Always Be True (19 page)

The old man didn't back down. “Somehow I doubt that.”

Rather than argue, she grabbed Tino's arm and all but dragged him out of the house. She could hear her grandfather laughing even through the closed door. “Sorry about that. Grandpa can be a handful sometimes.”

“I like him. I hope I'm that sharp when I'm that age.”

“Me, too, but that doesn't mean I appreciate him talking that way in front of you.”

They'd reached her car. Tino trapped her up against the fender, one hand on either side of her. “What way? Don't you want him to like me?”

“Of course I do, but that doesn't mean I appreciated him talking like I'm a broodmare and you're the lucky stallion he's picked out for me.”

Tino's laughter rang out loud and clear. “Now that fine image is going to be stuck in my head all day.”

She gave him a sharp poke in the chest with her finger. “All right, that wasn't the best way to put it, but you know what I meant. It's bad enough that every visit he nags at me about getting married and starting a family.”

“And that's a bad thing?”

“No, it's not, but I won't rush into anything just to make him happy. As I've told him, I won't settle for anything less than the kind of marriage he and Grandma had. It's hard to imagine now, but he used to light up when she came into the room.”

Tino brushed her hair back from her cheek. “My parents were like that, too. I don't know where you and I are headed, but don't be embarrassed or unhappy because he thinks I might stand a chance of making you that happy. Personally, I take it as a compliment.”

Then he kissed her, keeping it light and easy. Stepping back, he added, “I'll call you tonight.”

“I look forward to it.”

As she drove away, she realized the real problem she'd had with her grandfather's comments. It wasn't that he thought Tino might make her a good husband. It was that she was starting to think that way herself.

Tino met up with Jack at the beach for a quick lunch before heading to the job site. “Sorry I'm late. We were visiting Natalie's grandfather, and I lost track of time.”

“How did it go meeting him?”

“Fine. He plays a mean game of chess.”

“So you've met her parents and now her grandfather.”

Where was Jack headed with this? “Yeah. So?”

“So, little brother, it seems odd that none of us have gotten to meet her.” Jack stopped to point a fry at Tino before dunking it in ketchup and stuffing it in his mouth. “Tell me if I'm wrong, but I've got to wonder what, if anything, you've told Natalie about your past or us.”

A burst of what felt suspiciously like shame washed through his veins and left his face burning hot. “She knows I have two brothers, that we lost Dad, and that one of the reasons I left the army was to be close by if Mom needed me.”

“But not the specifics.”

“If by that you mean that we were adopted, then no, I didn't tell her specifics.”

“Why the hell not?” Jack looked pissed, but his words came out cold and calm. “Unless you're suddenly ashamed of our family, it's her reaction that you're worried about. If Natalie can't handle where you came from, she doesn't deserve you.”

Tino's own temper might take longer to ignite, but it burned just as hot as his brother's when it did. “Shut the fuck up about Natalie. You don't know a damn thing about her.”

Jack's fist pounded down on the table. “My point exactly. The woman obviously means a lot to you, but you haven't even brought her around to meet Mom. I get that you might not want to spring the whole clan on her at once. God knows Mikhail is barely housebroken, but she'd love Mom. Everybody does.”

That was true. He'd never met a single person who could withstand Marlene's warmth and kindness for more than a minute. If she'd managed to win over three surly teenagers who had more than the usual amount of bad attitude, a sweetheart like Natalie would be a piece of cake for her.

Tino's anger blew away on the breeze as he stared out at the waves on Puget Sound. “I'm so out of my league with her, Jack. Her grandfather owns one of those huge houses Dad used to drive us by down in the city. I'm not sure what Cyrus did for a living, but he made enough money to fund the foundation that Natalie runs all by herself. Her father comes from money, too, so Natalie grew up around all kinds of wealthy people. She went to the best schools. Had every advantage.”

Might as well lay it all out there for Jack to see. “I also met her ex-fiancé the other night. He looks like a runway model even if he's a complete bastard. He's also an attorney in his family's big-ass law firm. Then there's the house she lives in. It's stuffed full of expensive antiques. When she had me over for dinner, we ate off bone china using sterling silver flatware.”

Jack didn't look all that impressed. “So?”

