When they made it to the table, he sat her down and then walked around and sat in front of her. But while he was walking around, Donald, whom she sat next to, hit her leg beneath the table. And then he leaned toward her. “Forget it, Ash,” he whispered.
She leaned toward him. “Forget what?”
“Look up gangster in the dictionary, and his picture will appear. You don’t want any piece of Monk Paletti,” he warned.
Ashley was a little shocked. She wanted to ask her brother who was Monk, since the guy had told her his name was Frankie. But she didn’t bother. Because it didn’t matter. He was just a friend of Teddy’s being kind. That was it. And the idea that she would want a piece of him, as Donald put it, please. He was not her type. At all!
But as they sat at that table, and Monk conversated with the family as if he was a part of the family, and as he spoke his mind like he didn’t know what restraint meant, she kept taking peeps at him.
He wasn’t what she would call a great looking guy. Most of the guys she found attractive were skinny and boyish-looking. But this Frankie or Monk or whatever his name was, had a lot of meals to miss to ever be considered skinny. He was muscular like most of the men in her family, except for Donny, and he was more older-looking than what she was used to. So he wasn’t what she would call great-looking at all. But he had those eyes, those dark, humongous eyes, that were almost hypnotic.
Monk, on the other hand, was far more conspicuous with his peeps. But he couldn’t stop with the sly little glances her way as he dabbed his mouth with the napkin, or laughed at a joke somebody told, or reached for the salt shaker. But the baffling thing to him was the why. Why did some slip of a girl like her get his attention when no woman ever had before? Just because her family seemed to take her for granted? What is that your business, as his old man would say. That wasn’t his business. He didn’t even know her! But he couldn’t deny the obvious. He was interested in getting to know her.
But Ashley had other thoughts on her mind. She leaned toward Donald. “He’s in a good mood,” she whispered.
“I was thinking the same thing,” Donald whispered back. “Do it,” he suggested.
Ashley wasn’t sure if it was the right time or not, but she decided to ask him. “Daddy?” she asked.
“Uh-oh,” Big Daddy said. “Sounds like gimme time to me.” Everybody laughed. “What is it, sweetheart?” Big Daddy asked.
Monk looked at Ashley. She didn’t seem bothered by that gimme time line at all, although it bothered Monk.
But Ashley was apparently used to it. “Donny and I were wondering if you could help us out,” she said.
“Told you so,” Big Daddy said. Then he looked at his two neediest children. “In what way?” he asked.
“It’s not that much,” Donald said.
“How much?” Jenay asked.
Donald looked at Ashley. He figured it would go over easier if she asked, since he was ALWAYS asking for something. “Just twenty thousand would tie us over nicely,” Ashley said seriously, but the family erupted in laughs.
Big Daddy shook his head. “You see what I’m dealing with here, Monk? Twenty grand isn’t big money to my children. Oh no! That’s chump change to those two geniuses down there at your end of the table.”
“We aren’t saying it’s not big money,” Ashley said. “And we’ll pay it back. It’s just a loan.”
“When are you two guys leaving home for good?” Brent asked Donald and Ashley. “Now that would be a good payback for Pop and Jenay.”
Donald frowned. “Ah, Brent, you don’t know what you’re talking about!”
“I do know what I’m talking about,” Brent said. “You both leave, and then you both come right back. You leave, you come right back.”
“Oh, I’m going to be happy to leave for good,” said Ashley. “When I get my coins together, I’m out of here!”
“You’ve been getting your coins together for years,” Tony said.
“Perhaps,” Monk said to Ashley, and everybody looked at him. “I don’t know but maybe if you try to get dollars together, instead of coins, you’ll make more progress.”
Everybody at the table laughed. Even Donald was laughing. But Monk didn’t crack a smile until Ashley did. When she started laughing, he did too.
“But in answer to your original question,” Big Daddy said to Ashley and Donald when the laughter died back down. “No.”
