Arianna moved to her and touched her shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“I lost my mom this past year. I don’t have any brothers or sisters or even cousins, so your generosity is a bit overwhelming.”
“You sent her into tears?” Eduardo asked as he came around the corner. “Listen, I did that this morning. We’re not winning her over very well, and I already hired her.”
Darcy laughed. “I’m fine. This is amazing. In one day, I hated you and then got a job, lunch, a house, and now all this.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s how we work.”
“I see that.”
John took the sheets from her. “I’ll put these on. Sorry we don’t have a frame, but by tomorrow…” he said as he disappeared into the bedroom.
Arianna took the bag of groceries from her. “I’ll put these in the kitchen.”
“I can’t believe you all did this.”
Eduardo’s forehead wrinkled when he lifted his brows. “You said that.”
She sighed. “Thank you.”
Eduardo tucked his thumbs into the front pockets of his jeans and rocked back on his heels. “Before they fill this place, do you have furniture coming?”
The smile that had permeated her lips disappeared. “No. My dad is sending some money, but…”
“Okay, good. As soon as I told one person in my family that I had a renter, suddenly all sorts of items became available. Assume, if you don’t mind him having the key, that by the time you get home from work tomorrow your house will be furnished.”
The tears were back, and Eduardo took a step back.
“Sorry. I was telling your aunt I don’t have a big family. It’s only my dad and I now, so this is very overwhelming.”
“I see.” Eduardo rubbed the back of his neck. “Since you’re new to town I’d assume you don’t have any plans tonight?”
“None.”
“There’s the bar-b-que place I’ve had a hankering for. Interested in getting a bite to eat?”
“Are you sure you want to take your assistant out for another meal? I don’t want you to think I’m needy.”
He laughed. “Let’s just say I still feel guilty for spilling on you.”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
“I know.”
She let out a grunt.
For the second time in a day, Darcy was seated in the big truck, next to a man she just met, who was going to be her boss, but she had yet to do any work. The South was supposed to be slow. Things were known for moving at their own pace, but not with this Keller family.
And she felt perfectly at ease with him—and his aunt and uncle.
“So have you ever lived anywhere else but Kentucky?” Eduardo asked as he merged onto the highway.
“My father was a military doctor when I was born. So we lived in a few places, but I wasn’t old enough to remember.”
“Like where?”
She gave it some thought. “Germany and Japan.”
“That’s cool.”
Darcy turned in her seat slightly to get a look at the man who had changed her life. There was an exotic look to him. He was dark, his eyes were mysterious, and if she thought about how his T-shirt stretched around his biceps once more, she’d pass out. This was her boss. Not a man to want or to lust over. He was her in at Benson, Benson, and Hart. She needed him so she could find what she came for and then get out.
“What about you? Ever lived anywhere else?”
Eduardo shook his head. “I lived with my parents. Then when they got divorced, I lived between them. One week here. One week there. Then when they got remarried, I lived with them again. Did my time in a college dorm. Then I lived in the house you live in now, but upstairs for a few years. And now I live in the house my grandparents lived in for fifty years.”
“Is that your way of saying you never left Tennessee?”
“Yup.”
She settled back against her seat and laughed. “So your parents divorced and remarried? Each other?”
This time he chuckled. “Yes. I was ten when they split. They just weren’t getting along anymore. Mom married Dad’s best friend. Then Dad got engaged when Matt, my stepfather, left my mom and she found out she had cancer.”
“Oh. My mother died of cancer,” her voice dipped.
His head snapped to her, and his eyes had gone sad. “I’m so sorry.” She knew it was instinct and a trait of a caring man when he reached across the cab and gave her hand a squeeze. “When did she pass?”
“Last year.”
“I can’t imagine losing my mother. Though in my head, I did it a million times that year to prepare myself.”
“How is she now?”
He smiled. “Healthier than ever.”
“So, how did they get back together?”
“Oh, yeah.” He checked his mirrors and exited the highway. “Well, it was an interesting few years. They got divorced and mom remarried, but she and my dad were always great friends. When she got sick, he was right by her side. It blossomed after that. But it was his new wife, of one day mind you, who sent him to get my mom back. Even she knew they should be together.”
“Your dad was married for one day?”
He nodded. “Kathy. She was a nice lady, but not perfect for dad. She knew it. But now she’s married and has three kids. That was what she wanted. I’m happy for her.”
“You said you live in your grandparents’ house. Did they pass?”
“No. They moved into a retirement home about ten years ago. They are in their nineties, so having someone around all the time is good for them. But you wouldn’t know they were that old. They play cards every day. Go for walks. My grandpa, now that we’re all older, tells the dirtiest jokes, but I don’t think grandma knows he tells us.”
“Wanna bet?” She laughed, and he turned to look at her. “Old women let old men have their way, but they still have the power.”
“Experience?”
“Older parents.”
“I see.” He pulled the truck into the parking lot of Steve’s BBQ Pit and Beer.
“This is where you wanted to take me for dinner?”
“Trust me, you’ll be begging for me to take you again.”
He turned off the engine and jumped out of the truck. Darcy gathered her purse, and by the time she turned to open the door, Eduardo pulled it open and held out his hand to help her down.