Stolen Moments (And Then Came Love Book 2) (20 page)

Trevor glanced over at Arianna and whispered, “I’m an ass.”

She placed her hand on his leg and squeezed gently. “No, you were a confused kid.”

Kurt ran a hand through his curly hair. “Confusion and anger make for some stupid decisions. Ask Germany. We made one in 1933 that haunts us to this day.”

Trevor turned his hands over. “I don’t regret my decision to join the military. It was something I wanted to do. Honestly, I’d probably still be in if I hadn’t been injured. I regret the way I joined. I regret being mad at my Dad over something stupid that he had no control over.”

Gramps put his hand on Trevor’s shoulder. “Is that the reason you avoid your parent’s house like the plague?”

“Pretty much. I don’t know how to deal with Dad.”

Arianna shook her head. “Your Dad told you that. Call him. He said you two could go fishing sometime. Sit down and talk. He’s willing to work things out with you. He knows he wasn’t a perfect Dad.”

Kurt held up his hand. “Now hold on. I recognize guilt and self-loathing when I see it. I had it in excess during the war. Brennan can attest. You have to get past your own guilt, break down that wall, before you try to reconcile with your father. If you don’t, you’ll spend the whole outing studying the calluses on your hands.like you are now.”

Kurt chuckled. “As I recall, Brennan had to threaten me with bodily harm before I would address it in earnest.”

“I don’t know how. I’ve blamed him for so long. It’s hard to go up to someone and apologize for something they didn’t know they were being blamed for.”

Asri spoke up. “Start by telling us what you blamed him for. Let your anger and your guilt out by putting them into words.”

Asri gazed at Kurt with a love that filled the room. “You would be amazed the beautiful things that can happen when you speak up.”

“I’ve always been very independent. I thought Dad worked too much while I was a kid. He wasn’t there enough for Mom, she had ten kids after all. He missed a couple events. Nothing, major, just some academic awards or something, hell, I don’t even remember.” He shook his head. “Every time I start to think about this I feel petty. Who does this? Who blames their parents for crap they didn’t deserve?”

Kurt raised his hand. “I did. I blamed my father for a long time for not standing up to my mother. You want dysfunctional? Have a card carrying Nazi Zealot for a mother. I would be Freud’s dream.” He paused. “My father found solace in the arms of another woman and never confronted mother for the abusive treatment of my brother—”

“And you!” Asri spat. “That woman was evil! I know. I met her.”

Kurt sighed. “Off topic my love. I never got a chance to tell my father I truly loved him. He died before the war.”

“Maybe I’ll give him a call tonight.” Trevor glanced over at Arianna.

“Do it. You’ll feel better if you do.” Kurt nodded. He turned to Don. “I was surprised to see Petur with you. I didn’t think he knew Trevor.”

“We met recently.” Trevor chuckled. “Complete chance. He works with my older brother’s girlfriend.”

“Complete chance my ass.” Gramps smacked his leg. “I knew you all would be there and invited Petur to the pub.”

“A Vitalli set-up at its finest.” Kurt shook his head. “I was afraid Petur would marry into the Vitalli family.”

Don frowned. “And there’s a problem marrying into my family, Inspektor? Brennan’s son did it.” He folded his arms over his chest. There was a glint of humor in his eyes.

Kurt laughed. “It was my poor attempt at humor.and stop calling me Inspektor.”

Don winked. “Kraut bastard, just doesn’t have the same ring to it.”

Kurt laughed. “I thought about nick naming you ‘Godfather’ but you do not have the same swagger as Brando.”

Don leaned forward, held his hand up, his fingers grouped together, and accentuated his accent. “Before I got out of the mob, I used to be Marlon Brando.”

Asri looked sideline at Arianna. “They will now take turns insulting each other for the next half an hour.”

Arianna stifled another yawn and chuckled.

