by Lucy Gordon
‘You could always have told me.’
‘I meant to. I just didn’t want to have any secrets from you, and I longed to tell you everything, but I was afraid you’d take it the wrong way. You might have felt insulted, or thought I was making you second best.’
‘That was true once. There was a time when I felt you were just “making do” with me.’
‘And you didn’t sock me on the jaw? Why not? I deserved it.’
‘I loved you. I didn’t feel I had the right to blame you for not being in love with me. You can’t love to order. I hoped we’d grow closer in time and then—who knows?’
‘Yes, it took me too long to understand my own heart,’ he said sombrely. ‘It might have taken longer if you hadn’t been in danger during the birth. Then it became hideously clear to me that if you died my own life was over. Nothing mattered but you.’
‘And our baby,’ she said softly.
He met her eyes and shook his head slightly. ‘You,’ he said. ‘Just you.’
Without waiting for her reply he laid his head down on the pillow beside her.
‘You make me complete and you keep me safe,’ he murmured. ‘I never knew before how much I needed that. But now I know, and I’ll never let you go. I warn you, I’ll be possessive, domineering, practically making a prisoner of you. Don’t think I’ll ever let you escape me, because I won’t. You’ll probably get very fed up with my behaviour.’
She enfolded him in her arms and he buried his face against her.
‘I think I can just about manage to put up with you,’ she whispered.
* * *
A week later mother and baby returned home and Charlotte entered a stage of life more beautiful than anything she could have imagined. Her strength returned quickly, her relationship with her child flowered.
She had the pleasure of seeing Lucio completely happy now that both his personal and professional lives were reaching a triumphant peak. Harvest time was approaching, and everyone was studying the grapes intently to pick exactly the right moment. Testing was under way to determine the levels of sugar, acid and tannin.
‘At one time there was only one way to find out,’ Lucio told her. ‘And that was to put the grapes in your mouth. Nowadays there are machines that will do some of it, but there’s still no substitute for what your own taste buds tell you. Mine tell me it’ll need a few more days, but then I’ll unleash my workers on the vines.’
While many vintners used machines for the harvest Lucio still preferred to have his grapes picked by humans. It made him popular in the area where the employment he offered was a godsend to many. Already the temporary workers were appearing on the estate, waiting for the signal to start.
Charlotte’s other great pleasure came from the delight of her family over the birth of their newest member. They squealed with delight when she held up baby Maria so that she could be seen via the video link.
‘Oh, I do wish you were coming to Larkville,’ Ellie sighed one night. ‘You and Lucio and Maria. We’re all so miserable at not being able to get over there for your wedding or the christening, and if you all came to Larkville it would really bind the family together.’
‘I know,’ Charlotte said, supressing a sigh. ‘I really wish I could come, Ellie, honestly I do. But the harvest is about to start.’
‘But why do you have to be there for the harvest?’ Ellie asked. ‘Surely they can do it without you?’
‘Well, I won’t actually be picking grapes,’ she agreed. ‘But I won’t leave Lucio for the first harvest of our marriage. It’s a great moment for him, and I must share it with him.’
‘Would he really stop you coming here?’
‘No, he wouldn’t. He’s too generous. But I wouldn’t be so unfair as to ask him. I want to be here to share the harvest with him. It’ll mean the world to me.’
‘More than your family?’
‘Lucio is my family now.’
‘All right, you do what you think right. We’ll be able to talk again tomorrow, then I have to be off to the airport.’
Charlotte shut down the link and sat for a moment thinking about what she had just done. It was a final choice, she knew that. Nor did she regret it for a moment. In Lucio she had gained more than she could have hoped for in a thousand years.
Smiling, she raised Maria in her arms and went to find him. Only to discover that he had just left the house.
‘I don’t know what got into him,’ Fiorella said. ‘I thought he was home for the day but he suddenly remembered something he had to do, and took off. Look, you can see his car in the distance. Men can be so annoying!’
Lucio returned a couple of hours later, coming upon Charlotte just as she was putting Maria to bed. Despite Maria being only a few weeks old there was no doubt that her eyes brightened at the sight of her father.
‘It’s lucky I’m not easily jealous,’ Charlotte said. ‘Or I might object to having to struggle for her attention.’
‘Yes, Fiorella does try to come first with her.’ Lucio grinned.
‘Actually, I meant you. It’s supposed to be the mother who gets up to look after her at night.’
‘You mean last night? Well, I brought her to you, didn’t I?’
‘Only because I’m breastfeeding her. That’s one thing you haven’t been able to take over. It’s lucky the harvest will be starting soon, and that will take up your attention.’
‘Actually, it won’t,’ he said slowly. ‘I’m going to let Toni take over the harvest, because I won’t be here.’
‘Won’t—? But where will you be?’
He positioned himself to get a good look at her face before saying, ‘I’ll be in Larkville, with you and Maria.’
