The next afternoon, Ian stood near the entrance to the café that had opened a little over five years ago. With a mix of Mialy’s favorite Malagasy dishes and standard American diner fare on the menu, she’d been doing steady business ever since.

A glance in the plate glass window showed that it was filled with the lunch crowd, and people stood near the front counter that displayed desserts for sale. He mentally patted himself on the back for calling earlier and asking Mialy to save a table for him.

He watched as Rosa’s little sedan pulled into the square and followed traffic around to where he waited. She took the first opening at the other end of the block, which gave him time to watch her as she walked toward him. Today she wore a light-colored top, jean capris, and battered black Chucks. A worn brown leather satchel was slung across her body, emphasizing her breasts as the strap nestled between them. He should look away, he really should, but the confidence in the set of her shoulders, and, yeah, her nicely rounded breasts, captured his attention. He would never have expected to be attracted to little Rosa Donnelly, but there was no denying what he’d felt when their bodies had touched yesterday and what he was feeling right this moment. Little Rosa was not so little anymore.

She came to a stop in front of him. “Packed?”

“Yes, but Mialy has a table set aside for me. I didn’t want to miss you.”

She grunted. Rosa had always been prickly, but it seemed like those prickles had grown into full-blown cactus spikes.

They went in, and were waved over by the hostess who grabbed a couple menus. He took the opportunity to lay his hand on Rosa’s waist to guide her through the tables as they followed the hostess. She gave him a look as she lifted her sunglasses to the top of her head but didn’t say anything or brush his hand away.

After they were seated, he started to tell her it was his treat, but the server came up and Rosa made a point to ask for separate checks. Remembering what she’d said yesterday, he bit his tongue.

He ordered his usual stew despite the warming day of early summer. Mialy had once told him it wasn’t a typical summer dish, but as enough people loved it she kept a small stock of it available. He was addicted to the spice mix and tender meat and would happily eat it every day. Rosa ordered a light sandwich and fries.

“You’ll love those. She adds a bit of bacon fat to the fry oil.”

Rosa sat back in her chair. “Good thing I’m not vegetarian, then. You said you wanted to go over the bills?”

“Yeah. I know my mom has a target goal in mind for the fundraiser, but she wanted a better idea of what your mom’s dealing with.”

Rosa bent down and rummaged around in the satchel. “I didn’t want to bring everything in, but I found what bills I could and put them into a spreadsheet last night and grouped them according to type of service. Mom’s up for a research study, so if she’s accepted into that, some of her care will be covered. I don’t know how much, as she slept through most of the evening yesterday and I didn’t want to bother her with this when she was up.” Rosa put a large manila envelope on the table.

“I understand. How is she doing? I haven’t seen her around much, so all I know is what Mom tells me—and you know how she can be when it comes to Lottie.”

Rosa lifted a shoulder. “About as well as can be expected. She’s got her good days and her bad days. I didn’t realize how bad her bad days were until I got here, though.”

“You just finished up with your degree, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Job hunting?”

She grimaced and when she answered, he heard a note of tension in her voice. “When I can. I’m doing some work for Get Her Elected. It’s not much right now, but I can pick and choose what projects I work on.”

“What’s that?”

“Crowdsourced volunteer work for the most part. Everything from social media consulting, website design, and policy paper reviewing.”

Ian leaned in. “I haven’t heard about this. Tell me more.”

Rosa’s face lit up as she talked about the work she was doing. Since she was catching up on her mom’s care, she’d stuck with simpler projects, but she was looking forward to delving deeper into science policy paper review. Particularly for getting girls and nonbinary kids involved in STEM.

“That would be good for the newsletter.”

Rosa’s hands fell into her lap. “Mom said you were getting some national press.”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah. I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing at this point.”

One side of her mouth quirked up. “I’ve only seen the one that went viral. You were pretty passionate about how we’re all citizens of the world and we need to take care of our family.”

“Thanks. It’s all true. I needed to say something, and I had the platform to say it. I just wish my cousins could see what I’m trying to do.” He let out a sigh.

“What?”

“That call yesterday from my lawyer was about a letter I’d gotten earlier in the day. You know FSC?”

Her face scrunched up, so he clarified. “Family Shopping Channel. Their distribution is nationwide, and they also have moved into Canada and are looking at opening up in the UK.”

Her eyes widened. “So, bigger than the big box stores?”

“Pretty much. We signed with them a few years ago and it really gave our exposure a bump, though we’d been doing good on our own. The letter they sent said they would cut ties with us if I didn’t stop using company resources to advance my political views.”

“Can they do that?”

“Of course they can. They’re not the government, so it’s not censorship or anything like that.”

“Will it hurt the business if they blackball you?”

“Yeah, but not to the point where we’d have to close or anything. We’d have to scale back some expansion plans, but we have that option. The real threat is if my one cousin Larry follows through with his suit to take over the company.” He paused as their server set their meals down in front of them.

He dug into the stew and nearly moaned as the heat and sweet flavors exploded on his tongue. He’d never been able to get Mialy to tell him exactly what was in her spice blend. And, right now, he’d rather think about food and the woman sitting across from him than Larry and the rest of the cousins.

Rosa did moan after she bit into her sandwich. He enjoyed hearing her pleasure, even if it was generated by what she was eating. He wondered what made her moan in pleasure when food wasn’t involved. Maybe he’d get a second chance to find out. When she opened her eyes, her gaze was direct on his. “Can your cousin win if he files suit?”

