by SUE FINEMAN
Sure, he’d give it time. What else could he do? “Sorry about the paintings. I didn’t know they were stolen.” It explained why they were in the safe and not on display in the house. Edward must have known, but he probably didn’t know how to return them without implicating Michael. He and Mary Beth may not have approved of Michael’s activities, but they didn’t want their son in prison.
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After breakfast the next morning, Maria sat with Nick, Angelo, and Blade in the study going over various details of the house plan. She loved the room sizes and the layout of the kitchen and breakfast room, which was bigger than Mom’s dining room. She pointed to one wall in the kitchen. “Can we build in a cabinet along here for dishes?”
“Sure,” said Nick. “Anything else?”
“Extra ovens. I assume there’s one in the stove, but I’d like another one or two off on the side, maybe here.” She pointed to the area beside the built-in desk. “Put a cabinet beside it for baking supplies, and add a small sink on the side by the refrigerator and a second dishwasher beside it. One won’t hold enough dishes for family dinners, and it’s a hassle to run two loads in the same dishwasher.”
She glanced at Blade, and he nodded. “Do you want a freezer?”
“Yes, but I don’t especially want it in the kitchen. How about the laundry room?”
Blade glanced at Nick. “Why don’t we add a bench and some hooks in the laundry room, so the kids—including me—can take off sandy shoes and hang up damp coats? It’s a good place for a doggie door, too.”
Blade studied the upstairs plan. “Only one desk in Jimmy and Andy’s room?”
“They won’t use it,” said Maria. “They’ll do their homework in the kitchen, while I’m making dinner.”
“They won’t use it when they get older?”
“Yes, but by then, Molly will be in college, and one of them can use her desk, or they can do their homework in the library or somewhere else. I don’t think it’s a problem, Blade. They’ll probably just store their school supplies and crayons there. Robbie will use his desk, and so will Molly.”
Angelo asked about the library. “It’s in three sections. Is that what you want?”
Blade nodded. “I told Al he could make my study separate or an alcove off the library, and this is fine. My grandfather had a big partners’ desk in his study, and it’ll fit perfectly in this section. The leather furniture will go in the center section, and there’s a round table with four padded chairs that’ll go in the other section.”
“Is this enough bookshelves?” asked Maria.
“If it isn’t, we’ll add more,” said Nick. “Blade said he wanted a wall for pictures, but if you need more shelves, we’ll put them on that wall and you can move the pictures.”
“Okay.” Blade looked at Maria. “Okay with you?”
“More than okay. It’s a great plan, perfect for the furniture we chose. What do you intend to put in the big room in the basement?”
“A pool table. We’ll have to buy a new one, because I couldn’t figure out a way to get my grandfather’s out of the house without tearing the house apart.” Blade pointed to the other room downstairs. “The train set we found in the play room in New York goes in here.”
“A train set? No kidding?” said Angelo. “I always wanted a train set.”
Maria shook her head. “What is it about boys and their toys? Do you guys ever grow up?”
“No,” they all said at once, and she laughed.
The three men talked about the train set and the winter scene on the table, and they were already making plans to restore it and maybe build onto the table. Maria leaned back and listened to them. Like Blade, Nick didn’t have a normal childhood, and Angelo was only five when Dad died. Mom supported them on Social Security and baby-sitting. They had everything they needed, but they never had money for extras. The men would probably play with that train set more than the kids, and that was all right with her.
It was their turn.
Chapter Nineteen
Saturday afternoon, several barbecues appeared outside. Blade helped the Donatelli men set up tables and chairs, while the women taped paper tablecloths to the table legs to keep them from blowing off. Tony and Angelo set up the badminton net, and Nick and Al strung the volleyball net. A team of workers delivered and set up a small merry-go-round for the little kids, and others set up a baseball diamond for the older kids.
Before long, the sweet, smoky smell of barbecue filled the air. The staff set up a long buffet table with a well down the middle. They lined the well with plastic and filled it with ice. Bowls of salads were nested inside. Another table held buns and chips and other goodies.
