THE RAPPING ON the door of the RV brought Big E to his feet. Who could this be? he asked himself.
Rudy Harrison, beer bottle in hand, casually leaned back in his chair as the door popped open and Matteo Rossi stepped inside.
“Evening,” Matteo said. “You two aren’t all that easy to track down, you know that?”
“Ever consider that might be by design, son?” Big E slapped his hand on Matteo’s shoulder affectionately and drew the younger man in. “Don’t know why you’d be looking for two old codgers like us.”
“How did things go with Peyton?” Rudy asked. “You admit to being an overreacting fool?”
Matteo looked at Rudy for a long time before speaking. “With all due respect, sir, I don’t think I can answer that truthfully now that you’re going to be my father-in-law.”
Rudy’s face split into a grin so wide Big E swore he saw his back molars.
Big E shook Matteo’s hand. “Well, good on you, son. Knew you and Peyton would make a great pair as soon as I saw you two together in that restaurant.”
“No taking complete credit,” Matteo said, grinning. “But I’ll give you some. And I owe you. That’s why I made the drive down here to Santa Barbara.” He took an envelope from his jacket pocket and set it on the counter. “I called in a few favors, reached out to former intelligence operatives and asked them to do a deep dive for Thomas Blackwell.”
“You...did what?” Rudy was on his feet in an instant, but he wasn’t fast enough to beat Big E to the envelope.
“Something I learned from your daughter, sir,” Matteo said. “Better to ask forgiveness than permission. I know you have your own sources—”
“Naval records didn’t get us very far,” Rudy said as Big E scanned the information. “Well? What does it say, Elias?”
“Confirms what we thought. That Thomas is still alive. Or was as of a year ago.” Big E closed his eyes and, unusually for him, offered a prayer of thanks. “This gives us information his military records didn’t, including locations he’s been known to work, VA benefits he tried to claim. It’s a lot more for us to go on, for our road map, Matteo.” Big E offered his hand again. “Thank you.”
“I didn’t just do it for you,” Matteo said. “I did it for Peyton. She loves you, Mr. Harrison. She loves you so much. But she needs closure with Thomas, if it’s at all possible. I want that hole in her heart to heal.”
“The hole that started to heal thanks to you and Gino,” Rudy said.
“I hope so. Well, if you’ll excuse me.” He pushed open the door.
“Hang on.” Big E grabbed his arm. “You drove ninety minutes to an RV park just to drop this off and drive back? Son, that’s a bit above and beyond.”
“No,” Matteo said. “It’s not.” He smiled and tapped two fingers against his heart. “It’s what you do for family.”
Don’t miss Montana Match, the next great installment of The Blackwell Sisters miniseries, coming next month from acclaimed author Carol Ross and Harlequin Heartwarming.
For more compelling romances from Harlequin Heartwarming, please visit www.Harlequin.com today!
Keep reading for an excerpt from Mountain Mistletoe Christmas by Patricia Johns.