Chapter 7
7
“Good morning, Mr.Navarro!”
“Hello, Leo.” Felix approached the front desk and tapped the large “visitor check-in” button on the tablet.
“Visiting or checking out today?”
“Signing in to visit for now,” he replied as he tapped through the screens with practiced ease. “Depends on what Tito is up for.”
“Great!” Leo chirped. “Just give a shout if you two decide to go on an adventure today!”
Felix’s lips quirked up. Apparently, he couldn’t even hear the word “adventure” anymore without thinking of Jo. He supposed it was because he’d spent over an hour the night before listening to stories about her friends and the shenanigans their campaign party had gotten up to.
“I sure will,” he said and hit the “print” button. Leo handed him a visitor’s badge sticker with the date and time, Felix’s name, and “Guest of Manuel Navarro.” No matter how many Sundays in a row Felix came to visit Tito at White Hills, it was always jarring to see his grandfather’s legal name on the visitor’s badge. Even Leo, who used formal address with everyone else, called the old man “Tito.”
Leo waved him on, and Felix affixed the sticker to his T-shirt as he walked the familiar path to the communal lounge in the assisted living area. Tito was sitting in his usual spot in the large, high-ceilinged room: the leftmost seat of a brown suede couch with lush cushions. He held a sudoku book up near his face with his right hand, a pencil in his left. On his lap was the library book Felix had brought him the previous Sunday.
He swore to himself, suddenly realizing he’d forgotten this week’s book.
“Hey, Tito.” He bent down and gave his grandpa a gentle double tap on the side of his knee. “?Cómo andas?”
“’Ey, hijo,” Tito replied with a toothy, yellowed grin. Tito had given up smoking over two decades ago, when Felix was in middle school, but his teeth never fully recovered. He stuck his pencil in the sudoku book as a bookmark and set it on the end table beside him. “Thought you forgot about me today.”
“Never, Tito. I’m sorry I’m late.” Felix kicked back in a matching armchair beside the couch, slouching almost to the point of reclining. He folded his hands and dropped them onto his stomach.
“Busy Saturday night, eh? Out late with your girl?” Tito’s grin grew even wider under his heavy mustache.
Felix’s own facial hair was thick, but he had nothing on Tito. That ’stache was dense as a push broom and black as ink. Unlike Felix’s stubble, which started coming in gray a couple of years ago, Tito’s mustache was as dark as it had been when the man was twenty; Felix had seen his grandparents’ wedding photos to prove it. And despite turning ninety a few months back, Tito still had a full head of wavy salt-and-pepper hair. His skin tone was several shades darker than Felix’s, a combination of genetics and decades of working outdoors as a cattle rancher. But they had the same oval face, the same long nose and chin, the same dark brown irises. Felix was even starting to see the same laughter lines around his eyes that Tito had.
“I keep telling you I don’t have a girl,” Felix said with a soft laugh. “I got a drink with a friend last night and time got away from us, that’s all.” As if to emphasize his point, a yawn crawled its way out of his mouth. He covered it with the back of his hand.
“This is why you forgot my book then, eh?”
Felix winced. “I’m sorry. I had a busy day at work yesterday and didn’t have time to check your holds. I’ll drop it off at lunch tomorrow so you have something to read this week. And I can return that one for you.”
He felt bad for the white lie, but the way Tito harped on him about finding someone and settling down, he wasn’t about to tell him the truth—that the idea of going to Stan’s with Jo had distracted him so badly he’d completely forgotten to pick up Tito’s reserved book at the end of the day. Tito handed over his current book, a thriller called By Dark of Night. Felix flipped the cover open to skim the description on the inside flap.
“You wouldn’t like it,” Tito said. “Too exciting.”
“Only the most boring books for me, huh?”
“That’s my boy.”
Felix closed the book and wedged it between his thigh and the arm of the chair. “What are we doing today, Tito? Brunch? Walk in the park? Or you want to stay here and get your ass handed to you in backgammon?”
“You cheated last time.”
