Letters from Home(3)
Author: Bethanne Strasser

Her mother’s pointed look caused her to blush. “Your father is not for you to worry about.”

“I can’t help it.”

“Take care of yourself first, hija. Besides, your father has many more years in him.”

Lena sighed. “I know. It’s just hard to be away for so long. I feel out of touch. You’re sure he’s okay?”

“Of course, I’m sure! Would I kid around about our health? No.” She shook her finger in Lena’s direction. “And how do you feel, any better?”

Lena nodded as she went for a mug and the freshly brewed coffee. “Much better. I slept like a rock and received a few swift elbows in the back for it when I started to snore.”

Mom laughed. “It’s nice to have you home, mi amor. The house will be filled to the brim again this Christmas.”

Every time she was home, she considered getting her own place—a small, quiet apartment so she could veg out. But, she’d only spend her time driving back and forth then wondering what she was missing if she wasn’t here.

This was home.

Her older brother Michael was the only one to have ventured out. He’d bought a small house on the south side of town. With Lucas and Jaime in college most of the year, that left Maria, Cat, and Juan living at home. The house could still manage the large family, so when the holidays came about, they all piled together or slept on couches and floors.

“Where’s Maria?”

Mom folded the paper twice and left it to go to the fridge. “She’s doing the morning shift at the emergency room this week, with two doubles over the weekend so she can have Christmas off.”

“Oh,” Lena sank into a chair at the table and set her mug down. “She’s working long hours all the time?”

“She keeps her social life going.” Mami took out a carton of eggs and her homemade tortillas. “I’ll make you something to eat.”

Her instinct was to refuse. She didn’t want her mom doting on her. Hunger beat back that reaction. “I’d love to, let me help. Have you eaten?”

Mom shook her head. “I waited.”

Lena took a couple of plates down. Opening the fridge, she found a bag of oranges and pulled two out.

“So,” she started hesitantly as she slid the cutting board out of its little cubby hole, “I can’t seem to find the letter I had in my pocket last night. Have you seen it?”

Her mom stopped scrambling the eggs and raised an eyebrow. “Hmm. I’m sure it will show up. It couldn’t have disappeared.”

Lena shrugged, concentrating on slicing the fruit.

“It’s just a letter, Lena.”

“I know.” She’d already accepted that, and the fact that it might have disappeared forever. “There were so many people here last night. It probably got thrown away during the cleanup. I should have put it in my room instead of leaving it in my pocket.”

“What happens when you meet this man?”

Good question. “I suppose we’ll talk. Maybe I’ll invite him to church with the family.”

“You think this man who writes love letters wants to talk and then go to church with you?”

It did sound a little ridiculous.

But, Christmas was an unbendable rule in the Rodriguez family. If you were in town, you went to Mass. How could this man claim to know her, but not know that she had plans for Christmas morning?

“Hopefully, when you find the one for you, he will do more than talk.”

“Mom!” Lena couldn’t stop the giggle.

Her mom gave words to her hope. Head and heart, two different beasts. No one ever fell head over heels for her. In all her adult life, there had never been romantic gestures, long walks, holding hands, tender kisses in the moonlight…or sunlight, for that matter.

Her boyfriends had been just as happy to pal around, never parting with broken hearts, either. Her determination to get through college and become a doctor had pushed those needs aside, and even shoved her straight into a military career.

She sighed. “Maybe it’ll be love at first sight.”

“God always has a plan for us. Maybe you should consider a nice, quiet single life for the next week. Nothing to be done until you know who has written the letters, anyway, verdad? Now eat, so you can gain some weight.”

Lena dug in. Her mom had a way of making things better just by being around. The letter was a bitter loss, but not finding it certainly wasn’t going to stop her from going to the park in a week.

The old rotary phone shrilled on the wall behind her. Her heart gave an extra squeeze, and the bite she was going to take stopped halfway to her mouth. Maybe her letter writer?

Mom gave her an I-know-what-you’re-thinking look and got up to answer.

