Page 13 of The Texan's Secrets

“They can’t just buy something shrink-wrapped off the shelf?”

“They could. But his parents aren’t tech savvy. They feel good about having something custom designed that eliminates the extraneous fields and processes they’d have with something generic.”

“It seems needlessly expensive.”

“It’s not costing them anything.” He realized how that sounded and wanted to be clear he wasn’t bragging about his altruism. “They’ve been very, very good to me over the years.”

“So, this is a volunteer gig?”

He crumpled the paper and tossed it into the open fireplace.

“Interesting,” she said, but he couldn’t gauge the tone of her voice.

He set some kindling on top of the newspaper and lit a corner.

As the slivers of wood caught flame, he turned so he could see Emilia’s face while he asked the follow-up question. “Interesting how?”

“It’s been a while since I coded for free.” She paused. “I mean, if you don’t count doing things recreationally or for friends.”

“Want to sit?” he asked, gesturing to a bench near the fire.

She took him up on the invitation.

He sat down on the opposite end. The wooden seat was solid and comfortable beneath them, hand hewn then sanded to a smooth gloss with a sloped back and armrests on either end.

“Recreationally and for friends is exactly what I’m doing for Rafe’s family.”

“I’ve never created an entire app for a friend.”

“You should try it. It’s satisfying.”

“I suppose,” she said with a nod. “If I knew someone who needed something like that.” She held her hands out toward the fire. “This is nice.”

“It sure takes the edge off when the weather turns,” he agreed. “Thirsty?”

“Sure.”

He rose and tossed a couple of larger sticks of wood on the fire. “I’ve got water and a bottle of wine.”

She smiled and looked around them. “Wine in the wilderness.”

“If you’re up for it.”

“Sounds good.”

He was happy to hear her say that. “Red okay for you? It’s a Pinot Noir, light and crisp.”

“That’s fine by me.”

Leaving Emilia by the fire, Nico dug into his saddlebags for the wine, two clear acrylic, stemless glasses and the charcuterie box.

“It’s picnic style,” he said as he set everything out on the closest table.

“It looks great.” She stepped up to help, peeling back the cover of the plastic box while he popped the cork on the wine.

“I didn’t even realize I was hungry,” she said as they took in the selection of slice meats, cheese, fruit and crackers.

“We have Rafe’s mom to thank.”

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