Page 8 of I Saw Mommy Kissing Biker Claus

“I do. And it’s not just because she’s my sister, I’d do this for anyone that I was a bodyguard for.”

“Do kids in your family have bodyguards too?”

“Sometimes, yes. My brother Francesco’s daughter has one, he stays with her when she’s in school. But when they’re home, she’s with her parents or one of the family. Basically we’re all family so everyone helps out.” I smile at her.

“I like that. And Caitríona, she’s really nice and welcoming.”

“After you meet everyone, you’ll see they’re all like that. It can be overwhelming because there’s a lot of us. But we all take care of each other. No matter what.”

She gets a faraway look in her eyes.

“Do you have a big family?” I ask her.

“No. It’s just my twin and our younger brother. I uh…I haven’t spoken to my parents in five years. Our childhood wasn’t the best time for any of us.”

I keep my anger in check. The way she’s talking about her parents, it makes me think they were abusive. And if that’s the case, they better stay far away from my girl and Davis.

Leighton

It looks like Valentino is getting angry as I talk about my parents.

“Were they abusive?” he asks softly.

I stare at him and debate whether to tell him the truth or not. I mean why would he really care how I grew up?

“You can trust me. I know that you had an idea of who I was before you got here. But I promise you that if I had known about Davis, I never would have left Kayla to take care of him by herself. And I would never lay a hand on either of you.”

I take a deep breath.

“My father was a drunk. Or I guess I should sayisa drunk. He’s alive and well, living in Randall, Minnesota. At least that’s the last I heard. I haven’t seen or talked to him or my mother in five years.”

“You didn’t answer my question. Did they abuse you?”

“Yes. When my father drank, which was daily, we learned to stay away from him. If we didn’t? There was a good chance he would end up screaming at us and then hitting us. My twin sister Lynton and I took the brunt of it. And we tried to shield Levi, our younger brother, from his rage. A few months before we left, he started getting physical with Levi. Levi was bigger and stronger than our father by then, so I was afraid that he would do something to hurt him and get in trouble. So we made a pact that as soon as Levi turned eighteen, we would leave.”

“How old were you and Lynton when you left? And did your dad do more than hit you?”

“We were nineteen. And no. He yelled and belittled us a lot. Never anything sexual.”

“What did your mother do? And where are Lynton and Levi now?”

“Our mother ignored all of it and the few times I tried to bring it up to her? She told me I was overreacting and I needed to stop making up stories. Lynton is a school teacher now and she loves it. Levi is in the Marine Corps and stationed in Japan. We got to see him when Kayla passed, they gave him a month to be with us.”

“I’m so sorry you had to go through all that. Your mother should have protected you from your father. No father should do that to his children. In fact, no parent should do that to their children.”

“Thank you. But I’ve come to realize that my father doing what he did washisproblem. He was miserable, so he took it out on us. And now? Now he’ll never know me again or the family that I’ll have one day. And it’s taught me that I will never let anyone treat my children that way.”

Valentino smiles at me as he plays with Davis.

“I used to think that I was unwanted because I grew up in the foster system. And I rebelled because of it. I ended doing some bad things and getting arrested. The judge was lenient and my punishment was to clean up what I did and repaint the part of the building that I vandalized. That’s what led me to the Bastianini family. It was their building. The first day I was there to clean, Giacomo came to talk to me. Then he came down everyday. Eventually he brought Caitríona and I got to talk to her too. Then they brought their kids and every time they came down, they’d help me scrub, then we painted together. Then the last day that I was there, I remember feeling like I was being left behind. I mean why would they still want to have me around, right? Well to my surprise, Giacomo and Caitríona asked me if I wanted to come and live with them. And the rest is history.”

Everything I thought I was going to learn about Valentino was wrong. He’s not the monster that I was expecting to find. He’s caring and protective, even after all he’s been through. The more he tells me about himself, the more I hope that test says he’s Davis’ daddy.

Valentino takes my hands in his, and it sends a jolt through me. I look at him and the look on his face is telling me he felt it too.

“I don’t know how to say this and not sound like a total creep. But I’m going to say it the best way I can. I do remember Kayla. I remember meeting her and I remember that night. I also remember the next morning when we had breakfast together. We talked about how what we shared was fun, but neither of us felt anything. She also told me about you and how if you had been there, you would’ve liked me. Now that I’ve met you? I wish it had been you that night.”

I frown at him as I think about what he’s saying. When I first saw him, I wanted to punch him. I came here knowing I had to do this for Kayla, and for Davis. But now? There’s a part of me that wants to get to know Valentino. Then I remember the other letter that Carl gave me. I need to read it when I get back to the hotel. I look at Valentino and try to figure out what to say to him. Then his phone rings. I clean Davis up as he takes the call.

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