“Time to wash up, men, dinner is ready!” Maria called excitedly.
“C’mon Kaden, I’ll show you where the washroom is.” Dominic led Kaden out of the living room. He could hear the boys wrestling and their dads yelling at them to cut it out and get washed up.
They joined the rest of the family in the dining room.
“Hey, baby bro.” Anna gave him a big hug and kiss on the cheek. “Missed you.”
Rosalina grabbed him next, taking her turn to hug him. His sisters looked like they could be twins, but they were actually three years apart. Both with dark hair and eyes, there was no question of their Italian heritage.
“Sorry I didn’t get a chance to come in and say hello yet,” Dom said. “This is Kaden O’Conner.”
“Hi Kaden.” Anna waved. “No worries, Dom. I had to help get dinner together.”
“Looks great, by the way, Anna, Rosalina, Mom,” Dominic said as his dad and brothers-in-law dug into the ravioli.
“Thanks honey,” his mom said. “But you better eat before it gets cold.”
Dom was well aware that the men in his family were always served before his mom and sisters were; that was just how things were, even though it never seemed right to him. He was reminded again how his parents still clung to some of those old traditions, but that stuff wouldn’t fly in Dom’s world.
“Dom, can you cook like this?” Kaden asked. “’Cause apparently we should be eating better than we are.” He stuffed his face full of ravioli and sauce.
Angelo spoke up with a mouth full of meatball. “Cooking is more of a woman’s job. Dom needs to concentrate on his game.” His dad was very traditional, but Dom had picked up plenty of cooking tips from his mom over the years.
“I can cook, and you’re right. When we get back we’ll start eating better.” Dom missed the home cooked meals, and didn’t mind offering to cook, even with the sideways glance he got from his dad.
Dinner was full of questions about the professional hockey league from the boys, and his dad and grandad making sure they were eating right, getting enough rest, and being the best goalies they could be. The Italian feast was delicious; he hadn’t eaten like this in a long time.
Once the meal was over, his mom started to clear the plates. Dom got up to help, and she sat him back down. “Dominic has always been such a gentleman, always wants to help out, but clearing the table is women’s work. You boys sit and talk. We’ll bring out dessert.”
Kaden gave him a weird look at the comment from his mom. Dom just shrugged. He couldn’t justify the old school way his family acted, but it was their way to act, even if he didn’t buy into “woman’s work”.
“Rosalina.” Dom caught her as she was gathering some of the dishes off the table. “After dessert, you think you and I could drink our coffee out on the porch so we can talk?”
“Um, yeah, sure. Everything okay?” she asked, wiping her hands on her apron.
“I just need some sisterly advice.” He asked Rosalina because she was the younger of the two. She wasn’t close to his age, but might have more insight on what happened with Hailee. Hopefully.
Dessert consisted of strawberry custard pie, homemade Tiramisu, and chocolate amaretti cake, then after dinner coffee. Kaden looked with wide eyes and a trace of horror at the table full of sweets.
“Kaden, that look!” Dom laughed. “You don’t have to eat them all; I actually encourage you not to. I suggest the Tiramisu. Sorry Mom, too much rich food isn’t good during the season.” He patted his belly.
After inhaling a small piece of Tiramisu, Kaden was dragged by the boys into the basement to hit the puck around.
Dom grabbed a cup of coffee. “Rosalina?”
“Sure. Ma, Dom and I are taking our coffee out to the porch.” Not waiting for an answer, she grabbed her cup and followed him outside.
“So what’s up, little bro? Girl trouble?”
Dom shook his head. “Rosa, I need to know what I did to drive Hailee away.”
“You’re still on that girl?” She took a sip of coffee, but the look in her eye told him she knew more than she was saying.
Steam poured off his mug in the cool night air. “I ran into her in Pittsburgh. She was mad at me for trying to take care of her, or some shit like that. She keeps talking about—”
“Wait, she’s in Pittsburgh?” Rosalina’s eyes grew wide.