The annual birthday barbecue was a huge production, but no one seemed to mind the extra work. Uniforms were gone and everyone smiled. Children of all colors, shapes, and sizes scampered around and played with Daisy and Riley.
“What are you smiling about, Blade?” asked Maria.
“Look at Daisy. She’s in heaven with this many kids to play with.”
“So is Riley. Tony’s dog is big, but he’s very gentle with the little ones.”
“Catch him,” called Gina.
Blade reached out to snag a wayward toddler. He swung him up into his arms. “Hey, Bobby, let’s go see the horses, okay?” Blade pointed at the merry-go-round. Cute little stinker, but the little guy never stopped moving. Were they all like that at this age?
He plopped Bobby’s behind on a horse and stood by his side, holding him by the back of his pants. “Me, too,” called Billy, and Will, Gina’s husband, hoisted him up on the horse behind them. As soon as all the kids were secure, the music began and they started to move. Billy giggled, and Bobby’s eyes grew bigger. Blade thought he’d cry, but he didn’t.
Blade had never been on a merry-go-round, although he had gone to Disneyland with a friend when he was thirteen. He’d helped himself to money from Sunny’s purse, and he didn’t ask if he could go, he just went. She pitched a fit when he returned, and he locked himself in his room with a bottle. Sunny didn’t care that he was gone. She was angry because he wasn’t there when she needed him to go out and buy her drugs.
The little boy at his side grunted and an unmistakable smell emanated from his pants. “Hey, Will. How about a trade? This one needs a diaper change.”
“Time to find Mommy,” Will said with a grin, and Blade laughed.
“What are you laughing at? If you marry Maria, you’ll have some of your own to change.”
Blade wrinkled his nose. “Not the stinky ones.”
This time Will laughed. “I wouldn’t bet on that.”
When the ride ended, Will took both kids and went to find Gina, while Blade played baseball with Maria’s kids and Vinnie’s kids and ones he’d never seen before. He had as much fun as the kids.
“I’m hungry,” said Andy.
“So am I,” said Blade. “Game’s over, kids. Let’s go see what’s cooking.”
The boys ran off and Molly hung back. “Are you gonna marry my mom?”
“We’re thinking about it.”
She crossed her arms. “I don’t need a dad.”
“What about your brothers? Do they need a dad?”
“No. We have Uncle Nick and Uncle Angelo. We don’t need you.”
Before he could speak again, Molly ran off, leaving him with a heaviness in his chest. He’d won the boys over, but not Molly.
What did he know about girls that age? He’d gone to one year of high school, but he skipped more days than he attended school, and he never socialized with girls. The next three years, he kept mostly to himself, and he didn’t date until he was in college. Being a father-figure to Andy and Jimmy would be easy. Robbie was a different kind of kid, but they got along okay.
Maria wasn’t likely to stay with him if any of her kids were against it. And Molly didn’t want her mother to marry anyone. After meeting Fred, Blade understood why.
He wandered toward the food tables and filled his plate. The che
eseburger had a burnt taste, but he wasn’t complaining. Daisy flopped on his feet, worn out from all the kids, and he snuck her a bite of his burger.
Maria sat beside him. Are you having a good time?
Mostly good.
Molly?
Yeah. She doesn’t want us to get married, says she doesn’t need a father.
She’s fourteen.
As if that would explain anything. Why doesn’t she like me?
She’ll come around, Blade. Give her time.
Sophia came over and sat beside them, and their private conversation ended. The guys in the family were a whole lot easier than the women. This one didn’t like him any better than Molly.
Blade finished eating and excused himself. Sophia and Maria sat with their heads together after he left, and he wondered what they were talking about. All the Donatelli men had disappeared, and he heard music coming from the house.
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Sophia rubbed Maria’s back. “Why didn’t you tell me Blade could hear your thoughts?”
“Does it matter?”
“Oh, honey, of course it matters. My mother told me that when a woman with the gift finds her one true love, he’ll be able to hear her thoughts, too. After I fell in love with your father, God rest his soul, he could hear my thoughts. He was my one true love, and I still miss him.”
