Her Dark Dragon

by Lillith Payne

  “Give him some time, Danni,” Maria said, squeezing her hand over Danni’s when they heard him arrive.

  “I know. It’s just not how I pictured our reunion.”

  “Maybe that’s the problem. Nico doesn’t know what you expected of him.”

  Maria watched Danni’s face as she digested the information, understanding the meaning of her words, trying to see the situation from Nico’s perspective.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Promptly at seven, Nico appeared on the patio, showered and seemingly in control. He saw the table set for five and relaxed a bit more. Supper wouldn’t be the tense showdown he’d anticipated. For the first time since he saw her approach, he wondered if Danni was nervous too. He knew he’d been rude, but the surprise of her appearance shook him. It all came back too quickly, the memories with the emotions. He’d dispatched her back to the house before he said or did something stupid that would send her away permanently. He’d ridden to clear his mind, to prepare for her ‘discussion’ as she’d termed it. He was ready now, only on his terms and his mind set.

  Supper was a success with Maria, Carmen, and Antonio present. Danni regaled them with some of the highlights of her trip. She told them about working for a few months in a Manhattan restaurant as sommelier, of spending the harvest at a Long Island winery.

  “What did you do in Canada? That was the postmark on your Christmas card.”

  Danni laughed and blushed. “Actually, nothing!” She smiled, wanting to reach across to grasp his hand under hers, wanting to feel the strength and heat of his skin. “I went there a week before Christmas and stayed through the first of the year.” She shrugged, adding, “I gave myself a vacation for my birthday.”

  “What part?” asked Carmen.

  Danni was beginning to become uncomfortable, fidgeting with her napkin.

  “I started out at Niagara Falls and traveled west over the weeks. Mostly back roads and small motels. There’s some beautiful country up there, but I’m not very good on skis as it turns out.” Everyone laughed and reminded her she hadn’t been good on roller skates as a child.

  An image ran through her. She’d been maybe eight to Nico’s sixteen, trying so hard to learn and it wasn’t coming easily. Nico appeared in her driveway one afternoon, tethering his horse near the water trough. Without any words, he’d picked her up, dusted her off, trying to help her find rhythm and balance. After what seemed like an eternity, he’d sat down next to her with a smile, telling her to stick to horses.

  And she had. From that day on, she’d learned everything she could about riding and caring for them. Matteo had been thrilled to see her interest. Felice said it was dirty and undignified.

  Danni turned to Carmen with a smile. “It was you who always tended my scrapes and bruises, never Felice. Thank you for that. At the time, I didn’t understand.” The older woman blushed at the compliment, her husband Antonio pulling her closer for a hug.

  “Where else did you go, what did you see?” she asked quickly, changing the subject, taking the focus off her.

  “Well,” Danni said, pausing to clear her throat and gather her words. She sat back in her chair and brought the wine glass to her lips but did not drink. “I found my birth mother.” Her words were strong and clear, the statement surprising everyone.

  Glancing from face to face, Nico was caught off guard. She didn’t know he’d hired a private investigator to do that very thing, but with no luck.

  “What?” he asked, before putting his tone in check. “How did you manage that?”

  “It wasn’t as hard as you’d think.” Danni knew her tone was on edge, and reeled back her emotions at the memories of the first contacts. Antonio moved to excuse himself and Carmen, but Danni asked them to stay, reminding them they were her family too, and she wanted them to know.

  “The Internet is an amazing tool, once you learn to navigate it properly. It also helped that she was registered with an adoption reunion site. They specialize in people who want to communicate with children they’ve given up.” This time she paused and sipped her wine.

  “Have you met her?” Maria asked, leaning forward to hear better.

  “Yes, just last month. Her name is Anna Sullivan. She lives just north of San Francisco.” Danni glanced around the table before continuing. “She’s a registered nurse working at their county hospital. She’s a nurse in the neonatal unit.” There was a pregnant pause as they all assimilated the information she’d just given them. “It’s okay,” she said with a slight tilt of her lips. “Ask your questions.”

  “How did your first meeting go?” Maria asked, holding Danni’s hand tight.

  “Easily actually, we’d been corresponding through e-mail since last fall. She wanted to be very careful and up front. She’d had two near misses in the past. Both were devastating to her and the women who thought they’d found their mothers. Her DNA had been on file since the first mix-up. I had my test while I was in New York and sent to her lab. We were a match.”

  “Why wait so long to meet then?” Carmen asked before Nico could find his voice for the very same question.

  “It’s hard to explain. We both wanted to get to know each other a bit. See if we should go further. She’s been very careful not to intrude on my life with what she feels is her guilt and need. I’ve felt the same way. I didn’t want to show up on her doorstep one day and say, ‘Surprise, I’m the kid you gave away!’” Everyone tensed, and Danni laughed. “If I didn’t want to talk about this, I wouldn’t have mentioned it.”

  “What’s she like?” Nico asked, his tone finally sounding in control.

  “Similar to me, brown hair and eyes, same height. Her face is more round while mine is more oval. She tends to shred things when she’s nervous, too.” Danni dropped the napkin from her hands to her lap.

