Page 56 of Dina's Favorite Mistake

“Yes, ma’am.” He lowered her hand but kept hold of it as they drove the rest of the way to the estate. The wind kicked up, and the dark clouds rolling in from the highlands loomed ominously. “Bad storm coming?”

“Probably.” She noticed the fields on either side of the road had been cleared of workers. Hopefully, they were all safely back inside the barns and other outbuildings, away from the wind and water and lightning that was headed this way.

“You get a lot of bad storms here?”

“Late summer to early fall is when we get the worst weather.” She offered an embarrassed smile as she admitted, “I don’treally keep up with the forecasts. That’s more in Lola and Beto’s wheelhouses.”

“Understandable.” He leaned forward and peered out the windshield, angling his head as if trying to get a better look at something. “What mountain is that anyway?”

“That’s not a mountain. That’s a volcano.”

Steve jerked his attention toward her. “I’m sorry. It’s awhat?”

“A volcano,” she said slowly. “There are volcanoes all through this region.”

“Wait. Plural? More than one?” He actually looked worried which she found rather adorable considering he’d been shot at on this same road only a few days earlier.

“There are four. All of them along a line.”

Steve gawked at her. “How are you this calm with a giant bomb mountain sitting right there?”

“It’s been dormant for, like, a quarter of a million years, Steve.”

“Oh, well, in that case, I’m sure we’re fine.”

“We are. There’s no risk from this one.”

“Thisone?”

“Well, there’s another down that way.” She twisted in her seat and gestured in the general direction. “Volcán de Colima. It blew up a few years ago.”

“Are you serious?”

“It’s not a big deal.”

“Until it is!”

“Scientists have monitors all over the place. They’ll know if the volcanoes start to rumble to life again.” She gave his hand a playful squeeze. “Anyway. Without these volcanoes spewing out their ash and lava for all those millions of years, we wouldn’t have the fertile soil that allows us to grow the best agave in the world.”

“The volcanoes? Really?”

Dina nodded. “Amazing, isn’t it?”

“I suppose.” He eyed the volcano in the distance with distrust. “I don’t think I could ever get used to living next to something that dangerous.”

She knew he was making small talk, but it was an uncomfortable reminder of all the ways it could never work between them. His life was in Texas. Hers was here. He was a single man. She was a single mother. He had family who needed him back home. She had family who needed her right here.

It will never work.

You’ll have to let him go.

But not yet.

“What’s going on here?” Steve eased off the accelerator as they drew closer to the house. There were dozens of vehicles parked out front, most of them staff from the field operations.

Dina’s stomach dropped. Sensing something bad had happened, she ripped off her seatbelt and practically bailed from the still moving car. Steve shouted after her, stomping the brakes and throwing the vehicle into park. He chased after her into the house, nearly colliding with her when she exploded into the front parlor where the voices were the loudest.

“What’s wrong?” Dina demanded, storming toward Lola who had Jasper asleep in a carrier on her chest. “What’s happened?”

---