Taco-Truck Tryst (Quinn Valley Ranch Book 1) Read online

  “Why do those two names always confuse me? She’s even in my phone as Hannah!”

  Renae looked at her. “Because you are nutsoid?”

  “Maybe.” Roxane picked up her phone and called Rachel. “Hey, you. Dad’s going to have to take it easy for a while. How would you feel about taking over as the assistant general manager of the hotel? You’d have to work directly with Dad, but it’s a good position to be in.”

  Rachel sounded surprised. “You don’t want the job? I’d think you’d get it over me.”

  “Oh, probably, but I’m doing what I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve been waiting for this job for years, and I’m not willing to give it up yet.”

  “Then I absolutely want it. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. You’ll be interim manager until Dad gets back to work, but after that, you’ll be his assistant. He’s going to need one.”

  “If you promise to help me until he’s back. I don’t know what to do.”

  “Oh, no problem. I do. He had me do it a few times when he wanted a vacation. We’ll talk Monday morning, first thing.”

  “Thank you for thinking of me, Roxane.”

  “I couldn’t think of anyone else who would do the work half as well. See you then.” Roxane ended the call and looked at her mother. “It’s all settled. I don’t know who we’re going to get to babysit Dad until he’s allowed to work again, but work is covered.”

  “Oh, your grandmother will do it with no problem. In fact, I’m going to call her now. You let others know what the doctor said.” Her mother picked up the phone and made a call.

  Roxane called Ciran right away, noting that they were all breathing easier, and the atmosphere in the waiting room had completely changed when they got the results. “Hey, you. He had a blockage, so they put in a stent. He’ll be out of the hospital tomorrow.”

  “Well, that’s easy! How long before he can work?”

  “A week or two. He’ll have to have an assistant, which he won’t like at all, but it’ll all be just fine.” She let out a huge breath and sank into a chair. She felt so much better now that she knew her father would be fine.

  “Sounds wonderful. I appreciate you letting me know.”

  “I knew you were waiting. Thanks, Ciran . . . for everything.”

  Roxane waited as her mother and sisters were off their calls. “I’m hungry!” she announced. “I’m going to the cafeteria.”

  Her mother smiled at her. “Bring me something.”

  “If you don’t want to go, we’ll all wait with you.” Roxane didn’t think her mother should be left alone just then.

  “No, you go. I’m fine. I’d like the time to talk to your father alone while you’re gone.”

  Roxane smiled, finally understanding. Her mother shouldn’t have had to draw her a picture. “All right. We’ll be back soon.”

  As the three of them went down in the elevator, Roxie grabbed her sister’s hands. “He’s going to be okay.” She was glad they were alone in the elevator.

  “I was so worried,” Raina whispered.

  “We all were,” Renae said. “It’s part of loving someone.”

  They all had puffy eyes when they got back upstairs to their father’s room, but Roxane could see her mother did, too. They’d all needed a good cry—good news or bad, the emotion had to be released. Roxane gave her mother a turkey plate, complete with dressing and mashed potatoes.

  “Thanks,” her mom said.

  “Has Dad been awake yet?” Roxane asked, looking at how pale her father was, but not letting herself worry about it. He was going to be okay. The doctor had said.

  “Just for long enough to make sure I was here, and then he went right back to sleep.”

  “I’m so glad he’s going to be all right.” Roxane didn’t wait for an answer as she walked back to sit down on the other side of the room. Her phone rang then, and she answered on the first ring. “Hello?”

  “How’s Dad?” Riley sounded worried.

  “He’s fine. They found a blockage, but they put in a stent. He gets to go home tomorrow, and he should be able to work in a couple of weeks.”

  “Really?” Riley sounded like she had been crying as well.

  “Really. He’s just fine!”

  “I’m staying there tonight,” Riley announced. “It almost killed me to be here even though I knew it would be what Dad wanted.”

  “We handled it.”

