I smacked Mariano on the ass. “Hannah made sweetgrass tea for me. She toldZiaBianca to send a message to me that it was ready.” I loved it. The tea was earthy with a vanilla twist. It was a natural remedy she always made for me when my allergies started on the ranch.
Mariano nodded, setting me down on my feet. He looked at my socks. “Any elves come nearmyfeet, I’m going to fucking kill them.”
He placed a kiss on my head, then knocked against Angelo’s shoulder. Mariano must have realized I needed time alone to talk to my cousin, but this also could have been because whatever I needed, he did for me. I was not positive if his father was the same, but Mariano refused to allow me to even touch trash.
Angelo sighed, wrapping his arms around Atta, and she closed her eyes, the expression on her face almost…helpless, as if she were saying goodbye to him. Her arms squeezed his, and I could tell he had to rip himself away from her.
Mariano gave me a questioning look. He had caught the emotion from her as well. I did not respond, nor did I think he expected me to. We were just communicating with each other without words. The truth of this often slammed into me. How connected we were from the beginning.
After the men left, I took my position next to Atta at the counter, helping her plate the veggies she had prepared. I did not waste time or words.
“What is going on?” I asked her in Italian. Atta could speak three languages. English. Mi'kmaq. Italian.
“It’s just so much to do with the wedding being so close, and?—”
“Stop handing me bullshit lines, Atta. You are loving planning this wedding. Talk to me.”
When her eyes met mine, it seemed as if we met halfway from across a long memory we shared. She dropped her shoulders, and whatever she had been carrying, as she sighed out a heavy breath.
She said one word. “Rattler.”
I crossed my arms. “He is back?”
She nodded. “With his band of bastard thugs.” She concentrated on a red pepper, her eyes almost fixated on it. “I made a mistake, Sistine. I thought the new European-style stables would be so good for the horses, fancy, you know? Good for the ranch, too. Then all the upgrades that were desperately needed. My agent took a big chunk of money from the record deal. After, I wasn’t left with what I nearly thought I’d be, with taxes and fees taken out. I don’t have enough money to pay for everything. The ranch is in debt because of me. Loans need to be paid. We’re in foreclosure.”
“This is when Rattler entered the picture again.”
Her eyes whipped to mine, frantic on my face. “You okay, Sis?”
My knees felt like they had turned to jam, my arms crossed to hide the trembling, but I hid it well. Or so I assumed. I nodded anyway. She went on, because she knew we were both not okay.
“He and his family are trying to take the land from us. Mamma and Granny know, but we don’t want to tell Ty yet. We don’t want him to do something that might start something with them.”
“Angelo,” I said.
“I haven’t told him.”
“Why? You are not alone in this fight anymore.”
“There’s a two-part answer to that, and neither is uncomplicated.” She sighed, looking behind her to make sure we were still alone. “The first part is easier than the next. It felt so good to be the reason our family ranch would continue for generations to come. I was singlehandedly going to bring financial security to my family. Mamma, Granny, Ty, none of them would have to worry anymore. And that might still be possible, once my first record releases and I go on tour to promote it. A lot is riding on sales.
“If my debut album does well, yeah, they’ll pick me up again. But even with my social media numbers, if my debut record fails, so do I. Still. I don’t have enough time to come up with the money. And Angelo’s timing in my life was so unexpected. I don’t want him to think my attraction to him had anything to do with his money, or the family he belongs to. My money baggage, or what happens to this ranch that’s been in my blood for years, is not his responsibility.”
I shook my head, already disagreeing with her, but she took my hand and squeezed.
“I know, Angelo would believe me if I told him money and losing the ranch isn’t the reason I fell for him, because it’swhollynot. You know me, Sistine. I agreed to marry him the moment I met him because it was the most real moment I ever had in my life. I can’t even explain it. My heart just knew, and it spoke for me.”
I nodded at this. My cousin was beautiful, and she oozed sex appeal, but in her personal life, she was very traditional. Her values were founded on God, honesty, and hard work. She recognized something in Angelo’s eyes that she knew meant forever. A connection no other man could fulfill. She might have resembled Capri, but she was the total opposite of her when it came to behavior and the things she held dear to her. My sister did not hold anything dear to her—except for status.
“Angelo can help,” I whispered.
She slapped the knife on the counter, closing her eyes, her fists tightening. “I know,” she whispered, and I could tell she was holding back strong emotions. “That’s the point. I feel like a failure! I couldn’t do it on my own. Looking back, regarding money, I have so many regrets. I was trying to do the right thing, but like daddy always said, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. My road walked me straight into hell. My daddy,”she whispered, shaking her head. “What will his parents think of me? That I’m using him? I hate this.Hateit.”
I took her hand and squeezed. Underneath her flesh, a tremble ran through her. “Angelo and his parents will understand. You did not do this underhandedly. This is a lot of land, Atta; even Granny says so. A few times over the years they were in trouble with it as well.” I sighed. “What about the gala? The charity money?”
She shook her head. “It’s not enough. The donations were already handed out. What’s left is for ranches that need much less than ours to stay afloat. We could open the dude ranch again, but again, the money won’t come in time. Ty is good with dealing with the land, but not so much with taking reservations and things like that. We’d have to hire someone. Where would I get the extra money? I’ll be on the road. And besides, I don’t know if even the dude ranch business could bring us out of this. We need a ton of money and fast. The interest…it’s eating this place alive.”
We sat in silence for a moment. I checked over my shoulder. Although Fausti men were tall, muscular, and strong, above what any laws should allow, there was nothing clunky about them. They moved as quietly as the big cats that symbolized their family. I listened for a second, and when no sounds came to me, I took a deep breath.
