by Regan Black
Charro hugged him. Tight. “Thank you, Rico. I really appreciate it.”
“I know you do, Charro.”
He wanted to tell her that this meant that going to Mom and Dad for money had to stop—that they didn’t need that kind of stress. But he’d told his dad that Charro wouldn’t know and he intended to keep that promise. “Now, let’s get you that cup of coffee.”
In the cafeteria, he got green tea for himself, coffee for Charro, his mom and Laura, and hot chocolate for Hannah. He picked up a couple of containers of cubed cheese with grapes and a package of nuts. They gave him a tray to carry everything.
When he and Charro got back, he distributed everything, putting the fruit, cheese and nuts in the middle of the table, where everyone could reach them.
“Hot chocolate again,” Hannah said, as if she couldn’t imagine a better world.
Adults really needed to take a lesson from a kid once in a while to be thankful for the small stuff. “That’s right. It’s hot, so be careful.”
He sat next to his mom. Sipped his tea. “Charro mentioned last night that a couple guys stopped at the house, something about a class reunion.”
His mom looked up from her knitting. “Yes, nice men. Both of them.”
“You recall their names?” he asked easily.
She shook her head. “Sorry, honey. I should have written it down. Charro walked them over to the house.”
“What did they say?”
“They said that they were looking for you, that they wanted to invite you to the class reunion that they were having over the Christmas holidays when former students would be home visiting their parents.”
He had not gone to high school in Torcak. His parents had moved here long after he’d graduated. “How did they know to find you here?”
Janice smiled. “I asked them that. They said that they had talked to somebody who remembered that you had an older sister. They found Charro, not realizing that we lived next door.”
“Can you describe them?”
She shrugged. “Well, they looked to be about your age. They were both white with brown hair. Nothing special about either one of them.”
“Okay. What did you tell them?”
“I gave them your address in Las Vegas and told them that Christmas might work out great for you because you generally spent some time at your cabin over the holidays.”
“Did you happen to give them the address of the cabin?”
Janice shook her head. “I can never remember the actual address. I may have said that it was off Hitchville Road, but I just don’t remember. Is something wrong?”
Rico shook his head. “No. But if they contact you again or you get a similar inquiry, just get their names and numbers and tell them that you’ll pass it on to me. Don’t give them anything else.”
Janice stared at her son. “Did I screw up?” she asked.
His mom was one of the nicest people in the world, but she was also a very straight shooter. And hard on herself. “Absolutely not,” he said. The woman had enough to worry about. “I need to step out for just a second, make a phone call.”
He quickly exited the hospital and found his SUV in the parking lot. He got in, found Maddy Bristol’s card on the console and dialed her number. She answered on the second ring.
“Hey, it’s Rico Metez.”
“Wow. Didn’t expect to hear from you this soon.”
“Yeah, it was great catching up. But I realized I had a question that I forgot to ask. Are we having a high school reunion?”
“Not for a couple years. We do them every five. You missed the last one.”
Who the hell had those men been and what were they up to? “That’s right. I’ll do better in the future. Hey, good to see you and thanks for the clarification.”
“No problem. Call anytime, Rico.”
He hung up and dialed the front desk of his building. He was glad when Hank answered so he didn’t have to go through the whole thing with somebody else. “Hank, it’s Rico Metez. I’m following up on our conversation. Were you able to get any security footage of the men who tried to deliver the bookcase to my condo?”
“Mr. Metez, I’m sorry. I should have called you back right away but darn it, I just forgot. We looked but there was nothing. Hate to admit it but we didn’t realize that the camera wasn’t working but that’s all fixed now.”
Rico tamped down his disappointment. “That’s okay. Thanks for looking. I’ll see you soon.” He ended the call. Sat for a minute in his SUV.
He slowly walked back into the hospital. Went to the waiting room and caught Laura’s eye.
“Something wrong?” she mouthed.
He angled his head. “Let’s take a walk,” he mouthed back.
She leaned down and said something to Hannah. Waited until the little girl nodded before she stood.
“Laura and I are going to take a walk,” he said to his mother. “Do you mind keeping an eye on Hannah?”
“Of course not,” his mother said. “She’s such a good little girl.”
He and Laura walked out of the waiting area and she matched her stride to his. “Have we been here three weeks?” he asked.
She laughed. “Not even three hours,” she said. “You looked pretty serious when you were talking with your mom.”
He wanted her to know the truth. For a couple reasons. He thought she was a good thinker and maybe she’d have some ideas. Also, he wanted her to be aware if she saw anything unusual. “Last night Charro said something about two guys coming around looking for my address, to invite me to the class reunion.”
“Don’t those things just sort of happen through social media now?”
“Exactly,” he said. “So I’m sort of wigged out about it.”
She turned her head. “I would have said that nothing could wig out Rico Metez. You’re like a calm lake, very Zen.”
He leaned close. “Only because I’ve had sex several times in the last two days,” he said quietly.
“I do what I can,” she teased. “Did your mom give them your address in Vegas?”
