Chapter Thirty-four
Thirty-four
Ryker
Iglance toward the entry just in time to see Max stroll in, Zach behind him like a damn shadow.
They aren’t supposed to be here. Mom swore up and down that Max and Zach had other plans tonight. That it would just be immediate family—"low-key, drama-free.” Those were her exact words.
My jaw tightens.
Ginny stills at my side, then tenses as Max spots her. Surprise flickers across his face before his expression hardens into something sharp and cold.
“Well,” he says, stepping into the kitchen. “Didn’t realize tonight was open invite.”
No one answers. Even Sadie goes quiet.
Max’s smile stretches. “What’s the saying? Keep your friends close and your enemies closer?” His gaze cuts to me. “This one must be real close by now.”
I feel Ginny’s breath hitch beside me, and I slide my hand to her lower back.
“Don’t start,” I say softly.
But Max moves forward, ignoring the warning in my voice. “You all realize what’s happening here, right? This isn’t just some date. It’s an infiltration. A classic Dempsey move. Burrow in, charm everyone, gather intel. Strike when no one’s looking.”
Ginny doesn’t speak. Doesn’t flinch. But I’ve had enough. “She’s not a threat,” I declare. “She’s my girlfriend.”
I don’t care who hears it. I need Ginny to hear it. To know I’m choosing her, no matter what it costs me.
That lands like a boulder in the middle of the room.
Sadie’s eyes go wide, and even my mom looks like she’s trying to decide whether to gasp or intervene.
Max’s laugh is short and bitter. “Girlfriend,” he repeats. “That’s rich.” He turns to Dad. “He’s signing his death warrant.”
“That’s enough,” Mom announces.
Max takes another step closer. “You think girlfriend means something to a Dempsey? Loyalty? Truth? You think she’s not running home and reporting every word we say over a glass of wine with her family?”
“Back off,” I warn, voice tight.
But Max doesn’t. He turns, slow and deliberate, his words like knives. “You think she’s innocent? Her great-grandfather killed my brother. He was in love with Mabel Dempsey, and they were going to run away. But he wouldn’t have it. He killed them both.”
Ginny’s fingers curl tighter around mine. But she doesn’t say a word. Doesn’t move, eyes wide and stunned.
Uncle Auggie. We were raised knowing he’d been killed by James Dempsey for trespassing, but not that he was trying to run away with James’s youngest daughter.
Ginny goes still beside me. Seems she didn’t know that either.
The room’s wound so tight a single word might snap the whole damn thing in two.
And then my mom steps forward. Her voice rings out like a bell. “I invited her, Max. She’s my guest, so please keep that in mind.”
Max’s head jerks toward her, eyes narrowing. “What?”
“I invited Ginny,” she repeats. “And I’m glad she came.”
Before Max can snap back, my dad steps in. Calm. Controlled. But steel laces every word. “That’s enough, Max. If you can’t behave like a gentleman, you need to leave.”
Max turns to him like he’s been betrayed. “You’re okay with this?” His voice spikes. “She’s a Dempsey. After what they did to our family, you invite one to eat at your table?”
“She’s not the one turning this dinner into a battleground,” Dad says.
“This is the biggest insult to our family in decades. If you really think this is acceptable, maybe you shouldn’t be running the vineyard anymore.”
Dad tilts his head. “What are you saying? That seems like a bit of a leap. And yet, somehow, that’s always where you end up.”
Max shakes his head. “It’s time the rightful branch of the family takes over. You’ve grown soft, Trace. We need someone who actually gives a damn about legacy, loyalty, and history.”
Dad smirks knowingly. “You mean you. How convenient.”
And just like that, they’re ready to go to fisticuffs.
Sadie reaches across the table and grabs Ginny’s hand. Trinity moves closer to Greyson, eyes wide. Mom steps away with Theo in her arms.
My muscles coil tight, every part of me ready to jump in.
But Kingston gets there first, stepping in with his quiet strength that always shuts the room down. Greyson’s right beside him.
“Back off,” Greyson says.
Kingston crosses his arms. “Not here. Not like this.”
Then Zach finally moves. He brushes past Ginny and me without a word, slipping in beside his father.
And just when it feels like the whole house is about to explode—Crash!
There’s the sound of ceramic shattering against the tile floor.
Every head turns.
Mom’s voice is sharp, unshakable. “That’s enough!”
She stands in the doorway of the kitchen, chest heaving. There’s an empty spot on the counter where the serving tray was sitting a moment ago.
“I said enough,” she snaps. “This is my home. My table. It’s a meal, not a negotiation. And if you can’t show basic human decency, you’re not welcome.” Her eyes blaze as they pin Max in place. “Get out.”
He stares like he doesn’t recognize her, like the woman who’s fed him since she joined this family has turned into a stranger.
“This isn’t over,” he says coldly. Then he nods to Zach and they walk out without looking back.
A moment later, the front door slams shut behind them, and the room finally exhales.
Theo fusses through the monitor in his nursery, and Trinity gets up to go to him.
“I’m sorry,” Mom says to Ginny.
“You have nothing to be sorry for,” she replies.
Sadie rushes forward to sweep up the shattered ceramic. I know she’s trying to do more than clean. She wants to sweep away the moment. The explosion. The fracture.
Mom slowly lowers herself into one of the chairs, running her hands down the front of her dress like she’s trying to erase the last ten minutes. “That was my favorite serving tray,” she says softly. “But I didn’t know how else to get them to stop.”
