An Exceptional Twist (35 page)

“How did your mom and Sal meet?” Stefen
crouched next to her, watching what she was doing as she put some
vegetables into the basket. The light brightened the back enough to
see if they were ripe or not.

Solemnly, she explained Sal’s relationship
to their family. “He was my dad's partner. His wife and baby boy
died in a car accident about a year before my dad died. Sal was the
one that delivered the news to us, the day my father was
killed.”

Leah had to close her eyes momentarily.
Every time she mentioned her father’s murder, it opened the door to
her pain once again. She’d learned how to close it back up quickly,
though.

Clearing her throat, she
continued. “He and
Mami
bonded over my dad's death. They hung out for
about five years before they started to officially date. He was
always there as my stand-in dad. They were together for seven years
before he finally proposed last Thanksgiving. They decided on a
courthouse wedding. It’s in a couple months.” Leah smiled thinking
about how happy they would finally be.

Moving onto the tomatoes, she plucked a few,
then smelled the stems before adding them to the basket. She
chanced a quick peek at him. Sure enough, he was watching her with
a smirk on his face.

“Why did it take so long?” He picked up the
same tomato and smelled it where she had, mumbling, “I still don’t
get it.”

Leah smacked his leg. “I
think they felt guilty. We all knew they were in love a couple
years after my dad passed, but they wouldn't admit it to
themselves, or each other. I think they were also afraid of how
everyone else would react.”
What a waste
of time
, she thought sadly. “I'm happy for
my mom. She deserves a man that’ll love her as much as my dad
did.”

“What a waste of time,” Stefen said nearly
knocking her flat on her ass.

“Do you read minds?” She blinked at him. “I
just thought the same thing.”

He moved in closed, wiggling his eyebrows.
“Great minds think alike.”

Oh shit, he’s too close
now.
Her heart suddenly sped up as her
eyes traced his face, from his lips to his eyes.

Clearing his throat, he backed up, and she
immediately began counting the potatoes.

“Uh, I think I need one more to make my
potato nachos for everyone tomorrow night.” She dug in the dirt and
grabbed ahold of another one.

Standing up, she dusted off her behind then
picked up the basket. “Let's get back inside. I need to help with
the dishes. We’ll go home when I’m done. I'm getting tired, and I
already know you’re exhausted.”

Something tickled her fingers as she grabbed
the last potato. She didn’t think much of it until the tickle moved
up her palm. Picking up the vegetable with her other hand, she saw
the most horrific, god-awful, disgusting creature laying backside
up in the palm of her hand.

She jumped back, throwing
it in the air as she screamed, “
Hijo de
puta!
” She ran around doing the heebie
jeebie dance, utterly repulsed.

Stefen watched, completely
amused until he spotted what she’d been screaming about. Vaulting
away, he shouted, “What the
hell
is
that
!”

Dani and her mom came running out of the
house, nearly tripping over one another down the stairs. “Are you
okay?” They shouted simultaneously, then Dani asked, “What
happened?”

Leah quivered and swiped
at her arms. “One of those evil spawn’s of
El Diablo
was
just
sitting
in my hand
.” Leah couldn’t stop
herself from wiggling her back on her way to the hose to wash the
funk from the demonic alien baby off her hand.

Dani began her own grossed-out dance as
Leah’s mom walked up to it, bent down, and picked the potato bug up
by one of its legs.

“Oh hell no,
Mami
. I’m going back
inside.” Dani zipped into the house as quickly as she came
out.

Leah’s mom spoke to the wriggling creature
as if it were nothing. “So you’re the little devil eating through
my garden, huh?” She dropped it back on the ground and squashed it
with her sandal.

Hearing the popping sound, Leah thought she
might pass out.

The water from the hose wasn’t enough, so
Leah darted into the house, straight to the bathroom where she
scrubbed her hands raw with cleanser. Something moved beside her,
causing her to jump.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.” Leaning
against the open doorframe, Stefen’s scrunched eyebrows showed his
concern.

“It’s okay.” She pressed a hand to her
heart. “I just didn’t expect you to be standing there.” She picked
up a hand towel that sat on the counter and dried off her hands,
ignoring his intense stare.

“You don’t like potato bugs, huh?” He
reached out to touch her arm, imitating the feel of the insect.

She socked his arm, thankful when she
realized it was the uninjured one.

“Ow, shit, you hit hard.” Stefen rubbed the
spot she punched.

She wasn’t sorry. “Don’t do that shit to me,
or I’ll beat the hell out of you in your sleep.”

He may think I’m kidding, but I’m dead
serious.

“Well damn, dully noted.” They moved down
the hallway together when she noticed just how tired he looked. His
shoulders were slumping, and his eyes were drooping.

“Why don't you go hang out with my mom while
we clean up? We have a long drive back. Go relax.” Leah ran her
hand up his arm, then regretted it when goose bumps broke out on
her own. No matter what, she would never grow tired of touching
him.

He turned to look her in the eyes. “If
you’re sure you don’t need me for anything.” He tucked his chin in
and looked deeper in her eyes.

Oh crap
. Did he know what she was thinking? Wouldn’t surprise her if
he did. He seemed so in tune with her lately.

Making herself take normal breaths, she
redirected him. “Stefen, please go relax. You can even lay down in
my old bed if you want.” Now that she was paying a little more
attention, he really did look exhausted. As if it was the most
natural thing to do, she cupped his face with her hands.
“Seriously. You don’t have to put on a front with me. I want you to
be comfortable.”