Lena took her bite, slowly turning to watch her mom answer the phone.

“Hello.” Her gaze found Lena.

Yes. It was for her. Lena’s palms turned clammy. Who could it be?

“She’s doing quite well this morning. Would you like to speak with her?”

Mami handed out the phone to her. “It’s for you.”

Lena grinned and mouthed, “Who is it?”

Silently, Mom shook the phone and mouthed right back, “Tómalo.”

She stood and took the phone with a shaking hand. “Hello?”

“Hi, Elena. Um, I was wondering…well, how are you?” Phillip. His nervousness came through the line, so sweet and, at the same time, a hair irritating.

“I’m fine. As a matter of fact, I just ate a nice breakfast, and I think I’m ready to go running.”

“Oh. Okay. In that case, I won’t keep you…but, hey, uh, I was wondering, would you like to have dinner?”

She pierced her mom with a look, her words and advice stuck right where she’d left them, on Lena’s conscience—just letters, don’t lead him on. If it wasn’t Phillip—please not Phillip, ugh. “I’m sorry Phillip. I,” she cleared her throat, “I have other plans. And I think it’s better if I just hang out with the family for now. Recuperating and all that. Don’t want to over-do it.”

Excuses. She knew how it sounded, but wanted to be kind, too. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to lead you on, Phillip. I don’t think I’m very good dating material right now.”

Phillip was silent for a moment, and Lena had the urge to clear her throat again. She could have let him down in person. Maybe that would have been better. “I’m sorry—”

“Don’t be. It’s okay. I appreciate your honesty. Maybe another time.”

“Yeah,” she answered, even though it sounded like the empty promise it was. The worst part? If he wrote the letters, she would have to rethink a year’s worth of obsession because when it came right down to it, there was no spark. Love handles notwithstanding, there had to be more passion than irritation. And what did that make her? Shallow? Confused.

All of the above, with the possibility of highly disappointed.

Lena quietly set the phone back on the hook. Her soul felt heavy, and resentment nestled against her heart. Her mom came over and gave her a hug from behind. “I’m sorry, baby.”

Shaking her head, Lena broke away. “I’m going to run.”

Running cleared her head. When she was running, nothing else mattered.

Right now, she needed a little of nothing else matters.

Chapter Four

Zack worked to keep the excitement hemmed in as he stared at his now silent cell phone. A contract with West Coast Security to develop a program for a company out of Sacramento. It would mean some travel time, but most of the work could be done at home.

Zack clapped his hands and rubbed them together. Back in business. He let his grin go and hollered. He liked the idea of working with a team again. This was what he’d needed to get a fire under him.

Glancing up, a movement outside the window above his desk caught his eye. This really was his lucky day. Lena ran down his street in running pants, a sweatshirt, and sneakers. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail and hung down her back, bouncing with each tread.

A run sounded like a great idea.

At the porch, he pulled on his winter hat and scanned the block. Just down the street, she turned the corner into the neighborhood park. He tied his shoes in record time.

The air was cold and invigorating. A deep breath had him smiling as he took to the street. He’d gotten lazy since being home. He’d feel this workout, no doubt.

Zack tried to start slow and warm up to the idea, but every second it took him to reach that corner was a chance he’d lose her altogether. So he picked up the pace, feeling the stretch in the back of his legs as he took the dirt trail into the park. The trail wound its way through the gently sloping terrain, which was covered by trees along the river.

Lena ran ahead of him by twenty yards or so. Each step closed the distance until he finally came up beside her, elbowed her, and grinned. “Hey.”

She stumbled and sucked in a breath. “Sheesh. You scared me.” Quickly re-establishing her pace, she peered from the corner of her eye. Suspicious, as usual.

Zack focused on the trail ahead of them. Soon, they were running in rhythm. Neither trying to out-do the other. He liked that about her. Even when they’d been stationed together, her drive hadn’t come from proving herself or comparing herself to the male majority.

