Chapter 25: Married With Malice: Chapter 24

“

here’s a new bullet point for the resume,” I say as I push a long wooden rail into place and then step back to admire my handiwork. “I’m now skilled at repairing fences.”

Cale rolls his eyes with impatience. “Anytime you’re done preening like a peacock you can grab that other fence rail and get to work.”

“Know what, big brother? You’re remarkably less charming when your wife isn’t around.”

“Feel free to call her over here so you can hide behind her. But first finish your section of the fence.”

“Say please.”

“Fuck you.”

Cale lifts a rail fence panel, shoves it into place and bangs the post in with a sledgehammer. It’s no easy feat when the ground is frozen but this buckled section of the ranch’s perimeter fence needs to be repaired in case any of the animals get loose.

To avoid getting yelled at again, I lift another fence panel and get to work securing it. There’s a lot to be said for working with your hands in the fresh air. Right now I don’t mind if I never squint at my laptop screen again.

Cale stands back and watches me finish the task. He offers a stiff nod of approval when I’m finished.

“That’s one fine looking fence,” I say as I admire my work.

He shrugs. “It’ll hold.”

“I’m a gifted fence builder. Admit it.”

“You’re good at everything, Luca. You always have been.”

“I’m claiming the title of fence king. Maybe I ought to ditch the suits and become a rancher too.”

A grim shadow flashes in Cale’s eyes but gets quickly erased. The comment was intended as a joke but now he’s reminded that my choices are limited as long as Richie is calling the shots.

I didn’t mean to bring that darkness into our conversation. For now I’ve held Richie at bay by explaining that I’ll be sticking around until Cale’s child is born. My uncle didn’t argue. If anything, he seemed pleased that Anni and I are enjoying our visit. He knows that any time spent around my brother will serve as a reminder of why I’m needed in New York.

He’s right about that. While Cale has very strong memories of our parents, I was too young when they died. When I reflect on my childhood, my central memories always feature him more than anyone else.

“You’ve always encouraged me,” I say to my brother. “No matter if it was sports or academics or scheming to get the attention of whatever girl I was infatuated with. You’ll be a good father, Cale.”

With a sigh, he slides his knit hat from his head and gives the distant tree line a troubled stare. “You were a great kid, Luca. Wish I’d been a better role model for you.”

“Don’t say that. You never even took advantage of your status and kicked the crap out of me no matter how much of a little shit I was.”

He looks my way with a snort. “You’re nine years younger. Wouldn’t have been a fair fight.”

I strut in front of him and flex my arms. “Care to reevaluate now?”

Cale is unimpressed. “Still not a fair fight.”

That’s it. I know one cocky ex-mafia capo who’s about to be taken down a notch.

I throw the sledgehammer aside and drop into a crouch. “Did you forget I used to be damn good at football?”

“Did you forget I used to carve out the eyeballs of my enemies with a pen knife?”

“Afraid that skill won’t do you much good now. I’ve heard men start to lose muscle tone in their mid-thirties. If you play along, I’ll do my best not to hurt you.”

The look he gives me could scorch granite.

In return, he gets an innocent smile.

“You’re on.” He sheds his jacket and prowls back and forth a few times before standing his ground. “Give it your best shot, kid.”

I don’t let him have time to get comfortable before charging.

My shoulder slams into the solid barrier of his chest.

Cale staggers backward a few inches but recovers quickly and pushes back. He tries to duck and bring me down with a classic wrestling move but he’s going to have to try harder than that.

Anticipating this attempt, I refuse to let him get under me and dig in, trying to force him to lose his balance.

We’re locked in a tug-of-war of brute strength and who knows how long it would have gone on if the shrieking hadn’t started.

“STOP IT! BOTH OF YOU STOP THIS IMMEDIATELY!”

We were so intent on our battle that we’re both startled into flinching. This is enough to disturb the equilibrium and send us sprawling on the ground.

“BOYS!” Peggy has now galloped all the way across the yard at an inspiring pace. “STOP FIGHTING RIGHT NOW!”

Cale lands on me in the fall and the wind gets knocked out of my lungs for a few seconds. He rolls away and I find myself flat on my back on frozen ground, staring up at the clear blue sky while the tiny but formidable caretaker of Bright Hearts Ranch continues to shout her condemnation.

