CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Lennox
When I arrived on the vineyard property this time, I didn’t park in front of the main house; instead, I continued on down the one-lane gravel road through the copse of gnarly oaks and skinny alders.
She’d told me about her little cottage, but I still had no idea what to expect until it came into view.
And it was adorable. Complete with window flower boxes teeming with vibrant red geraniums and hanging baskets on either side of the porch with red and purple petunias spilling out.
I wasn’t a flower guy, per se, but Dawn had a greener thumb than anyone I’d ever met, and she schooled me on some of her preferred annual blooms.
The shake cedar siding was clean, almost like it’d been freshly pressure-washed, and even the windows seemed to sparkle without a smudge or streak.
I parked my truck next to Naomi’s SUV and turned off the ignition.
It was nice and protected in here with decent shade, but lots of dappling sunlight to keep the dark winters from making things too gloomy.
I walked up to the front porch and was about to knock when the door opened, my fist poised in the air. Honor stood in front of me. “Hi,” she said.
“Hi, Honor. How are you?”
“I’m fine. Where are you taking my mom on your date?”
I should have been used to blunt kids with direct questions, considering I had one of my own and I worked at a school, but this was an entirely different rodeo. This was the kid of the woman I was pursuing. And she was one of my students. I needed to tread lighter than normal.
I cleared my throat and tossed on a big smile. “I think we’re just going to go have a picnic somewhere. I’ve packed lots of yummy snacks—”
“Did you pack alcohol?”
“Honor, lay off,” Naomi said, coming down a narrow set of stairs looking absolutely gorgeous.
“Hey,” she said, her thick, brunette curls bouncing over her shoulders.
For possibly the first time since I met her, she wasn’t wearing overalls.
To be honest, I kind of missed them. But in loose-fitting jeans and a baggy, black croptop that showed off her tight stomach, she also looked hot.
Her top slid off one shoulder provocatively, revealing the strap of a red bra, and my mouth went a little dry.
“Hey,” I finally croaked out, unable to take my eyes off her.
“Are you taking alcohol?” Honor asked me again, shaking me out of my trance.
“I, uh … your mom said she was going to bring a bottle of wine. But I doubt we’ll drink the whole thing. It’s a school and work night.”
“We can each have a glass, honey,” Naomi said, running her hand down the back of her daughter’s head before kissing the crown.
“Nobody is going to drive drunk or anything.” She beamed at me before her eyes wandered down my body and turned heated, hopefully with appreciation. She met my gaze again. “You look nice.”
“Uh … thanks. S-so do you. You look great.”
She rocked back on her heels. “Been ages since I’ve worn anything but overalls.” She patted her chest, then the sides of her legs. “I kind of feel naked not having as many handy pockets.”
Honor snorted and rolled her eyes.
“Where’s your brother?” Naomi asked her daughter.
“He went to find Damon and Marco to play Hacky Sack.”
“And you’re heading to the main house to see Laurel and Sam and have dinner?”
“Sam’s at Tom’s with Danica, but yeah, I’m going to go hang out with Laurel.”
“Find your brother on the way over there and remind him Aunt Gabrielle is feeding you two dinner tonight. Please.”
Honor nodded.
Naomi grabbed a green cardigan off a coatrack and slung it over her arm, then picked up a tote bag, which I guessed had the wine, from the round kitchen table. “Ready?” she asked me.
“Totally!”
Honor stepped out with us, and after getting another kiss on the head from her mother, she skipped off down the gravel laneway toward the main house.
“Your place is really cool,” I said to Naomi as we climbed into the truck.
“Thanks. I love it. It’s small for sure, but we make it work.
We live minimally, do our laundry at the main house, but in the winter when the wind and rain are trying to sink the island, it’s so cozy.
We have a woodstove and I put on a new roof and installed extra insulation on the place two summers ago.
The thing could withstand a new ice age or a tsunami. ”
We grinned at each other in the cab, even though my gut was spinning like a janky carnival ride.
“Where to?” she asked.
I lifted one shoulder. “I was kind of hoping you had a picnic place suggestion since you know the island better than I do. Heaven’s Leap is really the only place I know.”
She stroked her chin and made an exaggerated face of deep thought. “We could go to the new property, actually. I could show you what we’ve been up to and detail our plans. It’ll be quiet and we won’t have to worry about anybody else coming to bother us or interrupt.”
