Elise laughed. Tara had called and been quite angry because “that idiot gardener of yours” didn’t show up. “Sorry to take you away from your other job.”
“Diego had me putting in a hedge of Pyracantha—all those thorns—around some garbage cans. And he had me drive to New Jersey to pick up some bromeliads that they sell four miles from here. It was like he wanted me to stay away. I can’t think why.”
His innuendo made Elise frown. “I’m not really... I mean...”
“We’re to be friends.”
“Yes,” she said. “Amigos. How about if we speak Spanish while we do this?”
“All right. Except that if my brother gets too bossy I may have to speak to him in English curse words. They’re quite the best.”
“Are they?”
“Oh yes.”
“Then I’d be honored if you used my language.”
“Now where’s your plan and where do you want this garden put in?”
* * *
“You don’t have to do this,” Alejandro said.
They were digging the big circle for the garden they had marked out with string and stakes. Beside them in the shade, a garden hose nearby, were over a hundred plants they’d chosen. In the two weeks that they’d been together, their talk had gradually taken on a flirty intimacy. “It’s just my big brother showing me that he’s the boss.”
Elise jammed the shovel into the ground, and tossed the big clod into the wheelbarrow. “I’m enjoying this.”
He looked skeptical.
“Okay, so maybe not actually happy at having to dig a giant circle, but it gets me outside.” The sun was bright and she really hoped she didn’t sweat off her sunscreen. She knew she should change into pants and a long-sleeved shirt, but being near Alejandro made shorts and a tank top feel, well, right. And what was a little sunburn? She wouldn’t have to pay for the sun damage for another thirty years. Besides, Alejandro was, as always, bare from the waist up.
She looked across the widening space they were digging. Diego had declared that the whole herb bed had to be dug by hand—and he couldn’t spare any men. He’d meant to keep his little brother so busy that he wouldn’t have time to socialize with their employer’s wife. He hadn’t counted on Elise volunteering to help Alejandro dig.
“Tell me about your home,” she said.
“I
did. There was a problem with—”
“I know that part,” she said quickly. “Randy older woman, beautiful young teacher. She couldn’t control herself. The end.”
Alejandro smiled as he dug deep. “Beautiful, huh?”
“So far, it seems to have caused you more problems than it’s helped.”
“You don’t know the half of it,” he mumbled.
“Then tell me. Give me something to think about besides bashing your brother over the head with this shovel. Has he always been so stubborn?”
“Since he was born. He and our father used to have arguments that rocked the roof.”
Elise sighed. “I’d like to have the courage to stand up to my father.” She wiped sweat off her forehead and picked up her bottle of water. “Is that why Diego’s here in the US?”
Alejandro leaned on the shovel to watch in admiration as she drank half the bottle of water. When she finished, he went back to shoveling. “My father broke his leg.”
She could tell that he was about to start a story. “Tell me as much as possible in Spanish and please help me with the translation.”
He gave her a smile of such pleasure that Elise almost lost her balance.