Page 40 of Love In Translation

Okay then. “After making me promise I would use my education and that I wouldn’t follow in my parents’ footsteps, Paddy paid for me to go to college. Her firstborn son was the perfect one, a lawyer who wanted to get into politics, but he died young. She wanted her other sons to be lawyers, doctors, engineers, and didn’t bank on getting a missionary and a wanderer.”

“How do your parents fund their lifestyle?” Fletch asked, stroking the inside of her wrist. “It’s not easy to earn money when your life is spent on the road.”

As she knew. Her mom and dad had joined the van-life movement before the age of digital nomads, internet entrepreneurs, and online selling. “They bartered and traded, and my dad took odd jobs and my mom sold generic landscape paintings on street corners. I presume they are still doing much of the same.”

But what would they do when they got too old to flit about? If Paddy was to be believed, they were banking on an inheritance from her. That might happen, but there was a good chance Rheo would have to rent a place for them and pay their bills when they were old. She’d tried to talk to them about their retirement plans once, ages ago, but Ed and Gail lived in the present and paid no attention to the future.

“The van-life movement is so different now than it was when your folks started,” Fletcher commented. “It’s still a pretty cool life though.”

“As you should know,” she stated, wincing at the shrill note in her voice. “You live in a van, right?”

Fletcher’s eyes cooled and his voice hardened. “Did you do some internet research, Rheo?” he asked, his tone silky but cold. “And, for accuracy, I live in a tiny house.”

“It’s on wheels, right?” Rheo pulled her hand away from his and leaned back. “You can pick it up and move wherever the hell you want to go.”

She knew she sounded bitter and resentful. Fletch had the right to own what he wanted, live life the way he wanted to... She knew that, shedid.But every similarity between him and her parents was the swing of a wrecking ball through her soul. Connections between them dredged up her insecurities and had her wanting to check the eviction clause on her lease and the balance on her savings accounts to make sure none of her money was missing. That the world was the right way forward.

“Currently, my house, all 350 square feet of it, sits at the end of a friend’s massive property. I rent the land from him because I don’t see the point of owning a property and paying taxes on it when I’m never there.”

Rheo rubbed her fingers across her forehead, feeling caught out and clumsy. Her parents and their source of income—along with her father’s demand to see Paddy’s will—were her nuclear hot buttons.

Should she apologize? She caught the annoyance in Fletch’s eyes and decided not to add fuel to the fire. But, damn, was speaking without thinking something she did now?

The waitress walked over, handed him the bill, and took his card. She swiped it, frowned, and sent Fletch a pained smile. “I’m so sorry, sir, there seems to be a problem with your card.”

Fletch took his card back, puzzled. Embarrassed for him, Rheo touched his hand with her fingers. “I left my wallet at home, so I can’t pay, but Abi will let me pay later.”

He flipped it over and looked at the date. “It’s not expired. Why isn’t it working?”

“You probably missed a payment, or you’ve maxed it out.”

Fletch’s hot glare held enough heat to burn her to a crisp. What? If it walked like a duck, talked like a duck...

“Thanks for that.”

Oh God, he sounded pissed. Fletch flipped open his wallet, took out some cash, and handed it over with a hefty tip. He smiled at the waitress, who looked as uncomfortable as Rheo felt.

“There you go,” he told her.

She smiled and nodded. “No problem, Mr. Wright. Thanks for the tip.”

Fletch stood and looked at Rheo, his expression remote.

Shit, why had she said that? She’d insulted his living arrangements and then made assumptions about his finances. This was what happened when she delved into her past, when she allowed it to mess with her head. Where Fletch lived and how he managed his money had nothing to do with her.

Rheo got to her feet and tucked her phone into the back pocket of her jeans. Fletch waited for her to proceed, but Rheo told him she’d see him outside, as she wanted to say goodbye to Abi.

Rheo scuttled around the counter to where Abi stood.

“Why is Fletch looking like a rattlesnake bit him in the balls, Rhee?” her friend demanded, keeping her voice low.

“Oh, he’s pissed because his credit card was declined. I offered to arrange for him to pay you later. He paid in cash.”

“Still doesn’t explain why he’s pissed,” Abi murmured. “What did you say?”

She rocked on her heels. “I might’ve said something about it being maxed out or him not making a payment on time.”

“Dear God, Rheo, who gave you permission to be let out on your own?” Abi muttered, shaking her head.

---