Chapter 30

THIRTY

Natalia

I’m nervous as we pull up to my family’s little farm. It’s barely an acre of fields that no longer yield crops and a house that’s seen better days. Although, it appears there’s a new roof, which is a good thing since last winter was brutal for the family. I’d sent some extra money while I was in Iraq since I didn’t need anything, and I’m glad they got things done.

The rest of the house is still a mess. The front door has seen better days and seems to be hanging at a slight angle, one of the windows in the front is cracked and held together by some sort of packing tape, and the railing on the front steps is completely gone.

When had things gotten so bad?

I send them a thousand Euros a month, sometimes more, and they’re still struggling like this? I can’t figure out where the money goes because I know they don’t eat that much, and my father still works. He doesn’t make a lot of money, probably about what I send them in a month, but it also doesn’t cost much to live here. Food is cheap, basic healthcare is free, and the biggest cost is heating oil in the winter, which I subsidize. Of course, paying someone to help with my grandmother is expensive, so that could be part of it.

“You okay?” Cooper glances at me curiously.

“Yeah. I’m just trying to figure out where the money I send goes if not to keeping up with the house. My father still works so it’s not like they’re living off just my money, and we survived on his money before I started sending some to them.” I clamp my lips shut.

“Maybe something has been going on you don’t know about,” he suggests softly.

“Yeah. Probably to do with my grandmother.” I get out of the SUV, and Cooper follows me.

We walk up the steps and I knock on the door. “Mama! Mama, it’s me.” I turn the knob, and it opens.

Something that smells delicious immediately hits my nostrils and a wave of nostalgia washes over me.

Cabbage soup.

I know the smell anywhere.

It’s cabbage and mushrooms and onions in a creamy broth. My mother usually makes her special bread with it too.

My mouth waters in anticipation.

“Natalia?” My mother comes around the corner wiping her hands on a dish towel and not appearing even remotely surprised to see me.

“Hi, Mama.” I smile and reach for her.

She hugs me tightly, not saying a word until I feel a tug on my jeans.

I look down at my niece, Greta, and smile at her.

“Greta. Do you remember me? I’m your Aunt Natalia.”

“Titi!” She throws her arms around my legs and I’m grateful my sister has told her about me.

“You’re such a big girl.” I lift her into my arms and hug her tightly.

“Natalia, who is your friend?”

“I’m sorry.” I turn to Cooper and smile. “This is Ryan Cooper. My boyfriend. Ryan, this is my mother, Eleneora Farkas.”

“ Xerouman Poly .” It’s a pleasure to meet you.

God, I love this man.

I have no doubt he learned that specifically to meet my parents.

And I can tell by the look on my mother’s face she’s impressed.

She politely shakes his hand, and they eye each other.

“This is my niece, Greta,” I say, turning to him. “Say hello to my boyfriend, Greta.”

Greta giggles shyly and buries her head in my chest. “I like his yellow hair,” she whispers.

I laugh. “She likes that you’re blond,” I tell him.

He nods. “ Grazina .” Thank you.

“I saw Lucianna,” I tell my mother once Greta wiggles away. “She’s resting.”

“Good, good. Maybe later you can take me to the hospital? Your father won’t be home until late.”

“Sure.” I pause. “Is there soup?”

She smiles. “Yes. The bread won’t be ready for another half-hour.”

“We can wait.”

I look around. “I see there’s a new roof. I’m glad you were able to fix it.”

She sighs. “It cost much more than we thought, but it was necessary.”

“That’s why I sent extra money.”

Mama’s lips thin into a straight line. “You mustn’t mention the money in front of your friend.”

“Mama, he knows.”

“In front of your father then.”

“Of course not.” I know better than that.

She studies me carefully. “You’re pregnant.”

“What? No, I’m not.” I make a face.

“You are glowing with happiness. Is it because of a baby or this man?”

“The man,” I say firmly. “There’s no baby.”

“You’re sure?”

“Very sure. I’m on birth control. It’s implanted in my arm so it’s not the kind of thing I can forget to take a dose of.”

She shakes her head. “You are giving him the benefits of a wife without a ring on your finger! Why would you demean yourself like this?”

“Mama, things are different now. You know that. Please don’t make things awkward. I wanted you to meet him. We have to leave in thirty-six hours, so can we please just enjoy our time together?”

She shakes her head and then nods.

“Is he handy?”

“What do you mean?”

“Greta was playing on the stairs and the rails are loose. She almost fell from the top.”

“Oh.” I look up at the rickety old staircase and then turn to Cooper. “Babe… are you handy at all? The stair rail is loose, and Greta almost fell.”

He looks relieved to have something to do. “Sure. Let me take a look. I may not be able to do anything without tools, though.”

“Papa has tons out in the shed. Just tell me what you need.”

He goes upstairs and Mama and I watch him for a moment.

“Come,” she says. “You can hang the laundry for me while I feed Greta. She doesn’t like soup.” She rolls her eyes.

“No problem.” I take the basket of wet clothes and walk out to the back.

It’s an even bigger mess than the front, with random tools and abandoned vehicles all over the place.

Papa is always buying and selling things. He just tends to lose interest in them if they’re not as easy to fix as he thought they would be, or if the parts he needs are too costly. Instead of getting rid of things, he just lets them die in the back yard.

