The Fortuna Coin Read online

  © 2021 Karen Ann Hopkins

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN: 979 84651 39632 (paperback)

  Books by Karen Ann Hopkins

  Serenity’s Plain Secrets

  in reading order

  LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER

  WHISPERS FROM THE DEAD

  SECRETS IN THE GRAVE

  HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT

  PAPER ROSES

  FORBIDDEN WAYS (a romantic companion novel)

  EVIL IN MY TOWN

  UNHOLY GROUND

  SWEET REGRETS (a romantic companion novel)

  BLOODY TIES

  THE WIDOW

  WICKED LEGACY

  BLOOD ROCK

  THE OFFERING

  Wings of War

  in reading order

  EMBERS

  GAIA

  TEMPEST

  ETERNITY

  The Temptation Novels

  in reading order

  TEMPTATION

  BELONGING

  FOREVER

  DECEPTION

  JOURNEY (coming in 2022)

  Willow Creek (in partnership with HarperCollins/One More Chapter)

  The Fortuna Coin

  For all the women who have suffered abuse at the hand of a man who professed to love her.

  This one’s for you.

  A huge shout-out to cover designer, Melissa Stevens at The Illustrated Author Design Studio. Thank you for the fabulous cover.

  Many thanks go to my dedicated editing, proofreading, and beta reading team: Heather, Srishti, Ricbre, Katie, Faye and Danny. You’re all amazing.

  Thank you to my enthusiastic agent, Sarah Hershman. I’m grateful that you’re open to my crazy ideas and whims.

  EbookPbook provided the formatting for this book.

  “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”

  J. R. R. Tolkien

  Prologue

  Dad opened his eyes and, for the first time in many days, they were clear gray. He immediately raised his arm and flicked his hand at Mom. As if she’d been waiting for the sign, she retrieved something from her purse. She clasped it in her hand and carried it to the bedside, where she tearfully handed it to him. My gaze swept back and forth between my parents. Mom avoided my gaze. Wiping the tears away, she crossed the room and collapsed onto the chair. Adrenaline surged through my veins, giving my muscles, heart, and lungs a jolt. I sucked in a small gasp at the strange tingling energy that washed over me. When Dad opened his mouth, his voice came out in a raspy, yet firm whisper. I leaned over the bed railing to hear him better.

  “Wendy, this is a special coin—a Fortuna coin. It was given to me by my father. He brought it to America from Mussomeli, the town of his birth in Sicily.” He paused to take a small, labored breath, and my gaze focused on the coarse object in his hand. It looked ancient. The face on the one side was a vague outline, probably rubbed away from decades—if not centuries—of fondling fingers. Part of me wanted to tell him to rest, that he didn’t have to speak, but the words wouldn’t escape my lips. More than anything, I wanted to hear what he had to say.

  There was a rattle in his throat as he spoke. “Papa told me the coin brings good luck to those worthy and in greatest need. My own life has seen the usual tribulations, but perhaps my wishes were never strong enough.”

  Tears streamed from the corners of my eyes and I tried to interrupt him, but he wagged his finger in his usual fashion, warning me to hold my tongue until he finished. “Death comes to everyone. I’ve lived a long, happy life. I’m sorry to leave your mother, but I’m at peace to join my parents, aunts and uncles, and brothers in paradise. This disease is the natural order of things.” From the corner of the room, Mom’s quiet sobbing grew louder, but I didn’t do anything to comfort her. If this was the last time I’d ever speak with my father, I wasn’t going to miss a second of it.

  With more urgency, Dad thrust out his hand and pressed the coin into mine. “I have had a strange dream. My nonna came to me and said I must give the coin to you. She told me that it would serve you when the time comes.”

  I sucked in a wet breath and leaned even further over the railing, touching Dad’s cold cheek with my fingertip. “I don’t understand,” I managed to say.

  Dad’s eyes closed and his chest rose as he inhaled deeply. “Most things… we do not grasp until the... time is right.” He forced the words out in between rasps.

