He still looked at me the same way I looked at the mountains—and at him—like I couldn’t get enough of them. His eyes shone, like I was still gorgeous, despite the huge pregnancy belly. He looked healthy, muscular from the long workouts and hikes he did. Colorado agreed with him, and he said he slept better in our little cabin than he did anywhere else.
“How are you feeling today, my wife?” he asked, leaning up against the railing.
“Perfect now that you’re home.” I leaned forward, eyeing the bags. “Did you get me some Nutella?”
“Of course I did.” He tossed me a tub. “You know that’s all sugar, right?”
“That’s why it’s good,” I said, tearing it open. I ate the sweet hazelnut spread with my fingers. “Oh, god, that’s the stuff.”
He walked over and sat down next to me. “I always thought I was the only person that could make you say that.”
“Nutella isn’t a person,” I pointed out. “You remain the only man to do it for me.”
“Naturally.” He leaned over and kissed me, which I returned with a passion that never died down.
When we broke apart, he finished putting the groceries away, then let the dogs out. Baxter, a stocky black Lab, sprinted into the leaves followed by Maybe, his younger yellow Lab sister. They barreled around and played, barking and chasing the squirrels off while Ewan sat in the chair next to mine.
We did this most mornings. The dogs ran around, and we lounged in the rocking chairs to watch them. It wouldn’t last much longer—once the baby was here, things would change.
But it’d been a good run. Two years of quiet. Two years of bliss.
“Dean called me last night,” he said softly, offhand, like it was no big deal.
I went very still. Since we left Philadelphia two years ago, we did have much contact with the family. That was the agreement: if we left, we left for good and entirely. It was hard for Ewan, but he thought it was the right thing, even if I wasn’t sure.
Looking back, he was right. We heard snippets of news about what was going on in the city, and it wasn’t good. Things were calm for a few months, but the war with the Healy family exploded, and it was nasty. Bodies in the street, blood and money flowing in the gutters.
We barely escaped all that.
“I’m surprised,” I said. “I thought we weren’t allowed to talk to them anymore.”
“Things changed,” he said, shaking his head. “The Don’s been struggling lately. Dean’s stepping into leadership.”
“Wait, really?” I stared at him, wide-eyed.
“Alzheimer’s they think, or maybe just old age, he didn’t really say. But he’s struggling physically and mentally, and so the Capos got together and voted Dean as the new Don.”
“Wow,” I said, completely blown away. “That’s insane.”
“He invited me back.” He looked down at his fingernails and rubbed them against his plaid shirt.
My heart started to race. The thought of going back to the city made me want to be sick. All the horror in my life, all the bad things, they were all back in Philadelphia. Things were settled out here. We had a house, a really nice house that Ewan bought with cash up in the mountains at the edge of a small town. He worked odd jobs, mostly house construction, while I took a job at a little Italian restaurant in town. We didn’t need the money, but it was good to keep busy.
Turned out, Ewan was rich. Stupidly rich, actually. Unlike most of the mafia guys, he invested his cash, and even paid taxes when necessary, though he had a very creative accountant. We were set for life, assuming the markets didn’t bottom out, which was always possible.
We were happy and comfortable, and I didn’t want to go back.
“What did you say?” I asked, trying to keep the fear out of my voice.
He looked at me like I was crazy. “I told him to fuck off,” he said and laughed. “Why the hell would we go back?”
Relief flooded through me. “I thought you might miss it.”
“Hell, no,” he said. “Maybe I miss the excitement, but I can get that here with you if I need it. No, Tara, I’m not going back to that life, not now, not ever.”
I sighed and he leaned over to kiss me. I kissed him back, and held him there, wanting to feel his lips. I was scared for a second that I’d lose him all over, and if he asked me to go back to Philly with him, I knew I’d say yes. Even if that would cost me so much.
“I’m glad you decided to stay,” I said.
“Please, you’d hate me if I went back,” he said. “Anyway, Dean’s fine. He’s got the family under control. The war with the Healys is still burning up, but he thinks he can make some progress now that the old man’s out of the way.”
“Good for him, I guess.” I shrugged a little bit. “None of that matters anymore.”
“No, it doesn’t,” he said, and put a hand on my belly. “When the baby comes, I’m all yours. You know that?”
“Of course,” I said. “I always knew it.”
Baxter barked, then Maybe joined in. Ewan shouted at them and they ran in circles together. I laughed as Ewan got up to throw a tennis ball for them, and watched as they wrestled together in the leaves.
This was heaven and home. I couldn’t have asked for more, and soon we’d fill this house with babies, as many babies as he’d give me. Philadelphia was across the country, and we’d never go back, no matter how much our past tried to pull us back in.
Ewan turned to me and grinned. “Let’s go inside,” he said. “I’m starved.”
“You’re always starved.” He helped me to my feet. “But if you’re cooking, I’m eating.”
He kissed me on the cheek, and we headed in together, the dogs running around at our feet.
* * *
If you want