He, on the other hand, enjoyed the slower pace. A perfect match.

They left the park behind and turned down Main Street, heading back toward her family home. He whistled to get her attention, and when she frowned his way, he nodded toward the café. “Coffee?”

She shook her head, her frown becoming a scowl.

“Come on. I’m buying.”

Just when he thought she would blow right by the small shop, Lena rolled her eyes and stopped. “You’re a distraction, Zack Benson.”

The muscles he hadn’t warmed up before running ached with renewed fervor at the unexpected halt. He stretched when she did and walked with her, pacing in front of the store to cool down.

“Ready?” He opened the door and let her in. Didn’t matter that she’d been running, she still smelled great. Maybe that made him weird, but he didn’t care. He took a deep breath as she walked by—florals, a hint of basil, and the sweet scent of woman.

“Mike says you’re out of the Army for good.”

“Six months now.” There were aspects he missed about military life, but the daily grind, no. Deployment had its own set of problems, but he’d have preferred those.

“You got bored, didn’t you?”

“Maybe. But it was really my dad who got the ball rolling.” Zack stepped up and smiled for the lady behind the counter. “We’ll have two coffees, one black and one with two sugars and cream—the heavy kind.”

Lena looked surprised, and that irritated him a little. Why shouldn’t he remember she liked her coffee sweet and light?

“I guess I did get bored. Seems crazy when I think about it like that. It was never a boring job in the grand scope of things. But in the end, I needed to come home.”

“How’s your dad doing now?”

“He’s hanging in there. Still mostly independent, just…can’t keep his head long enough to handle everything.”

Lena lifted a brow. “Can’t keep his head? Is that what the doctors told you?”

Zack laughed. “No.”

After paying with the few dollars from his pocket, he took the coffee and followed Lena to a table in the corner. “Tell me how it was,” he asked, not needing to explain he meant her deployment.

“Long,” she answered with a shrug.

“Such a talker. You should learn to curb some of that exuberance.”

She blushed. “Blah, blah, blah. You know how it is over there. Do we have to talk about it? Let’s talk about something else.”

“You want to go to Quinn’s tonight?” He hadn’t intended on asking her out—not that she’d think of it as a date.

She evaded. “You know what I really want?” She touched his hand, as if she didn’t know she was doing it.

He held his breath.

“A nice long vacation in the Caribbean, drinks with umbrellas in them, and nothing else. No letters, no funny feelings about those letters or the mystery man who wrote them. I’m fed up with thinking about it. I’m finished.” She rested her elbows on the table, and her shoulders relaxed. “Wow. Feels good just saying it.”

She had funny feelings?

“So, you’ve been getting letters?” Zack picked up his napkin and folded it once, then twice. He glanced at Lena, hoping to come off nonchalant.

“Ugh! Don’t even start. I am not going over it again. If I have to hear one more time about how silly it is for me to fall in love with a guy just because he writes beautiful letters, I’m going to leave town. Maria’s the only one who has any sympathy, but the way she keeps sighing and swooning over it makes me feel like an idiot.”

He stared, the coffee forgotten in front of him. His thought process came to a grinding halt. There was even a flutter in that region of his chest, right under his sternum. He cleared his throat, set his coffee down, and opened his mouth to say…what? She fell in love?

“Zack, you’re a guy.”

He’d had a moment. She hadn’t. No problem. He unscrambled his brain. A guy. “Yes,” he answered with some hesitation, then grinned. “Thank you for finally noticing.”

She stopped, gave him a look, and shook her head with a smile. She pulled her coffee mug into her lap as she sat back, relaxed. She tilted her head and studied him with those dark eyes. Dang, those eyes and the mischievous twinkle in them.

He felt a sigh coming on, which pissed him off a little. What was he? Some little old lady? Or worse, like Maria? But that look said everything. Friends. Compatriots. Pals. Like she was about to tell him secrets she would never tell a lover. Which of course, they weren’t…yet.