Page 28 of Redeemed

There was silence for several long beats. "Why do you need to learn these things?"Hadn't Sofia told her what was up in all that conversation before?

"Well, ma'am, I'm catering for a big Mexican-American wedding here in a couple of weeks and those were specialties requested by the bride. She's very adamant she wants them. I could look up recipes myself and make do, I suppose," JT continued, "but they wouldn't be near as good as they would be if I could learn from you, I'm

sure. I want the bride and her family to be happy."

More long silences.Shit, was that not the right answer? If she won't teach me, maybe I can check with Tomás and see if he can give me a few hours to….

"Okay. You can come this weekend. Noon Saturday. We start the menudo and let it cook overnight then we start the tamales on Sunday after

church," Mrs. Benevides instructed. "Don't be late, sí?"

"Sí, I mean, yes. Yes, ma'am," JT said with relief. "I won't be late. Thank you so much."

The woman sniffed. "Let me talk to Sofia."

Sofia spent another couple of minutes on the phone with her mother, then turned back to JT with a grin. "Congratulations."

JT gave her a wry smile. "I'm not sure congratulations are in order yet. Let's hope I don't do something that has her kicking me out of her kitchen before we're done."

"Just don't touch the red skillet," Sofia warned, but he saw the glint in her eye. "Nobody gets to use that skillet but Mama."

"Red skillet, got it," he said, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in close. Now that she was warm and willing in his arms again, his uneasiness over seeing her with Jesse this afternoon seemed less important. Surely, he was overreacting. He was glad he hadn't said anything to Sofia about it after all.

"That mama of yours is scary as hell," he admitted. He kissed the side of her neck lightly. "Now, I know where all your fire comes from."

Sofia ran her hands up his back then started to pull his t-shirt from his jeans. Her nails scraped down the dips and edges where sinew and muscle met. She heard him do that growly thing in his chest that always ratcheted up her desire tenfold. "No more talk about my mama, right now," Sofia whispered in his ear, then took him by the hand to lead him to the bedroom.

"Yes, ma'am," JT agreed huskily and gladly followed where she led. All thoughts of the man mountain pushed out of his mind.

Chapter twenty-six

Menudo and Lies

JTsnuckoutofthe café a bit early on Saturday not wanting to be even a minute late to his appointment with Sofia's mom. "Now, I've got everything for the croque monsieur sandwiches ready for you. You just have to put them in the panini press like I showed you," he had told Sofia as he was heading out the door. "There's

plenty of the tomato soup still."

"We'll be fine. Don't worry," Sofia assured him. "You've got it so organized I can't possibly screw it up. Now go!"

He grabbed one last kiss and ran out the back door to his Jeep. He'd thought about walking but with one thing and another, he'd run out of time. Two minutes later he was pulling up to the Benevides house. He sat in the driveway a minute and took a deep breath, preparing himself.Don't know why I'm so damn nervous. Mothers love me.He hadn't cared about impressing any of those other mothers, though. This one was important to win over.

One more centering breath and he climbed out of the Jeep, going around to pick up the box of supplies from the back. Mrs. Benevides had sent an extensive list of supplies through Sofia and he felt like he'd been in every little tienda within fifty miles to get exactly the brands and ingredients she wanted. If he could learn these two dishes and do them well, it would all be worth it. He prayed he hadn't missed anything.

He made his way up the walk to the door giving himself a pep talk all the way. He rang the door with his elbow as his hands were full with the box of supplies and waited. And waited. Just as he was about to ring again, the door opened, and he grinned down at Sofia's mom over the box in his arms. "Hi, Mrs. Benevides. Thanks again for helping me. I think I have everything," JT offered as the tiny woman looked him up and down. She wore a slight frown.

"We'll see. Come on," she said and quickly turned and headed to the back of the house.

JT followed and kicked the door closed behind him. He headed for the kitchen but couldn't help slowing down and studying the family pictures on the fireplace mantle he hadn't had time to look at the last time he was here. A picture of Selena holding a baby in a pink blanket that had to be Sofia caught his eye and he grinned. And there was Sofia in pigtails, wearing roller skates and smiling with a big gap in her smile where her front teeth should be. His smile grew wider. Finally, there she was with Selena in high school, Sofia in her drill team uniform and Selena in her cheerleader uniform. How had he not noticed her back then? She was beautiful. That smile still lit up a room.

"Hey, you coming?" Mrs. Benevides yelled at him from the kitchen.

Shit!"Yes, ma'am," JT called and scrambled to the kitchen.

The next couple of hours were spent soaking the tripe in lemon water, chopping garlic and onions and grinding spices. Like many wonderful home cooks, Mrs. Benevides did not have a written recipe to follow. She simply made everything the way she was taught. JT did his best to make notes of amounts and the order of when everything was added. When all the ingredients were in the pot simmering and the kitchen had been cleaned, Sofia's mom motioned him to a kitchen chair. She then went to the refrigerator and brought back a green glass pitcher full of a white drink and matching glasses.

"Here, drink this," she instructed.

"What is it?" JT asked as he took the heavy pitcher from her and poured the white fluid into their glasses. He smelled cinnamon and vanilla wafting up as it hit the glasses.