"We had gumbo last night." Andi, surprisingly, stepped in. "He bragged about it so much I wasn't sure what to expect.
But it was actually very good."
Sheila smiled.
"They've been making gumbo in this house for generations. His grandma could have won prizes with hers."
"His grandma gave me piano lessons." Paige volunteered.
"She gave all of us piano lessons." Sheila said. "She was one of those rare women you find who just become more
beautiful with age." She looked at Andi again, certain that the doctor wouldn't.
Then Sheila and Paige dissolved into 'remember that time' and 'how about when' stories, making the point that Andi
was a stranger here, and she didn't share their past at all.
Then Sheila looked at Hector as he turned the lawn mower off to return it to the shed. "He doesn't look....right." She
said, just to get that out there. "I don't know, something...."
Andi listened to the stories. She liked hearing other people's stories. And it meant they weren't asking for any of her
own. And that was comfortable for her. It also told her a little bit more about Hector. Not so much him himself but
about how things had been as he'd been growing up and how other people had seen his family. She was watching
Hector with an unconscious smile as she listened to them talk in the background when Sheila made her observation.
Andi's head turned slowly and the look she fixed on the other woman, level and steady, was suddenly warning in a
way that couldn't be pinned down exactly. Just - the feeling of comfort and welcome on the porch was suddenly gone.
As if someone had just snapped on the freezer and nothing was relaxed and - comfortable anymore.
Hector was still hurt inside from what she'd done to him. Andi knew that. And he was hurt inside because she was still
hurt inside as well. She knew that too. Andi was torn in equal parts between being so relieved that he had been there
after what she'd gone through and wishing he hadn't had to be. In a way, she understood why he'd fought anyone
telling her he'd been hurt. And so she also understood it was his right to be there for her. But it had still hurt him
inside.
That was between the two of them. And she didn't expect some strangers to realize that. Because - as far as she
could tell, Hector was laughing more than she'd ever seen him do before. And he was comfortable here. Relaxed.
The only thing she could point to that he might be doing 'wrong' as far as the other women were concerned was the
affection and attention he was paying her. But the hint at how she'd hurt him still stung her.
"Maybe you ask him then." Andi suggested, standing up from where she'd been relaxing against one of the porch
pillars. Smoothly collecting their glasses and stacking them in an obvious indication that their time here was over.
Before the two women could even comment on her sudden change of demeanor, which changed the whole
atmosphere of the porch, Hector came bounding up the few steps and grabbed his shirt from behind Paige.
"Hey. All done." He said with a smile as he looked between the three women.
He was trained on how to read situations, how to proceed given the information he had gathered from that situation.
All in a quick glance. And even on vacation, some training was impossible to shake.
Then again, he hadn't learned that all in the Army either.
His gaze narrowed between Paige and Sheila who looked as innocent as two angels, which told him alone that they
weren't. They looked a little shocked too. And Andi had a perfectly composed and perfectly glacial expression on her
face.
Something had happened and he had completely missed it.
Thank god for lawns that never stopped growing.
He had noticed the casserole dish earlier. "Thanks, Sheila, for the salad." He said to her with a polite smile and a
nod. "We'll get the dish back to you."
"Oh don't worry about it." Sheila said off handedly, and airily. "Here, let me help you." She said, going for the glasses.
"We got it." Hector said smoothly. He looked at Andi. "I'm gonna throw this in the fridge and then I'm going to catch a
shower."
Andi gave him a smile and it softened everything about her again even if the warmth didn't come back to the porch
and her chin didn't come down the notch it had gone up.
"I'll put lunch out." She agreed, giving him a kiss and then handed him his glass, full, again. "And finish up here." The
way she said it didn't indicate whether she was talking about the glasses or the women scattered across her porch.
Either way it indicated whatever she was talking about wasn't that important anymore.
Paige bristled but something warned her to bite her tongue. She wasn't intimidated by the foreigner. She just knew
when to play her cards and when to hold them. The important thing here was that she'd started to figure out how the
stick and bone woman had gotten her hooks in Hector in the first place. And she had someone that was going to help
her figure out how to stop it. Then they could get back to concentrating on hooking him themselves.
Sheila was still a bit shocked over how quickly everything had changed. Unlike Paige, she understood the 'cold' was
the withdrawal of a personality she hadn't realized was filling the area. And it hadn't been Hector's personality. But
he'd just pulled the welcome mat out from under their feet as sure as the tall woman had and she felt, unexplainably,
as if she should apologize to him. For what, she wasn't sure. But she'd hit a nerve when she'd mentioned he didn't
look right to the woman. It was hard to believe but maybe Paige was onto... well, something. But there had been a
flicker in his dark eyes that had surprisingly matched the woman's eyes that was standing next to him. And, for a
minute, it had scared her. Which was silly. There was nothing dangerous about Hector. But she didn't make another
attempt to get herself invited into the house right now either.
