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“Since the wind has died down, I’d like to check out two of the nearby dwellings while we’re here. If you stay put, I’ll go in and be out quickly.” He pointed north. “They aren’t far. We’ll get home before we lose light.”
“I’m fine with that.” She really was, though part of her wanted to stay behind and nurture the kittens. But that was impossible. Mama cat wanted no part of them right now. “I like the plan.”
He nodded. “Let’s go.”
* * *
After showering and getting dressed, Portia marched downstairs in new jeans and a beige ribbed sweater to start dinner. She wasn’t going to have Juan Carlos waiting on her. She planned to do her part. As she reached the bottom stair, she saw the fire crackling in the hearth and warmth settled around her. It was after seven; the darkened sky was lit with a scant few stars tonight. Her stomach grumbled, protesting over only having a light afternoon lunch. Thank God Juan Carlos wasn’t around to hear the commotion her belly made.
The blaze in the front room beckoned. She could just as easily plop in a chair and watch the flickering fire, but she moved on and headed for the kitchen.
She found fresh tomatoes, whole garlic cloves, cans of tomato paste and packaged pasta in the cupboard. “Spaghetti it is.” She wasn’t a bad cook. She could crush tomatoes with the best of them.
Inside the fridge, she also found a covered dish of already cooked meatballs.
It seemed as though Juan Carlos had kitchen minions.
She wasn’t complaining.
She turned the stove on, grabbed a cast-iron pan, peeled and mashed two garlic cloves with a butcher knife and poured a little oil in the pan. Garlicky steam billowed up and pungent scents filled the room.
The back door opened and Juan Carlos walked in. “Mmm. Smells great in here.”
“I hope you like spaghetti and meatballs.”
“Who doesn’t?” he said, coming to stand beside her.
“Hand me those tomatoes,” she said, fully aware of his freshly groomed presence beside her.
Instead of walking to get them, he grabbed her waist with one hand from behind and stretched the other hand out as far as he could, snapping up three ripe tomatoes from the counter without leaving her side. “Here you go.”
His touch sent heat spiraling through her body. “Into the pot with them, please.”
“Like this?” He lowered them down gently, his face brushing against her hair.
He was a tease.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t you have to peel them?”
She shook her head. “The skin will peel off easily later from the heat. And then, you’ll get to crush them.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you. They need a manly crush.”
“Well then, I’m your man.”
She stopped and gazed into his eyes. Those words. They could be true. If she allowed it. Juan Carlos had owned up to his deal. He hadn’t really come on to her, but every single second of every single minute of the day, he told her in his own silent, heart-melting way that he wanted her.
“Yes, well, uh...just let me get the meatballs.”
How was that for a change of subject?
“I can crush those, too,” he said.
She laughed. “I’m sure you can.”
Dinner was half an hour later. They decided to eat in the kitchen this time, at a wooden table with inlaid painted tiles. One of the nearby windows faced the backyard garden, now bathed in starlight, and if she squinted she could see the plants. It was cozy and nice, and she’d put out a mason jar candle that cast a pretty glow over the room. Juan Carlos kept glancing at his watch as they forked spaghetti into their mouths and spoke of easy simple things. She refused to think any more about the snake with the severed head lying in that shack. Or the cemetery with so many families who’d lived here before.
After his eyes shifted to his watch once again, her curiosity got the better of her. “Am I keeping you from something?”
There was no television in the house. No important soccer games to watch. No distractions. Maybe he couldn’t wait to get upstairs to finish the book he’d been reading.
He shook his head. “There’s no place I’d rather be than right here.”
Oh, she’d stepped into that one.
“The meal is delicious,” he said.
“It was all that manly crushing,” she remarked, and he put his fork down to grin at her.
She jingled in places that normally jangled. He turned her life upside down. She’d miss him when this adventure was over and she went back to LA.
