by Lynn, JB
When I looked into her eyes she was gone, having disappeared into the dark abyss of her mental illness.
I placed a tender kiss on her forehead. “I love you, Mom,” I whispered, even though I didn’t think she could hear me.
I managed to walk out of her room before my own tears blurred my vision. Eyes closed, I leaned against a wall in the hallway, trying to get control of myself.
Which is why the hand on my shoulder startled me.
“You okay, boss?” a deep voice asked.
I jumped away from Angel Delveccio. “What are you doing?”
He shrugged, stretching the fabric of yet another Navy t-shirt, even tighter across his chest. “Making sure you’re okay?”
“By sneaking up on me?”
He glanced around the hallway that was inhabited by a myriad of patients and staff. “Didn’t realize this was your equivalent of an abandoned street corner in the dead of night.”
Embarrassed, I looked away, muttering, “Sorry.”
“I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said as way of apology. “You looked upset.” He raised his hand as though he was going to touch my face, before dropping it back to his side as though he’d thought better of it. “You were crying.”
I brushed my cheeks, almost surprised to find they were wet. “It’s nothing.”
“Visits here can be upsetting,” he said carefully.
I nodded. “You’re here to see your cousin?”
He shrugged with one shoulder. “I was, but she’s…” He paused for a moment, choosing his next words carefully. “…in a mood about something.”
I grimaced sympathetically, knowing it was my empty-handed fault that Angelina was in a bad mood. “I’m sorry.”
“I’ll try again tomorrow.” He eyed me carefully for a moment. “I was going to get some of my stuff out of storage to bring to the Bed & Breakfast. Want to join me? It would give us a chance to talk about Katie and your expectations.”
Seeing my hesitation, he added, “Unless you’ve got somewhere else to be.”
I shook my head. “Not for another couple of hours.”
He smiled. “Good. It’ll give us a chance to get to know each other.”
As we walked out of the hospital, I was aware of the curious gaze of a number of nurses. They were probably all thinking they’d like to get to know the handsome man beside me. I couldn’t blame them. I was too.
Chapter Seven
We left my car and took Angel’s truck. I was curious as I climbed inside it to see what it would reveal about the man.
“Do you have a lot to get?” I asked as I glanced around. The interior of the vehicle was clean and fairly nondescript, except for a single strip of white ribbon dangling from the rearview mirror.
“Not much.” He seemed larger in the enclosed space, filling the area with his masculine self. The engine roared to life as he turned the key.
The ribbon seemed incongruously soft and feminine compared with the dark leather interior and the hard-edged owner. Something about the contrast unnerved me, and I couldn’t take my eyes off the strip of white as it swung from side-to-side.
Realizing that he’d noticed me staring at the scrap of fabric, I babbled nervously, “Because you won’t need a TV or towels or anything else a hotel would provide.”
Turning his attention to the road, he lazily swung the steering wheel. “That’s what Susan said.” Then he reached out and tapped the ribbon with a single finger. “Curious about this?”
I could have lied and denied it, but considering how much I was probably going to have to lie to the man, I decided to go with the truth. “Busted.”
He chuckled. “I guess it is unusual to find in a man’s truck.” Reaching out again, he stroked its silky length lovingly.
I stayed silent as it occurred to me that I probably shouldn’t have gotten into a vehicle with a man I barely knew. Sure, he was Delveccio’s nephew, but what if he was a serial killer or something too? My heartbeat sped up, my breathing became shallow, and I briefly considered throwing myself from the truck at the next red light.
Sensing my tension, he glanced over. “You okay?”
I nodded tightly, hoping he wasn’t going to reveal that the ribbon was a trophy he’d claimed from a murder victim.
“Is my driving making you nervous? Because, I assure you, I’m a decent driver.”
“I’m sure you are,” I said through gritted teeth.
“Relax.”
I wondered if that’s what he said right before he strangled all his victims with a length of white ribbon. I could barely breathe.
“Whatever you’re imagining isn’t going to happen,” Angel soothed.
He extended a hand and patted my knee.
A zing of electricity scorched through my body and it took all my self-control to keep from squirming in my seat.
“We’re not going to crash or anything,” he continued calmly.
“I didn’t think we were,” I murmured honestly, no longer concerned I’d die, but worried about how my traitorous body responded to his touch.
“You’re perfectly safe.”
I nodded, even though I didn’t believe him. We drove in silence for a minute. He seemed perfectly relaxed while I was ready to flee at the slightest provocation.
