Chapter Two

After his underwhelminggreeting in town, he decided to get straight to the heart of the matter. Or perhaps, the mountain. Taking an old familiar trail up one part of the valley wall, he found himself on the very doorstop of Emiliana’s father.

Alfonse Bruno was a bear of a man. His shoulders were broad enough to make him turn sideways through every door in Santa Biago. His hair covered his head and the back of his neck giving him the rounded look of a bear and his shoulder-wide stance only added to his ursine appearance. The man had been silvering when they left and now, his hair was more silver than brown. He was aging, but he wore it well.

The elder shifter gave Uberto a look from head to toe and nodded in sage judgement.

“I would say that I wasn’t expecting you today, Uberto.” Alfonse cleared his throat. “Then again, I didn’t expect you at all.”

Uberto’s smile was slow, quizzical. “You were expecting my brother, perhaps?” Salvatore was the head of their family, the one who controlled all the land in the valley.

Alfonse’s voice was tight when he spoke. “No. When I spoke to Salvatore I told him I would handle the meeting. In the last ten years, we’ve hardly been important enough to your family to garner more than a few days visit a year and from one of you.”

Uberto didn’t want to say anything in front of Alfonse, but his argument over the lack of Orsino involvement might become a moot point sooner rather than later, but he’d rather not speak to Alfonse about his plans before he’d spoke at length with Emiliana.

His plans, after all, would rely heavily on her feelings. If he could calm her enough to listen instead of seeing him as an interloper in her life.

“Yes, we have been away from this valley for a long period of time, but the people here have enjoyed the benefits of the money that we have made in America. Resources that we have made available to the people we protect.”

“That,” Alfonse grudgingly acknowledged, “is true. Perhaps it’s too small of a gesture from your family. We have been left to our own devices for so long. We may not want your gifts.”

Okay, that wasn’t even a little passive aggressive, it was aggressive, but nothing Uberto wasn’t used to. While the others respected Salvatore for his position and his power, many of the men in Santa Biago had no problem calling him the baby bear of the family. Time away had reduced the sting, maturity had thickened his hide.

And he could understand how Alfonse might feel. He had lived in this valley since birth and it had always been his home. Even when Salvatore had offered to procure tickets for Alfonse and his daughters to come visit them in America, it had been refused, because he was needed to take care of things in Santa Biago.

Sadly, his two daughters had refused the gift as well, it would have been a wonderful opportunity for him to show Emiliana his adopted city and perhaps given them an opportunity to get to know each other away from her father’s disapproving glare.

“If you and the other elders want to turn away the money and resources that we are happy to provide, I would like to hear it from them. There is no need for anyone to suffer because of someone else’s-”

“Ego?” Alfonse almost roared the word. “Is that what you were about to say?”

Uberto shook his head once. “That is not at all what I was about to say. If the town does not want our assistance, then we will likely respect their decision.”

“Likely?” Alfonse would not have sensed a physical threat from Uberto. The younger man simply didn’t have a grudge against his elder. “Will you force the matter?”

His gaze narrowing on the older man, he looked for signs of the real situation in the man’s expression. “You know that the money and resources that we provide for Santa Biago is given freely. We expect no monetary return for the favors. We are happy to-”

“Provide for those that you feel a duty toward.”

“Yes.”

He saw the cold look in the older man’s eyes and understood it for what it was. He was speaking of Uberto’s ten-year absence.

“And yet you know that Ana would rather you stay away. Is that your duty to her? To ignore her wishes?”

“I won’t force her to spend any time with me while I am here. I will let her know that I would like to see her, and to discuss our differences. And yet, I am here for this visit because I was the only one of my brothers available to attend.” Before Alfonse could make an issue of that as well, he reminded the other man the reasons why he was the one attending the meeting.

“Salvatore and his mate are caring for their first cub and Valerio’s mate is expecting as well. You will have to make do with my presence here for this meeting at the very least.” He was reaching the end of his patience with Alfonse’s constant pressure to leave. “Regardless of how you feel, Alfonse, I will be at the meeting.”

Alfonse folded his arms over his massive chest and nodded in understanding, but it was the smile on his face that made a muscle in Uberto’s jaw tick. “Have you seen my daughter yet? I wonder if Emiliana is responsible for that pinch between your shoulder blades.”

Uberto heard the way the older man had enunciated his daughter’s name, making a point of every syllable as if they were individual barbs thrown in his direction. The youngest Orsino brother was finding it even more difficult to keep his emotions in check.

“I saw her.” Three words to describe so many feelings. “She told me to go home.”

“And you are still here,” Alfonse gave him a long-suffering look, “When you gave her your mark, she told you to leave and you listened to her then. Why must we suffer with you now?”

Uberto heard the hard edge in the man’s tone and wondered if Alfonse was this dead-set against him remaining.