Penelope nodded. “Everyone else is nice enough. Or, well, as nice as politicians and businessmen can be,” she added with a laugh. “Ivan is a little uncivilized. Okay, no, that’s a lie. He’s really uncivilized. Kind of like a pirate.”
Pirate…no, that didn’t fit. Pirates were sailors, roving about, searching the high seas for adventure and treasure. This man was something else.
Something worse.
A barbarian, bringing a hoard of soldiers to attack and pillage.I hadn’t read Robert E. Howard. Pulp fiction wasn’t my cup of tea. But this man? He could be brothers with Conan.
“Anyhow, he doesn’t do social gatherings. But Alessio asked him here tonight to meet with the mayor about some important district rezoning proposals. There’s an investment opportunity we’re excited about. It hinges around Ivan participating,” Penelope continued. “I’m actually surprised he came.”
“What is he?” I asked as we slipped into the kitchen.
Penelope’s nose wrinkled. She set her cocktail down on the counter. “You know what he is.”
I did. Anyone with eyes could see it. “A boss.”
My cousin nodded. “His territory is north of the city, the Lake Bluff area. The Skokie Highway runs right alongside it, and if therezoning goes through, there could be trouble on the west side of the road—. Sorry!” She shook her head. “You don’t want to hear about all that.”
I smiled. A trickle of warmth rushed through me, helping to thaw the muscles that were too numb from the encounter. “I missed you.”
“Same!” Penelope grinned. “I’m so happy you’re here.”
“Me too.” And I was.
I raised my untouched drink in a salute and tipped it back. “Damn, that’s good.”
“Do you want another?” She scooted hers toward me.
I eyed the tumbler. It was a bad idea. “Maybe after dinner.”
At that moment the poor butler pushed through the swinging door, and Penelope shot him a grin.
“Shepherd! Just the man I was looking for.”
The butler groaned. I hid a smirk and watched as my cousin began to give him the riot act. My fingers inched toward her untouched drink. Just a sip….
Chapter 2 – Poppy
While Penelope and the butler engaged in a heated conversation, a mixture of Italian and English, I dove out of the kitchen and up the front stairs. I needed a minute. It might have been only a half hour since I left, but being back with the scavengers rattled me more than I cared to admit.
Once in the safety of my room, the sweet rush of relief was nearly overwhelming. I sagged against the closed door.
“Mama?” a small voice called.
The smile that curved over my lips was the result of a burst of pure happiness.
“Sshhh,” I breathed, crossing the room and settling on the bed. “You need to go back to sleep.”
Brady already was. His eyes were closed, and slumber filled his chubby cheeks. He still looked like a little boy, but deep in my heart a pang of sadness resounded. In the next year, those cheeks would lose the last vestige of babiness. So would his hands. Just a blink, and my little man was going to be a big boy. A six-year-old, starting first grade.
A sigh fluttered from my heart out my lips. At least homeschooling would keep him home with me. We’d already started on the reading curriculum, but these two weeks were a break from any formal schooling. He was so eager, soaking up knowledge, that doing a formal school year seemed a disservice. The moment the kindergarten textbooks were finished, we’d actually started the first lessons in math and writing in the next grade just the other week. It might be the middle of June, but he led the way, forging the path of his learning. I was just the guide to help him on the journey.
I brushed back the tangled mop of hair that fell over his forehead. He sighed into my touch and relaxed into a deeper sleep. The temptation to kick off my ballet flats and curl into the blanket with him was strong. When we returned to North Dakota, we would be moving him into his own bedroom, with a big boy bed, which I’d already ordered the cowboy comforter for. This wouldn’t be the last time he snuggled in my bed, since he was prone to bad dreams, but it was time to break the habit of co-sleeping.
“Five years,” I whispered. “Where did the time go, big man?”
There was a song on the country radio station about not knowing how much a woman would want these days to come back. How fast the time flew. I hated that song with every fiber of my being. I already knew I missed these days. I knew it now, without needing to take a good look around.
But as I always did, I focused on the future. There would be new adventures, fun milestones, and good memories to come. The baby stage might be over, and the toddler was dissolved into history, but my son was forever mine.
