The Italian: A Mountain Man Romance

by Hazel Parker

“Sono io. Tuo fratello.”

  It’s me. Your brother.

  Dom hadn’t seen his brother in three years, his sisters and mother in five. The last time he had seen his little brother was when he had come to beg Dom to come home, but he hadn’t listened, and now he was in Canada. Missing everything about home.

  He could hear their voices on the other side of the door through the camera’s microphone.

  Luca was his brother’s name, but the man before him didn’t look like his little brother. His younger brother by ten years had aged. It had only been three years since they had last spoken, but his bright eyes were now dull, and his chin was covered in a beard. Mamma would have never let him grow a beard. He peered closer to the computer screen trying to see his face. In it, he could see the remnants of the small boy he had taught to fish and how to ride his bike. Luca and his two friends, clad in all black and still wearing shades, walked slowly to the door. Despite all the warning bells in his head, his hand loosened from the gun handle in his waist.

  He could now hear the men’s voices on the other side of the wooden door. Anna stood frozen at the back door, hand on Gelato’s head for stability, and he realized he was willing to risk it all. If it was his brother, truly his brother, he would die by the bullet of that hand with a smile on his face.

  Still, his hand trembled, hovering over the doorknob.

  “Danilo, per favore.”

  Please.

  He gave in, turning the door and squinting past the sunlight to see his blood in the flesh. It was him.

  Luca didn’t wait for words; as soon as there was enough space to push through the entrance, he threw his arms around his brother, pulling him close.

  “I thought I would never see you again,” Dom said, shedding unchecked tears.

  Luca smacked Dom’s back, nodding. “I promised Mamma I would find you, either your face or your remains.”

  So they had thought he was dead, too.

  He pulled back and smiled at the boy he could remember being born. Dom could remember every sibling’s birth, but his brother’s he remembered the most vividly. It had been the first time he had realized he would be responsible for someone other than himself. When his twin sisters were born three years later, it made Dom feel a sense of protectiveness he hadn’t known he could feel so strongly, but with his brother, it was the sense that he had to be great so he wouldn’t lead Luca astray.

  “Please come in. Sit.”

  Luca did, and seeing Anna standing there, he smiled at her as he sat on the couch. The two men with him chose to stand. “Mi bella! You are still here. I must thank you. Without you, none of this was possible.”

  That was not the right thing to say. All her adrenaline released and anger set in.

  She stomped over to him and poked him in the chest. Even sitting they were almost the same height. “How dare you? How dare you use me that way? You nearly ruined everything, and you had me scared out of my mind. We thought you were the mafia! Why did you have to message me?”

  “Because you are my brother’s type,” he said matter-of-factly with a shrug.

  His brother had not changed. He was a man who did what he liked, when he liked, and saw it as the only way. Stubbornness was a Costa trait, but the bravado and nonchalance was all Luca. Dom laughed, breaking the tension, and pulled Anna onto his lap.

  “So while you are looking for my body, you are playing matchmaker? I thought we left such nonsense to Mamma.”

  Luca smirked and shook his head no. “Mamma is nosy and refuses to see that a man will not settle down until he is ready. You have always been ready; you were just waiting for the right girl.”

  Anna, still bristling, relaxed at hearing that. Dom liked the idea that she, too, believed she was the right one for him. If only he could tell her that himself.

  “And the men?

  By now they had removed their sunglasses, but stood without speaking at each entrance.

  “Bodyguards.” Luca spoke as if everything could be said with a shrug. Nothing was a big deal.

  “There are men looking for you. In case I ran into them while looking for you, I brought back up.”

  It made sense. Italians were a vengeful lot. They could hold a grudge.

  “Luca. Tell me. Where is Mamma? And Grazianna and Graziella? Please tell me they are alive.”

  That was the important question. He needed to know that his family was alright… still intact, though it was no longer whole.

  “They are alive and well. They are waiting for my word in the truck.”

