Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
Helia tugged her down vest around her body, grateful she’d had the foresight to throw it on before walking to Collin’s.
She’d been either moving all day, taking care of the wedding cleanup, or in her office and hadn’t realized how far the temperatures had dropped.
At least by Northern California standards.
She crossed over to his property and paused to send him a text.
Helia: ten minutes out
Collin: Door’s unlocked, come in when you get here
She stared at the text for longer than the few words required.
In the past three days, the reality that he was back hit her at odd times.
The reality that he was once again within walking distance.
That she talked and laughed with him several times a day.
Not quite like no time had passed, but damn close.
Smiling, she tucked her phone back in her pocket and continued down the row.
Seeing Collin daily was definitely no hardship.
Although she probably shouldn’t think about that too much.
She had no idea if he was dating someone or otherwise spoken for.
He didn’t wear a ring, but many people didn’t these days.
Although the way he’d touched her, held her hand…
no, he wouldn’t have done any of those things if there was someone in his life.
A hawk swooped overhead, then dived between two rows of vines, no doubt leaving the vineyard with one less mouse.
The bird made her think of Collin’s found family, the Falcons.
He’d told her about each of them, how they’d met, how they’d ended up in Mystery Lake, what they did now.
As the castle came into view, she wondered if she’d ever meet them.
She didn’t plan on letting Collin slip out of her life again, so maybe one day she would.
Coming to the end of the row, she stepped onto the packed-gravel parking area, a second car parked next to Collin’s truck drawing her notice. He hadn’t mentioned anyone visiting, but maybe Alessio had borrowed a friend’s car.
After wiping the mud from her Blundstones, she pushed through the door and headed down the hall.
Mustering her best Desi Arnaz impression, she called out, “Honey, I’m—”
She cut her greeting off and drew to a halt when three men rose from one of the tables.
Collin held two cards in his hand, the rest of the deck scattered across the tabletop in what looked like a messy game of blackjack.
It wasn’t the cards that drew her attention, though.
The two men standing with Collin managed that.
When faced with probably five hundred pounds of muscle packed into two fit bodies, she did what most red-blooded women would do: She stared.
One of those bodies, a stunning Black man with eyes so green she could see the emerald color from where she stood, stared back.
The other, a vaguely Latino-looking man an inch taller than Collin but a good two inches shorter than the green-eyed man, studied her with a hint of amused curiosity.
“If I ever get into a fight, I want you on my team,” she said, pointing to the Black man. His lips twitched, although it didn’t turn into an actual smile.
“You’re crushing my soul, woman,” said the other man.
She dragged her gaze to him, swept him with a once-over, then smiled. “Somehow, I doubt that.”
“Helia.” Her eyes bounced between the two one more time before meeting Collin’s. “Two of my brothers, Dulcie”—he gestured to the shorter of the two—“and Lovell. Or Mateo and James, if you prefer.”
“Oh no,” she said, walking into the room. “It’s not about what I prefer.” Lovell held out his hand, but she ignored him. “I come from a family that hugs. You’re Collin’s brothers and he’s like family to me, which makes you family to me. Unless it makes you uncomfortable, I’m coming in for a hug.”
Lovell blinked, then held his arms out. She stepped into them, her head only coming to his pecs as his massive guns wrapped around her. Dulcie was ready for her when she dropped her arms from Lovell. Collin’s brothers were good huggers. She approved.
“Which do you prefer, Lovell and Dulcie or James and Mateo?” she asked.
Both men shrugged. She crossed her arms. “It doesn’t work that way.
Now that I know Collin only lives three hours away, I plan to be a part of your life for a good long while.
If you have a slight preference for one and I pick the other, in twenty years it’s going to annoy the shit out of you, so you have to decide.
Besides, it’s your name. I’m a big advocate of people being able to decide how they want to be referred to. ”
Collin chuckled when both Dulcie and Lovell looked at him.
“You’ll get used to me,” she added.
Lovell’s lips twitched again. “Call me James. Named after my grandfather. Would be nice to be reminded of him every now and then.”
She gave a sharp nod, then turned to Dulcie. “Dulcie’s good. Every time I hear someone call me Mateo, I look around for my mother.”
“There, settled,” she said. “Now, I’m starving but want to know why there’s a bullet embedded in the wall. One of you can tell me while we drive to tacos.”
“We’ll need to stop for beer,” Collin said, ignoring the other half of her comment. She’d caught sight of the bullet a split second before James and Dulcie distracted her. There’d been no time for panic to kick in before her attention diverted.
“No, we don’t,” she said, crossing the room and slipping behind the tasting bar. “Marisa, who runs the tasting room, keeps a few beers in stock just in case.”
“In case of what?” James asked. “This is a winery.”
She inclined her head before dropping down behind the bar to the mini fridge.
“Yes, but we get all sorts here. Ninety-nine percent of visitors are great, but every now and then, you get a real dick, usually a guy.” She popped up holding two four-packs of IPA from Twisted River, a local brewery located on the south side of the city of Napa.
“A guy who’s brought a date up to the valley and wants to swing his imaginary big dick around so he orders beer to show he can get what he wants when he wants.
” She set the two four-packs on the counter.
“It’s really satisfying when you can smile and hand him a glass like he’s not special at all. ”
All three men blinked.
“Swing his dick around?” James repeated.
“Metaphorically, of course. Most of the time,” she added, remembering a particularly raucous wedding Sundaram hosted a few years back.
“How do you know it’s not actually big?” Dulcie asked.
“Dude,” Collin said.
“She said it’s imaginary, maybe it’s not,” Dulcie pointed out. “Not that it would give him an excuse to be a dick, but you know, just curious how she knows.”