"Great." Hector said, taking the glass as he balled up the shirt under his arm. He smiled, but it was directed toward
Andi and not the other two women. "Big surprise, but I'm starving."
Paige laughed. "You're always hungry." She saw this as an opportunity, even if Sheila was giving her a warning look.
"In fact, if you two are interested, my parents are having a party tomorrow..." She said, giving Hector a subtle, coy
look.
"You know what? We'll see. I'll call your parents later and let them know. We've got some family stuff." Hector said
and kissed Andi's cheek before disappearing into the house.
Sheila also saw an opportunity there, even if it was a completely different one than Paige's. She took Paige's arm
and smiled brightly. "Wonderful!" She said. "Come on, let's get a list of what your mom needs." She said and started
leading Paige off the porch and down the walk. Paige shook off her arm half way across the lawn.
"What's your problem?"
"What's yours? I just saved your ass. Now let's go. Walk me down till we're out of sight then get the hell away from
me."
"Save my ass from what?" Paige asked. Annoyed. Just because Sheila was older sometimes she hopped into 'grown
up' mode. The only problem with that was Paige wasn't a kid anymore. It was just that no one seemed to realize it
around here.
Andi watched them go long enough to see them hit the sidewalk and then finished clearing up the porch. She'd
caught Hector's protection of her even though he'd had no idea what was going on. It hadn't been necessary. But it
had been - it made her feel warm inside. Safe and - soft. And - again, a little bit guilty. She didn't want to be causing
problems with the neighbors and him. She could honestly care less if she caused problems between them and
herself, she really wasn't interested in what other people thought. She extended herself and if they didn't want
friendship that was their option. But Hector... these were the people he'd grown up with. The ones that remembered
his grandparents and watched over his house when he was away and went to the barbeques with him and that waited
for him to get home simply because they cared if he did or not. Some of them more than they probably should - she
thought with the edges of her lips starting to curve.
With a shake of her head, she let herself back into the house and made her way to the kitchen. That smelled like
fresh cut grass because she'd left all the windows open. It was a nice smell and had her relaxing. She set out the
sandwiches and the potato salad and more of Hector's tea. Wondering if she could give lemonade a go. Citrus
shouldn't be hard to find around here. Dropped the beers Paige had left on the railing in the trash. Thinking - Hector
probably didn't need to see those in the fridge here. By the time she was washing out the glasses everyone had
used she was relaxed again, humming one of her mother's songs.
She really shouldn't have reacted the way she had. She hadn't meant to be prickly.
Hector took a long shower. Well, long for him. He had worked up a sweat (funny how it was easy to do that when all
you did was push a mower and walk behind it.) and the water felt good after the heat and humidity outside. It wasn't
so bad that they needed to turn on the A/C, so the windows were still open.
Then he put on a clean change of clothes and put the dirty ones in the hamper, heading downstairs.
Whatever Sheila and Paige had said, or insinuated at the very least, to Andi was bad enough for her to drop the
welcoming hostess demeanor and stop just short of chasing them off the property. He'd have to figure out some way
to find out what it was, without being so blunt. And since most of the time he had the finesse of a jackhammer, it
would be a challenge. But should entertain him at the very least as he got off the last landing and came into the
kitchen.
"Well, we did the roof, and I did the lawn, I thought it would take all day." He said, including a lunch break. "Guess I
have to think of something else to do for the rest of the day then." He said with a chuckle.
Andi gave a quiet chuckle and came over to put her arms around his shoulders and nuzzled against his jaw gently.
She loved the way he smelled fresh out of the shower. It was just soap but there was that hidden scent of his skin too
under it. Besides, he looked good still damp from the shower. And - she needed to touch him.
"I'm sure we'll think of something." She agreed with a smile. Tipping her head back so she could look up at him.
Teasing. "Maybe I could even get a tour of the house that went past the bedroom, hallway, and kitchen."
Hector laughed. "I guess I should do that, huh?" He said. The first few days they were too jet lagged and tired. Then
it had just....slipped his mind. But a full tour of the house was something that needed to be done to say the least.
"Okay, after lunch I swear, this time I really will give you the tour." He said.
She laughed quietly at him and kissed the tip of his nose before stepping back to finish putting the food on the table.
It wasn't that she couldn't have gone exploring herself. It never occurred to her that anything in this house would be
off limits to her. But - she wanted to see it through his eyes first. She wanted to hear his voice telling the stories that
belonged in these rooms.
"I could be lured." She agreed with a smile. "I'll even pay you in food I didn't make." She flicked him a teasing wink.
"Ooh, now we're getting into the serious bribes." He said with a chuckle as he went over to the table and sat down.
"Sometimes I could almost forget I ate this morning." He said. "I am going to wallow in self pity if my metabolism ever
slows down. Then again, I'll probably fade from renown in this neighborhood if that happens....not such a bad thing."
He started dishing out the food. "It's cause I'm not here enough, I guess I'm what they consider to be an enigma or
something. And we all know how much people like mysteries."