Chapter 8 #2
“Gabriella, why don’t you go sit down and get to know Dante’s new friend,” Sandra said. “Misty and I can finish up here.”
Misty had the salad halfway prepared. The French bread was on the counter.
“I guess there’s no reason not to. Thank you, darling. Maybe I will. If you could slice the bread and get it ready to warm in tin foil… You just mix together garlic butter and a little salt—”
Sandra chuckled. “I’ve seen you do it a hundred times. I can handle it.”
Maybe Gabriella wasn’t as essential to this family as she had previously thought. “All right.” She removed her apron and joined the others who had traipsed back into the dining room. “Let’s all sit and have a glass of wine while we wait for dinner,” Gabriella said.
Nobody argued, and she didn’t expect they would. She brought a bottle of Chianti and a corkscrew to the table and then retrieved glasses from the hutch. Antonio opened the wine bottle and set it aside to breathe.
“Hey, Dad, when did you knock down the wall between the living and dining room? And why didn’t you go all the way to the kitchen?” Dante asked. “I think they call that ‘open concept,’ and it seems everyone wants that now.”
“I did it about a month ago. Your mother didn’t want open concept, where everyone could look at a mountain of dirty dishes, and you know how she is about people in her kitchen when she’s trying to cook.
Besides, we had to leave the structural wall alone.
Otherwise, the ceiling would be on your head now.
You haven’t been here for a whole month? ”
“Nope. Didn’t you miss me?” Dante said with a smirk.
The patriarch smirked right back at him. “I can’t keep my sons straight. You all look alike to me.”
Everyone around the table laughed, except Gabriella. His teasing was meant in fun, but any of her sons could take it as an insult. Oh well. As long as it was Antonio talking, they’d know it was just a joke.
The man was rarely serious now that he’d retired from the fire department.
All job stress suddenly removed was good for some firefighters, not so much for others.
Thank heavens Antonio was enjoying his retirement fully.
There were some alarming statistics about retired firefighters passing away after only five years away from the job.
Each of her boys was very different from the rest. Her firstborn, Ryan, was…
well… He was supposed to be dead and couldn’t visit often just in case anyone caught sight of him, but he’d be popping in later to congratulate Luca on his graduation.
He’d been reincarnated and was living in Ireland with his dragon queen, in a castle.
Jayce, now the eldest, was lighthearted and social. The others respected him, knowing he’d be leading this family someday. But just to be on the safe side, Antonio co-appointed Miguel to take over.
Miguel, next in line, was serious and a rule follower.
Gabe was all quiet strength. Loyal beyond question.
Dante, well—he was a little bit of everything. More like Jayce than anyone else though. A little flirty with the girls, but definitely a man’s man.
Noah was curious and smart. She might worry about his gentleness, except that unlike her other quiet sons, he had no problem speaking his mind when he wanted to.
And Luca… Ah, Luca. Her youngest. They called him the baby—and now the blue sheep; however, he was anything but.
He’d been asserting himself ever since deciding to buck the family tradition and become a cop, maybe to overcompensate and prove himself an adult.
She hoped not. He could get into a lot of trouble trying to out-macho all the men around the table and prove he wasn’t “the baby” anymore.
As she gazed around the table, she realized someone was missing. “Where’s Noah?” Antonio wasn’t the only one who messed up occasionally and missed a son, although it rarely happened to her. Noah hadn’t called to say he wouldn’t be coming, so maybe he was just delayed.
“Dante, did Noah say anything about being late?” Antonio asked.
“Not to me.”
Something about his too-casual shrug set off her warning bells. “Is everything all right between you two?”
Dante heaved a big sigh. “Jeez, Mom. I swear you’re psychic.”
She would have chuckled if she weren’t so concerned. “What’s going on?”
He glanced at Mallory, but before he could respond, she said with eyes downcast, “It’s my fault.”
Dante was quick to disagree. “No, it isn’t.”
Gabriella wondered at that. Was there competition for Mallory’s affections? She was certainly beautiful enough to inspire male rivalry.
Then Jayce, thank goodness, put it into words. “Is he jealous?”
“No. Nothing like that. He just can’t keep his nose out of my business.”
“Well, it’s no wonder, honey. You’ve been best friends since you were little, and now you’re roommates,” she began.
She didn’t quite know where she was going with the conversation, so she couldn’t help being grateful when the phone rang.
