Chapter Three
"Just look at this place." Callie turned in a circle, taking in the beautiful views. Rows of what seemed like miles and miles of vines stretched before them over the rolling countryside. "It's so freaking beautiful."
Ollie turned to her with a smile. "Isn't it? I'm glad you like it."
She laughed. "You sound as though you're proud of it."
She felt bad when he dropped his gaze. She seemed to keep putting her foot in it, and she didn't know how. She would never have pegged him as being the sensitive type. But maybe he was. She just couldn't figure him out.
"That wasn't a criticism, you know. I like that you're proud of the place where you live."
She looked down at the dogs, who were standing beside them as he held their leashes tight. "What do you say, puppers?" she asked them. "Do you think we can talk him into letting you off the leash so that we can run?"
She looked up at Ollie, who seemed to have recovered from whatever was bothering him. "And you're sure it's okay for them to run free here?"
He nodded. "Yep. It's definitely not a problem."
He sounded so sure of himself that she wanted to ask why. But given the way he was acting, she didn't even dare do that.
She watched as he unhooked the leashes and — surprisingly to her — removed their harnesses too. He looked up, seeming to feel her gaze on him, and explained, "They don't really like to wear them, and they don't need them here."
Even once they were free, Peanut and Butter pranced around his feet, both watching his face eagerly.
They had to be the best-trained dogs she'd ever met, and easily the most loyal to their human.
There was no mistaking that they loved him, and he loved them right back.
Whatever the weird tension was about, it seemed to fade when he looked at the dogs.
"What are they waiting for?" she asked.
"Me to tell them it's okay," he said without looking away from the dogs. "Are you ready?" he asked them, taking up a position himself as if he were about to start a race.
Peanut and Butter lined up on either side of him, looking for all the world as if the three of them were about to sprint from the blocks. Callie laughed as she watched.
"Do I need to drop a flag or something?"
Ollie chuckled. "We might have to try that in the future, but we're okay for now. We're used to doing this, just the three of us."
Butter gave a sharp bark as if in agreement, and Peanut whined in a way that sounded to Callie like she was saying, Come on, guys. Let's go.
"Are you ready?" Ollie asked. "Get steady... and go!"
On the word go, all three of them took off, leaving Callie laughing as they sprinted away from her. She only stood there for a moment before running after them. If she'd known he was serious, she would have lined up with them.
When she caught up to them, Ollie was bent over, resting his hands on his knees, panting, while Peanut and Butter danced around him.
"Who won?" she asked. "I couldn't see from back there."
"Would you believe me if I said I did?" Ollie asked.
She had to laugh when both dogs barked at that. "Um, I'd have to say that's a no," she told him.
He straightened up and met her gaze. "That's because you're a smart lady."
She shrugged. "I don't know about smart, but even I can spot the truth when it's staring me in the face."
She turned to the dogs. "Which one of you two won, then, puppers?"
Peanut dropped her head, and Butter pranced over to her.
"So, it was you, was it, big boy?"
He gave two sharp barks before turning and racing away from them. Peanut took off after him, and Ollie called, "Don't go too far, guys!"
Callie watched in amazement as they turned and came racing back to them.
"Want to walk?" Ollie asked, gesturing along the avenue between the vines where the dogs had just run.
"I'd love to," she told him. "It really is so beautiful out here.
Don't get me wrong, Jacob and Becca's place is, too.
" She turned in a circle again. "But there's something about this place.
I don't know. The views are different, and it feels.
.." She shrugged, feeling a little self-conscious.
"I don't know. It just feels like a good place to me. "
She had no idea why he looked so pleased about that, but at least she felt like she'd finally said something right.
"I like it here, too," he said eventually. "Do you think you could put your finger on what it is that feels good to you?"
She thought about it as they walked on in silence, the dogs running ahead and circling back to check on them every so often.
"Maybe it's because I'm here with these things.
" She pointed to the vines. "I mean, I know I've been surrounded by them ever since I arrived in Napa, but this feels different.
Being right here with them, seeing them as something growing from the ground instead of just as a scenic background, you know?
" She worried at her bottom lip. "Does that make sense to you, or does it sound stupid? "
"It makes all the sense in the world to me. This is the part of Napa that I like."
