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🕑 Added 2024-12-17 04:23:30 +0000 UTCWind in the Smoke
Chapter 57 - A Long Night
The sky was darkening, and outside, the rain had been pouring down in torrents for quite some time.
Inside the main house, dim lights barely illuminated the entrance, while the curtain of rain beyond was hidden in the night.
Dante, John, Lee, James, Rip, and Beth were sitting in the main living room. The sofa had been used for many years and always squeaked when someone sat on it, something that brought everyone comfort.
Nearby, the radio softly played classic country music, accompanied by the sound of the rain.
"I’m telling you, Dante's dog has to be trained somehow. There’s no way he could’ve done all that in the hunting grounds without being trained," Beth said, swirling her half-empty glass of wine, excitedly recounting everything Scud had done in the hunting field.
John, sitting in the armchair, hid an amused smile. The light returning to his family’s faces seemed to be happening more often now.
"Today was an exciting day! Listen, I shot three ducks! You should’ve also seen that deer—it was huge, but it ran too fast!"
Beth couldn’t help but laugh and continued, "Today’s open hunting day was really great! You should go tomorrow!"
"Yeah!" grunted Dante, raising the whiskey in his hand in approval. He took a sip, leaned back on the couch, and watched the raindrops slide across the tiles.
Lee smiled and nodded, though his smile was a bit forced. He held a mug of hot coffee in his hand, but every now and then, his eyes drifted outside, staring at the rain-blurred path under the mist.
The rain gradually grew heavier, and the water flowed off the eaves, splashing onto the ground.
In this rare family gathering, Dante wasn’t the only one who felt the absence of their father, John, during the conversation.
John, it seemed, carried many regrets, one of them being the mark he had left on his son when he left home.
Dante didn’t know why Kayce had canceled, but he would find out later.
He knew Kayce was aware of the benefits of reconnecting with his family—his only blood—especially for his son.
Though Kayce had made reckless decisions based on his own emotions, he deeply loved his brothers and would do anything to protect them. But he hesitated, his heart clouded by all the negative possibilities his return could bring into his son’s life.
"I’m going to take a shower now; I guess it’s my turn," Dante said after seeing his brother James return, freshly showered.
"Should I help you?" Lee joked, noticing that Dante was a little tipsy.
"Save that for your future wife."
Rip and the others smiled, well aware that Lee still didn’t have a partner, making it their most common joke—or a subtle sign for him to find his other half before it was too late.
"Your younger brother has a point," John muttered, adding a bit more pressure on his eldest son, Lee.
Lee, for his part, regretted teasing Dante and simply stayed silent. And while John’s youngest son was away, they all talked about what he had accomplished so far.
…
Dante stood in the bathroom, letting the warm water wash over his tired body, closing his eyes and savoring the comfort as it gradually warmed him.
He thought about today’s hunting haul.
Though hunting was completely different from fighting a living being capable of defending itself, it provided combat experience and was far more generous than shooting at something lifeless.
Every time someone took a life, it made him realize how easy it was to lose one. At least for Dante, who was involved in the worst things anyone in organized crime could face.
Dante knew he had to be strong to care for his family, but even more ruthless to eliminate his enemies.
Still, returning to the hunt, he had better luck than his other brothers—even his father.
But he also knew that hunting in reality was very difficult. Without focused aim and precise shooting, every successful hit was a mix of sweat, luck, and technology. Relevant experience probably only came by chance.
There was, however, an unexpected surprise in today’s hunt: the third wild duck was successfully brought down mid-flight. It was a shot of pure luck.
When he picked up the mallard, the blood triggered many bad memories.
Dante rubbed his hair as he remembered.
Originally, he thought everything could be forgotten, but unexpectedly, his bad memories were always there, even when he spent time with his family.
Today only reinforced his mindset to protect those untouched by darkness and keep those who had faced it far from its grasp.
“What bad luck…”
After showering and drying his hair, Dante couldn’t wait to head to the kitchen to clear his thoughts.
Outside, the rain grew even more intense, pouring down in torrents. Originally, they had planned to dine at a restaurant in town tonight, but obviously, the weather had changed everything.
