Love Is Thicker Than Water

1 Ryan Wilson sat to the side of the party and sipped his wine. He was the only one not enjoying himself, but how could he? The party was to celebrate the second anniversary of his father’s death. As far as Ryan was concerned, there was no reason to celebrate. The rest of his family disagreed with him, so he sat and watched them enjoy themselves. He wondered what his father would think of the family if he were there. Two years didn’t feel that long, but two years without the man who made him a man was an eternity. In two years, his brother found love, just like many of his cousins. Some of them had kids. The cousins had officially taken over the vineyard, and everything was different with them in charge. Different in a good way, but different. Ryan hoped his father would be proud of him, but there were plenty of times he doubted it. He was twenty-eight and hadn’t done much with his life. Yes, he loved his job, and he loved being with his family every day, but his dad always said his greatest achievements in life had nothing to do with work. He hoped Ryan would find love, but as the last of the nine cousins who was still single, he hadn’t done what his father asked. Wasn’t the first time he let down the man he never wanted to disappoint. Probably wouldn’t be the last. “Why are you pouting in the corner?” Ryan’s grandmother said. Tina, Nonna to the cousins, was as feisty as they come. At eighty-nine, soon to be ninety, Nonna was the matriarch of the family and lived up to the title. She was a ball-buster, but she loved all of them with her whole heart. “I’m not pouting,” Ryan argued, wrapping his arm around Nonna’s shoulders. She was nearly a foot shorter than his five-eleven, but you’d never know it once Nonna opened her mouth and told you what to do. “That look on your face says otherwise. Not enough women here for you?” she teased. Ryan snorted. “Considering I’m related to all of them, definitely not.” Nonna chuckled. “Good answer. Want me to set you up? Maggie and Violet have some pretty granddaughters.” Ryan laughed and shook his head. His grandmother’s cronies were wonderful ladies, but their granddaughters were too close. They were like extended family as far as Ryan was concerned, which made them all off limits. “I can find my own dates, Nonna.” She shrugged. “Just trying to help. Your mother worries about you.” “You don’t?” She shook her head. “Nah. You can take care of yourself. None of you have ever had trouble finding someone to warm your beds.” “Nonna!” She shrugged again. Her petite frame barely nudged his shoulder. Nonna, like the other women in his family, was small but not thin. Ryan grew up thinking that was how women were supposed to be. Small enough that he could wrap his arms around them and tuck their heads under his chin, but not so thin he felt like he’d break them with one touch. He’d slept with women of all shapes and sized, but the ones he considered hanging onto for longer than a few nights were always the curvy ones. “Don’t pretend you don’t. I might not live with you, but I know how you operate. All of you were the same at one point in time.” Ryan shook his head. The last person he wanted to discuss s*x with was his grandmother. His father sat him down when he was barely a teenager and had the talk with him, but his talk was more about how to treat a woman than it was how it all works. At the time, Ryan was too young to let his dad’s words have much of an impact, but as he grew up, he knew every word was truth and lived by the same code. Women deserved respect, especially when they were willing to take their clothes off for you. “I need a dance partner. Since the rest of your cousins are taken, how about you take me for a spin?” Nonna suggested. Ryan wasn’t in the mood to dance, but he couldn’t deny his grandmother. He nodded and offered her his hand. Nonna took it and followed him to the cleared area they were using as a dance floor. An old slow song played through the speakers as Ryan slid his arm around his grandmother and smiled at her. “Your grandfather loved this song,” she said with a sad smile. “It was one of his favorites. Your father was a lot like him. They’d only met a couple times before Nonno died, but your father and he were so similar it was scary.” “I wish I’d met him.” Nonna nodded. “I wish all of you had. He would have loved this. The whole family together. It was what he always hoped would happen. He was the mushy one of the two of us.” Ryan laughed. “I can definitely see that.” Nonna rolled her eyes. “I care.” Ryan grinned. “I never said you didn’t, but I can’t imagine you getting emotional about a lot. You’re a dirty old woman.” “Hey! Who are you calling old?” Ryan laughed again. “You’re only proving my point.” Nonna winked at him. “Yes, well, I got a smile out of you. That’s all I was after.” Ryan grinned and nodded. She was right. He’d been feeling like s**t as the date approached. If things were busy, it would have been better, but the vineyard was quiet in the winter months, and his second job as a volunteer firefighter