Murder at Sunrise Lake

He tightened his fingers around hers. “You assumed correctly,” he said decisively.

“He is your only family. If you wanted to invite him, he’s welcome. I’d just have to know ahead of time. Don’t invite him if it would make you uncomfortable to have him there. The point of all of us getting together is to have a good time. We can drink too much if we want, or indulge in too many of Shabina’s amazing pies or desserts. You know what we’re like.”

“I do. Denver and I take all the dogs for walks while you ladies get a little crazy on us.”

She laughed. “That’s right. I can’t see your father taking the dogs for walks. He did say he has a lady friend. It’s possible she makes amazing holiday meals.”

“I hope she plans on indulging his every whim. He was used to it from my mother.”

“He never remarried?”

“No,” Sam said, and pulled her closer to him as they walked around the shore of the lake. The breeze was light, teasing at their clothes. “That did surprise me. I always thought he’d at least move in with a woman, but he didn’t.”

“Did you ask him why he didn’t divorce your mother?” Stella dared to ask. “That would have been my first question. I don’t understand why men who cheat bother to get married in the first place. And when they do, why they just don’t man up and leave.” In a way, she was trying to tell him that was what she expected from him.

Sam brought her hand in close to his chest as they fell into step together. “I asked him why he just didn’t let her go, let her get on with her life.”

“Did he have any kind of an answer?”

Sam shook his head slowly. “At first he tried to weasel his way out of answering, blaming his decision on the church and holy vows. I pointed out he was breaking his vows constantly so they really didn’t mean shit to him. In the end, he admitted Mom ran his house the way he wanted it. She kept him comfortable. She also prevented any of the women he slept with from getting any ‘big’ ideas about trying to become the next Mrs. Rossi.”

Stella refrained from calling his father a really ugly name, but it was difficult. She stayed silent, thinking that was the best way to stay out of trouble. As far as she was concerned, Marco Rossi was a first-class dick.

“I think he thought because I was older now, I’d understand. I didn’t. I don’t. I never will. And not just because she was my mother. He’s a selfish bastard and should never have married in the first place. He married her because her family was one of the ruling families and it was like marrying royalty. I thought he loved her. He claimed he did in his own way. He said he loved her more than he has ever loved any woman. He also said that was part of the reason he wouldn’t divorce her. That and her family would never understand.”

Sam rubbed the bridge of his nose with one gloved finger as they continued to walk around the lake. The water lapped gently at the shore. “He did admit to having many regrets. He said he wished he’d stayed home for her birthday. He didn’t because he’d already agreed to meet several of his friends at the strip club and he didn’t want to look weak. He’d forgotten the date. He said he should have just called them and canceled.”

“That’s so sad, that his ego wouldn’t allow him to back down, even though he wanted to.”

“I actually said that same thing to him and he pointed out that it was a different time then. Men and women had different roles. Even children did. He was brought up in a harsher environment than he brought me up in. I suppose he’s right.”

“Still, it’s obvious that he doesn’t have much respect for women, does he?” Stella asked.

“I’m grateful he’s never had a daughter. If he had, he would have treated her like a commodity,” Sam said. “I might have had to arrange to do him in myself. I would never have tolerated him treating my little sister like that.”

“That man with him, his bodyguard or whatever he is, Lucio Vitale, he doesn’t seem as if he has much respect for women either. Or he doesn’t think they have brains.”

“His entire family was wiped out. It’s a long story, not a pleasant one. I imagine he’s very bitter and relentless in his need for vengeance. He’s a man to stay away from. I’m not surprised to see him with my father, although I’m a little shocked that Marco trusts him.”

Stella blinked up at him. “Do you think he would hurt your father?”