Chapter 5
“You all kinds of wrong for that,” Maverik said as Valerie placed a plate loaded with panee’ meat, mashed potatoes and peas in front of him.
“No, I’m not. I went to go help Avaleigh. And we got two delicious meals cooked — enough for everybody — and some chicken tenders, too. I was thinking for the kids, but I’m sure there are people who just prefer simpler fare.”
“Mmhmm. I know why you went over there. You went to check out that Giada girl.”
“Of course, I did. And she’s lovely.”
“Why did you do that? You know when he finds out he’s going to blame me. And now I’m gonna have to find a more creative way of talking to her since you went and jumped the gun.”
“You don’t have to talk to her. I did it. And I did a better job of it than you did. She’s none the wiser about my true reason to be there, because she’s seen me there before helping out, so it wasn’t suspicious. And he already knows I was there.”
“Great. He’s gonna be a joy to be around when he gets home.”
“He didn’t seem upset. In fact, he seemed grateful.”
“Grateful? I’m pretty sure that’s not at all what he was feeling.”
“No, really! She was on the verge of shutting him down when I came upon them. I listened long enough to figure out what their conversation was about, then I just said hi to him. She didn’t know him and was suspicious.
Once she knew he was my son, and not just some random man trying to get to know her and her kids, she relaxed.
I could feel it. I’m pretty sure he’s having dinner with them right now. ”
“Dinner? What’d you cook over there?”
“Catfish couvillion, and shrimp creole with white rice, fried okra and potato salad.”
Maverik looked down at his plate, thought about it, then shook his head. “Mine’s better. I’ll take this any day over all that.”
“I know. That’s why I made it for you.”
Maverik sat at the table, relaxedly cutting off a piece at a time of his battered and pan fried cube steak.
He’d dip the piece in mashed potatoes, then in the pile of buttered green peas next to them.
Place it in his mouth and close his eyes, sitting back in his chair savoring one of his favorite meals.
They enjoyed their meal in companionable silence for almost six whole minutes before Maverik pinned her with a look that said he wanted to know now. “So, tell me about her.”
“She’s a beautiful young woman raising two very smart, very well behaved children on her own.”
“She’s nice?”
“Very nice. Very capable. Very well spoken. There’s more to her story than just falling on hard times, though I don’t know what it is yet.
She’s educated, she’s got administrative skills.
I’m not quite sure what happened to her, other than the obvious, but I like her.
She’s strong and resilient and not afraid to stand her ground.
Not to mention she’s not bowled over by the fact that Ronan is paying attention to her. Most humans would swoon right away.”
“And she didn’t?” Maverik asked.
“No. In fact, she was working on sending him out of the building — respectfully, because of her kids standing right there being excited about him — but sending him away nonetheless.”
“I don’t like this, Val. I mean, I really wanted more for him than a ready made family. He’s young, you know?”
“I do know. But I also know that Ronan is the more logical and the more grounded of all of them. And you should have seen how excited those boys were to see him. Maybe, now that she knows he’s not some stranger and he’s part of our family, she’ll allow herself to relax a little instead of being such a guardian to herself and her kids. ”
“Maybe,” Maverik said.
“If he wants her, you can’t try to stop him. He’ll fight you. He’s the more even-keeled child, but he’s also partly you and partly me.”
“I know. I need to find some even ground with him and let him know I’m there for him regardless.”
“That’s a very good idea.”
“Even if I do have to kick his ass first,” Maverik grumbled.
“You are not going to kick his ass.”
“I might.”
“What did Daniel tell you?” Valerie asked.
“I think he knows more about her than we do. But other wise, he said basically what you did. And he’s right. You’re right, too. I know that. I just hoped for more for him. He’s a good kid, and he’s got a heart of gold, and he’s so damn painfully honest.”
“He’s getting more than the average mate, Mav. He’s getting a whole family. Trust his instincts, and watch him make you proud.”
Maverik nodded and took another bite of his dinner.
~~~
The kids were happily eating their dinner, and Ronan was doing his best to keep things low key and relaxed for their first meal together.
He’d tried a time or two to lure Giada into a conversation but she’d only given him partial one or two word answers, so he’d stopped and just enjoyed the feeling of being with them. Talking wasn’t necessary.
“So, you’ve already got a degree in, what was it? Bio molecular…” Giada asked.
“Biomedical Engineering,” Ronan said. “I’m working on my master’s, and when I’m done with that, I’m going straight into the doctorate program for my PHD.”
Giada looked at him, really looked at him and shook her head.
“What’s that for?” he asked.
“You don’t look old enough to have finished your bachelor’s degree, much less be almost finished with your master’s.”
“I kind of load up on my classes, finish about a year and half’s worth of classes each year to everyone else’s standard class load.
I’ve done that all my life. Not to mention that I took dual enrollment classes all my high school years — well, as soon as they’d let me — so I entered college as a sophomore. ”
“Ahhh, I see.”
“What do you see?”
“One of those genius kids that spends his life studying.”
