana Paula! So that was his mother’s name. He had the card once more in his pocket, but Sara wouldn’t give him back the necklace or tell him where it was. Had she lost it? He knew she wasn’t wearing it, so she must have. The knowledge saddened him, but he’d been too sick to waste energy on more tears.

They reached the boat, and Miguel stared at it with surprised delight. The small cabin craft floated easily on the water. The design was compact but had plenty of space for a young boy to explore and roam on the deck. Waves slapped gently at the sides, bringing a man’s face to his mind—dark hair, short beard, skin deeply tanned by the sun. Was that man his father?

“Come aboard.”

Miguel didn’t have to be asked twice. “Cool,” he muttered. In fact, it was the most wonderful boat he’d ever seen.

“I bought her used and your father helped me rebuild her,” Daniel told him.

“He did? But what’s her name? I didn’t see it painted on the hull.”

Daniel grimaced. “The original name was worn away, and I never got around to naming her. Everyone calls her
No Name.
”

Miguel frowned. That wasn’t any kind of a name for a boat this exceptional.

Sara was busy investigating the boat, and Miguel wished he could join her. Still there was more he had to learn. “How’d you know my father?” he asked, faking an arrogance he didn’t feel. “Why didn’t ya tell me before?”

Daniel’s face turned gray. “Those are fair questions. Come on, let’s go inside the cabin. There’s a stove there that’ll warm us right up.”

Cristina and Sara followed them inside. The cabin was full of old things hanging on the walls and Miguel stared about curiously. He especially liked the old-time map pinned over the wooden bench.

Cristina set a match to the tinder already laid in the old black stove. She sat next to Daniel on the bench, with Sara between them, but Miguel wanted to face their explanations standing on his own two feet. Lucky watched him lazily from where he sprawled by the stove.

“It wasn’t until I saw the ship on Sara’s necklace that I realized I knew your father. You see, we had the name of our ship engraved on the charms when we bought them. It was
The Santa Maria
. I know Manuel gave his to your mother.” Daniel sighed. “She was a beautiful woman and they were very much in love.”

Miguel snorted. “Then why’d he go away and let her die?” He was determined to hate the man for not having the time to be his father, but more especially for leaving his mother all alone.

“It wasn’t his fault,” Daniel said. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you. He loved you and your mother, but he died. He was killed before Sara was even born.”

Shock reeled through Miguel. And gladness. He didn’t have to hate his father! He hadn’t left them after all!

“He loved you,” Daniel continued. “You should have seen his face when he told me Ana Paula was expecting you. He was so thrilled that his feet hardly touched the ground for months. He talked about how he was going to build a boat and give it to you one day. And Ana Paula, why, the times I saw you with her, she wouldn’t let anyone hold you, and certainly not someone as clumsy as me. You weren’t more than a baby.”

A warmth sprang up inside Miguel. He’d known his mother loved him, but his father had loved him, too. Had wanted him!

“When your father died, Ana Paula must have gone to live with his sister because of money problems.”

Things were beginning to make sense to Miguel. “Octávia?”

Daniel nodded. “I believe she loved you, too. From what Sara tells me, your life with her wasn’t easy, but there are reasons why stuff happens. I checked the records, and I found out that your aunt had a baby that died before you were born. Maybe it was then she began to drink. I’m not sure—I can only guess. I think that when the time came for her to take care of you, she was already so addicted to alcohol that she couldn’t pull herself out.”

“She done the best she knew how,” Miguel said, coming to Octávia’s defense. Hadn’t Senhor Fitas told him that same thing?

“Exactly. That doesn’t excuse all the bad things, but it does make them easier to understand. I hope knowing about your parents makes it easier still. You were very lucky to have Ana Paula and Manuel for parents. They were wonderful people. They loved you so much. I wish …” His voice drained away, but Cristina took up the slack.

“We love you, too,” she added. “We want you both to stay and live with us. To be part of our family.”

Daniel cast her a grateful look, and the warmth inside of Miguel increased. They wanted him? Maybe they even loved him. He was afraid to move because the unfamiliar feelings might disappear.

“But there’s something else you need to know.” Daniel paused only a second before dropping the bomb. “I’m responsible for your father’s death.”

The words slashed at the warmth Miguel felt. Frozen numbness replaced the heat. “What happened?” He knew it had all been too good to be true. Was Daniel a murderer? Was it Daniel’s fault he and Sara were alone in the world? Was Daniel the reason his mother had cried at night until her heart broke and she died?

Daniel rubbed his fingers through his hair. “I had invented a new net,” he began after an agonizing moment of silence. “It was a long time ago and they have better ones on the market now, but then it was the first of its kind. Manuel told me it wasn’t ready, but I urged the ship’s captain to use it. The first time, we caught three times the fish we normally did and I was a hero. Even your father became less opposed to using it. But the second time we went out, something went wrong. We tried to pull it up, but it was no use. Just then, a storm brewed up. I was furious, so I dove under the ship to see what happened and found that the net had become stuck on an underwater reef. I hadn’t yet made provisions in the design for that likelihood. Like Manuel had said, the net wasn’t ready to be used commercially. I knew that if I didn’t free it, the ship could capsize. So I began to cut the lines.

“Somehow I became entangled, and I guess when I didn’t come up for air, your father became worried. I remember knowing I was going to die, feeling my lungs screaming. I had to fight the urge to simply let my mouth open and breathe in the water and be done with it.