And that was that, since they all knew Big Daddy didn’t change his mind.
After dinner, after everybody had eaten and they were all heading back into the living room for more conversations, Monk walked over to Ashley, who was like the last to get up from the table, and pulled her chair back for her.
“Thanks,” Ashley said with a smile. And her smile warmed his heart.
But as she was about to head into the living room, he suddenly felt as if he needed to seize the moment. He didn’t know why, but he touched her arm. She looked at him. When he saw the kindness in her eyes, he actually felt something that was so fleeting it left as fast as it came. But it had been there. “Yes?” she asked him.
“Why don’t we go outside,” Monk said. “Get some fresh air.”
Ashley was surprised by the invitation. She even glanced at Donald, who was still in the dining hall. And his look was undeniable. Don’t do it, Ash, his look seemed to say.
But what harm could talking to? Nobody else was talking to her. “Sure,” she said, and she and Monk headed toward the sliding glass door that led out back.
As Monk opened the door, he wasn’t sure if he was pleased or alarmed that she had agreed to go outside with him. But it was done now. They both stepped out of their comfort zones, and went outside.
CHAPTER FIVE
“Let’s walk,” he said as he looked out over the wide expanse of Big Daddy’s property, and Ashley had no problem with that either. They began walking across the patio, around the pool, and onto the grounds.
But just as they did, Ashley folded her arms. It was a balmy night and she was only wearing a halter top.
Monk realized it too. “Chilly?” he asked her.
“A little,” she said.
Monk quickly removed his suitcoat and, to Ashley’s surprise, placed it around her shoulders. She immediately smelled his fresh cologne scent all over his suitcoat, as he snuggled it around her. She glanced at him.
On balmy nights out, Big Daddy had placed his coat around her many times. Donny had too. But never had a man outside of the family ever bothered. She’d been out on dates when it began to snow even, and the guys buttoned their coats, protecting themselves, and just let her suffer. But not Monk. “Thanks,” she said, and continued to stare at him as they continued to walk. She’d never met a man quite like him.
Especially when she saw, with his suitcoat off, the muscles he had on him, and the fact that he wore suspenders that matched his tie. Unlike the guys she dated, most of whom either dressed like bikers or like rappers, he dressed like a man with some class about him. For a fleeting second, he even reminded her of her gorgeous uncle Tommy Gabrini, the man they called Dapper Tom, who had class too.
“Nice place this is,” Monk said, looking around.
Ashley was pleased he liked it. “Thanks.”
And it had beautifully manicured grounds, complete with a tennis court and a basketball court and room for golf too. “Your old man designed all of this,” Monk asked, “or was it Mrs. Sinatra’s eye?”
Ashley hunched her shoulders. “Both, I think.”
“They did a good-ass job. Bravo. I like their style,” Monk said, still looking around as they made their way down a set of steps. But his looking around caused him to miss one step and stumble badly. Ashley, realizing it, quickly sprang into action. She placed both of her arms around his waist and grabbed him, helping to stop what would have been a nasty fall down those steps.
Monk was stunned by her quick reaction. He looked at her as she continued to hold him. “You okay?” she asked him.
<
br /> He nodded. “Yes,” he said. “Thank you.”
Ashley smiled. “You’re welcome. But watch your step,” she added, as they continued to make their way down the steps and onto the bike path that stood between luscious greenery.
But Monk was still reeling. It seemed simple enough to Ashley: she caught a man before he fell. But to Monk, it was startling. He could have fallen face first the way he had stumbled, and had it not been for Ashley’s quick reaction, he would have been in a bad spot. But she acted. She saved him. The startling part for Monk was that he’d never been saved by a woman before. No other woman had ever cared to make the attempt. Until this one came along.
Now he knew his instinct wasn’t wrong. There was definitely something unique about her. But he still didn’t know what that uniqueness meant to him. If anything.
They made their way to the lake near the back of the property. “Want to sit a while?” Monk asked her.
