“I know,” Hope told him, meaning it.
“Gail’s sister called me last week. The family is planning a memorial service on the anniversary of her death. They invited me to attend.”
“Will you go?” she asked, hoping that this scar, at least, might have begun to heal.
“No. I don’t think so.” Daniel rose to his feet. “I need to walk a little bit.”
She could see the tears flooding his eyes. “Want some company?”
“No, thanks. Just let me …”
“Sure, Daniel. Take all the time you need.”
When her friend disappeared into the trees, Lucca took his seat beside Hope. “Is he okay?”
“He doesn’t like me to see him cry.”
Lucca picked a stick up off the ground, tugged a knife from his pocket, and began to whittle. “Tell me about Daniel, Hope.”
Her gaze locked on the trees where he had disappeared, she said, “Justin was with his mother at the mall. They were at the food court and a man at the table next to them had a heart attack. Daniel’s wife started CPR on him and a group of people surrounded them. In the confusion, Justin got scared and backed away. Someone took him. They found his body four days later. Gail committed suicide seven months after that.”
Lucca muttered a curse. “How horrible. How does anyone come back from something like that? A family completely destroyed.”
“It hasn’t been easy,” Hope continued. “Daniel was a police detective, and after Gail died, he quit the force and went private. He works child abductions, both recent cases and cold ones. We hired him to search for Holly, and he and I became friends. We spend our anniversaries together.”
By now, Lucca had sharpened the stick to a pencil point. He flipped it around and began whittling the other end. “He’s still looking for Holly?”
“Oh, yes. Holly’s is a special case to him. She and Justin shared the same birthday. I think if he could bring Holly home to me, it would help heal his heart almost as much as mine.”
“Have there ever been any leads?”
“For Holly?” Hope shook her head. “No. Margarita Santana disappeared into the immigrant community. But that’s part of what gives me comfort. I know who stole my daughter. I think she did it because she wanted to mother my girl, as opposed to the perverted murderer who took Daniel’s son …” Finding it difficult to talk about someone so evil, she hesitated. “To use.”
“Did they find the killer?”
“Yes, but not for three years, when he was apprehended for another crime. DNA evidence tied him to Justin’s murder. He was a pedophile.”
“Dear Lord.” Lucca moved his knife with such force that he broke his stick in two. “I cannot imagine anything worse. I’m glad he has you for a friend.”
“Me, too.” One of the horses let out a loud whinny, and Hope looked over to where Wade stood. “So what did Mr. Mitchell want?”
“An honest assessment of Wade’s talent. It sounds like he’s trying to come to grips with the idea that Wade might win a college scholarship.”
“He didn’t ask you to torpedo Wade, did he?”
“No. It’s obvious he loves his son. I think David Mitchell is the kind of man who believes in hard work, and if Wade’s hard work earns him a collegiate spot, his father won’t deny him the opportunity. I don’t think he’ll like it necessarily, but that might change once he gets used to the idea.”
“He’s scared of losing his son,” Hope said. Then, as Daniel exited the woods a few moments later, his eyes red-rimmed but a gentle smile on his face for Hope, she added, “David Mitchell needs to understand that there is losing, and then there’s losing.”
“Amen to that,” Lucca said. “Amen to that.”
“Dear Lord, pray for us,” Gabi said as she watched her mother march up the sidewalk toward Aspenglow, where her children waited. “She’s on the warpath. Really, she has all the nerve. We’re not the ones who were flaunting our illicit love affair in public.”
“Illicit love affair?” Max drawled. “Hell, Gabi. You sound like a virgin spinster.”
“I may be a spinster, but I’m darn sure not a virgin.”
“Aargh!” Zach said. “Please. No more.”
One hand on her hip, Gabi dramatically waved the other. “Give me grief if you want, but you weren’t there to see it. She all but gave that ice cream cone a blow job.”
Max said, “Gabi! Please.”
Tony scowled at his brothers. “Leave her alone. She has a point, you know.”
Lucca grimaced. Of the five Romano siblings, Gabi and Tony were the only two who didn’t know about their father’s betrayal. Friday night he and Max and Zach had decided to keep that information to themselves unless it became clear that telling would help the family unit more than keeping silent hurt it.
He hoped they could get through this meeting without damaging Gabi’s and Tony’s opinion of their father, but the next few minutes would tell that tale.
Maggie Romano opened the door to her bed-and-breakfast and stepped inside. She unwrapped the yellow scarf from around her neck and hung it on a coat rack before beginning to pull off her gloves, tugging finger after finger while visually taking inventory. “You are all here. Good.”
She put her gloves in her coat pocket, then hung her coat on the rack with her scarf. She wore a red skirt and jacket. A power suit.
That would work for the boys, but Gabi was a wild card. She could get on her high horse and out-Mom Mom if she so desired. Lucca had seen it happen more than once, and the afternoon in Gunnison had devastated Gabriella.
His mother stepped into the remodeled room that would serve as Aspenglow Place’s public parlor. Max had built a fire in the hearth, and for a moment, the crackle of burning wood was the only sound to be heard. Then Maggie took a place in front of the fireplace, folded her hands, and said, “Thank you all for coming here tonight. I think it’s important that this family continues to communicate. I know you all undoubtedly have things you’d like to say to me. However, I get to go first.
“Due to unfortunate timing, my private business has become family public knowledge. I regret that. It was not my intention to parade my new relationship in your faces. That said, now that the cat’s out of the bag, I want you to know that I will demand you be respectful of my choices, just as I am of yours. I want you to know that I will always value your father and honor this family he gave us. I have and will continue to mourn his loss.
“But I am relatively young and I am ready to move forward. Your father would have wanted me to be happy. I would hope that you, my children, would want me to be happy.”
Lucca glanced around the room to gauge the temperature of his siblings’ reaction. Max and Zach looked cool. Gabi and Tony appeared to be sucking on prunes. He cleared his throat. “We do want you to be happy, Mom. I think everyone was a little shocked at first.”
Gabi snorted. Maggie shot her a disapproving scowl.
Max said, “We feel protective of you, Mom. We’re afraid that you’ve gotten too serious with this fellow too soon. After all, how much does anyone know about this Richard guy other than that he’s a decent contractor?”
“We don’t want you choosing someone just to avoid being alone, Mom,” Tony added. “This guy might have substance abuse issues or mental health problems. Is he divorced? Does he have kids? Maybe he’s looking for emotional and financial help with his children.”
Annoyance flashed in Maggie’s eyes. “For heaven’s sake, Anthony. Don’t you think I have any sense?”
“You haven’t dated in thirty years, Mom. There are a lot of losers out there.”
“But I’m too stupid to identify them?” She laughed without amusement. “Believe me, son. I have more experience than you know. Look, I’m dating Richard. I’m not engaged to marry him. Right now I care about him, and he makes me happy. Just like I had to grin and bear it when you brought home girls I wasn’t certain about, you get to do the same for me. Now, any other comments?”