Ronan laughed. “Sometimes, yes. But you’d be surprised what I can get up to when I’m with all my cousins. We’re a wild bunch.”
“I’d have to see that to believe it,” she said. She eyed him up and down again. “How old are you anyway?”
“Twenty-five. And I can tie my own shoes and everything!” he teased.
Giada laughed. “I’m sure your mother is proud of you.”
“I hope so. It was hard to learn.”
Giada took one last bite and pushed her bowl away from her. “I’m stuffed.”
“Oh, I’m going back for seconds,” Ronan said. When he got back with his second meal, he took his seat and sat back for a second to look at her. “Why’d you ask how old I am?”
“Because while you’re obviously an adult, you look young.”
“I’m not quite as young as you thought, though, right?”
“No, but you’re still much younger than I am.”
“Nah,” he said, shaking his head as he took a bite of food.
“You are much younger than I,” she insisted.
“You’re what? Twenty-six? That’s not much.”
“No. I’m twenty-nine. A mother of two boys, with lots of experience about what to avoid in the world. You’re a twenty-five year old, still in college. We are not the same.”
“You couldn’t be more wrong.”
“Really? Well, then why don’t you tell me where I’m wrong.”
“You’re a woman who’s been treated roughly by some choices you’ve made…”
Her face morphed into one of anger, causing him to adjust his words.
“Or some choices that were made for you. You’ve learned the hard way that you couldn’t depend on anything but disappointment or unfairness unless you were depending only on yourself.
You bided your time until your babies made their appearance, then you decided it was time to make a change for their sakes.
But it took more out of you than you thought it would and you ended up in a homeless camp in the woods.
” He took a second to read her face before he spoke again.
“Or maybe that was intentional — it’s a good place to hide when you want to disappear.
Regardless, you worked hard to find a safe, comfortable place for your kids and yourself, and come hell or high water you refuse to allow anyone, especially another man, to cause you to lose what you’ve finally been able to provide.
Hence the walls you keep pushing higher and higher each time I try to break through. ”
Giada’s eyes were misted over, and she seemed shaken. “You don’t know anything.”
“I know that I’m not what you fear I am. I know that you deserve safety, your boys deserve safety.”
She looked up at him with a pained expression on her face. “I can’t even put them in school because I’m afraid we’ll be found,” she whispered.
Ronan smiled at her. “It’ll be okay.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because I also know that I’ll kill anyone or anything that tries to come at any of the three of you. What I see as a threat, my cousins see as a threat. Whatever it is you’re hiding from, they won’t get to you.”
“Daddy hurt Mama,” Leo whispered, looking up at Ronan with wide, scared eyes.
“Nobody’s going to hurt Mama again,” Ronan said, reaching his hand out and laying it on the little boy’s shoulder. “Okay?”
Leo nodded.
“This isn’t any of your concern,” Giada said, but she wasn’t flippant about it. She was genuinely concerned for Ronan trying to get involved.
“It’s all my concern, Giada,” Ronan said gently.
“Ronan, I can’t let you get involved in this.
You need to just walk away. You could be putting yourself at risk, and you’re not up for the fight that would come if you’re found anywhere near us — if we’re ever found.
I’ve told you far more than I ever thought I would.
Please forget I said anything and just stay away,” Giada said.
She stood up, slipped her purse over her shoulder and held out a hand to each of her kids.
Each boy slipped off the seat and took her hand.
She looked at Ronan who’d stood when she did.
“I’m sorry. I’m sure you’re a very nice boy, but you’re just not aware of what you’ve stumbled into.
Please, just stay away and let me make my own way. ”
He watched her as she led the boys from the cafeteria before he finally convinced his feet to move. He darted out of the cafeteria and into the reception area in time to see them going through the front door. He hurried to catch them and stood in the doorway when he called her name. “Giada!”
Giada turned to look at him.
“I am not a boy, I’m a grown-ass male. And I’m not going anywhere.
There is nothing in the world that frightens me, other than not being able to see you and Matteo and Leo again.
Other than that, I’ll handle whatever comes.
Age doesn’t matter to me. Hearts do. Yours is the heart that matters to me.
Yours and your kids’. I don’t give a damn what year your birth certificate says you were born.
It’s irrelevant. The sooner you come to terms with all that, the easier it will be for me. ”
“Easier for you to do what?” she asked exasperatedly.
“To prove to you that I’m the male you’re supposed to be with.
I’m the male that will protect you and love you for the rest of your life.
I’m the male those boys will learn to trust, not fear.
This is not just a safe place to stay temporarily.
This is your home. Forever. You just don’t know it yet. ”
“I can’t live here forever! Other people will need the opportunity to get on their feet. I have to move on eventually.”
“Not here, the shelter. Here, the area,” he said, gesturing with his hands around himself.
“Ronan, you don’t even know us!”
He smiled at her. “I do. The problem is that you don’t know me. You will, though. Have a good evening and stay warm. It’s going to be a cold one tonight.” He stepped back inside the building and started to close the door.
“Where are you going?”
“To check the side door to the office and make sure it’s locked. I’ll see you soon.”