“Sounds good to me,” Ashley said, and was about to sit on one of the benches.
But Monk quickly interceded. “Wait a minute,” he said as he pulled out his handkerchief and wiped it off for her. “Now,” he said, “you can sit down.”
Ashley felt like some kind of a queen the way he did that for her. But she didn’t say anything. She just sat down. And he sat beside her. Very close beside her, she realized, as they looked out at the quiet lake.
As they sat quietly, he placed his arm across the back of the bench, which effectively had his arm behind Ashley’s small shoulders. Although she knew it was no big deal, she felt suddenly protected with him that close to her, and with his arm behind her. And his nice cologne scent made her feel great too. Which was a switch for Ashley. Whenever she usually hung around guys, they ended up making her feel bad about herself, not good about herself.
“Your old man owns a lot of property around Maine,” Monk said, looking around, “but he hit the jackpot with this piece of land. A nice piece of property he got going for himself.”
Ashley smiled at his thick Jersey accent. “We like it,” she said. Then she grinned.
Monk looked at her. “What’s funny?”
“You. Your accent, anyway.”
“Oh, that,” Monk said with what Ashley could only describe as a very charming smile. “It’s like I wanna get rid of it, but I can’t because everybody that lives around me speak the same language, if you get my meaning. I’m stuck, Ashley,” he said jokingly. “I’m stuck!”
Ashley laughed. “I can’t help you there,” she said.
“No, I guess not,” Monk said, staring at her long, slender neck. “You smell good,” he said to her. “Anybody ever tell you how good you smell?”
Ashley smiled again, and then she laughed. She couldn’t help it! “Nobody’s told me, no,” she said.
“What’s that you’re wearing? What perfume, I mean?”
“It’s a Dollar General special. It’s not perfume, just a mist spray. A knockoff of some brand. I don’t know the name.”
Monk frowned. “ A general who?” he asked.
“Dollar General. The store?”
“Oh, that store, yeah. Like a dollar store?”
“Right.”
“Are you saying you paid a dollar for it?”
Ashley knew she was no sophisticate, and she wasn’t going to pretend to be. “That’s right. You got a problem with that?”
“I ain’t got no problem with it. It smells damn good,” he said, and Ashley laughed.
Monk smiled. “Anybody tell you that you laugh a lot?”
“Anybody tell you that you make me laugh a lot?”
“No,” he said, “but I’m pleased to hear it. Keep laughing. Laughter makes the world go ‘round.”
“Amen to that, brother,” Ashley said with an imaginary toast of an imaginary glass.
“How you like living around here? Ain’t too many black people around here.”
“It’s a few,” Ashley said. She was surprised by his candor, but she loved it. “But it’s a challenge, that’s for sure.”
“Oh, I’ll bet. I don’t see too many Italians around here, either, other than your old man’s family.”
“There are a few others around here,” Ashley said, “but not many.”
Monk nodded and looked out at the lake. And for several minutes, nothing else was said. Ashley wondered why they were even out there.
Monk was wondering it too. Why was he interested in her of all the women he’d met in his life? What made her so remarkable to his way of seeing things? He even looked at her. He liked her look. There was something sweet about her look. But so what? That couldn’t possibly explain his decision to bring her outside, and get to know her better.
Ashley realized he wasn’t just looking at her, but was staring at her, and it made her slightly uncomfortable. Although he was Teddy’s friend and every man in the family seemed to know him well enough, he still wasn’t like any of them, and he certainly wasn’t like any man she’d ever been around. He seemed dangerous in theory. And from afar, he looked dangerous. But as she looked at him up close, and saw his big, magnificent eyes again, she relaxed. He had kind eyes.
“Tell me about yourself, Ashley Sinatra,” Monk said as he stretched his legs out in front of him.
Ashley smiled. “Ha!” she said. “I wouldn’t want to bore you.”