“So, I made it out of high school with a B average and spent ten years as an army cop. I've earned a few college credits along the way, but not enough for even an associate's degree. I'd go back to school, but I have no idea of what I want to be when I grow up. With my military experience, I could probably get a job with one of the local police forces, but I can't see me spending the next twenty-five years writing out speeding tickets and dealing with drunk drivers.”

He crushed his empty cup. “And in case you've forgotten, to cap it all off, I live in the garage at my mother's house. That would be sure to impress Natalie's parents, don't you think?”

Instead of slapping Tino down for disparaging the place the three brothers had helped Joe remodel into a man cave for the three of them, Jack did something totally unexpected. He laughed. In fact, he laughed loud and long until his face was beet red, and he struggled to breathe.

After about a minute, he laid his head down on his arms on the tabletop, his huge shoulders still shaking. Okay, his reaction pissed off Tino big-time.

“What is so damn funny?”

Jack sat back up, clearly trying to rein in his amusement but failing miserably. “You are, little brother. You should see your face right now. I always figured when you got around to falling for somebody, you'd fall hard and fast. No wonder you're running in circles like a dog chasing its tail.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Although he suspected he knew and regretted asking the question for the simple reason that Jack was very likely to answer it. Sure enough, his brother's eyes filled with what looked like sympathy.

“Have you given any thought to the possibility that she might be the one for you, little brother? Otherwise, you wouldn't give a damn what she or her family thought about where you sleep at night.”

“Well, shit.”

The truth settled in Tino's gut. What was he supposed to do now?

Meanwhile, Jack gathered up the remains of their meal and carried it over to the trash can. It was his brother's way of giving Tino time to regain control. When he came back, Jack crossed his arms over his broad chest.

“You probably don't want my advice, but I'm going to give it to you anyway, free of charge and everything. You gotta know that it wasn't easy to tell Caitlyn about my fucked-up childhood or for her to share what her abusive bastard of an ex-husband put her through. But as hard as it was to rip open all those old wounds, we both knew if we wanted to make a go of it, we had to be honest about all that crap. Hell, most of the time I still can't believe she wanted me anyway.”

It was Tino's brotherly obligation to snicker even if there wasn't much about this conversation that he found amusing. “Well, if it's any comfort, Mikhail and I can't believe it, either. God knows we're both better looking, not to mention better dancers.”

Jack didn't rise to the bait, a clear sign that he was zeroed in on his self-assigned mission. “Here's the bottom line, little brother: If I'm right about what's going on between the two of you, tell Natalie who you are and how you feel. If she's the woman you think she is, then she'll accept you as is.”

Then Jack's big hand settled on Tino's shoulder. “If she won't, don't just walk away—run.”

On Thursday morning, Natalie started past the basketball court on her way into the community center but then stopped. It looked different, better somehow. She wandered over to take a closer look. Sure enough, the poles that supported the baskets had both been painted and now stood perpendicular to the ground instead of being canted at an angle. A couple of two-by-fours had been added to prop them up, maybe to give the new cement time to solidify. The backboards and nets had been replaced and the lines on the court repainted.

Somebody had been hard at work, but she had no idea who it might have been. Refurbishing the court had been on her wish list of things to do, but the money allotted for the community center project had stretched only so far. She would like to thank whoever had stepped up to bat.

Inside the building, she set her things down in the computer lab and went looking for Clarence, knowing not much ever got by him around there. She found him pushing a huge dust mop up and down the gym floor. He stopped as soon as he spotted her.

“Miss Natalie, you're here bright and early this morning.”

She held up the coffee and muffins she'd brought for them to share. “I needed to go over the lesson plans the other teacher left me for tonight's class, and I won't have time to do it after I get off work.”

He accepted the coffee and chocolate muffin as he led the way over to the stage to sit down. “You spoil me, young lady, but I've told you that before. You shouldn't go to all this bother.”

“It was no trouble. I was going through the drive-up anyway, and it's no harder to order two of everything.”

Once they were settled, she asked, “I noticed the basketball court outside has new hoops and fresh paint. Do you know who did it?”

Clarence washed down a bite of his muffin with a sip of coffee before answering. “It was your friend Tino. He, another man, and a teenager showed up with the materials yesterday afternoon. Right after they got here, Tyler and his friends came. Between the bunch of them, they got it all done in no time. It looks really nice out there.”