  Then his facial muscles relaxed and his grip on my hand loosened. I kissed his forehead, knowing he wouldn’t speak again.

  Part 1

  1

  Wendy

  October 21, 2017

  I tried to ignore the sting on my bare arms, silently chastising myself for going with the sleeveless gown. The pastor’s words faded in my mind as I thought back to my first wedding nearly seventeen years earlier. That day had also been cold and blustery. I hoped it wasn’t some kind of bad omen. I thought that getting married in October would be safe enough for an outdoor ceremony, but this was Ohio. It could easily be summery one day and icy the next this time of year. I forced my back straighter and glanced over my shoulder. My vision of the small crowd was hazy, mostly, except for five faces in the front row.

  My daughters were all similar in looks. Slightly different shades of brown hair and varying heights contrasted the girls at this point in their young lives. Olivia, the oldest, was sixteen. When our eyes met, she flashed me an extra cheerful smile. Harper, my fourteen-year-old, was more reserved. The slight nod of her head assured me that she was as pleased as her older sister about the union. I caught my third child, Mia, shivering. Mom squeezed her tighter against her side, rubbing her arms vigorously in an attempt to erase the chill. The same lopsided grin that had been plastered on my mother’s face all morning was still there. She used to give me the same reassuring look every time I’d caught her eye during my dance recitals. Those raised brows and her curved mouth usually calmed my nerves. This time however, my mother’s optimistic face didn’t do the trick. A shard of sunlight poked through the heavy gray clouds, casting a soft glow over us. Ava, my youngest and the only one who seemed oblivious to the sharp wind, gave me the thumbs up. My heart slowed from furiously pounding to a rapid fluttering, and I was finally able to take a deep breath. I forced a smile at my little family and turned back to the man who was about to become my husband.

  The corners of Ben’s eyes crinkled as he stared at me. There was complete trust and intense love in those warm brown depths. I felt guilty that only a moment before I’d been close to throwing down the pretty little blue and orange bouquet that I had clutched in my hands and fleeing the splendid yellow canopy of the huge oak tree. Sickly fear had twisted my insides for days and days. Too many times to count, I’d asked myself if I was doing the right thing. What if Ben wasn’t the man I thought he was? We’d only known each other for a few years. What if I was making another horrible mistake? Those questions and many others had brought me to tears on more than one occasion. Only the unbridled enthusiasm of Mom and the girls had kept me from backing out. No one can understand how I really feel. Unless they’d personally experienced the torment of being married to an abusive man for thirteen years, they wouldn’t appreciate the crushing sensation of anxiety and fear that still plagued me.

  I pushed the bad memories back and swallowed down the bitter juices that burned my throat. My prayers have finally been answered and that’s all that matters, I tried to convince myself. The past is the past. Forward is the only way to go. Ben must have sensed my turmoil. He took the bouquet from me and handed it to Ava, who had left her sist
er’s side to retrieve the flowers. Ben cupped his hands around mine and smiled encouragingly. Maybe Ben does understand. Early in our relationship, he’d managed to help me pour out a little bit of what I’d been through.

  Ben was a funny, laid-back man who everyone loved. He also possessed a quiet resolve that only those closest to him noticed. He’d listened intently to the tale of my messed-up life, and instead of dwelling on my painful past, he’d begun talking about all the marvelous things we’d do together. My sweet girls wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t been strong enough to endure, he’d assured me. He’d promised me that the suffering was over, and I was embarking on a new and wonderful beginning. Ben’s optimism had lifted my spirits, but it didn’t erase the deep sense of dread in my soul or the dark, nasty cloud of uncertainty that painfully squeezed my gut.

  I lifted my chin and looked him straight in the eye. I didn’t have to carry the weight of the world on my shoulders anymore. I’d found a partner—my soul mate. Together, we’d survive and even thrive in this sometimes-wicked world.

