His expression now was the furthest thing from cop. He had a way of looking at her that was outside her experience, so gentle and understanding, she wanted to lean on him and let him make everything right for her. It was actually a little bit scary, since she wasn’t very good at trust.
“You’ve been taking care of your family for a long time, Beth.”
“That’s different.” Hearing his aunt’s approach, she exclaimed, “Oh! I’d better make up my mind.”
She’d intended to go for her usual burrito until she heard Tony order the pan con bistec, which he said was Cuban. He asked for fried plantains on the side instead of shoestring potatoes. In the end, he talked her into trying the classic ropa vieja, which was shredded beef stewed in tomatoes and spices.
Before she could ask about the Cuban specialties included on the menu, he picked up the thread of their previous conversation. “I grew up in a culture where we depend on family. It’s comforting in a way,” he continued, “but it increasingly clashes with modern life in this country. Should our eighteen-year-olds turn down opportunities that would take them too far away? When they love their classes or have exciting jobs, are they selfish not to race home when summoned to be useful to a sister going through a difficult pregnancy or to parents who are getting so they need help?”
How much had he had to give up to return to Frenchman Lake because his mother needed him? He hadn’t mentioned relationships, but the strain of distance would certainly snap those. “Doesn’t everyone face those dilemmas?” she said.
What an odd conversation to be having with a man she’d known for only a couple days, it occurred to her.
“I think it’s a little different for a lot of people. Two working parents. Grandparents who don’t live close by, cousins you see on Thanksgiving, if then. You aren’t going against the norm if you move to the east coast for a job, bring your own kids to visit their grandparents once a year, fly home only when a parent is having major surgery or dying. That’s all anybody expects.”
“So what’s healthier for the individual?” she challenged him.
He only shook his head, something that might be weariness ghosting across his face. “Don’t know.” He looked up and smiled past her, just as Beth heard footsteps. “Tia Paloma, you shouldn’t wait on us, too.”
“Hardly anyone here right now,” his aunt assured him. “Hot plates,” she warned automatically, as she set them on the table. “Anyway, what should I do? Send your cousin Ana to take care of you? She’s too busy on her phone to remember to refill your drinks.” She shook her head. “That girl.”
Tony grinned at her. “We’re all young once.”
“Young, sí. Head stuffed with cotton candy?” She rolled her eyes. “No.”
Tony laughed as his aunt hustled away. “Ana is sixteen, glad to have a job but wishing it wasn’t with her aunt for a boss.”
“She’s not Paloma’s daughter, then.”
“Nope. I have four sets of aunts and uncles here in Frenchman Lake, and another uncle in Walla Walla. You see what I mean?”
Walla Walla was barely a forty-five minute drive.
She offered him a twisted smile. “There was a time I’d have given anything to have an aunt and uncle right here in town.”
Of course, he understood immediately. “Someone who would have helped you, instead of depended on you.”
Beth nodded. “I’m not sure anyone can ever truly see the needs and struggles and joys of a family from the outside.”
“But that’s what you do all day, isn’t it?” He sounded unnervingly thoughtful.
She met his eyes. “Isn’t that what you do every day, too?”
His eyebrows knit. “I…hadn’t looked at it that way.” But then he smiled crookedly. “You’re right.”
She returned his smile in a way she hadn’t yet dared. “Music to my ears.”
His laughter was music to hers.
CHAPTER SIX
TONY AUTOMATICALLY ASSESSED three men entering the restaurant. Ana was leading them to a booth a distance from Tony and Beth’s, when one of the men glanced their way.