Kurt barked with laughter. “Before you got out of the mob you were not even a good fella. You were barely an ‘okay’ fella.” He rolled his eyes. “At least I can still intimidate. I know Frenchmen with more street cred than you.”

Don opened his hands. “I should be insulted.”

Asri sat back in her chair and patted the cushion next to her. “Sit and watch the show. They’ll turn on Brennan here in a minute.”

Don’s eyes twinkled as he looked at Brennan. “The Irish bastard, I told my daughter to fuck the Irish and she took me literally.”

Kurt rolled his eyes. “I imagine you would have similar loving words for a girl in your family that marries Petur? And you wonder why I have fear.”

Trevor leaned over to Arianna. “They do this at the pub too”

Asri chuckled. “They stream the videos, as well.”

Don finished a bite of cake and shook his fork at Kurt. “Petur’s a good kid, we can forget his heritage.”

Kurt scoffed. “He is a good boy because of his heritage. He is Asri’s grandson after all.”

Asri laughed. “And you still aren’t getting another cup of coffee.”

Trevor laughed.

Arianna squeezed Trevor’s hand. “I hate to cut this short, but I’m exhausted.” She looked at Asri. “My first patient went into labor at two this morning.”

“Why you poor thing.” She shook her finger at Trevor. “You take her to the cabin and get her settled in for a nice hot bath and a restful evening. I will make sure dinner is served promptly so she can eat and go to bed.”

“Don’t put yourself out.” Arianna stood and stretched. “We can make our own dinner tonight.”

“Absolutely not. You’ve been travelling and working all day and most of the night. I’ll have dinner ready at 6:00. No excuses.”

Gramps smiled. “You two go get set in, maybe Arianna can even get a short nap in before dinner. Send the kids over here, we’ll keep them out of your hair until dinner.”

“Thank you.”

Trevor joined Arianna and nodded to Kurt and Asri. “It’s been wonderful talking to you, we’ll see you at dinner.”

“Ya, maybe you’ll take the time to call your father as well.”

Trevor smiled. “Maybe I will.”

*****

Trevor walked into the bathroom later that night.

“Ari?”

“I’m here.” She slid the curtain back a bit.

Trevor closed the bathroom door. He sat down on the toilet next to the tub. There was only a curtain between them. “You all right?”

“Just tired.” She paused. “I wish you’d open yourself up to your family more.”

“I realize now that I need too.” Trevor pulled out his cell phone.

“Do you really?” Arianna peaked around the curtain. “You know how many times in my life I’ve seen my father? Less than ten times. It was not until I graduated med school that I saw her again. That’s neglect, Trevor.”

“I would agree with that.”

“But you were down there acting like you had it so bad and you didn’t. Your father missed two events, yes they were important and he may not have been around as much as you wanted him to be, but damn it, Trevor. My Dad has missed my entire life. I can count the number of times I have met my father on both hands. I can count the number of times I’ve seen my mother since I turned fifteen on one hand.” Arianna turned off the water and opened the curtain.

Bubbles covered everything, but her head.

Trevor held up his phone pushed a button and it started ringing.

“Okay?” Arianna raised an eyebrow.

“Trevor what a pleasant surprise,” Everett said. “How’s the trip going?”

Arianna smiled.

“It’s going.” Trevor chuckled. “Dad, can we talk when I get home?”

“I’d like that.” Everett paused. “I’m proud of you. You know that, right.”

Trevor smiled and looked over at Arianna. “Yeah. I know.”

“I wasn’t always there when you kids were growing up and looking back on it now, I wish I had been. I know it doesn’t fix things now, but I’m sorry I wasn’t.”

“It helps more then you know.”

Arianna reached out and he took her hand. Her breasts peeked out of the water.

Trevor grinned.

Arianna splashed him with water.

“Are you two in water?” Everett asked.

Trevor laughed.

Arianna turned a particularly bright shade of red and sunk under the water.

“No, Arianna’s in the tub.”

“You know, son, if your mother was in the tub the last place I’d be was on the phone with my father.”

