Chapter 5
Dante stopped eating and stared at Marti, finding her words hard to believe. Of course, his curiosity was piqued. He studied her, wondering what she’d say about that. Her silver-gray eyes appeared a muted ash gray, as if shrouded in something deeper than regret. More like remorse.
“I can only assume you told the lie because you thought you were protecting her,” he said.
She placed down her fork, as if surprised at his words. “Why would you assume that?” she asked in a soft voice.
He shrugged. “For starters, I don’t see you as being a cruel or vindictive person, Marti.
I remember how protective you were of your sister that summer.
You were always putting her wants and needs before your own, always looking out for her.
It was quite apparent that you took your role of big sister seriously.
You rarely let her out of your sight. Especially, when we were on the beach. ”
He paused, remembering. “That day you almost drowned was because she wanted that floating toy and was determined to go into the water after it. Instead, to keep her safe, you promised to get it for her, and damn near killed yourself trying. Even after I managed to get you back to shore, your sister’s main concern was that you didn’t bring her toy back. ”
“Kara was barely five then, Dante. She was just a kid.”
“So were you,” he countered.
“Yes, but at the time Kara didn’t fully understand the impact─”
“That you nearly drowned to get something she wanted?” he interrupted to ask. “But I understood, Marti. And since I knew you had made her that promise, I went back to try to get it. I don’t have to tell you what nearly happened to me.”
“Yes, I know. I’m sorry.”
“No need to apologize. It ended well since we both lived, and your sister got her toy back.”
“Yes, but I don’t want you to think Kara grew up to be an inconsiderate human being, Dante. She is one of the nicest, kindest, and most loving people I know. She always put others before herself.”
He didn’t say anything for a moment, and then relented. “I believe you. Admittedly, as an only child, I didn’t understand that level of overprotectiveness until years later. Not until after Skylar was born.”
“Skylar?”
“Yes, Skylar, the youngest of my two godbrothers. I’m thirteen years older.
In fact, he was born the year after our swimming incident.
I grew up just as protective of him as you were of your sister.
And so, I can only assume you lied to Kara about her boyfriend because you thought you were protecting her. ”
“Yes, that’s what I honestly thought at the time--that I was protecting her from someone who would eventually break her heart.
It took her four years to discover I had lied about him.
When she did, it caused a deep rift in our relationship, one that I thought could not be repaired.
I realized I’d made a grave mistake about him.
Virgil Bougard truly did love my sister, and I was responsible for keeping them apart during all that time. I apologized to them both.”
“Were they able to work things out and get back together?” he asked.
“Yes, but my lie caused a lot of damage. Dad, who’d always liked Virgil but who is protective of his girls, turned against him and called him some not-so-nice things.
Things Dad had to apologize for once it was discovered I had lied.
And Virgil didn’t make things easy for Kara.
He’s an unforgiving sort of guy and wasn’t so quick to excuse her for believing my lie about him.
He felt she should have trusted him. Eventually, they realized how much they still loved each other and felt they had wasted enough years apart.
They are married, and I’ve never known Kara to be happier.
Virgil is the best thing to ever happen to her. He’s a wonderful husband and father.”
He reached out and gently touched her hand. “You misjudged his intentions toward your sister, but it sounds like everything ended well.”
“Yes, but…”
“But what?” he asked softly.
“I wish I hadn’t lied. I wish I had known.”
Dante didn’t say anything for a moment. “The thing is, Marti, we’re all human and prone to making mistakes. It’s a fact of life. You didn’t do it intentionally. You did it because you thought you were protecting your sister. It was done out of love.”
Her gaze met his, and he saw it, signs of remorse still lingering there. “Yes, I did it out of love.” She paused a moment and then asked, “What about you, Dante? Has there been a major regret for you?”
He figured that since he was the one who put the question out there first, and she had answered, the least he could do was return the favor.
“Yes. In my first year at Harvard, there was a guy who lived in the dorm room across the hall. Whenever I saw him on campus, he always looked rather sad. I’d heard that his roommate could be a real asshole.
My intent was to introduce myself and befriend him. Unfortunately, I never found the time.”