  “Did she tell you why―” Maria’s voice trailed off, her sentence incomplete. “I shouldn’t ask,” she added.

  “Why she gave me away? Yes. She was just seventeen when I was born, the product of a high school first love. My father was into science and math before computers were mainstream. Their families felt it best they both went on to college, which meant they really didn’t have a lot of emotional support for getting married and keeping me. Anna left school her senior year and worked from home for her GED while she was pregnant.

  “Afterward, she went east to college, my father went to Texas A&M. They never got back together, the families made sure of it. Distance made it easier on both of them. She stayed on the East Coast, working near the New Jersey shore. It reminded her of the beaches in Los Angeles. Her relationship with her family was never truly mended after my adoption. She knew it was the right thing to do for me as a baby, but it hurt her deeply that her family didn’t understand her emotions afterward. They were embarrassed by her pregnancy and never let her forget her mistake.”

  “Does she have any other children?” Nico asked, refilling everyone’s wine glasses.

  “No. She was married to a New Jersey state trooper for seven years but they never…she never got pregnant again. He was killed in an auto accident, she never remarried. After his death, she moved back to California and found work up north. She’s been there ever since.”

  “So close…” Antonio whispered, shaking his head, verbalizing the thought everyone at the table was having.

  “Yes, but not meant to be. I’m telling you all this because I consider you my family, and someday, I’d like her to meet you all. To see there were positive influences in my life.”

  “We’d love to Danni,” Maria said quickly. “Any time you’re both ready.”

  “In a while when I’m finally settled.” Danni drew a breath adding, “She met Matteo, liked him. She actually handed me to him, hoping she’d done the right thing for me. He told her about the winery, but she never wanted to insert herself in my life, figuring if I wanted to find her, she’d made it easy enough. I’ve told her the truth about everything, but not in so much detail to make her feel guilty. Can
you all understand what I’m saying?”

  “Of course we do,” Maria said.

  “Given perspective and time, I’ve come to realize I had a great childhood in many ways. Anna doesn’t have to know the degree of Felice’s actions.” All three women teared up, making Nico and Antonio uncomfortable as they started to squirm a bit in their seats. This time when Antonio and Carmen excused themselves, she didn’t resist, thankful for the coffee Carmen produced as they all sat quietly watching the night sky.

  “So, who’s going to drop the bomb?” Danni asked. “I know the house sold. Are they good neighbors?”

  “We don’t see much of them; they’re both architects working in Los Angeles. Usually they come for weekends and holidays.”

  Nico started to laugh, lightening the moment. “They both love the design of the house, and think it’s a marvelous addition to the location.” Danni started to laugh and Nico and Maria joined her. Knowing what had been there before and what stood now could only be considered monstrous, at least by her thinking.

  “Remind me not to let them design anything for me.” Danni said in jest. “What about Felice and Robert?” She watched the look passed between Maria and Nico. “What?”

  Nico had been quiet most of the evening. He cleared his throat apprehensively, apparently not wanting to have to be the one to give her the update. “They divorced, almost immediately. Last we heard Robert was doing the country club scene in Santa Barbara, looking for a wealthy widow.”

  Danni had expected they’d separate. Without the Cirillo wine money, they wouldn’t have lasted. “And Felice?”

  “Remarried, just last month.” Nico was obviously uncomfortable but continued. “To the Los Angeles lawyer they used during the turnover.”

  “Well, good luck to him!” Danni said with a smile. “Kind of a poetic justice, don’t you think? A high-priced attorney winds up with Felice. I wonder how long it will be before he regrets his choice.” Danni laughed again, shaking her head. “I hope he got a prenuptial.”

  “Danni,” Maria said quietly, “by the time the dust settled around here, well, Felice managed to turn Robert into the scapegoat.” The disgust in Maria’s voice was evident that she had known the truth for too many years to hold any sympathy for Felice.

  “She pulled her wilting Southern belle card. Got everyone’s sympathy, the poor widow, hoodwinked by the con man in her darkest time.”

  “Some of us know the truth. Those who accept her version, well, mostly the country club group, none of them are friends or business associates.”

  “People will believe what they want, and what they don’t know they’ll make up to suit their versions.”

  “Well said, Danni,” Maria offered as she stood. “You two stay, I’m going in.” She dropped to hug Danni adding, “Sleep well, Danielle. I’ll see you both in the morning.” To Nico, she said, “Don’t let her carry her bags in by herself.” It earned his aunt a scowl, which she ignored, while Danni tried to hold back a laugh.

  The quiet wasn’t uncomfortable, but rather, a strange tranquility fell between them. Nico offered her more coffee, which she declined. “Did you find out anything about your birth father?” he ventured.

  “Only that he stayed in Texas after college and then went on to work for NASA. The last Anna heard he was down in Houston with a wife and family.”

  “Does hearing that bother you?”

  “Not really. He’s only a concept to my mind. I never knew him, only that he existed in the abstract, so I don’t feel like I lost him. And no matter what, Matteo will always be my father.”

  “You’ve come a long way in the past year, Danielle. You matured with a level head. I’m truly proud of you.”