  Again, his delivery was unprecedented. Dom sat stunned before he clambered to his feet, forcing Anna to stand. “That truck. The one out there?”

  Luca nodded. “Yes. I told them to wait just to be sure, but I was positive you were who I thought you were.”

  Dom ran outside. The bodyguard at the front door stepped to the side just in time to let him through without a physical altercation, and both back doors opened to reveal three women.

  Chapter 19

  Anna felt like awkward watching this very private moment. Truly a moment that was both touching and so filled with love, she wanted to turn away. There was no denying Domenico loved his mother. It was clear in the way he held her to his chest, and she wept.

  “Mio figlio.”

  Two women with identical looks got in the huddle, throwing their arms around the two bodies and crying happy tears. Even though she and Dom weren’t officially dating, she wanted to be a part of that hug. She wanted the kind of familial bond they had. She couldn’t remember the last time she had felt like she was a part of a bigger whole. Her parents had died when she had been ten; since then, she couldn’t remember anyone making her feel as loved as her parents had made her feel.

  Luca stood beside her at the door, taking it all in. “You should go over there.” His thick accent coated his words.

  She watched as Dom’s mother pulled back from their hug to look over him and fuss about his weight.

  “Oh. No. Dom and I aren’t dating. It would be…” wonderful. Amazing. Exactly what she wanted. “Inappropriate. We just have an arrangement.”

  “You sure about that?” He looked into her eyes, not letting up, as if peering for the truth and when he found it, he nodded as his hand with knowing. “You should go over there,” he repeated before pushing her towards the mass of people now separating. “Introduce yourself.”

  Danilo’s mother looked like a queen, the way her silver hair was wrapped in an elaborate bun and clipped to the back of her head. The wrinkles around her eyes and mouth seemed to have been from smiling and Anna hoped they were. From what Dom had told her, her life couldn’t have been easy and being separated from a man as good as her son, she imagined would be almost unbearable. Considering she had experienced it for two weeks, she could only imagine how her heart would ache if it had been any longer.

  Dom wiped his eyes and seeing Anna, smiled. “Mamma, this is Anna.”

  The small woman pulled Anna in with hidden strength into a big hug. Tears beaded at Anna’s eyes from the love and warmth. It had been too long.

  The woman cleared her throat. “Nice to meet you. I am Sofia Costa.” She spoke in a slow, even pace, and her accent was thick, as if she hadn’t spoken English for a very long time. “These are my daughters, Grazianna and Graziella. How do you know my Danilo?”

  It was clear what she was asking, and Anna turned pink, not sure how to answer.

  “Mio Dio. Only five minutes and you are already prying, Mamma.”

  “What? What is it? Can’t a mother who hasn’t seen her son in five years be interested in his life?”

  Even though he pretended to be embarrassed, Anna could tell he was more than content. He ushered the family in, and together, between talking and Dom’s mom taking over his kitchen, they began to catch up on everything that had happened over the past five years. The government placing his family in witness protection. The mass shootings at anyone who might know where Dom was. The manhunt for the
gang leader Piero and his final demise in a basement since he refused arrest. Dom’s mother smiled while talking, though tears slid down her face.

  “You can finally come home, mio figlio. We can be a family again.”

  Anna didn’t miss the longing in her voice, nor the uncertainty on Dom’s face, and because she knew it was better to see the glass half empty, she opened her mouth to seal her own fate. “That’ll be wonderful, Mrs. Costa. I’m sure Dom, I mean Danilo, misses Italy. He told me it’s very beautiful.”

  “Well, you can see for yourself. You must come visit. There is always a room in my home,” she said, standing up. She swatted at the hands of her children, extended in case she needed help. “I am old, not an invalid. Leave me alone.” Anna couldn’t help smiling at their relationship. It was clear how much she loved her children, and they loved her.

