She cut her gaze to him. “I’m trained to drive defensively in all kinds of weather.”
“Yes, but this is a state vehicle from my department. I’m the one driving.”
She narrowed her eyes. “And Tommy said for sure my van won’t be ready today?”
“You can go ask him if you want, but he’s waiting on the timing chain part. And I didn’t know when you wanted to get on the road. I checked the radar and I don’t see anything out there.” He waggled his phone.
“Angelica is doing her thing on her computer.” Espy gestured toward the motel. “You are okay with doing this? You don’t have to work today?”
“No, I don’t have to work today. Did you get breakfast yet?”
“Ah, no.” After she’d checked on the van, she had planned to herd everyone to the taco place she’d seen last night. Oklahoma wasn’t known for the most authentic breakfast tacos. She didn’t know if the others would be onboard. If not, they could go to the diner, but she was getting tacos. “How’s the taco place?”
His expression grew wistful. “Tortillas almost as good as my mama’s. Well, because she worked there for a few years and they learned how to make them from her. Their chorizo is the best, though. I just get it in a cup now, when I want to indulge.”
“Do you want to indulge?” she invited. “You might have to deal with some disgruntled tourists, though.”
He opened the door of the SUV and slid out, his boots kicking up dust as they hit the ground. “I’m not scared.”
She winked. “You will be.”
Javi stoodin the back of the line of Esperanza’s group, arms folded over his chest. He’d forgotten that breakfast tacos weren’t a universal thing, because many in the group seemed puzzled by the concept. He heard most of them just order the bacon and egg taco, which was good, sure, but they were missing out on the bigger adventure.
Plus, the taco place didn’t have a dine-in option, so they were either carrying their tacos and coffee back to the motel, or to the park in the square.
Angelica had said there was no urgency to get on the road just yet, that they could leave town around eleven and be able to meet the storms as they came down from Colorado.
That concept puzzled Javi, if he was honest. But he’d signed on for this, and as he watched Esperanza order both a chorizo taco and a machacado taco, he thought maybe the risk was worth it.
He hadn’t told her that he’d had to take the day off work, and had to do some serious bargaining to get the use of the SUV, which, as Esperanza had predicted, wasn’t a big hit with the tourists. But that was okay. His solution was better than all of them squeezing into the one van, and meant he’d get to spend the day with Esperanza, even if that meant driving after the storms he usually tried to avoid.
Yeah. He was not making good choices here, all because of a pretty smile.
Which she bestowed on him right now as she turned to him with two foil-wrapped packages and a bottle of water in her hands.
“I’m going to the park to eat. Going to join me?”
He nodded as Carlos placed his cup of chorizo, eggs and pico de gallo on the counter. He hadn’t even had to order it, Carlos just knew his usual order. All of the restaurants knew he stuck to low-carb recipes, and they all accommodated him. He was pretty fortunate about that. Though he did need to apologize to Hailey at some point for leaving her holding the bag, literally, last night.
Man, was that only last night? Only yesterday that Esperanza had blown into his life? He felt like he’d known her for weeks.
Or at least days.
He let her lead the way to the park, and they sat at a cement table apart from the rest of the group.
He studied the tourists, though, curious about what kinds of people would be interested in chasing tornados.
Angelica sat apart with a young guy that Javi thought might be the driver of the second van. The couple he’d seen and heard bickering on the side of the road sat with two guys, probably late thirties or early forties, dressed in t-shirts and shorts. A family of three completed the group, a mom, dad and a teenager who, well, with the long hair and baggy clothes, Javi wasn’t making a call on gender. Nothing from any of their appearances made him understand their desire to drive after storms. None of the groups seemed to have to have anything in common.
“So how do people find you?” he asked Esperanza, watching as she poured a liberal amount of salsa onto her machacado taco.
“Internet, usually. There are several big tour companies, and we strive to keep our prices slightly below theirs, so I guess you’d say we’re a bargain company, but we are still able to make money. We might have to offer a partial refund after this trip since we didn’t live up to our end of the bargain, the two vehicles and the name-brand hotel.” She waved in the direction of the motel. Though I admit, this motel was nicer than expected, and you didn’t have to worry about your upstairs neighbors making noise.”
“Sofia worked hard on updating it, so I’m sure she’ll be glad to hear that. I’m sorry you’ll have to give refunds.”
She lifted a shoulder and took a bite of her taco, then closed her eyes as the flavor hit her. “Mm! I haven’t had a breakfast taco in too long, and this one is delicious. No, it’s fine, I mean, the best way to get more business is through the reviews we get, right, and if we keep everyone happy, we’ll get decent reviews.”
“Must be a challenge, keeping everyone happy.”