“Slander!”
Tito grabbed the sudoku book and smacked Felix on the arm with it, which hurt more than it should from the pencil sticking out the top. Felix let out an indignant cry, and Tito gave him a smug look before dissolving into laughter.
And then Felix heard another laugh. Sharp, staccato, and loud enough to carry from somewhere out of sight. Felix sat up, ramrod straight. “Jo?” He got to his feet almost without thinking, driven toward the sound of her.
“Felix? Where are you going?”
“Un momento, Tito.” Felix crossed the room and went through the rear doorway that led to the private residences. A hallway ran parallel to the back wall of the lounge. Felix peered left and right, looking past a few people going about their days. He didn’t see Jo.
Had he imagined it? Had she become so entrenched in his mind that he was hearing her laugh out of thin air? What would she even be doing here anyway? She was supposed to be at—
Fuck, he was an idiot sometimes. Jo was supposed to be at work. As a nurse. He had made a completely unfounded assumption that she worked at Ashville Hospital, but it was just as likely that she worked right here at White Hills.
But then… where was she?
He stood in the hallway for an awkward moment. He couldn’t wander around aimlessly with Tito waiting for him, and calling out for Jo was undoubtedly a terrible idea. Yelling for a nurse could put the whole place on alert. He was about to give up and go back to the lounge when he heard her laugh again.
To his right.
He whipped his head toward the sound. A few feet away was a corner where another hallway seemed to branch off. His feet began to move, and it took all his willpower not to break into a full sprint. He turned the corner—and had to draw himself up short. He wasn’t in a hallway at all but a small alcove ending in an open door. Felix had nearly walked straight into a supply closet.
At the sound of stumbling footsteps and a hand slapping against the doorframe, Jo spun, arms out, ready to catch a falling resident. But the person stopping short in the doorway wasn’t a resident.
“Jo.”
“Sir, do you need assistance?” Jo’s co-worker Sharon asked with urgency. “Is there a medical emergency?”
“No, I’m sorry,” said Felix.
He didn’t take his eyes off her, and Jo stood frozen, like an actual goddamn deer in headlights. Something in the back of her mind registered that his stubble was shorter than she’d ever seen it, shaved down to the skin but still thick and dark enough to cast a shadow over his warm olive skin. She’d never seen him in the morning before.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded. Or, rather—tried to demand. It came out more like a breathy whisper. She blamed his heather-gray T-shirt and its obnoxious ability to show off his arms. The sleeves were skin-tight around his biceps, for Christ’s sake. She could not be held responsible for the tone of her voice under such conditions.
“Jo, is there a problem?” Sharon asked, looking between the two of them warily. Felix’s broad, tall body filled the doorway, effectively trapping the two nurses in the closet. And Jo’s stunned expression certainly couldn’t be helping Sharon feel at ease.
“I don’t know yet?” Jo said. Distractingly sexy arms aside, she still had no idea how Felix had found her at work.
“I heard you laugh.” Felix pointed his thumb behind him, almost in a daze. “From the lounge. I’m visiting Tito.”
Jo’s shock transformed into delighted surprise. She noticed the name badge now, read the name “Manuel Navarro” under Felix’s. “Your grandpa lives here?”
Felix nodded.
“Jo…?” Sharon said, drawing out the syllable.
“Sorry, Sharon, it’s all good. This is my friend Felix.” Jo put a hand on Felix’s upper arm, hoping the friendly touch would reassure Sharon that all was well. And for no other reason at all. “For a second there I thought he was stalking me. I told him I was working an extra shift today, but not where I work.”
Felix flinched back, leaving Jo’s hand hovering in midair. “You thought that?”
“I-I mean,” she stammered, “no, not really, but it entered my mind—briefly!—when you showed up in the supply closet at my job out of fucking nowhere.”
“Language,” Sharon warned. “May I get by, please, sir?”
With a mumbled apology, Felix moved aside to let Sharon out with a tray of supplies. Leaving Jo and Felix alone. In a closet. A big, walk-in closet, but still a closet.