She looks up blankly, and Dad wraps his arm around her and kisses her temple.
Ginny steps toward the doorway. “Maybe I should go. I don’t want to make this harder for anyone.”
Before I can protest, Greyson lets out a dry laugh from across the kitchen. “All the drama’s over now. You might as well stay.”
Ginny freezes.
Sadie points a finger at Grey. “Not helpful.”
I cross the room and wrap an arm around Ginny’s waist, pulling her close. “I go where you go,” I say quietly, pulling her in tight. “But don’t think that’s how my family behaves.”
She looks up at me, wide-eyed and overwhelmed.
“Please stay,” Mom says, the color returning to her face. “This isn’t your fault at all. Max has his own demons. Trace and he will figure it out.”
Ginny nods. “Okay, then. Thank you. What can I do to help?”
Mom moves to a cabinet and pulls out another serving tray. “Let me get the chicken, and then everyone can grab a dish and start passing to the right.”
There’s the hesitant start to finding our places at the table. A few half-hearted jokes. It’s clumsy, but eventually, it settles.
When Mom returns, the lemon chicken’s perfect and the vegetables roasted just right. The rolls are soft and warm.
“Thank you again for inviting me.” Ginny spreads a napkin on her lap. “This looks delicious.”
“Yes,” I add. “Thank you for making my favorite meal.”
“Suck up,” Beckett mutters. And the tension breaks.
With a chuckle, we start passing the dishes, and soon, forks clink as we eat. Trinity compliments the potatoes. Sadie pours more wine. Tarryn mutters something to Kingston about the barrels in cellar three.
And Ginny floats at the edge of it all. Until she speaks.
“Can I ask something?”
The whole table stills.
Dad nods. “Of course.”
She hesitates. “What happened to Auggie? You said my great-grandfather killed him. But no one in my family ever talks about that.”
The silence that follows is different, not volatile, but heavy.
Dad stares off like he’s reaching for something buried deep. “Auggie was our oldest brother,” he says finally. “A charmer. Wild at heart. If there was trouble, he was usually standing in the middle of it, grinning like he’d lit the match himself. Often he had.”
I huff out a laugh. That’s exactly how I’ve always heard about him—trouble tied up in a bow.
“He fell in love with your great-grandfather’s youngest daughter, Mabel.
” He glances at Ginny. “That’s not as crazy as it sounds.
The generations were a bit tangled up, and they were both young.
Stupid in that way people are when they think love makes them invincible.
Our families had bad blood, but they didn’t care. Snuck around for months.”
Ginny’s throat bobs like she’s swallowing something sharp.
“One night,” Dad goes on, “Mabel tried to sneak out to meet him. Your great-grandfather caught her climbing out her window and followed her. When he saw Auggie waiting, he fired his rifle. Said he thought it was a trespasser.”
He pauses.
“Mabel jumped in front of the shot. She took most of it, but it still caught Auggie in the heart. She didn’t survive,” Dad says softly. “And he didn’t either.”
No one speaks.
Ginny’s staring at the table, jaw tight. Then she nods. “My family has a…much different version of that story.”
Dad nods. “Makes sense that they would.” He doesn’t sound bitter. Just tired. “Next time you’re at the library, pull the story from the newspaper. It happened back in the summer of ’seventy-eight.”
She nods. “I will. Thank you for telling me.”
I reach under the table and find her hand. She grips mine instantly. I can’t imagine what this feels like, hearing something from the other’s perspective. Having to sort back through everything you thought was true.
The silence lingers until my mom clears her throat. “Before that things had been getting better with your grandfather,” she says. “With Robert.”
Ginny looks over at her, eyes wide.
Mom nods. “He and Trace had started meeting, nothing formal, but they were talking. There was a deal in place for a parcel of land down at the south edge of the valley. We were going to buy it. Black Bear was struggling, and…well, Robert had a lot of strengths, but business wasn’t one of them.”
Dad chuckles. “I’m not sure I’m any better. You’ve seen the spreadsheets. After watching what Tarryn’s doing with the operations now, I wouldn’t even hire me.”
A small wave of laughter ripples around the table.
“Thanks, Dad.” Tarryn beams.
But then Dad’s voice sobers again. “When Robert died, Evelyn tore up the deal. The land had been sold and already registered to Paradise Hill, but she insisted we were making it up. I don’t know if he never told her, or she just refused to believe, but your family has continued to work it like it’s still theirs ever since. ”
Ginny looks stunned. “What?”
Mom nods. “We never pushed. It wasn’t worth the war. We figured maybe one day it could be settled between better people.”
Dad looks at Ginny. “Your grandmother saved Black Bear. No question. But in my eyes? She destroyed your family to do it. All the disowning and threats? I wonder if it will be worth it.”
Ginny doesn’t say anything, but I can feel her unraveling a little beside me.
This has to be so hard to hear, to sort through.
She looks around the table. Everyone has gone back to their side conversations.
Sadie is arguing with Kingston about wine pairings, and Trinity leans into Greyson’s side as they murmur together.
“I’m grateful to be here,” she says. “Thank you for inviting me. For sharing with me, even when you didn’t have to.”
Mom squeezes her hand. “You’re always welcome at this table.”
Ginny’s shoulders are tense, her eyes wet, but she’s holding herself steady. She’s still upright, still soft in a room full of sharp edges. I don’t just love her. I’ve fallen for her, completely.
Later, when we’re alone, I’ll ask her how she’s holding up, how I can help. For now, I just hold her hand and pray she doesn’t let go.