Ana nodded, and the two dressed and headed to the restaurant. Marisa's meager funds wouldn't keep them here for long, and she needed to hold onto enough money to get back to Chilpancingo, where they'd hitch a ride with some folks from her village who worked in a factory there. And Marisa should offer to cover some of the cost of gasoline. Money was always tight for the folks in her village.

Nate looked up from his seat in the small restaurant when they walked in. He waved them over. "They have a delicious buffet. You two hungry?"

Ana had already spied the long, colorful table covered in chafing dishes and glass trays filled with goodies. She gaped at it with awe. "Mama, can we? Look at all that food! Look, the fruit. And eggs! And... What are those?" She pointed to a tray of pastries.

"Cinnamon rolls." She turned to Nate. "But the buffet must be expensive, and we can't really—"

"We'll take care of it."

Marisa looked around. "Is Leslie here?"

"She was when I got here, but she just went back to the room."

"Oh. We must have missed each other on the elevators." Marisa remembered what he'd said. We, meaning him and Leslie. "Are you and my sister together?"

Nate laughed, caught himself, and shifted into a neutral expression. "No. I just meant that, between the two of us, we can manage your meals."

Marisa pretended her relief had everything to do with the ability to eat and nothing to do with the handsome man. "Have you eaten?"

"I was waiting for you."

Marisa and Ana filled their plates while Nate followed, making suggestions and explaining the different items to Ana, who took at least one of everything on the long table.

The three of them enjoyed their breakfast feasts, and Marisa didn't even make her daughter eat the eggs. Good thing, too, because Ana filled up on cinnamon rolls, sausage, and bacon—all delicacies she'd never had—a fact that left Nate speechless.

When Ana's plate held nothing but uneaten eggs, she stood to get more.

"No more, pajarita. You'll make yourself sick."

"Please? One more cinnamon roll? I might not ever have them again."

The thought made Marisa want to cry, but she smiled instead. "One more."

The girl skipped back to the buffet table, and Nate chuckled. "She's adorable."

"I am very blessed."

Nate seemed about to say something, then reached for a grape off his plate instead.

"Be careful with the fruit."

He tilted his head. "Fine time to tell me that, now that I've finished off the cantaloupe and mangoes."

"You've been eating cut fruit. It's washed on the outside, but it's peeled, and the outsides are tossed away. You eat the outside of grapes."

"And...?"