He took a sip of his coffee, trying to push back the memories. “One day, I came back from class to find the dorm surrounded by police. That’s when I found out the guy had committed suicide.”
“Oh, my goodness,” she said, clutching her chest.
“To this day, I regret not taking the time to befriend him or to simply ask him if he was okay. I later learned that his roommate had been bullying him.”
“That’s cruel.”
He nodded. “And what’s even sadder is that the roommate had no remorse. However, after the police took statements from those with firsthand knowledge of the situation, that guy was expelled.”
“I’m glad.”
“So was I.” And to this day, Dante refused to tolerate bullies of any kind. Wanting to change the subject, he asked, “Okay, let’s lighten this up. What’s the most spontaneous thing you’ve ever done?”
He watched as her eyes returned to their silver-gray color when she smiled.
“Bungee jump. Kara and I took a sister trip to Costa Rica a year after I moved to North Carolina. It was one of the excursions she had signed up for and after watching her do it, I decided to give it a try, too. I admit it was fun.”
“What made you leave California for North Carolina?”
“At the time, Kara was attending Duke, and I visited her and liked the area. When she finished college and got a job in Charlotte, I decided to join her there.” She pushed forward in her chair. “Okay, your turn. What was the most spontaneous thing you ever did?”
He recalled one such incident that very day, but he preferred to think of it as a good business decision instead of an act of spontaneity.
He’d decided to purchase the third house in Lasco Cove as part of his real estate investments, and he presented the owner with a very nice offer.
But Marti was asking about something interesting, something fun.
“It happened a month and a half ago, at Skylar’s wedding. Since so many of my relatives from Italy attended, I kicked off the Tarantella. Definitely nothing I had planned to do beforehand.”
She lifted a brow. “What’s the Tarantella?
“It’s a fast-paced dance that’s usually done at Italian weddings. I couldn’t let the moment pass without including some of that culture in the festivities. It was great.”
“I bet it was.”
Dante took another sip of his coffee. “Next question. Is there something you haven’t done in your lifetime that you wish you had?”
She rested her chin in her hand, smiled, and said, “Yes. I always wanted to learn how to play the drums.”
Her response surprised him. “The drums?”
“Yes,” she answered, grinning.
He couldn’t imagine her doing that. “I find that interesting,” he said, holding her gaze.
“Why? Don’t I look like the rocker type?”
“No, but then I don’t think that I look like the rocker type either. Yet I know how to play the drums. Quite well, if I must say so myself.”
“You do?” she asked, as if fascinated by the information.
“Yes. I was a drummer in my high school band. In fact, generations of Avera men were talented drummers, although they never played professionally.”
“Really? Why the drums?”
Dante figured she didn’t need to know the real reason.
For Avera men, being skilled at playing the drums was directly linked to being skilled with a firearm.
Few people knew that playing the drums greatly improved an individual’s shooting timing.
Avera men were known to be expert marksmen because of it.
But she didn’t need to know that. “The drums were my family’s musical instrument of choice. We all started playing early, generation after generation.”
“Now I find that rather interesting.”
He shrugged. “It’s no different than someone learning to play the piano and then passing it down, in the hope that the interest in music would remain through generations.”
“Presented that way, I understand. Kara and I both learned to play the piano, not because we were particularly interested, but because Mom learned to play and her mother and grandmother before her.”
After taking another sip of her coffee, she asked. “This is fun. Okay, Dante, is there something you haven’t done in your lifetime that you wish you had?”
Dante thought about her question for a moment. “Yes. Although I served in the National Guard, which is part of the Air Force, my first choice was the Marines. Unfortunately, becoming a Marine didn’t fit into my career goals at the time.”
Marti nodded. “That’s a shame. Marines are so cool.” She then glanced at her watch. “My goodness, I didn’t realize it was so late.” She stood. “I’ll help you with the dishes.”
“There’s no need. However, there’s a lot left over if you’d like to take some back with you. I’ll even share my coffee with you,” he offered.
“Thanks, Dante. I’d love to have both.”
A short while later, she had helped him load up the dishwasher--although he’d said there was no need--and had packed up a steak, a loaded potato, and a slice of pie to take home with her that he had covered with foil. He’d also put some coffee in a Ziploc bag.