Buch lesen: «The Soldier's Secret Child»

Chapter One

Lacey McPherson leaned back, propped her hands on the low white picket fence and surveyed the wedding reception before her with satisfaction. She’d pulled it off.

She’d given her beloved brother and his bride a wedding reception to remember, not letting her own antiromance attitude show. But she had to admit she’d be glad when her half-remodeled guesthouse stopped being a nest for lovebirds.

“Nothing like a spring wedding, eh, Lacey?”

She jumped, startled at the sound of the gruff, familiar voice right behind her. She spun around. “Vito D’Angelo, you scared me!” And then her eyes widened and she gasped. “What happened?”

His warm brown eyes took her back to her teen years. She’d been such a dreamer then, not good at navigating high school drama, and her brother’s friend had stepped in more than once to defend her from girls who wanted to gossip or boys who tried to take advantage. She and her brother had welcomed invitations to the D’Angelo family’s big, loud Italian dinners.

But now the most noticeable thing about his face wasn’t his eyes, but the double scar that ran from his forehead to his jawline. A smaller scar slashed from his lower lip to his chin.

Instinctively she reached out toward his face.

He caught her hand, held it. “I know. I look bad. But you should see the other guy.”

His attempt at a joke made her hurt more than it made her laugh. “You don’t look bad. It’s just...wow, they barely missed your eye.” Awkwardly, she tried to hug him with the fence in between.

He broke away and came inside through the open gate. “How’re you doing, Lace? At least you’re still gorgeous, huh? But you’re too thin.”

“You sound just like your grandma. And you’re late for the wedding.” Her heart was still racing from the surprise, both of seeing him and of how he looked.

She wanted to find out what had happened. But this wasn’t the time or the place.

“Buck won’t mind my being late. He looks busy.” Vito looked past the wedding guests toward Lacey’s brother, laughing and talking in the summer sun, his arm slung around his new bride. “Looks happy, too. Glad he found someone.”

A slightly wistful quality in Vito’s words made Lacey study her old friend. She hadn’t seen him in almost ten years, not since he’d brought his army buddy home on a furlough and Lacey had fallen hard for the handsome stranger who’d quickly become her husband. Back then, after one very stormy conversation, Vito had faded into the background. He’d been in the firestorm that had killed Gerry, had tried to save him and had written to Lacey after Gerry’s death. But he’d continued on with another Iraq tour and then another. She’d heard he’d been injured, had undergone a lot of surgery and rehab.

Looking at him now, she saw that he’d filled out from slim to brawny, and his hair curled over his ears, odd for a career military man. “How long are you home?”

“For good. I’m out of the army.”

“Out?” She stared. “Why? That was all you ever wanted to do!” She paused. “Just like Gerry.”

“I felt awful I didn’t make his funeral.” He put an arm around her shoulders and tugged her to his side. “Aw, Lace, I’m sorry about all of it.”

Her throat tightened and she nodded. Gerry had been dead for a year and a half, but the loss still ached.

A shout went up from the crowd and something came hurtling toward her. Instinctively she put her hands up, but Vito stepped in front of her, catching the missile.

Immediately, he turned and handed it to her.

A bouquet of flowers? Why would someone...

Oh. The bouquet. Gina’s.

She looked across the crowd at her friend, glowing in her pearl-colored gown. Gina kept encouraging Lacey to date again. Happily in love, she wanted everyone to share in the same kind of joy.

The crowd’s noise had quieted, and some of the guests frowned and murmured. Probably because Gina had obviously targeted Lacey, who’d been widowed less than two years ago. One of the older guests shook her head. “Completely inappropriate,” she said, loud enough for most of those nearby to hear.

Well, that wouldn’t do. Gina was a Californian, relatively new to Ohio and still finding her way through the unspoken rules and rituals of the Midwest. She hadn’t meant to do anything wrong.

Lacey forced a laugh and shook the bouquet threateningly at Gina. “You’re not going to get away with this, you know,” she said, keeping her tone light. “I’m passing it on to...” She looked around. “To my friend Daisy.”

“Too late.” Daisy waved a finger in front of her face and backed away. “You caught it.”

“Actually, Vito caught it,” old Gramps Camden said. “Not sure what happens when a man catches the bouquet.”

As the crowd went back to general talk, Lacey tried to hand off the bouquet to all the females near her, but they all laughingly refused.

