Chapter Four
It had been two days since the going away party and one since Mom and Dad had taken off for Italy. I’d only talked to Mom three times since they arrived, so I called again just to make sure they were okay. I placed my e-reader on the table after reading a couple of chapters of the current vampire sex novel I was indulging in—a guilty pleasure that was also a secret I guarded with my life. God forbid one of my brothers discovered what types of books I liked. I’d never hear the damn end of it.
I grabbed my cell and called Mom. The phone rang three times before she answered, panting through her hello.
“Hey, are you okay?” I asked. “You sound winded.”
“I had to sprint to the phone because I knew it was you, and if I didn’t answer, you’d be calling your father’s phone next and then panicking that we were incapacitated.”
“If you knew I was going to call, then why not keep your phone near you?” I always had my phone close by.
“I didn’t think I had to take the phone to the bathroom with me.”
“Oh.”
“Shouldn’t you be on your way to the office?”
“I’m leaving now. I figure once I get to work, I won’t have time to check in.”
“And you needed to cross us off your to-do list.”
“Exactly.”
“She should throw those to-do lists in the trash and live dangerously,” Dad said in the background.
“Tell Dad if I did that, then the winery he spent his entire life helping to maintain and expand would flounder.”
“It didn’t when I was in charge,” he chimed in, making me realize Mom had me on speaker.
I held my phone with my chin while I placed my planner in my work bag, then grabbed my lunch bag and travel mug.
“Did you take your vitamins today?” I asked Mom. Her last bloodwork showed she’d been low on Vitamin D and B12.
“Yes, Char.”
“And Dad. Did he take his pills?” He had high blood pressure and high cholesterol, thanks to genetics and his love of ice cream and cake.
“I ate bacon and eggs and downed it with a bottle of wine.”
Mom sighed. “Don’t listen to him. He ate a healthy breakfast and took his pills and vitamins.”
“With wine,” Dad added. “Had to get some of that fruit in my diet you’re always insisting on.”
“As long as it was good wine,” I said with a laugh.
“Always.”
Dad would never let bad wine touch his lips. He’d know whether it was suitable by the color, the legs, and smell alone. Everything I knew about wine I learned from my parents and my grandfather. When Grandpa was alive, I’d wager to say he was one of the most, if not the most, knowledgeable on all things wine.
“I know you are more than capable, but I’m going to ask one more time,” Mom said, and I sighed, knowing exactly what she was about to ask. “Are you sure you’ll be okay with us gone and Laurent leaving for his honeymoon?”
Laurent was great in his role as President of Sales, but as President of Operations, I was hands-on across the board, checking in with everyone from the warehouse manager all the way to Nero in the tasting room. I had a system that worked.
“I’ll be fine,” I assured her, though they knew damn well I could handle it. “Laurent tied up all his loose ends and let everyone know he will be unavailable for the next two weeks, though we both know that’s a lie. He can’t help himself.”
“I think he might surprise you,” Mom said. “He’s on his honeymoon with the love of his life. I think work will be the last thing on his mind.”
Mom had a point. Laurent was addicted to work as much as his new wife was, but they were also addicted to each other, something I’d witnessed more times than I ever cared to. In love or not, did they really need to constantly be touching each other? How in love could a person be that they couldn’t wait to share a kiss in private? Then again, he learned from my parents.
“As it should be,” Dad said. This time he sounded closer to the phone, and when Mom giggled that was my cue to end the call. They’d been married for over four decades, yet they still acted like horny high schoolers.
Maybe I was cynical. Most of my relationships were short-lived—little moments that barely registered in my life. Just someone to go to dinner with and sleep with at night.
“I’ll let you go,” I said. “Remember to drink water, don’t overdo it, and take your—”
“Vitamins. We know!” Dad’s voice rumbled in the phone.
“You seem to forget, we’re the parents,” Mom added.
Normally I’d agree, but they’d been traipsing all over Europe since Grandpa died, acting like they were back in their twenties and not grandparents themselves.
“Yeah, yeah.” I rolled my eyes, not like they could see me. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“Gee, we can’t wait.” Dad’s sarcasm wasn’t even masked.
“Just be grateful that one of your children cares enough to check on your wellbeing, and remember I will be the one picking your nursing home, so you better be nice to me.”
“Can’t we just move in with you?” Dad asked.
“No,” I said without hesitation. After living with two sisters and four brothers, I enjoyed my very quiet house away from the chaos. Just thinking of how Dad always managed to leave spills of sugar on the counter every morning after he made his coffee, or how Mom never used a coaster, would send me into a spiral.
“I told you she doesn’t love us,” Dad said.
“Goodbye.” With a laugh, I hung up, then my brain kicked in. When was the last time they updated their will? I juggled what I was holding and retrieved my phone, adding it to my to do list. I’d ask them later. It was better to be prepared, especially when it came to their future and their wishes going forward… in case they ever were to become incapacitated.
I got in the car that I had started twenty minutes ago, and once I was on the road, I called Sherry.
“Morning!” Her cheery voice came over the speakers of my car.
“Do you know if Mom and Dad want to be buried or cremated?” I asked.
She sputtered. “And good morning to you.”
“Morning. Do you know?”
“Weird way to start my morning. I have no idea. Why would you even ask that?”
“Because it’s something we should know.”
“Why? Are they sick? Did they tell you something? Oh my God. Who’s dying?”
“No one is dying, Sher. It’s just information we should know.”
“I don’t want to know. I don’t want to talk about it.”
“It’s part of life.”
“How can you be so deadpan about this? Jesus, Char. I know emotions aren’t your thing, but for fuck sakes, this is a bit much.”
