Page 63 of Reclaimed Dreams

He put his hand on her belly, marveling at the idea that she was carrying their child. His wife was a miracle.

She placed her hand over his. “Let’s do this, together.”

Was he nervous? Of course. He’d be a fool not to be worried about another miscarriage, and Dom Valenti was no fool. Had he maybe bitten off more than he could chew with this financial plan? Likely, but that hadn’t stopped him yet. He made the impossible possible every single day. Was he one hundred percent sure that whatever came next they’d face together and get through it even stronger? Absolutely. That’s what Valentis did.

1 year ago

Dom stomped after Jo as she paused at the trunk of her car to grab a bottle of red wine and the emergency blanket, before continuing down the gravel path that wound down into the vineyard. Dom was still fuming over Jake’s betrayal and didn’t notice how far they’d walked until he realized he couldn’t see the house anymore.

Spreading the blanket on the ground, she sat and patted the ground next to her. He lowered himself slowly, carefully settling his bones next to hers.

“I can’t believe what Jake pulled. How dare he?” Dom began.

“Interesting,” Jo mused as she held out her hand.

Dom dug for his pocketknife, and popped open the corkscrew. He gestured for her to hand him the bottle and set about opening it. “What’s interesting?”

“That you’re so mad at Jake for being like you. Is it any wonder Frankie fell for him?”

She took the wine back from him for another swig, while Dom reeled from her words. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Explain to me how Jake making decisions for his business and not consulting his employees is any different from you unilaterally signing up our family for this show in the first place?”

“That was different.”

Jo offered the bottle of wine and he took a pull.

“Not bad, right?” Jo asked, and he nodded his approval. “Now explain.”

“Explain what, Jo?”

“Give me the explanation I couldn’t listen to a year and a half ago. Tell me why what you did is so different from what Jake has done.”

Dom stalled, balking at opening up that particular box of emotions. “Will it make a difference? You’ve made your anger pretty clear.”

Jo was undeterred. “I’ve been seeing that therapist we discussed. She made the point that intention matters. I’d like to know what your intentions were.”

“Jo, my intentions were the same they’ve been for the last forty years. I was just trying to take care of you and the kids.”

“Bullshit. It wasn’t the same, Dom. In the past, when you had some crazy idea, we talked about it and said yes together. Then suddenly you cut me out. Was it because you knew I’d say no this time? You didn’t trust me to understand?”

Dom realized just how far he’d gone astray. It had never been a question of trust. He needed to trust her with this now if he was ever going to fix things between them.

“After… After Gabe died, you were so broken, so fragile, Jo. I’ve never been so afraid. You’re my rock, and you were just…gone. I felt like I couldn’t add to your burden.”

“Dom, taking care of our family has never been a burden. I don’t need protecting.”

Dom held up a hand to forestall her argument. “At the time, it felt like I had to do something to find solid ground again. The opportunity came up, and I jumped.”

“Hell of a jump.” Jo took a long sip of the wine.

Dom stared into the space between them. “You have to know, Jo. I hear you and I’m trying. I know you want me to be done, but I can’t walk away until I’m sure the kids are taken care of. This honestly seemed like a shortcut to stability.”

“I can see that now. I still don’t agree with how you went about it though.”

“How about you?” Dom took the bottle back and sipped. She wasn’t the only one who had questions.

“What about me?”

---