  My fingers curled around the charm bracelet I wore, grazing the rough piece of roundish metal. The Fortuna coin. Dad had pressed it into the palm of my hand on the day he’d died. He’d slept most of his final days away in a delirium caused by prostate cancer. At the time, I thought it best. He was too out of it to realize that he was actively dying. My dad was the strongest and most intelligent man I’d ever known. He didn’t need to be aware that his life was quickly draining away. The morphine kept the pain and reality at bay, except for a single lucid moment just hours before he took his last breath. The memory was so vivid that I could still smell the scent of death in the air, and see the dust particles floating in the shining sunbeam through the hospice window.

  That was three years ago. I wasn’t a believer in good luck charms, but the divorce had been finalized and I’d met Ben after Dad had given it to me. Who’s to say whether those things would have happened without the coin, but it did make it feel like Dad was here in a way, watching over me and the girls. A few days after he’d passed away, I’d asked a friend to drill a small hole in the coin so that I could attach it to my favorite bracelet. I only took it off when I showered or swam. For all the weirdness of the worn-out looking piece of metal, it was comforting to have something that my father had cherished close by.

  The feel of the coin between my fingertips made me stronger. Dad was smiling down on us right now; I was sure of it. Ben’s warm hands squeezed mine, and the scratchy sound of the rustling leaves above our heads filled my ears.

  “Please bring the rings forward,” the pastor said.

  The man’s voice sliced through my mental fog, yanking me back into the present. Shards of sunlight sliced through the clouds and the branches of the golden tree. My senses sharpened and everything looked brighter. A feeling of stillness came over me. Without turning, I heard Mia’s feet crunch over the fallen leaves as she rushed forward with the tiny boxes. The wind softened to a stiff breeze that caressed my cheeks. I wrinkled my nose as I caught a whiff of wet grass, dirt, and decaying leaves. I tried to savor that glorious moment and imprint it into memory.

  The pastor spoke loud and true. “Benjamin Engel. Do you take Wendy Catalano, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, to love and cherish, from this day forward until death do you part?”

  Ben didn’t hesitate. “I do.”

  When the pastor turned to me, I was ready. He repeated the same vows and I said, “Yes, I do.”

  Ben wrapped his arms around me, and his lips touched mine. We barely kissed before all four girls pressed against us. Even Mom came forward and joined the group hug.

  Tears trickled down my face. Ben whispered into my ear, “I love you forever, Wendy.”

  2

  October 22, 2017

  “Why can’t we come?” Ava whined. Her eyes were red rimmed and puffy from crying. She clutched her glass of orange juice in a white-knuckled grip so tight I thought it might break in her hands.

  Reaching over her half-eaten breakfast, I pried the six-year-old’s hand from the glass. “Stop it, Ava. You’re acting hysterical. We’ve gone over this a hundred times. This vacation is for me and Ben. You’ll have fun with Grandma while we’re gone.”

  “Kids don’t go on honeymoons, idiot,” Harper chimed in.

  I swiveled in my chair to glare at Harper who sat on a stool at the kitchen island. “Don’t call anyone an idiot.”

  Under her breath, I made out Harper’s sulky reply, “Well, she is.”

  “No, I’m not!” Ava stood up, her voice reaching a pitch that could easily give me a headache for the rest of the day.

  “I’d kind of like to go too,” Mia said in support of her younger sister. Being ten, Mia was forever switching sides. One day, she wanted to be the little girl, playing Barbie with Ava. The next, she followed Harper and Olivia around like a groupie and begged to wear makeup.

  Ben came to the rescue. “We promised you girls that a trip to Disney World is on the schedule next spring. Just think how much fun that will be.” Using his favorite spatula, he flipped another pancake onto the large serving platter. He looked so cute in the pink apron that Mia’d sewed for his last birthday. I was very lucky to have a man who loved to cook and fancied himself a gourmet chef of children’s food.

  Olivia rose from the table and forked the fresh pancake onto her plate. “Can I bring Samantha? Her parents don’t take her anywhere. She’s never even been out of state, except for Kentucky, and that doesn’t count.”