“Look what you’ve done,” I say to Cale when I can breathe again. “You’ve upset Peggy.”

He sits up and moodily brushes snow from his shirt. “We’re fine,” he calls to Peggy. “I was just helping my kid brother adjust his attitude.”

He ignores me when I start cackling and shift to a sitting position.

Peggy, now less than ten yards away, crosses her arms and shoots us both dirty looks. “No more fighting. You aren’t children. I can’t be expected to fix you if you break.”

“Sorry, Peggy,” we say in unison.

With a final grunt of annoyance, she does a one eighty and rapidly hikes back to the house.

Cale is now moving his arm around, testing out his shoulder.

“Do you need a stretcher?” I ask him. “Or I can bring the wheelbarrow around.”

He scowls. I swear, no one can scowl quite like my brother.

“Fuck you,” he says.

“You used that insult two minutes ago. Try again. Get creative.”

He cuffs me across the back of the head. I’ll let that one go by for now. He’s having a rough afternoon.

Sadie calls her husband’s name and I’m just now realizing that both of our wives have observed this entire spectacle. They are inside the fenced paddock and giving some of the rescue dogs their play time.

Anni stands with her hands on her hips. Sadie, looking ever more pregnant by the hour, keeps one hand on her belly and the other pressed to the small of her back.

“All is well!” I shout and move closer to Cale so we appear more friendly.

Anni shakes her head but she’s smiling. Sadie says something that I can’t detect from this distance but it’s enough to make Anni laugh. It’s a sound that lights up every troubled corner of my soul.

When I manage to tear my eyes away from my wife, I find Cale staring at me.

“Things seem to be going well between you and her,” he says.

Through the dense leather of my gloves, I feel for the hard shape of my wedding ring. “It’s more than that. I love her, Cale.”

He nods without surprise. “I can tell.”

“Do you approve?”

“Would it matter if I didn’t?”

“No. But I want you to like her.”

He watches my wife throw a tennis ball and then clap her gloved hands with excitement when one of the dogs catches it.

“I do like her,” he says slowly. “I think she’s good for you.”

Cale is a tough judge of character and he wouldn’t say this if it wasn’t true. He just wouldn’t answer at all.

“She is good for me,” I say and climb to my feet. “And I’ve got something special planned with her tonight so let’s get this stupid fence finished.”

“You got it,” he says and accepts my hand to haul him up.

I keep close tabs on the time as we go from one chore to the next. I’ve told Anni to be ready to leave at four and to wear something both warm and casually comfortable. It’s a forty-five minute drive to our destination and I want to be sure we make our reservation in time.

After wrestling my brother, fixing fences and scooping out horse shit, I’m ripe for a shower. Anni is waiting for me when I emerge, fully dressed in jeans and a flannel I borrowed from Cale.

“Will this do?” She twirls around. Her hair is pulled into a cute ponytail and she’s wearing a warm turtleneck sweater with black leggings.

My eyes settle on her shapely ass and my cock twitches. “You understood the assignment. You’re wearing socks, right?”

She’s mystified by the question. “Uh, yeah. Why?”

“You’ll see.”

A fun fact I’ve learned about my wife that she takes immense pleasure in signs of physical affection. I’m thrilled to cooperate. Every chance I get, I hold her hand. Or I drape my arm over her shoulders. Or I place a protective hand at her back. And I always enjoy the way she responds with a blush or a shy smile.

What I want is for her to feel unsurprised by any of this. She should expect it all from me. I’ll always deliver.

“Give me a hint,” she begs from the passenger seat when she realizes we’re not stopping in Sleepy Rock.

I’m tickled by her enthusiasm. “All right. Expect a workout.”

“Are we going to a motel?”

“Not that kind of workout.”

“It’s too cold for a hike,” she muses.

“Nothing outdoors. Now stop guessing before the surprise is ruined.”

She pretends to pout but she also squirms with excitement. When we finally pull into the parking lot of the rink, I watch her reaction.

Anni peers at the building. There’s genuine shock on her face and she cups a hand to her mouth. “Are we…going skating?”

“We have the ice all to ourselves for a full hour. There are skates in your size waiting inside and I asked Sabrina for a playlist of your favorite eighties ballads so you’ll have a good soundtrack.”

