Jessie, only a year older than him and usually his ally, lifted her chin in his direction before folding her arms over her chest. “Like we’d miss the chance to come say hello.”
“So nice of you,” he said a touch desperately. “And it’s great to see you, but why don’t we just catch up at the house later?”
The nephews still clinging to his legs howled in disappointment, and he dropped a hand on each of their shoulders. “Lots of time to play at Abuelita’s, right?”
“Mom said we could have pumpkin ice cream!” the deceptively angelic-looking Mateo wailed.
Leo crouched to rub his back. “And we can. Why don’t we go do that now, in fact?” Like right now. Anything to move all this overly protective big sister energy away from the general area.
But it was too late. The trio were approaching the table in a mass of swinging hair, shiny earrings, and insincere smiles.
“Um, hi!” Faith’s eyes bounced from one sister to the next. “It’s so good to see all of you again!”
Vanessa tilted her head. “Mm-hmm. Mom said Leo’s new job had him working with Fea, so we had to come see for ourselves.”
“Vani,” Leo said in warning, but none of his sisters paid him any notice.
“What?” Cecilia was all innocence. “It’s been so long since we’d even thought about Fea, and now here she is.”
He glanced at Faith to see if she understood the insult his sisters were throwing at her, but her brow was creased in confusion, not anger. Good. If she knew they were calling her ugly, he shuddered to think how things might escalate.
“Fe”—he hit the Spanish word forfaithhard—“and I are getting students signed up for the program I started.”
“Leo’s been wonderful.” Faith jumped in. “He’s so passionate about outdoor education.”
Vanessa bared her teeth in a grin. “That’s our Leo. So passionate.”
Faith’s mouth snapped shut, but she didn’t turn to him for help or shrink under their sisterly glares. Instead, she lifted her chin and said, “I’ve learned a lot from him about the importance of adding environmental concepts to a curriculum. It’s going to be a life-changer for lots of kids in the area.”
While she’d been effortlessly charming with everyone who’d stopped by their table prior to this, now she was stiff. His sisters would absorb her discomfort and use it to power up their aggressive but well-meaning defense of him.
He had to get them out of there.
“Pumpkin ice cream!” he shouted in desperation. “What do you say, Sammy? Mateo? Carlos?”
The kids whooped and swarmed their mother, begging for treats, and to his vast relief, Vanessa relented. As a group, his sisters turned away from Faith with dismissive hair flips. “Coming?” Jessie called over her shoulder at him.
“Just a sec.” He leaned over the table to peer at Faith. “You good?” he asked in an undertone.
She scrubbed her hands down the side of her jeans. “I’m not sure.” She glanced down and exhaled slowly, and when she looked up, she was smiling. “No, it’s fine. Go take them for ice cream. I’m good.”
“You’re sure?” He wanted to squeeze her shoulder—hell, he wanted to pull her into his arms and squeeze her whole body against his—but he didn’t dare touch her. Not when they had an audience—or ever, come to think of it. Nothing good could come of hugging her.
“Of course.” She waved him off, then did something equal parts stupid and brave. “Nice to see you all again,” she called to his sisters. “I’d love it if your kids want to sign up for Leo’s program!”
He snorted. “You’re a glutton for punishment, aren’t you?”
“Always.” Her eyes danced with laughter, and she gave him a little shove. “Go, before there’s gunplay.”
“Back soon,” he promised, then he hustled away to herd his family to a safe distance.
The concession area was pandemonium with lines snaking around the various food and drink booths. By the time everyone was seated with all the gourd-based food their hearts desired—butternut squash ravioli, gourd curry, pumpkin donuts and ice cream and beer—his wallet was significantly lighter and his patience was at an end.
“Care to tell me what the hell that was all about?” He didn’t want the kids to overhear, but he was too annoyed to put this conversation off any longer.
All three of his sisters turned wide, innocent eyes on him, as if this was just a regular Saturday outing.
“We just wanted to support you at your new job,” Cecilia said.