“She is. I was pretty surprised, too.” His stomach twisted; he didn’t feel good about this conversation. “I have to ask, what did you girls talk about when you spent the day together that last day?” The day that she was supposed to accept his proposal.
His sister looked into her coffee mug, then took a drink, avoiding his eyes.
“Rosa, please. Something changed that day. Hailee shut me out completely, and I have no idea what I did. She keeps saying over and over that she can’t be the type of girl I need her to be. What is she talking about?”
“Dom, why are you even worried about this? Are you trying to get her back?”
“Rosa, I’m simply trying to understand what happened. She refuses to talk to me about it.” His body started to get hot, even in the chilly Canadian air. He was tired of the runaround. Of all people, he thought his sister Rosa would open up to him.
“Don’t be mad.”
That got his attention. He looked at her with a frown. “About what? Rosa, explain what I am not supposed to get mad about.”
His sister winced. “It might have been something we said.”
“We?”
“Anna and I. We were having a really nice day with her, getting her all prepped and pretty for your big dinner. You have to understand that we really liked Hailee. We were looking forward to her being our new sister. But we needed her to understand how things are in our family.”
“I’m confused. How things are in our family? What does that even mean?”
“We were telling her that Zanetti women take care of their men and families. We don’t have careers; we don’t need them. We cook, we clean, we raise the kids. And when it came to you being in the professional hockey league someday, she and your children would follow you from city to city, which also makes holding down a career difficult.”
Heat rose up Dom’s chest and neck, but he took a deep breath to try to calm himself. “And what did Hailee say about that?”
“She kept saying she wanted to own an art gallery or something like that. But we told her that would be hard to do, moving from city to city. Especially if she had a family to take care of.”
“Her dream…” The pieces started to come together. The art gallery, the one she was working her ass off to fund. All on her own.
Rosa shrugged. “I don’t think she was happy with that answer. She started to get antsy and a bit nervous, if I remember right. I tried to explain it’s just what we do. We are homemakers. You’d bring home the paychecks and she’d be waiting for you. She didn’t need a career.”
Dom groaned inwardly. “You actually said that to her?”
“Well, yeah.” Rosalina looked at him with a wary expression.
He rubbed a hand down his face in frustration. “Rosa, you know me better than that. I’m not like Dad. I never wanted Hailee to give up on her dreams.”
His sister gave him a disbelieving look. “But you were just starting out. You didn’t need the extra responsibility of looking after a wife who didn’t support you fully, especially not one who was going to be off chasing her own career.”
“That’s not the point. I was never going to force her to stay in the kitchen and have my kids.”
“Dom, we didn’t mean to cause problems,” she said.
He shook his head. In her mind, she hadn’t done anything wrong. For whatever reason, they all acted like it was still 1940 and they had to stay barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen. It might work for them, but not for him.
He didn’t want a wife who thought she had to fit into a certain role. He wanted a wife who had her own ideas, who had spark. If she
wanted to be a homemaker, that was fine. If she wanted something else, that was fine too. Whatever she wanted to do, he’d support her all the way.
Dragging in a deep breath, he calmed himself before he answered, and his voice sounded flat and tired. “I know, Rosa. I’m sure you were just trying to help. But thanks for telling me.”
No wonder Hailee had run away from him. Why hadn’t she come to him and talked about her worries? Why had she just accepted what his sisters had said, and just disappeared like that? And why did he feel as though there was more to this? The Hailee he knew wouldn’t have thrown their love away without a fight. His head and his heart ached. Maybe she’d never loved him the way he thought she had.
He remembered her pale face when he’d said goodbye today. She’d been just as shocked and unhappy as he had about his ending things, no matter what she said.
He ran his hands over his face in despair. His heart was tearing apart all over again, and this time it was all on him. He’d just told her that it was over and he was moving on. Shit. Even as he’d said the words, he knew they were a lie. How could he ever move on with another woman, when he knew he would never get over Hailee?
