By the time he walked out of the restroom Grace was already in the bed. Sal climbed in next to her ready to go another round… or two. After a few rounds the night before she’d been able to enjoy it more. He kissed her, slipping a hand down her leg, stopping just on the inside of her thigh. “You tired?”

She let her leg fall open, and smiled. “Not that tired.”

Sal groaned, taking her mouth in his again, as if he’d never kissed her before.

~*~

The Friday morning after Grace’s glorious weekend of camping in Sal’s backyard she walked out of her room and into the kitchen. For once, she wasn’t running late and was looking forward to making herself a nice omelet. She’d been walking on air for weeks now. But this past week had been surreal.

“Grace, I’ve been meaning to talk to you.” Her mother sat at the table, a cup of coffee in front her.

“’Bout what?”

“Frank stopped by the other day and—”

“Mom.” Her mom hadn’t mentioned him in weeks. “I’m not doing anything with Frank so don’t even ask.”

“Will you let me finish?”

Grace rolled her eyes, pulling a frying pan out of the cupboard. “Go ahead.”

“So he’s only had a few slot machines put into the lobby of his hotel. He said he’s just getting his feet wet, and already he’s seeing a huge return. He’s ordering more machines and starting up the remodeling to have the full blown casino up and running, hopefully by this summer.”

Her mother paused and Grace turned to her. “And you’re telling me this because…” Grace splashed the pan with cooking oil.

“Well, you know me—always thinking.”

Calculating was more like it.

“He happened to mention he’d be looking into investing some of his extra capital soon. He said he’s going to need a lot more tax write-offs, if this takes off like he thinks it will. So I mentioned your hopes of opening up your own restaurant someday…”

Grace turned to face her. She didn’t like where this was going. Her mother grinned before taking a sip of her coffee. “He said he’d be more than happy to help you out with that. Imagine that, Grace. You can get your restaurant going so much sooner than—”

“Forget about it.”

“Why? Graciela, don’t be a fool. This man is offering to help you out with your dream. All you have to do is be nice—”

“It’s not happening.”

“You’re being stubborn. There is nothing wrong with being civil to the man.”

Grace shook her head as she diced up onions and green peppers.

“Look.” Her mother stood up and leaned against the counter. “He mentioned us going out to visit him and enjoying a few days in his hotel again. We could all go as a family. Your boyfriend doesn’t even have to know—”

“You’re crazy. I’m not doing anything sneaky. Sal would be livid, and to tell the truth, I don’t even think I’m ready to run my own restaurant yet. It’s a lot of work.”

Her mother put down her cup on the counter. “I can help you.”

Grace laughed. “Like you helped in Juarez? You hated working in the restaurant.”

“I’ll work the business end. You can do all the restaurant stuff. Rose can help, too. She mentioned the other day wanting to get a job.”

Grace turned to her. “She did?” That bothered her. Was Rose still worrying about Grace leaving her? Grace had ended up sleeping over Sal’s on Sunday as well. The only reason she’d come home at all on Monday was because of Rose. Otherwise, she might still be there now. Sal certainly wanted her to stay. She remembered Rose’s comment about getting a job and moving in with Joey and Taylor.

“Yes, wouldn’t it be nice working side by side with your little sister?”

Grace continued making her omelet. It would be nice but doing anything with Frank was out of the question. “It’ll happen someday. But not with Frank. I’ll do it when I’m ready… and on my own.” She flipped her omelet a couple of times before flipping it onto her plate.

“He’ll be here this weekend.” Her mother crossed her arms over her chest.

“What?” Grace stopped at the refrigerator where she held the door open, looking back at her mom.

“I think it’s a great opportunity, Grace. Aren’t you tired of living in this hell hole? This could be our chance to get out of here. Finally have a real life.”

If her mother only knew she could be out of this place and living in a dream home with Sal. If it were up to him, she’d already be there. The only thing keeping her here now was Rose. “What is he coming for, mom? I told you I’m not doing anything with him anymore.”

“You don’t have to. Just come home early when you get out of work and talk to him. Throw some ideas around. He knows you’re in a relationship now. He’s not expecting anything. It’s strictly business.”

Grace shook her head and picked up her plate and the glass of milk she’d just poured herself. “Nope.” She started walking to her bedroom.

“Graciela, think of your sister.” Grace slowed down, feeling the guilt grenade her mother just threw at her begin to detonate. “You’re hardly ever home now. This would be a great way for you two spend more time together.”

The grenade went off sending shards of guilt through Grace’s already frail conscience. She stopped, not turning around, just taking in her mother’s words. She could almost feel her mother’s wicked grin penetrate through her back. She held her head up, shook it, and began walking again. As conniving as her mother had always been, Grace had to hand it to her. She’d succeeded in making her consider it—but only for a second.