When the three Delgado men finally finished, Tony and Felipe took turns drinking from a water jug. Evelyn sat another moment, waiting to see if he would notice her. But she was undeterred when he didn’t, hopping down and walking toward him. “Tony!”
He whirled in surprise at her voice and frowned as he saw other workers staring. Tony said something quietly to his father, who nodded, before walking briskly to her, taking her arm firmly, and turning her around. “What are you doing here?” His grip may have been tight, but his tone couldn’t mask the thrill he felt at her presence.
“I wanted to see you.” She shrugged. “I thought it would be a nice surprise when you were done.”
“I’m not done. We have to reload the boat, and then we have two more.”
“Can’t you take a break? We can go for a walk.”
He glanced back at his father, who was pretending not to watch them.
Then his face changed as he realized this wasn’t a normal visit. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
“Nothing happened. I just missed you.”
“Evelyn.”
He looked into her eyes, and her breath caught. And she realized she had lied to her father more than she meant to. Because the boy who looked at her like that—the boy who saw through her—that was the boy you married. No one else realized when she was hiding something, except sometimes her mother. They all just saw what she wanted them to see. She stared back into his eyes, the rich brown of the earth beneath the pear tree she had climbed down, and felt herself shiver involuntarily.
“Vivie told my mother . . . about us—it wasn’t her fault. Mama is . . .” She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. It’s done now.”
Tony stiffened. “What’s done now?”
Evelyn smiled compassionately, too far gone to even be flippant for once. “Them knowing.”
“Them . . . ,” Tony echoed. “What did your father say?”
Evelyn waved a hand in the air. “He said I can’t see you anymore. But I’m not worried about Papa.” Tony looked unsure, and Evelyn gripped his forearm, noticing the hard swell of muscle beneath her hand. “He’ll come around. He always does. He blusters and he hollers, but he’s all bark. Honestly, he barely even barks with me. He’s never going to do anything that makes me unhappy for long. And it’s not like I’m saying I’m skipping college to marry you or . . . anything . . .” She trailed off, realizing what she had just said.
Tony tried, and failed, to suppress a smile.
“You jerk.” She smacked his arm lightly. “It’s not funny.”
“No. You’re definitely going to college. Even if we get married.”
She threw her head back and laughed. “Papa will love you. You wait and see. It may take some time, but he will.”
“I don’t like the idea of sneaking around.” His voice turned serious. “Promise me you’ll talk to him.”
“I promise.” She hesitated, realizing she couldn’t play her usual games with Tony. “I don’t promise it’ll be soon. He needs to cool down first.”
He nodded, then glanced back at his own father, who had moved on to the next boat with Felipe. “I have to get back.”
Evelyn grinned up at him. “Kiss me first.”
“At the docks? With them”—he gestured over his shoulder—“watching?”
“Especially with them watching!”
“You’ll get a reputation.”
“None of them know me. You’re the one who will get a reputation.”
“You’re going to get me in trouble, aren’t you?”
She leaned in close, her lips pursed slightly. “Isn’t it worth it?”
He sighed, closing the gap between them. “Absolutely.” He kissed her lightly. “Now go home. I need this job if I’m going to keep taking you out.”
She nodded and turned to leave.
“Wait.” He plucked something from her long dark hair and held up a white blossom. “What’s this?”
Her lips spread into a coquettish grin. “Oh, that? I climbed down the pear tree next to my window to get here. I’m about to go climb back up it.”
He stared at her, his mouth open. “You . . . climbed down a tree? In a skirt? And are about to climb back up?”
“I told you, I wanted to see you. Unless they cut that tree down, they’re not stopping me.” She turned again, shooting him a last look over her shoulder. “And if they do? I’ll get a ladder.”