and he poured her a cup.
“This is really a weight off my shoulders,” she told him. “There is just no way to have a couple of kids living above the bar. I was sitting up there in the bedroom with them last night. Even with the windows all shut and the air-conditioning unit turned up, the music was blaring in at a half-jillion decibels.”
“Yeah,” Cam agreed. “Kids need a home in a neighborhood. That’s really ideal. But just having someone who cares about them, that’s an awful lot.”
Mike showed up at the bar about an hour after the call. He was driving Bridge’s very distinctive Prius. Her daughter had purchased the hybrid vehicle in a pale minty color and then artfully painted it with swatches of darker green that made it look like camouflage. There was not another car like it in town. With the GO ARMY sticker on the bumper, it said a lot about her daughter.
The minute Mike opened the driver’s door, both kids were running into his arms.
Miguel Lujan was tall, dark and handsome. With his easy smile, charming manners and Hollywood good looks, Red understood completely how a lot of women could fall head over heels for him. But she’d been surprised when her daughter had. Bridge had always been far more sensible about men than any ordinary female.
Red didn’t know if Mike had broken her daughter’s heart. Bridge never confided anything and Red was loath to believe rumors. But they’d divorced the year that Daniel was born. Red was fairly sure that neither of the children had any memory of when Mom and Dad actually lived together.
Mike grasped each child in a muscled arm and lifted them both off the ground.
“Wait a minute,” he told them, feigning astonishment. “You can’t be my kids. My kids are little baby kids. You guys are way too grown-up.”
“We’re your kids, all right,” Daniel told him. “You look exactly like I always remembered you.”
“You don’t think I’ve grown up at all?” Mike asked him.
Daniel giggled. So did Olivia.
“Let’s go,” Daniel said. “Let’s go see Abuela and the dolphins at Sea World and the train at Brackenridge Park and—”
“Whoa, we can’t do all of that at once,” Mike said.
He glanced over at Red.
“Hey, mama-in-law,” he said, offering a wave as a greeting. “You’re looking mighty hot to be somebody’s grandma.”
Olivia caught sight of the glance and frowned, apparently unwilling to share her dad’s attention.
“Let’s go! Let’s go!”
“Come on, Livy, we have to be polite,” he answered, dragging both kids closer. “It’s good to see you, Red. You been doing all right?”
“Just fine,” Red answered.
Mike managed to free one arm and held it out to Cam, who stood slightly behind her. He grasped it and they exchanged names.
“Are you the bartender? What happened to Karl?”
“Karl’s still here,” Red answered.
“I’m not the bartender,” Cam offered as explanation. “I’m the boyfriend.”
Mike’s eyebrows went up and he looked at Red as if she’d lost her mind.
She returned his glance with one of her own that clearly conveyed the advice that he should mind his own business.
“I guess I better get out of here before I say something I shouldn’t,” he suggested.
Red waved him off. “Yeah, go on. Get caught up with your kids. We’ll talk later.”
She waved at them as they drove away. As she turned back toward her apartment, a strange feeling came over her. The relaxing, uncluttered day that she’d longed for now lay before her as an emptiness. Cam had an afternoon commitment to play at Barton Springs, so Red puttered around her place, doing laundry, straightening the apartment.
Around three o’clock she heard a knock on the back gate. Red was concerned, thinking it was Mike and the kids back already, but was more surprised to find Mrs. Ramirez, from the restaurant on Jones Street.
She was a very tiny woman in her mid-fifties. Her dark hair was liberally streaked with gray and cut
“This is really a weight off my shoulders,” she told him. “There is just no way to have a couple of kids living above the bar. I was sitting up there in the bedroom with them last night. Even with the windows all shut and the air-conditioning unit turned up, the music was blaring in at a half-jillion decibels.”
“Yeah,” Cam agreed. “Kids need a home in a neighborhood. That’s really ideal. But just having someone who cares about them, that’s an awful lot.”
Mike showed up at the bar about an hour after the call. He was driving Bridge’s very distinctive Prius. Her daughter had purchased the hybrid vehicle in a pale minty color and then artfully painted it with swatches of darker green that made it look like camouflage. There was not another car like it in town. With the GO ARMY sticker on the bumper, it said a lot about her daughter.
The minute Mike opened the driver’s door, both kids were running into his arms.
Miguel Lujan was tall, dark and handsome. With his easy smile, charming manners and Hollywood good looks, Red understood completely how a lot of women could fall head over heels for him. But she’d been surprised when her daughter had. Bridge had always been far more sensible about men than any ordinary female.
Red didn’t know if Mike had broken her daughter’s heart. Bridge never confided anything and Red was loath to believe rumors. But they’d divorced the year that Daniel was born. Red was fairly sure that neither of the children had any memory of when Mom and Dad actually lived together.
Mike grasped each child in a muscled arm and lifted them both off the ground.
“Wait a minute,” he told them, feigning astonishment. “You can’t be my kids. My kids are little baby kids. You guys are way too grown-up.”
“We’re your kids, all right,” Daniel told him. “You look exactly like I always remembered you.”
“You don’t think I’ve grown up at all?” Mike asked him.
Daniel giggled. So did Olivia.
“Let’s go,” Daniel said. “Let’s go see Abuela and the dolphins at Sea World and the train at Brackenridge Park and—”
“Whoa, we can’t do all of that at once,” Mike said.
He glanced over at Red.
“Hey, mama-in-law,” he said, offering a wave as a greeting. “You’re looking mighty hot to be somebody’s grandma.”
Olivia caught sight of the glance and frowned, apparently unwilling to share her dad’s attention.
“Let’s go! Let’s go!”
“Come on, Livy, we have to be polite,” he answered, dragging both kids closer. “It’s good to see you, Red. You been doing all right?”
“Just fine,” Red answered.
Mike managed to free one arm and held it out to Cam, who stood slightly behind her. He grasped it and they exchanged names.
“Are you the bartender? What happened to Karl?”
“Karl’s still here,” Red answered.
“I’m not the bartender,” Cam offered as explanation. “I’m the boyfriend.”
Mike’s eyebrows went up and he looked at Red as if she’d lost her mind.
She returned his glance with one of her own that clearly conveyed the advice that he should mind his own business.
“I guess I better get out of here before I say something I shouldn’t,” he suggested.
Red waved him off. “Yeah, go on. Get caught up with your kids. We’ll talk later.”
She waved at them as they drove away. As she turned back toward her apartment, a strange feeling came over her. The relaxing, uncluttered day that she’d longed for now lay before her as an emptiness. Cam had an afternoon commitment to play at Barton Springs, so Red puttered around her place, doing laundry, straightening the apartment.
Around three o’clock she heard a knock on the back gate. Red was concerned, thinking it was Mike and the kids back already, but was more surprised to find Mrs. Ramirez, from the restaurant on Jones Street.
She was a very tiny woman in her mid-fifties. Her dark hair was liberally streaked with gray and cut
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