She shrugged off a light jacket, draping it over the back of the chair. “Well, I hope I see you again. For dinner next time. I am famous for my arroz con gandules.” Her smile was warm. “You’ll love it.”
“It’s basically ham, yellow rice and pigeon peas,” Rider explained with a grin. “It’s really good.”
I nodded.
“And you’ll see her again.” Rider nudged my shoulder. “Right?”
I nodded once more.
Rider placed his hand on my lower back. “Well, Mallory needs to get going...”
My cheeks burned and irritation rose swiftly, swirling inside me. This time it had a different effect. It forced words out. “It’s nice...to meet you.” My face burned even hotter, because I tripped all over the words, but I spoke them.
Mrs. Luna nodded as she stepped to the side. The front door opened and a second later Jayden came in. A lazy grin tipped up the corners of his lips when he spotted us in the living room. The bruise around his eye had only faded a shade or two, and I wondered what Mrs. Luna had thought when she first saw it.
“Hey, you couldn’t get enough of me? Followin’ me home, now?” Jayden toed off his sneakers, placing them near the door as he smiled at me. “Stayin’ for dinner?”
“Nah, Mallory’s got to get home,” Rider responded.
“Too bad.” Jayden walked toward his grandmother. “Let me get that,” he said, taking her lunch bag from her. “I’m gonna make you dinner tonight.”
Rider raised his brows at that.
“Really?” Mrs. Luna smiled at Jayden. “You’re so good to me,” she said, letting Jayden usher her toward the kitchen. “What would I do without you, mi nene hermoso?”
“You’d be lost without me,” he teased, wrapping an arm around her waist. “Just like Mallory.”
I smiled as Rider guided me outside. Dusk was rapidly fading into night. Streetlamps shone dully on the sidewalk. Rider took ahold of my hand.
“Can I ask something kind of personal?” I asked.
“Sure,” he replied.
“What happened to...Hector and Jayden’s parents?”
“Their father was Mrs. Luna’s son. He died of cancer when they were little.” He squeezed my hand as we passed a tree. “And their mother kind of lost it, I guess. Or maybe she never had it? I don’t know. She’s on drugs pretty bad. Stops by once a year. Last I heard she was living in DC.”
“That’s...sad,” I said, wishing there was more that I could say.
“Yeah,” Rider murmured. We stopped by my car. “You sure you don’t need me to ride back with you?”
I nodded as I stared up at him. My gaze searched his. “Can I...ask you something else?”
Rider grinned. “You can ask me whatever.”
“Are you happy there?”
“There? You mean in Mrs. Luna’s house?” When I nodded, he placed both his hands on my shoulders and then lowered his head so we were eye level. “I’m as happy as I can be. Got a roof over my head and four walls with food on the table. After school, it’s my goal to keep those things.”
“But...but home should be more than that,” I told him. “Life...it should be more than that.”
He brushed his lips across my cheek. “It should be, but it’s not for everyone. You know that.”
Chapter 27
Rosa and Carl sat at the dinner table Wednesday evening in stunned silence as they stared at me. The broccoli I’d forced down my throat started to sprout roots and dig into my stomach.
I tensed as Carl looked at Rosa. Their eyes met, and once again I marveled at how they had the whole silent communication thing down to a science.