Authors: Cindy Stark
He
quickly recovered. "Let's change the subject." Jase shut the door
behind him. "What's for dinner?"
Carole
gave him a look smeared with attitude. "I'm not sure you deserve
dinner." She glanced at Allie. "And I don't mean you, Allie.
You're more than welcome to eat. But Jase—" She turned back to him.
"Robert told me you were bringing home a girl, so I cooked up a romantic
roast beef dinner complete with potatoes and cherry pie, and now you're lying
and telling me she's no one special." Allie's stomach started to grumble
as Carole continued. The older woman put a hand on her hip. "I think
Robert, Allie and I will eat it instead."
Jase
surprised Allie by walking up and giving Carole a big, fat kiss on the lips.
"I love you, and you know, that I know, that you and Robert have
your
romantic dinners every night." He studied her with a knowing smile until
Carole's cheeks flushed, and then he took Allie's hand. "Come on, I'm
starving."
"You
eat that dinner, and I'm going to know you're lying to me about her,"
Carole called from behind them.
"Gotta
love her." Jase chuckled as he led Allie through a room lined with bookshelves
and a huge, friendly fireplace surrounded by brown leather sofas. From there,
they walked into a kitchen that glowed. Allie didn't know if it was the warm
oak woods or the sunny yellow walls, but the room radiated happiness and
comfort.
And
the scents. "Oh, Jase. That smells heavenly." Her stomach grumbled
louder, and she didn't want to think about the last time she'd had a decent
meal.
"Wait
until you taste it. Carole should be a chef at one of those four-star
restaurants. Luckily, I have her, instead."
Allie's
mouth watered as she watched Jase serve up two plates of food. Just as he set
them on the bar in front of her, Carole came in from a side entrance, her
auburn curls bouncing with determination. "Oh, no, you don't. If you're
going to eat that romantic dinner, you are
not
eating off the bar.
There's a perfectly good dining table in the other room. You can eat in there
while I clean up the dishes." She stared at him, daring him to defy her.
Allie almost laughed. The power struggle between them was hilarious—big,
muscle man versus Amazon woman.
"Yes,
ma'am." Jase conceded and picked up their plates, nodding toward the
direction from which Carole had come. "Let's go, Allie. It will be
quieter in there, anyway."
The
dining room seemed like a whole different world. Where the kitchen spoke
happy, this room whispered sensual. The lights had been dimmed, leaving two
flickering candles vying for attention at the end of a dark mahogany table.
The table could easily seat eight, but with the candles and two glasses of wine
marking their spots, it seemed much more intimate.
"Sorry
for all the hoopla." Jase set their plates down and held out a chair for
her.
She
felt like a fairy princess. "That's okay. I don't mind. Carole seems
very nice, and I can tell she loves you."
He
went back and shut the door between the dining room and kitchen. "Don't
let her hear you say that, or she'll smother you with affection."
Allie
let out a soft laugh. The ambience had subdued her mood. "That doesn't
seem like such a terrible thing."
"Just
wait." He sat next to her and started immediately on his large slab of
roast beef. "Mmm," he groaned. "Damn, she's good."
Allie
couldn't wait any longer. She cut off a section of beef and let it melt in her
mouth. It was divine. Maybe she had died in Chicago, and this was what heaven
was like.
Jase
swallowed some of the red wine in his glass, and then eyed her. "Can I
get you something else to drink?"
She
shook her head. "I'm okay. I don't need anything." In fact, she
was happier than she'd been in a long time. It was nice to feel cared for.
She hadn't had that experience since her mother had died.
Carole's
pie was to die for, and by the time dinner was finished, she felt like she'd
gained ten pounds.
"I'm
feeling kind of fat and sassy," she said as they stood up from the table.
She couldn't help grinning.
"It
looks good on you." He smiled back.
It
looked good on him, too. He needed to leave Chicago forever and stay in this
place where he could be happy and have a real life. In that second, she wanted
to grab him and pull him into a fairytale world where she could kiss him
forever. A place where bounties and revenge didn't exist.
"You
kids should go sit by the fire on the patio." Carole spoke from the
doorway, and Allie jumped not realizing Carole had entered the room. "You
shouldn't let a good fire go to waste, and I have a jacket Allie can borrow
since you didn't see fit to bring any clothes for her with you." She
paused, eyeing Jase. "Or did I miss your suitcases?"
"Uh,
no suitcases." He gave Carole a sheepish grin. "I actually wanted
to talk to you about that."
"Nonsense.
Allie and I will work on her wardrobe tomorrow. Get out there and enjoy that
fire."
Allie
couldn't remember the last time she'd been bossed around so much, nor the last
time, if ever, she'd enjoyed it. By the time she'd slipped into Carole's
oversized jacket, and they'd made their way to the patio, Carole had delivered
a tray with all of the fixings for s'mores.
"Oh,
wow." Allie eyed the spread with amazement. "She goes all out,
doesn't she?"
"A
little overboard, I'd say." He chose to sit on the log bench as opposed
to the more comfortable padded chairs.
That
was the one thing Allie really liked about his whole house. It had the feel of
luxury, but still managed to be outdoorsy and comfortable, too. She sat on the
log next to him. "She's kind of like your surrogate mom, huh?"
Jase
paused and then nodded. "I guess you could say so."
"And
Robert could be your surrogate father. You have a nice home, and it's kind of
like you've found a second family."
Jase
picked up a marshmallow and jammed it onto the end of a metal stick. He tucked
it deep down into the flames where it began to char instantly. "Nobody
can replace your family."
She'd
hit a nerve, she realized. Allie picked up her own marshmallow and followed
Jase's example. After several moments of silence, she spoke. "I've never
roasted a marshmallow before."