Curious about Vito’s reaction, she turned to joke with him, but he was gone.

* * *

Later, after Gina and Buck had run out to Buck’s shaving-cream-decorated truck, heads down against a hail of birdseed, Lacey gave cleanup instructions to the two high school girls who were helping her with the reception. Then, after making sure that the remaining guests were well fed and happy, she went into the guesthouse. She needed to check on Nonna D’Angelo.

Having Nonna stay here was working out great. The light nursing care she needed was right up Lacey’s alley, and she enjoyed the older woman’s company. And the extra bit of income Nonna insisted on paying had enabled Lacey to quit her job at the regional hospital. Now that the wedding was over, she could dive into the final stages of readying the guesthouse for its fall opening.

Nonna D’Angelo had mingled during the early part of the reception, but she’d gone inside to rest more than an hour ago. Now Lacey heard the older woman crying and hastened her step, but then a reassuring male voice rumbled and the crying stopped.

Vito.

Of course, he’d come in to see his grandma first thing. He hadn’t been home in over a year, and they’d always been close.

She’d just take a quick peek to make sure Nonna wasn’t getting overexcited, and then leave them to their reunion.

Slowly, she strolled down the hall to the room she’d made up for Nonna D, keeping her ears open, giving them time. She surveyed the glossy wood floors with satisfaction. The place was coming along. She’d redo this wallpaper sometime, but the faded roses weren’t half-bad for now. Gave the place its historical character.

She ran her hand along the long, thin table she’d just bought for the entryway, straightened her favorite, goofy ceramic rooster and a vase of flowers. Mr. Whiskers jumped up onto the table, and Lacey stopped to rub his face and ears, evoking a purr. “Where’s the Missus, huh?” she cooed quietly. “Is she hiding?”

Hearing another weepy sniffle from Nonna D, Lacey quickened her step and stopped in the doorway of Nonna’s room.

“My beautiful boy,” Nonna was saying with a catch in her voice. “You were always the good-looking one.”

Vito sat on the edge of the bed, looking distinctly uncomfortable as Nonna sat up in bed to inspect his cheek and brush his hair back behind his ears.

She felt a quick defensiveness on Vito’s behalf. Sure, the scars were noticeable. But to Lacey, they added to his rugged appeal.

Nonna saw her and her weathered face broke into a smile, her eyes sparkling behind large glasses. “There’s my sweet girl. Come in and see my boy Vito.”

“We talked already, Nonna.” Vito was rubbing the back of his neck. “Lacey, I didn’t realize you were taking care of my grandma to this extent. I’ll take her home tomorrow.”

“Oh, no!” Lacey said. “I’m so happy to do it!”

“I can’t go home!” Nonna said at the same time.

“Why not?” Vito looked from Nonna to Lacey and back again.

“I need my nursing help,” Nonna explained. “Lacey, here, is a wonderful nurse. She’s practically saved my life!”

Lacey’s cheeks burned. “I’m really a Certified Nursing Assistant, not a nurse,” she explained. “And I haven’t done anything special, just helped with medications and such.” In truth, she knew she’d helped Nonna D’Angelo with the mental side as well as the physical, calming her anxiety and making sure she ate well, arranging some outings and visits so the woman didn’t sink into the depression so common among people with her health issues.

“Medications? What’s wrong?”

“It’s my heart,” Nonna started to explain.

Vito had the nerve to chuckle. “Oh, now, Nonna. You’ve been talking about your heart for twenty years, and you never needed a nurse before.”

“Things are different now.” The older woman’s chin quivered.

He reached out and patted her arm. “You’ll be fine.”

Lacey drew in a breath. Should she intervene? Families were sometimes in denial about the seriousness of a beloved relative’s health problems, and patients sometimes shielded their families from the truth.

“If you want to move your grandma, that’s fine,” she said, “but I’d recommend waiting a couple more weeks.”

“That’s right.” Nonna looked relieved. “Lacey needs the money and I need the help.”

Vito frowned. “Can we afford this?” He looked down at his grandma and seemed to realize that the woman was getting distressed. “Tell you what, Grandma, Lacey and I will talk about this and figure some things out. I won’t leave without saying goodbye.”

“All right, dear.” She shot a concerned glance at Lacey.