“I’m sorry I scared you,” Felix said quietly. “I heard you laugh.”
“So you said.”
“I wanted to say hi.”
The sweet innocence with which he said it nearly melted Jo’s heart. She gave him a soft smile. “Hi.”
A matching grin came over his face. “Hi.”
And then it was as if an enchantment spell broke. Felix’s face fell, and he shoved his hand into his hair, gripping it in his fist, completely mortified. “Oh, God, Jo, I’m so sorry. You’re at work. I was not thinking at all. I’ll get out of your way. I’ll see you later.”
“Can I meet him?” she asked before he could run away. “Tito?”
Felix unclenched his hair and smoothed it out, taking a moment to respond. “Of course. If you’re not too busy.”
She shrugged. “Not really. I’m usually over in skilled nursing, not assisted living. My boss suggested I shadow the other team to see how they work. Sometimes we have to float back and forth if we’re short-staffed. I can’t take too long, but I’ll catch up with Sharon in a bit.”
She locked the door behind them and fell into step alongside him. Nudging his arm with her elbow, she stretched her neck up to whisper, “Question. I thought his name was Tito, but your badge says Manuel?”
Felix tilted sideways to whisper back. “That’s more a statement than a question.”
“Okay, um… what gives?”
“Manuel is his given name,” he explained with a laugh. “Tito actually comes from ‘uncle,’ but it’s been his nickname forever, long before I was born. I picked it up as a kid, and it stuck.”
As they approached a man seated on a brown sofa, he called out to them, “You’re bringing me a nurse now, hijo? Am I sick?”
“Hush, Tito,” Felix said. “I’d like you to meet my friend Jo. I just found out she works here, and she wanted to say hello.”
“Hello, Mr. Navarro,” Jo said, extending her hand. “It’s lovely to meet you.”
Tito narrowed his eyes, regarding her hand with suspicion. “You’re friends with my Felix?”
“Yes, sir,” she said. “Felix speaks very highly of you.”
“Then how come he didn’t tell you to call me Tito, eh?” He pitched forward on the couch and jabbed Felix in the ribs with his index finger, completely ignoring Jo’s outstretched hand.
Felix squawked and dodged the blow a split second too late. As Tito cackled, Felix rubbed the flat of his hand over his side and said something playful in Spanish. Jo did her best not to notice the way that tight T-shirt shifted along his abs.
“Tito it is, then,” she said as she smiled and lowered her hand. “How long have you lived here with us?”
Tito’s brows flickered together briefly. “Almost a year now. Since mi vida, my wife, passed.”
Jo’s cheeks heated. Felix had said something about his grandmother dying last year, and she couldn’t believe she’d accidentally brought it up five seconds after meeting Tito. She pressed her lips together and sank down on the couch next to him, perched on the edge to avoid being too familiar. She was still a nurse meeting a resident, after all.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “Felix mentioned your wife last night. What was her name?”
Instead of answering, Tito slowly turned his head and raised an eyebrow at Felix. Felix ran his hand through his hair and sighed like a put-upon parent dealing with a stubborn toddler.
Jo felt like she was missing an inside joke. “Did I say something wrong?”
“Not at all, Jo,” Felix said, sitting in the armchair next to Tito. He crossed his ankle over his knee and gave his grandpa an exasperated look. “Are you going to answer her, or should I?”
“María Isabel Acosta Garrido,” Tito said, going dreamy-eyed and placing his hand over his heart. “Mi vida y mi corazón.”
“‘My life and my heart,’” Felix translated. “Maribel to her friends. Lita to me. From abuelita.”
Jo knew that one. “Grandma,” she said wistfully. “You both must miss her terribly. I’m sorry for your loss.”
Tito nodded with a sad smile. Then he suddenly clapped his hands together. “So, Jo, how did you meet my Felix?”
She stole a quick glimpse at Felix, who was watching her with lifted eyebrows. “At the library,” she said. “I’m volunteering with him to put on an event next month.”
