Chapter Three

Chapter Three

A lana was standing on a chair rearranging her cupboard when her home phone rang. There was a good chance it was someone from the charity so she ignored it. It was the weekend and if it was an emergency, she would handle it. Board members didn't accept her boundaries and their idea of an emergency was remarkably different than hers. So, she didn't give them her cell phone and she dealt with them through landlines.

She sighed as she set another platter on the top shelf. She rarely used it, but it was her mother's and there were things she just couldn't let go after the accident. She glanced around her kitchen. It was still a disaster but it was shaping up. She'd spent more than two hours cleaning and rearranging her house, mainly out of irritation. It needed it, but she needed to work off her mad—not to mention her embarrassment. She knew men looked at her differently than say a super model…or a cheerleader. Still, she didn't like to have it thrown in her face, especially by Marco Santini. It seemed worse somehow.

After her message, a woman with a thick Texas accent spoke. "Hello. This is Maryanne Santini and I am looking for my idiot husband and his idiot brothers."

Alana jumped off the chair almost killing herself in the process but she figured it was worth it. She didn't know where the Santinis were that afternoon, but if a wife was calling, there was a good chance something bad had happened.

She grabbed the phone, breathless. "Hello, are you still there?"

"Yes. Sorry to bother you, but no one is answering their cells. Do you know where they are?"

Alana looked out the front window. "The car is still there, hold on. Maybe they're on the beach."

"Thank you. I'm assuming you're Alana, the landlady?" She continued on without waiting for an answer. "I really need to talk to Leo. Are they behaving themselves?"

"Yes. I mean, they're adults."

"That's true, but when the four of them get together, there always seems to be a problem. Last time we were all together, Gee and Marco got in a fight about which career field was tougher, being a PJ or a SEAL. They settled it with arm wrestling."

"Uh, that seems civilized," she said, trying to keep up with the other woman's thought process.

"It was after they rolled around in the backyard and their mother had to cool them off with the hose."

Alana stepped out on her deck looking towards the beach. She squinted against the bright afternoon sun. The beach was packed, mainly because of the great waves and mild temperatures. Being Saturday, there were a lot of families enjoying time together. She scanned the beach thinking she might be wrong. Then, she saw them.

Good God, they were walking up from the beach, without shirts, wet…her mind went blank.

"Hello?"

She let loose a little breath trying to calm her heart. "Sorry, they are on their way back from the beach. Hold on."

She moved the phone away. "Leo? Your wife is on the phone."

He took off in a sprint toward her. "What's wrong?"

She laughed and handed him the phone. "Sounds like nothing but she couldn't get ahold of any of you."

He took the phone. "Hey, babe, what's up?"

He was quiet for a few minutes. "No I'm not by myself. I'm on Alana's phone, so she's standing right here. Why do I need to sit down?"

He shot a smile at Alana as he listened. Then, the grin dissolved and he went white. It happened so fast, she was afraid he would pass out.

"Lieutenant," she yelled out as she reached out for Leo.

"What's the matter?" Marco asked.

She had a hold of Leo's arm. "I don't know, I think it's bad news."

Marco looked at his brother. "Leo?"

"How far?" Leo asked. He laughed. "Of course I'm happy. Why wouldn't I be happy? Have you called your father and my parents?"

Silence again.

"Okay. Wow. I mean, shouldn't you be in bed resting."

She shared a look with Marco and shrugged as the other two brothers joined them.

"I'll call you in the morning. Call your dad and I'll call Mom. She will flip out."

He hung up the phone handed it to Alana, then grabbed her by her upper arms and gave her a loud, smacking kiss.

"Hey," Marco said.

"Can't help it. Had to kiss a pretty woman because I am going to be a father."

There was a moment of stunned silence then they all started talking at once. Questions and pats on the back from the others, but apparently Marco wasn't as happy as the others. He was frowning at Leo.

"You can let go of her, Leo," Marco said.

"Oh, sorry," he said with a sheepish smile.

She smiled and patted his arm. "No problem, Leo. Congratulations, daddy."

He went white again. "Daddy."

She laughed and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"This calls for a celebration," Vince said. "Know a good place to eat, Alana?"

"Sure, what are you looking for? Dressy or just hanging out?"

"I think a hanging out kind of place. How about one of the shrimp trucks we passed?"

"Yeah, that will be good. I can give you directions if you can't remember how to get there. Let me get a pad of paper to write on."

"Why would you do that?" Vince asked.

"So that you can find your way."

"Vince means he expects you to go with us," Gee said. "You can sit in the backseat with me."

"She'll be sitting with me up front to give me directions."

She glanced at Marco and wondered about his tone. "Maybe since it's my SUV and I know where I'm going, I should drive."

"Give us a chance to wash up and we'll meet up with you out front in about twenty," Vince said.