She leaned down in the guise of straightening a pillow for Nonna. “I’ll explain everything,” she reassured her.

She led the way to the front room, out of earshot from Nonna D’Angelo. Then she turned to Vito, frowning. “You don’t think I’m taking advantage of your grandma, do you?”

“No!” He reached for her, but when she took a step back, he crossed his arms instead. “I would never think that, Lacey. I know you. I just don’t know if you’ve thought this through.”

She restrained an eye roll. “You always did like to interfere when your help wasn’t needed.”

“Look, if this is about that talk we had years back...” He waved a dismissive hand. “Let’s just forget that.”

She knew exactly what he meant. As soon as Vito had found out Gerry had proposed, he’d come storming over to her house and pulled her out onto the front porch to try and talk her out of it. “You were wrong,” she said now.

“I wasn’t wrong.” When she opened her mouth to protest, he held up a hand. “But I was wrong to interfere.”

That wasn’t exactly what she’d said, but whatever.

“But back to my grandma. I don’t know what her insurance is like, but I know it hardly ever covers in-home nursing care. I’m living on limited means and until I get back on my feet—”

“It’s handled. It’s fine.”

He ran a hand through his thick, dark hair. “She’s always tended to be a hypochondriac—”

“A heart attack is nothing to take lightly.”

“A heart attack?” Vito’s jaw dropped. “Nonna had a heart attack?”

His surprise was so genuine that her annoyance about what she’d thought was neglect faded away. “About two weeks ago. She didn’t tell you?”

“No, she didn’t tell me. Do you think I’d have stayed away if I’d known?” His square jaw tightened. “Not a word. How bad was it?”

Lacey spread her hands. “Look, I’m just a CNA. You should definitely talk to her doctor.”

“But from what you’ve seen, give me a guess.”

Outside, she could hear people talking quietly. Dishes rattled in the kitchen, the girls cleaning up. She blew out a breath. “It was moderate severity. She had some damage, and there are some restrictions on what she can do. Changes she needs to make.”

“What kind of changes?” He thrust his hands in his pockets and paced. “I can’t believe she had a heart attack and I didn’t know. Why didn’t you call me?”

“It’s her business what she tells people.”

His mouth twisted to one side. “C’mon, Lace.”

“I’m serious. Patients have the right to confidentiality. I couldn’t breach that. In fact,” she said, stricken, “I probably shouldn’t have told you even now.”

“You’re my friend. You can tell me as a friend. Now, what kind of changes? What does she need to do to get back on her feet?”

She perched on the arm of an overstuffed chair. “You can probably guess. It’s a lot about diet. She needs to start a gentle exercise program. I have her walking around the block twice a day.”

He stared. “Nonna’s walking? Like, for exercise?”

“I know, right?” She smiled a little. “It wasn’t easy to talk her into it. I make sure we have an interesting destination.”

“How did you get so involved?”

She let her forehead sink down into her hand for just a second, then looked back up. Vito. He’d never take her seriously. He’d always been a big brother to her, and he always would be.

He held up a hand. “I’m not questioning it, Lacey. I’m grateful. And I feel awful having been out of the loop, not helping her. I’ve had lots of personal stuff going on, but that’s no excuse.”

His words flicked on a switch of interest in her, but she ignored it. “I worked her hall at the hospital, and since she knew me, we talked. She was worried about coming home alone, but she didn’t want to bother you, and your brother’s far away. I was looking to make a change, anyway, moving toward freelance home care so I could have time to finish renovating this place.” She waved an arm toward the unfinished breakfast area, currently walled off with sheets of plastic.

“So you made a deal with her.” He still sounded a little skeptical.

“Yes, if that’s what you want to call it.” She stood, full of restless energy, and paced over to the fireplace, rearranging the collection of colored glass bottles on the mantel. “She’s had a lot of anxiety, which is common in people recovering from a heart attack. She’s on several new medications, and one of them causes fatigue and dizziness. The social worker was going to insist on having her go to a nursing home for proper care, which she couldn’t afford, so this was a good arrangement.” She looked over at him, mentally daring him to question her.

He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “A nursing home. Wow.”

“It wouldn’t have suited her.”

“For how long? How long do you think she’ll need the extra care?”

Lacey shrugged, moved an amber bottle to better catch the sun. “I don’t know. Usually people take a couple of months to get back up to speed. And your brother’s happy to pay for as long as we need.”

