Chapter 25
Twenty-five
Ryker
When my alarm sounds in the morning, it feels like I only closed my eyes an hour ago. My limbs are heavy, my mind still fogged with everything that happened last night. But it’s time to get started.
I lift my phone and fire off a message to Ginny.
Me: I’m going out with Tarryn this morning to take a look at the vineyard. I’ll let you know what we find.
No clue if she’s awake yet. Doesn’t matter. She’ll see it when she’s ready.
By eight forty-five, I’m pulling into the barn lot with two cups in hand, the spicy-sweet scent of chai filling my Armada. I spot Tarryn near the equipment shed, arms crossed, ponytail high, looking like she hasn’t slept much either.
I hold out her drink as I approach. “Peace offering,” I say.
“You trying to butter me up for something?” she asks as she takes it.
“I thought I was already your favorite brother. Or did last night change that?”
“You are my favorite brother,” she says, sipping. “Today.”
I give her a look.
She sighs. “I’m sorry about last night. I’m having enough problems with Max and Zach. I didn’t think getting involved would help.”
“I know. I just thought that since Ginny was in the wedding, they’d be further along in forgiving.”
Tarryn waves that away. “You do you. Ignore Max and Zach. You have Mom’s support, and that’s what matters.”
I nod, and just as we’re about to head out, Elise rounds the corner, hair tucked under a faded baseball cap, clipboard in hand.
“Well, well,” she says. “Is this a secret mission or am I crashing something?”
“Not secret,” Tarryn replies. “Just early.”
“We’re going to inspect block nine,“ I tell her. “I want to get eyes on whatever’s happening with the well.”
Elise nods. “Smart. I’ve been hearing complaints from the vineyard crew. Dry patches where there shouldn’t be.”
“It’s affecting vines and causing trouble on both sides of the property line. You should come with us,” I suggest.
She nods, and we load into the four-wheeler, Tarryn at the wheel, Elise riding shotgun, and me in the back.
Halfway up the hill, Elise turns slightly. “So, how do you know the Dempseys are upset about this?”
I hesitate.
Tarryn glances at me over her shoulder, then looks back to the road.
I shrug. “Ginny told me.”
Elise turns fully this time, eyebrows lifting. “Ginny Dempsey?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re talking to her?”
“More than talking to her,” I admit. “We’re in Sadie and Beckett’s wedding together, and we’ve been…seeing each other.”
Elise’s mouth opens, but Tarryn jumps in before she can speak.
“I like her,” Tarryn says. “She’s smart. Honest. And she’s Sadie’s best friend, so she’s going to be part of the family whether anyone likes it or not.”
That shuts Elise up for a second.
I give Tarryn a look. Where was this energy last night? “Thanks.”
She shrugs. “Just stating facts.”
Elise hums thoughtfully.
The trees thin as we crest the ridge. The sun catches on the vines’ new leaves in the immediate rows, but the ones beyond that are unmistakably off.
Plants that should be vibrant and gearing up for maximum growth look sunburned.
The soil below them is dry and cracked in spots and overly saturated in others.
Tarryn cuts the engine.
“Well,” she says, climbing down. “Let’s see what the hell is going on.”
Elise walks among the rows slowly, head down, hands on her hips. She crouches near one vine, brushes her fingers through the dry soil, then stands and moves on, expression tight.
“Some of these vines are barely clinging,” she mutters. “And this patch over here is soaked. It makes no sense.”
She turns the irrigation system on and stands back. “They all seem to be working right.”
I’m about to follow her when the crunch of gravel behind us draws my attention.
An old truck kicks up dust as it pulls to a stop near the service path. The doors open almost in unison.
Sera and Josie. Dempsey sisters, sharp as thorns and just as likely to leave a scratch.
Fantastic.
They stride toward us, in jeans and boots, both wearing expressions like they came to pick a fight.
Sera speaks first. “Interesting that you’re all out here, inspecting our problem.”
“It’s on our land too,” Tarryn reminds her evenly. “We’re having the same issue.”
Josie folds her arms, scanning the vines. “Funny. Yours look a lot better than ours.”
“We came out here to see what’s going on,” I say, stepping forward. “Not to argue. But yeah, I’ve heard the rumor that you think we’re stealing your water.”
Sera lifts her chin. “It’s not a rumor if it’s true.”
“It’s not true,” I say firmly. “We didn’t divert anything. That’s not how we operate.”
Josie goes quiet, focused on a patch of withering vines. Elise, ever the peacemaker, steps in.
“Josie,” she calls, “will you come take a look at this? Your eye’s sharper than mine when it comes to these younger roots.”
Josie hesitates, then nods and walks toward Elise. The two of them lean over the rows, voices low as they huddle.
Sera stands beside me and Tarryn, but her eyes zero in on mine. “So. You and Ginny.”
Here we go. “I’m not getting into that,” I tell her. “Not here.”
“Why not?” she asks. “Because you don’t know where I stand? Because you think I’ll go running to Evelyn?”