“Hence the reason, I’m about to hang up on you.” Trevor glanced over at Arianna. Her face still red, but above water.

“We’ll talk soon.”

“Bye, Dad.”

“Bye.”

Trevor stood and shoved his phone in his back pocket.

“What are you doing?” Arianna shifted her body.

He leaned in, caught her under the knees and around the back, and lifted her out of the water.

She squealed. “Trevor.”

“You can finish that later.” He winked as he carried her into the bedroom.

Chapter Eighteen

May 18th

Trevor yawned as he got dressed the next morning. He inspected the room. The dresser and headboard were both hand carved. The headboard and footboard were both upholstered with a dark blue microfiber fabric.

Arianna rolled over and glanced at the clock. “Where are you off too this early?”

“Fishing with Gramps.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I got a text last night saying he and Pops were staying at Kurt’s. I have to head over there.”

“Wait?” Arianna folded her arms over her chest and stuck out her lip. “I don’t get to go fishing with you guys?”

“Do you want too?” Trevor furrowed his brow.

“Not really.” She chuckled. “But I’ll head there with you.”

“What about Mina?” Trevor glanced into the hallway.

“I’ll leave her a note to head over when she gets up.” Arianna headed over to her suitcase. “Did you want me to make you breakfast?”

“Gramps said, breakfast would be ready at Kurt’s.”

“Yay, no cooking for me.”

“You do a good job cooking.” Trevor pulled on a flannel shirt over his black t-shirt.

“I do my best.” She walked over to him, holding the straps of her teal halter top. “Can you tie this for me?”

“Only if I get to untie it later.” Trevor tied it and turned her around in his arms. “One of these days we'll get time to ourselves.”

“Maybe sometime this weekend.” Arianna rested her head on his chest. “We’ll have to get all the time we can. With the baby coming soon, we’ll be even more busy.”

“We’ll survive.”

“You say that like you’re planning on sticking around.”

Trevor leaned back so he could look in her eyes. “What you think I’m going to randomly leave you after everything we’ve been through already?”

“No ... yes ... maybe.” She dropped her hands to her sides. “It’s not like I have a lot of couples to base relationships on. The only one I really knew were Scott’s parents. Their relationship wasn’t the best. Hell, they slept in separate beds for most of their married life.”

Trevor tipped her head back and his lips met hers. “I’m here for the long haul.”

Her face brightened and her eyes shined with tears. “I love you.”

“I love you too. Now let’s get over to Kurt’s before I get a fifteen-minute lecture about missing the best fishing.” Trevor took a step back and motioned for the door.

They went downstairs, grabbed pastries, left a note for Mina, and headed on the walk to the other house.

Hart came out of Kurt’s house as they moved up to it. He smiled at them. “Where’s Mina?”

“Still sleeping.”

“She’s wasting away the day. Can I go wake her?”

Arianna took in a sharp breath.

Trevor looked over at Hart. “Let her sleep. She can be a bit of handful if you wake her up.”

Hart shrugged and jumped into his vehicle. “I’ll be back later.”

“My daughter is going to fall hard for that boy.” Arianna shook her head.

“I think he’s got a good enough head on his shoulders that it will be fine.” Trevor put his arm around Arianna’s shoulder as they walked to the door.

Trevor rang the doorbell as he looked at the intricate carvings around the doorframe.

Asri opened the door and smiled. “Welcome. Come in, come in. Coffee and danishes?” She motioned to the table.

Trevor turned and took one step toward the table when he froze.

Four faces stared back at him. Kurt, Pops, Gramps, and his father.

“How’d you get here, Dad?”

“The Vitalli’s are not the only ones with access to a private jet.” Kurt nodded to Trevor.

Everett smiled. “I had a talk with your grandfather last night and by the time you called, I was already on my way to the airport.”

Trevor stood with his mouth open.

Arianna put her finger on his bottom jaw and closed it. “You realize, you’re the only one surprised, right.”