“Yes. And she might have mentioned that I have a cabin off Hitchville Road.”
She was quiet for a minute. “If it was a drone the other night, do you think it had something to do with those two guys?”
Nobody needed to connect the dots for Laura; she did a fine job of that on her own. “Maybe,” he said.
“I hope the cabin is okay when we get back,” she said. “It’s such a beautiful place.”
“It’s just real estate,” he said. “I’m not worried about it.”
“But you worry about people,” she said knowingly. “About your family. About Hannah and me.”
“Yeah,” he said. He’d promised to keep it light and easy. No pressure. “So just be aware. That’s all I’m saying.”
* * *
They were somewhere in the fifth hour when the buzzer on the table rattled. Rico leaned forward and grabbed it. He took it to the desk at the end of the hall. Came back in just minutes.
“Surgery is done,” he said. “The doctor will be out to talk to us in just a few minutes.”
“How is he?” Janice asked.
“The person on the phone didn’t have any information. Was just making sure we were still here to talk to the doctor. But we’ll know soon.”
“He’s okay,” Janice said. “I would know it if he wasn’t.”
Laura wondered if that was true. After so many years of marriage, were Placido and Janice so linked that each would immediately sense if something was wrong with the other? Her parents had been a little like that—hadn’t ever seemed to need anybody else—just happy to be with the other.
She’d always figured that maybe that’s why one of them hadn’t survived the accident—that it would have simply been wrong. Too lonely for
the other.
When the doctor came through the doorway, Laura tried to read the woman’s face. But all she saw was weariness around the eyes and faint red lines on her face where her surgical mask had perhaps been just a little tight.
“Mrs. Metez?” she asked, looking at Janice.
“Yes.” Janice’s voice was strong. But she was gripping Rico’s hand so hard that her fingers were white.
“It went really well,” the doctor said.
All the air went out of Janice’s body. “Really?”
“Yes. We did grafts on three arteries, successfully creating a path for the blood to once again flow freely. He’s in recovery now but will be moved to intensive care within the next couple of hours. You can see him once he’s there. Just family. He’s got a tube down his throat to help him breathe and he’s not going to be able to talk to you. Once that’s out, he’ll be fully communicative at that time.”
“Probably asking for his pants back,” Rico said.
The doctor smiled. “He was making jokes all the way to the operating suite. He’s a character.” She glanced at the pager that was on the table. “We’ll page you when he’s in his room in critical care. I’ve got another surgery this afternoon but I’ll check in on him later. His care while he’s here in the hospital will be managed by a hospitalist—that’s a doctor who focuses his or her practice on patients who are in the hospital. If anything unusual occurs, they’ll be in contact with me.”
“Thank you, doctor,” Janice said, reaching out her hand.
After the doctor left, there were long hugs between Rico and his mom, Rico and Charro, and finally, Rico turned to her. And it felt absolutely natural to walk into his arms.
“I’m happy for you and your family,” she said. The risk wasn’t over yet. There could be lots of complications post-surgery, everything from blood clots to infections, but getting through surgery was the first and most important thing.
Placido would also have months of cardiac rehabilitation ahead of him. She suspected he’d eat that up, enjoying the social aspect of working out with other rehab patients.
“Want some lunch?” Rico asked.
She nodded. “I should probably get Hannah something.”
He turned to his mom and Charro. “Let’s go get something to eat in the hospital cafeteria. Maybe by the time we’re done, we can see Dad.”
“I’m going to call Peter,” Charro said. “Maybe he can run down and join us for lunch. You…could talk to him then,” she said, looking at Rico.
“Good plan,” he said.
His sister walked away to make her call. “What do you need to talk to Charro’s husband about?” Laura asked quietly.
“I told Charro that I had a job for him.”
“Do you?”
“I will,” Rico said.
She studied him. “You’re a good man, Rico.”
“Not so loud,” he said, deflecting the comment. “Don’t want to ruin my bad boy reputation.”
They had reached the cafeteria and Hannah was pulling at Laura’s arm. As they went through the line, the little girl picked out a hot dog and a side of macaroni and cheese. Laura added a side of fresh fruit for her. She and Janice got salads, Rico a stir-fry and Charro picked a burger and fries.
When they were halfway through their lunches, a man approached their table. He was midforties, stocky, and could have benefited from a cut to shape up his straight hair that hung past his ears. Rico stood and extended a hand.
“Peter, good you could join us,” he said.
So this was Peter.
The man was staring at her and she got an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach. Rico waved a hand in her direction. “This is Laura and Hannah, friends of mine.”
Laura extended her hand. When Peter shook it, his hand seemed unnaturally cold. Or maybe she was just imagining it.
“Going to have some lunch?” Rico asked smoothly.
“Yeah, I guess.” Peter made no move to go through the cafeteria line.
Rico pulled a twenty from his pocket. “It’s on me today. We’re celebrating Dad’s successful surgery.”
“His morning was probably better than mine,” Peter said.
