To Thine Own Self

"I missed you too, sweetheart."

She sighed and leaned back against the wall.

You must have had a lot on your mind tonight."

He frowned. "I'm sorry. I'm afraid I lost track of time while I was riding."

She smiled. "I meant because you didn't change your clothes before you went for a ride."

"Oh." He glanced down at his clothes. "Actually, the suit is comfortable enough - the oxfords, not so much."

He was drawing the subject away. Why?"

"So how was the visit with your father? Did the two of you get along okay? Is he bugging you about the inheritance again?"

"We got along fine."

It was hard to tell whether he was being secretive or there simply wasn't anything to tell.

"How was the seminar?"

He sipped his coffee before responding.

"Informative - worth the trip, I guess."

She smiled. "How about the visit with your father? Did you two talk much?"

He shrugged. "For a while."

"How are Felipa and Alondra?"

"They're doing fine." He sipped his coffee again. "You're looking especially nice tonight."

"Thank you."

He obviously didn't want to discuss his visit to the hacienda. It was frustrating, but the only thing she was accomplishing with this interrogation was making their conversation stiff and formal.

She leaned forward and launched a new subject.

"While you were gone I had the sign painted on Dad's old truck."

His brows lifted. "AWS?"

She nodded. "And then in smaller letters below it: American Wildlife Safari. I chose silver for the lettering. It looks so nice on that electric blue."

He took another sip of his coffee and then absently set it on the window sill. Something was troubling him and he was trying to figure out the best way to approach it.

She sighed. "You wanted to make the arrangements yourself?"

He glanced up quickly. "No. I'm sure it looks great. In any case, it's your truck - your business."

Actually, technically it was their collective business, but there was no point in getting into that right now. She nodded.

"Yes, it's my truck, but you're the one who had it restored."

His smile was wry. "For you."

She shrugged. "It was a nice birthday present. I'm sure Dad would have loved to see his old '65 Ford restored like that."

He shifted his attention to the window and stared out into the moonlit night. He had restored the truck and the house. Was he agonizing about leaving them behind? Did he want to tell her they were moving to Texas?