Tito returned his attention to Felix. “How come you haven’t invited me to this event?”
“You wouldn’t like it. Too boring.”
Jo’s stomach flip-flopped. “You think it’s boring?”
Felix’s eyes went wide. “No! That was—I was referring to something Tito said earlier.” He reached toward his hip and pulled out a large, hardcover book with a dark cityscape and yellow text on the cover.
Jo wasn’t sure how a book was supposed to explain things, exactly, but she had clearly misread something. Tito rattled off a sentence in Spanish, and Felix looked chagrined.
“Don’t listen to my boy, Jo.” Tito patted the back of her hand. “Will you invite me to this event at least?”
“If you’ll do me the honor, Tito, it’s a date,” she said.
Tito shook his head and clucked his tongue. “This Navarro is too old for you, solete. I’ll come as your friend so you can bring a real date.”
Tito inclined his head toward Felix, and Jo’s entire face burned.
“Tito,” Felix said sharply. The blush Jo felt was mirrored on his cheeks. Tito spread his hands and looked between the two of them with a wide-eyed innocence that fooled no one.
“Come to think of it,” she said quickly. “I’ll probably be too busy at the event to bring a date at all. Better we all go as friends.”
“If you say so,” Tito replied with a shrug and a knowing look in his eye.
Before the awkwardness could fully set in, Jo pushed herself onto her feet. Felix stood up too. “I should get back to work, but, Tito, it was so nice to meet you.”
“Encantado, solete,” he said with a wide grin that made him look even more like Felix.
“Thanks for saying hello.” Felix tucked his hands into the back pockets of his jeans, not quite meeting her eye. “I guess I’ll see you on Friday.”
Shit, were things going to be weird between them now? Thanks, Tito. Sure, Jo liked Felix, and he was the kindest, most gorgeous man she’d ever met, but he had only ever treated her like a friend and colleague. Clearly, he was embarrassed by the idea of them dating. She needed to fix this, to make things normal again. If the next time they saw each other was Friday, alone in the library after hours, with Tito’s suggestion hanging over them…
“Have Leo page me before you leave,” she said. “I’ll come say goodbye.”
Felix blinked slowly and, when his eyes opened, he was looking directly at her with such obvious relief it threatened to overwhelm her. “I will.”
Felix waited until Jo was out of sight, then gave it a few more seconds to make sure she was well out of earshot. He rounded on Tito and put his hands on his hips. “What the hell was that?”
“I could ask you the same thing,” Tito replied, grinning and giddy. “This is the friend you had a drink and stayed out too late with? Do you not have eyes, hijo?”
Felix quickly glanced around and switched to Spanish. “I’m not doing this; I’m not talking about her here. This is your home, but it’s her workplace. I’m not going to risk anyone overhearing us. Not even in Spanish.”
Tito leaned back against the couch. The humor left his face, and he pointed to the armchair. Felix obeyed the unspoken directive and sat.
“You’re a good man, Felix,” Tito said in Spanish. “You’re respectful, and I’m proud of that. I won’t ask you to talk about her here. But you want to talk about her, don’t you?”
Yes.
The word rang, clear as a bell, through Felix’s mind before he quite realized he was thinking it. Despite living in Ashville for almost a year, he didn’t really have friends in town. Like hell he could talk to Peggy about Jo. Even Peggy “Anything for a Volunteer!” Shelton would look askance at Felix for having a crush on his volunteer after less than two weeks. Because that’s what this was. A crush. A big one. He couldn’t deny it anymore, not after his compulsion to find her when he’d heard her laugh and his relief that she still wanted to see him after Tito had embarrassed them both.
Felix had it bad.
And thus far his only outlets had been beating the shit out of his punching bag or stroking his dick while trying not to imagine how round, how soft Jo’s hips must feel.
“I haven’t had breakfast.” He stood and put out his hands to help Tito up. “Come on. I’m taking you to the Old Bell.”
“I’m getting waffles.”