It was easy to forget the damage Rose's experiences had done to her emotionally. She didn't act afraid anymore; she didn't have nightmares; her injuries were long healed. But the effects of those months with Cal went deep, and in the days following the trip Jack found himself wondering if it wasn't worse than she let on. He didn't think about it too much, though. Mostly they were too busy for thinking. After they got the house in order and the horses settled in, Jack set up his art supplies in the back bedroom. It was small, but the light was excellent. Rose and Fabrizo worked on preserving as much food as they could.
One afternoon Jack slipped into the kitchen, grinning. "What's that look about?" Fabrizo asked.
"I thought you were painting," Rose said.
"I was." Jack kissed her. "I went out for a few hours. There was something I needed to do."
"What?" she asked.
"It's a surprise. Come outside."
Rose glanced at Fabrizo. "Did you know about this?"
He shook his head. "I don't know anything, and with Jack, it could be anything."
"Just c'mon," Jack urged, taking Rose's hand. They followed him out to the barn. "It might seem crazy," he said. "But we needed one, and I just happened to find these two." He slowly opened the door, trying to build suspense. Rose's eyes widened when she saw the mother cow and calf. "This is what you were doing?" she said, stepping forward.
"Aren't you supposed to sell them for some magic beans?" Fabrizo said. "Isn't that what Jack does?"
Jack rolled his eyes. "They have that story in Italy now? And I already did that. It's why we're so incredibly wealthy. Haven't you noticed?"
"Can we put them?" Rose asked.
"Sure," Jack said. She reached out tentatively. "They won't bite, Rose," he added. "Nancy here's a sweet girl."
"I've never actually seen a cow," Rose said. She was surprised by how soft they were. "They're just for milk?"
"Yeah," Jack said. "I'm not worried about anything else right now."
"We can make cheese," Fabrizo said.
"Read my mind," Jack replied.
"Is this it?" Fabrizo said.
"Not quite."
"What do you mean?" Rose said. "What else is there?"
Jack flashed a grin as he stepped through the side door. A moment later he appeared carrying a cocker spaniel puppy. "This is the rest," he said, handing the dog to Rose. She took it, laughing in disbelief. "She's adorable. Is it a girl?"
"Yeah, she is actually," Jack said. "They didn't want to keep a girl, so they let me have her."
"That's a shame, but I'm glad we got her," Rose said. It was already clear the dog belonged only to Rose. She settled happily in Rose's arms and licked her face, prompting another laugh. "How did you manage all this, Jack?" she asked.
"I've been asking around on our trips to town," he said. "I heard about the puppies a couple weeks ago, right after you said you wanted one. It was just good luck I could get both in one day."
"Thank you," Rose said.
….
"Where're you going?" Tom asked.
"Nowhere. Just out for a walk," Lucy said nonchalantly.
"You go for a lot of walks," he said. "Who is he?"
"Who's who?" Lucy said.
"The guy you're going to see," Billy teased. "You can't fool us. You've never been this interested in nature."
"Maybe I just want to think," Lucy replied. "I do have thoughts, you know. Unlike some people."
"Don't get upset," Tom said. "If there's someone, you can tell us. It's good that you're interested in someone. We want you to be."
"You mean besides Jack, right?" Lucy said.
"Lucy—"
"No, it's fine," she said. "I drove you all crazy. Maybe I drove myself a little crazy."
"It hurt you when he left," Billy said, all teasing gone from his voice. "It makes sense you'd have trouble letting go. You were so young. You need to move on."
"I know," she said.
"You can bring him here," Tom offered.
"Unless you're ashamed of us," Billy joked.
"I'm not ashamed of you," Lucy said. She wasn't ashamed of Fabrizo either, though she worried his accent would upset her brothers. She'd never known them to be prejudiced, but a man many people in town considered a "foreigner", a man whom they distrusted for no reason, had also never courted their little sister.
….
"There you are," Fabrizo said. His eyes lit up, and he held out his hand. She took it without thinking. "I would've been here sooner, but my brothers kept questioning me," she said.
"About me?"
"Yes," she said. "They want to know about this mysterious fellow I've been sneaking off to see."