I hang the clothes, wishing there was more I could do for my parents, but they’re proud and stubborn. And I live hours away.

I’m just happy Mama didn’t hate Cooper on sight.

“Natalia, I need a few tools,” Cooper says, coming outside.

“Sure.” I show him where the shed is, and he starts digging around.

This isn’t the life we would have if we stay together, but it’s close.

I can picture him puttering around a house that we own.

Teaching kids I’m not even sure I want how to ride a bike.

Spending the rest of our lives together.

Jesus, I’ve never felt like this about a guy before.

Now if I can just figure out if he feels the same way, things would be pretty fucking epic.

* * *

Mom, Greta, and I spend the afternoon at the hospital, leaving Cooper behind to work on the house. He fixes the loose handrail on the inside stairs and gets the front door to close properly by realigning the lock with the strike plate. Then he finds the handrail from the front steps and by the time we get back, he’s nailed it into place. It’s not super sturdy since the wood is old but it’s better than nothing, especially once winter comes.

My mother looks a bit flabbergasted at everything he’s accomplished in a few hours, and I reach out to hug him once she takes Greta inside.

“Thank you,” I whisper. “You didn’t have to do all that.”

“I’m happy to help. The only question is, will your father be grateful or pissed off because it somehow emasculates him that I did it and he didn’t?”

“You never know with my father, but deep down, he’ll appreciate it. They’ve never thanked me for the money I send, not a single time, but it’s just how they are.”

“Well, whatever it takes to win brownie points.”

We smile at each other.

We hear a car coming down the long drive, and I take a breath. “Well, that’ll be my father and Femke. He picks her up from the restaurant where she works on his way home from work. It’s too far for her to walk so she waits in town until he gets there. She’s been texting me all afternoon. She can’t wait to meet you.”

“At least someone is happy to see me,” he jokes.

“I’m happy to see you,” I say as my father’s ancient pickup truck pulls up to the house.

“Peppy!” Greta comes running out of the house toward her grandfather.

That’s new.

I’ve never seen my father be affectionate with anyone, especially small children.

Maybe being a grandfather has softened him up a little. I certainly don’t remember him ever hugging me as a child.

“Papa.” I call to him quietly.

“Natalia.” He doesn’t act surprised. Even as he lifts Greta into the air and then nuzzles her tummy, he seems relatively unimpressed that I’m here.

Femke, on the other hand, gets out of the truck and practically flies across the yard to throw herself at me, hugging me tightly.

“I missed you so much!” she whispers.

“I missed you too,” I whisper back, burying my face in her hair.

We hug for a minute and then pull apart.

I have to introduce Cooper, and while Femke is excited, I’m sure my father is going to be grumpy.

“Papa, Femke, this is my boyfriend, Ryan Cooper.” I turn to him and switch to English. “Babe, this is Femke and my father, Gregor Farkas.”

Femke doesn’t hesitate to hug him. “I’m so happy to meet you!” she says in accented English.

“Likewise.” Cooper smiles before turning to my father and extending his hand. “Mr. Farkas.”

“You make my daughter pregnant?” My father asks in broken English.

Cooper shakes his head. “No, sir.”

“ Papa .” I groan in frustration. What is everyone’s preoccupation with pregnancy?

“You will marry?” My father isn’t beating around the bush.

“Papa!” I try again but Cooper puts his arm around me and hugs me to his side.

“Yes, I’ll marry her when the time is right.”

He will?

Papa grunts and stalks toward the house.

But not before pausing to study the railing Cooper installed.

“Tell him we need more wood for me to stabilize it, but I’m happy to finish it tomorrow.”

I repeat what he said, and my father doesn’t react at first.

Finally, he nods. “Good.”

“He will be more friendly after he eats,” Femke stage whispers to Cooper.

“Why is he like this?” I mutter.

“It’s fine, baby. Don’t worry about it.”

“It’s actually good news that he didn’t immediately tell you to leave his house and never come back,” I say glibly.

“She’s right,” Femke agrees, making a face. “He can be… what’s the word, Natalia? Too much?”

“Too much. Over the top. A jerk .”

“He’s getting more mellow now that he’s older,” she says quietly. “Especially with Greta around. Do you ever remember him carrying one of us?”

“Never,” I reply. “It’s a little scary.”

“Give him a chance. I hear him and Mama talking late at night when they think I’m asleep. He worries about your safety and feels guilty because he thinks the only reason you became a Royal Protector is for the money. So you can take care of us.”

“That’s not the reason!” I protest.

“I know, but he feels that way. Be gentle with his feelings. I know he struggles for your safety. He was beside himself when you were shot.”

“And yet, he never once called, never once came to see me.”

“It’s not his way. You can’t expect change to happen overnight. Not in Limaj and not with our parents’ generation.”

“I guess that’s true.”

“Let’s go inside,” Femke says, taking Cooper’s arm. “Tell me about America.”

Cooper chuckles. “Where do you want me to start? It’s a big country.”

“New York City! Have you been?”

“I have.” He nods as they walk into the house, almost forgetting about me.

Except Cooper doesn’t forget me.

Even as he talks to my sister, he glances back and winks.

It’s probably stupid and reckless, but I’ve completely fallen in love with this man.