Vito’s dark eyebrows shot up. “She told him and not me?”

“She said you’d find out soon enough, when you came back home.”

“And he’s paying for everything?”

“He felt bad, being so far away, and apparently he begged her to let him help. Look, if you want to make a change in her care, I totally understand.” It would mess up her own plans, of course; she’d given notice at the hospital only when she had this job to see her through, so if Nonna left, she’d have to apply for a part-time job right away. But Nonna was improving daily. If she had Vito with her, and he could focus on her needs, she’d probably be fine. A lot of her anxiety and depression stemmed from loneliness and fear.

Truth was, Lacey had found the older woman a hedge against her own loneliness, as her brother had gotten more and more involved in his wedding plans.

Now Buck and Gina and their dogs would be living in a little cottage on the other side of town. She’d see them a lot, but it wouldn’t be the same as having Buck living here. “Whatever you decide,” she said. “For now, we’d better go reassure your grandma, and then I need to attend to the rest of my guests.”

* * *

Vito followed Lacey back into his grandmother’s room, his mind reeling. Nonna had mostly raised him and his brother, Eugene, after their parents’ accident, and she was one of the few family members he had left. More to the point, he was one of her only family members, and he should have been here for her.

Everyone treated him like he was made of glass, but the fact was, he was perfectly healthy on the inside. His surgeries had been a success, and his hearing loss was corrected with state-of-the-art hearing aids, courtesy of the VA.

He just looked bad.

And while the scars that slashed across his face, the worse ones on his chest, made it even more unlikely that he’d achieve his dream of marriage and a large family, he couldn’t blame his bachelorhood entirely on the war. Women had always liked him, yes—as a friend. And nothing but a friend. He lacked the cool charisma that most women seemed to want in a boyfriend or husband.

Entering his grandmother’s room, he pulled up a chair for Lacey, and then sat down on the edge of Nonna’s bed, carefully, trying not to jolt her out of her light doze. He was newly conscious that she was pale, and thinner than she’d been. A glance around the attractive bedroom revealed a stash of pill bottles he hadn’t noticed before.

Nonna’s eyes fluttered open and she reached out.

He caught her hand in his. “Hey, how’re you feeling?”

She pursed her lips and glared at Lacey. “You told him about my heart.”

“Yes, I told him! Of course I told him!” Lacey’s voice had a fond but scolding tone. “You should have let him know yourself, Nonna. I thought you had.”

He squeezed his grandmother’s hand. “Don’t you know I would’ve dropped everything and come?”

Nonna made a disgusted noise. “That’s exactly why I didn’t tell you. You and your brother have your own lives to lead. And I was able to find a very good arrangement on my own.” She smiled at Lacey.

“It is a good arrangement, and I’m glad for it.” Vito glanced over at Lacey, who had gotten up to pour water into a small vase of flowers.

With its blue-patterned wallpaper, lamp-lit bedside table and a handmade quilt on the bed, the room was cozy. Through the door of the small private bathroom, he glimpsed handicapped-accessible rails and a shower seat.

Yes, this was a good situation for her. “Look, I want to take you back to the house, but we’ll wait until you’re a little better.”

Nonna started to say something, and then broke off, picking restlessly at the blanket.

“I haven’t even been over to see the place yet,” he continued, making plans as he thought it through. “I just got into town. But I’ll check it out, make sure you’ve got everything you need.”

“About that, dear...” Nonna’s voice sounded uncharacteristically subdued.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I’m planning to live there with you for a while.” He smiled. It was true comfort, knowing he could come back to Rescue River anytime and find a welcome, a place to stay and a home-cooked meal.

Lacey nodded approvingly, and for some reason it warmed Vito to see it.

“Neither one of us will be able to live there,” Nonna said, her voice small.

Lacey’s eyebrows rose in surprise, and he could feel the same expression on his own face. “What do you mean?”

“Now, don’t be angry, either of you,” she said, grasping his hand, “but I rented out the house.”

“You what?”

“When did you do that?” Lacey sounded bewildered.

“We signed the papers yesterday when you were out grocery shopping,” Nonna said, looking everywhere but at Vito and Lacey.

“Who’d you rent it to?” If it had just been finalized yesterday, surely everything could be revoked once the situation was explained. Lacey hadn’t said anything about cognitive problems, but Nonna was in her early eighties. Maybe she wasn’t thinking clearly.

