Shadow Flight (Shadow Riders 5)

“This is so beautiful. Does that path continue all the way through?”

“Yes.” He’d walked it dozens of times. At first he’d wanted to make certain he could escape if an enemy came for him, and then he’d discovered that the woods were alive with wildlife and birds. The sounds they made calling back and forth to one another soothed him almost as much as or maybe even more than the classical music he listened to when his mind was in complete chaos from rereading those vile reports on Nicoletta.

She turned her face up to his and for the first time since Vegas, there was a hint of real joy there. “It’s so incredible, Taviano. I can’t believe this place really exists. I would love to show it to Lucia and Amo someday.”

“I imagine they’ll be here often, tesoro. In fact, there is a guesthouse. It is possible they might want to move closer when they get a little older. That way we can look after them. We won’t put it to them that way, of course. We will find a way that shows them we really need them close to us. I’ve given it quite a lot of thought, and I think they’d like living here.”

Her dark eyes drifted slowly over his face. It was impossible to tell what she was thinking, when before she’d always been such an open book to him. He let her look her fill. He wasn’t going to apologize for worrying about Amo and Lucia. His entire family was concerned for them. Stefano and their oldest son, Cencio, had been friends and served together in the military. Stefano was close to Cencio’s parents, and when their son had been murdered, he had taken them personally under the protection of the family. That hadn’t been a hardship, since every single member loved them.

“I appreciate that you think about their welfare, Taviano,” Nicoletta said. “I love them very much, and I can tell that time is wearing a bit on them. I’ve been a little worried myself. I’ve been trying to learn the business so I can take it over for them and run it. I don’t know what they have in the way of retirement …”

“They have always been considered famiglia, but now, they are even more so, if that is possible. I think if we have them close to us, neither of us will worry.”

He could see the relief on her face right before she turned away from him to look once more toward the woods and the narrow path leading into the darkened interior.

“They’ll love it here, Taviano.”

She took a deep breath and walked toward the front door. There was reluctance in every step, so that by the time she made it up onto the wraparound porch, with the columns and turrets at the corners, she was no longer looking up at the house but down at the artwork on the flooring the previous owner had built into the entryway.

“I think they’ll love living here as well. We’re just far enough away from the city that when we’re on the roof we can see the stars. No one can do that. It’s a miracle. Lucia and especially Amo will love going up and viewing the stars that way even if they can only see them through the telescope.”

He reached past her and opened the heavy front door, crowding her just a little with his taller body so that she stepped into the cool foyer.

“Is it easy to access the roof? I noticed that Amo is having a difficult time lately climbing stairs. Even just the three back stairs from the alley entrance. He’s far slower, although he always plays it off like it’s no big deal. I try to carry the heavier boxes for him, but that just upsets him more, so I make sure the car is pulled up very close to the stairs and try to shove them up onto the platform so he doesn’t have to actually carry them up the stairs themselves.”

He wished he’d gotten her talking about her foster parents earlier. She never seemed to notice what was happening around her when she did that. The foyer had opened into the much more spacious front room. If he hadn’t been sold on the acreage and rooftop, he would have immediately been sold on that room alone. The high ceiling was pure art form, with the carved galaxy chiseled so elegantly into the white-blue marble that one had to look several times to notice the entire universe mapped out overhead in all its splendor. The universe spread across the huge milky-blue ceiling, culminating at the top into what appeared to be a round circular “knot” but was really a door that opened onto the roof. His house was that great.

He kept his gaze on Nicoletta’s face and his fingers threaded through hers, wanting to keep her moving. It was late and they were both tired. She could get the big tour the next day, but tonight he wanted to establish that they’d both be sleeping in the master bedroom. It wasn’t going to be the easiest thing to do, not when she was so skittish, and he knew what she was the most worried about—with good reason.