Spotting what lay inside the satchel, Liam dropped it to the low table before his chair. “Signor Buratti-”
“As I said, Signor Tesano, the Don rewards those who please him. He favors those he respects. You are a man he respects. To him, you owe nothing. To you, he owes everything.”
Liam’s brown eyes roamed the satchel. “The Don is overly gracious.”
Buratti smiled, acknowledging the bag’s contents, some of which spilled onto the table. There were notes in denominations equalling 20 dollari bound into stacks of fifty and there were ten stacks.
“The payment you and your partners missed out on for Signor DiCenzo’s shipment.” Buratti explained. “Plus a little extra for uh...gasolina?” the courier chuckled.
“Liam!”
Athena’s call, immediately shifted Liam’s attention to the front of the house. He rushed out while Buratti took his time to stand. The front door hung open. Liam found Athena on the porch. Two men waited at the bottom step, approaching when they saw Liam. Each offered a set of keys.
“Take then,” Buratti instructed, having made his way to the porch. “The Don will not see a man such as you walking any longer.”
Liam and Athena looked into the yard then. Two trucks were parked there alongside the one Buratti had driven.
“Your partners are receiving trucks as well. One each. The Don believes a man with a Signorina on his arm should have a vehicle specifically for wooing.” Buratti clapped Liam’s shoulder and moved down the porch steps. Within moments, he and the other two men had settled into the one truck and were gone.
Liam and Athena were speechless and still staring at the two trucks while the dust settled in the wake of their guests’ departure. The couple exchanged glances finally and then Liam loosed a whooping laugh. He picked Athena up, swinging her around until her breathless laughter filled the air.
With Athena still in his arms, Liam pulled the door shut, carried her from the porch and deposited her on the passenger side of the nearest truck. Moments later, they were zooming off for a drive in the afternoon sun.
~14~
Don Sante Alma had been generous in his gratitude. He had gifted a 1931 Ford Model A Pickup truck to Liam as well as a 1931 Ford AA 1 ½ ton flatbed. Liam’s partners were also rewarded with one of the shiny dark blue flatbeds. The trucks were superior models for the entrepreneurs the men were in route to becoming. Success was indeed in their midst.
In the weeks following the shootout, word had spread of the Don’s gratitude. Soon, it was hard to find any business proprietor who didn’t want to trust their shipments to Liam Tesano and his crew. Work was abundant for the young men, as was the reward. Still, it was the fabric portion of their business that held Liam’s interest.
Carlo DiCenzo was especially pleased. Liam was already entertaining plans to have the merchant’s products shipped as far west as Milan. DiCenzo thought such a thing was impossible, until Liam shared more of his plan. He wanted to see the fabrics shipped abroad.
“America?” The merchant marveled while enjoying tea with his young associates one afternoon.
“Eventually. I believe people will pay great prices to have fabrics shipped abroad,” Liam explained, his handsome face animated by the possibility. “It’s an historical fact that people put greater stock in wares that come from far away than in things created right next to them.”
“Indeed?” DiCenzo stroked his chin and considered.
Liam thought of Athena and her genius level skills with needle and threat. She had been true to her word and crafted him two pairs of trousers from DiCenzo’s fine fabrics. She’d gone on and on about the kinds of suits she could make with finer material from France.
DiCenzo began to chuckle. “I’ll be more convinced when I experience profit, young Tesano but I do believe in your sense for business. You seem to have a keen knowledge of such things.”
“The visionary,” Nandi, seated next to his partner, sighed the phrase while closing his eyes to inhale the spicy fragrances riding heavily on the air.
DiCenzo chuckled, understanding the man’s reaction. “My Valentina. She started cooking early this morning when she learned you were coming to town for a visit. “You’ll stay, yes?”
“Naturalmente!” Nandi accepted.
“I’m afraid I must decline,” Liam gave a regretful wave. “Other plans.”
“Ah...si, si...I have heard you’ve been sought after by a beauty. Athena Cavalese, no?”
Liam nodded, feeling the muscle lurch along his jaw over the man’s mention of her name.
“Que bella, uh?”
Liam could discern nothing except extreme appreciation for a great beauty from the older man. He sensed his jaw muscle unclenching and grinned. Soon, laughter surrounded the table.
Liam stood. “I should be going. Please tell Valentina I’m sorry I can’t stay.”
“Si, si. Good night, young Tesano.” DiCenzo bid with a wave.
Nandi exchanged a handshake with his friend.
When Liam had driven off, conversation resumed between the men left behind.
“Does he know what she is?” DiCenzo inquired.
Nandi helped himself to more tea. “I don’t think he cares.”
***
Liam smiled while making the turn onto the road leading home. He had lied to DiCenzo, there were no plans that would have prevented him from staying. He had simply wanted to get back home-back to Athena.
His smile defined, when the house came into view. He saw her outside, toiling in the garden that was becoming her obsession. Her hair was wrapped in a coral head scarf that had belonged to his mother. The vibrant color offered a dynamic contrast against her rich skin tone.
He had never considered how lonely his home was. How lonely he was. He hadn’t allowed himself to consider such things. It had been his choice. There was no one he felt moved by enough to have join him there. Until Athena. He wasn’t a complete fool. He knew much of his feelings toward her stemmed from the need which had intensified during her time there with him. Had it been nearly a month, already?
Liam shook his head and put the truck in park. More than once he had called himself a fool for not taking what she offered, especially on the night she’d come to his bed. That had seemed like a lifetime ago and now...well now he wanted more than her body. Much more.
