Ch 8 – Rico
L ate Sunday morning, Rico’s Ford Explorer churned up the hillside toward The Rose and Thorn. He should have been on his way back to San Diego by now. After all, he still needed to put in two hours at the gym, batch-cook his high-protein, low-carb meals for the week, drop his piss-stained dress shirt off at the dry cleaners (thank you, Butterscotch), and figure out how the hell to get rid of a certain brown-and-white rat that had been forced into his custody.
But his mother had insisted on dragging him to church, and no one–not even he–could refuse the tag team of Sarita Torres and Jesus. Just after service, he’d received a vaguely worded summons via text from Theo.
As Rico approached the winery, the lines of Theo’s vineyard ran across the hillside perpendicular to the road. To anyone else, the scene might beg for a bucolic Instagram pic. But as much as Rico respected his oldest friend, he loathed those vineyards.
How many high school summers had Rico’s father dragged him into those fields? Rico could still feel the hot sun cooking his neck, the painful blisters rising from his hands. He could practically hear his father barking at him to pick up his pace as they filled endless buckets of grapes .
Rico topped the hill and pulled into the gravel parking lot beside Hue’s beat-to-shit truck. The thing was probably worth more as scrap, but Hue wouldn’t part with it until the wheels fell off. A well-maintained, older model SUV sat on the other side of the truck. Rico appraised the SUV. Looked like Theo had invited someone else to join their little party. Curiosity roused, Rico headed inside the winery.
As soon as he walked through the front door, he paused and whistled. “Holy shit, you actually changed up the place.”
“A lot of things are changing,” Theo answered from his position behind the tasting bar.
The Rose and Thorn had practically been a tomb for as long as Rico could remember. Every scratched table and wobbly chair had been lovingly (some might say stubbornly) maintained no matter how much they begged for an honorable death.
But the furniture had finally been replaced. Polished slabs of wood set on two wine barrels served as gorgeous tables, each with four matching stools tucked beneath them. Single wine barrels, sanded and stained, served as smaller, more intimate tables near the windows.
“Looks good,” Rico admitted.
“’Course it looks good,” Hue answered. He jacked a thumb at the stranger standing next to him at the tasting bar. “Sully and I made those tables and chairs.”
Rico walked to the bar and performed a quick bro hug with Theo. Sure, those vineyards made his balls want to shrivel and flee into his rib cage, but he couldn’t fault his best friend. Growing up as the winery owner’s kid, Theo could have easily passed on doing any work, but he’d stood shoulder to shoulder with Rico, plucking grapes under the hot sun. More impressively, he’d treated Rico and his father like actual human beings. Theo was two years older than Rico and by natural teen rites should have either ignored or ruthlessly terrorized him. But Theo had done the Theo thing. He’d been kind. He’d looked after Rico. Stood up for him. Been a friend. And for that reason, Rico would never hesitate to come when Theo asked.
“What, no hug for me?” Hue asked. As usual, the redheaded giant gripped a bottle of beer. It was a testament to their friendship that Theo broke all the natural laws of the universe and always kept a few brewskies on hand for Hue.
Rico was not nearly as forgiving as Theo. “You, asshole, gave me a rat. A real, actual, gross, disgusting rat. No hugs for you.”
“Actually, I’ve heard that rats are very clean,” said the third man thoughtfully. “They’re smart, too, and can be very friendly.” He turned from the bar and held out a hand. “I’m Sully.”
“Ahhh, the mysterious new friend.” Rico took his hand in a strong shake. The other man looked about their age, late twenties or early thirties. He was lean but looked strong—a runner who wasn’t afraid of a squat rack. The gray-framed glasses he wore underlined the intelligence that shone from his brown eyes.
“Sorry, man,” Rico said to Sully, “but clearly you’re a terrible judge of character if you’re hanging out with this guy.” Rico nodded to Hue.
Sully chuckled. “You know, you aren’t the first one to tell me that. But Hue’s been great. He’s teaching me how to be a landlord.”
“Ah.” Rico leaned into the bar. “I suppose he knows a thing or two about that. Just don’t listen to anything he says about women.”
Hue burst into a hearty laugh. “Sure, let this one teach you.” He jabbed a finger at Rico. “Mr. Casanova knows everything about the fairer sex . . . except how to actually keep one. What’s your longest relationship? Four dates?”
