Dinner was warm and delicious. Our conversation was light and relaxing. Mema bombarded me with questions about Rain and the twins that I proudly answered. In the past, I despised being questioned about my personal life, but now I boasted about it. I had been given more than I deserved and I was grateful for it.
“So Dominick, how is my Rain?” Mema asked, but honestly always sounded like she demanded an answer.
“She’s doing just fine, Mema. I asked her to come out with me for this trip, but she felt the twins were too small to travel and it was too soon for her to leave them even for a short time.”
“I’d have to agree with Rain. After everything she has gone through in the past few months, I’m sure she just wants to stay as close as she can to her children.”
“That and the fact that she is still searching for information on my accident and her assault.” Victor added, as he wiped his mouth in frustration over his daughter’s incessant need to discover the truth.
“Victor, what do you mean? I thought the authorities were handling the case. Has something changed?” Antonio inquired with apparent concern.
“The authorities are handling it, Antonio. The case is still wide open, but Rain has decided to take it upon herself to investigate it with the help of Tommy and against the advice of me and her husband, I might add. She apparently feels the United States justice system isn't working quickly enough for her liking.” Victor’s tone reflected a hint of amused frustration.
Antonio grinned. In fact, everyone showed a hint of a smile towards one another.
“Well, I’m sure Rain has her reasons, Victor, and you know as well as I do that she is smart enough to back away before things get out of control. At least Tommy can keep a watchful eye on her.” Antonio tried to see the practical side of Rain’s justification in her actions and reminded Victor that Conte would keep a watchful eye on Rain, as he always had when they were kids.
“That’s just it, Antonio, she won’t listen to reason. She’s adamant on finding out why all of this happened.” I added.
“There has to be something that is driving Rain, something that is very important to her.” Mema noted.
“There is…our twins.”
Antonio and Mema looked at one another and then back to me for an explanation.
“She has felt from the very beginning that the assault on her and Victor’s accident were connected, because the person who ran Victor down did it with my car. To Rain, that was very personal. Then add the fact that both people were red-heads, the person in the car and the person at the shore house. Yet, the twins are what drive Rain to keep investigating, even though we have pleaded with her to leave it to Victor and me. And the authorities, of course.”
“You’ve mentioned the twins twice now, Dominick? Are they in danger? Is that why Rain is doing this?” Mema sounded worried.
“No, Mema, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you. I have added more security as you know, to watch everyone, but I don’t believe the twins are in danger. It’s just that Rain never thought she would be able to carry a child to term, let alone twins, so when the doctor told her she could, it was the happiest day of Rain’s life. She loved being pregnant even with all of the complications she had endured, but mostly she was looking forward to experiencing the actual birth.”
“Yet, the person who assaulted her took any chance of that away from Rain.” Mema finished what I was about to say.
“Yes, and because of that and a few more recent revelations that she has not divulged to me yet, she has decided to become a self-proclaimed detective and she has enlisted both Tommy and Raven to help her on her quest for the truth.” I added.
“Raven? You have to be joking?” Mema was undoubtedly surprised by this.
I laughed at Mema’s reaction.“Yes, Tommy took Raven down to the shore house to recuperate.”
“Recuperate? What happened?” Antonio inquired.
“With all that has been going on in Raven’s personal life, she decided to take on more cases at the firm. It started to take its toll on her. She was at Tommy’s place for a visit of sorts and she fainted. Tommy immediately took her to the hospital and eventually he drove her down to Dominick and Rain’s shore house.” Victor explained.
“That still doesn’t explain how she got wrapped up with Rain’s investigation.” Mema stated.
“I enlisted her help. I felt that since she was going to be staying with us while she took a leave of absence from the firm, I’d get her to casually keep an eye on Rain. I had already talked with Conte about watching her as well. He promised that if things were getting out of hand he would tell me immediately, but he’s Rain’s best friend, so I felt he might be torn and I couldn’t take that chance, so I asked Raven for her help.” I confessed that I had persuaded Raven to help look after Rain.
“What did she say?” Mema asked.
“She said agreed to help because, like Conte, she also has seen a change in Rain since we brought the babies home from the hospital and even more so in the past few weeks.”
“It appears that you have your hands full, Dominick.” Antonio surmised.
“As long as Rain and my children are safe, that’s all that matters to me. I spoke with Rain yesterday evening and she agreed to explain all that she knows when we get back tomorrow night. I told her that Victor and I would do the same. Who knows, maybe Rain will have new information combined with what we already know to give the police stronger leads to make an arrest in the case.”
“For the sake of everyone involved I hope they find out the truth, so life can finally return to normal.” Mema said, as she gave a warm and hopeful smile.
