CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Sandy had booked reservations on a flight
from Reno to fly to Oakland and then he rented a car to drive the
remaining fifty miles to Sonoma. Lily was excited to be spending
her three-day weekend with her father. Sandy felt something was
stirring, but he didn’t know what. Talking to his mother on the
phone the night before they left, Jeanne had been vague about the
trip to Sonoma. Sandy thought she would have been pleased, since it
was obvious he was planning a life with Lily and he knew Jeanne
loved Lily. Jesse would be staying with his grandmother while he
was away.
He noticed the attention Lily received
walking through the Reno airport. There were slot machines
everywhere and some guys peeked around corners to get a look at
her. She was pretty enough to be on the cover of a magazine and he
was proud to be by her side. He held her hand most of the time and
a few men looked wistful.
The flight and drive were uneventful. Being
comfortable with one another, it was easy to joke and laugh. She
was good for him, he knew and felt they were a good match.
“I’m a bit nervous about meeting your dad,
sweetheart,” Sandy admitted when they pulled up outside Sam’s
house. “Are you sure he’ll like me?”
“Honey, of course, he will. I love you, why
won’t he?” Lily smiled at him. “Besides, it wouldn’t matter if he
didn’t. I’m pretty set about you.”
“Lily, is that true? It really wouldn’t
matter?”
“That’s not even going to be an issue. He’ll
love you.” She batted her pretty lashes at him and he chuckled.
Sam Cable still lived and worked on the small
ranch where Lily grew up. She had many childhood memories that
flooded over her as they pulled up in the circular drive in front
of Sam’s house. Behind the house, vineyards spilled out covering
the hill with green and brown stripes. There were several barns and
corrals on the side. Fragrant smells of lilac and sage permeated
the air.
Lily got out of the car, lazily stretched and
took a deep breath. It smelled like home.
“Pretty spread,” said Sandy, getting out of
the car. “He’s done well here—it’s obvious. You grew up here?” She
nodded happily at him. “Well, no wonder.”
“No wonder what?”
“…No wonder you are the way you are. You’ve
been nurtured with nature and love.” She came around the car and
put her arms around him. He kissed her lips and her nose. “Let’s
meet your father.”
Lily grabbed his hand and was leading Sandy
towards the house when Sam Cable opened the door. “Hey! How’s my
beautiful daughter?” He looked like a rugged individual and not
someone to mess with. Lily noticed the inspection Sam gave Sandy as
they seemed to size up one another.
Sam hurriedly came down the sidewalk as Lily
ran up to him. He gathered her in his arms, kissed both her cheeks,
then hugged her again. The love between them was obvious and
touching. Sam pulled her away to take a look at her. “You look
good, darlin’. I’ve missed you so much.”
“Missed you too, Dad. I want you to meet
Sandy Johnson,” said Lily proudly and stepped aside for Sandy.
Tall and handsome, he took a step towards Sam
and shook his outstretched hand. Sam was hard to read, but he
seemed pleasant enough. It would have to be a tough moment for any
father when his daughter’s love comes calling.
“How do you do, sir?” Sandy grasped his
cowboy hat in his left hand and shook Sam’s hand with his
right.
“Nice to meet you, young man.” He took a long
look at Sandy, then at his hat. “Nice hat. Where’d you get it? Have
to get one like it.” He winked at Lily.
“Dad, what are you talking about? You haven’t
bought a new cowboy hat in twenty years.”
“And thank you,” Sam said to Sandy, “for
bringing my darling Lily home to me at last. She’s been gone much
too long.” He beamed at his daughter. “She looks good, doesn’t’
she?”
“That she does, sir.” The corners of Sandy’s
mouth curved.
“Okay, you two. Let’s get into the house
before you start ganging up on me.”
Walking behind them, Sam shuddered. Sandy was
the spitting image of his father, Miles. Seeing him walk up his
sidewalk was like seeing the ghost of Miles Johnson. Could he keep
it together for Lily? He had to…
* * *
The grape harvest was in full swing. Sam
barely let them get their bags in the door, when he took them off
for a tour of the vineyard. He had laborers helping with the
harvest this year.
“Dad harvests his grapes by hand, which is
more expensive a process but protects the grape,” explained
Lily.
“I am a traditionalist,” offered Sam waving a
hand toward the vineyard. “But I don’t have enough acreage to
harvest by machine.”
“I’m afraid I know nothing about harvesting
and making wine,” said Sandy.
“Great!” Lily’s eyebrow arched. “Then I
finally know more than you do about something!”
“And that’s okay with me.”
“Quit picking on Sandy,” chuckled Sam. “Let’s
get you two into pickin’ clothes. I have overalls, but you can wear
jeans. I sure wouldn’t wear anything that grape juice would
wreck.”