Tino did all of that? She'd seen him briefly on Tuesday when they'd both been at the center. His basketball practice had ended almost an hour before her computer class did, but he'd hung around until she finished up. No matter how many times she told him that she was perfectly safe walking to her car by herself, he insisted on waiting. All of that aside, he had to have everything organized to redo the basketball court by then, so why hadn't he said anything? Maybe he wanted to surprise her, but that didn't exactly make sense.

The odd look Clarence was giving her made her realize she'd been silent too long. “It looks great. I hope the kids who play out there all the time will appreciate what he did.”

Clarence nodded. “I thought it was smart of him to have the neighborhood kids help out. Maybe investing some of their own time and energy in the project will make them appreciate what they have more. I'd hate to see it get trashed again.”

“Me, too.” She checked the time. “Oops, I'd better get moving. I'll only be here another few minutes, but I'll be back this evening.”

“Can I ask a favor?” Clarence reached into one of his pockets. “I found this cellphone in the men's room this morning. The battery is dead, but I'm pretty sure that it belongs to Tino or the other guy who was with him. I know it wasn't in there before they came.”

He held it out to her. “Can you get it back to Tino? Even if he'll be back tonight to coach the kids, he'll be looking for it.”

She took the phone. “It does look like his. I can stop by his house on my way to the office.”

Not that she actually knew where he lived, but how hard could it be to track him down? She headed for the computer lab where a quick Internet search produced an address that wouldn't take her too far out of her way. There were several different names listed with his, which seemed odd, but maybe it was an apartment building.

After letting her assistant know that she'd be a little later than expected, she reviewed the lesson plans and then hustled out to her car. Even if Tino wasn't at home, she could at least leave him a note that she had the phone.

After entering the address into her GPS system, she took one last look at the refurbished basketball court. There were a lot of reasons she liked Tino, maybe even felt something stronger for him, but the way he'd bonded with the people at the center was right at the top of the list. Once again, she was struck by the difference between him and Benton.

After one wrong turn, she finally arrived at the address. She took a minute to study Tino's home and found she liked it. For sure, there was something warm and welcoming about the neatly landscaped yard and the old-fashioned look of the house itself.

By comparison, the place Natalie had inherited from her father's mother was fussy and overdone. She planned on gradually replacing a lot of the furnishings with stuff that was more suited to her own taste, not to mention a lot more comfortable. Purchasing the couch for the living room had been an important step in that direction, and she'd also moved her aunt's old bedroom furniture to a guest room and bought a new set for herself. There was still a lot to do, but she didn't have much free time to devote to the project.

It was time to get moving. She really hoped Tino didn't mind her dropping in on him with no warning.

When she started up the driveway, an older woman stepped out on the front porch, clearly on her way out. Okay, this was awkward. Maybe this wasn't Tino's place after all. The woman had started down the steps before she noticed Natalie standing there.

“Hi, can I help you?”

Natalie remained where she was but held up the dead cellphone. “Maybe. Could you tell me if Tino Gianelli lives here? He left his phone at the community center yesterday. I thought he might be looking for it.”

The woman offered her a warm smile and joined her in the driveway. “You're Natalie Kennigan, aren't you? I should've recognized you immediately. I'm sure my son will appreciate your going out of your way to bring it to him.”

This was Tino's mother? She looked nothing like him, but maybe he took after his father's side of the family. “Yes, I'm Natalie, Mrs. Gianelli. It's nice to meet you.”

Looking a bit puzzled, the woman said, “Actually, it's Mrs. Lukash, but please call me Marlene. Any other time I would invite you in for some coffee, but I have to be at an appointment in a few minutes.”

She pointed back up the driveway. “But then you're not here to see me, are you? Tino's car is here, so I assume he's home. If you knock on the garage door, he should answer.”

“I'll do that.”

“You might need to knock a few times and then give him a few minutes to answer. His bedroom is upstairs on the second floor, so he might not hear you the first time.”

Marlene got in her car and drove away as Natalie slowly walked up the driveway and tried to make sense of the directions Tino's mother had given her. Why would she knock on the garage door if his bedroom was on the second floor of the house? It was also interesting that their last names were different. He hadn't mentioned his mother remarrying after his father died.

None of this was adding up. Suddenly, she had a bad feeling about how this was going to turn out. It was tempting to go into full retreat and simply drive away. That wouldn't work. Marlene was sure to mention she'd been there when she got home from her appointment.

Bracing herself for whatever came next, Natalie raised her hand and knocked.