“It’s an important topic we can’t ignore. Grandpa had everything set in place, and that made it easy on Mom and Dad and all of us when he passed.”
“He was also two and a half decades older than they are now. Can we, I don’t know, wait until they are at least in their seventies before we talk about this?”
“Mom’s sixty-seven and Dad’s sixty-eight. It’s close enough.”
“No, it’s not!”
“You’re being emotional.”
“And you’re not being emotional enough. Char, I love you, but I need to finish getting ready. I’ll see you at the winery.”
With a sigh, I clicked off the call. I thought about asking Laurent, but he was getting ready to get on a plane, and if I called Mom and Dad back, they would probably react in the same way as Sherry. I would just have to move it to down on my to-do list and wait until I spoke with them again.
I pulled into the parking lot of Vine Valley Vineyards, our family business and Grandpa’s legacy, and parked in my spot. Grabbing my bags and mug, I headed inside.
Nero stood behind the bar, prepping for when we opened and people started to filter in for tastings or to enjoy a glass on the deck, overlooking the vineyard.
“Morning,” I said as I made my way across the Italian slate, my heels clicking as I went.
“Morning, Char.”
I placed my travel mug on the bar top. “I talked to Mom and Dad this morning. They’re good, taking their pills and vitamins.”
“Considering we saw them two days ago, I didn’t expect anything different,” Nero said. “And did you really call them to see if they were taking their meds?”
“I want them to live as long as possible, and somehow that makes me neurotic.”
“You are neurotic.”
“Whatever. Do you know if they have an updated will?”
“Why the fuck would I know that?”
“It’s important.”
“And none of my damn business. You want to get involved in that morbid bullshit, you can ask them yourself.”
It was the answer I expected, but not why I stopped to chat. “Do you have a sketch for me?” I’d recently discovered Nero’s hidden talent of metal work. Though it was more than a hidden talent. He was seriously gifted. It only made sense to hire him to make an installation to put on the lawn in front of the winery.
“I’m toying with a few ideas.”
“Well, maybe if you stopped having sex with Lainey, you’d be able to focus.”
Seriously, three of my brothers each found the so-called “love of their lives” in the last year, and ever since, they’d all been preoccupied.
“Maybe, but that’s never going to happen.” I swore everyone around me was having sex, and I wondered why I was so addicted to vampire erotica. At least I could imagine myself as the main character being ravaged by some hot, sexy vampire who wanted me more than blood and could bring me to pleasure over and over again.
I forced the thoughts from my mind. For crying out loud, I was at work, talking to my brother. Maybe I needed to start dating again. Get out of the house. Actually have sex so I didn’t have to fantasize about it anymore.
The idea alone exhausted me. Our town was too small, and the dating pool wasn’t even shallow. It was a dried-up abandoned pool where frogs went to die. I’d dated enough frogs in my life; I didn’t need to pick through the ones left baking in the sun.
I would continue to throw myself into my work and hope one day, Mr. Right would show up on my doorstep, then give me space to accomplish my to-do list for the day.
“Look who isn’t in her castle in the sky.” Brady’s voice boomed across the tasting room. My lip curled as soon as my ears recognized him.
“You mean my office, where people of importance go?” I snapped, but before turning to face Brady, I shot Nero a glance. “No offense.”
Nero held up his hands. “None taken. I know my worth now.”
A smile cracked at the edge of my mouth. It was nice to hear. I hadn’t realized how Nero actually felt about his role in the family business. Apparently, he thought he was a glorified bartender, when in reality, he was the charming face of the brand.
My smile faltered as soon as my eyes found Brady. He moved toward the tasting bar like a gladiator staking his ground. The green henley that stretched over his biceps made his green eyes pop and his tanned skin was the perfect backdrop. His too long hair was neatly combed and tied at the back.
He was the embodiment of every villain in the books I read. Handsome to a fault, but his looks could never overshadow his malevolent ways.
“Why are you here, anyway? Don’t you have your own business?” I understood my brothers and hell, even my parents and sisters thought of him as family, but did he always have to be around? I’m sure there was another family he could latch onto.
“You mean the very successful distillery?”
“Whatever.” I swatted my hand in the air, then crossed my arms over my chest.
“I had to pick something up from Laurent’s office first.”
“And what was the something?”
His thick, dark eyebrows drew together over a nose that had been broken more than once. “None of your business.”
I angled my gaze and glared. “Are you two sharing Playboys again?”
“Who needs a magazine when I have this?” He held up his phone and waggled those eyebrows.
“You’re a pig.”
“And you’re a pain in the ass. Now that we have that settled… can I leave? Jack’s in the truck waiting for me.”
“Go. No one wants you here, anyway.”
“I don’t mind him here,” Nero said with a stupid smirk.
Brady crossed his arms over his massive chest and leaned against the bar. “See, Nero loves me.” There was a twinkle in his green eyes that was almost charming… almost.
“Nero was also dropped on his head as a baby.”
“Hey!” Nero exclaimed, then shrugged. “I mean, it’s not a lie, but the doctors said there was no damage.”
“That they could see,” I added.
An annoying sound echoed through the tasting room—the same ringtone Brady had had for two decades.
He glanced at the screen, a flash of confusion crossing his chiseled features, before bringing the phone to his ear. “Yeah?” His jaw tightened, and any light in his eyes disappeared. “I’m on my way.” He shoved his phone in his pocket.
I didn’t want to care, but as much as I couldn’t stand Brady, he was someone in my life, whether I wanted him to be or not. “Is everything okay?”
“Just fucking wonderful.” He stormed out the door without another word.