Winter Love (Seasons in Montana: Winter)

Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Lukas

The house is noisy after we pick everyone up. It takes two cars and two trips, I didn’t know how big they all were. My brothers and I are big guys too, we’re all six foot four. But the Mancinis and Bastianinis make us look small.

After we get them settled at our house, Enea Mancini asks if we can all meet tonight. He wants to talk to everybody at once.

“We could have dinner here at the resort. Or if you want it more private, we can do it at our house,” I say to Enea.

“Having it at your home would be better if that’s okay. We can shop and help cook. We eat a lot.” He chuckles.

I laugh. “We do too. But that will work. We close our store at ten tonight. I hope that’s not too late.”

“No, that’s fine. We will get to know your town. It reminds me of Lake Renegade.”

“Lorenzo told us how your father founded and built it. That’s impressive.”

“It wasn’t just my papà, but he was one of the founders, sí.”

“I hope one day we can come and see your town.”

“We would love that, you would be able to meet the rest of the family.”

“It sounds like you have a big family.”

“We do. One day you’ll meet all of us.” Enea smiles.

“I look forward to that. I hate to leave. But I need to get back to the store.”

“I’d like Celestino to go with you and keep an eye on things there. My fratello, Leonardo will go too.”

I nod at him. “Thank you.”

The rest of the day goes by without any more texts or surprises. It makes me wonder if William knows that we have help now. And I also wonder if he’s started to rethink coming after my girl. But my gut says he’s laying low and just biding his time.

“How long are they staying?” Rhett asks.

“I don’t know. I guess as long as we need their help?”

“I kind of wish we could close up early. I hate waiting. I want to hear what they know.”

“I know. I feel the same, but we can’t. I will say they’re pretty intimidating. Wait till you meet them.” I chuckle.

“Yeah. They’re kind of scary.” Paxton laughs. “They make us look small.”

“Now I really want to meet them.” Rhett laughs.

“You’re going to like them. They make you feel like you’re family. It’s really weird. I feel like I already know them.”

“They really did seem like good people. Family oriented, like us.”

“We have a few more hours. They said they were going to come into the store after they walk around town.”

“You won’t miss them if they come by.” I laugh.

The rest of the night goes by quickly and at nine-thirty, all the guys come walking in.

“Holy shit,” I hear Rhett say from the pharmacy. Which makes me laugh.

“Your town reminds me of ours,” Enea says to me. “You have another brother and sister?”

“I do. I’ll introduce you to them.”

We walk over to the pharmacy first.

“This is my brother, Rhett, he’s our pharmacist. Rhett, this is Enea, Leonardo, Antonio and Sebastiano Mancini, you know Salvatore. And this is Giacomo and Francesco Bastianini.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Rhett smiles as he shakes each of their hands. “Thank you for coming to help my brother.”

“I’m glad you called us. This guy worries me and it takes a lot to do that,” Leonardo says.

“This is our sister, Felicity and my girl, Emmanuelle.”

When I introduce them to the guys, they give them a hug.

“You’re the one that dated William?” Antonio asks.

“I am. He wasn’t like that when we met. But it only took a few months for him to change.”

“I’m sorry to say that men like him don’t change. He was hiding who he really was, trying to get you to fall in love with him so that when he shows you his real face, it’s too late for you to leave,” Giacomo says to her.

“And none of it was your fault. Sebastiano’s wife was in an abusive relationship. She was with him for a few years and he didn’t show his true face till the last year they were together,” Enea tells us as Sebastiano nods.

“Thank you. I have always felt like it was my fault. I should’ve known what he was really like.”

I hug Emma. “I told you none of this was your fault.”

“Knowing other people who’ve gone through it makes it easier,” she says softy.

I wish she never had to go through any of it. I hate that I wasn’t there to protect her. Even if we weren’t together, I should’ve been there.

Emmanuelle

“I hope that one day I’ll get to meet your wife,” I say to Sebastiano.

“I’m sure you will. Schuyler is my world and I almost lost her before I really had the chance to be with her.”

“But it all worked out in the end, right?”

Sebastiano nods. “It did. We’re expecting our second baby in one month, that’s the only reason she’s not here now. She wanted to be, after hearing your story. But we didn’t know how long this would take. And if we’re still here closer to her due date, I’ll have to head home. I can still help from there, though. We’ll find him and make sure he leaves you alone.”

“I can’t wait to meet Schuyler. And thank you for everything. I truly never thought that William would come back and cause trouble. And for him to bring this here now? I just don’t understand.”

“That’s the issue with people like him. They’re good at hiding who they really are. We found some things out about him. We’ll tell you all about it when we get back to your house,” Leonardo says to us.

It’s amazing how one hour can drag on and feel like a year. I’m worried about what they’ve found out about William. The amount of men they brought and that are still coming is what worries me. If they didn’t think it was a big deal, they wouldn’t bring so many guys. I make sure to stay close to Lukas for the rest of the night.

Customers stare at our guests and it makes me laugh. The looks on some of Wintervale’s citizens are funny.