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Hailee
Hailee returned her mom’s tight hug. She didn’t know why she had called her parents, but it felt like the thing to do. “Mom, you remember Mia? Mikey’s sister?” Hailee ushered Mia into the house, fearful her friend might leave her here alone.
“Mia, dear, of course I do!” Rena Valentine pulled Mia into a hug. She released Mia only long enough to grab Hailee and pull both of them into a hug. “I’m so glad you girls are here.”
“Rena, let the girls in the damn door,” Mack Valentine called from the living room.
“Daddy!” Hailee pulled free from her mom and ran to her dad. “I’ve missed you guys.”
“Well maybe you should call or visit more often,” Mack teased with a hint of seriousness in his rugged voice. Mack was a tall and sturdy man who favored flannel shirts and blue jeans over suits. His hair was still thick and dark, and his beard reminded her of a lumberjack. He was her rock, always had been, and he gave the best hugs. The kind of hugs that made everything all right. But her dad’s hugs couldn’t fix this. “Your job can’t keep you that busy, surely?”
“I’m sorry.” She wasn’t ashamed of her job, but it also wasn’t something she wanted her parents to know about. They thought she still worked as an office temp and helped out at the Pet Salon in her spare time. But she didn’t want to talk about any of that right now; she just wanted her parents. Just like when she was little, when things were falling apart, there was only one place she wanted to be. Home. Slipping out of her dad’s arms, she moved back to her mom. Hot tears filled her eyes. “Oh Mom, I messed everything up.”
“Oh honey, whatever it is, I’m sure it can’t be that bad.” Rena wrapped her loving arms around Hailee as she sobbed.
“What’s all the commotion? And why is Hailee crying?” Hailee’s brother Brody said, as he walked into the living room. “Things never change, do they?” Brody was tall and thick like their dad, same lumberjack beard, but he was a ginger. “Am I right, Mia?”
“He’s right. You were an overemotional teenager.” Mia laughed.
“Shut up, Mia.” Hailee wiped her eyes before she rushed to hug her brother. “Brody, I didn’t know you’d be here.”
“Where else do you think I’d be when my little sister finally decided to come home for a visit?”
“I’m sorry I waited so long.”
“Honey, we’re your parents. Anytime you need help, that’s what we’re here for. I’m so glad that you called.” Rena gave Hailee one last hug. “Okay, let’s all sit down and get comfortable.”
Hailee, Mia, and Brody settled on the couch, while her dad took a seat in his armchair.
“Let’s talk about these tattoos, shall we?” Brody laughed.
Hailee groaned. Why did he have to bring that up?
“Really Brody? I figured it would be later before everyone jumped on me about that.” It wasn’t easy to hide them. She had on pants, so at least her leg ink wasn’t visible, but her arms and neck were in full view once she took off her sweatshirt.
“Hailee, I wasn’t even going to say anything about them,” her mom said. “But since Brody brought it up, I only have one question for you. Did you draw them all, you know, design them yourself?”
Hailee was surprised by the question, but it was nice to be asked. “Yes, actually I did. Every one of them.” It was true. She worked one on one with her tattoo artist until it was exactly what she wanted, or gave him the drawings to put on her body. “It just feels right wearing my own art.”
“Good.” Rena shrugged.
“Good? That’s it? No ‘Why so many?’ or ‘But why mar your beauty?’ ” Surprised by the unusual non-judgement from her mom, Hailee’s jaw hung open as she stared. Rena had never made a secret about how much she hated the few tattoos Hailee had before she moved.
Since then Hailee had added more and more until she felt true to herself. Now she had more skin that was tattooed than not.
“That’s it. Now, what does everyone want to drink? Are you girls hungry? Of course you are, it’s almost dinner time. I’ll make dinner.”
“Mom, I’ll just take a water. We’re fine, don’t go to any trouble. We can grab something on the way back to Mia’s.”
“Nonsense, I have some sauce from the yesterday that I can heat up, spaghetti, and I can throw together a salad. You guys want water, too?”