“Does this mean you approve of Blade?”
“I don’t want you hurt again, but I know you love him. How can I not accept him if you love him?”
What about Molly?
She hurts down deep from the way Fred treated her, but she’ll be okay. She’ll come around. “You have to do what’s right for you, Maria. If it’s right for you to be married to Blade, it’s right for your family.”
Someone rolled out a birthday cake, candles blazing, and sounds of Happy Birthday filled the air. Cara blew out the candles and then Maria’s brothers stood on the steps of the gazebo, with the band behind them, and sang like a barbershop quartet. Angelo sang the solo part, of course. They were all good, but Angelo’s pure tenor voice sent chills down Blade’s spine.
He and Cassie, Cara’s cook, sang several songs together and separately, and sometimes people sang along. Blade stood behind Maria, his arms around her shoulders, listening to the music. He leaned down and kissed her cheek, and the warm kiss lifted her spirits. Molly had been deeply hurt by her father, but hurt or not, Maria couldn’t allow her daughter to drive a wedge between her and Blade.
Mom walked over with two plates of birthday cake. She handed one to Maria and one to Blade. “I was wrong about you,” she said to Blade. “You have my blessing.”
Blade, cake in one hand, wrapped his arms around Mom and kissed her on the cheek. “Thank you, Sophia. Thank you.”
“So you can come home now?”
Maria shared a look with Blade. “Not yet, Mom.”
“But I thought the trouble was over.”
“I’m afraid it’s just coming to a head,” said Blade.
The three of them found a remote table and sat down to talk. “I won’t take a chance with Maria’s life or the lives of the kids. Until I know who hired the man who killed Sunny, it isn’t safe for them to go home.”
“What about Molly?” asked Mom.
“Molly should be okay there,” said Maria. “She’s not in the house, and as long as the guard takes her to school and picks her up, I don’t think anyone will bother her.”
She prayed her daughter would be okay. Being fourteen and having your mother gone was hard enough all by itself.
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Blade went upstairs to check his e-mail and found a report from Lonnie.
Blade,
I met with Matthew’s childhood friend, Chip Barlow, and his wife, Gen, today. According to Chip, Matthew didn’t have much to do with Michael and John. The two of them were always conspiring about something. They had a big fight about one of Michael’s schemes to get money from their parents. John moved out to California, and Michael moved to France, where he immediately got himself into trouble. He called Matthew for help, and Matthew told him he was on his own. They never spoke again.
Matthew knew that Michael hadn’t become a priest, but he couldn’t convince his mother. She believed in all her children and wanted to believe the best. Chip remembered the memorial service the family held for Father Michael. Matthew knew he wasn’t dead, and he didn’t want anything to do with him after the way he’d treated their parents.
John died a few years later. Matthew was there when he died, and so were his parents. Before John died, he told them he had a son and that he’d left him with Sunny in Los Angeles. After they buried John, Matthew and his parents looked for you, but Sunny gave them the run-around. They finally concluded that she didn’t know where you were. It was a huge let-down, especially for your grandparents. They’d lost two sons and couldn’t find their only grandson.
Gen described Matthew as a handsome flirt who never let himself get attached to any woman. He was everyone’s friend, a nice guy that everyone liked. They dated off and on, but they never got serious. When his plane went down off Fire Island, his mother fell apart. She thought all three of her children were dead.
I checked with the Catholic Missions Board and there is not and never has been a mission called Wanamaka in Angola. I assume there’s also no Sister Bernadette.
Lonnie
Just as Blade suspected. Michael didn’t die in Angola, and he probably wanted the family fortune, something Blade wouldn’t give up without a fight. Was Michael behind Sunny’s murder? Had he manipulated Colin Jacobs into helping him? If so, Blade’s uncle wasn’t just a con artist and thief. He was a dangerous man. A killer.
He sent an e-mail to Lonnie asking him to check into Hans Belzer’s background. Belzer had worked for De Beers in South Africa at one time. Had Michael also been involved in the mining industry there? Were Michael and Hans Belzer working together?
