Mafia's Final Play (Mafia's Obsession #3) - Summer Cooper Page 0,21

piece. Once the fire was going again, she went to the couch, stretched a blue blanket down over the leather, and then grabbed another thick one made from fleece to put over herself.

She stared at the flames for a moment, lost in thoughts of Matteo. She’d come down to make sure her tossing and turning didn’t keep him awake. It was a way of saying I love you, without saying the words, because you didn’t always have to say those words to say it. Or so she’d learned in her time with him. He said it when he looked out all of the windows when he thought she wasn’t looking, or when he brought her home a dish he wanted her to try from some restaurant she’d never considered going to because she didn’t know they existed. He wanted her to try new things and explore the world, and that was his form of I love you.

Even keeping her locked up, or way out here in the middle of nowhere was his version of I love you. She put her head on the pillow with a contented smile and started to read by the light of the fire. She didn’t realize she’d fallen asleep until the sound of the alarm woke her up. A loud piercing noise was accompanied by the sound of pounding feet from upstairs. She pushed up off the couch and stood in front of the fire, waiting on one of them to tell her what to do.

“It’s alright, it’s just a bear,” Anton said when he made it down the steps after Matteo.

“A bear?” she asked, her eyes wide. She’d never seen a bear. “Where is it?”

“Yes, Mrs. Mazza, I mean, Marie.” He blushed when he said her name, but she ignored it, as she knew he’d appreciate it. “It’s a grizzly. I saw it coming on the property but thought it would wander away before it got too close.”

The noise suddenly stopped and Matteo came in. “I’ve turned the alarm off for now. What was it?”

“A grizzly. It might still be out there if you want to see it.” Anton went to the living room windows and pointed. “Out there, it pushed against the wooden slats of the fence until a couple broke and it got through. We’ll have to go into town tomorrow and get a panel to replace that section.”

Marie moved up beside him to look out of the window. The bear had stood up and was scratching its back against another panel of the fence, totally oblivious to the fact that the alarm had gone off, now that it was silent again. Marie held her breath as if even the slightest puff of air against the window would frighten the animal away.

“I didn’t know they were that big!” She stared at the furry brown creature in wonder, it was an amazing sight. “They look smaller when they’re on all fours, I guess.”

“She’s a big one,” Anton noted as Matteo came up beside Marie to look out at the bear. “Has to be 6 feet tall, at least.”

“How much do you think she weighs,” Marie asked quietly. The animal was huge and looked terrifying, but at the same time, playful as she danced around on the panel, scratching her back good.

“Around 300 pounds,” Matteo told her as he looked at the animal.

It was named a grizzly bear, and it was scary to think about an animal so big so close, but Marie didn’t feel in danger. Not with the animal outside. Now, in the living room would be another story, but out there, it was just fascinating to watch.

They all laughed when the panel broke under the bear’s weight and she flounced off as if insulted. She even cast a look back over her shoulder, as if to shout profanities at it, but she kept going and soon disappeared into the darkness. Marie watched her go with sadness, but she was happy to have seen the large bear.

“Anybody want a drink?” she asked as she headed towards the kitchen at the back end of the house.

“No, I’m going back upstairs. Thanks, though, Marie.” Anton waved at them both before he went back up the pine stairs to restart his vigil.

“Maybe a stiff drink would get me back to sleep. When the alarm went off and you weren’t there, I thought I’d have a heart attack.” Matteo admitted as he followed her.

“Sorry, I didn’t want to disturb you, so I came down here.” She