Anni stares at the building. Then with no warning she unbuckles her seatbelt and launches over the seat, straight into my lap. She kisses me with unrestrained passion and her body feels so excellent that for a minute I forget where we are and why we’re here.

The sound of a honking horn from the road jolts me back to reality. As much as I hate to put an end to this make out session, she can’t kiss and skate at the same time.

We hold hands on our way into the rink and encounter a group of little kids exiting their skating lesson. Anni hangs back to watch the kids with a wistful smile.

I squeeze her hand. “Do you miss teaching?”

“Yeah,” she sighs. “My father told me that being a wife was now my job.”

“Hey.” I pivot and cup her chin in my palm. “Your job is whatever makes you happy.”

Her eyes grow soft and she puts her hand on my chest, right over my heart. “You make me happy. But I would love to teach again.”

“Then do it. If your father decides to make any noise, I’ll set him straight.”

A pair of little girls, twins by the look of them, are wearing glittery skating costumes and they dart past us, giggling, while their harried mother chases them with winter coats. “Do NOT set foot outside until you’ve zipped up!”

The mom gives us an exasperated glance and then hustles to catch up to her offspring.

“And someday you can teach our kids,” I say to Anni.

“I’d love that,” she whispers.

When I look into her eyes I can see our future there. We’ll have a noisy, active household with toys on the floor and forts in the backyard.

And neither Richie Amato or Albie Barone or the rest of those fucking mafia scumbags will EVER get anywhere near our kids.

Before I get all bent out shape thinking about what waits back in New York, I claim our skates and lead Anni to the seats.

She’s lightning quick about lacing her skates up, as if she can’t wait to get out there. The rink is smaller than the one where she used to practice but judging by the huge smile on her face, she doesn’t mind.

“Come on,” she says, skating backwards as the music starts.

“In a minute.” I’m far slower about lacing up my skates.

I haven’t been on the ice since high school and I’d rather not humiliate myself by face planting in front of my wife. Besides, this is her moment, her time to shine.

Anni skates a lap around the rink and then another lap, even faster. She ends with a single axel jump and glides right past me. She moves with incomparable grace and every second she’s on the ice is pure artistry.

I’m in awe, absolute awe.

It’s as if no time has passed since I was a teenage boy secretly watching her from the stands and nursing a serious crush.

That boy would be astounded to know the forbidden girl he was obsessed with would someday be his wife.

And what’s more, he would love her so fiercely that one look at her was enough to make his throat tighten.

Anni is lost in her imagination for the next two songs. She spins and she stretches and she lands every jump. She’s so breathtakingly perfect that I utter a silent curse to strike down Albie Barone for taking this away from her.

No one will ever take anything from her again.

Anni coasts to a stop at the wall and crooks a finger. With my skates tightly laced I’m out of excuses. Anyway, I’d never refuse her.

The years I’ve spent off the ice are on full wobbly display. Anni takes my hand and we skate a couple of slow laps around the rink while muscle memory kicks in. I won’t be trying stunts anytime soon but I’m steady enough to lift my girl into my arms and spin around with her.

Anni loves it. She throws her head back and opens her arms while an old ballad from the eighties comes to a crashing crescendo. She wraps her arms around my neck and kisses me as we spin.

Of all the moments in my life, this is one of the best.

I can already picture myself thinking about this moment a lot through the long tunnel of the years ahead.

And when my life finally ebbs to close, hopefully a hell of a long time from now, I know I’ll be picturing this girl and the ice and the blissful look on her face as I spun her around in my arms.

The hour passes too quickly. Anni leaves the ice with reluctance but cheers up when I promise her we’ll do this again.

Just as we’re returning our skates to the counter, my phone buzzes. I’m in the habit of tensing up whenever there’s an incoming call but I relax when I see that it’s just my brother.

“What’s up?” I say into the phone.

“Hate to cut your evening short,” Cale says, “but I thought you’d want to know there’s a baby on the way.”

“No shit. Are you at the hospital?” I ask and watch my wife’s eyes go wide as she listens in.

“We’re almost there,” Cale says. “Mercy General.”

“We’re on our way,” I say.

“Sadie’s in labor?” Anni is already beside herself with excitement.

I take her hand. “Let’s get ready to meet our little niece or nephew.”