  “See you soon.” Riley hung up then, and Roxane just sat with her face in her hands for a moment. She was so relieved she wanted to sing and dance, but she knew no one would appreciate that at all.

  When Riley and Ciran showed up at the end of the day, he had a variety of tacos and more sopapillas for them. Her father continued to glare at Ciran, and she just didn’t care. Her father wasn’t the one who would be spending time with him. She was.

  She went for a walk with him to the waiting room again and told him just how relieved she was. “I was so worried, and Mom was beside herself. It’s almost a letdown after all we went through that he’s doing so well.”

  He laughed softly. “I think I understand what you’re saying. You get into this heightened state of mental awareness, and you’re waiting for the worst, and when it doesn’t come, it doesn’t feel right, though you know it is right.”

  “Yes, exactly. Thank you for explaining my feelings to me so clearly, Ciran.”

  He grinned at her, leaning forward to kiss her nose. “Someone owes me a day on a four-wheeler in the mountains.”

  “Soon. I need to spend some time with family, but soon, we’ll make it happen.”

  “Am I still invited for the Fourth of July?”

  “Of course you are! I couldn’t take anyone else.”

  Chapter Nine

  The next week flew by with Roxane being completely distracted. She was doing her own job and training Rachel—or was it Hannah?—how to be manager of the hotel. Her time with Ciran was a lot shorter than it had been, but that was all right. They would make up for it with long talks when she did finally get home in the evenings.

  He delivered her tacos to her office every day and sat down on Wednesday with her and Mrs. Sanchez, while the three of them tasted queso, empanadas, and enchiladas. When her mom came back to work, sopapillas were included for her every day.

  Finally—the following Wednesday—was the Fourth of July. Ciran picked her up in the taco truck. “I know this is an odd vehicle to drive you out to the family ranch, but . . . I have all the tacos and sopapilla mixture in the back. This is my way of bringing a covered dish.”

  She laughed, flinging her arms around him with a giggle. “I’ve missed you!”

  “I’ve missed you, too. How’s your dad doing?”

  “Really well. He’s not liking his new low sodium diet, and he’ll be grumpy with you for bringing sodium-filled food, but other than that, he’s fine. He’ll be back at work on Monday.”

  “Does he know you hired what’s-her-face as his assistant yet?” Ciran asked as he opened the passenger door of the truck for her.

  “What’s-her-face? Her name is Hannah . . . or Rachel. You might wanna stick with what’s-her-face when I think about it.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know how you can confuse those two names, but now I have no idea what her real name is. You’re messing with my head, too.” He started the truck and carefully backed it out of her driveway. “I’m still getting used to backing this thing up.”

  “You could have parked on the street. I’ve walked that far before.” Roxane had never taken a date to a family outing, and she knew it was going to be odd.

  “Are you nervous?” he asked softly.

  “I am a little. My family is weird about gatherings like this. None of us ever bring a date, though my grandmother told me to this time. I’m not sure why.”

  “Maybe she and my grandma talked. They’re friends, so they’d both know that we were dating.”

  Roxane frowned. “I don’t think we were dating y
et when she told me that. I called her and asked if she knew who was renovating the spot next to the hotel parking lot. . . . How’s that working out for you? Are you getting lots of business there?”

  “I had to close up early because I ran out of tacos yesterday. Do you believe? I made double what I thought I’d need, and I still ran out.” He sighed happily as he turned the corner onto her grandmother’s road. “I can’t believe my dream is actually coming true.”

  “I can,” Roxane grinned at Ciran, reaching out and covering his hand with hers. “You’ve worked toward this for years. This is what you were meant to do, so you should do it.”

  “It makes me happy,” he said softly. “Selling tacos and spending time with the woman I care about. What more could a man ask for in life?”

  For a moment she thought he’d been about to call her the woman he loved. She was surprisingly let down when he didn’t. “If my dad starts something today, don’t engage. I’m worried he’s going to have a heart attack if he gets too riled up.”

  “Did the doctor say that was possible?” Ciran asked softly.

