Chapter 12 Eberly
EBERLY
Since I called Trevino in the middle of the night and he brought me to Los Cab, he and I hadn’t been apart longer than the length of a shower.
On one hand, I liked it. Until I knew what was going on with my dad, I was skittish.
On the other hand, the more attached I got to him, the harder it would be once everything was sorted and things returned to the way they originally were. Because they would, wouldn’t they?
Like Tiernan, I didn’t doubt Trevino would eventually find me lacking, given my innocence and inexperience, and he’d either move on or return to women like Priscilla who probably knew when to call him sir and when not to.
While I’d always been introverted, even shy, I had moments of sticking up for myself. Even times when I was emboldened. Sadly, those were fewer and farther between before I turned into a metaphorical doormat.
Was that why my father had thought nothing of forging my name on legal documents where he’d basically cheated me out of a business I was part owner of?
Not to mention—our house? I couldn’t imagine how he thought I’d react.
Did he think I’d just go along with it without question?
And what now? Fraud was a crime. Was he counting on me looking the other way, not wanting him to be in trouble for it?
Admittedly, a part of me didn’t. I wasn’t certain, but maybe he could even go to jail for what he’d done.
The other thing bothering me was I knew my parents had significant wealth. What had happened to all that money?
And what about his relationship with Tiernan?
Were my dad and him in cahoots the entire time?
Had he decided not to marry me because he realized my father had no money left?
Or was it because my dad had told him he had no control over or access to my trust fund?
Or was it simply because he thought I was boring?
I clenched my fists at my sides. The farther I walked, the more I hated how unworldly I was. Not that I had any idea how to become more so. Not in life in general, and particularly not in relationships. Specifically—sex. Trevino was the first man who’d opened that door for me, and barely so far.
The very things I couldn’t stand about Tiernan, like the way he’d tried to control me, were, at least in part, similar to how Trevino treated me. Except it felt so different. No, it was so different. He respected me. I didn’t know that from his words alone; I knew it from his actions.
God, when he’d told me to unfasten my jeans and touch myself, I almost had an orgasm from his words alone.
Would that grow tiresome for him? Would he lose interest once he realized I wasn’t just inexperienced, but also unimaginative?
What then? Would he decide we weren’t compatible and end things shortly after they began?
That was what he said had happened with Priscilla.
“Eberly?” I heard him say from a few paces behind me when I reached the gate leading into the Stonehouse gardens.
I spun around on him but couldn’t speak. My nerves were frayed, and my emotions were in a state of chaos. Nothing good would come of me sharing my thoughts right now.
He got closer, but I took a step away.
“Hey, what happened between the time we left the cottage and now?”
I folded my arms, and my eyes filled with tears. “I can’t tell you.”
His brow furrowed. “Why not?”
I looked up at the sky. “Because I’m feeling really stupid right now. I know you told me not to say things like that about myself, but I can’t help how I feel. And if you don’t want to hear it, you shouldn’t ask.”
“Can I touch you?”
“Yes.”
He took two more steps and put his hands on my shoulders. “I remember the first day we worked together. We were in this very spot, and you shared your ideas for the old winery with me.”
“That isn’t helping,” I muttered.
“What do you mean?”
“I already said I was feeling stupid. I know I overstepped that day.”
He shook his head. “What you did was dazzle me, both with your exuberance and your vision. Then, when we went inside, rather than seeing a filthy, dilapidated space, you told me to picture a couple dancing.”
My cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and he stroked my face with his fingertips.
“When Alex announced the details of the date I offered in the bachelor auction, it didn’t dawn on you that what I planned was in an effort to recreate our time together that afternoon?”
“It might have.”
He smiled. “Can you say—honestly—that you didn’t realize how often I invented ridiculous reasons to stop by here when I knew you’d be working? That the reason I did was so I could see you?”
“I thought I was imagining it because I wanted it so badly.”
Trevino leaned down and kissed me, then stroked my hair. “I can’t stop you from feeling regret about the things that are happening with your father, but none of it is your fault or your doing.”
“That wasn’t what I was thinking about.”
“Will you share with me what it was?”
I gulped and took a deep breath. “I’m inexperienced.”
“And you think I don’t like it?”
“Maybe you do now, but what if you get, you know, bored?”
