Page 45 of Code Name: Grit

“Something just occurred to me. She might have invited you to try to talk you into removing me from the mission.”

“Unless you tell me it’s what you want, that won’t be happening.”

When we arrived,my mom said she wasn’t finished packing and suggested we take a walk down to the lake.

“The weather won’t be this beautiful for much longer. You should take advantage of it.” When she hugged me, I felt her press a key in my hand. “You know we decided to name this place Loon’s Call.”

I took a step back and looked down at what was carved on the key ring. “Loon’s Promise?”

“You can always rename it, but I thought it was sweet.”

My eyes scrunched. “What are you talking about?”

“We used to call it Camp Twelve, but that seemed so…cold. Anyway, I know it’s your favorite, so I figured that’s where you’d want to stay.”

I looked out the window to see Grit doing a perimeter check. He’d said he wanted to “take a look around” while my mom and I chatted, but I could tell he was scoping out access points, testing sight lines, and planning defensive positions. I didn’t mind. It seemed to ground him.

“What are you up to, Mom?” I asked, turning back to face her.

She led me over to the sofa that sat in front of the fireplace and pulled me down beside her. “Dante and I talked and?—”

I held up my hand. “Stop right there.”

“He told me what you said about me and never being happy in love.”

“I’m going to kill him,” I seethed through clenched teeth.

When her eyes filled with tears, I reached for her hand. “Mom, please, it’s okay. I understand that your life was hard. The men?—”

“I loved Cassio,” she blurted. “Long before I met your father.”

“What?” I gasped.

“Things were…different then. Your grandfather, my father, was close to Vincenzo, who was Vincent’s dad. He was more in favor of my dating him than a Belcastro.”

My mouth gaped. “Are you serious right now? Mom, that was the seventies not the, I don’t know, eighteen hundreds. Are you saying your father made you marry Vincent?”

She shook her head. “It’s a long, complicated story, Chiara. One for another time. The point I’m trying to make is that I did know love. Great love. And when Cassio and I eventually found our way back to each other, I wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with him.”

“Why didn’t you?” As soon as the words left my mouth, I regretted them. “Wait, it was because of me, wasn’t it?”

“You and him.”

“What does that mean?”

She squeezed my fingers again, then let go. “You know what it means, my darling daughter,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

“You were afraid Vincent would kill me. Him too, right?”

“Yes, Chiara. Keep in mind my husband also believed I was dead. You know this story, but your oldest brother faked my murder and helped me go into hiding. Right around the time when I realized I was pregnant with you, Vincent Jr. arranged for Summer to stay with me.”

I picked the key up from the coffee table where I’d set it. “So what is this? Why did you tell Admiral that Grit was invited to come here with me? Are you?—”

“No,” she snapped. “Whatever you’re about to say, the answer is no. Whatever happens between you and Grit, either now or in the future, is none of my business.”

“But you’re suggesting I sleep with him.”

“From what I recall, Loon’s Promise has more than one bedroom, Chiara. I thought it would be a good idea for the two of you to have some time alone.”