in his family's company to do the hard, dangerous work of a smokejumper, because working for the greater good meant more to him than being rich or influential.
And he had been horrified and genuinely remorseful when he discovered what Tina had done. Everything about his reactions had told her that much.
Maggie sighed.
Just one moment of bad judgment, and it wasn't just anyone. It was his sister, her conscience whispered. Someone he thought he could trust.
The big unanswered question returned to haunt her: Why had Tina taken Aarón's side against Steve?
"Okay, I'll sleep on it," she told her parents. "I have a lot of thinking to do. Now," she said, deliberately changing the subject, "Why is Manny running for mayor?"
As her brother began to describe the things he felt needed changing in their hometown, and how he planned to run his campaign, Maggie did her best to enjoy the rest of the dinner with her family despite the feeling of doom hanging over her head.
She complimented the tamales, despite the fact that they seemed strangely tasteless to her, and the dessert of firm but creamy flan, a baked custard flavored with vanilla and a hint of orange zest, and topped with dark caramel syrup.
After dessert, she rose to leave, pleading an early start because she had to drive to Missoula in the morning.
She thanked her mother one last time for making tamales, exchanged hugs and kisses all around, then headed out the door. Despite the hard questions asked at dinner, spending time with her parents and siblings had lightened her fog of misery a teeny bit.
She had just opened the door of her rental car when Manny came hurrying out into the chilly September night.
"Hey, I know you were putting on a brave front in there, but how are you really doing?"
She turned to look at her twin. "How do you think I'm doing?" she asked sarcastically. "I've just lost everything—the man I wanted to date, my business—"
To her horror, tears welled up. She thought she'd cried herself dry this afternoon, but she was wrong.
Manny enfolded her in a hug, and she clung to him, sobbing.
"What am I going to do?" she asked, when she'd regained enough control to speak, though her tears still flowed. "How do I fix this, Manny? I'm going to lose everything if I can't come up the money to repay the clan by next week."
"I'll talk to Abuela Inez and try to convince her to back off," Manny promised, patting her back.
"Thank you." With an effort, Maggie released her hold on him and stepped back. She sniffled loudly and dug in her coat pocket for a tissue.
"But I can't make any promises," he warned her. "She's spitting mad right now. Maybe, after she calms down a bit…" He shrugged and met her eyes with intense sincerity. "I'll do my best."
* * *
Back in her hotel room, troubled by unanswered questions and knowing that she wasn't going to be able to fall asleep anytime soon, Maggie tried watching one of the travel foodie shows she usually adored.
But her attention kept wandering, consumed by the unanswered question dogging her: why Steve's sister had suddenly taken Aarón's side and told him something she knew might embarrass or harm Steve.
With a sigh, she gave up trying to focus on the culinary delights of Taiwan's night markets, turned off the TV, and reached for her laptop.
She began running some searches on the Lopez family, curious to see whether any of the business news wires had reported anything about Steve's abuelita, brother, or sister.
Sure enough, she quickly found a press release dating from early June that reported that Mrs. Delfina Vicario-Lopez, founder and CEO of the Vicario-Lopez Development Corporation, had been hospitalized after an accident and that the company's Chief Operations Officer, Aarón Lopez, had stepped into the role of acting CEO until Mrs. Vicario-Lopez was able to return to work.
A second tidbit, found on a business news site and dated mid-July, reported that Valentina Lopez had just received a major promotion from Marketing Director of Commercial Operations to Chief Financial Officer at the Vicario-Lopez Development Corporation.
The article also mentioned that the company's founder and current CEO, Mrs. Delfina Vicario-Lopez, hadn't been seen in public or appeared in any of the company's meeting minutes since her accident. The article's author speculated that she would be retiring soon to make way for her grandson to become CEO in truth.
Maggie frowned down at her laptop screen. If I was looking for a motivation for