Alex
Twenty-two
The porch light at Josie’s house casts a soft circle across the gravel as I pull in. Josie called, and then Eloise finally fell asleep not long ago, so I came as soon as I could.
I walk up the short path to Josie’s porch and knock. I realize I’m holding my breath without meaning to.
The door opens after a moment, and Josie stands in the doorway, her hair pulled back in a haphazard way. The light from inside the house falls across her face, and her eyes look dull with exhaustion. “Hey,” she says quietly.
“Hey,” I answer.
She steps back to let me in.
I glance around automatically as my eyes adjust to the light. Josie lingers near the door while I take a few steps into the living room. A lamp glows beside the couch, casting a pool of light over the cushions and the low table in front of it.
“How are you doing?” I ask. “Today couldn’t have been easy.”
She exhales, the breath leaving her in a whoosh. “That’s definitely accurate.”
I step closer and gesture toward the couch. “Come sit for a minute,” I tell her. “You don’t have to stand there.”
For a moment she hesitates, but then she crosses the room. We sit down together on the couch.
“I’ll grab you something to drink,” I say, pushing to my feet before she can protest. The kitchen sits just off the living room. I open the refrigerator and pour two glasses of water before carrying them back.
When I return, she’s sitting where I left her, slightly melted into the couch. I hand her one of the glasses and take the seat beside her again.
“Thanks,” she says softly. She takes a slow drink and rests the glass against her knee. “It’s been a strange day,” she adds.
I turn toward her, resting my arm along the back of the couch behind her shoulders. “Strange how?”
“I keep expecting her to walk into the room,” she says. “Every time the door opens, I think it’s going to be Evie.”
I nod silently, giving her the space to keep going.
“She ran everything for so long,” Josie continues.
“The vineyard, the family, half the town, if we’re being honest.” She rubs her thumb along the side of the glass.
“Today felt like everyone was looking at Ric, Sera, and me to see what happens next. People calling all day, every day for updates. Questions about the winery. Questions about things I didn’t even know Evie handled.
And then there are my aunts, uncles, and cousins, and it seems she made promises to all of them.
Everyone wants answers, and everyone seems ready to fight.
She made promises to Sera and me too, and they can’t all be true.
I’m pretty sure most of us are going to end up unhappy. ”
Her shoulders rise slightly with the breath she takes before letting it go again. “Eventually it’s all going to work out,” she adds after a moment. “But today pulled the curtain back on the ugliness that’s going to get here first.”
I slide my arm gently around her shoulders, pulling her a little closer. “You know that vineyard better than most people in this town,” I say quietly. “That can’t count for nothing.”
She gives a small nod, her gaze lowering toward the floor. “It just depends on who ends up in charge. If it’s my cousins, they’ve said they don’t want to use the land for wine anymore.”
My eyes widen, and Josie just nods. “Black Bear has always been Evie’s,” she says.
“Even though the rest of us worked here. And she used that to her advantage to get what she wanted at any given time.” She lets out a breath that sounds more tired than frustrated.
“Now that she’s gone, everyone wants to know what happens next. ”
Her hand tightens around the glass before she sets it on the table in front of us.
“I’d like to know that too. I’ve worked there my whole life.
I know the land, the vines, and the harvest cycles.
But now it’s not clear that matters. I’m trying to be positive, but I’m not sure what I’ll do with myself if suddenly I’m not employed. ”
It’s cruel and unfair that she finds herself in this position.
I feel that in my gut. “Okay, but if Evie felt that strongly about her legacy, it doesn’t seem like she’d turn the land over to people who want to do something entirely different.
” I glance toward her, noticing the small crease forming between her brows.
“So let’s say Black Bear is going to continue producing wine. What are the next steps for you then?”
“I know how to keep being a vintner, but it’s everything else that will be a challenge.
Evie handled the negotiations. She dealt with the distributors, the lawyers, and the people in town.
When something went wrong, she already knew who to call.
” She pauses thoughtfully. “I’ve always been there beside her, but beside someone and out in front of everything are two very different places to stand.
” She leans her head against my shoulder.
“I just don’t know how I’m supposed to carry all of it alone. ”
My heart leaps, but I keep my voice calm when I answer. “You won’t have to.”
She doesn’t respond, though I feel a shift in her posture when the words reach her.
“I mean that,” I add.
She turns her head slightly and studies my face. “Thank you.”
I nod and squeeze her a little closer.
“That’s a lot to volunteer for,” she says after a second.
“It’s not,” I reply, the answer coming easily. “And you’ve got enough on your shoulders right now.”
The faintest smile touches the corner of her mouth, though the tiredness behind it doesn’t disappear. “I appreciate it,” she says quietly.
“You don’t have to hold everything together tonight, either,” I say.
She lets out a long breath that sounds like it’s been sitting in her chest all day. Then she relaxes into the space I’m holding for her.
Outside the windows, the vineyard is dark and silent. Inside, the lamp continues to glow softly beside us. Josie stays where she is, her breathing slow and even as the day’s tension finally seems to fade.
I remain exactly where I am, holding her close.
Her head rests against my chest now, and her hand drifts lightly across the front of my shirt, as if confirming that I’m still here. I cover her hand with mine, the warmth of her fingers pressing against my palm.
“Thank you for coming over,” she says softly. “You didn’t have to do that tonight.”
“There isn’t anywhere else I’d rather be,” I reply.
She nods once, the small motion brushing her hair against my chest. She stays where she is, leaning against me with an ease that feels different from the careful distance we sometimes keep between us.
Her hand slides across my chest. “You’re very steady,” she says after a moment.
I tilt my head so I can see her face more clearly. “Is that a compliment?” I ask.
A faint smile touches her mouth. “Absolutely,” she says quietly. “So different than the rest of this day, than the rest of my life right now.”
The words linger between us.
The moment deepens without either of us needing to explain it. Outside the windows the vineyard rests beneath the night sky, its future not entirely certain. But inside, this room feels steady and close. I suppose our future is not particularly certain either, but the way forward seems clear.
For now, as the evening unfolds around us, I let the moment remain exactly as it is.