He made a note to himself to call the accountant in the morning. He also needed to call Paul Phillips to see if he’d sold any more of those diamonds. They were probably stolen, but Blade didn’t really care where they came from. He needed money to pay taxes, and he didn’t want to have to sell any of his company stock. He may have to sell it at some point, but he didn’t want to do it when there was a threat of a company takeover looming over them.
Edward’s children had betrayed him, but Blade wouldn’t. The old man had given him more respect than anyone else in the family, and he owed him for that.
Blade went back outside, where the party was winding down. Little kids fussed or slept in someone’s arms, leftover food had been carried inside, and the clean-up had begun. Maria’s and Vinnie’s kids were all picking up litter, and they were making a game of it. Whoever picked up the most won a prize. With Nick in charge of the game, Blade suspected that every one of the kids would win something.
He helped Angelo and members of Cara’s staff fold chairs and load them on a cart to be put into storage until next year. The tables went on the next load, and before long there was nothing left but cooling barbecues, which wouldn’t be put away until morning.
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Maria took the boys inside for baths. Robbie showered in her bathroom while Jimmy and Andy got in the tub. Jimmy got his knee wet and cried. He wanted Blade to fix it, so she finished bathing the boys and went outside to find Blade. “Jimmy needs Doctor Blade. Apparently he’s too grown up for Mommy to kiss it and make it better.”
He pointed to his lips. “I got a boo-boo right here. Will you kiss it and make it better?”
Nick laughed, and Maria smacked his arm. “You’re no help at all.”
“Aw, c’mon Maria. Kiss him already.”
So she did, while her brothers and cousin hooted.
I like your family.
They like you, too, Blade.
All but Molly?
Molly is fourteen. Her hormones are so mixed up, she doesn’t like anyone.
You mean it’s not just me?
<
br /> No, it’s not just you.
Does that mean you’ll sleep with me tonight?
Her lips curled up in a quiet smile. We’ll see.
Mom had been so sure that Blade wouldn’t fit in with the family, that he wouldn’t get along with the kids, and that he wasn’t the right man for her daughter. But Mom was wrong. Her story about her and Dad sharing thoughts touched Maria’s heart and confirmed what she already knew. Blade was the right man for her.
If only he could admit that he loved her and promise to stay forever. The kids would grow up and move on, and Maria didn’t want to live alone like Mom. She wanted a lifetime companion, and she wanted Blade to fill that role.
Blade had handled himself well with her family. For a man who’d spent most of his life alone, he’d adapted well to the noise and camaraderie. Mom had given her approval, and so had her brothers and Nick. The only holdout was a fourteen-year-old with an agenda of her own. Maria prayed her daughter would change her mind, but if she didn’t, so be it. Molly’s selfish attitude wouldn’t stop Maria from being with Blade.
She intended to use the lock on her bedroom door tonight.
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Sunday afternoon, Maria hugged and kissed her mother and daughter and sent them back to Gig Harbor without her. Mom didn’t like this arrangement, and Molly pouted because she couldn’t work Grandma the same way she worked her mother. It was temporary, Maria told herself, but her heart ached. Keeping the kids apart and putting that responsibility on Mom wasn’t good parenting, yet what else could she do?
Monday, Mr. and Mrs. Granger moved into one of the suites in Cara’s house. Mr. Granger was a white-haired gentleman with a warm smile, and his wife was a nice woman. They’d be there for about six weeks, until the boys finished the school year. Since the barbecue was over and they didn’t need all the guest rooms for the family, Robbie was given his own room. Andy and Jimmy stayed together. Jimmy would be all right by himself, but Andy didn’t like sleeping alone in the room. Maria’s two little boys were close, like Nick and Angelo and Tony.
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Blade spent much of his time on the phone or on the computer, trying to get answers about who had Sunny killed. He still didn’t know if the killer intended to kill them both or just Sunny. Gerry said the shooter was still trying to plea bargain, and he wouldn’t give up the name of the man who’d hired him. He only said the man was from New York. So far, that was all they knew, except that Sunny’s life was worth twenty thousand dollars to the man who’d put out the contract on her life.