Her Surprise Family. Patricia Thayer

times. Don’t you know we’re about to enter the twenty-first century?”

      

      Rafe wanted to give Shelby Harris a piece of his mind, but not right now. He needed to get something into his empty stomach. He’d missed breakfast that morning, and it was nearly one o’clock.

      He opened the door to Maria’s and the cool air hit him. After his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he ushered everyone to the table in the corner. He waved to Jill, their waitress.

      At first his sister-in-law looked surprised, then a bright smile appeared. She called out to him that she would be right over, then disappeared into the kitchen. He wasn’t surprised when she returned with his mother and his grandmother. All three Covelli women made their way to the table.

      His mother was tiny and still beautiful with her sparkling brown eyes and short gray hair. Nonna Vittoria was also small in build, but not quite so lively. Her shoulders were slumped, as if she carried the weight of the world on them. But her seventy-plus years hadn’t put an end to the quickness of her mind.

      “Ely, it’s so good to see you,” Maria said cheerfully.

      “Hello, Ms. Maria, Ms. Vittoria. Nice to see you again.”

      His mother turned to the teenager. “And this must be your grandson, Josh. My, you have grown into a fine-looking young man.”

      “Thank you, ma’am. I’ll be a senior this year.”

      Finally Maria turned to her son and placed a kiss on his cheek. “You didn’t stop by for breakfast this morning.”

      “Sorry, Mom,” he said. “I was running late.”

      “You’re forgiven. Just introduce me to your friend.”

      “Mom, Nonna, Jill, this is Shelby Harris. She bought the Stewart place, where we’re doing the facade restoration. Ely and Josh are helping her with some landscape work. We decided to come in for lunch and introduce Shelby around.”

      Vittoria stepped forward and touched Shelby’s cheek. “So pretty. Are you from around here?”

      Shelby shook her head. “No, Louisville.”

      “Ah, no family from here. But you look familiar. Your green eyes, so bonita.” Nonna turned to her grandson and smiled. “Isn’t she, Rafaele?”

      Rafe bit back a groan. “Yes, Nonna. Now, we’d better eat so I can get back to work.”

      “Fine, I’ll bring the lunch special,” Maria said. She and Vittoria bustled back to the kitchen.

      “Your family is very nice,” Shelby said.

      “You sound surprised. What did you expect?”

      Shelby took a bread stick from the glass container on the table. “I just meant that you’re very lucky.”

      

      Shelby didn’t think she would ever be able to eat again.

      The ravioli had been wonderful, plus, Mrs. Covelli had insisted she take some home, along with her homemade bread.

      Back at the house, she put the food in the refrigerator and decided to try to get some work done. But she couldn’t concentrate on anything.

      Thunder sounded in the distance, and she glanced out the window to see that the wind had picked up and the sky had darkened. It was going to storm. Feeling the sudden drop in temperature, she rubbed her bare arms. She’d sent Ely and Josh home. And the crew from Covelli’s had also gone. For some reason, she was restless. More thunder rumbled, alerting her that the front was moving through. She went from room to room, checking to see that the windows were shut. She climbed to the second floor and, after cleaning off the window seat in the master suite, sat and watched as the rain poured down and the lightning zigzagged across the gray sky.

      Even as a kid, Shelby had liked thunderstorms. Now she only wished her roof was repaired so she could enjoy them without worrying about the ceiling falling in on her!

      She got up and walked down the hall to the attic entrance. Maybe she could find the leaks and put a couple of buckets out to catch the water and stop further damage. Besides, she’d never been in the attic and was curious. Opening the raised wood door to the third floor, she flipped on the switch. A single bulb brightened the dusty narrow staircase. A little apprehensive, Shelby avoided the railing and started the climb. Smelling the musty dampness as she made her way up, she arrived into a large open room. She glanced up at the cobwebs laced in the open rafters.

      Oh my, this is... spooky, she thought. She jumped at a sharp crack of thunder and saw lightning flash across the small attic window. Undaunted, she walked to the stack of furniture in the middle of the room—the realtor had told her that there were some things left behind. Shelby pulled back one of the blankets and was surprised to find an oak table and chairs, an iron bed frame and several other treasures she could use to decorate the house.

      Then she spied a door in the far wall. She walked over and tried to open it, but it was locked. The key must be downstairs with the other house keys. Hearing the rain pounding on the roof, she decided to wait until another day to investigate.

      Shelby continued her search for the source of the main leak. Finally she located a puddle. The rain wasn’t coming from overhead but from the window. The runoff from the roof was coming in around the frame and running down the wall to the floor. A bucket wouldn’t do any good. Maybe some towels stuffed around the window frame would soak up the moisture. Or she could use the blankets.

      She pulled one off a table and carried it to the window. Realizing she wasn’t quite tall enough, she dragged over a chair and climbed onto it. When she stood on tiptoe to reach the top of the frame, lightning flashed again. This time the lights flickered and went out.

      Shelby screamed as she lost her balance and fell off the chair onto the floor. When her weight came down on her ankle, she felt it twist at an odd angle. The pain hit her and she cried out again.

      In the dark Shelby tried not to panic, but she was all alone. Then she heard the noise downstairs. Oh, God. Someone was in the house. She cringed when the sound of footsteps came closer. Her heart pounded, until she heard her name called out.

      “Shelby? You up there?” It was Rafe Covelli. She sighed in relief.

      “Rafe. I’m here.”

      A beam from a flashlight illuminated the steps, and then he came into view. “Where are you?”

      She could hear the concern in his voice. “Over here.”

      He hurried across the room and knelt beside her. He looked relieved to see her, then he grinned. “Well, Ms. Harris, seems you need my help once again. What are you going to use to barter yourself out of this one?”

      

      Shelby wanted to punch him in his smug nose, but thought better of it.

      “I don’t need your help,” she insisted as she braced her hand on the chair and tried to stand. She got to her knees then she felt the pain in her ankle and groaned. Automatically Rafe reached out to help, but she shoved his hand away. “I can manage. Just hold the light.”

      “Sure, you can,” he said. “But I’ll stand by just in case.”

      She finally made it to her feet, or at least to one foot. She didn’t dare put any weight on her tender ankle. “See, I’m fine,” she said through clenched teeth.

      “Okay,” he said. “Then we should get downstairs. It isn’t safe up here since the storm took out the power.”

      He stepped back, allowing Shelby to go first. But when she let go of the chair and tried to walk, the pain in her sprained ankle made her cry out.

      Rafe dropped the flashlight on the floor and caught her to him. “I’ve got you,” he said hoarsely.

      Shelby was pulled against his solid chest, her hands gripping his muscular arms.