  It didn’t take long before the Costas slipped up and started speaking in Italian. Hearing the foreign words from Dom’s lips only made him even sexier. She watched him laugh with his mother in the kitchen while they made dinner for everyone. Occasionally stopping to embrace, joyous they are reunited. Luca was watching soccer alongside bodyguard number one and content without talking to each other while one of his sisters engaged in a conversation with bodyguard number two.

  Grazianna or Graziella, she wasn’t sure which one, sat Indian style beside her and spoke before she could attempt a casual conversation. “So… how long have you and my brother been dating?” The twin watched her with wide green eyes as she replied.

  She could feel her cheeks heating and revealing her secrets. “We are not dating.”

  “I am not my mamma. You do not have to lie. My brother is a good man. You cannot do much better.”

  Anna, not sure what to say, said the first thing that came to mind. “I’m sorry, you probably get this all the time. Which one are you? I can’t tell you and your sister apart.”

  “I am Grazianna. The artist. My sister has a small mole right underneath her eyebrow. She is the smart one.”

  “Right.” Anna felt flustered and at a loss for words. Technically, she was dating their brother. Though not for long if he moved back to Italy. “Well, you are right. Your brother is a great guy. I would be lucky to have him.”

  “Has he told you he loves you yet?”

  Grazianna had eyes like a cat, and it felt like she was staring right into Anna’s soul.

  “Why would you ask that?”

  “Because,” she said with the same nonchalance as her brother. “I can tell he does by the way he looks at you. He looks at you the way Papa looked at Mamma.” She stood from the ground and walked over to pet Gelato, who laid in a corner surveying all the newcomers. Though he was loving, he was first dedicated to protecting his owner, who couldn’t have been happier with his family. As if sensing her stare, Dom looked up, and his gaze made her feel like they were the only people in the room. So much was being said with only their bodies.

  I’m sorry.

  Forgive me.

  I want you.

  I love you.

  All those words and more remained lodged in her throat as she faked a smile and stood up.

  “Well, it was a pleasure meeting every single one of you, but I have to be going. I have class in the morning, and I don’t want to interrupt any longer.”

  That was a lie. She didn’t have class. In fact, her previous plans had been staying in bed all day with Dom, but they didn’t know that, and Dom, who did know that, wasn’t saying a word. He was staring at her with a guarded face.

  “No, per favore. You can’t go. We were making our famous dish. You must stay for dinner,” Mrs. Costa said.

  It did smell amazing, but why prolong the inevitable?

  “Oh no, ma’am. I really couldn’t. I know how much Dom has missed you guys. Just make sure he saves me a plate.”

  To the naked eye, she was just fine. She was just a girl excusing herself, but on the inside, she was crumbling. She only hoped she’d make it home before the tears made it through her handmade dam.

  “Mamma, leave her alone,” Luca said and stood up. “Maybe she has some things to do, and she’s too polite to say so. If she wants to go home, I’ll take her. It’ll be nice to drive myself for once instead of being lugged around in the back.”

  Graziella huffed. “Oh please, like you didn’t enjoy pretending you were somebody famous.”

  Grazianna laughed and stood up to give her sister a high five.

  “I will be back later, mamma. Don’t eat without me.”

  Luca held the door open and let Anna walk out. She collected her bag from the back door and waved goodbye, intentionally avoiding eye contact with Dom, even as he watched her climb into the car. Luca didn’t speak as he pulled the gear into reverse and directed the car down the hill. He didn’t say a word as her tears broke free and slid down her cheeks until she, for the most part, had them under control.

  “You know, I think you’re making a big mistake.”

  “Am I?”

  “Yes. I think you should just tell my brother how you feel.”

  “It’s not that simple, Luca.”

  “I think it is.”

  She wanted to pull her hair. “You talk as if you know me, but you don’t.”

  He waited for the GPS to finish its direction before speaking. “Maybe, but I do know you shouldn’t run from your problems.”

  “Since when did your brother become a problem?”

  “He’s not. The problems is you not admitting how you feel.”