Trevor chuckled. “I guess they’ll be three of us fishing this morning.”

Pops laughed. “Good, maybe you’ll catch something.”

“I figure there will be a lot less fishing and a lot of talking.” Asri smiled and patted Arianna’s arm. “I figure you and I will spend the day baking and make sure we have something ready for dinner.”

Trevor covered his mouth, trying to avoid laughing. He looked at Asri. “You’re going to bake with Arianna?”

Gramps and Everett stood. “Time to get out of here.”

“What?” Asri raised her eyebrows.

Gramps put a hand on Trevor’s back and shoved him toward the door. “Have fun.”

Everett opened the door. “We’ll make sure we catch dinner.”

Gramps closed the door behind him. “Not good at baking?”

“She’s a great cook, but she made a cake a couple weeks ago and it was so dry you needed to pour a whole glass of milk on it for it to be edible.” Trevor chuckled as they walked toward the vehicle.

“Oh man, that’s bad.” Everett laughed.

Trevor nodded. “It was awful.”

Everett handed Trevor the keys. “I have no idea where we’re going.”

“Gramps is the only one who does.”

They both looked at Gramps. “You drive.” Everett pointed to Trevor. “He’ll navigate.”

“Yes, sir.”

Gramps and Pops took their time climbing into the backseat.

“I’m not as young as I used to be.” Pops chuckled, stretching his legs out in front of him. “At least this vehicle is roomy.”

“You want roomy get a Cadillac.” Gramps smiled. “Smoothest ride, no matter what you have in the trunk.”

Trevor look his head and looked over at his Dad. “Some things never change.”

Everett laughed. “No they don’t.”

“And some things do.” Gramps smacked Everett on the shoulder. “Tell him about Jackie’s failed attempts at cooking when you two were first together.”

“Mom couldn’t cook?” Trevor cocked his head to the side. His mother was a great cook.

Gramps laughed. “You thought the dry cake was bad.”

“Pot roast. Beef roast, carrots, and potatoes in the oven at about 450 degrees for five hours.” Everett shook his head.

“Mom did that?” Trevor gaped as Gramps pointed him in the right direction.

“I believe the four of us, ended up going out to eat that evening.” Gramps nodded.

“How’d you get through dating her without knowing she couldn’t cook?” Trevor glanced over at his father.

“She lived with her Aunt when I met her. She pretended to cook while we were there, but they had a cook.”

“What?”

“Yep, cook, maid, butler, the whole nine yards. The same with her parents. I think the nanny raised your mother more than her parents did.”

“I didn’t know Mom had an aunt in the area?”

“How long has it been since you’ve seen your Aunt Carol?”

Trevor frowned. “About twelve years.”

Aunt was the title they gave Carol, because she identified herself as a woman, but she was born a man.

“Carol is Jackie’s cousin. Her mother was the woman your Mom lived with while she was in Indiana. She died before you were born.”

“I should go see Aunt Carol, she’s hilarious.” Trevor shook his head at the antics that Carol, his Aunt Laura, and his mother had gotten into.

“She, Aunt Laura, your mother, and Evelyn Cross still get together on a regular basis.” Everett chuckled. “Your Mom swears she has to wear Depends every time she goes over there, because she laughs so much.”

“Wait, is this the family you were telling Arianna about the other day?” Trevor glanced at his father. “She mentioned something about it, but I was out of the room when you were talking.”

“Yep, and there’s a good reason you’ve never met them.” Gramps shook his head and muttered something in Italian.

“Your Mom was four months pregnant the first time I met her parents.”

Trevor laughed. “I bet they loved you.”

Gramps pointed for a turn off and laughed. “She was seventeen, four months pregnant, and they were already married.”

Trevor snorted as he pulled up in front of the lake. “That’s the story you were telling the girls the other day.”

Everett nodded. “I thought you all knew.”

They gathered their gear, got set up and settled down in front of the lake.

