Page 23 of The Breakdown

“Whoo-hoo!” He hurried inside, wiping the sweat from his face with his faded bandana.

“What’s got the boys so excited?” Vaughn asked. She was squinting in the sunlight and her arms and cheeks were tinged red. She looked like she needed a good soak in the bath and a cool lemonade to sip on. But June could offer her neither at the moment. There was still too much to be done.

“You know them. Food in general gets them all excited.”

“True. But just out of curiosity, what did you make today?”

“Tacos.”

“Oh, boy. That does sound good. Thanks, Gram.”

“Got you all excited too, huh?” She playfully whipped her with the apron she’d untied from her waist.

Vaughn looked out toward the guesthouse. “Natalie here?”

“Not yet.” June checked her watch. It was noon. “She’ll come. Don’t worry.”

“I wasn’t worried.”

But June knew better. She didn’t voice it. She just followed her inside and got busy helping everyone to their plates and glasses of iced tea.

The boys made three tacos each and spooned out big heapings of beans and rice. They sat and started scarfing the meal down, chatting loudly about the day’s work so far. Vaughn made her plate quietly and kept eyeing the kitchen door. June rested a hand on her arm.

“Maybe you should just go get her.”

“What? No, she’ll come.”

“Well, you seem concerned and maybe she’s lost track of time.”

“You think?” She again looked toward the door. Natalie gave a little knock just then, and entered. She had on a pair of black-rimmed glasses, giving her a cute studious look. It made Vaughn glance at her twice and June smiled.

“Grab a plate and help yourself to some tacos,” June said as she welcomed her inside. “And you don’t have to knock. You can just come in anytime. Our casa es su casa.”

Natalie returned the smile, though it looked a bit shy, and took her plate to the stove. She made herself two tacos and helped herself to a small portion of rice. She sat at the table and sipped her tea as June made her own plate and joined them.

“How’s your day going?” June asked, directing her question to Natalie as the other three continued to eat.

“It’s going great,” she said, seeming to perk up. “I’ve been working on a mock website all morning. I’m hoping you’ll like it.”

“I’m sure we will,” June said. She was pleased to see Natalie so happy. She seemed to be in her element with the website work, just as Vaughn was with the outdoors.

“It’s ready if you want to take a look after lunch,” Natalie said.

June looked to Vaughn and answered. “I’m sure Vaughn would like that very much.” She stared at her until she got the hint to speak.

“Yeah, sure. I’ll take a look.”

Natalie smiled as if pleased and took a bite from her taco. She’d piled it high with lettuce and cheese but no tomato. June mentally made a note of her likes and dislikes since she was the resident cook. She wanted Natalie’s stay to be a pleasant one. Poor child had enough to worry about as it was and she looked like she could use a few good, hearty meals in addition to a safe place to rest her head. She wondered briefly what her ex-husband was like and what had drawn Natalie to him. She seemed like such an intelligent young woman, one who could tell a rabbit from a rattlesnake, so why had she fallen for such a bad seed? She was curious about her story and hoped she would learn it in due time. But until then, she was going to do her damndest to keep her safe.

“So, you seem to enjoy the work with computers,” June said. “That’s fascinating. I can’t even work a cell phone.”

Natalie chuckled. “I could teach you some things. It’s really not that hard.”

“On the computer? Lord, I don’t know.”

“I’ll keep it simple, I promise.” She held up her fingers. “Scout’s honor.”

“What kind of things could you teach me?” She’d never had much use for computers or cell phones. She liked doing things the old-fashioned way, which meant speaking to someone face-to-face whenever she could. All this technology kept people at a distance, and it wasn’t healthy. Relationships shouldn’t be built on a keystroke. They should be built on a good, firm handshake.

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