‘But I—’
‘I’ve checked with the doctor. He says it’s OK for both of you to travel. And I know you want to go because I eavesdropped on the video link you had with Ellie yesterday.’
‘You what?’
‘And I’m glad I did. I learned a lot from listening to you, and it was very clear to me what I had to do. I’ve spent this afternoon talking to Toni, my overseer, and some of the others, about what to do while I’m away. They’re delighted. They’re all too experienced to need me.’
‘But the harvest—I know what it means to you to be here.’
‘And I know what it means to you to reconcile with your family and to meet your other family. There’ll never be another chance as perfect as this, and you simply have to take it.’
He grasped her in urgent hands.
‘Listen to me, Charlotte. I’ve told you that I love you, but I haven’t proved it. They were just words, easy to say.’
‘But I believe them.’
‘And you’re right. But the time will come when you’ll ask yourself what I ever gave up for you, and I don’t want the answer to be “nothing”. So far all I’ve done is take. Now it’s time for you to take and me to give.’
‘Oh, Lucio—Lucio...’
‘Come here.’
His mouth on hers was firm and gentle, assertive but pleading—a mixture of the feelings and attitudes around which their love was built.
‘Now,’ he said when he’d released her, ‘get on to the computer and tell them we’re coming. All of us. You, me and Maria.’
‘Lucio, are you sure?’
‘I was never more sure of anything in my life.’
With all her heart she longed to believe that he meant it, but still a little doubt remained. At the last minute he would realise the size of the undertaking he’d committed himself to, and realise that it was impossible.
These thoughts went through her head as they travelled to the Florence airport, to board the plane to Texas, accompanied by Fiorella. Every moment Charlotte expected him to say something, to back off, count on her understanding. But nothing happened.
It’s down to me, she thought at last. I must tell him that there’s no need for this. I’ll release him. I must.
As they neared Passport Control she took a
deep breath. ‘Lucio—’
‘Just a minute,’ he said. ‘There’s my cell phone. Toni!’
So that was it, she thought. Toni had called to tell him they couldn’t manage without him, and he must return at once. She listened to what Lucio was saying.
‘Right.... Good.... So that’s fine then. Thanks for telling me. Now I can really enjoy myself in the States. See you in a few days.’ He hung up. ‘Right now, are we ready? Goodbye, Mamma. I’ll call you when we get there. Darling, is something the matter? You look strange.’
‘No, I—I can hardly believe this is happening.’
‘You’d better believe it. Off we go!’
And suddenly all the questions were answered. They were going through Passport Control, down the corridor into the departure lounge and onto the plane. Then it was time for take-off.
Lucio had prepared for the long flight by buying the best seats, and urging Charlotte to sit by the window.
Lying back, her child in her arms, her beloved at her side, Charlotte was able to look out on the clouds that separated her from the earth, and relish the sensation of being in another universe, one where everything was perfect.
‘Maria’s getting restless,’ Lucio said at last. ‘I think she wants to be fed.’
He moved, turning his body so that it formed a protective barrier between Charlotte and anyone who might pass down the aisle.
‘Thank you,’ she said happily. ‘And we’ve got the seats in two rows all to ourselves, haven’t we? What a lucky chance that nobody else wanted them. Why are you laughing like that?’
‘It’s not chance. I bought eight seats.’
‘You—you did what? You bought all these seats?’
‘So that you’d have privacy when you needed it.’
‘You thought of that?’ she whispered.
‘I think of you every moment. I long for you to ask me for something, so that I can have the pleasure of giving it to you and showing you what you are to me.’
‘Well...there is something.’
‘Yes?’ And the eagerness in his face told her that he spoke truly when he said he wanted to please her.
‘That vineyard in Veneto, I loved the house. Now you’ve bought it, could it be our home? I know you’ll still have to spend some time in Tuscany for Fiorella’s sake—’
‘But that place will be our main home. Yours and mine. You’re right. In fact, you’ve given me an idea.’
‘What?’
‘Wait and see.’
They sat in silence, watching the child take nourishment from her mother, looking up at her with eyes filled with contentment.
‘She feels safe,’ Lucio said. ‘Everyone who knows you feels safe.’
‘But not only safe, surely?’ she asked.
‘We’ll talk about that later, when you’ve completely recovered.’
She smiled. Lucio’s protective side had been in full flood since the birth, for both herself and Maria.
‘I still can’t believe you let me make this trip,’ she said.
‘I didn’t let you do it,’ he corrected her gently. ‘I made you do it, because you needed to. And whatever you need is what I want.’
He was right in everything, she reflected. Because of his sacrifice she could believe in his love as never before. And he had understood that. It was the final proof of all that she needed to know.
Looking out of the window she saw that the clouds were clearing, and the world was full of sunshine.
Rome: four months later
Against the darkness the lights glittered on the rushing water. Everywhere there was music, people laughing and singing as they crowded around the Trevi Fountain. Coins were spun into the water, and a thousand wishes rose into the air.
‘Have you guessed why I wanted to return to Rome for our honeymoon?’ Charlotte asked as they made their way into the square.