  Ben scratched his head. “Ah, well—”

  “No,” I interrupted before Ben’s overly-kind nature got us stuck with hauling several other kids to Florida in addition to our four girls. “It wouldn’t be fair to your sisters if we brought your best friend, Olivia. Besides, it’s a family trip, and we can barely afford the cost as it is.”

  Olivia slumped back down in her seat, stuffing a forkful of pancake into her mouth.

  Harper snorted out a laugh and once again, Ben became the placater. “How about when we get back from our honeymoon in Savannah, you can have your friend over and your mom and I will take you girls someplace special where Samantha hasn’t been to yet?”

  I rolled my eyes, stood, and began gathering dishes off the table. Ben spoiled the girls.

  “What about me?” Ava piped up. “That’s not fair.”

  Ben appeared ready. “Oh, we have outings planned for all of you. You each can pick your favorite things to do.”

  Ben winked at me. He was like a big kid himself, never getting enough of the zoo, amusement park, aquarium, or shopping mall. I’d taken to calling him the Grand Activity Director.

  “Yay!” Ava squealed, leaping from her chair to run around the island and catapult herself into Ben. Mia, not to be forgotten, followed suit, but at a more leisurely pace. Harper and Olivia smirked my way. Sometimes, I thought they all were all working together.

  “All right, all right. We must get you girls over to Grandma’s or we’ll miss our flight. Gather up your bags,” I ordered.

  Ava and Mia bounded out of the kitchen and down the hallway. Harper slid her plate across to Olivia before she turned and gave me a hug.

  Olivia was clearing the table when Ben came forward. “Don’t worry about that. I’ll get it. Why don’t you supervise your sisters and make sure they’ve packed everything they need?” He half-turned and noticed Stella thumping her tail. “And don’t forget to put the dog food and feed bowls into the car.”

  “Sure thing,” Olivia said. “Come on, Stella.” She coaxed the Labrador to follow her.

  Stella rose on stiff legs and sauntered over to my side first. I bent down and scratched my fingers into the dense yellow fur of her wide forehead. “It’s only for a week, girl. You’ll like going to Grandma’s house,” I assured the dog.

  When Ben and I were alone in the kitchen, I s
agged into the nearest chair and rubbed my eyes.

  “It’s been an exhausting few days,” Ben commented and knelt in front of me.

  I offered a small smile. “Yeah, it has—but in the best way possible. I can hardly believe that we’re really married.”

  Ben laughed and leaned over, knocking his head gently against mine. “Seems like the most natural thing in the world.”

  His lips brushed mine and my insides burst alive. Pressing against him, I opened my mouth and we kissed. It couldn’t be as long or as passionate as I would have liked. The sound of the girls arguing down the hallway was loud and distracting, but the kiss was definitely a little promise of good things to come.

  Ben broke from the kiss, keeping his face close to mine. “This is the first time you’ll be away from all four of the girls for more than a couple of days. Are you still okay with that?”

  Before meeting us, Ben had been a bachelor. He’d never even been in a serious enough relationship to live with someone. I only met him because he was Harper’s sixth-grade history teacher. Early on, I knew he was special, and he had been as enamored with me as I was with him. The baggage of dating a single woman with four kids didn’t bother him at all. Whatever had caused him to tread so carefully in his prior life disappeared when our eyes met. Thinking about it now, I felt silly recalling how we’d acted like giddy high schoolers reuniting after many years apart. We’d never known each other before, but there was a familiarity between us that I’d never felt with anyone else—even my ex. And boy, did he love the girls. It struck me that Ben was going to miss them this week, although he didn’t want to come right out and say it.

  The sound of the girls’ voices grew louder and the crooked grin on Ben’s mouth hinted at mischief. I grunted. “Oh yeah. They’re in good hands with Mom. But if you’re having second thoughts, we can cancel and stay here for our honeymoon.”