"What did you tell them?" he asked curiously.
"That I've been meeting a dark, handsome stranger from an exotic land, and he's promised to carry me off and feed me tiramisu, whatever that is."
"It's delicious is what it is," he said. "I'll make you some. So, I'm a dark, handsome stranger from an exotic land?"
"Who said I was talking about you?"
"Really Lucy, how do you think of me?" he asked.
Lucy avoided his gaze. "Do we have to have this conversation now? Things are fine the way they are. Why start analyzing it?"
"I know how I feel about you," Fabrizo said. "How I could feel about you, if you'd let me."
"And how is that?" She didn't quite want an answer.
"I'll love you, if you let me," he said. "I'm not sure you can stop it, actually. You can just make it harder to express. You can tell me to leave."
Lucy didn't know if it was his words or the chill in the wind that raised the hair on her arms. "What if I'm not ready for that?"
"Ready to be loved, or ready to love me back?"
"Either. Both," she said.
"Then we'll wait," he said, shrugging.
They were walking toward home when she said, "Fabrizo, would you like to meet my brothers? Not tonight, but on Sunday, maybe? You could come to dinner."
"I'd love that."
…..
"Get it," Rose said playfully. She tugged on one end of a rag, while the puppy tugged on the other. "Come on. You can." The dog shook her head and growled softly. Rose laughed. "I'll let you have it." She let go of the rag, sending her sprawling backwards. The little dog gave Rose a confused look.
"I see you two are having fun," Jack said. He sat down on the floor next to Rose. "What are you gonna call her?"
"I don't know," Rose answered. "I've never named anything before. I want it to be right." The puppy offered her the rag. "You want to play?" she said. She tugged gently on her end. "We've playing now?" The dog pulled back in response.
"She really likes you," Jack said.
"She's a puppy. I'm sure she likes everyone."
"Dogs don't like everyone," he said. "And they don't always get attached to one person when there's a group. You're her person, Rose. She decided."
"Did you plan that somehow?" she joked.
"No." He didn't add it was what he'd hoped for when he brought the dog home. When he saw her, Jack knew she was supposed to be Rose's. "But she reminds me of you," he said.
"I remind you of a dog?"
"No, the dog, the adorable sweet little dog, reminds me of you," he explained. "There's a difference."
"Uh-huh," she said skeptically.
"No idea what you're gonna call her?" Jack said. The dog jumped into Rose's lap and licked her hand. "She looks like a Lady to me," he added.
"I think you're right. Lady it is."
...
Lady followed Rose everywhere. She had trouble with the stairs at first but soon conquered them. A basket with an old blanket was put by their bed, but she wouldn't stay in it. She insisted on sleeping next to Rose, much to Jack's amusement. "I might get jealous," he said. He lay on one side of her, Lady on the other, and together they formed a protective cocoon around Rose.
"You don't have to be jealous," Rose said. She twisted around and kissed him. "You're the only one for me."
"I'm glad you're happy, Rose."
"Why wouldn't I be?" she said. "This is the life I always wanted."
"You wanted to live in an old farmhouse miles from anywhere? With two men?" He grinned. "Well, Rose, I never woulda guessed."
"Jack, don't be silly. You know what I mean. We're comfortable. It's peaceful out here. I have people who love me, people I love, and we're not traveling, but our lives are still an adventure," she replied.
"Being with you is the best adventure I've been on," Jack said, kissing her. Lady climbed over Rose, attempting to get between them. "I'm not jealous, but someone is," he murmured. He put both arms around Rose. "I had her first."
"You can share."
"Fine." Jack sighed dramatically. "If I have to."
Rose kissed him. "Not completely."
…..
"If I have to meet with one more of these people, I'll lose my mind," Cal said.
"I take it things aren't going well?" Lovejoy said, a trace of amusement in his tone. This should have been his job. He was more than qualified to handle it. If he'd been given control Rose would already be back, and the mess would be long over. But no, Cal decided to bring in someone from the outside, a "top" private detective, he claimed. "He'll be discreet," Cal had said. As if I wouldn't be, Lovejoy thought angrily. How many times had he patched things up for the Hockley family, and for Cal in particular? And for what? To be replaced after years of work?
