“Yes. I’m right outside.”
There was a long awkward pause. Lina considered what to say, but decided now wasn’t a good time to talk in any detail about plans. She ducked her head around the corner and looked in on Brenda. She wasn’t hurting right now, but in an hour or two her mouth would be pretty sore.
“Don’t say anything to her about us yet, okay? Just make sure she takes some Tylenol as her mouth gets feeling but before the pain hits.”
“Will do.”
Lina put her phone away and helped Brenda out to the waiting area.
Dillon walked in, and their eyes locked. He looked extra attractive, freshly shaved, his hair still damp from a shower. He met her sly smile with one of his own.
Lina glanced at the girls at the reception desk. Ashley wasn’t the only one watching. They’d had to rearrange Lina’s schedule to accommodate her staying with Brenda the whole time, and no doubt they were all wondering what the situation meant.
Well, they could keep wondering. Dillon helped his mom to his car, and she waved goodbye. That was it. Absolutely nothing gossip-worthy.
***
Should he have greeted her with a kiss? A hug? Dillon didn’t know what Lina had told her coworkers about them, if anything, so he hadn’t said or done anything that might indicate a relationship. He tried not to even stare at her in her cute pink scrubs.
His mom had been too out of it to notice, thank goodness. She was staring out the window.
“Isn’t she great?” she said after a few minutes, turning to look at him. “I hope you marry her.”
He hoped that was the drugs talking, because Mom would be really disappointed tomorrow when he told her they’d broken up. He had to do it tomorrow. This couldn’t continue. He couldn’t lie to his mom like this anymore, no matter how noble the intentions had been at first.
“Lina and I aren’t serious like that, Mom.”
She chuckled. “Keep telling yourself that. Weddings come in twos. First Kip and now you.”
He knew about Kip’s engagement, but he asked for the details all over again. He thought it would give them something safe to talk about, but Mom was still worked up about the thought of not being at Kip’s wedding.
“Kip needs your support, Mom. But let’s not worry about that right now.”
“I suppose I should let it go. It’s just not like him to want something so private. What about you and Lina? Would the two of you like a big family wedding? Have you met her family yet?”
Dillon blew out a frustrated breath. Somehow he knew she would bring it all back to Lina. “Her mom died when she was nineteen.”
“And her dad?”
“I don’t think he was ever in the picture.” Dillon thought about Lina’s idea of doing a DNA test and the wistful expression on her face as she’d talked about it. Even in theory, it worried him. Some people didn’t want to be found. Although, someone would have to be truly calloused not to want to get to know someone as sweet, giving, and amazing as Lina.
He wasn’t sure how Lina would feel about him talking to his mom about it, so once again he steered the conversation to other things.
When they reached the house, he parked right next to the porch so Mom wouldn’t have far to walk. Rick was home and came out to fuss over her. Dillon relayed the discharge information Lina had given him, and once he was sure Mom was in good hands, he headed out to work on a broken ditch bank.
With harvest winding down, he and Alec turned to the maintenance tasks they’d previously put off.
He checked in on Mom before heading home for the night. She was dancing to Whitney Houston while pushing the vacuum around. She turned the vacuum off when she saw him.
“Don’t look at me like that. I’m fine. It wasn’t like major surgery or anything, honey. But did you want to stay for dinner? We’d love to have you.”
Rick looked up from the book he’d been reading. He had that gift of tuning out noise around him, no matter how chaotic. “Yes. Stay. I bought tamales today. Ready-made and soft enough for the invalid to eat.” He winked at his wife.
Dillon looked down at his dirt-caked pants and boots. He was starving, but also wanted nothing more than to shower, sit on his couch, and do nothing for a while. Fielding the inevitable questions about Lina sounded exhausting.
“I think I’ll head home. But what about lunch tomorrow? I want to talk to you about something.”
Mom smiled. “Sounds great. I’ll make the chicken salad you like. Oh, darn. Rick has that golf swing clinic. Don’t you, hun?”
