Page 52 of Always Be True: Tino
That information apparently caught the attention of the gentleman on the other side of Benton, because he joined the conversation. “Where were you stationed?”
Tino leaned forward to better see the man. “Early on, I spent time in both Europe and Japan. Then I served several tours in the Middle East, split pretty evenly between Kuwait, Afghanistan, and Iraq.”
By now, everyone at the table had given up all pretense of carrying on their own conversations to listen to Tino and the stranger, who was speaking again. “We haven’t been introduced. I’m Stan Grant and this is my wife, Becky. I was a marine myself back in the day, and both of our sons have followed in my footsteps.”
Tino’s whole demeanor brightened. “My younger brother is a marine. Our father spent twenty years in the army, and my older brother was Special Forces until recently.”
“It doesn’t get said often enough, but thank you for your family’s service to our country.” Stan stuck his hand out to shake Tino’s, forcing Benton to sit back out of the way. “I bet your parents are damn proud of you and your brothers.”
Tino’s smile dimmed. “We lost Dad awhile back, but he did have an unfortunate reputation for bragging about us rather loudly whenever he got the chance. Mom has always been proud of us, too, but she’s not complaining about having two of us out of the military and back home.”
Stan’s wife joined the conversation. “As both a military wife and a military mother, I can empathize. One of our sons is back in the States for now, but the other is still in the Middle East.”
Her husband gave her hand a pat, maybe by way of comfort. Then he asked, “What are you going to do now that you’re out?”
Tino reached for his wine again. “I’m still considering my options, sir. My brother stepped in to take over running the family business after our father died, and I’ve been helping out some with that. I started working on a college degree while I was in the army, and I’m thinking about going back to school to finish it up.”
Interesting that he hadn’t mentioned that to her, another reminder that the two of them hadn’t talked much about the future at all. Before the discussion could continue, the main course of the dinner was served. At least Benton didn’t make any effort to engage Tino in any more conversation. Smart man. If he’d continued in the same vein, trying to make Tino feel uncomfortable in their company, he was only going to succeed in making himself look even more petty.
And with Benton, appearances were everything.
By the time dessert was served, the orchestra had started to play. Tino leaned down to whisper near her ear. “Do you want the first dance, or should I make good on my promise to your mother? I hate to leave you alone with you know who.”
“I’ll be fine. Go ahead and ask her. She’s been giving you hopeful looks ever since the orchestra started warming up.”
Tino gave her a quick kiss before heading around to the other side of the table to talk to her parents. Natalie watched as her mother accepted the hand that Tino held out to her and then followed him out onto the dance floor. Her father shot Natalie a quick grin and then turned to watch the pair.
The song had a fast beat, but Tino and her mother quickly found their rhythm. Wow, she’d never realized that her mom was that good, but then she’d seen her dance only with her father.
Her dad had angled his chair to watch his wife, but then he looked in Natalie’s direction. “You know, I’m not sure whether to be grateful to Tino for showing your mother a good time out there or to hate him for showing me up like that.”
She knew her dad well enough to know that he wouldn’t really begrudge his wife having a bit of fun, but she decided to give him a little grief anyway. “I could always give you a set of dance lessons for your birthday next month.”
He looked horrified by the prospect. “Very funny, little girl.”
But he winked at her before turning his attention back to the dance floor. Meanwhile, Benton slid over into Tino’s seat. She’d been expecting him to do something of the kind since his parents had gotten up to dance, leaving the two of them alone. She also wasn’t surprised to see him refill his wineglass. When he’d emptied the bottle in front of him, he reached over to avail himself of the one she and Tino had been sharing.
“So how have you been, Natalie?”
She turned her gaze back to the dance floor as she answered. “I’ve been good. Busy as usual.”
Benton moved on to another subject. “And your grandfather? Is he well?”
The man might be asking all the right questions to show he was concerned about her, but they sounded as if he was reading them off cue cards. “He’s grouchy as ever. I’ll tell him that you were asking about him.”
Not that her grandfather would care.
She turned the conversation back to Benton’s favorite topic—himself. “And how about you? Is work at the law office keeping you busy?”
He perked right up. “Yes, it is. Recently, I’ve been doing some work for one of the energy companies. Not contract work, but interceding with local officials on their behalf.”
“Sounds interesting.” Not really, but she could see how he’d love being a lobbyist for big-money companies.
Benton leaned in closer, enough so that his alcohol-laden breath brushed across her skin. “I’d love to tell you more about it over lunch next week. I think this could be my first real step toward getting involved in politics. With the right support, I could test the waters in next year’s elections.”
And she could guess exactly what kind of support he was hoping for. She hated to tell him, but there was no chance he’d ever get any money from her grandfather’s foundation to fund a political campaign. This wasn’t the time or the place to start an argument, so she continued to watch the dancers, hoping he’d take the hint that she wasn’t interested.
At least he was smart enough not to push her on that subject, but he continued to press her on spending time together. “Come on, Natalie, it’s just lunch. We could catch up on things. You can even tell me more about what’s going on with the community center project. Pick a time and place, and I’ll be there. My treat and everything.”