"Things are going fine," Darrin said, fixing Lovejoy with a cold stare. "It takes time. That's all."
"It certainly appears that way," Lovejoy replied.
"We're getting responses, but none of them come close," Cal said. "Maybe we aren't looking in the right places."
"You aren't," Lovejoy said.
"And where would you look?" Darrin said.
Cal turned to him. "Yes, where would you look?"
Now they wanted his help. Of course. Lovejoy's voice was cold and full of contempt. "She isn't on the coast," he said. "She's nowhere near New York or Philadelphia. They aren't hiding in plain sight. He might be smart enough for that, but she'll be too afraid. He'll take her somewhere he thinks we wouldn't look."
"And that is?" Cal said.
"Have you looked into his background? Found out where he's from?" Lovejoy asked.
"It's not an uncommon name," Darrin said. "It would've taken weeks to hunt them all down, maybe months."
"So, you chose not to?" Cal said, his eyes narrowing.
"I'd start there," Lovejoy said. "He's used to wandering around, but he can't do that now. They'll attract attention in small towns, and she'll assume we're looking in the cities. He's gone somewhere familiar, somewhere he feels safe."
…..
They were coming back from the lake when Rose found the apple trees. Lady scampered along at her heels. Jack carried the fishing gear. Rose saw the apples out of the corner of her eye and stepped off the path. "Look Jack," she called excitedly. She plucked a large, red apple.
"I forgot about these," Jack said. There were five apple trees, all heavy with ripe fruit. "We used to pick apples off these every year." He smiled. "I can't believe I forgot." He wiped one off on his sleeve and took a bite. Juice ran down his chin. "Perfect," he said. "Try one."
Rose bit into hers. The flavor was so sweet, and yet just tart enough. They weren't like any apples she'd had before. She sighed happily. "So, now we have an orchard."
"Not quite, but yeah, this is plenty for us," he said. "We can have pies all winter. Apple butter. Cider." His stomach rumbled at the thought of everything they could eat.
"I hope you know how to make those things," Rose joked.
"I have some idea. We'll figure it out."
"There might be something in one of Fabrizo's recipe books," she said.
"My mother wrote things like that down," Jack said. "Maybe that book's still here somewhere."
"We can certainly look."
…..
What few things that were left of his parents' had been taken up to the attic when they moved in. It was a small space, barely tall enough to stand up in. They fetched down the boxes and looked through them in the kitchen. Jack was hesitant at first. There was nothing new to see; it was only ordinary objects, nothing that would spark curiosity or solve a mystery. That was part of the problem. When they were alive his parents always seemed like open books, but now he wondered how much he really knew about them. Who were they, aside from his mother and father?
The first box was clothes. Jack remembered each garment. They needed a good washing, but they were still mostly wearable. Of course, they wouldn't be worn. That would be like inviting ghosts into their lives. "What's this?" Rose said, reaching into a dress pocket. She pulled out a ring. "How did that manage to stay there all these years?"
Jack reached for it. "I don't know," he said, not quite believing it. He had a suspicion, but he it sounded crazy, even to him. The ring was silver with a tiny stone; it barely counted as an amethyst. Rose watched him turn it over in his hands. "It was my mother's," he said.
"I thought so."
He took her hand and slipped it on her finger. "You should have it, Rose. She'd want me to give it to you."
"Are you sure?" she asked.
He nodded. "It's meant for you."
They found little else of interest, aside from some old papers. "Guess we shoulda looked through this stuff before," Jack said. "I wanted it out of the way, but…" He trailed off as he read. Words flashed up at him. Stock. Bond. Securities. Shares. Interest. He didn't have to know much about finance to realize these papers were most likely valuable. When had his parents bought these? More importantly, when was there enough money to buy them?
"What is it?" Rose asked.
"I'm not sure," Jack said. He raked his fingers through his hair. "What do you think of these?"
"They look like stock and bond certificates. Didn't you know about them?"
He shook his head. "I'm guessing no-one else did. Or…." Or like the ring, they were waiting for him. Jack couldn't shake the feeling they were meant to come back three. Things were working out so well; it was as if someone wanted it to happen. He told himself it was just wishful thinking. That part of his family was gone.