Laura heard Janice’s soft gasp. How horrific of Peter to begin to compare open-heart surgery with a job interview that hadn’t gone well.
“Peter,” Charro said.
“I’m just saying.” Peter threw his hands in the air and tossed his head.
How on earth had Charro and this man managed to raise two very nice kids? Both Nathan and Aleja had shown very good manners last night and had expressed real concern for their grandfather.
Peter picked up the twenty that Rico had laid on the table. Laura bet there wasn’t going to be any change. It had been a long time since she’d felt such an immediate dislike for someone. It was more than the fact that he came across as an insensitive leech. It was the look he was giving her—it was too sharp, too intense.
She looked down, focusing on her salad as if the tomatoes and cucumbers were very interesting. When she sensed that he’d walked away, she looked up. Charro was looking at Rico, and Laura could practically read the message. Please, please, don’t take the job offer back.
For whatever reason, Rico was acting as if Peter’s comment had been fine. He smiled at Charro. “How’s the burger?” he asked.
“Good,” she said.
Something very weird was going on, but Laura couldn’t put her finger on it. Fortunately, when Peter came back with a small pizza and a side of fries, he sat next to Charro and ignored Laura. She finished eating as quickly as she could.
“Come on,” she said to Hannah. “Finish up. Let’s take a walk.” There was a large aquarium in the hospital lobby that fascinated Hannah.
Once Hannah finished, she and Laura made tracks to the lobby. There, Laura didn’t hurry her like she had the first time they’d spotted the big tank, but rather, let her take her time and examine all the various fish. She wandered over to the coffee shop that was on the far side and purchased a latte. She was on her way back to join Hannah when she saw Charro and Peter walk into the lobby. They were arguing. It was harder to hear Charro but Peter didn’t seem to care who heard what he was saying.
“…sick of your brother, Saint Rico, stepping in to save the day.”
Charro said something but Peter held up his hand. “I don’t need or want his damn charity. I’ve got a plan, Charro. A good one. It’s going to make us a lot of money. And you know what the funny part is? Rico’s going to help us with it. And he doesn’t even know it.”
CHAPTER 13
Charro held up her hands now, as if she couldn’t make any sense of what Peter was saying.
“Never mind,” Peter said, as if he regretted what he’d already said. “Just let me worry about it.” He walked out the door, leaving Charro standing there with her mouth open.
Laura was embarrassed for her. She squatted next to Hannah and pretended to be totally engrossed in the fish, should Charro turn and see them. She wasn’t sure whether she did or not because by the time Laura turned around again five minutes later, Charro was gone.
When she got back to the waiting room, Charro was sitting in the small room, looking at her phone. Rico and his mom were not there.
“Where’s everyone else?” she asked, getting Hannah settled on a chair with a coloring book.
“With Dad. They moved him from recovery to critical care. They only allow two people in the room at a time. They’ll be back in ten minutes or so.”
“Your husband left?” Laura asked.
“Yes. He had errands to run.”
She suddenly wished that she knew Charro better, that they were friends. Then she could reach out and say, Hey, what’s with him anyway? She hoped Charro had somebody like that in her life. It certainly wasn’t her parents or Rico. She w
as too busy making Peter look like a good guy to them.
Laura pulled a book out of her purse, knowing it would send a message that she wasn’t interested in chatting. After a few minutes of pretending to be reading, she jerked, realizing that the buzzing in her purse was from the cell phone that was buried at the bottom. She looked across the room and realized that Charro was watching her, probably curious as to why she was ignoring her phone. She opened her bag, dug to the bottom and pulled out the cheap phone.
It had taken her too long. The caller had hung up. And she had not activated the voice mail feature. But she didn’t need that. She recognized the number.
“Would you mind watching her for just a minute?” she asked. Hannah was fully engrossed in the kids’ program that was on the television.
“Of course not,” Charro said. “Take your time.”
“It should just be a minute,” Laura promised, her heart beating too fast in her chest. Why would Melissa be calling?
She walked down to the end of the hallway and made the call. “Hi, it’s me,” she said.
“Thank God,” Melissa said.
That put Laura’s heart into a flat-out gallop. Hell, she was going to need surgery when she burst a couple arteries. “What’s up?” she asked, trying to maintain her cool.
“My ex knows that his car is missing. The idiot usually parks it the first of October and doesn’t even think about it again until the first week of April, but it was unusually warm here and Clovis got the bright idea to drive it. Of course, he’s crazy that it’s missing. I told him that I had no idea. I think he’s going to make a police report.”
Damn. With the number of car thefts that occurred, it was unlikely that the police would remember to look for one vehicle, especially halfway across the country. However, it was such a recognizable vehicle that that might not be totally true. And if she was driving and happened to get stopped for any reason, the jig was truly up. They would key her license plate into their computer and bingo, they’d immediately know the car was stolen.
She would have to figure out another mode of transportation. Thank goodness Melissa’s ex had given her a heads-up that he knew the car was missing. Had Laura not had this warning, she could have easily been caught off guard.