Chapter 66
Brunella walked to them and tapped Antero on the note, “do you know Antero, your father when he was a small boy, needed to eat six meals a
day?
“Torquato was never a small boy.” Cicciu grunted as he winked at Antero. “I was the proudest Papa of the biggest strongest boy, but I needed t work extra hard to buy extra groceries. Torquato likes his snacks. Do you like snacks Antero?*
“My Dad came to the grocery store with us, and he filled our cart up with snacks,” Antero was wiggling down from his father’s lap and running to the pantry to pull it open. “Look at all the junk he bought. Mama couldn’t believe he bought so many snacks. She told me I can’t eat so many treats because my teeth will rot out of my head.”
The adults all chuckled at his antics.
“I have all my teeth, Antero but I brush my teeth a lot.” He looked at Alcee with a smirk, “I own a special electric toothbrush.”
Lorita snickered, “so do 1.” She made eyes at Alcee who giggled in spite of herself.
Brunella smacked her with the tomato sauce spoon, splattering the red sauce up Lorita’s arms. “Use your manners with a child in the room.
“Oh, Antero doesn’t understand.” Lorita grinned.
“I was talking about Cicciu,” Brunella snickered as her husband pinched her backside while Antero’s back was turned and he rummaged through
the cabinet.
“Antero, are you hungry and looking for a snack?”
“Dinner will be ready in about an hour. Antero,” Brunella called out, “I didn’t tell your father but if you look over there in the bag on the Counter, there are some fruits I’d picked up today from the fruit markets. There are prickly pears and cherries, and I brought some of the canned peaches from last harvest.”
“Prickly pears?” Torq released his hold on Alcee and raced for the bag of fruit. “You are holding out on me, Mama. These are my favorite fruits, Antero. They are so sweet you would think they are made of pure sugar.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever had them.” Antero frowned as he watched his father lifting the fruit out of the bag with a gleeful expression. “They
look weird.”
“They are also known as cactus fruit. They are covered with little, tiny prickles on them and when you harvest them, you wear thick gloves because the little spines hurt worse than a splinter.” Torquato grabbed a knife from the butcher block and spun it in his hand deftly and winking at Antero.
Cicciu scoffed, “show off.” He looked at Alcee, “Alcee, how was your day at work? Would you like a glass of wine to unwind with?”
“I’d really like to go get changed out of my work clothes if you can all excuse me for a moment.”
“Definitely.”
“Wait, I don’t need to stay in these clothes?” Lorita looked at what she was wearing. “I was on my way to work when we got rounded up and thrown in the car to come here, not that I minded because I really hate my job.”
“What do you do?” Alcee asked Lorita who was following her down the hall in the direction of the bedrooms.
“I’m a medical receptionist at a clinic. I hate it because the doctor is old as sin and likes to touch my bottom.”
“Why do you stay?”
“The alternative is to work for my big brother, and nobody wants their big brother in all of their business. Torquato owns most of our town and
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Chapter 66
the surrounding towns. There aren’t many job opportunities where the boss isn’t directly connected with my big brother. Ha that my last lover.”
“What? Why?”
“He hit me.” The words were a quiet whisper.
“I’m sorry, he did what?” Alcee turned slowly outside the woman’s bedroom door. “He hit you?”
“He was drinking. It wasn’t his fault. I made him angry, and he slapped me.*
“Torq let him live?” Alcee was furious, “he only shot him?”
“No. He didn’t let him live.” Lorita frowned, “I don’t even know why I brought it up.”
Alcee put her hands atop Lorita’s shoulders, “you brought it up because you’re wondering if Torq was wrong to do what he did, and you wanted an opinion of someone who isn’t or hasn’t been affiliated with your family. Lorita, if a man is so weak he cannot control his fists with his woman, then he should be shot.”
“But Torq said your father and brothers struck you.”
“My brothers never hit me. My father did and I promise you, if I was given the opportunity to shoot him and bury him, it would be done.”
“Really?” Lorita was surprised. “Even your father?”
“A man who strikes a woman out of anger isn’t a man, he’s a coward. Only a coward who uses excuses to hide his inability to control his temper and his emotions would dare hit a woman.”
“He gave me two black eyes and a split lip. I accused him of cheating on me and asked him how he would like it if I kissed another man and he was very drunk and he hit me.”
“Stop making an excuse. What I hear is, a boy who was weak took his insecurities out on his woman because he didn’t know how to be a man. I think Torq did you a disservice.”
“How so?”
“I think shooting him was too easy. Two black eyes and a split lip? He should have blackened his eyes, removed them from his head and then shot him.” As Lorita made wide eyes up at her, Alcee shrugged. “I am of a different view since being tossed away from my family, Lorita. I was blessed to be protected by Tyrell and his family. I saw what real men do for the people who they cherish, and I learned what weak boys do when faced with a challenge. I no longer tolerate the weak/men who would dare hurt any woman.”
“I couldn’t have said it better myself,” Torq’s voice cut in from the edge of the hall.
Alcee looked over her shoulder at him and gave him a tight smile.
“Lorita, Mama asked if you could find her hair cover. It’s in her face as she’s trying to make dessert. Antero has tucked it behind her ear more than once and it’s become apparent he’s quite concerned it will fall in his whipped cream.”
Alcee grinned, “he touched her hair?”
“He did.” Torq winked at her and then turned serious eyes back to Lorita. “Get changed and come get some prickly pear before I e
“Yes Torquato,” she slipped into the room and closed the door.
Alcee made her way to their bedroom and Torq was on her heels. No sooner was she in the closet was the door kicked closed and his mouth on
hers.
Sold! To the Grizzly Don