“Eight,” Rico answered tartly, “and I happen to like playing the field. It’s something you can do when women actually enjoy your company. ”
“Are they always like this?” Sully asked Theo.
Theo smiled and swept a hand through his shaggy brown hair. “Nah, they’re being polite because you’re here.” He looked at Rico. “You want a drink?”
“No thanks to the empty calories.” Rico scanned the bar, making sure there were no sticky spots before placing his elbows on the wooden surface.
Hue let out a gruff laugh. “Wouldn’t want to lose those ab dents.”
“Ab dents?” Sully raised an eyebrow as he sipped from his own glass of wine.
“Yeah.” Hue waved over the general area of his stomach. “Those ab dents that all them pretty boys have.”
“You been looking at Zac Efron pinups?” Rico teased. “I don’t blame you. He’s pretty hot.”
“Fuck off,” Hue growled. At his feet, an ancient basset hound raised her head and gazed around. Noting no trouble, Janet thunked her head back onto her paws. The poor thing was half blind, half deaf, and half dead. The only thing keeping her alive seemed to be her loyalty to Hue.
“So, how many women are you stringing along currently?” Hue asked, throwing back his last gulp of beer.
Rico grinned. “As a matter of fact, I did cross paths with a hot little number right here in Yucca Hills, but, uh, circumstances kind of got in the way.”
Nothing derailed a promising pickup like a stream of piss launched from a tiny orange furball. Thinking back to his encounter with the beautiful Jacklyn still stung. Normally, Rico would be able to forget it and move on, but he couldn’t get her large brown eyes and those full lips out of his mind .
Rico had gone to bed thinking of Jacklyn and had indulged in some imaginary sexy time with her in the shower this morning. It didn’t stop there. It was a miracle God hadn’t swallowed the church in a precision-guided sinkhole this morning with all the wicked, lascivious thoughts running through his brain during service.
Why couldn’t he get the girl out of his head?
“Wow, one slipped from the net, huh? She doesn’t know how lucky she is,” Hue said, pulling Rico’s attention back to the present.
“Wasn’t meant to be this time around,” Rico answered philosophically as he picked at a sliver of wood on the bar. “Maybe we can all go out on the town next time I’m in Yucca Hills, and I can try to find her. Hue, you’re not invited.”
“Wouldn’t come if I were.”
“I’m spoken for,” Sully said. The lovesick grin on his face launched every red flag in Rico’s mind. The poor bastard was clearly smitten.
“And I’m with Breanna,” Theo said dryly, “in case you forgot.”
“Shit, you two are still together?” Rico hadn’t meant to say the thought out loud, but he didn’t exactly regret it, either.
“Yes. We are.” Theo’s voice was hard.
Breanna and Theo were a slow, excruciating trainwreck of a couple. Had been ever since they got together a million years ago. Whoever said opposites attract had never spent time with two people who had nothing in common. Theo was practically welded to this winery, and Breanna wanted nothing more than to skip town and go on some vaguely envisioned wellness march around the world, all perfectly curated for her social media channels, of course.
Theo poured himself a glass of wine from the bottle he’d opened for Sully. He looked tired. To be fair, Theo always looked tired, but today, he seemed downright weary .
“What’s up, Theo?” Rico asked. All kidding aside, Theo wouldn’t have called them together it if wasn’t important. Rico’s reporter spidey-sense was beginning to tingle. Something was definitely wrong.
Theo scratched at his unshaven jaw and looked into his wineglass for a long moment before speaking. “I got a visit from the mayor yesterday.”
“What did that prick want?” Hue asked, immediately on alert.
“Oh, nothing much.” Theo’s mouth quirked in a worn smile. “Just offered to buy the winery and all my land for pennies on the dollar.”
Rico scoffed. “You tell him to fuck off?”
“Not in those words, but yeah.” Theo swirled the wine in his glass. The bright morning sunlight caught the liquid within, highlighting hues of scarlet and rose. “He wasn’t pleased. He mentioned that he might be taking a look at my zoning exemption.”
“Meaning?” Sully frowned as he set down his empty wineglass.
