CHAPTER 31 JARED #5
"That makes me so happy, Jared. You’ve suffered so much, you’ve been through a real nightmare. I hope that from now on, everything in your life will finally be perfect…"
We stand there pressed against each other for a moment, and then we head to Tommy’s room together to wake him up before the trip.
As Alex leans over my son and runs a hand through his blond curls, I see Bay standing in the doorway, looking at him, a deep, tragic pain written across his face, the kind that breaks your heart.
◆◆◆
The drive to Rainbow Springs certainly isn’t the easiest. Tommy sleeps through a good portion of it, but for the rest of the trip, he isn’t exactly happy about having to sit in his car seat for so many hours. He’s not used to being on the road for so long.
I have to stop frequently and take breaks, getting him out of the car, walking around with him for a while, and finding something else to occupy him so he can regain his energy for the rest of the trip.
Tommy loves flowers and enjoys looking closely at them. This time of year, though, they’re harder to find in this part of the country. Here and there, I still spot a few frost-bitten pansies in the lawns around gas stations, their petals drooping from the cold.
There are still plenty of hardier plants, though, and Tommy can find something interesting even in ordinary weeds and grass. Sometimes he sits there, completely absorbed, studying a few leaves as if they were just… extraordinary.
But then we have to get back in the car, and he gets fussy.
During the drive, I have to change the radio station several times because the news keeps repeating reports about the death of capo Rocco Ferro, who held the position for only three months after his uncle, Anzo, was imprisoned.
They go on and on about his mysterious death, and there’s also a lot of discussion about Ennio succeeding him as capo.
Many journalists seem hopeful that having the first omega capo could bring much-needed changes to the Ferro family's business and the way they run it.
However, all those stops add hours to the journey, and by the time we reach Rainbow Springs, it’s already around four in the afternoon.
I pull into the driveway, feeling pretty uncertain. My eyes move across the wooden facade, almost swallowed by the tangle of branches from the garden trees. It’s colder today. I think it snowed lightly this morning, because here and there I can see a thin dusting of snow on the ground.
Slowly, I turn toward my little boy. Tommy is dozing, but his sleep is light. In his little hand, he’s holding a wilted pansy he picked from one of the lawns at the gas station.
My gaze returns to Renato’s house, and the rectangle of the doorway catches my attention.
I did leave here under fairly dramatic circumstances, after all, and I wasn’t exactly polite to Renato when I ran off almost in the middle of a conversation.
He asked me to stay, and I refused, so now I can only hope he’ll forgive me.
I unbuckle Tommy from his car seat. He opens his celadon eyes and rubs them with his little hands. Holding him in my arms, I walk to the stairs and ring the doorbell, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu from a week and a half ago, when I showed up here after my heat.
There’s silence for a moment, and then I hear slow footsteps before the door opens unhurriedly.
Emilio is standing behind it, dressed entirely in black and looking rather rough, his face pale and tired, with dark circles under his eyes.
For a second, he stares at me as if he’s seen a ghost, and then,
"Jared!" he blurts out in mild shock, his eyes widening even further behind his wire-rimmed glasses.
Then his gaze shifts to Tommy, and he blinks in surprise.
"You came back?"
I sigh softly, almost apologetically.
"Yes. You probably already know that Rocco Ferro, well, your nephew, is dead. He can’t hurt me anymore. Or Mauro, or Tommy," I add in a quieter voice. "So… I decided to give Rainbow Springs another chance, if it still wants me," I finish on an uncertain note.
Emilio’s eyes settle on Tommy, as if what I just said has already slipped his mind.
"Wow, Tommy is such a cute kid! And he looks just like you!"
Then he probably notices my uncertain expression, because I’m really not sure if I’m welcome here anymore, so he quickly adds, "Come in, come in… Renato is at company headquarters, but he’ll be back around five."
I remain where I am, unable to bring myself to step through the doorway. That still isn’t quite enough to reassure me.
"Am I… still welcome here?" I finally mutter.
Emilio’s face changes, becoming almost tragic.
"Oh, of course, Jared! How could you think otherwise?
We know how impossible your situation was, and Rocco…
was not a man who should be taken lightly.
You wanted to make sure Tommy had a safe home, and as long as Rocco was alive, no place was really secure. "
I let out a breath. "Thank you. I was… scared I had offended you all by running."
Emilio opens his arms. "You didn’t, Jared. Rocco’s my nephew, but he killed my dad. It was an impossible situation, tragic, but ultimately unavoidable because of his own actions. Please, come inside."
