Chapter Twenty-Two
The tension in the cab of the truck was thick. Selfishly, Evan hoped it was just the usual uneasiness between Selena and her mother, and not something caused by what he’d said the other night on the boat. He wasn’t optimistic, however.
He took the exit to the Harlingen airport and glanced across the cab at Selena. She didn’t even notice him. Instead she stared out the window with a serious look, as if she were trying to work out how to bring about world peace.
Even though she was in such a serious state, looking at her did things to him. Her gorgeous dark hair fell in waves to her shoulders. She wore minimal makeup, and her lips shone with a clear gloss that smelled of strawberries and vanilla. He longed to see those lips turn up in a smile.
“We’re almost there, then?” Mrs. C-J asked, checking her watch for the twentieth time during the hour trip.
“Five more minutes. We’ll get you there on time,” Evan promised. “Better than your average limo service. Only difference is the size of the backseat.”
Her mother laughed but Selena didn’t.
Evan parked in the short-term lot, and he and Selena got out to accompany her mother inside — and to help carry the luggage.
“You realize,” Evan said as he stacked all the pieces onto a cart inside the door, “that by the time you pay all the extra baggage fees on these, it might be cheaper to buy your own jet?”
He smiled when he said it, still not sure whether Mrs. C-J had a sense of humor. She looked thoughtful and too serious, and he wondered if he’d just blown all the goodwill they’d established on the boat.
“You know, you may be right,” she said. “All these years, I’ve been looking for an excuse to buy a private jet, but my money manager keeps telling me no. This may just be it. Excellent idea, Evan.”
The two of them laughed. Selena forced a smile, shook her head, and rolled her eyes. “Don’t encourage her spendy side.”
They checked her suitcases and walked toward security. Evan did a double take when he noticed Selena’s arm interlocked with her mother’s. He was glad to see it. She needed her mother more than ever right now and in the not-so-distant future, as she became a mom herself.
At the gate, the two women embraced and held on to each other. He leaned against the wall and gave them all the time they needed.
“Don’t forget what we talked about,” Mrs. C-J said to Selena.
“I won’t.” Selena smiled tentatively. “Stuff like that isn’t something you just forget about.” They pulled apart enough to make eye contact. “Thanks for all that, Mom. I understand better where you’re coming from. I’ll try to come home for a weekend sometime soon — if you buy the ticket.”
Both women laughed. “I’ll be happy to.” They hugged again and her mother kissed her cheek. “Keep those what-ifs at bay, you hear me?”
“I’ll try. I don’t know.”
“If you ever need to talk, you call me.”
Selena looked into her eyes, and Evan could tell this was a big moment, suspecting such an offer had never been made before. She finally nodded slowly.
“Love you, Mom.”
“I love you, honey.”
They parted, and Evan tried not to show surprise when Mrs. C-J turned to him, arms outstretched. He hugged her, her expensive perfume filling his nose. “Take care of my girl, will you?” she said so Selena couldn’t hear.
“With pleasure, ma’am.”
“What’s this ‘ma’am’ nonsense?” she said, acting scandalized.
They both grinned.
“I tried to talk some sense into her,” she said. “She’s stubborn, but I hope she’ll come around soon. It would please me to no end if the two of you could make it work.”
Evan glanced at Selena, who watched them from a few feet away. “Me too. Have a safe flight, Mrs. C-J.”
He moved closer to Selena as they watched her mom go through security. When she’d made it through and put her high-dollar high heels back on, she waved, picked up her carry-on, and hurried to her gate. Selena leaned her head on his shoulder, and they continued to watch until the older woman was out of sight.
He took her hand and they walked back the way they’d come. “Good visit?” he asked.
Selena didn’t answer right away. “I think so. We talked more than we ever have. Resolved some things. She called the bank on the spot yesterday and gave me back access to the family account.”
Evan slowed, not really surprised but curious. “So what are you going to do?”
“About?”
“Money. Jobs. Are you going to quit?”
“I have an agreement with the city. Don’t worry — I’m not going to flake.”
That had crossed his mind, but it wasn’t his main concern. “What about the other stuff?”
“SJ Enterprises?”
He nodded, for some reason caring too much about her response.
“I could quit.”
“I’m sure your mom will provide you with more than enough money to live on.”
“She will. The amount she said she’d transfer to my joint account each month would cover living expenses easily.”
Evan thought hard about what life would be like if he and Selena married and she continued to get a check from home each month. Could he live with that? Would he be okay with a wife who didn’t believe in working for what she had?
He glanced down at her dark hair, and a warmth came over him that he couldn’t explain. Not the heat of lust, though that was always there, simmering under the surface. Just looking at Selena brought him a feeling of wholeness he’d never known existed. She made him laugh, made him want to pull his hair out, made him want to be the best person he could be. Made him want to be a father, even. Together, he believed they could raise a happy family, whether Selena had a paying job or not.
She didn’t ask for his approval though, and giving it might seem too much like pressure for her to marry him. He’d promised himself to ease up and give her time, because nothing could convince her to say yes right now. She had to grow to love him and trust him to do everything in his power to come home alive at the end of every shift.
“I’m not going to,” Selena said.
“Not going to what?”
“Quit. I love what I’m doing. Love knowing that I can earn my own keep. Once the murals are done, I’ll spend less time working. I should be able to handle my business and take care of the baby too.”
If it was possible, he loved her even more at that moment.
“There’s no doubt in my mind you’ll handle both.” Hopefully as his wife.
“I’ll set up a special college account for the baby and put the money from my mom in it. If I ever have an emergency, I can dip into my Cambridge-Jarboe funds. But the way Macey and I worked it out, I can make enough to live on within a couple more months.”
“Listen to you,” Evan said, admiring this new confident professional side.
“What?”
“Ms. Business Chick. Raking in a living.”
Selena nodded. “A dose of harsh reality can do that.”
They arrived at the exit and went outside to cross the busy taxi and drop-off lanes.
He unlocked the passenger door of the truck and she climbed in, then he went around to the driver’s side and did the same.
“So what were you and your mom talking about when you said good-bye? Something about what-ifs?”
“Somehow you wowed her and I think she wants you for a son-in-law.”
He didn’t dare hope. “And?”
“She made suggestions for how to deal with a loved one’s dangerous career.”
He turned and leaned against the driver’s door, staring at her. “Loved one?”
She smiled reluctantly. “Yeah. Don’t get a big head though. I could be talking about my brother.”
Could be was better than am, he supposed.
“What kind of suggestions did she make?”
“Mostly vague ones,” she said, her smile fading.
“So do they work?”
She stared straight ahead, biting her lower lip. “I don’t know yet. But I’m trying.”
That was the best damn news he’d had all day. He nodded, working like the devil to appear nonchalant.
“What do you say we spend the day together while you keep trying?”
“Does your offer include food?”
“As much as you want.”
“Ice cream?”
“Butter pecan, all the way.”
“You’ve got yourself a deal, then.”