Chapter 22 Daphne
DAPHNE
Iwas about to pull away after dropping Martin and Hewitt at the airport terminal when someone caught my eye. I turned off the car and jumped out.
“Cru?” I yelled, waving my hands and rushing in his direction.
“Daphne?” he hollered back.
“Miss, you can’t leave your car there. This is a loading zone only,” said a traffic monitor, blocking my way.
“It’s okay. I’m loading. Or I’m about to.” I stood on my tiptoes to look over his shoulder and saw Cru within a few paces of us. “That’s my boyfriend, err, fiancé.” I pointed behind him.
“That’s right. I’m her fiancé,” said Cru, pushing past him and lifting me in his arms.
I had no idea whether the traffic guy stayed or left. All I could think about was the kiss Cru and I shared, about the way his arms felt around me, and my elation that he was here. I didn’t care why. Just that he was.
He set me on my feet, and we rushed over to my car, where the traffic guy was in the process of writing me a ticket. I sped off before he could finish, and in the rearview mirror, I saw him rip it up.
“I’d ask why you’re here when you’re supposed to be tending the vineyards, but I don’t care. I’m just so happy to see you.” I reached over and squeezed his hand.
“It’s Bit’s doing. Either I left or the workers would strike.”
My eyes opened wide. “Seriously?”
“I’m not sure, but he was convincing enough for me to listen.” He looked out the passenger window. “I’ve never been to Australia.”
“Sadly, this is the worst time of the year to visit, much like California in the winter.”
I glanced at him, and he was studying me. “Everything looks bright and beautiful to me. So, where are we headed?”
“My plan was to visit my father this morning, but I’ll take you to the house instead.”
Cru shook his head. “Let’s see him first, unless you think he won’t want me there.”
“Not at all. He adores you. Plus, it gives him the chance to speak to someone other than my mum, the rehab staff, or me. I’ll warn you, though, his words come quite slowly.
He struggles, and at times, it can take several minutes for him to complete a sentence.
The staff asks we not try to fill in the blanks for him. ”
“Understood. So, how do you feel about the progress he’s made?”
I sighed. “It’s one of those things that can be seen both positively and negatively. On one hand, he is making progress. On the other, he gets frustrated by how long it’s taking. Honestly, my mum and I do too.”
“Have you made any headway with the Cullen House board?”
I shook my head. “We’re still tied in terms of how the members have said they’d vote, which means the chairman settles the tie. The reason I was at the airport was because Martin Barrett and Hewitt Ridge, who still sit on the board, were called to return to the States.”
“Do you know why?” Cru asked.
“Martin said something about an emergency meeting.” I glanced over when he didn’t respond. His brow was furrowed. “Are you aware of what it’s about?”
“No, but after Bit dropped me at the SLO terminal, I overheard him on the phone saying everyone would be at the Los Cab wine caves tomorrow night at nine. He left before I could ask what was going on, and my messages to Beau, asking if he knew, have gone unanswered.”
“Why would he schedule a meeting in the caves of all places?” I asked. “Actually, never mind, I’m sure it’s quite hot on your side of the world.”
“That’s not why.”
I pulled into the rehab car park. “Why, then?”
He removed his seat belt and turned to face me. “I’ll tell you, but not yet. Let’s wait until after we see your father.”
“Very mysterious,” I said, smiling. “But, sure, if that’s what you’d prefer.”
As I’d anticipated, my father was thrilled to see Cru. His smile, which had been droopy from the time he came out of the coma, was getting better. Unless someone knew he’d struggled with it, they wouldn’t guess he’d had any facial paralysis at all.
He was seated in a chair, eating lunch, and since his hand-eye coordination was the least compromised, he gave the appearance of being perfectly fine. It was only his inability to speak clearly, or walk, that gave away his actual condition.
“Hi, Dad,” I said, leaning down to kiss his cheek while my mum embraced Cru.
“I didn’t know you were visiting,” I heard her say.
“It was a last-minute trip.”
“Daphne didn’t mention it.”
“I didn’t know. In fact, it was by chance that I was at the airport, dropping Martin and Hewitt off, at the same time Cru exited the terminal.”
“Fate.” All three of us turned when my father spoke.
“Yes, Dad, it certainly was.”
“Belong…together.”
My eyes filled with tears, making me wish I’d told my parents Cru and I were engaged. It didn’t seem right to do so, given it would only cause them to question whether I should remain in Australia when the reality was I had no other choice.
