Chapter 28
Twenty-eight
Ginny
Eventually, I end up in the parking lot of the Paradise Steaming Mugs. The store windows are fogged from the afternoon caffeine rush, and there’s a line inside, but I don’t care. At least I can stretch my legs and get some caffeine.
I grab my laptop from the passenger seat and go in.
The barista behind the counter gives me a half-smile and a nod, familiar, but not friendly.
She probably recognizes me. Most people in town do.
Not as Ginny but as a Dempsey. That’s how it always is.
They know the name, not the person behind it.
What I’ve done, what I haven’t. Doesn’t matter.
The last name speaks louder than I ever could.
I wait in line, and after I have my coffee, I find a table in the corner near the radiator and slide into the chair like I’m trying to disappear.
My laptop hums to life as I plug in and connect to the Wi-Fi.
Around me, the coffee shop buzzes, but no one pays me any attention.
I’m a woman barely holding it together, pretending to work.
I open my inbox out of habit, just for something to do.
But then I see it.
Subject: Part-Time Marketing Manager Offer – Black Bear Valley Wine Consortium
My heart skips as I click it open.
It’s real.
A clean offer. Bullet points and bold text—position details, start date, hourly rate, projected salary. My name is right there, plain as day.
I can hardly believe it. This is what I wanted. What I worked for. A foot in the door. A job that will finally let me build something for myself, separate from my family’s business. My chance to prove I’m more than just a Dempsey.
My heart leaps, but then it comes crashing right back down to Earth. Will my family ruin this for me somehow?
They’re bound to find out what’s happened. This town is too small. And the consortium is all about prestige and tradition. Hiring someone blacklisted by her own family? That’s not exactly on-brand. Damn it.
I slam the laptop shut, and a couple at the next table glances over. I don’t care. It’s too much. I press the heels of my hands to my eyes, willing myself not to cry in public. Not again.
I breathe for a moment, and eventually, I feel a little more solid. I’ve got to be practical here. There’s no reason to panic and assume the worst. That’s the Dempsey move, for sure. And that’s what you’re trying not to do, I remind myself.
After a moment, I pick up my phone. I scroll past Ryker’s last message—three words I’ve read a hundred times. Please call me. I don’t delete it. I just can’t. And I also shouldn’t ignore it anymore.
Me: Hey…things have fallen apart with my family, and I need some time to sort it out. I’m safe, so you don’t have to worry. I’ll reach out when I’m ready to talk.
Then I’m back on task. I call Marc Warner and have a rather pleasant conversation about the position they’ve offered me. I explain as delicately as I can about the change in my other employment, but he seems unconcerned. His main focus is when I might be able to start.
By the time I finish the call and look up again, Steaming Mugs is almost empty.
The baristas are wiping down counters, flipping chairs onto tables, and pretending not to notice I’ve been nursing the same cup of coffee for hours.
I should leave. But where should I go? Mom made her position clear, and I won’t put my siblings in the line of fire.
I understand their dilemma, but I can’t say it goes unnoticed that none of them has reached out to me.
I heave a huge sigh. Sadie said she wanted to spend more time hanging out, that she was tired of the wedding being front and center all the time… I chuckle to myself. I guess maybe this is her chance. Lucky girl.
In all honesty, she’s probably the only person I have access to right now who might understand this disaster. I’ve been kicked out of my family and my home, and the one person I want to run to is the one I can’t.
By the time I make it to Sadie and Beckett’s place, my throat burns from holding it all in.
Sadie opens the door, her eyes bright and welcoming. “Hey! What a great surprise! Come in. We were just going over some wedding logistics.”
I nod, my lips trembling. “Can I— Do you have a minute?”
“Of course. What happened? Ryker’s been looking for you. Are you okay?” She steps aside, pulling me inside and into her arms.
The second she does, my chest tightens, and I start to cry, not the graceful kind, but the raw, ugly kind that makes your shoulders shake.
“Someone dropped off your things this afternoon, and we weren’t sure what was happening,” she says. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
Beckett appears behind her. “What’s going on?”
Sadie doesn’t let go. “Come on. Sit down.”
“I’m sorry,” I say as I shuffle inside, hugging my purse tight. “I didn’t know where else to go.”
“You don’t have to explain,” Sadie says.
“You’re welcome to stay as long as you need to,” Beckett assures me.
I sink onto the couch and tell them everything because it’s boiling in me, and I need to get it out. It can’t possibly do any more harm now.
“My grandmother was waiting in my driveway when I got back to the caretaker house late last night. I’d been with Ryker after our planning here.” I wipe my eyes. “She didn’t say anything, just gave me a look and drove away.”
Sadie sinks onto the couch beside me. Beckett stays near the kitchen, arms crossed.
Slowly, I tell them what’s unfolded since then, and somehow, I manage not to cry.
Sadie just looks at me for a second when I’ve finished, then deadpans, “What a fucking bitch.”
A stunned laugh escapes me. I sniff and swipe at a tear. “You’re not wrong.”
“What did your mom say?”
I snort. “My mom is too dependent on my grandmother to cross her. She was in the gift shop, rearranging everything to how she likes it again. She handed me a box of my jewelry on my way out. It was all just dumped in there, tangled like garbage.”