“Not possible,” Monk fired back. “Tell me.”
“Why do they call you Monk?” Ashley asked.
“They call me a lot of things.”
“Such as?”
“Pop, for one.”
“Why would they call you Pop?” Then Ashley smiled. “Because of your big eyes?”
Monk smiled. “Kiss my ass,” he said, and Ashley laughed. “They call me Pop on account of they say I’m an old soul. On account of they say I act like their daddy, not their boss or friend. Not true, but that’s what they wanna believe.”
Ashley smiled. “Yeah, I see what they meant. But you still didn’t answer my question.”
“What’s your question?”
“Why do they call you Monk?”
“On account of I don’t fuck around,” Monk said bluntly. “Now answer my question.”
“You didn’t ask a question.”
“Tell me about yourself.”
His brutal honesty, and bluntness, was keeping Ashley off-guard. He didn’t seem to have any filters at all! But then again, most people said she didn’t either. “There’s not that much to tell,” she said. “What do you want to know about me?”
“Born and raised here in Maine?”
“No.”
Monk was surprised by her one-word answer. For an outgoing girl like her, she suddenly seemed reluctant to talk about herself. But that wasn’t going to deter a man like him! “How do you like living here in Jericho?”
Ashley nodded. “I like it okay. But as soon as I get my coins together. I mean, as soon as I get my dollars together,” she corrected herself, and they both laughed. “As soon as I get it together, I’m out of here!”
“Yeah?” Monk sounded doubtful. “Where you figure on going?”
Ashley shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. But away from here. Maybe.”
Monk frowned. “What kind of sense does that make? What’s maybe about it?”
“I don’t want to just leave my parents like that. They may need me.”
“Them need you? I doubt that.”
Ashley looked away from him. He was surprised. “Did I offend you?”
“Yes,” Ashley responded. “What you said was offensive.”
“What I said was the truth. You’re hedging about leaving this backwater town because you’re scared. It ain’t got nothing to do with your folks needing you. You can barely take care of yourself, how you gonna take care of them?”
Ashley couldn’t believe he would go there. And it angered her. “You don’t even know me.”
“I know your type,” Monk said.
“That is so judgmental! I don’t ha
ve a type. I’m one of a kind, alright?”
Monk inwardly smiled. He liked her fire. “I’ll give you that. But that don’t mean what I said was wrong. You’re scared to launch your boat out into the deep blue sea. What’s it like to be adopted?” he asked her.
Ashley could barely keep up with him. “It’s okay,” she said.
“Just okay?”
“I mean I don’t see myself as adopted. I see myself as having two parents that love me. I see myself as their child, not as their adopted child. So it’s not an issue to me.”
Monk nodded. “I understand that.”
Ashley stood up and walked closer to the water’s edge. Monk watched her. Her profile, in the moonlight, where her long hair was flying with the wind and her miniskirt was barely keeping her tight ass covered, turned Monk on. He leaned forward, and clasped his hands together. “Who’s your boyfriend?” he asked her.
Ashley looked at him. “Who says I have a boyfriend?”
“You don’t got one?”
Ashley smiled.
Monk realized his error and smiled too. “You don’t have one?”
“No. Not at the moment.” Though that could change next Friday night, Ashley thought happily, with Flint. “Why would you ask about my boyfriend?” she asked him.
“Because it’s a natural question.”
“What’s natural about it?”
“Two people talking, it’s bound to come up.”
“But why would it come up?” Ashley asked.
“Why wouldn’t it? I mean, let’s think about this for a moment here. You’re a beautiful girl. There’s got to be guys breaking down doors to get next to you. So I just figured.”
Ashley waited for him to tell her what he just figured, but he didn’t go there. “You figured what?” she asked him instead.
“I figured you’d have a dude. That’s all. Am I wrong?”
“Yes. I told you I don’t have a boyfriend at the moment.”
Monk Paletti: Taming Ashley Sinatra Page 4
