Texas Lightning. Gerry Bartlett
it was for. He used computers for their convenience but didn’t have a love affair with them. Not like Ron did. His friend started to describe details about the equipment as he hooked it up, but King held up his hand to stop him. “Spare me, Ron.”
“Ha! I do care about your furniture. Will Mr. Ron be staying for dinner?” Conchita leaned over to where the computer expert had crawled under the desk to plug something in. “Mr. Ron?”
“Sure. Count me in.” He gestured and King handed him a bundle of wires. “This may take a while.”
“Dinner will be ready whenever Anna wakes up.” Conchita hurried out of the room.
Ron was in his element, putting together the complicated system for Anna. He had them leave her replacement laptop in the living room, intent instead on setting up the desktop computer with backup and a printer that could interface directly to his office.
“Your Wi-Fi is fast, but I’ll jack it up even more. Then I’m adding firewalls. Even so, I’m leery about her sending out anything over the internet that might be hacked.” Ron soon had the computer up and running.
He worked the keyboard so fast King turned to stare out the window. He used two fingers on his own keys and still made mistakes.
“Maybe she shouldn’t work here. You can keep her safe in your office, can’t you?” King asked when the keyboard had gone silent.
“Yeah, but these computer geniuses work odd hours when they get struck with inspiration. Anna did her best work at home. She’d come in with a problem solved after she’d been up in the middle of the night and worked for hours.” Ron laughed. “It’s weird, but sometimes we solve problems in our sleep.”
“He’s right.” Anna spoke from the doorway. “Mr. Z, uh, Ron. You brought all that here?”
“Sure did. Sit and see what you think.” Ron got up from behind the desk. “How are you, Anna? I’m sorry about your place. I hope you know I’ll cover your losses. Everything that was damaged or even touched by those thieves. My fault for not taking your safety seriously.” He nodded toward where King still stood next to the window. “King’s already ripped me a new one for failing to provide you with proper security.”
“King! How could Ron know this would happen?” Anna had approached the computer layout and stroked the forty-inch monitor like it was a diamond bracelet. “This is a beauty—4K.”
King just watched the two computer geeks talk bits and shits as Ron explained what he’d brought. Anna had changed clothes, wearing her jeans again and a loose blue shirt that he recognized as one of his sister’s. It matched her eyes. Not that he got to check that out up close since she was totally engrossed in computer talk with Ron. He was clearly forgotten. Then he heard his name.
“I can’t stay here with King. You wasted your time bringing all this. We’re strangers, and I’m imposing on him. Surely we can figure out someplace for me to crash that’s safe enough for me to finish the program.” Anna took one more longing look at the computer then faced her boss. “Seriously. I’m not comfortable with this arrangement.”
“Get comfortable, Anna. King has offered his home and I think we should be grateful for it.” Ron walked over to slap King on the back. “Where else would you have such security? Did you see the coded gate? His fence? Is it electrified, King?”
“No, there’s too much wildlife in these woods that would be harmed for that. But the house is wired to alert us to intruders, and we have cameras that we can monitor at the gate and around the perimeter. You’re safe here, Anna.” King hoped so, anyway. He was counting on no one knowing she was here. But then Ron had arrived in that flashy car. If someone at Zenon was working for the bad guys, they might have put a tail on him.
“See? And you’ve got a world-class cook like Conchita in the kitchen.” He sniffed. “Do I smell her enchiladas?”
“I think you do.” King realized Anna wasn’t happy. “We’ll talk over dinner. If you can come up with a better solution, I’ll personally help you move.” He took her elbow and eased her out of the library. Of course she gave that computer setup a last glance. She was obviously dying to try it. “You need to eat first, work later. Unless we have to waste time finding you a new place to crash.”
“I’m not trying to be difficult. But this is an imposition.” Anna stopped at the open French doors then walked to the dining table set up on the deck outside. “Oh, look at the lights reflecting off the water. The view is spectacular, King. I don’t think I really appreciated it earlier. I wasn’t myself.”
“Yes, he has quite a place here.” Ron greeted Conchita. “You fixed my favorite, Señora. Enchiladas. And I see guacamole, rice, and frijoles.” He gave her a hug. “We’re trying to persuade Anna to work here. Your food should win her over.”
“It certainly smells good. What are frijoles?” Anna slid into a chair.
The air was cool and King saw her shiver. He grabbed a throw from the living room and draped it over her shoulders. “Beans. Conchita makes some of the best. I can’t say the best or my abuela would kill me.”
“Abuela?” Anna smiled and pulled the throw around her. “Why do I feel like I’m in a foreign country?”
“Abuela means ‘grandmother’ in Spanish. King’s grandmother is from Mexico. She’s a wonderful cook.” Conchita hovered next to the table. “I didn’t know what you wanted to drink. You want to open a bottle of wine, King? I can make some margaritas. Or I have iced tea.”
“No alcohol for me. I want to work tonight. If I don’t move.” Anna smiled at Conchita. “I’d love some iced tea. That’s a Texas thing I’m getting used to. But not the sweet kind. Just with lemon, please.”
“Sounds good.” Ron pushed the dish of enchiladas toward her. “Eat. And think about how convenient this will be. King is one of our investors at Zenon. So he has a vested interest in seeing your program become successful.”
“You told me that before.” Anna stopped filling her plate. “I’m still finding it hard to believe. That I met him accidentally and he’s connected to the company.”
“Call it fate. Two people who happened to be in the right place at the right time. A dozen other people walked past you when you were about to faint and ignored you. I couldn’t do it. I was raised to help anyone, man or woman, who is in distress. The fact that we have something in common, like the company you work for, is a bonus.” King took a glass of tea. “Thanks, Conchita.” He stared at Anna, willing her to believe him. Why the hell this was so important to him, he didn’t know. But the idea of her in some unknown place, vulnerable, made him uncomfortable. Okay, maybe that word wasn’t strong enough.
“It’s weird.” She put a timid spoonful of beans on her plate.
“Whatever it was that brought us together, you’re here now, and it would be silly and maybe dangerous for you to look for another place when you’re comfortable here. I won’t bother you while you work. I have my own things to do while I’m in town.” King passed her the guacamole after taking a big portion for himself. There were fresh tortilla chips on the table and he piled them on his plate. “Relax. You think I get meals like this every night? Conchita pulled out all the stops for you.” He dipped up the green avocado dip with a chip and bit into it. “Delicious.”
“I’m happy to have someone besides King to cook for.” Conchita smiled and set a bowl of sliced lemons on the table next to Anna. “King is out too much when he is in town. You stay and work and I will have fun feeding you. Douglas will help guard the gate and we will play with your dog. Right now, your YoYo is out on the grounds with my man, looking for squirrels to chase. It is good for them both to have something to do. Please stay.”
Anna dipped her fork into the beans, tasted, then smiled. “I guess I’d be stupid to say no. I wanted an adventure in Texas and it looks like I have one. Count me in.”
*