“I want the overalls, Dad, and so does
Sandy.”
“You bet I do.”
After freshening up and changing, they met at
the front of the vineyard. Everyone was given buckets and they
began picking the grapes. It’s a laborious process but must be done
at the moment the viticulturist or winemaker says the grapes are
ready. Working on a hilly terrain was tricky keeping one’s balance.
Lily showed Sandy how to plant his feet, so he wouldn’t slip.
Sam watched their every move out of the
corner of his eye. Lily was definitely in love with this cowboy.
She was so solicitous of everything he did—like she revolved around
him. She was in his orbit. If Sandy had been almost anybody else,
Sam would have kicked up his heels in glee. Instead, he found
himself almost moping.
Sandy wasn’t sure how to gauge Sam Cable’s
reactions. He didn’t know the man at all, but he had hoped for him
to be a little more congenial. Sam seemed to pull in when he should
have been reaching out. What’s going on here? Is it the “he’s
taking my little girl from me” problem again? That didn’t seem
appropriate, since Lily had been married once before, albeit
briefly.
What an incredibly tiring day…Sandy was in
good shape, but harvesting grapes used a different muscle set. All
that standing, bending, picking, crouching… He’d be sore tonight,
he knew.
“You guys about done with that row, honey?”
Sam called out from a back row.
“Yes, Dad. Want us to start another one?”
Sandy stretched his back and hoped he
didn’t.
“That’s good for today. We’ve made a good
dent.”
They trooped tiredly back to the house, while
the laborers left for the day. Everyone would be back at it bright
and early tomorrow morning. That evening, over dinner, Sandy
received a crash course in winemaking.
“There are many processes to winemaking.” Sam
proceeded to take them through de-stemming, crushing to extract the
juice, alcoholic fermentation and racking, where the clear wine is
removed from the sediment. Sandy’s head swirled with viticulture
information.
“My beautiful daughter grew up with my varied
attempts at winemaking. Some not always as successful as others,”
Sam laughed.
“Dad, I’m pooped. We need to get some sleep
before we get up and do it all again,” Lily whined. Sandy tiredly
nodded.
“Of course. Lily, you’re in your old bedroom
and Sandy has the guest room. All the sheets are clean and new
towels already installed in the bathrooms.”
Sam went to clean up the kitchen, while Sandy
and Lily made their way to the bedrooms. Lily mouthed “Sorry” at
Sandy as they went into separate bedrooms; Sandy wasn’t surprised.
They weren’t married and her dad was old-fashioned—and that was
fine. He would have liked to kiss her goodnight, however. That
would no doubt embarrass her father, so he just wished her
goodnight.
Sam dried the dinner dishes long after the
dishes were no longer wet. He was desperately thinking of how to
handle what was surely going to happen. Sandy was a decent, well
brought-up man, but…this was going to be much harder than he
thought. When Sam was too tired to think anymore, he wearily
wandered to his bedroom, and sank down on his feather bed. Sleep
didn’t come easily.
* * *
The next day was a copy of the first. They
walked all over the hills behind Sam’s house picking every grape
cluster that looked ripe. Sam would wander around with his
refractometer, a device that checks sugar levels. He would always
come up to tease Lily and ask Sandy how he was doing. Sandy noticed
he kept his distance. Something was wrong, he decided, but he would
let Sam bring it up when it was time. That time would probably be
tonight, since he and Lily had to leave tomorrow.
After the harvest finished for the day, Sam
said, “Get dressed, you two. I’m taking you out for dinner.”
“Dad, not the Hitching Post!”
“It’s a great restaurant, really, Sandy. Lily
just has been there one too many times.”
Sandy laughed. “That’s fine, Mr. Cable.
Anyplace you say, but I’d like to pay, if you don’t mind. Just to
repay you for your hospitality this weekend.”
Dinner went fine. The old restaurant looked
and smelled like an ancient chuck wagon, complete with steak, bread
and beans. Sandy thought the atmosphere a little strained, but
chalked it up to the newness of the situation. Since they both
loved Lily, he was sure anything could be worked out… smoothed out,
if there was a problem.
Sam and Sandy both smiled and practically
cooed at Lily. It was easier to talk with and about her than to
each other. Lily finally said to Sandy, “You’ve hardly said
anything at all about your ranch. Or about your mother.”
Sam looked up, an unreadable expression on
his sagging face.
“Dad, you know Jeanne Johnson, don’t you? She
mentioned being in school with you when you lived in Naples.” Lily
looked questioningly at him.
Sam withered physically right in front of
them. He looked guilty, like he had been caught with his hand in a