I smiled and took her hand. “I hope for that every day, Mema.”
Dinner continued and we moved on from the discussion of the case to a much brighter subject… the vineyard house. I explained my plans for the restoration of the old estate. Everyone thought that I had some nice ideas and that Rain would be surprised and happy with my choices when the work was finally completed.
To see Rain’s family excited about the house gave me a feeling of renewed motivation to get the project done, so Rain and I could possibly spend the twins first Christmas there. I remembered how Rain described Capri during the Christmas season when we first met. I wasn’t able to give her that trip to Italy because we had broken up right after Christmas last year. I want to make it up to Rain and be able to give her and our family that this year.
Once dinner had ended, I tried to help Mema with the dishes. She took the dish towel from my hand and placed it on the nearby counter. She then turned back to me and placed her hand on my cheek, while she appeared to read my mind.
“Thank you for wanting to stay and help me, Dominick. Now do you want to tell me why you are really in here with me and not outside having a nightcap with the men or even upstairs calling your wife?” Mema sounded softer, less demanding than her normal way of addressing someone.
I placed my hand over hers, left out a sigh, and closed my eyes briefly to get my bearings.
I barely chuckled before I addressed her question to me. “Mema, I’m worried about Rain. I know that although we've been through a great deal together in such a short time, I’ve never seen Rain like this. She’s so…so…”
“Passionate?” Mema finished my sentence for me, as if she knew exactly what I was getting at.
“Yes, passionate, she is letting it rule her every thought and action. There is no stopping her.”
“Have you both sat down and talked about it?”
“We briefly touched on it, but I didn’t want her involved. I wanted her to let the authorities take care of it.”
“Do you think Rain believed that the authorities alone were investigating the two incidents?”
“I’m not sure I follow you.”
“You have to know that Rain is aware that you and Victor are involved in anything the authorities may come up with, so she also wants to be a part of it because this not only affects her, it affects the people
that she loves. You know how Rain feels about family.” She smiled.
The gleam in Mema’s eyes made me realize something I had known all along, Rain isn’t just doing this for her, Rain is protecting her family. She stated that very thing to me when I kidnapped her. She said she would protect her family at any cost, even if she died trying. Mema’s point was well made. I had to tell Rain everything and we had to work together on this. Rain would never let this go, so perhaps if we worked as a team, we could not only figure out the answers together, but perhaps it would strengthen our relationship even more.
“Thank you, Mema.” I stated and kissed her briefly on her cheek.
Mema blushed. “No thanks necessary. Now ,leave me to clean up. You go have that nightcap.”
She pushed me away and directed me to the outdoor living room where Victor and Antonio were having their evening drinks.
There was a slight chill in the air, so Victor started a fire. The brandy went down smooth, as the amber liquid heated my insides. I felt my contracted muscles release. I hadn’t realized how much tension I had been holding over the last few days, but now I had a new determination and couldn't wait for the next two days to pass, so I could get home to my family and work things out with Rain.
Chapter Twenty
48 Hours
Dominick
I woke up early and went for a run along a path near the cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean. I could get used to this. I knew that the crew that had been working on the vineyard house had not arrived yet, so I figured I’d get in my workout, a shower and a phone call to Rain before I began the day ahead.
Once I got back to the house, I noticed a note from Mema. It said that she and Antonio went into town with Victor and that they would be back around lunchtime. It also stated that she had left me a pot of coffee and some pastries to hold me over until they got home.
I prepared a cup for myself and passed on the pastries; I wasn’t hungry at this point. I just wanted to shower, call Rain and get to the vineyard house to check on the renovations.
My shower felt great. I was relaxed and just about to dress, when my phone buzzed. I grinned from ear to ear when I saw that the caller was my beautiful wife.
“Hey, Angel, is everything okay?”
“Hi Dominick, everything is just fine. I wanted to call you before I headed out for my evening walk with the twins.”
“Did you eat yet?”
“Anna and Joseph are in the process of preparing dinner for everyone, so with the evening being so warm, I felt it would be perfect to take the twins out with me. The ocean air really puts them to sleep.”
“Are you going alone?”
“No, I’m sure the guards you hired aren’t very far behind.” She teased.
“I don’t mean that. Besides, you know it’s necessary for right now.”
She giggled. I loved to hear that sound.
“Actually, no, Raven is going to take the walk with me.”
“Where’s Conte?”
“He and Daniel decided to go out for the evening.”
“I’m glad to see my brother getting out there.”
“Yeah, it’s also been great for Tommy, too. Especially since he and Mike aren’t really speaking right now.” Rain was happy for her friend, but worried about his estranged relationship with his brother.