"I would make that thirty if I were you, Vince, there's only one shower," Marco said.

"I call shower first," Gee yelled and took off running.

"Damn," Vince muttered. He and Leo tore off after their brother.

"You don't have to go with us if you don't want to," Marco said after a few moments.

"I don't mind, unless you do."

"No."

Another long moment of silence.

"I guess I should go get ready."

She nodded and he kept staring at her.

"What?" she asked.

"Are we cool?"

For a second she didn't know what he was talking about, then it hit her. His comments from this morning still bothered her, but she wouldn't let him know that. Her pride wouldn't allow for that.

"Yeah, we're cool, lieutenant. You might want to hurry because I have a feeling your brothers will have no trouble leaving without you."

He sighed. "See you in a few."

She watched him walk away, her gaze slipping down his body. When he turned the corner she sighed. She couldn't seem to keep her mind or her attention off his body. Seriously, what woman could? And she had just agreed to have dinner with all four of them.

She had to be insane.

"You should really ask her out," Leo said as he took a sip of beer. They had returned hours ag0. Dinner had been…nice. Alana had been a bit reluctant to join into the chatting until Leo had loosened her up.

"She seemed more comfortable with you."

He chuckled. "Yeah, because I'm not a threat."

"What does that mean?"

"She's shy around guys. The Santinis aren't that easy to take even for the most outgoing woman. And with all of us there at once, we are kind of loud. I have a feeling that your lady is accustomed to quiet times."

He grunted but said nothing as he took another sip of beer. He knew she was shy, but she hadn't been so quiet with him. Their interactions had always been pleasant until that morning when he made an ass out of himself.

Leo apparently wasn't ready to let it go. "Make sure not to wait too long. That's one woman who won't last long."

"She doesn't date much."

"Could be that the right guy hasn't asked her out."

He thought about that for a moment or two then nodded. "You're probably right."

"Maryanne isn't a woman who would be considered shy, but I did have to convince her to go out with me."

Marco snorted as he thought about his larger than life but petite sister-in-law. "After she punched you in the nose."

"No, she hit me in the eye." He sighed. "It's when I started falling for her."

He chuckled. "You're warped."

"And I'm gonna be a daddy. Lord." He shook his head. "We wanted to try right off, because you know we don't know how long I'll last at teaching. They might put me back out in the field and that will mean more deployments. Still it happened fast."

"You're getting kind of old, so good decision."

"Yeah, at least I'm not old and cranky, like Vince."

"I heard that, jackass," Vince yelled out the window.

Leo ignored Vince because once he got going on a subject he would not shut up. "Still, I think you should take a chance. She's a sweetie and since you're so hung up on her, it might be a good idea."

He opened his mouth but Vince interrupted him. "I now know why I'm not married. Apparently it turns you into someone who talks about feelings and babies and shit. Can you two shut up or go somewhere.? I need sleep."

He shared a smile with Leo who nodded. Marco counted off with his fingers then they both banged on the wall. The sofa was located against the wall. Vince fell on the floor with a thump then a string of curse words filled the air. Both of them started laughing.

Then, they heard him stomping down the hall at them. He appeared in the doorway in his boxers and T-shirt. He'd had to put on his glasses and damn he looked pissed. It made them laugh even harder. He looked like some kind of deranged serial killer. Even with his hair as short as it was, it was already smushed upside his head.

"I'm going to kill you both."

He came after them and they took off on a run.

"You're getting old, Vince, so I am pretty sure you won't be able to catch them," Gianni yelled after them.

He had just reached Marco and leapt at him, taking them both down so they were rolling over the grass in front of Alana's house. Vince straddled him and had his arm lifted to smack him against the head when the lights came on. Both of them blinked against the brightness trying to focus. Then the door opened.

Shit .

"What is going on?" Alana asked, concern lacing her voice.

Marco looked over and his tongue stuck to the top of his mouth. Damn, the woman was almost naked. She was wearing a soft t-shirt that stopped at her waist and some low riding shorts. It gave him enough of a view of her belly to make his brain go blank.

"My brothers are making fools of themselves," Leo said with a smile.

Vince rolled to his feet and offered a hand for Marco. He took it and stood beside him.

"That still doesn't tell me what's going on."

Now she didn't sound concerned. She sounded irritated.

"I'm sorry about that, Alana. Vince decided to chase us in the yard and tackle me."

"Oh," she said, but the tone in her voice told him she didn't understand. "Okay. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Good night."

She slipped inside and shut her door.

"Well, that impressed her," Leo said with a chuckle.

Marco glanced at the door one more time before following his brothers to his house. It would be one more thing he would have to apologize for when his brothers headed back to the mainland.

And sadly, he was looking forward to it because it meant time with Alana.

He just hoped she was still talking to him by then.