Sadie shakes her head and wraps me in another hug. “I want to see your pieces. I can help untangle them. What about your dad? He certainly knows how this feels, right?”
I scoff at that. “He’s not really part of my life.
Though Sera said he’s been living with someone up at Marshall, building a new winery.
” I glance toward the window, my voice quieter.
“I guess there’s no reason not to reach out now…
Honestly, I knew this was coming. I should have made the choice myself before it came to this.
My grandmother’s too bitter and volatile to not blow everything up. ”
Sadie takes my hand. “You’re not going back there. Not now. Not ever. You’re staying here as long as you need to. And Ginny? You don’t owe that woman anything.”
I want to say no, that I don’t want to be a burden, that I haven’t earned this kind of kindness. But the words won’t come. And I can’t afford to say them anyway.
Beckett clears his throat. “Guest room’s ready if you want it. No pressure. Just…you’re not alone.”
His voice is calm, but there’s tension in his jaw, and I can tell he’s biting back his opinion.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
Sadie studies my face. “What did you do all day? Please tell me you didn’t just sit in your car crying.”
I shake my head. “No… Well, maybe a little. But mostly I drove. Aimlessly. Up and down the lake, into town, through the hills, and then I sat at Steaming Mugs.”
Sadie gives my hand a squeeze.
“But there could be one bright spot,” I say, looking over at her. “I got an email from the Black Bear Valley Wine Consortium.”
Her eyes widen. “Yeah?”
“I got the job,” I say, the words finally starting to feel real.
“They want me to develop a marketing plan to bring more visitors to the valley and highlight the success of the local wineries. It’s flexible, and it’s a fresh start.
I called Marc Warner at the consortium after I got the offer and told him I’m no longer employed by Black Bear. Fortunately, he didn’t care.”
Sadie lets out a delighted squeal and grabs the wine bottle off the coffee table. “Yes! That is amazing. We are so celebrating this. Where’s the opener?”
Beckett raises an eyebrow from across the room. “Pretty sure I already opened that bottle.”
Sadie grins. “True. Okay, then we’ll open another. She may have been fired by a tyrant, but she just landed a job doing something she actually loves. That calls for a proper toast.”
I laugh. “You’re really good at making everything feel less terrible.”
Beckett brings in fresh glasses, and Sadie pours.
“That’s what friends—and wine—are for.” She clinks her glass against mine.
“So here’s the deal. Tonight we celebrate.
You’re free from that vineyard prison, and you’re free to date Ryker.
He’s been frantic to make sure you’re okay.
Have you contacted him? Someone sent him a text, and he’s been worried. ”
I can finally breathe again. “I let him know I’m okay.
I’ll reach out again soon.” I sigh loudly.
“I’m just still psyching myself up. I didn’t want to bring this mess straight to his doorstep.
I want to come to him on my own terms because I know this isn’t going to be easy with your family either. ” I look at Beckett.
He shrugs. “We’ve never kicked anyone out, although ask me later about Zach.”
That makes me smile.
“Ginny, maybe this isn’t the end,” Sadie says. “Maybe it’s a beginning.”
I let out a sharp laugh. “Yeah, sure. Homeless, underemployed, and disowned. Sounds like a dream come true.”
She doesn’t flinch, just shakes her head. “You’ve been saying for months that you don’t fit in there. That you can’t breathe under your grandmother’s thumb. All she did was shove you out the door. Maybe that’s exactly the push you needed to build something that’s yours, not hers.”
I open my mouth to protest but then close it again.
Her words sting because they’re true. Nothing has changed.
I’ve felt this way about my family for years.
That’s why I left the first time around.
The only difference now is that I don’t get to hide behind the safety net they offered. It’s terrifying. But also…freeing.
We all smile. I feel the tiniest flicker of something that almost resembles hope.
“I don’t want to be a burden.”
Sadie looks me dead in the eye. “Ginny, you’re not. And honestly? Fuck your grandmother.”
That makes me laugh, then brings the tears again, but not so many this time.
“How about another glass of wine?” Sadie offers after a moment.
I nod, sinking onto their couch like it might swallow me whole. “Thanks.”
She disappears into the kitchen, and Beckett sits beside me, his voice low. “You’re safe here. Whatever you need.”
“Thank you,” I whisper.
Sadie returns with a bottle of red and a sleeve of cookies. “Comfort first, nutrition later,” she says, pouring the wine. “Now, tell me more about this new job.”
“Well, I start Monday. I won’t be able to rent much on what I’m making, but I’ll figure something out.”
Sadie lets out a triumphant whoop. “See? The Dempseys might’ve slammed a door, but the universe opened a freaking skylight.”
I can’t stop the laugh that escapes me this time. I am going to be okay.
We finish a second glass, and then the day begins catching up to me. I thank them again and excuse myself to the guest room. I’m so tired.
But before I go to sleep, I force myself to read Ryker’s messages and respond.
Me: I’m sorry for the delay in getting back to you. It’s been a day. I’m at Beckett and Sadie’s now, and I am exhausted. Just wanted to let you know. I’ll be in touch again soon. Promise.