I don’t answer.
She scoffs. “That’s smart. You’re learning.”
I turn to meet her gaze. “I care about her.”
Sera’s jaw ticks, but she doesn’t seem surprised. She glances toward Josie and Elise, who are deep in conversation. “She stood up to Evelyn in front of all our cousins for you,” she says quietly. “You better be at least half the man she says you are.”
Before I can answer, Elise calls out, waving us over. Josie is holding up a clump of soil and shaking her head.
She straightens as we approach, brushing soil off her hands. “This isn’t consistent with runoff redirection,” she says. “If you all were diverting water, it’d be a cleaner pattern—one side suffering, the other thriving. What we’ve got here…” She gestures to the vines. “…is patchy. Erratic.”
Elise nods. “Some vines are saturated. Others bone dry. That suggests irregular flow, not manipulation. The irrigation system is working.”
Josie walks over to one of the drip-system heads and taps her finger to the water, placing it on her tongue. Her brow creases. “The water doesn’t taste quite right.”
Elise does the same thing. “I don’t know. It’s not that bad. I think it’s the high-density polyethylene we use for the drip system.”
Josie considers that. “Maybe. We don’t use a drip system on the hillside. We have a sprinkler system that goes off every morning at four o’clock.”
Tarryn crouches beside the trunk Josie just examined. “Could it be a blockage somewhere higher up?”
“Maybe,” Josie replies. “But I think it’s more likely there’s a break or damage in the irrigation line that’s creating pooling in some areas and starving others.”
“Could it be sabotage?” Sera asks, crossing her arms again.
Josie doesn’t answer right away. She looks at me. “Have you had any equipment issues? Vandalism? Anything…off?”
My mind flashes to Zach. He’s definitely off, but that hardly seems like something I should share with the Dempseys. We don’t even have enough evidence to confront him directly yet.
“I don’t know,” I admit. “But I’ll look.”
“So,” Elise says, “we have erratic water flow with no clear pattern and no proof of redirection.” She looks around, and everyone nods.
The wind shifts through the vines as Josie dusts her hands off again and pulls her cap lower. “We’ll run diagnostics on our end. Pressure tests. Line inspections. You should do the same.”
I nod. “We will.”
She gives me one last look. Not hostile this time. Just guarded. It’s the first time I’ve seen her drop her shield, even a little. And for Josie Dempsey, that’s as close to an olive branch as I’ll ever get. “Tell Ginny to keep her head down,” I offer.
She looks at me a long moment, then gives the slightest nod before she turns and walks back toward the truck, Sera falling in beside her.
Tarryn sighs. “Well, that could’ve been worse.”
“Yeah,” I agree, watching them go. “But it’s still not clear what’s going on with the vines. And despite getting through this with no drama, I feel like someone wants this feud to explode.”
Just then Josie pauses at the edge of the path and turns back to Elise. “You should come by Black Bear,” she says. “Take a look at our rows. Compare conditions. If there’s something systemic going on, it’s bigger than just your vines or ours.”
Elise lifts a brow, surprised. “You sure about that?”
Even Sera glances at her sister, seeming startled by the offer.
Josie nods. “I don’t care about the politics. I care about the fruit. And right now, this is our only troubled patch. But if this is just the first patch to have a problem, it will be a disaster.”
That gets everyone’s attention.
“I’ll come,” Elise says with a nod. “This afternoon?”
“Works for me. I’ll let the crew know,” Josie says. “Our families may not like each other, but our vines don’t care who owns them. If this problem spreads, no label in this valley will survive it.”
I glance at the sunburned vines. She’s right, and I’m more than glad to hear her say it. This seems like an entirely reasonable approach. I raise my arm in a wave, and then they’re gone, tires crunching as they drive back down the hill.
Tarryn exhales. “Okay. That was unexpected.”
“Yeah,” I sigh. “But I’ll take cooperation over a courtroom any day.”
Elise nods, her eyes still on the path where the truck disappeared. “It’s a smart move. But it also means this might be worse than we thought.”
“So what do you think is causing this?” Tarryn asks.
Elise squats again near a vine, touches the brittle leaves, then brushes her hand through the soil. “If it were a natural blockage or root problem, we’d see a gradual decline. But this? It’s targeted. Deliberate. Like someone’s toying with the system.”
Tarryn raises a brow. “Deliberate?”
“I’m not saying sabotage,” Elise replies, “but I’m not ruling it out either. Josie hinted at the same thing. Whoever it is, if someone is doing this, they’re clever enough to make it look like a systemic issue, not an attack.”
I feel my eyes narrowing. “And whoever it is benefits from keeping both families angry and in the dark.”
Tarryn turns to me, —and for a second, just a heartbeat, we share a look. That could be Zach.
She clears her throat. “So what now?”
Elise straightens, brushing her palms together. “I’ll head over to Black Bear this afternoon. Having more information about this can only help, and hopefully, there won’t be any run-ins in the process.”
I nod. “And I’ll go over our lines again. Personally.”