She gave him a puzzled look.
"I don't mean the place," he added hurriedly.
"I mean the fact that it's... even though so much gets laid over the top — the businesses, the money" — he made a face — "the wealth, the glitz and glamour, if you like — these.
.." He reached out to touch the leaves of one of the vines.
"These are what it's all about. Something natural.
Something the earth provides." He gave her a rueful smile. "That must sound pretty dumb, huh?"
"Maybe to some folks around here, but not to me," she assured him. "Not to anyone who grew up on a farm."
She turned in a circle again as it suddenly hit her. When she faced him again, Ollie was smiling, and when he spoke, she realized that it had hit him too.
"Go on. You can say it," she told him.
He chuckled. "You don't want to admit it yourself?"
She shook her head.
"Then okay, I will say it, because you need to hear it. Napa isn't so different from what you're used to. These guys are farmers too. Grape farmers. And if you want to look at it that way, you might find yourself feeling a bit more comfortable around here."
She chuckled. "You're right. I'm not even going to argue about the scale of it, or any of that stuff. I'm just going to let you have the win."
"I'm not keeping score," he said hurriedly.
She waved a hand. "I know, it's just an expression. But the point is, you're right. If I can look at it that way, this place, these people, all feel a lot more relatable. They're just farmers with different..." She searched for the word. "Trappings, if that's the right word."
"It'll do for starters," Ollie said with a smile. "Hey, guys, get back here!"
She followed his gaze just in time to see Peanut's tail disappearing between the vines as they dashed off into the next row.
"Peanut! Butter!" His voice was much sharper as he called again. But that didn't stop Callie from laughing at the ridiculousness of a grown man standing in the middle of a row of vines, shouting "Peanut! Butter!" to get his huge Dobermans to come back to him.
He laughed with her. "I know. I should have thought it out better before I named them."
~ ~ ~
Ollie watched the spot where the dogs had disappeared before calling again. "Peanut! Butter! Get back here now!"
He and Callie both watched expectantly, but after a few moments, when neither of the dogs reappeared, he frowned. It hit him that they might have just decided to go home. He hadn't been paying attention as they walked, but the whole time they'd been getting closer and closer to the house.
He squeezed his eyes tight shut. This was the last thing he needed. Maybe they could catch up with them.
"Feel like a run?" he asked Callie.
"Oh no!" she exclaimed. "I thought they were okay here. Do you think—" She was already taking off, and he ran after her.
"It's okay. There's nothing to worry about. They are fine here. It's just..." It wasn't as though he could explain what he was worried about. "They'll be fine," he said again as they cut through the rows of vines. "Peanut! Butter! Get back here!"
This time she didn’t laugh; she looked over at him as they jogged. "You don't sound like it's fine. You sound worried."
"It'll be okay," he assured her. One way or another, it'd have to be.
Maybe the dogs were doing him a favor. Maybe they'd lead them on a chase all the way to the house, and when they got there, he'd just have to come clean about why Peanut and Butter were sitting by the back door waiting for him to let them in.
They jogged on in silence, Ollie calling their names occasionally, even though he figured it was probably in vain.
As they approached the house, he started rehearsing in his head how he could explain to her.
At this point, there'd be no hiding that the dogs lived here.
All he could do would be to come clean and ask for forgiveness.
As they cut through the last row of vines and emerged onto the driveway, Callie shot him a panicked look. "I hope you meant it when you said that we're okay to be here." She glanced up at the house. "Whoever lives here..."
"Doesn't mind. I promise you that," he said. "You see, the thing is, Callie..."
"Oh no, look! Here they come," she interrupted, pointing toward a Toyota 4Runner coming up the drive. "Is this them?"
Ollie took a couple of deep breaths, wondering how exactly to explain things to her. The 4Runner pulled up beside them, and Rosa climbed out with a puzzled smile.
"Oh, you're here," she said. "I wondered what was going on. I saw the dogs out by themselves, so I thought I'd better come check."
"Yeah." Ollie gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "Sorry about that. We parked up at the far end to let them have a run."
He hoped that would sound plausible to both Rosa and Callie, even if for very different reasons.
"Right," she nodded. "Here they are."