“Possibly. There’s a clause in the family trust about challenging whoever is leading the company if there’s a certain percentage of loss in a year. The extended family is also pushing for me to quit things. This is bigger than me, though. They know the stories of what our grandfather went through to get here and then get the business going. He always instilled in us the pride he had in becoming an American. How this was a land of opportunity and it was our duty to stand up for what was right.”

“Why do they want you to stop speaking out then?”

He took another bite of stew. “It’s not the speaking out that’s the issue for them as much as the fact that I’m using the company newsletter to do it. The thing is, that’s the platform I’ve got and it’s a core value of the business. Our business wouldn’t exist without immigration. Not only thanks to my grandfather, but for all of the workers who’ve come through and brought their families to work for us. Just as we’re mostly a nation of immigrants, so’s the company.”

“Ian!”

He looked up and saw his sister-in-law waving at him as she wound through the other tables. He stood up and kissed her on the cheek when she got to their table. “Hey, Lori. How are you doing?”

“Good. Good. I need to talk with you in private, if I can?”

He glanced at Rosa, who had her gaze focused on her sandwich. “It’s okay. I’ve just been catching up Rosa on things.”

Lori blinked. “Rosa? Rosa Donnelly?”

She looked up and and her lips curved in what he could loosely term a smile. “Hi, Lori.”

“Oh, girl. It’s good to see you.” Lori bent down and gave her a hug, which Rosa didn’t reciprocate. If he wasn’t mistaken, she was surprised at Lori’s move.

“I didn’t realize you were back in town. We’ll have to get together with Kenzie.”

“Kenzie?”

“You know. Mackenzie, Ian’s sister.” She held up her hand and flashed her ring. “My wife.”

“Uh, congratulations.” Rosa’s face blanked for a moment, and then gave Lori a smile that looked anemic to him.

“Thanks! We’re still newlyweds. Anyway, Ian. I wanted to tell you that we had dinner with the cousins last night and they were strongly urging Kenzie to have a few words with you about the you-know-what. Kenzie told them to shove it, but I figured you’d want to deal with it yourself.”

He felt the muscles around his eye twitch and hoped no one else saw it. “Thanks. I appreciate the head’s-up.”

“Lori. I’ve got your order ready.”

Lori half-turned and waved. “Thanks, Mialy. Be there in a minute.” She turned back to him and gave him a hug. “If you see your parents, tell them we’ll be over at the house tomorrow night. Kenzie promised your mom she’d help with the fundraiser. Bye, Rosa. Tell your mom I said hi.”

“Uh, sure. Will do.”

Ian sat back down, and watched Rosa watch Lori as she whirlwinded out of the café. “You okay?”

“That was Lori Murphy, right?”

“Lori Murphy-Stroman now.”

Rosa shook her head.

“What?”

“She was my nemesis in high school and barely had a civil word to say to me ever.”

Ian lifted a shoulder. “I’m not sure what to say. All I remember, is her being a kid, and then she’s dating my sister after she graduates college. They’re good for each other.”

Rosa shook her head again. “This world is unbelievable.”

“Do you regret coming home?”

“For my mom, no. I’m not sure what to do about the rest of you, though.”

“Fair enough. Being the focus of small-town scrutiny isn’t for everyone, but there are benefits. Like knowing when your neighbors are in need of assistance and being able to provide it.” He nodded to her plate. “Speaking of, have you tried the fries yet? You should eat them while they’re still warm.”

“I like to finish my sandwiches first.”

“Believe me, have at least one.”

She shot him a look but did as he suggested. Her eyes rolled back in her head, and the moan she let out this time was definitely orgasmic. “God. I can never go back.”

He reached out to snitch one that was about to fall from the plate, but she slapped his hand. “If you wanted these, you should have ordered your own. These are all mine.”

He smiled. “I’m glad to turn you to the dark side. Hearing you moan like that was worth it.”

She ducked her head and focused on the remainder of her food, but he saw a blush stain her cheeks a gorgeous shade of dark pink.

As he waited for her to finish, he pulled a couple of the bills and the spreadsheet from the envelope. The final totals had his stomach rebelling against the excellent stew. “Damn.”

“Yeah. That was my response. Did your mom tell you that she paid for my mom’s prescriptions yesterday? Apparently, Mom’s run through a good chunk of her benefits and they don’t cover as much as they used to.”

“No, she didn’t tell me.”

“Seeing those, I’m amazed she has any coverage left.”

He put the bills back into the envelope. “I’m sorry to hear that. Do you mind if I take these with me? I’ll scan them and return them to you.”

“Thanks. That’ll probably be faster.”

She’d cleared her plate of the fries, but there was part of her sandwich left. “Do you want a box for that?”

She looked down at it. “Yeah. I’d love to finish it, but I’m feeling stuffed all of a sudden.”

“The fries will do that to you.”

The server was there a minute later and took Rosa’s plate in back to box up the remains of her meal. When they had everything, he escorted her to the front to pay their bills. Every few feet, she’d glance back at him. He wondered what was going through her head.

After Mialy cashed them out, they headed outside into the bright sunshine. Stepping to the side of the door, he put his sunglasses on. He turned to Rosa to ask her when they could meet up again, but before he could say anything, she reached up, grabbed the front of his shirt, and gave him a quick kiss on the mouth.

Heat seared through him and he reached out to pull her closer. She was fast though and broke away. “Thanks for lunch, Ian. I’ll be in touch.”

Stunned, he watched her walk down the block, hips swaying. It wasn’t until he was nearly knocked down by one of his former teachers that the spell broke.

“Wake up, Ian.”

“Yes, Mrs. Brewster.”