“I guess I did disappear a lot in my teen years.” Trevor sighed. “I don’t know; by that time, I was convinced none of you wanted me around.”

“But why? I wasn’t around as much as I should have been, but did we treat you that different?”

“I think it’s more that I felt different.” Trevor scratched his head. “Donovan, Angela, Vivian, and Marissa were leaving the house by the time we were old enough to be around them. Jake wanted to be like you from a young age, Blake had health issues, and Terra was involved in everything. I was content to read and wander the woods.”

“You were the easiest of the kids to raise.” Everett smiled. “And I think that’s where we went wrong. I confused not needing the attention with not wanting the attention. If I’d offered more it would have made the difference.”

“I could have asked too. That’s where my problem stemmed from. When I joined the military and spent a couple years into a war in a desert, not seeing my family, I realized I was wrong to feel that way.” Trevor shrugged.

“But you shouldn’t have needed too. We were your parents we should have known. You did what you were told, you got good grades, and you stayed out of trouble. Rather than praising and being there for you as well, we took advantage of the fact that you were such a good kid.” Everett rested his hand on Trevor’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

Trevor took a deep breath and opened his arms. “I’m sorry too, Dad.”

“Good, let’s get to fishing.” Gramps patted them both on the back.

*****

Arianna strolled back to the cabin that afternoon. She needed to talk to Trevor alone. She still hadn’t told him of the decision to raise Candace’s baby. What if this broke their relationship? She shuddered. She didn’t want to think about that.

She sat on the couch and closed her eyes. Maybe a minute or two of rest would calm her mind.

A kiss woke her. She opened her eyes.

Trevor hovered over her. “We’re alone.”

“Where’s Mina?”

“With Hart and Sig.”

“I don’t want my daughter to come home pregnant, Trevor.”

He sat down next to her and put his arm around her. “You can’t keep her away from every boy in the world, because you’re afraid of her getting pregnant. You’re going to have to trust her.”

“It’s hard when you know what situation you were in at this age and I see Candace going through the same thing. I’m terrified she’s going to make my mistakes.”

“She’ll make her own mistakes, we all do. Some are more lasting then others.” Trevor kissed her cheek. “There’s been teen pregnancies in my family, Julian overdosed on cocaine at sixteen. And my brother Jake disappeared five years ago and hasn’t come home since.”

Arianna glanced over. “He wasn’t a teenager though.”

Trevor shook his head. “Nope, twenty-nine years old. People make mistakes and do things they shouldn’t no matter how old they are. Try as parents might they can’t stop them for making those mistakes.”

Arianna let out a deep breath. “I talked to Candace, I’m going to raise her baby until she’s in a better spot to be a mother.”

Trevor nodded. “What do you need from me?”

Arianna raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“Just what I said. What do you need me to do before the baby is born? Mom’s in real estate, I’m not sure if you’re buying your house or renting it, but if you want to look for something bigger we can. Or we can remodel the one you’re in. We don’t use the dining room, I could redo it and make it another bedroom.”

Her eyes grew wide and her jaw dropped. “What?”

Trevor laughed. “What part do you want me to repeat?”

“None, I’m just surprised.”

“About what?”

“That you’re jumping into a ready-made family that’s about to get bigger.”

Trevor cupped her cheeks. “Ari, I didn’t leave when I found out about Mina. I’m still here after Candace came into the picture. What makes you think I’m going to bolt at the thought of raising a baby?”

“Remember, this is all new to me. No one in my world does this.”

“I love you, Ari. Unless there’s a current husband thrown in the picture, I’m not going to leave because of another family member.”

“No other husband, I promise that.” Arianna chuckled.

She leaned into his chest. “I thought you were going to be mad. A part of me worried you’d leave because I made the decision.”

“Would I have liked to be included in the decision? Yeah, sure. But am I going to leave because of it? No.”

“Candace received a letter giving her a full ride to an early admission math program at Stanford.”