Her eyes widened when she said that last word because, like me, I was sure her mind immediately fell into the gutter.
“What I mean is … we won’t have to worry about running into Jolene Dandy or other islanders. You know?”
I nodded. “Gotcha. Where is it?”
She exhaled in relief. “It’s next to Tom’s place. It’s between Tom’s and the brewery.”
I headed in the direction of Tom’s property, unsure if the silence that settled between us was supposed to feel this awkward or tenuous.
I’d never been on a date before. Was this normal?
Was I supposed to bring her flowers or open her door for her?
Was I already botching this thing right out of the gate?
“How was your workday?” she asked. “Mold any young minds?”
“So many young minds,” I replied, grinning at her. “How was your day?”
“Busy,” she exhaled. “We’ve got all our new staff for the season, and I’ve been training them.
Three new hires in the tasting room, plus one returning staffer whom I’ve promoted to assistant manager.
She’s really eager and responsible, so I’m excited to be able to pass off some of the duties to her. ”
“Amazing. Is she helping you train the other three new hires?”
“Yeah. We’re doing lots of tasting, pairing, and discussions of what each wine should taste like and how to recommend certain wines to people who might not have a clue what they want.
Two of the three hires seem to know their wines a bit, and what they like and don’t like.
The other one—a twenty-two-year-old guy from Oregon—he keeps saying he prefers beer. ”
“Why’d you hire him then?”
“I didn’t. Gabrielle did. And he has loads of hospitality and service experience. He has a diploma in hospitality management.”
“So, on paper, he looks super qualified.”
“Exactly. I’m hoping Amy, Tova, and Brittany can whip ol‘ Corbin into shape. Otherwise, I’ll have to give him the boot, regardless of whether he’s qualified or not.”
“Yeah, the last thing you need is some staffer saying, ‘I know you want to try the Moscato, but honestly, I think an IPA would be more up your alley.’”
Her eyes went wide, and she nodded. “Exactly. And I could totally see this kid doing that. I could see him plugging the brewery and sending people there. Which I don’t mind. We can all exist and succeed on the island. But don’t be pushing the pizza place next door when you run a falafel cart.”
I snorted and took a left at the four-way.
“How’s Mabel doing?” she asked, her demeanor shifting to serious and concerned.
“She’s okay. We’ve been having a lot of conversations about Kyla and what would happen if she shows up and wants to be part of Mabel’s life.
She’s started speaking with her virtual counselor again, which is good.
I actually dropped her off at Tom’s on the way here.
She wanted to see the osprey and hang out with the animals. ”
“What would happen if Kyla showed up and tried to get visitation or custody?”
I pursed my lips and kept my gaze on the road ahead.
“I don’t know. My lawyers say she doesn’t really have any leg to stand on.
Yes, she’s on Mabel’s birth certificate, but she signed away her parental rights.
She’s also been classified as a sex offender and has been added to the registry.
I don’t know how the courts would view that with regards to a custody or visitation appeal. ”
“You think there’s a chance though?”
I glanced at her and clenched my molars hard enough that I was sure the veins in my neck were sticking out. “I don’t know.”
The truth was, when it came to Kyla, I always feared the worst. She was a soulless, manipulative narcissist. I wasn’t sure she had the capacity to love her child.
“It’s right here,” she said, pointing to the driveway on the left.
I nodded and turned down the driveway, which appeared to have been recently widened, given the fresh gravel, the hacked back branches, and mounds of dirt on either side.
The driveway had a couple of twists to it, but when it opened up, my jaw dropped.
No wonder everyone on the island was fighting for this land.
It was stunning. Even with the excavator sitting in the middle of a dirt pile and pallets of construction supplies scattered throughout, the potential of this property might as well have smacked me across the face.
And of course, it was all set against the stunning, unencumbered view of the water.
The land was sloped, but I could see where they were going to level it off for their various projects.
A ramshackle, single-story house with grimy plank siding and a mossy roof sat square in the middle of the place, with freshly mowed grass around it.
“You can park anywhere,” she said.
I drove a bit further until we were next to the house where it was flat again. Then I backed the truck up so when we climbed into the back we could look out at the water.
“How’s this?”
“Perfect.”
I shut off the engine, and we climbed out.