"We can take them to the bank and see what they can tell us," she suggested.
"Yeah, let's do that. Good idea." Jack gave a smile as he kissed her hand, but inside, he was a whirl of emotions.
…
"So, you're definitely coming Sunday?" Lucy said, trying not to sound nervous. It was only two days away, but that was plenty of time for Fabrizo to change his mind, to decide meeting her family was simply more pressure than he wanted to deal with, to decide she was too much to deal with.
"I'm definitely coming," Fabrizo said. "Don't you want me to?"
"Of course I want you to."
They looked at each other shyly. Lucy felt her cheeks getting hot and hoped he couldn't tell. If he did, he didn't let on.
"I could bring something," he offered.
"You don't have to do that. We can handle the food."
"I cook a lot," he said. "It's not a problem."
"Doesn't Rose cook?" Lucy said it without thinking. She wanted to take it back. What did she care? It didn't matter to her. Jack was part of the past.
"She doesn't make pesto alla trapanese as well as I do," Fabrizo said evenly. "Someday, perhaps."
Lucy tripped over the unfamiliar words. "Pesto alla trapanese? What's that?"
"A delicious Sicilian pasta dish. I'll make it for you," he promised. "I'll take you on a tour of Italy through food, Lucia." His hand brushed hers, and sensing no hesitation, he took it.
"I'd like that," she said. "It's probably the closest I'll ever come to going there."
"You could go."
"What, by myself?" she said.
"Or with me," he offered.
"Do you plan to go back?"
"I don't know. Not now, but perhaps, one day I will. I want my wife to see it."
"It won't matter if she's Italian?" Lucy said.
"Not to me."
…..
There were hundreds of leads to check up on. John, Jacob, Jack, and James Dawson were indeed common names. Lovejoy didn't trust Jack Dawson to turn up anything. It could easily be a derivative or nickname, and they had to consider all possibilities, even that it wasn't his real name at all. But it was the name he told Rose, so it wasn't likely he would change it.
There was a James Dawson, age 45, in Oregon. He was obviously too old. A Jake Dawson, age 22, in Florida, originally from Canada. That was promising. A Jack Dawson, born John, from Wisconsin, age 20, but he was presumed dead. No living relatives. Lovejoy couldn't decide if that was a dead-end or not. The report was a few months old. Even as he moved on to the next one, it tugged at him, refusing to be forgotten.
…
They found themselves sitting across from Bob Reed again, a few hours before the bank closed Friday. "We were hoping you could tell us what they are," Jack said. "We found them in my parents' things."
Bob read over the papers carefully. "Well, what they are is money," he said.
"They are?" Rose said.
Jack hadn't dared hope they were worth anything. It was too good to be true; it didn't make any sense.
"That's what they are," Bob said. "See this one? It's worth at least $10,000. Maybe more now."
"$10,000?" Jack said incredulously. "Are you sure?"
Bob nodded. "Your father must've known what he was doing. He picked good companies with steady growth."
Rose glanced at Jack. His eyes were clouded. "What do we do with them?" she asked. "They aren't too old to use?"
"They're fine," Bob replied. "You can cash them in, or you can keep the investment. Get dividend checks. I suspect your father was using the dividends to reinvest. That's how he ended up with so much."
Jack could only stare at the papers, speechless. "Thank you," Rose said. "We need to discuss this further."
"Of course. Anytime," Bob said. "Let me know what you decide to do, and I'll help you out if I can."
Rose drove home. Jack was silent the whole way. Lady ran out to greet them. The tantalizing aroma of dinner wafted out behind her. Rose touched his arm. "Jack?"
"Yeah?" he said distantly.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine."
"If you need to talk," she said, squeezing his hand.
"I know," he said. "I'm gonna stay out here a minute and think after I get the horses inside."
"Don't stay too long. It's getting cold."
Possibilities dangled before him, so many more than before. Travel. Improvements to the house. More land. Food. He could take Rose back to Europe. Fabrizo could visit his family. The art they could collect. There was one idea he was almost afraid to consider.
Rose could divorce Cal. She could be free.
