Page 8 of Bread in The Oven

I nod slowly. I already spilled everything to them, I can’t take it back. So I guess I need to go forward and try to trust them.

“You stay here and keep prepping. We need to talk to Caitríona.”

“Okay,” I answer as I go back to prepping the dough for the flakey pastries.

I look up and see Romano watching me again. Gráinne and Rosaura are sitting with him and Caitríona at the table. I watch his features go from smiling to angry. Could he be angry at me? After what feels like forever, they all get up and head towards me. Suddenly I’m scared and I don’t know why.

Romano walks straight to me and gathers me in his arms. He’s huge and he towers over me, it’s like being wrapped in a blanket. I’m also pretty sure his biceps are bigger than my head.

“I’m sorry your parents hurt you the way they did. But that’s something you’ll never have to worry about again. You and your sister have found a new home and a new family.” He has the most beautiful Italian-accented voice. I’ve only ever heard a voice like his on TV.

I’ve never hugged a man before. Well my brother and once in a while my father. This hug feels different and it’s making my emotions swirl around like a tornado.

“Thank you,” I whisper. I can feel more tears falling, Romano pulls back slightly and wipes them away.

“You’re safe. Now when will we get to meet Lucy?” He smiles at me.

Chapter Five

Simone

I can’t believe how lucky Lucy and I are. Yesterday we were running from our parents, and today? Today we found a town and a new family. I can’t explain why I trust them, ithasonly been one day. But I do. I feel it in my soul. And then there’s Romano. I feel like I know him, and I need to be with him. Now, I’ve never been with any man, and I’m sure Romano has been with other women. What if he doesn’t want me?

The rest of my first day goes by faster than I want it to. I got to help with the baking and with selling what we baked. They also let me help make some of the wedding items. There’s going to be a big wedding in two days. It’s exciting to see everything they’re doing for it. This is definitely my dream job. I’ve noticed that Romano has stayed within my eyeliner. And most times when I look over at him, he’s looking at me too. There’s a sadness in his eyes, though. Maybe one day he’ll tell me his story.

Before I know it, my first official day is over. Rosaura asked if I could hang around for a bit. I will need to check on Lucy soon. I hope she’s okay.

“Why don’t you go get Lucy and come back?” Gráinne says to me. “We can all have dinner later if you’d like.”

I smile. “That would be really great. Are you sure?”

“Yes. We would love to meet Lucy and for the two of you to join us. We can show you where we live and you can meet the rest of the families. I warn you, there’s a lot of us. So don’t worry about remembering everyone.” She chuckles.

“Thank you so much. I’ll go get Lucy and be right back.”

“Take Romano with you. No one goes anywhere alone,” Gráinne says.

I turn to look for Romano, and realize he’s standing right next to me.

“Let’s go get Lucy.” He smiles at me.

He opens the door and I follow him out. I see him looking around and watching people around us. And at the same time, he’s making sure I’m close to him. I feel safe when I’m with him, and that’s an odd feeling for me. It’s not that I felt unsafe with my parents. But I never felt like they were protecting us. It felt like they were keeping us hidden from the world.

We were allowed to go to a few places as a family. One consistent outing happened every Saturday evening—that was for church. And once a week to help do the grocery shopping. We had some of the other kids our age at church that we were able to talk to. But we knew better than to tell them how we lived. And when they would invite us over, we had to make up some excuse as to why we couldn’t go. Eventually they stopped asking. We still talked to them at church, but they never asked us to come over for birthday parties or to hang out.

There was a boy at church, his name was Bryce. We got to hang out and talk in our youth group. As we were leaving our group one day, he asked me out and I thought my father was going to lose it. My father pulled me away so fast I didn’t even have the chance to say anything. Then my father went over toBryce and said something to him. That was the last time Bryce said anything to me. It made me sad that he stopped talking to me. We had fun talking, but because of whatever my father said to him, he stayed away from me in our group sessions too.

As we walk to Lakeside Hideaway, I keep looking around expecting to see my parents. I’m so afraid that they’ll find us and force us to go back with them. I know I’m old enough to fight them. But Lucy isn’t, she still has ten months before she’ll turn eighteen.

“Are you okay?” Romano asks me. “You keep looking around like you’re waiting for someone to pop up.”

“I-I’m worried that my parents will find us,” I say softly.

“Look at me, Simone. Even if your parents were to show up in Lake Renegade, they wouldn’t be able to touch you or Lucy. I promise you that.”

“But how can you promise that? Lucy isn’t old enough yet. And I can’t let her go back alone.”

“I can promise that because I know me and I know what my family here is capable of.”