His expression changed, as if he was trying
to figure something out. Slowly, he pulled her hand from his face
and squeezed it. “I know. I won’t hide anything from you, Leah.
You’ve already seen me at my worst. As long as she doesn’t step on
me, too, I’ll go join your mom.”

Leah shuddered. “And don’t ever mention that
again.”

“Done,” he chuckled, looking at her so
intensely, she found herself shuddering again.

For an entirely different reason.

Stefen heard the TV blaring in the large
front room and smiled at Leah’s mom. “I got kicked out of the
kitchen. Mind if I join you?”

Maria had her elbows on her knees. Her eyes
were glued to the TV like she was enjoying the best hockey game
ever.

“Shh.” She waved at him without turning her
head. “I'm watching my novellas. Sit, but be quiet,” she demanded
in a stern tone.

She was more like the exterminator from the
yard than the carefree woman joking at the dinner table. She didn’t
move a muscle, and Stefen seriously wondered if he should stay or
join the girls.

Sighing inwardly, he sat down next to her on
the couch, careful not to make a peep.

The Spanish program was filled with
half-naked actresses and what looked like a crazy plot. Someone’s
sister was in love with a husband, who was in love with another
sister. At least, that’s what he thought was happening. He couldn’t
keep up.

As soon as a commercial came on, Maria
finally turned to him. “So this is what’s happening. The farmer's
daughter, Belinda, fell in love with the landowner's son. Felipe,
he's the son, is also in love with her, but he’s having an affair
with his stepmom, Lucida, who is only two years older and is
blackmailing him. Felipe's father, Jorge, doesn't know they’re
having an affair because he is too busy sleeping with the farmer's
wife. Now they’ve been together since before Belinda was born, so
she is possibly Jorge’s daughter, and if they’re in love, it could
be with their own sibling.”

She took a breath only to
notice the commercials were over. “Okay, it's back on, now
silencio
.” Correcting
herself, she repeated in English, “Be quiet.”

Stefen's head was
spinning.
Felipe, Lucida, Jorge, son,
stepmom, farmer’s wife, all naked together? What in the hell kind
of show is this?
And why did Maria tell
him to be quiet when she was the only one talking. He got up,
wordlessly excused himself, and went into the kitchen.

“Hey, I thought I told you to rest.” Leah
put her hands on her hips.

“Uh.” Stefen scratched his head. “Do you
know your mom watches porn?”

Leah spun around to face
him. “
What?
”

Bewildered, he pointed to the hallway.
“Yeah, I was sitting there with her watching all of these
half-dressed people getting it on with everyone on the show, and I
do mean everyone.”

Leah bent over in a fit of laughter. “Those
are her novellas.”

Dani came in, glancing at both of them.
“What’s so funny?”

“Stefen said
Mami's
novellas were
porn.” Leah tried to catch her breath and let out a small snort,
and then Daniella started to cackle.

Stefen just shook his head, dumbfounded.
“For such a conservative family, you guys are pretty open to some
raunchy TV.”

“Every Latin woman over a certain age
watches those shows. They’re not porn.” Leah tried and failed to
stop laughing. “Just soap operas.”

“I beg to differ. That was the most
uncomfortable fifteen minutes of my life. Please don't make me go
back in there.” His voice became pleading. Leah threw a dish towel
over her shoulder. “All right, you big baby. Have a seat while we
finish the dishes, and then I’ll drive us home.” She pulled a chair
out for him and grinned. She was taking an awful lot of pleasure in
this.

“What was up with Elena tonight?” Leah asked
Dani as she grabbed the dish towel from her shoulder.

Dani eyed Stefen momentarily. “Charles just
told her he wants a divorce, and she needs to move out. Apparently,
he’s selling the house and moving closer to his kids. We all knew
he was a jerk. It was bound to happen sooner or later. To be
honest, I think she’s already seeing someone else. She’s been
hanging out with Joaquin a lot lately.”

“Are you serious? What’s she going to do?”
Leah dried a glass and put it in the cupboard as she listened
intently to Dani.

“Well,
Mami
told her she could move in here
after she and Sal get married, since they’re moving to Sacramento.
But there is no way in hell I can live with Elena and the kids.”
Dani pointed her finger in the air and waved it around.

Stefen listened quietly. They’d talked about
Elena earlier, which explained her unconcern. He respected that
Leah would do anything for anyone, but also had healthy boundaries
to protect herself.

She bumped her hip with Dani’s, smiling as
she dried a plate. “Perfect time for you to move out by me.” She
looked over her shoulder, placing a stack of dry plates in the
cupboard. Even doing the most mundane things like dishes, showed
off her beauty. Her genuine smile, the curve of her hips and ass,
her perfectly toned calves, and that hair nearly had him panting at
her feet. He could run his fingers through her hair all day long if
she let him.

“I’ve been thinking about it already,” Dani
admitted. “There are so many cuts going on at the hospital that
I’ve been looking into home health care. Since I’ve saved most of
the money I’ve made, I should be able to take a little time off,
too.”

Leah gasped, bounding over to her sister.
She pulled her in for a huge hug. “Are you serious? You can stay
with me until you find your own place.”

Stepping back, Dani said, “Hold on, I
haven’t decided anything yet. I’m just thinking about it. What if
you get married and leave me behind?” She stuck out her lower lip,
pouting.

“Not likely.” Leah rolled her eyes. “I’m
nowhere near that.” Her eyes found their way to Stefen, and he had
to wonder what that look was about.

“Speaking of which,” Dani smirked, “how was
it with Ben today?”

Fantastic.
Stefen was going to have to sit and hear about
Dr. High School Quarterback. He wasn't sure if he should go back to
the grandma porn, or sit and listen to this crap.