  “Well, that’s where you’re wrong, buddy. I already admitted how I felt. I stuck around even when it got hard; I let him know I made the choice to choose him.”

  “Then what’s the problem,” he said, pulling into her apartment lot.

  “This time, I want him to make the choice to choose me.”

  And in a contest between her or his family, she would never win.

  She climbed from the car, grabbing her duffel bag before he could say too much more.

  “For what it’s worth, I think it’ll all work out.”

  She shrugged half-heartedly and walked away because, in her experience, that kind of mindset only made you look like a fool.

  Chapter 20

  It is one thing to be scolded. It is entirely worse in Italian.

  “Have I raised a fool?”

  Dom could feel her eyes boring into him while he was chopping the onions.

  “No, Mamma.”

  “You could have fooled me.”

  “I was never fooled,” Luca yelled from the couch where he'd been listening in. Dom knew that he enjoyed every moment of it because Luca himself had spent the majority of his life on the receiving end of her scolding.

  “Don’t get me started on you, young man. Conning a loving girl into telling you all of Dom’s business. It’s a wonder he even fell in love.”

  Dom’s mouth fell open. Sofia patted his cheek before turning to put another dish in the oven. “Close your mouth, dear; flies will get in.”

  Grazianna drew small designs in the flour while waiting for her brother’s response, but he stayed silent.

  “I loved your father more than life. It was a pleasure to be his wife, but I was only able to do so because he asked!”

  “Mamma, I can’t.”

  “You’re being stupid,” Grazianna interrupted.

  “Hush,” she interrupted with a withering look for them both before continuing. “He made me a happy woman, and even now I can feel his love in my heart. The only thing that would have made me happier was if I had some grandchildren to spoil.”

  She proclaimed the last sentence like an announcement to all her children.

  “But seeing as Luca is determined to be a bachelor all his life, Grazianna is married to her art, and Graziella is more ambitious than passionate, I am betting on you.”

  Talk about pressure. Dom sighed, forgetting he had flour on his hands as he ran them through his hair.

  “Mamma, it is not tha
t simple.”

  “Love never is,” she said while flattening dough. “It shouldn’t be. Love is complicated. Messy,” she said, throwing a tendril of hair back from her face before looking up. “But that’s what makes it fun.”

  “I am a murderer, Mamma. I lied to her, and worse, I let her leave. She probably hates me now.”

  “So you go to her.”

  “But…”

  She pursued her lips and frowned. “I have also not raised a coward.”

  She wiped her hands clean and then slid off the ring she had worn for thirty-seven years. “Here. Your father gave this to me under our favorite tree in Venice. He asked me to be his partner for life, and I said yes. Now you must do the same, or else you will regret it for the rest of your life.”

  He took the ring, turning it over in his hand. It was a simple gold band with a small diamond in the center. The only thing a poor fisherman could afford, but it had held the lasting love of a couple for almost forty years. He only hoped he could have that and more with Anna.

  Sofia returned from the bathroom and put her hands on her plump waist. “You are still here.”

  He chuckled and shook his head. “Not for long. Grazie, Mamma. Love you,” he bent to kiss her cheek, and she kissed his.

  “You must also buy flowers!” Grazianna called out as he grabbed his keys and wallet.

  “And apologize,” Graziella yelled out as he ran through the door.

  “I know!”

  “Don’t rip your pants,” Luca screamed right before the door closed.

  Siblings. They’re the worst.

  But he loved them.

  Dom drove like a wild man and was grateful he hadn’t pulled over as he parked in front of her apartment. The entire way he focused on driving, just getting there, but now that he was here, he wasn’t sure what to say.

  Apologize. His sister was brilliant. He figured he’d start there and let his heart take him the rest of the way.

  With trepidation, Dom knocked on Anna’s door and held his breath.

  “Just a minute, let me get some change,” she yelled before the door was yanked open and he took her in.

  Her eyes widened and he dropped to one knee just as she slammed the door in his face.