by Ellie Hall
Then there was Owen. He’d been married once and originally didn’t want to marry again. He had a daughter with his previous wife. But even he had found love upon returning to town not too long ago.
The others wanted to obey his father’s wishes but then it had all gone to...to shellfish.
“I was caught in between Owen and Blake who wanted to figure out a way out of the will and Dallen and Tripp who didn’t want to disobey our father’s wishes. Then we were all fighting.”
“I trust that you’ll figure it out,” Frankie said.
He didn’t. He knew they wouldn’t. He didn’t trust himself. But she did and that was dangerous.
They circled back to the entrance to the skating trails. She didn’t say more about his past and he didn’t say a word either.
As they took off their skates, she said, “I’ve been brainstorming a lot lately. Having some great ideas... Then it kind of all came to me when I was at the spa.”
She bit her lip and then shook her head slightly.
She was being cagey, but he was curious.
“Actually, I decided what to do next.” As they walked to the truck, she told him all about how she was going to write a cookbook. “For a couple of years now, I’ve had people reaching out to me and editors at publishing houses, asking me to write one, but I was always too busy with the restaurant. I’m going to start with Christmas recipes. Then work up to a full showcase of everything from antipasti to entrees.” Excitement filled her voice as she described some of the recipes.
“All this talk about food is making me hungry. And you said you’d treat me to dinner if I taught you how to skate. But I’m starting to think you knew how to already.” He nudged her playfully with his elbow.
“I just thought maybe we needed to get out. I was starting to think you were afraid to be seen in public with me. I don’t want to put a damper on any of the bets in town or make anyone think that a Hawkins would cavort with a Costa,” she joked. “Or we could extend an olive branch. Ooh. I want pizza. I love olives and broccoli on my pizza. What if we call a truce over a slice or two?” She was babbling.
“I think we already did the moment we—” They were at a traffic light and he leaned over the center console of the truck. His lips met hers. In his heart, it was like there was a green light blinking, urging him to go. To tell her everything, even that he loved her. But his mind had a blinking red, cautioning him, stopping him.
The actual light turned green and she pointed through the windshield. “I’ve heard Fratelli’s has the best pizza in town.”
That was the last place he wanted to go. It was where he’d last seen his brothers. Where they’d had an argument and then went their separate ways. But he’d do it for her.
After parking, they walked toward the glowing entrance. The scent of garlic and warm dough baking filled the frosty air.
“Are we going to church together tomorrow?” she asked.
“Of course,” he answered, holding the door open for her.
The place was the same as it had been since he was a boy: checkered table cloths, the video game machine in the corner, the counter with the stacked pizza boxes...and near the table in the back stood four men he hadn’t seen in five years. It was like they’d never left.
He froze.
Frankie squeezed his hand and the red light in his mind was no longer blinking. It blew up.
Chapter 9
Frankie
Frankie sensed she’d overstepped a line, but was certain Rocky wasn’t going to cross it on his own. She had to push him over.
He’d said it himself, family was the most important, but he’d been without his for five years. If arranging for them to meet caused her to lose him because he was upset with her, so be it. He’d gain back four people he loved. And she loved him; she knew it with every ounce of her being. But she also loved her family and couldn’t imagine not speaking to her brothers for five years. The thought of it hurt her heart.
Earlier when she’d arrived at the spa, she’d had a major fangirl moment when Cece Sparrow was also getting a treatment, but then she had a flash of brilliance. She introduced herself and then said she was Rocky’s friend. The moment she said his name, Cece lit up. She’d called him the lost brother. She knew the entire story and had filled Frankie in—she also explained what she knew as well.
Cece said that Blake had helped her come back to life during a period when she’d felt like she was drowning. She knew how much family meant to him and wanted to see them reunite too.
The two women concocted a plan to get all the other brothers to the pizza place, saying Rocky had called the meeting. Frankie was in charge of getting the youngest brother in the door.
When she left him at Fratelli's, she sensed that might be the last time she’d see him. His expression, filled with fury. If an actual olive branch had been extended, he would’ve broken it with his glare alone. If the feud between the Costas and Hawkins had dissipated, it was likely back in full effect. She imagined that he felt betrayed, but like his poem about the man, the dog, and the boy, perhaps some good would come out of Rocky and his brothers reuniting.
When she pulled up to the cabin, two vehicles were in the driveway. The house was lit up and she approached cautiously, bear spray in hand. She knew a bear hadn’t entered her home and turned on the Christmas tree lights, but if there was an intruder, she’d spray the heck out of them.
The lilt of familiar voices sounded through the door.
Her brothers.
She opened the door and they stopped talking. “There she is,” Tommy said.
She hugged him, Bruno—who insisted on being called Bryan now—, Luca, Giovanni, Paulo, and Nico.
Happiness at seeing them all pushed out her concern about Rocky.
“We’ve been worried about you,” Tommy, the oldest, said.
“After everything that happened with the restaurant, I needed to get away.”
“And not tell us where you were going?” Tommy scolded.
“How’d you know I was here?”
“Mom and dad,” Bruno said.