  “Not at all. It doesn’t make me worry any less. I know he’s already concerned about Rachel running the hotel today without me there to lean on. That hotel is his baby as much as I am, and he’s going to feel very out of control today.”

  “Your dad is a good man. I just wish he could get through his head that you’re a good fit for me.”

  “I wish he could, too. And more importantly—that you’re a good fit for me.” She shrugged. “He’ll figure it out soon enough, I hope. He just might need to be nudged in the right direction once or twice.”

  He parked on the street in front of the house. “Do you want to help me carry tacos?”

  “Yes, please.” She went to the back and helped him with the first Styrofoam cooler. She had no idea what he’d brought, but he knew everyone would love something.

  “That one has something that says Robert on it. I made some low sodium tacos for your dad.”

  Roxane stopped walking, set down the cooler, and walked back to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. She planted a big kiss right smack on his lips and said, “And people wonder why I love you. It’s things like this, Ciran Benedict. You do things for people, whether they’re kind to you or not!” Without waiting for a response, she walked back to her cooler, picked it up, and carried it into her grandparents’ backyard, where her cousins, aunts, uncles, sisters, and parents were all milling about and having a good time.

  She carried the cooler to a picnic table where her dad was sitting quietly with her grandparents. She opened the cooler and dug through for the package that said Robert. “Ciran made these low sodium for you,” she said softly, waiting for his reaction.

  Her dad looked down at the foil packet and frowned. “Why?”

  “Because he’s a good man.” As far as Roxane was concerned that was reason enough. She looked back into the cooler and found a small packet with her mother’s name on them, and she handed that one to her. And so on. Not everyone had their own packet of stuff, but several people did, and she found that the last one had her name on it.

  She sat down at the table with her parents and grandparents, opened her foil packet, and started eating. She could feel Ciran’s eyes on her as she ate with them, but it was a good ten minutes before he joined her. She had no idea what he was thinking after her confession of a moment ago, but whatever it was, they’d discuss it later. There was no time with the whole family right there.

  The family tended to spend lunch grouped together in each of their immediate family groups. The oldest of her father’s siblings was Harvey Quinn, who sat with his wife, Charity. She had a jar of honey in front of her that made Roxane drool just looking at it. Her aunt’s family made the best honey in all of the valley . . . all of Idaho in her opinion. She loved it when honey was passed out.

  Their kids, Rhodes, Betsy, Georgia, Jessica, and Camille, helped their parents run the ranch—the ancestral ranch where all of her aunts and uncles had been raised. They were gathered there eating together. Some of them were eating the traditional hot dogs and hamburgers that were part of the Independence Day celebration, but most had at least one taco in front of them. They were all looking over their shoulders and seeing Ciran there with her. In a way, Roxane wanted to hide from them, but more than that, she wanted to walk around, holding onto his arm. She wasn’t ashamed of her relationship with Ciran. They belonged together, and she didn’t care who knew it.

  Her aunt Libby and uncle Randall were sitting at another table with their children. They were the McIvers of McIvers Mountain, and Uncle Randall had retired from the army and from car sales. Three of their five kids were with them. Conspicuously missing were Andrew, who worked as an engineer at River’s End Ranch, and Heather. When Robert—Roxane’s father—had first purchased the hotel, he’d tried to recruit Andrew, but he hadn’t been willing to make him the chief engineer, so Andrew had remained at River’s End Ranch. Andrew’s sister, Heather, worked as the librarian at Riston Elementary, and she had her two kids there with her. They never seemed to want to associate with the rest of the Quinns. Their younger sister, Katie, made soap and sold it around town. She was the supplier of the soap for the hotel, and it was a good arrangement for all of them. Their sister Alyssa was there as well. She was the town doula. And then Dusty—the town chiropractor—sat with his twin Alyssa, her five-year-old son playing around them.

