Page 24 of A Brambleberry Summer

“It is not a very big town. Some people go to Park City when they need specialists, but Lauren is the best doctor in the whole world.”

She spoke of her parents by their first names, which made him wonder at the relationship.

“Is she also from Honduras?”

He wasn’t surprised when her jaw tensed at the question. “No. She is from Moose Springs. Daniel, as well. They adopted me when I came to this country.”

He wanted to pursue that line of questioning but reminded himself this was a casual encounter over tacos, not an interrogation. She had the right to her privacy. This was obviously a touchy subject for her and he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable.

“So. What do you think of your taco?” she asked Logan.

“Muy delicioso,”he said with a grin. “That means ‘very delicious.’ I learned that from my friend Carlos. That’s what he says every day at lunch.”

“That is the perfect thing to say about the tacos here. They are definitelymuy delicioso.”

She and Logan spent a few more minutes comparing ways to gush about their meals, leaving Wyatt to wonder what made Rosa so uncomfortable when she talked about her past.

What was she hiding? She did not like to talk about herself, which he found unusual. In his line of work, he had learned that most law-abiding people loved talking about themselves and their lives. With a few well-aimed questions, Wyatt usually could find out anything he wanted to know.

People who had things to hide, however, learned techniques to evade those kinds of questions.

Her secrets were not his business, he reminded himself. She was a private person and there was certainly no law against that.

He would be smart to remember that her history was her own. He wasn’t entitled to know, especially when their only relationship was that of landlady and tenant.

Chapter Five

The man was entirely too curious.

It didn’t help that she couldn’t seem to keep her usual defensive techniques in place when he looked at her out of those blue eyes. She forgot about protecting herself, about concealing the parts of her life she preferred to forget. She forgot everything, lost in the totally ridiculous urge to lean across the picnic table and press her mouth against his. Anything to stop his questions.

Wouldn’t that go over well? She could just imagine how he would react. It almost made her wish she had the nerve to try it.

To her relief, he seemed to give up his interrogation as they finished dinner. He sat back and let her and Logan chatter about Logan’s friends, his day camp and the very cool dinosaur bones he saw at a museum in Portland with his aunt Carrie.

He was really an adorable boy, filled with life and energy. He lovedStar Wars, Legos, his dog and his father, not necessarily in that order.

She enjoyed their company immensely, especially once Wyatt stopped digging into her life.

“Good choice on dinner, kiddo,” he said with a warm smile to his son.

Seeing him with Logan was like glimpsing a different person. He was more lighthearted, and certainly more approachable. He had smiled more during dinner than she had seen in all the time she had known him.

The Townsend men were both extremely hard to resist.

“That was so yummy,” Logan said as he balled up the wrapper of his taco and returned it to the tray. “Thanks, Dad.”

“I didn’t do much except pay for it, but you’re welcome. You should tell Jose how much you enjoyed it.”

At that moment, the taco-truck owner was delivering another tray to a nearby table so Logan jumped up and hurried over to him.

“Graciasfor the taco. It wasmuy delicioso.”

Jose, bald head gleaming in the fading sunlight, beamed down at the boy with delight. “You are welcome. You come back anytime.”

He fist-bumped Logan, who skipped as he hurried back to their table.

“That was very nice of you,” Rosa said. “People like to feel appreciated.”

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