And still the ribbon swung, like a pendulum. I felt like it was counting down the moments until I met my fate.
“It’s silly really,” he said.
I didn’t know whether he meant my over-active imagination or the absurdity of the situation, so I didn’t respond.
“It’s from my diploma.”
Suddenly the ribbon seemed a lot less ominous. “Oh, that’s sweet.”
He shrugged. “It means a lot to me. The degree. It was my ticket out.”
I waited, wondering if he meant out of town, or out of the family business. When he didn’t say anything else, my curiosity got the best of me, and I asked. “I would have thought the Navy would have gotten you far away from here.”
He nodded. “It did. But I always knew that was only a temporary fix. I’m not cut out for a lifetime career in uniform.”
“And so you’ve ended up back here.”
He paused for a moment, squeezing the steering wheel before responding. “Temporarily.” Something dark and unhappy escaped with that single word.
Deciding it wasn’t wise to push the issue, I said as cheerily as I could, “The Navy’s loss is our gain.”
He nodded. “So let’s talk about that. Anything specific you need me for?”
Panic fluttered in my belly. My chest tightened. I had no idea what Katie needed. “I thought you’d worked all that out with Susan.”
“Well, as you pointed out, you’re her guardian, so I figured I should ask you.”
I winced, remembering that he’d heard my mini-meltdown with Susan. “Sorry you were there for that.”
He shrugged. “No big deal. Trust me, the blowouts in my family are much worse.”
Considering he came from a crime family, I wondered if their family rows included gunfire instead of shouting.
“So Katie,” he said, steering the conversation back on track. “I’m assuming you’ve got her signed up for PT, OT, and cognitive therapy?”
Remembering with dread the piles of paperwork I’d done to get her care set up probably made my response sound a bit pathetic. “Yes.”
“And I’m assuming Susan is coordinating her schedule?”
I nodded. “That probably sounds terrible.”
“Nope. I get it.”
“You do?” Considering that I wasn’t sure why I’d ceded control of my niece’s schedule so easily, I didn’t understand it myself.
“You’re choosing your battles. This is going to be a long-term process. If you let Susan have control over the schedule, she’s going to feel like she’s making an important contribution. Then, when you butt heads down the road over something that’s important to you, she’ll already feel like she’s won something a
nd won’t fight you so hard.”
I processed his theory for a minute. “Yeah,” I admitted, realizing he’d voiced something I’d unconsciously chosen to do. “That’s about it.”
“Smart move.”
The tightness in my chest loosened a little. It was nice to have someone’s approval.
“So, now that we’ve determined that you’re the real boss, anything you want me to work on with your niece?”
“Can we figure it out as we go along?” I asked hopefully.
He turned his head and grinned at me. “That is the perfect answer.”
“It is?”
He looked back at the road. “Rigid plans snap, but adaptations bend.”
I wondered if he’d gotten that out of a fortune cookie, but I nodded as though I completely understood what he was talking about.
“We’re here,” he said, pulling into a driveway.
I examined our surroundings and was surprised to find that we weren’t in a neighborhood of giant houses flanked by marble fountains and naked statues. Instead, the area consisted of modest homes, most of which had swing sets in the backyards or basketball hoops attached to the single car garages. I didn’t think this was the kind of place a mob family would live.
“I’ll let my buddy know we’re here.” Angel hopped out of the truck.
I slid out of my side slowly and waited in the driveway, not wanting to intrude on Angel’s friend. I surveyed the area while I waited. The few cars I saw weren’t old, but weren’t luxury models. The yards were well-kept, but, considering their varying heights, I guessed that the home owners did their own lawn care.
“Coming?” Angel called from the doorway of the house.
I hurried to meet him.
“What were you looking at?” He rang the doorbell.
“I didn’t want to just show up at a stranger’s door.”
He searched my face for a moment, his expression amused. “You’re different than the rest of your family.”
I grinned. “Thanks. I consider that a compliment.”
Chuckling, he shook his head. “I know the feeling.”
For a moment, smiling at each other, I forgot the strange circumstances of our relationship and just enjoyed his company.
“It’s open,” a voice called from inside the house.
Angel opened the door, and indicated that I should walk in ahead of him. I did so tentatively, wondering if his buddy had an unusually high voice.
Stepping inside a cramped foyer, he stood so close I felt his body heat as he walked in behind me.
“I brought a friend,” Angel announced.
I glanced back at him, unsure of how I felt about that classification. Did it somehow blur the line between our employer/employee relationship?