Gio stalked over, looking her up and down. “Wait. This isn’t just about the restaurant. I know what this is about. She’s in love or hurt.”
“I’ll explain, but first, I need food. I was supposed to get a slice of pizza, but...” She hung her head.
Luca and Nico went to the kitchen and soon, they set several platters on the table—take out from town. The siblings sat, said a blessing, and then Paulo forced her to speak. By the time she was done with the story, Tommy, Luca, and Bruno wanted to break Rocky’s knees.
“You guys don’t understand. Imagine if it were us. Not talking for years and then someone surprised you with a reunion. You’d be upset too,” Gio said wisely.
“We’d never have a feud like that,” Nico said around a mouthful.
The brothers started to bicker because they’d had many arguments over the years and were having one at that moment. Arguing over arguments.
Frankie and Gio cleaned up the food.
“Wait. But there is a feud. A very real feud between the Hawkins family and the Costas. Do any of you know anything about it?” she asked.
Tommy nodded and leaned in. “Before Nonno passed away, I heard bits and pieces about his lost years up here on the mountain.”
They had a side conversation reminiscing about the family trip then Frankie got them back on track. “So what do you know about it?”
Instead of telling them the story, Tommy got up and rummaged through drawers.
“What are you doing? You have no idea how much time it took me to get this place looking halfway decent.” She told them about how their parents had been using it as a storage unit.
“Did you find my baseball card collection?” Bruno asked.
“I found a lot of things and if you’re a good boy, you might just have a special present waiting for you under the Christmas tree,” she teased.
“Ah-ha,” Tommy said. He
returned to the table with a deck of playing cards, shuffled, and then dealt them out.
When they each had their hand, Frankie asked, “Is this going to answer my question?”
“Only if you win.” Tommy smirked.
She threw her head back and groaned in frustration. Leave it to him to make it difficult. She lost the first game and the second, but on the third, she threw down her cards and did a victory dance.
“Okay, out with it,” Frankie said.
“Yeah, I’m curious now too,” Nico said.
They all leaned in, waiting to hear the family lore.
“Nonno’s parents wanted him to marry a woman in Italy. She was from a good family and a lovely girl. He liked her but didn’t want to be hemmed in. He was young. Not ready to settle down.”
From the corner of her eye, a couple of her brothers nodded in understanding.
Tommy continued, “So he told his parents that he was going to travel for a month. That turned into a year, which turned into more. But he grew up during that time and decided he knew what he wanted.”
“How does that factor into this cabin?”
“Early on in his travels, he found himself in Hawk Ridge Hollow. The coldest place on earth, according to him. He was playing cards,” Tommy said, dealing them again. “And won a cabin with a Christmas tree farm in a bet with Charles Hawkins.”
“Wow.” Frankie looked around, imagining the scene and how her grandfather must’ve felt.
“Francesco, our grandfather, and Charlie became good friends. After all, they were neighbors.” Tommy nodded in the direction of the woods. “Then Zia Elena showed up. Their parents had sent Nonno’s sister to bring him home.”
Everyone leaned in, as intent as if they were listening to a story around a campfire.
“But she ended up staying...and won the heart of Charlie, next door.”
Frankie’s mouth formed a perfect O. Her aunt and Rocky’s grandfather fell in love? That was why Zia Elena never married.
“And if I know anything about the way a brother feels about any old fella liking his sister...” Gio started.
“Exactly. Francesco forbid the romance. No one was good enough for his sister. The friendship between him and Charlie fell apart. That started the feud.”
“So what happened?”
“Zia Elana really liked Charlie, but she agreed to let him go if Francesco would return to Italy with her.”
“And he did. He married Nonna.”
“That’s right.”
“And I take it Zia Elena never got over Charlie because she remained single for the rest of her life. So tragic.”
They were all silent for a moment. Then Frankie started talking, stream of conscious, like she did when she was cooking and started adding a pinch of this, a dash of that. “Nonno won the house and tree farm in a game of cards. If you think about it, it was a stroke of luck for Charlie because he ended up expanding the resort, which ultimately led to his empire. As for Nonno, had he not gone back to Italy, he wouldn’t have married Nonna, who taught me how to cook.”
“Actually, you wouldn’t have been born. None of us would have,” Bruno said.
Like the poem Rocky had told her, good things came from the unexpected.
She heard her brother’s voices vaguely in the background, saying she shouldn’t have meddled with the Hawkins family. Another said, “Frankie not meddling? She’s not afraid to get her hands dirty.”
But all the while, an idea was developing in her mind.
In the next days, she didn’t see Rocky. He didn’t answer his door. He didn’t meet her to go to church.
She didn’t hear from him at all. The light from his cabin didn’t shine through the woods. She knew he needed time and space. Nonetheless, she worried she was doing the wrong thing.
She reached out to Cece and no one had heard from Rocky. According to Blake, her fiancé, he and his brothers talked for a couple of hours and then Rocky took off.