Nonna smiled and clasped her hands together. “The most lovely migrant family,” she said. “Three children and another on the way, and they’re hoping to find a way to settle here. I gave them a good price, and they’re going to keep the place up and do some repairs for me.”

“Nonna...” Vito didn’t know where to begin. He knew that this was the way things worked in his hometown—a lot of bartering, a lot of helping out those in need. “You aren’t planning to stay here at the guesthouse indefinitely, right? How long of a lease did you sign?”

“Just a year.” She folded her hands on top of her blanket and smiled.

“A year?” Not wanting to yell at his aged grandma, Vito stood and ran his hands through his hair. “Either you’re going to have to revoke it, or I’m going to have to find another place for you and me to live.” Never mind how he’d afford the rent. Or the fact that he’d named Nonna’s house as his permanent residence in all the social services paperwork.

“No, dear. I have it all figured out.” She took Lacey’s hand in hers, and then reached toward him with her other hand. Once she had ahold of each of them, she smiled from one to the other. “Vito, if Lacey agrees, you can stay here.”

No. She wasn’t thinking clearly. “Nonna, that’s not going to work. Lacey made this arrangement with you, not with me.” And certainly not with the other guest he had in tow. No way could Lacey find out the truth about Charlie.

“But Lacey was thinking of getting another boarder for this period while she’s remodeling. It’s hard to find the right one, because of all the noise.” Lacey started to speak, but Nonna held up a hand. “The noise doesn’t bother me. I can just turn down my hearing aid.”

Vito knew what was coming and he felt his face heat. “Nonna...”

“Vito’s perfect,” she said, looking at Lacey, “because he can do the same thing.”

Lacey’s eyebrows lifted as she looked at him.

No point in trying to hide his less visible disability now. “It’s true,” he said, brushing back his hair to show his behind-the-ear hearing aids. “But that doesn’t mean you have to take us in.” In fact, staying here was the last thing that would work for him.

He’d promised Gerry he’d take care of his son, conceived during the affair Gerry had while married to Lacey. And he’d promised to keep Charlie’s parentage a secret from Lacey.

He was glad he could help his friend, sinner though Gerry had been. Charlie needed a reliable father figure, and Lacey needed to maintain her illusions about her husband. It would serve no purpose for her to find out the truth now; it would only hurt her.

Lacey frowned. “I was looking to take in another boarder. I was thinking of maybe somebody who worked the three-to-eleven shift at the pretzel factory. They could come home and sleep, and they wouldn’t be bothered by my working on the house at all hours.”

“That makes sense,” he said, relieved. “That would be better.”

“But the thing is,” she said slowly, “I haven’t found anyone, even though I’ve been advertising for a couple of weeks. If you wanted to...”

Anxiety clawed at him from inside. How was he supposed to handle this? He could throttle Gerry for putting him into this situation. “I... There are some complications. I need to give this some thought.” He knew he was being cryptic, but he needed time to figure it all out.

Unfortunately, Nonna wasn’t one to accept anything cryptic from her grandchildren. “What complications? What’s going on?”

Vito stood, then sat back down again. Nonna was going to have to know about Charlie soon enough. Lacey, too, along with everyone else in town. It would seem weirder if he tried to hide it now. “The thing is,” he said, “I’m not alone. I have someone with me.”

“Girlfriend? Wife?” Lacey sounded extremely curious.

Nonna, on the other hand, looked disappointed. “You would never get married without letting your nonna know,” she said, reaching up to pinch his cheek, and then pulling her hand back, looking apologetic. It took him a minute to realize that she’d hesitated because of his scars.

“One of my finished rooms is a double,” Lacey said thoughtfully. “But I don’t know what your...friend...would think of the mess and the noise.”

This was going off the rails. “It’s not a girlfriend or wife,” he said.

“Then who?” Nonna smacked his arm in a way that reminded him of when he’d been small and misbehaving. “If not a woman, then who?”

Vito drew in a breath. “Actually,” he said, “I’ve recently become certified as a foster parent.”

Both women stared at him with wide, surprised eyes.

“So I’d be bringing along my eight-year-old foster son.”

He was saved from further explanation by a crash, followed by the sound of shattering glass and running feet.