"You
don't want to scorch it like I've done." He pulled his away from the
direct flames, sliding it off the end of his stick into the fire.
Allie
pulled hers back, too, and inspected it. It was a nice brown on one side, not
black like his had been. She rolled it over, but didn't put it as close to the
fire this time.
He
stuck a fresh marshmallow on his stick. "There are a lot of things you've
never done before."
"True."
She turned her marshmallow a little more. "That's what happens when you
grow up on the streets. Life's a little different from that side."
He
nodded, staring at the mesmerizing flames. She followed suit, deciding to be
happy to just share his company. He obviously couldn't appreciate the
wonderful things he had in his life. Revenge was an ugly thing. A violent
thing. Maybe, before she left, she could help him understand that. Help him
see the good in life again.
Until
that happened, it was a beautiful night with all the stars shining in a huge
black sky. The fire crackled and her marshmallow had turned a crusty brown on
all sides. The brisk air was scented with pine and smoke from their fire, and
it smelled wonderful. She was so full from dinner, but she couldn't resist
trying one roasted marshmallow. She pulled the crusty glob from the end of her
stick and plopped it between her lips. It filled her mouth with gooey
goodness.
"We
need to talk."
Allie
stopped mid-chew, not liking the tone of Jase's voice. Why did he have to ruin
their beautiful evening with a sentence like that? "About what?" she
said around her marshmallow. No one ever said,
we need to talk
and had
a happy conversation.
"I
need to find out why they killed Joey."
She
swallowed and sighed. She just wanted to forget that night, forget her whole
previous life in fact. Couldn't they stay in this fairytale dream, instead?
"Okay, fine."
"I'm
hoping you'll take some time while you're here to really think about Joey, what
he said, what he did. Things were crazy back in Chicago, but it's quieter
here. Maybe you can remember something. Nothing's too little or
insignificant."
"Can't
we just leave that behind us? What does it matter now?"
He
looked at her with an earnest expression, the light from the flames making
shadows on his face. "You know I want revenge for my family, but more
than that, I want you safe. I don't like knowing they're hunting you."
"I
don't like it, either. If they were gone, I could—" She stopped. She'd
almost said "keep her baby". "I'd feel a lot better."
"This
money that's on your head—it's big. You've got something or you know something
they want. If I could get it before they do, I might have a chance of bringing
down their whole organization." A loud pop from the fire punctuated his
statement.
"But,
I don't know anything." How many times had they been over this?
"Maybe
you've forgotten something, some little detail that will give us a hint as to
why they want you so badly."
She
hunched deeper in her jacket, feeling a sudden chill. "I met Joey a few
years ago. He'd come into the bowling alley where I worked. He was always so
cool, and, you know." She fluttered her fingers. "I was so excited
when he finally asked me out." She'd thought he'd held the world in his
hands.
"We'd
been dating for almost two years. I knew he sometimes hung with Benny Trasatti
and his boys, but he never said much about them. We never talked about the
mob. Joey knew it made me mad, so he hid his involvement with them from
me." She sighed. "That last night was the first time I realized he'd
had dealings with them. He'd said they wanted something from him. He also
said if something worked out, we'd be set for life. I never had a chance to
ask him what it was."
"And
you said he didn't give you anything, right?"
"Like
what?"
"I
don't know. Papers. A photo. I figure they must want something tangible. If
they were afraid he'd told you something that could hurt them, they'd just kill
you. They want you alive. At least for now."
She
swallowed the lump in her throat. "No, he didn't give me anything. I'd
kind of hoped he'd propose to me after I told him about the baby, but I didn't
get the chance."
"I'm
sorry about that."
Allie
looked at him. He seemed mesmerized by the dancing flames. A haunted look
shadowed his face. She shivered. She wanted him to give up this notion of
revenge. "I think you should let this go."
He
eyed her then. "No. There's a connection there. Something to do with
you, and I'm going to find it."
"I
don't just mean the incident with Joey and me. I mean your vengeance all
together. Let it go. Stay here where you're safe, where you're happy."
"No."
There was a lot of power behind his answer. "I will bring them down. For
what they did to my family and to you."
"No,
Jase. Please don't include me in your reasons for revenge. I just want to put
the past behind me." She laid down her roasting stick and folded her
hands in her lap. She looked at the beautiful scenery surrounding them.
"Can't you see what you have here? Somehow, someway, the Trasatti family
will pay for what they've done, but you don't need to be the one to make them.
Let the cops or God handle it."
"I
can't."
"Jase—"
"They're
going to pay, Allie. And I'm going to be the one who makes them."
Allie
wished she could have made Jase see reason, but he refused to talk about giving
up his vengeance again for the rest of the evening. When he walked her to her
bedroom door, he made her promise to try to remember something. She agreed
only because she couldn't stand to tell him no. He left her then and continued
to the next room down the hall.
She
flipped on the light and walked inside, shutting the door behind her. Trying
to convince Jase to give up his need for revenge was like trying to convince a
mobster to give up racketeering. Hopeless.
Even
so, she knew she'd keep trying.
Her
room was beautiful. White furniture, creamy walls, with a gorgeous pink and
lavender patchwork quilt covering the bed. She walked over and sat on the
edge, allowing herself to fall backward. She could still smell the campfire,
and she lifted a strand of her hair, finding the scent clinging to her. She
loved it.
It
was like she'd gone on vacation and checked into one of those all inclusive
hotels she'd seen on TV. Perhaps she'd take a long, luxurious soak in the tub
to prolong her fairytale dream. She'd only have this kind of elegance for a
few days, and then she was sure Jase would move her somewhere else. Somewhere
where she'd live and go to college. The thought of school excited and
intimidated her. A whole new life.