Still, I hesitate, biting my lip. "What about Mauro?"
Emilio’s big eyes widen behind his glasses in surprise. "Mauro? He still hasn’t come back from Florida."
"Florida? But I just came from there, and I didn’t see him… there."
Emilio makes a strange face but doesn’t comment on it.
Eventually, his inviting gestures convince me to step inside the warm interior of the house.
We go to the living room together, and a moment later, Tony comes out to see us too.
He approaches me with a surprised expression as I greet him.
"You’re staying… with us?" he asks uncertainly. "For good?"
"I… I always wanted to. The only thing that stopped me was my fear of Rocco," I admit.
Tony remains silent, but his face shows understanding. It’s obvious he knows that my fear wasn’t unfounded, especially after what happened to Silvio.
As we stand there, Gianni also appears at the top of the stairs, probably having heard the voices, and his face mirrors Emilio’s.
"You brought Tommy! How wonderful!"
He immediately descends and approaches us.
He greets Tommy by shaking my son’s chubby little hand, and smiling warmly.
Then Tony asks whether I’d like him to prepare something for Tommy.
I thank him sincerely, and after a moment, we all walk into the dining room. I notice that Tony brings over a high chair, as if it had been prepared especially for my son, painted green with a floral pattern.
Gianni, Emilio, and I sit at the table, and there’s a rather strange atmosphere between us.
Gianni doesn’t say anything, just staring at me. They’re all wearing black, and I know how difficult these days are for them. Silvio was the center of this house, and the empty space he left behind is hard to fill.
I know what I have to say—what needs to be said.
"I’m so sorry about Silvio… He was such a good man, and he saved my life," I add more quietly. "He’ll always be my hero." My voice breaks because the patriarch of their family is no longer here; he gave his life for me.
"I didn’t mean to bring… tragedy here." I trail off, unable to say anything more because of the emotions swelling in my voice.
Then Emilio reaches out and squeezes my hand.
"Jared, my dad knew what he was doing. He was protecting not only you, but also the future of these forests… And that was incredibly important to him."
For a moment I simply stare into his eyes. I remember Renato’s words, which had seemed very strange at the time, but suddenly they come back to me.
"What exactly do you mean?"
"Well, but you know." He gives me a small smile. "The next guardian," Emilio adds quietly, glancing at my stomach before smiling somewhat sheepishly.
I let out a sharp breath.
This is the thought that, until now, somehow refused to surface in my mind, even though it should have. It’s obvious, after all. I didn’t spend my heat with some supernatural being who had nothing to do with humans.
It was Mauro, and that means…
"Am I pregnant?" I whisper, more to myself than to them. I need to let that sink in.
Emilio smiles gently. "My dad and Renato said so, and I believe them, but you’ll probably find out for yourself in a few days if the scent of vanilla appears around you." He gets up and walks over to the fireplace, where several objects carved from wood are displayed.
Gianni stares at us. For some reason, I feel awkward in front of him because I know he can’t have children.
"I really didn’t think I could get pregnant at the time. To me, Mauro looked like a glowing spirit in the forest. He didn’t seem human. I even suspected I could be dreaming it all, or hallucinating."
They stare at me in silence, and I trail off. Yeah, that sounds pretty ridiculous.
"Sorry, TMI."
Then Emilio shrugs and sits down beside me, handing Tommy a small carved beaver that he took from one of the shelves, along with a figurine of a buck with antlers.
My son looks at Emilio curiously, then a little shyly, but takes the beaver in his hand. For now, he leaves the buck alone.
Just then, Tony comes in carrying a plate with ricotta cheese drizzled with a few drops of honey and a tiny slice of bread with marmalade.
To me, that seems like a lot of sugar, but I’m aware that their family is of Italian descent, and many typical Sicilian dishes aren’t exactly light when it comes to calories.
Tony sits down, and I can see that he’s curious about Tommy.
He watches him for a moment and murmurs, "He’s like a painted portrait of you," and then winks.
"And that’s a good thing. I don’t want him to get anything from his father," I add grimly.
Neither Emilio nor Tony comments.
Gianni reaches out for the wooden buck with antlers and slowly starts to sneak the figurine closer to the beaver Tommy is holding. Tommy checks him out, and Gianni sends him a little smile. Tommy timidly reaches for the buck too, and now plays with two wooden toys.