“I worry more that the way I am will be too much for you.”
“I like it,” I whispered.
“Little dove, we have barely scratched the surface of how I am, what I need.” An alarm went off on his phone. “Dammit, I’m sorry, but we need to leave.”
I dropped the arms I’d put around him, but he put them back.
“Later, we’ll talk about the things we should have already. For now, we need to make sure your house, and maybe even the winery, is protected. Okay?”
He kissed me again when I said it was.
“Know this. I won’t get bored, Eberly.”
“How can you be sure?”
He rested his forehead against mine. “I’ll tell you later.”
When we walked into Zin’s law office, Uncle Michael met us as we walked in the door.
He held his arms out to me, and as I fell into his embrace, I thought about how much I needed this from my own father.
He could be demonstrative, but it wasn’t that often.
Not like my mom had been. Tears ran down my cheeks as I thought about how much I missed her but also how good it felt to have her brother comfort me.
“Thank you for being here,” I said, wiping my tears.
“We’ll get this sorted,” he said, motioning me into the conference room before shaking Trevino’s hand. “Thank you for all you’re doing,” I heard him say.
Zin pulled out a chair for me and waited until Trevino was seated beside me before he and his father took seats themselves.
“Before we go any further, there’s something I need to ask you, Eberly. You may not be able to answer me right away, and that’s fine, but it’s something you need to think about,” said my uncle.
“How to handle what my dad’s done?”
“That’s right. We don’t know the whole story, so most of what we’re going on are the facts as they’ve presented themselves. There is a chance that if everything is as it looks, your father may face legal ramifications.”
“I’ve considered he might.”
“Have you come to any conclusions?”
Trevino reached over and took my hand.
“I want to hear his side of the story, but at the same time, I can’t lose the house because of it.
” No one understood why not more than my uncle.
It was where he and my mother grew up. When my parents married, they moved into a guesthouse on the property, and when my grandmother passed away, my granddad took the smaller house.
He insisted my parents live in the bigger one, and while I wasn’t born yet, my mom was pregnant with me at the time.
“It wasn’t his to use as collateral,” I said, looking into Uncle Michael’s eyes. “He knew I wouldn’t agree to it, which is why he handled it the way he did.”
“It’s easy to make that assumption,” said Zin. “However, we need to give him the same benefit of the doubt the court would.”
“I agree,” I responded.
“I think what my dad is saying is, if it comes down to it and your father is facing prosecution, you will need to decide whether you want to press charges. The decision may also be taken out of your hands. The main thing is that you’re aware of the possibility.”
“I am.”
Trevino squeezed my hand when I glanced over at him. I hoped he knew how much I appreciated him being here and, for the second time, not interjecting his opinion.
“One thing we’ll be asking for this afternoon is to subpoena the sales documents for Eberly Winery. I believe, given the questionable nature of the loan documents, the judge will grant the order,” said my uncle.
As much as I didn’t want confirmation that my father had done the same thing with the sale of the winery as he did with the house, I had to know. If there was any way for me to save it, I couldn’t stop short.
I couldn’t believe it, but by the end of the hearing, the judge had granted everything Zin asked for. In addition to the injunction preventing the foreclosure on the house, there was an order stopping the removal of any assets from the winery.
Now, it was imperative we find my dad. There was a good chance he’d disappeared intentionally, not knowing how to handle telling me we’d lost everything. What I had no idea how to do was get in touch with him to tell him what I needed more than anything was for him to come home.
When we returned to Zin’s office and I said as much, Trevino asked to speak with me privately.
“I have an idea, Eberly, but I can’t share exactly what it is with you yet. I’m asking you to trust me on this.”
I stared into his eyes. “I do,” I said without hesitation.
He brought my hand to his lips and kissed my palm. “I can’t tell you what that means to me. How much I’m honored by it.”
I sensed there was more he had to say, and whatever it was, I wouldn’t like. “But?”
He smiled. “It means I’ll need to be elsewhere for at least a couple of hours. In turn, that means our talk will be delayed.”
I hated that being apart from him for that long worried me as much as it did. A week ago, I was alone most of the time.
“I’m going to request your uncle to stay with you. Will you agree to it?” he asked as if he’d read my mind.
“Of course. I mean, if he doesn’t mind.”
“He will not.”