It was time to put her plan into action. She waited for Rocky to leave the cabin. Having employed her brothers’ help, they all trudged over to his place. The dogs were happy to see her but wary of the others. Nonetheless, the Costa guys helped her set up a Christmas tree in Rocky’s cabin. They trimmed the inside and outside with lights, garlands, and loads of decorations.
Darkness descended. A truck rumbled in the distance. Rocky was on his way back, which was lucky since it had taken all afternoon and they only just finished. She sent her brothers back to the cabin and waited with Kuma by her side.
The moment the truck door slammed, Frankie pushed the plug into the socket. The inside and outside of the house lit up. A giant Santa inflated in the yard along with a blow-up Grinch. It was time for him to choose. Jolly or grouchy.
When Rocky came in, she jumped up, spread her arms, and wiggled her fingers. “Surprise,” she called.
His expression flashed from surprise to jagged with anger. “It wasn’t your place to do this. Any of it,” he said, waving his arm around. His beard had filled back in, hiding the scar that sliced his jawline. The one she’d figured he’d tell her about when he was ready. “Why won’t you just leave me alone?”
She was coming from a place of her heart, trying to help, but in the face of his harsh question, her anger rose up to meet his. She was determined, unapologetic and as her brothers said, meddlesome. But it was a for a cause, a good one. Frankie believed in him.
“No? Someone had to, Rocky. You need some joy in your life.”
“Why?”
She threw her arms up. “Otherwise you’d just wallow away here, wither up, alone.”
“I don’t mind being alone.” His tone, raw with emotion, betrayed him.
“I did this because you needed some tough love.”
At the word love, he stiffened. “Whoever said anything about love?” He ground out. “If you remember, my word of choice was hate.”
She felt him pushing her away, trying to get rid of her. She was nothing if not persistent. “You shut yourself out of the family. You shut yourself off from emotions. I didn’t want the same thing to happen to us.” She passed him an envelope. “It’s the letter I was writing that night during the storm. I was writing a love letter to you.”
Chapter 10
Rocky
Frankie was writing the letter to him? Rocky took it from her and turned it over in his hands. Sure enough, the heading said Dear Rocky.
Before he read more, she continued. “I knew I loved you back then. Well, it was sort of like hate at first sight, but that’s because I was being stubborn. But there was no way those strong emotions were nothing. I was patient. Waiting to see what would happen. There is only one truth that matters. I love you, Rocky Hawkins.”
“You love me? Why?” His body was frozen and molten at the same time. He didn’t know how to feel.
She nodded and shrugged. “Sometimes you just love someone. I didn’t feel the goosies all over my skin. I felt something else. Something deeper. I won’t deny it. I will not give up.”
There was another truth and it would ruin everything. Anger, anger at himself and the past won within him, at least at that moment. He felt attacked as he looked around at all the cheerful Christmas decorations. “The cabin is my refuge. You had no right to come in here and do this.”
“Refuge from what? What are you fighting against? What do you need refuge from?”
He scrubbed his hand down his face and paced. “From everything.”
She crossed the room to him. “This is life. Love, conflict, the mess. The joy. All of it. Do you think my six brothers and I don’t have disagreements? But in the end, we’re family. It’s not perfect. But love isn’t. Life isn’t. But that doesn’t mean we should run from it.”
“Easy for you to say. You just run right into things. You’re fearless.”
“Yeah, and look at me. I survive.”
He stood by the window, feeling like he was covered in wounds. At Fratelli’s he’d listened to his broth
ers and what they’d had to say after they figured out that Cece and Frankie had been in cahoots. They talked about the will and the resort. Apparently, one of the board members, Ken Welk, was covertly threatening the business. Owen had uncovered a scandal at Hawkins Enterprises. The board was divided. Some wanted to restructure and cut costs. Others want to preserve their father’s vision. But money was being reallocated, stolen. Turned out, funds were being filtered through the town and school, then directed away from those places and into hidden pockets.
It turned out a new chain resort was being proposed to move in and Ken Welk and his cronies were investors. As members of the board at Hawkins Enterprises, it was a conflict of interest.
Tripp was gearing up to make them pay. Dallen wanted to make them go away—drive ‘em out of town. Blake was all fists and Owen was ready to make arrests and read rights.
It was different than the brothers’ quarrel, but the same. The board was divided. But during the time in Fratelli’s they tried to come up with a resolution to protect their father’s legacy. They talked for hours.
Still, Rocky was upset at what Frankie had done. Or maybe with himself because when she found out about what he had done all those years ago, she’d leave him anyway. Easier to run her out first.
Not only that, but after he’d left Fratelli’s he went to her cabin to talk, but she was framed in the window beside the Christmas tree with a man. Anger had enveloped him and he soon realized it was combined with jealousy. At the first hint of him ditching her, he thought that she’d found someone else. Probably met him at the resort. But he had no right because he wasn’t good enough for her. Who could resist a woman like her? Of course, she had men in her life or an old flame.
Just like with his brothers, what he needed to say to her right then was on the tip of his tongue. What he needed to say to them had been there for five years. But he was always the little brother. Maybe the biggest and toughest, but also the youngest so what he said and did, didn’t matter as much.