“Baby, I know you're concerned about Michael and Tommy, but they're grown men. They need to work it out by themselves.”
“I know. It’s just rough to see it go the way it did.”
“I know, but maybe in time they can come to some sort of a mutual understanding.”
“I hope you're right. Anyway, have you seen the vineyard house? How does it look? What did they change? When will it be done?” Rain changed the subject and her voice brightened at the thought of the home she had always loved as a child.
I was happy to be able to buy it and give it to her. I chuckled. “Hey, slow down. I haven't even been out there to see it yet. I thought I’d call you first before I headed over there to check on the construction.”
“I beat you to it, Mr. Kane.” Rain was playful. Damn, I wish I was home with her in our bed right now.
“You certainly did, Mrs. Kane. Baby, I’ll let you get on with your walk and I’ll call you tomorrow with our timeline. We will probably get in around midnight your time, but I’ll let you know.”
“Okay, Dominick, keep me posted. I love you.”
“I love you, Rain.”
After I promised to keep Rain informed, we hung up and I dressed Then I headed over to the vineyard house to check in with the crew and their progress.
The walk from Rain’s childhood home to the vineyard house took about ten minutes. As I approached the property, I could hear the hustle and bustle of the workers. Upon a closer inspection, I saw that the crew was divided into groups. Several were working on the pool area, which needed a complete makeover. The outside of the house was made of concrete and stone. That group was laying a fresh surface on the outer walls of the villa, while another group began to replace the Terra-cotta tiles on the rooftop.
It was a tremendous relief to see the old place being restored on scheduled. I was surprised to see how much work had already been completed. As, I approached the building, Sergio, the foreman of the project, approached to greet me.
He shook my hand. “Grazie, Signore Kane, what do you think so far?” Sergio asked, as he smiled wide at the incredible progress his team had made.
“It’s incredible. Rain is going to love it.”
“Is Signora Kane here with you. We would love to show her around?” He stated with a proud tone in his voice. He should be proud. The old place looked incredible.
“No, Sergio, she is back in the States. I’m hoping to have her out here for Christmas. Is it possible that the house will be completed by then?” I hated to ask, but I really wanted to spend Christmas here with my family.
“The house and the pool should be completed by then barring any setbacks.”
“Setbacks? What type of setbacks?” Now he had me worried.
“Capri has a team of inspectors that are very strict, especially with homes that have restorations, such as using products and materials that would have been used when the villas were originally built. Many of these products are readily available, but some we have to import and as with any fragile material, importing it can pose issues that can cause setbacks. Also, because the inspectors are extremely strict here on Capri, and they rarely sign-off on the first examination of the property.”
“Well, let’s hope they don’t find much that needs to be changed. Do whatever you have to do to make this happen for December, Sergio.”
“Do not worry, Signore Kane. I’m friends with several of the inspectors, so I have had them out here from the beginning to avoid any issues at the end. I hope you don’t mind? If you would like them to consult through the end, I’m sure they would be happy to do that, but you would have to pay them a consulting fee.”
Sergio was apprehensive when the money came into the conversation. He knew I had already spent an exorbitant amount of money on this property, but to me it was for Rain’s happiness and you couldn’t put a price tag on that.
“Sergio, I would be happy to have them come in on the restoration decisions. Here are my cards, have them call me so we can work out the details.” I even gave Sergio extra business cards, just in case. This way if anyone needed to contact me with an issue or a decision, it could be made quickly, so we can get this project done on time.
“Wonderful! I will speak to them later today. For now, would you like a tour of the grounds?” Sergio appeared relieved and excited, as he directed me towards the house to show the work that had been completed and the projects that are currently being addressed.
Sergio explained that the first layer of concrete was being applied to the house and that once the final layer was ready, it would be mixed with the color that Rain and I had picked for the outside of the home. We chose a pale
orange and lemon color that would have deeper vanes of Terra-Cotta running through the application, to give it a weathered finish. Rain wanted a colorful pallet when it came to the shutters, so we have orange, salmon, turquoise, yellow, and a set of dark hunter green for the kitchen window. She chose the green as a memorial to the original shutters on the house. She wanted always to have the memory of the shutters she used to pry open to have access to the house when it was abandoned. It was a place of solace and protection for Rain during a time that was the most difficult in her life. I decided to take the memory even further. Sergio had found some old wine barrels in the winery building, so I asked that he clean one up and place it under the kitchen window to use as a large planter for flowers that were in season. Sergio though that was a great idea and decided to do the same for the other barrels that could no longer be used for the storage of wine. He said he would strategically place them in different areas of the property for Rain to enjoy.
The Ties That Bind (Miss Taken Identity #3) Page 19