“I’ll come help you, dear,” Mack said, as he got up and moved towards his wife.
“Water is fine, Mrs. Valentine,” Mia answered.
“Honey, please call me Mom, or at least Rena. You are like family, after all.”
“Okay, Mrs. Val—I mean, Mom.”
“Ma, I already have a water, but thank you. Want me to help with dinner?” Brody asked.
“No, honey. You sit and visit with your sister and Mia. But thanks for offering.” Rena and Mack disappeared into the kitchen.
“So what’s the big disaster, sis?”
Brody wasn’t trying to be rude; he just had a sarcastic sense of humor sometimes.
“I’m not so sure you want to know.” Hailee moaned and covered her face. Telling her brother wasn’t such a good idea. He might be liable to fly back to Pittsburgh and hunt Dominic down. “All that’s really important is that I think I messed everything up. My bull-headed stubbornness just wouldn’t allow me to be happy, and, well, here I am.”
“Well, I knew you were bull-headed; that’s not news to me.”
“I made a huge mistake, and I think it’s too late now to fix.”
“I can’t decipher your code talk. Could you be a little clearer?” Brody shook his head. “Do I need to kick someone’s ass?”
She groaned. “No.”
“She has a broken heart.” Mia would her arm around Hailee.
“Didn’t we nurse her through enough of those as a teenager?” Brody added.
Hailee loved her brother but she didn’t need his humor right now. This wasn’t a teenage heartache.
“Kids, dinner is almost heated up. Why don’t you go wash up and help your dad set the table?” Her mom called from the hallway.
“We’ll talk at dinner.” Hailee waved for Mia to follow her to the downstairs bathroom.
In the safety of the closed bathroom, Hailee took a long hard breath. She pushed back the hot tears that threatened to fall. “Why am I even here?”
“Because you needed your family,” Mia answered.
“But Brody is ready to kick Dominic’s ass and he doesn’t even know what the problem is.”
“Brothers don’t need to know the problem. They just need to know you need their help.”
“There it is again, needing help. I don’t need help. They can’t fix this. I pushed Dominic away too many times. He’s done with me.” Hailee washed and dried her hands and opened the bathroo
m door.
“Somehow, I don’t believe that for a second. Tell me again what he said to you before he left?” Mia dried off her hands and they slowly walked to the dining room.
“He said he couldn’t do this with me anymore. That he loved me and wanted us to be friends, and that he was just a phone call away if I needed him. But that he knows now we can’t be together.” She choked back the lump in her throat. “Then he said he was tired of hanging on to a dream and that he was ready to move on, find someone else.” Her last words came out as a hoarse whisper. She fought to breathe as she remembered his words.
“He’s tired of trying. Do you blame him? You flirted a little. He asked you out a few times so you could get reacquainted, maybe become friends. You stayed at his place after he brought you home drunk, and you ran off the next morning. Then you went out again, jumped into bed, and next morning you ran to another country. You’re giving him so many mixed signals his head must be spinning. Do you blame the guy?” Mia’s words hurt, but the part that stung the most is that Mia wasn’t wrong.
“First of all, you’re making me sound like a bitch and a ho. I’m hurting here.”
“Well, if the shoe fits,” Mia sang.
“Mia, I thought you were on my side.”
“I am, Hay, I’ll always be on your side. But you need someone to be honest with you, and you know me, I’m not one to sugarcoat.”
“Are you girls ready yet? Dinner is on the table.” Her mom poked her head around the corner.
“Coming, Mom.”
Dinner was quiet. Hailee was hungry since she hadn’t eaten very well lately; spaghetti and meat sauce really hit the spot. This was one of the few things she missed living in Pittsburgh. Nothing compared to her mom’s cooking. Once they were done eating, her mom stood up to clear the table.
“Sit down, hon. I’ll take care of the dishes. You visit with Hailee.” Her dad took the dishes from her mom and took them into the kitchen.
Shutout (The Renegades Series Book 5) Page 19