“The next thing I knew Manuel was beside me, cutting away the ropes. Only by that time the storm had hit. We made it to the top just as the boat capsized. It was literally torn apart, broken. Manuel had hold of the nets—he still had some idea of freeing them from the rocks—and they pulled him under. I went after him, but I couldn’t find him. Then the others came by in a little boat—they’d all gotten off safely while we were under the water—and they picked me up. I never saw Manuel again.”

“Didn’t ya try to find him?” Sara watched Daniel with troubled eyes.

Miguel’s anger replaced the numbness in his heart. He wanted to kill Daniel.

“Of course he did!” Cristina said. “He went down over and over, trying to find your father. So did the others. Many more almost died in the debris. Finally the captain made them stop. Daniel was in the hospital for a week, suffering from being in the cold water for so long. Then he went to find your mother, but she was gone. He thought she’d gone back to her parents. He didn’t know she was living with Octávia. Or that she was in need.”

“Because I didn’t look far enough.” Daniel’s shoulders bent in defeat as his gaze locked with Miguel’s. From his seat on the bench, they were near the same height. “I’m the one who caused it all. I should have done more to fix it. I’m responsible for your father’s death, and there’s no excuse for that. I should have listened to him. I’ve asked myself why I didn’t a billion times, but I still have no answer. But one thing I swear to you is that if I could have died in your father’s place, I would have done so willingly. Please believe me, Miguel. Please! I’m asking you to let me help you and love you as I can’t help your father. Give me a second chance!”

Daniel wept openly and Miguel’s anger ebbed. What had Daniel done? Had he really been responsible? For a reason he couldn’t explain, Miguel thought of the cobbler and how he’d been hurt when the boys had thrown the bottle bombs. He wondered if the man was all right. It was all Miguel’s fault he’d suffered. How awful he would feel if the man had died! And how much more terrible would he have felt if it had been Sara or Octávia, or someone he loved.

What was it his mother had once said?
Sometimes you’ve got to die to save those you love.
Had she been talking about his father and Daniel? She must have been! Maybe she hadn’t blamed Daniel for his father’s death, just as she had told him the Savior hadn’t blamed the people who had caused His. What were the words she had used? “Forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

Miguel thought of the little baby in the nativity display. Jesus had known what He was doing, giving up his life, and probably so had his father. Even Miguel knew that life on the sea meant dangers and risks. He stared at Daniel. Would he trade this man’s life for his father’s? At first it had seemed so clear, but now he was relieved the choice wasn’t his.

What would he do if Daniel was under the boat right now, drowning? Actually, his face looked as though he
were
drowning, fighting for air, for life.
What does that mean to me?

Miguel’s heart pounded in his ears, but he knew what he would do. If Daniel were dying, Miguel would save him, even if he died doing it.

“He musta loved ya a lot,” Miguel said softly.

Wonder filled Daniel’s eyes. “As much as I loved him. As much as I love you, Miguel.” Daniel stood and opened his arms, and for a moment Miguel glimpsed the man’s soul. Daniel meant every word.

Miguel took a step forward, then another and another, until Daniel’s arms closed around him in a bear hug. The comfortable warmth was back, and for a moment, Miguel felt as though two other people hugged him as well: Manuel and Ana Paula, his birth parents.

“I’m going to make you happy!” Daniel promised fiercely. “I’m going to teach you everything you ever dreamed of!”

Miguel smiled shyly. “I don’t know how to read,” he confessed in a whisper that only Daniel could hear.

Daniel wiped his face on his sleeve, and when he answered his voice was husky. “I know. We’re going to change all that.” His arms tightened again and Miguel stayed right there, feeling awkward but completely happy. He heard Sara laugh as she jumped from the bench onto Daniel’s back. He grabbed her and swung her around to join in their embrace.

“I wanna stay, too,” she said. “But can ya tell us stories about our parents?”

“Oh, yes. And we’ll find others who knew them and get copies of all the pictures they might have. I have some myself tucked away at home.” He tickled Sara until she screamed for release. Lucky jumped up from the floor and barked madly.

“Do you mind if I give them the boxes now?” Cristina asked as the excitement diminished. When Daniel nodded, she handed Miguel and Sara each a small box wrapped in gold paper.

“It ain’t Christmas yet,” Sara protested. “Not until tonight.”

“It
isn’t
Christmas yet,” Daniel corrected gently. “This is an early present. From your parents.”

Miguel ripped open the gift. He recognized the link of his mother’s necklace immediately, but it had been cut to a smaller size. Sara had an identical one. “I had your mother’s necklace divided for you,” Cristina told them with a big smile.

So that’s why Sara wouldn’t give it to him.

“Look, we both got ships, too.” Sara fingered the boat on her necklace. “They’re exactly the same.”

“The other charm is your Zodiac sign, the month you were born. We think your mother bought those. Or perhaps they were a gift from someone.”

Miguel stared at his ship. “How come there’s two?”

Daniel put a hand on his shoulder. “Remember when I said both your father and I got one with the name of our ship on the back? One was his that he gave to your mother, and the other was mine.”

One from each of their fathers. Miguel’s face flushed at the thought, but he was too happy to care.

Sara danced around Miguel in excitement. “I saw before. Daniel showed me. I knowed—” She glanced at Daniel. “I knew there was two.”