“I’ll get it,” Gabriella sang out. Hopefully, it was son number six, explaining his absence.
The phone was on the wall in the kitchen, where it had been for a couple of decades. She grabbed it without looking at the caller ID. “Noah?”
“No, it’s Kristine.”
“Oh, Kristine! Did your mother have the baby?”
“Yes! I have a little sister!”
“Oh, that’s so exciting!” Gabriella stuck her hand over the mouthpiece and poked her head around the doorjamb. “We have an announcement! Amy’s had her little dra—I mean, baby! It’s a girl!” Oh my goodness. I almost let the word dragon slip out in front of a human stranger!
“Congratulations, Kristine!” many voices yelled at once.
“So, are mother and baby doing well?”
“Yes,” Kristine said. “Tell everyone both are healthy and my stepdad is thrilled beyond belief. Also, please tell Luca I’m sorry I couldn’t be at his graduation. I’ll try to stop by in a few hours.”
“Oh, don’t worry, darling. Everyone understands.”
They exchanged a few more good wishes and then hung up. Before Gabriella made it back to her seat, the phone rang again.
“I’ll get it.” She spun around and went back the way she came. “Hello?”
“Yeah. Hi, Mom. I’m not going to make it for dinner today.”
She paused for effect. “And why not?”
“I—I have some important stuff to do.”
“Why does it sound like you’re not telling me the real reason, Noah?”
“That is the real reason!”
“Hmph. And this ‘important stuff’ is more important than your family? Including your brother’s college graduation? He’s only the first Fierro to graduate from a four-year college right out of high school.”
Noah groaned. “I’m sorry, Mom. I’ll try to come by later. If it makes you feel any better, it’s about a girl.”
“Which girl?”
“Huh? Kizzy. Who else would it be?”
“Fine. Well, come over when you get the chance. I want to hear more about this doctor girlfriend of yours.” Then she brightened. “Or maybe you can bring her with you! I’d love to see her again.”
He sighed. “I doubt she’ll come.”
Something wasn’t going well there, but she wasn’t about to get into it while everyone was within earshot. They said goodbye, and she finally returned to the table. “That was Noah. He’ll be over later…and maybe he’ll bring his new girlfriend. I don’t know. He was very evasive.”
Suddenly, Mallory began to shake uncontrollably.
“Babe?” Dante asked. He put an arm around her shoulders and murmured something into her ear.
The girl’s bright-blue eyes were wide, as if she was afraid of something, and she quickly slipped under the table.
“I’ve got this,” Dante said and held up one hand as if telling his family not to worry and leave everything to him. Then he slithered under the table too.
What the…
Gabriella’s concern made her lean over and peek under the tablecloth.
To her shock, a little monkey sat on the floor, hugging Dante’s leg.
Because the monkey was wearing Mallory’s dress, it didn’t take a genius to surmise that Mallory was a shape-shifter.
And it appeared as if she didn’t have terrific control over her shifts.
Paranormals didn’t just shift spontaneously in front of people they didn’t know well.
Gabriella did a quick mental check of everyone.
They were all aware of the paranormals living among them.
Most were shape-shifters themselves. Misty was the newest member of the family, but she was comfortable with the “uniqueness” of the Fierro men—and in fact had her own unique abilities.
Sandra was the only one who was a totally unadulterated human, but she’d been a part of this family for so long, she wouldn’t bat an eyelash.
Gabriella smiled. “It’s all right, Mallory. You can come out. We’ve all seen much weirder things.”
Dante grinned at his mother. She resurfaced to see how the rest of the family was taking this. So far, everyone was being quiet and respectful.
Then Antonio peeked under the table and groaned. “Not another one…”
Gabriella gave him the stink eye. He winked at her, then stretched and yawned. “Yup. It’s just another Sunday dinner at the Fierro house.”
* * *
Kizzy had to admit she was missing Noah. He had been sweet and attentive and hadn’t given up on her. He called her almost every night, and when he couldn’t, he let her know why. He was the kind of dependable good guy she would have liked to have in her life—eventually.
She hated to defy her father, but it was her life.
She was twenty-seven years old, for gods’ and goddesses’ sakes.
She was still fighting with him over using a spell to cause temporary blindness in order to stay home, protecting the book.
She understood that she would need an emergency leave, and certainly, a sudden loss of vision would preclude her from doing her job…
but couldn’t he come up with something better?