‘I thought it might have something to do with the last time we were here,’ Lucio replied. ‘Exactly one year ago today.’
‘Yes, we sat at that little café over there, and we talked. Oh, how we talked!’
‘And then we went to the fountain. You threw in a coin and cried, “Bring me back to Rome”.’
‘And I got my wish,’ she said. ‘Because here I am, with you. That was what I wanted then, what I want now, what I’ll always want for the rest of our lives.’
‘Who could have foreseen what lay ahead of us?’ he marvelled. ‘We thought we’d know each other for just a few hours. But that night, our whole futures were decided by a kindly fate.’
‘Kindly?’ she asked with just a hint of teasing. ‘Are you sure?’
‘You know better than to ask me that.’
She chuckled. ‘You weren’t so certain when Maria’s milk landed all over your shirt when you’d just got dressed for the evening.’
‘She can do anything she likes and it’s fine by me. You have to expect the unexpected.’
‘And it’s certainly been unexpected,’ she mused.
‘Right. That first night, who’d have thought that a year later you’d have her and me.’
‘Not to mention finding myself the owner of a Veneto vineyard,’ she mused.
‘A man should give his wife a nice wedding present. Like you said, that will always be our real home. I’m glad you like it.’
‘If I listed all the things about you that I like we’d be here forever.’
He held out his hand. ‘Come on, let’s go and tell Oceanus that he got it right.’
There was the stone deity, dominating the fountain, arrogantly accepting all the coins that were tossed at his feet.
‘What happens to the coins?’ Charlotte wondered.
‘They’re regularly gathered up and put into a fund for the needy,’ Lucio explained. ‘So it’s a good way of saying thank-you for a thousand blessings.’
From his pocket he pulled out a bag, heavy with high-value coins, which he shared with her. Together they tossed coin after coin into the water.
‘Bring us back to Rome,’ he cried.
‘Next year,’ she added, ‘and the year after.’
‘And again and again,’ he called. ‘Do you hear that? Bring us back.’
‘Bring us back,’ she echoed.
Lucio put his arm about her, looking down at her with adoration.
‘But it must be together,’ he said. ‘Because together is what we always want to be.’
Slowly she nodded. ‘Yes,’ she murmured. ‘Yes.’
There was no need to say more. Everything had been said, enough for the rest of their lives. In the shining light of the fountain he laid his lips on hers for a kiss that was a herald of the night to come, and the years to come. Then, arms about each other, they walked away.
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from The Cowboy Comes Home by Patricia Thayer!
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CHAPTER ONE
WILLIE NELSON’S “On the Road Again” poured out of the open windows of Johnny Jameson’s truck as he drove along the country road. It was January in Texas, but he was energized by the cold air, knowing the temperature would rise to triple digits soon enough come spring. No matter what the weather, he’d much rather be outside than cooped up indoors.
He always liked to keep on the move. Never felt the need to stay at any one place too long. More times than he cou
ld count, he had lived out of his vehicle.
He’d been lucky lately. The jobs came to him, and he could pick and choose what he wanted to take on. That was the reason he was coming to Larkville. He’d been intrigued when he’d heard the job description. Also because Clay Calhoun and his prize quarter horses were legendary in Texas. But before he got too excited, he wanted to assess the situation before he made any promises to the man, or to the job. If there still was a job, since the offer had been made months ago.
He’d been delayed by a stubborn colt, but after he’d finished training it, the thoroughbred was worth what the owner had paid. When he’d called Calhoun to let him know he’d be delayed with previous commitments, he’d ended up talking to Clay’s son Holt, who’d explained that his father was ill, but assured him that the job would be there whenever he arrived at the ranch. Johnny had said to expect him around the first of the year.
As it turned out it was the first of the year, and he was finally headed for the Double Bar C Ranch. He glanced in the rearview mirror at his trailer, and his precious cargo, Risky Business, his three-year-old roan stallion.
His attention focused back ahead and on the southeast Texas landscape of rolling hills and pastures that had the yellow hue of winter. He looked toward a group of bare trees and a cattle water trough nestled at the base. There was also a visitor, one beautiful black stallion. The animal reared up, fighting to get loose from his lead rope that seemed to be caught on something.
He glanced around to see if anyone was nearby. Not a soul. He pulled his truck to the side of the road and got out. After walking back to check his own horse, he headed toward the open pasture to hopefully save another.
* * *
Jess knew she was going to be blamed for this.
Since her brother Holt was away on personal business, her sister, Megan, was away at school and her brother Nate was in the army, she was the one family member around to handle Double Bar C emergencies. Even though she really wasn’t involved in the day-to-day running of the ranch—Holt was in charge of that—she knew finding Night Storm had to take top priority.
The bigger problem was, how do you find, much less bring back, a rogue stallion? No one but Clay Calhoun had ever been able to handle the valuable quarter horse. Now that Dad was gone, the question was what to do with Storm.