Dante’s stomach was already growling with hunger. At that moment, he had only one thought: prepare something to eat and fill his stomach.
In the kitchen, Beth was preparing a salad, and John was proudly showing off his apple pie.
Lee was making a good batch of mashed potatoes, while Rip watched alongside James.
When they saw Dante enter the kitchen, inspired and ready to take on this culinary challenge, everyone was surprised by his initiative.
The kitchen space at home was large enough for several people to cook together.
They were all eager to see each other’s cooking skills, curious about which Dutton cooked best. After all, they had heard Lee praise Dante’s fried eggs yesterday.
According to the recipe, with a portion of ingredients, they could prepare roasted wild duck breast for four people.
Dante checked the ingredients at home as per the recipe: Worcestershire sauce, olive oil, minced garlic, hot sauce, black pepper, and, of course, fresh, boneless, skinless duck breast.
During today’s hunt, Dante had been lucky, yielding a great haul with James and bringing back eleven wild ducks.
The two had returned early, and James had already cleaned them, plucking their feathers, removing their organs, washing them, and storing them in the fridge.
Dante opened the fridge, took out the largest duck, cleanly cut it with a kitchen knife, and removed the duck breast.
He then dried its surface with paper towels.
Dante carefully pressed the center of the meat with his fingers and successfully felt the hard line of the bone.
He placed the duck breast on the cutting board, held the knife handle, and gently cut along the bone, carefully peeling the meat away from it along its curve.
After cutting the other side in the same way, Dante managed to obtain two whole duck breasts.
He sighed in relief, feeling that his knife skills weren’t completely rusty.
Just as he was about to remove the duck’s skin, Beth finally couldn’t hold back her criticism of what her brother was doing.
“If you keep going at that pace, we won’t be eating dinner until after midnight.”
Dante skillfully made several small incisions into the duck skin. The knife blade was close to the line where the skin and meat connected. With a few clean cuts, he quickly removed the duck’s skin.
In the process, dissatisfied that these duck breasts weren’t enough, he simply prepared a few more pieces.
Dante couldn’t help but smile when he saw Beth’s neat hands. He shrugged and left the rest of the work to her while he focused on handling the chopped garlic and marinade.
Following the recipe, he combined Worcestershire sauce, olive oil, minced garlic, hot sauce, and black pepper in a large bowl and stirred well.
After peeling the skin off the extra duck, Beth returned to Dante’s side with a few drops of oil on her fingers, wiped her apron, and stepped aside to work on her own dishes.
Dante rolled up the peeled duck skin, wrapped it in plastic, and stored it in the refrigerator for later use.
Then, he made a few shallow marks with a knife on the duck breast to help it absorb the flavor better. He placed it in a bowl, gently pressed it to ensure the seasoning penetrated evenly, covered it with plastic wrap, and put it in the refrigerator to marinate.
Marinating would take at least thirty minutes, and overnight would be even better, but Dante couldn’t wait that long.
Taking the opportunity, he simply fried some potatoes and asked James, who was idle, to go outside and preheat the charcoal grill.
When the minimum time had passed, Dante took the marinated duck breast out of the refrigerator and used a paper towel to lightly clean off the excess marinade from its surface.
Next, he brushed a thin layer of oil on the grill to prevent the duck meat from sticking.
He gently placed the duck breast on the grill. The moment the meat touched the surface, it made a sizzling sound as the fat melted and the aroma suddenly spread through the air.
Dante grilled each side for five to seven minutes. The surface slowly took on an appealing golden color, the skin became slightly crispy, but the inside remained tender.
On a rainy night, the sizzling sound of the duck meat intertwined with the patter of the rain outside, creating a unique charm.
Dante stood under the roof at the cabin’s exterior, looking at the duck breasts browning on the grill. Smelling the tantalizing aroma, the corners of his mouth lifted involuntarily.
The roasted duck breast sizzled on the grill, and the golden skin was marked with black char lines left by the iron grate.
When he returned, everyone sat at the table, and Dante, noticing the empty seat, asked, “Do you want to pray?”
“That sounds like a good idea.”
Everyone, including Rip, who was considered part of the family, held hands, closed their eyes, and John said a few small words before dinner began.
