Fresh Temptation

can. But sometimes a person just needs to accept the kindness of strangers.” He turned to her, flashing a grin. “You know, I haven’t always had it easy. My brothers and I grew up with a mom who struggled to put food on the table and clothes on our backs. Please, just let me be nice to you for a moment. It’s the least I can do after what happened.”
    Cara steeled herself. In her experience, people like him usually wanted something in return for their kindness. What did she possibly have to offer someone like him? She was a down-on-her-luck single parent who couldn’t even afford a routine surgery for her son.
    Maybe he just felt guilty. She and Isaac were a charity case and he had a hero complex. That had to be all it was.
    “Mr. Barboza, I do really appreciate your kind thoughts and the gift.” She motioned vaguely to the door, hoping he would take the hint and leave.
    “Very well.” He gave Isaac a long look before reaching into his pocket and turning to her. He handed her a card. “If you need anything, please call. Especially if the insurance company turns down your claim. I mean it.”
    Mom told him way too much . “Yeah. Sure.”
    Their eyes met for a few seconds. Long enough to make Cara’s breath catch in her throat. Hopefully he hadn’t noticed.
    He gave her one last nod and left the room without another word.
    Cara sighed with relief, now aware she had forgotten to exhale.
    She would probably fantasize about him for a few weeks, and why wouldn’t she? It wasn’t every day a kind Latino hunk muscled his way into her life. But there was no sense letting him overstay his welcome. Besides, she saw the kind of woman he used as arm candy. Victor Barboza would make a nice story to tell her friends. Maybe give her a dream or two to keep her warm at night. And for that, she was grateful.
    She marveled at Victor’s kindness as she searched the gift bag, estimating the cost of the items in her mind. There were designer shoes in Isaac’s size, toys, first aid supplies, small packages of gourmet food. He had to have spent at least two thousand dollars, not including the cost of the glittery silver bag that held the gifts.
    She took some crackers and stashed the rest in a large drawer for safe keeping. Then she made sure Isaac was still sound asleep before she went to the hallway to call her mother.
    Patty answered frantically on the first ring. “ Is he still doing all right? I’ve been trying to get there for hours but I’ve had a million things to juggle. ”
    “Isaac’s fine. I heard you had a visitor?”
    “ A visitor? ” She paused, then giggled. “ Oh, you mean, Victor .”
    “Yes. What did you tell him?”
    She sighed. “I don’t know, sweetie. He had a lot of questions about you two. I answered them. No big deal. ”
    “No big deal?” Cara took a second to remember all the things he’d mentioned in his short visit. “Let me see. He knew about me having two jobs. He knows Isaac loves to play at the park. Knows his shoe size. And he thinks you run a bakery out of your house? Since when does making a few specialty cakes mean you run a bakery?”
    “ He must have been confused about that .”
    “What about the rest? He’s a total stranger, Mom! I hate to think what else you probably told him.”
    “ He’s a charming young man who’s taken an interest in you. You don’t need to be so melodramatic .”
    “He hasn’t taken an interest. He just feels guilty because his girlfriend got me fired from Luna Lee the other night.”
    “ Well, he didn’t say anything to me about having a girlfriend. It’s hard to imagine why a man like him couldn’t have any woman he wants. ”
    “Exactly.” She let out a sad sigh.
    “ Don’t be so hard on yourself. Give the guy a chance .”
    “Mom, it’s not like that. He felt guilty and wanted to do a good deed. Don’t make it out to be more than what it is.”
    “ Is this because of the weight you’ve gained? Because I’ve always heard Mexicans like their women a little bigger .”
    “Mom!” Mortified, Cara glanced around the hallway as if someone could hear her mother’s crude statement. “It’s a lot of things. A rich guy like him with a single mom from Newark? It’s ridiculous.” As she finished her sentence, she heard Isaac crying. She rushed into the room to tend to him. “I gotta go, Mom.”
    “ Are they letting Isaac come home today?”
    “Don’t know yet. Bye.”
    As Cara soothed her aching son, she shoved the