“I had my dinner earlier.” She pressed the tortilla with the flat of her spatula, then shoveled it onto the plate she removed from the pantry with her other hand. “Are they cute, these storm chasing girls?”
“Mom, they live in Oklahoma.”
“That means yes.” She pressed her lips together. “They don’t have to.”
“Yes. They do. They’re storm chasers. That’s where their business is.”
“But they don’t do it all year, surely.”
He hated the little niggle of possibility that tickled the back of his brain. She had something there. But he’d known Esperanza only a matter of hours. That wasn’t enough to even broach the subject of changing her whole life to get to know him.
“Mom. Drop it.”
She put the plate in front of him and sat across from him all in one motion. “But I want to know more about these storm chasers. And I want to know how you know so much about them.”
The woman didn’t miss a trick. Why had he never learned to keep his mouth closed?
“I talked to them while we were waiting for Tommy to bring out the tow truck, is all. You don’t know anyone who has a nice big SUV they could borrow for tomorrow?”
His mother’s brows winged up. “To use chasing tornadoes? No, I do not.”
Excellent point.
Since the cheese was little greasier than a regular tortilla, he used a fork to dig into it, and it was as delicious as it looked. He would have liked a little more veggies, since he hadn’t had much today, but he’d make up for it tomorrow.
Less than an hour later, he pulled into his driveway. He’d left a light on in the kitchen, but otherwise the house was empty. He’d try, once again, to invite his mom to move here, but he understood why she wouldn’t. She had independence, she had friends, she had the things she had worked for surrounding her. His house was sterile in comparison. He’d told her she could decorate however she wanted, but she said no woman would want to come into his home and see it had been decorated by his mother.
What woman, he wanted to ask.
He should savor his independence, he thought as he walked into his bedroom, stripping off his clothes and heading for the shower.
But he was tired of being lonely.
Time to take some chances.
CHAPTER6
Espy walked out of the motel the following morning, intending to head over to Tommy’s to check on the status on the van, when she saw a brown and beige Texas Department of Public Safety SUV parked at the curb alongside the motel.
Behind the wheel was Javi, dressed in civilian clothes, one arm resting in the open window. He leaned out and grinned at her.
Frowning, she walked over to him. “What’s going on here?”
He jerked his thumb to the vehicle. “I thought maybe we could use this today, since your van isn’t ready?”
“Did you talk to Tommy?” she asked, stepping back to inspect the four-door vehicle that looked like it had already been through a couple of tornados and emerged worse for wear. Of course, that would be expected for a vehicle in West Texas, right? To look like it had been sand-blasted? She stepped forward to look inside. The seats were in good shape, though the back seats were separated by the front by a grate. She drew back and looked from the emblem on the side to his face. “Is this like a prison transport?”
He lifted a hand in a sort-of shrug. “It could be used for that, I guess. What do you think?”
She reached for the handle of the back door, waited for him to unlock it. “What year is this?”
“I’m not sure. It’s not new, a little over five years old, I think. But I can fit six people in here comfortably.”
And she’d promised to take the Laughtons with her to give Angelica a break. Mr. Laughton was going to lose his tiny mind.
She closed the door and stepped back to inspect the tires. They were in good shape. “You have permission to use it?”
He gestured to the steering wheel. “Ah, yes, as long as I’m the one driving.”
