“Doesn’t sound right, Jos.”
“It does if you consider that Lucky was found dead from a heart attack when he wore a pacemaker.”
He guffawed. “I’d bet you my lucky cleats tons of guys die while wearing a pacemaker. Check your facts, kiddo.”
“There were all kinds of electrical cords tangled up all over his tent.”
“Which proves my point.” Gently, he lifted my hair from in front of my eyes and moved it aside. “The guy got himself electrocuted. End of story.”
“What about the lighting store?” I asked.
“What about it? Coincidence.”
“Which, according to Sheriff Longmire and Sherlock Holmes, I’ll have you know, there’s no such thing.”
“Hah. Tell it to the Pope.”
Suddenly, the weekend was way too long. What with the parade, and the chili cook-off, and the murder. I yawned, and it wasn’t pretty.
“Sorry if I’m boring you.”
“No—” I yawned again.
“Shh.” He pressed my head to his chest. “Take a load off, Jos.”
For the next few minutes, I closed my eyes and let the music and Ryan’s sure guidance take me away. Through my mind floated images of Lucky dead on the floor of his tent, Senora Mari’s bright folklórico costume, the coyotes in the fairground parking lot, and Lenny in his white folklórico jacket and sombrero.
Ryan began to hum in the way he had that was more enthusiastic than on key. I kept my eyes closed and allowed myself to enjoy his closeness. It was really too bad we weren’t meant to be a couple. But we’d had our time back in college, hadn’t we? Best to move on instead of always looking back. Expecting someone to change wasn’t healthy. I sighed.
He patted me on the back. “All better?”
I lifted my head and stepped away. “Yeah, thanks.” I rubbed my eyes. “I needed that.”
He tipped his worn cowboy hat. “You’re welcome.”
“How’s recruiting for next year going?”
He placed a hand on my lower back, helping me steer through the crowd. “Let’s not talk football. I get that you hate it.”
I shot a glance at him and caught a whiff of disappointment in his face. “I don’t hate it. Just don’t want to talk about it twenty-four/seven.”
Hillary remained at the table, but she’d found a salad and a Coors Light.
Steps away from reaching my nemesis, Ryan turned me toward him. “I’m not going to Austin without you.”
“Then you shouldn’t have invited her.”
He slapped his thigh with his hat. “Hoowee! You’re jealous.”
Pulling away, I threw back my shoulders and lowered my chin. “Am not. And don’t even pretend that you’re interested in either Hillary or me in that way. Don’t forget about that student who needed your tutoring skills.”
With a glance over my shoulder, he lowered his voice. “Please. Don’t leave me alone with her. I’ll lose my mind.”
I studied his can’t-do-no-wrong expression. “Haven’t you already lost all your marbles? You invite both your exes on a road trip.”
“I didn’t invite her, she invited herself.”
“Well, you can un-invite her.” A few butterflies were flying softly inside my stomach. He said he preferred me to Hillary. If I cared, that would be something to crow about.
“Thought you two had started your own dance-a-thon,” Hillary said as we took our seats.
Ryan nabbed a baby carrot from her bowl. “Let’s have one next year. We’ll have it on Presidents’ Day.”
I laughed. “That’s practically the only day not taken for a community event.”
“We could always cancel the tamale-eating contest.”
“What?” Ryan shot a glance at me. “And lose a dozen free tamales?”
I started to grind my teeth. “I didn’t hear any complaints.”
Hillary shrugged a delicate shoulder. “You’d be the last to hear.”
Ryan’s retort floated through the suddenly quiet night. “Don’t work too hard. Wouldn’t want Lenny to miss his blog post tomorrow.” Several heads turned.
I was going to wring his neck. Though everyone with a brain had figured out that I wrote Lenny’s gossipy—and sometimes snarky—blog, I preferred to keep the illusion sacred. “I’m headed home to make sure he gets a good night’s sleep. He likes to write every morning at six o’clock sharp.” Which was indeed the time he woke me for his morning constitutional.
As folks started talking, Hillary had the last word. “Always helping out where help is needed, Josie. The town council should give you the key to the city.”
I ignored her and threaded my way through the crowd, waving to friends and determined to keep my head up. I left the crowd around the gazebo behind and continued down Main Street, back to Milagro and the preparations for dinner service. Tonight should be a great night for the restaurant, helping us pay our bills from the lean winter months when tourists preferred cruises out of Galveston to Mexico or the Caribbean.
By the time I reached the front door of our casita, I’d brushed aside all thoughts of Ryan, Hillary, the trip to Austin, and the butterflies that had swirled in my stomach for the silliest of reasons. Senora Mari was right. Again. I whispered a prayer of thanks for the constant love of my kooky family, and then entered our restaurant ready to serve not only our hungry customers, but my family and their needs, with an open heart.
Chapter 16
Questions and Answers on the Rocks
“The cows have come home to roost.”
“Olé.” I gave a salute to the staff and Uncle Eddie, choosing to ignore the fact that his favorite witticism made entirely no sense.
Senora Mari removed my waitress apron from its hook and handed it to me at the cash register. “So, you danced with the coach?” Her lips pursed and she nodded, convinced that she already knew the answer.
“No, I had better things to do.”
She studied my face. “Well, now you have tables to set.”
“What could be better than that, right Jo Jo?” Uncle Eddie laughed at my expression. “Oh, we’re going to have a