“Bring him in,” the woman replied. “I’m in the kitchen.”
Angel scooted around me and led the way. “Actually she’s a her. And she’s my boss, so no bad-mouthing me.”
I wondered if he’d said that to appease me, or to warn whoever was waiting for us to choose her words carefully.
We walked through a living room that was devoid of furnishings. It was bare and cold. I wondered what kind of people lived in the house.
“What happened to the furniture?” Angel asked as we entered an open country kitchen.
“It was uncomfortable,” the blonde woman with dark circles under her eyes replied from where she sat at the head of a large table. She threw open her arms, indicating she was waiting for a hug.
Angel hurried over and obliged her. “You look good, Nancy. I’ve missed you.”
“Liar,” she choked out emotionally. “It’s good to see you too.”
Feeling like I was intruding on a private reunion, I stared down at the floor.
“Introduce me to your boss,” Nancy ordered.
I looked up and found the seated woman smiling at me kindly. Relieved that she wasn’t upset that I’d arrived uninvited, I grinned back.
“Nancy meet Maggie.” Angel rested his hand on the back of Nancy’s chair, which I realized was actually a wheelchair. “Maggie, this is Nancy.”
I hurried over and extended my hand. “Nice to meet you. Sorry for showing up unannounced and uninvited like this.”
She studied me for an awkward beat as my outstretched hand hung in the air between us. “Not Navy.”
Angel shook his head. “No. Not Navy. Doing the civilian thing now.”
Nancy nodded her approval and grabbed my hand. “Then it’s very nice to meet you, Maggie. You guys want some coffee?”
Angel shook his head. “Naah, we’ve both got places to be. This will only take a couple of minutes. You two can get acquainted while I move my stuff.”
I glanced at him, startled that he was going to leave me alone with this stranger.
“Relax,” he teased. “Nancy doesn’t bite. Besides you need some normal people in your life.”
I couldn’t argue with him there.
Chapter Eight
Angel was true to his word. While Nancy grilled me about how I knew him and then clucked sympathetically when I explained about the situation with Katie, Angel loaded a few boxes and a stuffed oversized duffle bag into his truck.
While I would have loved to have discovered how the two of them knew each other, neither Nancy or Angel offered a clue and I didn’t feel comfortable prying.
As soon as he was done, Angel hugged Nancy again, kissed her cheek, and said, “See you soon.”
“Is that a threat or a promise?” Nancy called as Angel led the way out of the house with me trailing behind.
We got back into his truck and headed back to get my car. Neither one of us spoke. He seemed to be lost in his own thoughts and I was worrying about how Katie was going to react once she was out of the hospital.
Finally, as he pulled into the parking lot, Angel spoke. “You’re not going to ask?”
“Ask what?”
“How we know each other.”
I shrugged. “Not my place.”
He grunted.
I didn’t know what that was supposed to mean, so I just scanned the lot for my car.
Sliding into the parking spot beside it, he parked the truck and turned to face me. “You’re a strange one.”
“You shouldn’t insult your boss,” I chided jokingly.
“Any other woman would have been spitting questions at me faster than a machine gun.”
I winced at the violent image. “I try to mind my own business. A lot less drama that way.”
“Because your family provides enough drama?” he guessed.
I nodded. “But if you want to talk about it…”
He shook his head. “Not today.”
A dull ache formed at the base of my skull. Why had he given me a hard time about not asking then?
I would never understand men.
Or women.
Or animals.
Hell, I didn’t even understand myself most days.
“I’ve got to go fill out some paperwork,” I told him. “You’ll be okay moving yourself into the B&B?”
He nodded.
I fumbled for my keys. “You’ll need this to get in.” I began to twist the key for the back door off my key ring.
His hand covered mine, stopping me. Startled by the contact, I looked up at him, my mouth going dry. For a millisecond I thought I might melt on the spot, as his body heat flowed into mine.
Amusement danced in his dark gaze. “I have a key. Susan gave it to me.”
Dropping my hands to break the contact, I frowned. “Before or after she told me about you?”
When he didn’t answer, I knew the answer was “before”.
I slammed my head back into the headrest and let out a huff of frustration.
“I’m sorry,” Angel apologized carefully.
Closing my eyes, I shook my head. “It’s not you. It’s her. It’s them.” I sighed heavily, trying to relieve some of the pressure tightening my shoulders. “I don’t want to fe
el like I have an adversarial relationship with them, and I know they mean well, but everything feels like a fight.”
“It must be hard,” he soothed sympathetically.