  At the next table, their aunt Marcia sat with her children. Her husband had died several years before. Marcia had owned the pub in town, and she still did a lot to run it even though she claimed to be retired. Ryder, her oldest son, was co-owner and the manager of the pub. Carter, her second, ran Quinn Organics, a provider of organic produce and beef. David owned a restaurant food supply business, and worked closely with his siblings through his business. Maggie was a bartender who co-owned the restaurant with Ryder, and Ivy was a server, hoping to be a singer. Someday. Roxane sure understood the feeling of having unfulfilled dreams.

  At the next table were the aunt and uncle Roxane considered the most boring people in the entire family—Uncle Harold and Aunt Irene. They were both accountants. They had hoped their children would go into accounting, walking in their footsteps, but not one of their children had chosen that career. Their eldest daughter, Brooke, was a general practitioner. Roxane liked to think of her as Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, but that was because she was a dork and had always loved the show. Her cousin Joel was a veterinarian, and he had taken good care of Calico when she’d found him half-frozen. Their daughter, Robyn, was the town mid-wife and extremely close to their cousin Alyssa. Travis was the town physical therapist, and Vicki was the nurse who worked with her sister.

  There were very few things they needed to go outside the family for, and Roxane sat quietly thinking how lucky she was to have all of them. If only Bobling were there.

  When she’d finished eating her tacos, she went to her Aunt Charity. “May I have just a little of your honey, Aunt Charity?”

  Her aunt nodded, looking at her with a bit of concern in her eyes. “I haven’t lost my mind. I promise!” Roxane took the honey and added it to her sopapilla, trying to demonstrate to the rest of the family how to eat the treat. She knew most of them wouldn’t have seen them before. After she’d eaten hers, she hurried back to the table, watching as her sisters and grandparents reached for their sopapillas as well.

  “They’re delicious as always,” she whispered to Ciran, who squeezed her hand under the table. She knew it was odd, but she felt more nervous around him now that she’d told him she loved him. She had no idea what he would say.

  As the afternoon wore on, the different families started to blend together more. Roxane’s cousin, Brooke, came over to check on Robert. “How are you feeling, Uncle Robert?”

  He shrugged. “Like no one will let me live my life.” His voice was grumpy, but he had more color in his cheeks than Roxane had seen in years.

  “They�
�re taking care of you.” Brooke inspected him from head to toe. “I want you to see me before you head back to work. How’s Friday? Call and make an appointment.” With that, she walked away, leaving Robert sputtering after her.

  Roxane stifled a giggle as she watched her cousin hurry away. She knew Brooke well enough to know she’d done that on purpose . . . issuing orders and hurrying away was the best way to get Robert into her office.

  “Who got the fireworks this year, Grandma?” Roxane asked softly. Every year it was a different family’s turn, and some were better at picking out their annual firework show than others.

  “I don’t know,” Grandma said. She’d been frowning at Robert for the entire meal. “They’re over behind the house.”

  Roxane went over and looked at the pile of fireworks, frowning. “No one got any spinny ones. I love the spinny ones! And there are no kegs. Someone needs to get kegs.” She shook her head, looking over at Ciran. “Who wants to drive me to the closest fireworks stand? I need to shop.”

  “I will.” Ciran got to his feet, excited they’d finally have some time together. She’d told him she loved him and then just walked away. How was he supposed to respond to something that big if she didn’t give him a chance?

  “Sounds good.” Roxane grabbed her purse and hurried over, taking Ciran’s hand. “I appreciate you driving me.”

  “No problem.” He waited until they were both in the truck getting ready to drive away before he mentioned what was on his mind. “Did you mean it when you said you loved me?”

  “I did. I don’t say things I don’t mean.”

  “And you love me because I thought to make special tacos for your father?” He drove down the quiet country road, waiting for her to direct him.

  “It’s one of the many reasons I love you. I’ve loved you since we were in junior high. I will probably always love you. I just thought you should know.”

  When he sat quietly, not seeming to know what to say, she stared out the window. If he didn’t feel the same about her, that was fine. She was finished with hiding her feelings, though. As far as she was concerned, he had a right to know absolutely everything about how she felt.