“Some people have a good gay-dar. I have a really good big-dick-dar,” she replied.
James’s lips twitched again; Dulcie snorted.
One of Collin’s eyebrows went up. “It’s not a superpower or anything.
But it’s like the whole alpha-male thing, which I know is scientific bullshit, but in pop culture, it’s a thing.
A true alpha will never talk about it. They just are.
It’s the same with big dicks. Men who have them know they have them and don’t feel the need to swing them around. Metaphorically or otherwise.”
“Right,” Collin said, walking over and grabbing the four-packs. “Let’s go get those tacos.” He tossed a four-pack to Dulcie and the other to James. “I’ll drive so you can charge your car before leaving tonight, Lovell.”
“Perfect,” she said, rounding the bar and slipping her arm around Collin’s. “And you can tell me all about that bullet.”
By the time they arrived at the taco truck, Collin had relayed the events of the afternoon.
The ones relating to the bullet, anyway.
The experience would have left her shaking like a leaf in a storm, but after ten years in the military, spec ops no less, Collin wouldn’t have called his brothers down because of a break-in.
They’d come to town for another reason. A reason they weren’t telling her.
Probably something she had no right to ask.
That wouldn’t stop her, of course. But she’d wait to catch Collin off guard.
In her experience, surprising people had a better chance of leading to the truth than easing into a conversation.
They ordered their food, then grabbed one of the three picnic tables. The spot was popular with field workers, but they’d arrived between shifts, so while a few folks lingered, waiting for to-go orders, they were the only people sitting.
James handed a beer to everyone, and as she popped the top, the sun setting over the western mountains, she inhaled a breath of appreciation.
Napa Valley wasn’t an easy place to live for a lot of people—housing was expensive, jobs were limited, the general cost of living high—but she had a job she loved, on land that had been in her family for decades, and now Collin was back.
Plus, she was eating tacos. Life was pretty damn good.
“What’s it like being an event coordinator at such a big place?” Dulcie asked. “My younger sister works at a restaurant in Sacramento doing the same thing, but smaller scale. She’s always mega stressed when there’s an event going on.”
“I get that. I love my job, but it’s stressful.
Even with the great team we have. Sometimes I think it would be nice to be a little smaller scale, a little more intimate.
But it’s hard to complain about being the victim of your own success.
Events your sister works, at restaurants, are different than the events we hold, though.
Ours are usually part of a bigger celebration—a wedding or holiday party or birthday, that sort of thing.
At a restaurant, the focus is almost entirely on the food and the dining experience.
There’s no distractions if it isn’t perfect. ”
James nodded, Collin studied her, and Dulcie smiled. “So you’re saying I shouldn’t tell her to chill?”
She snorted. “Has that ever worked for you?”
Saved from answering by Jose, the food truck owner, calling Collin’s name, Dulcie chuckled as he rose to retrieve their food.
They settled into comfortable conversation, occasionally punctuated by moans of satisfaction, when she spotted a familiar figure lingering in a group of field workers. Snagging Collin’s attention, she nodded to the man. “That’s Miguel,” she said. “Your vineyard manager.”
“My what?”
“He manages the care of the vineyard. Him and his team. Do you want to meet him? You’ll want to at some point, but it doesn’t have to be tonight.”
“I assume he’s good if Alessio keeps him on?” he asked.
She nodded. “He’s solid. The family had a little bit of a setback recently when his daughter got involved with the wrong kind of guy. Shook them up a bit, but they managed to get her out. She and her son live with her parents now.”
A little boy zoomed around the corner of the truck and launched himself at Miguel. “And there’s the grandson now.” Miguel set his hand on the boy’s head and smiled down at him.
“Let them be. I’ll meet him later,” Collin said.
“Helia?” All five turned at the voice calling from the far side of the food truck. “Oh my gosh, it is you.”
“Trish?” Helia said.
“It’s been years,” Trish said, hurrying toward her.
“What are you doing back in town?” Helia replied, hugging her old friend.
She and Trish had met the first week she’d moved to Napa.
They’d gone to different schools but played soccer together in the local premier league and stayed close growing up.
They’d drifted apart during college, but still occasionally kept in touch via social media.
“I’m moving back,” she answered, smiling as she stepped away. Her gaze flickered to the three men before landing back on her with an exaggerated you-go-girl look in her eye.
Feeling like a teenager again, Helia laughed. Trish had always been boy crazy. “Join us?” she asked. Her three companions shared a look Helia didn’t understand and didn’t have the time to contemplate because Trish squeezed her hand and wiggled her eyebrows.
“Don’t mind if I do. Let me place my order and I’ll be right back,” she said before darting off. Helia watched her, noting how little she’d changed since high school. Still all long, lean muscles and gorgeous wavy black hair, Trish had definitely aged better than the average bear.
“Hope you all don’t mind? I figured we’re going to be here for a while, what with your second dinners and all,” she said, turning to the men.
“Not a problem,” Dulcie replied. “Old friend?”
Helia nodded and sat again, Collin beside her. “We were close for several years. Then I went to UC San Diego for college, and she went to Tulane in New Orleans, and we drifted.”
“And now she’s back,” Collin said.
“Apparently,” she replied, her gaze darting between her companions. She narrowed her eyes. “What’s going on?” she demanded. She’d bet her house they were holding a different conversation among them than the one happening out loud.
Three sets of eyes studied her.
“Good thing I happened to stop at the store on my way here,” Trish said, setting a six-pack on the table and sliding onto the bench.
A pang of annoyance rippled through Helia at the interruption.
Only it wasn’t really an interruption because that implied Collin, Dulcie, or James would have answered.
And for whatever reason, she was certain that hadn’t been the case.