My mum was aware of the issues with the board, but we hadn’t informed my dad, and he hadn’t asked. There was the chance he didn’t recall what he’d learned right before the stroke.
Cru glanced at my bare left hand, and his eyes scrunched, most likely realizing I hadn’t let on that he’d proposed and I’d accepted.
We stayed another hour, then when my mum suggested Cru had had a long flight and might want to rest, we took it as an opportunity to leave and be alone, which we both desperately needed.
“I haven’t told them yet,” I said once we were in the car, but I hadn’t started the engine.
“You don’t have to explain, Daph.” He reached over and took my hand.
“I just felt like it might cause them more stress.”
Gazing into his eyes, I was reminded that Cru had always been patient with me, always understanding, always accepting. No matter what I’d done or what might have happened, he was forever my stalwart supporter. “I don’t deserve you,” I murmured like I had more than once in the time I’d known him.
Cru shook his head. “That’s because your previous boyfriends never treated you right.”
I chuckled that he’d used the plural form of the word when we both knew there was only one man he was referring to.
I started the car and was exiting the parking area when I realized that, if we went to my parents’ house and stayed in the room I’d had as a child, we’d be forced to sleep in a bed hardly large enough for me, and definitely not for the two of us.
I pulled over and rang the housekeeper, asking if she would please get one of the guesthouses ready for us.
I was relieved when she said both accommodations Martin and Hewitt had vacated this morning were clean and available for the next guests.
“I hope you’ll at least let me see the balloon mural,” Cru teased when I ended the call.
“It’s embarrassing, really.”
He stroked the back of my hand with his thumb. “Everything about you is fascinating to me, Daph.”
I shook my head, and my eyes filled with tears. “You’re so good to me, Cru.”
He smiled. “It’s because I love you.”
While I’d feared it might be awkward between us, the minute we walked through the front door of the guesthouse, we tore at each other’s clothes. Our mouths were fused when we tumbled into the bedroom and fell on the mattress, already naked.
“I need you, Daphne,” Cru said, positioning his hardness at the entrance to my drenched pussy.
“I need you too, Cru.”
Unlike the languid lovemaking he and I had had in the past, this was fast and hard, our passion for each other equally frenzied. Our bodies were intertwined in every way they could be, as if we couldn’t bear it if there was a place where our skin didn’t touch.
Our orgasms came quickly and simultaneously. Still, we held each other tightly, both overwhelmed by the emotion of being together again.
I loved Cru with all my heart, but that didn’t mean I knew what would come next for us. The best-case scenario was, once harvest ended in California, the grapes had been processed, and fermentation began, maybe he’d be able to return to Australia.
My parents might be able to manage for a few days or weeks without me in terms of my father’s rehabilitation, but until matters were resolved with the board of Cullen House, I wouldn’t feel comfortable setting foot outside of Australia.
Particularly now that Martin and Hewitt had returned to the States.
After a few minutes, Cru cupped my cheek and I looked into his eyes.
My breath caught when I asked how long he’d be able to stay at the exact moment he asked when I thought I’d be able to leave.
“I’m not sure,” I answered first.
He nodded, but his hurt was palpable.
“What about you?” I asked.
Cru shrugged. “I’m not sure, either. It depends on when and what I hear from Bit. My ticket is open-ended.”
I wished I saw that as a good thing, but it didn’t feel that way. All it meant was he could leave tomorrow if it became necessary.
“Your dad seems…”
I waited for him to finish, and when he didn’t, I said, “Better?”
“No, since I have nothing to base it on. I guess it’s just that I don’t see…”
“See what, Cru?” I snapped, irritated that he wasn’t finishing his sentences.
“What you can do for him that isn’t already being done.”
I nodded. “There’s more to my being here.”
“The board, you mean?”
I eased from his arms and sat up. “What I mean is there is someone working very hard to steal my family’s business away while my dad is in hospital, recovering from a stroke brought on by the same person’s actions.
If the bastard is successful, it would mean losing everything my parents worked their whole lives for. ”
I didn’t care for the way he was looking at me. In fact, it reminded me of Beau.
“You think I’m being melodramatic.” I stood and went into the bathroom, where I knew a robe hung on the back of the door.
When I returned, Cru was sitting up with his legs dangling over the side of the bed. The sheet covered the lower half of his body.
“Don’t put words in my mouth, Daphne.”
“What choice do I have when you won’t just say what you’re thinking?”
“I’m asking simple questions. Why are you getting angry?”