was quiet, too. It was strange, and it sucked. Leading up to the first Christmas without his dad, everyone was on edge. His mom cried most of the time, and the rest of the family felt the loss as acutely as they did, but this year was their second Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s without his dad. Two wasn’t as significant as one, so it passed for everyone else like it was nothing. Sure, his mom and brother felt it, but for them, it was a moment. For Ryan, it felt like someone opened him up and scooped out his heart and forgot to give him a new one. “Are you sure you’re okay?” Nonna asked, her brown eyes knitted with worry. Her hair had even more gray than the last time Ryan really looked at her. Ryan nodded. “I’ll be okay. Tonight is tough, but I’ll be okay.” Nonna nodded, accepting Ryan’s words without question. He’d become more than skilled at lying when people asked if he was okay. It wasn’t a talent he set out to improve, but it was one he’d learned over the last two years. He couldn’t fall apart when his mother was, or when his brother was, or when anyone else was, so he faked it and lied. If any of them knew how hard it was for him to be in that room, they’d sit him down and feed him because for Italians, food fixed everything. All Ryan really wanted was a little quiet. Ryan finished his dance with Nonna, then went back to the corner to watch the family. He loved his family, but they were too much for him at times. The laughter and joy in the room was starting to get to him. He itched to get a call for a fire, but immediately felt guilty for hoping for a fire. He just wanted to get out. His phone didn’t ring, and his family didn’t stop talking until late in the night. The ones with kids headed out early, but the others stayed and helped clean up, which meant Ryan was there long past dark. He did his part and helped out, and walked his mom, grandmother, and Aunt Marie to their apartment at the front of the inn the family ran on their vineyard, Amavita Estates. “Thank you,” Nonna said at the door. She kissed his cheek and took Aunt Marie’s hand, walking inside. “Thank you for this,” Ryan’s mother said. Jo had aged in the two years since her husband died. Ryan used to see his mother as young and vibrant and barely old enough to have retired. As the youngest of the four Richliano sisters, she could have worked another decade, but the kids were ready to take over. And she was ready to see the country. She and Victor were in New York City when an aneurysm killed him two years ago. Ryan nodded. “Of course. It’s always nice to celebrate Dad.” Jo smiled. “He was so proud of you and your brother. I know he would have loved to see the two of you today.” Ryan shrugged. “I’m not much different than I was two years ago.” Jo huffed a laugh. “We’re all different. Maybe not as much as we’d like, but we’re different.” “Are you okay, Mom?” Ryan asked. She nodded and patted his cheek. “Yeah. Just missing your father. He was the love of my life, and knowing I might have a few decades without him is tough. I think it’s finally sinking in these days.” Ryan sucked in a breath. He knew the feeling. Every day when he walked the vineyard, he looked for his father. Two years wasn’t long enough to erase the man who made the place home for him. Victor taught Ryan everything he knew about running a vineyard. Sure, he went to college and got had a degree in viticulture, but he also learned a lot from his father. By the time he was in college, he knew half of what he learned because of the education his dad gave him. It was impossible not to see him everywhere. “Anyway, I’ll let you head to bed. You looked tired all night,” Jo said. “I’ll see you tomorrow, honey.” Ryan hugged her and kissed her cheek. “Good night, Mom.” “Night, honey. I love you.” “Love you, Mom.” Ryan waited until she was inside the apartment and the lock slid shut before he turned and walked through the inn. The dim lights illuminated the hallway, but the entire place was quiet. The guests they had upstairs were likely asleep, and with the rest of his cousins gone, the inn was quiet. Just like Ryan had been hoping for all night. He didn’t want to go home. He shared a house with his cousin, Leo, and Leo recently moved his girlfriend, Sara, in with them. Ryan liked Sara, but the idea of going back there right away was less than appealing. He walked out of the inn, making sure the door was locked behind him, and drew in a breath of the frigid night air. January in the Finger Lakes was cold. Ice coated the vines, but snow was coming soon. They had a few inches of snow for Christmas, but it all melted shortly after. The green grass wouldn’t last long. A winter wonderland was coming. Ryan looked toward his house, in the distance, and shook his head. The walk would be good, but he needed more time than that. He turned toward the lake and decided to head that way. Getting in wouldn’t be a good idea, but he always loved the old dock and the big tree near it. It was as good a place as any to sit and think and be alone for a little while.