  “But still angry!” She smiled and he scowled. “Don’t deny it. You have a right to your feelings. I didn’t keep in touch as much as you wanted. But, Nico, I gave you what I could at the time.”

  “Let’s take a walk, Danni. You said earlier you wanted to talk.” He stood, and she started to clear the coffee cups from the table. After depositing them in the dishwasher, they went through the main house to the front door, where her truck was parked, Nico waiting while she grabbed her denim jacket. “Still driving this old trap. I’m surprised it didn’t leave you stranded on the side of some desert road.”

  “Hey, watch how you talk about her. She’s been across the States and through Canada. And I keep up with her mechanically. She runs great, very dependable.” His look told her he didn’t really believe it. “Is that what you were afraid of, me traveling by myself or something else?”

  “Lots of something elses,” Nico said, taking her hand and wandering into the vineyard.

  “Nico, you may not believe this. I had no choice at the time but to leave. I had to figure out who I was as an individual. I understand I hurt you by leaving, but self-preservation prevailed. How could I commit to you or any other man…” She felt him stiffen beside her. “No, Nico. I didn’t have time for other men. This time away was for me. All my life I’d been programmed to finish school and take over the vineyard. When that didn’t happen, when everything else came out…”

  “I was here for you, bella, but that wasn’t enough, was it? You wouldn’t have left if I was.”

  Danni heard the disappointment in his voice, as if he’d let her down somehow. “Don’t you see, Nico, that was the problem? You were always here for me to fall back on. If I’d have stayed, you would have wound up taking care of me for the rest of our lives. I’d be no better than Felice in some way. I had to know I could survive on my own. I had to be whole before I could love you completely.”

  “And now, you’ve had your year. Are you whole now?”

  “Yes and no.” Her cryptic answer got her a quick look as they wandered between the vines. “Yes, I’m whole in many ways I’d never realized I needed to be. I can take care of myself. I can make a living and survive in the world on my own.”

  “And the no?”

  “The no part is that I still love you, only it’s a different kind of love. I don’t see you as my fallback, rather a man I want to spend my life with. I feel like now I can be independent and dependent at the same time and not have it be a negative to us in the long run.”

  “That’s a strange way of looking at things, Danielle.”

  “Maybe, but it’s my perspective. I came back because I wanted to know if you still had feelings for me, or if I killed them by going away. If you’ve moved on, Niccolo, it’s okay. I knew leaving was a calculated risk, but I had to take it for myself.”

  Danni wasn’t prepared for him to grab her upper arm and pull her to him, his mouth crushing down on hers with the intensity she remembered, her own needs pushing past his. It was a kiss that answered many questions without words. When he pulled back, she was breathless, her body heated and needing his touch. She’d felt his erection pressing against her belly and wanted to drop to her knees in front of him, to take him until he relinquished all control. But not yet, she knew. Things had to be straight between them.

  “Does that answer your question? Do I need to tell you I felt like the walking wounded this last year? That I was horrible to anyone who tried to help, or even get close? Do you need to hear there were no other women, Danielle, no woman measured up to you?”

  Her lips started to curl at the corners, and she bit her bottom lip to stop the smile.

  “Danielle, so help me, if you laugh at me now, I’ll…”

  “You’ll what, Niccolo?”

  It was a taunt, and they both knew it. He didn’t take her bait. Instead, he forced a calmness she rarely saw. She detoured them toward the hillside where he’d planted the olive grove. It was a tense walk for Nico, she knew, yet a strange serenity settled over her. Danni knew immediately she’d been right. This was where she belonged, beside Nico, if he still wanted her. When they reached the edge of the fledgling grove she teared up, carefully walking between the rows of saplings. “I knew you did this, but I couldn’t picture it.”

  �
��Is it correct?” Nico asked. “What would you have done differently?”

  “Nothing,” she managed, “nothing at all. It’s as if I’d been here and laid it out myself.” Danni bent and gently touched the trunk of one tree, then another. Soon she was all but running along the rows, a new freedom inside her, bursting to get out.

  “Danni, you really did find yourself again, didn’t you? I don’t think I fully understood before, but I do now. You amaze me at times.”

  “You’ve always amazed me, Nico, even when you give me your dark drago scowl.” She wandered several rows away and back toward him. “Nico, do you still love me?” He only nodded. “Then will you marry me?” she asked, walking with purpose toward him. “I don’t have a ring, but I have this as a token of my promise,” she managed to say, pulling the Worship netsuke from her jacket pocket.

  “I’ve loved you all my life, Niccolo Severino, in so many different ways. But I’ve always loved you, beyond the land and what it produces.” He didn’t answer her, and she added quickly, “I’ll sign a prenuptial agreement. I’ll never take your land or label, Nico. If you’d rather just live together for a while…” She knew he was close but he moved quickly, pulling her up against him.

  “We’ll live together, Danielle, without a prenuptial agreement and with a marriage license. I want my children to know they’re loved and wanted. And if they want to stay on the land, fine. If not, we’ll let them have their own lives. But it will be together, bella, always. Do you understand? No more trips to find yourself. You came back to me, now you’re mine.”