Theo turned and pointed to a black-and-white photo hanging on the wall behind the bar. Rico had seen the picture a thousand times, but now he looked at it anew. In the image, a young woman in a high-collared dress posed proudly in front of a half-built structure that would one day be the very winery where they stood.
“My great-grandmother Rose planted the first vineyards on this hill,” Theo said, a tone of reverence in his voice. “She and my grandfather built this winery before Yucca Hills was even an incorporated town. When the city was chartered, they zoned this entire area for commercial use only but gave an exemption for my family. Our land is zoned for commercial and agricultural. If Bishop finds a way to revoke that exemption, I’ll have to tear out all my vineyards.”
“Shiiiiit,” Sully breathed.
“He can’t do that, the son of a bitch.” Hue balled his large hands into fists .
“Woof ,” Janet huffed in agreement with her master.
“Without my vineyards, I’m done.” Theo’s shoulders slumped and he turned away from the picture. He hadn’t even tasted the wine in his glass. The man was clearly suffering.
“I’ve spent practically my entire life cultivating these grapes.” He lifted the open bottle of wine and gazed at it with all the love, pride, and fierce protectiveness of a parent. “The grapes are the soul of this place.” What he didn’t need to say—what was obvious to everyone in the room—was that those grapes were his soul as well.
Anger rose inside Rico, hot and crackling. “This place has been here forever,” he said. “It’s practically a town icon. There’s no way Bishop could get away with pushing you out. Wouldn’t the city council have to vote on any measure to revoke your zoning exemption?”
Hue was already shaking his head. “A lot’s changed since you left, Rico. Mayor Bishop practically owns this town. It used to just be his dealerships, but he’s been rubbing elbows with all sorts of overseas investors. They’re pouring money into Yucca Hills.”
Rico wasn’t oblivious. He’d seen the strip malls, apartment complexes, and fast-food chains popping up like daisies on the north side of town.
“A lot of people are making money,” Hue added. He took off his Marines baseball cap and massaged the rim. “He’s got the city council by the balls. They know if they don’t toe the line, he’ll fund their competitors.”
“My girlfriend told me he’s an investor in that fancy new winery that opened up across town,” Sully spoke. “Maybe he’s trying to kill the competition.”
“That ain’t gonna happen,” Hue said immediately.
“Damn right it ain’t,” Sully agreed. “But . . . um, what do we do? ”
Theo shrugged again. “I was kinda hoping we could think of something together.”
Hue turned to Rico. “You’re oddly quiet, pretty boy.”
Something wasn’t right about this situation. Rico’s mind churned. Was Theo’s small winery really a threat to the mayor’s new place across town? Then, why not just revoke Theo’s exemption instead of trying to buy him out? Did Bishop want the land? But why? They were missing something.
Rico had spent his whole life watching wealthy corporate farm operations treat his dad like shit, often paying him less than they’d promised because they knew an illegal immigrant couldn’t complain. Theo and his old man were some of the few people who had treated his father fairly and with dignity.
And now the wealthy interests had come for Theo.
Not on my fucking watch, Rico thought. He looked at the men huddled around the bar. “I’m going to dig into this, figure out what’s really going on.”
“You sure?” Theo seemed dubious. “Mayor Bishop has a lot of money and powerful friends.”
Rico laughed. Wealthy? Powerful? Privileged asshole? Yep, that checked all his boxes. Bishop was exactly the type of person he loved to go after with his reporterly spotlight.
“Bishop doesn’t scare me,” he said. “But I’ll be careful.”
“Send me any paperwork you have on your zoning exemption,” Hue said to Theo. “I’ll have my real estate attorney look at it. Who knows if it can even be revoked.”
“And I’ll . . .um . . .” Sully frowned and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Do you need any specialized software updates? I used to be a programmer. ”
Theo smiled wryly as he refilled Sully’s wineglass. “I think I just need moral support.”
“I can totally do moral support,” Sully vowed.
“Thanks, guys, really.” Theo ducked his head. “It’s been such a shit show the last couple of years, and now this. Without the winery, I don’t know what I’d do.”
“This place isn’t going anywhere,” Rico promised.
The front door swung open, and Rico’s heart screeched to a halt in his chest.
Jacklyn. His beautiful, saucy Jacklyn sauntered inside, a lollipop dangling deliciously from her lips.
“Got some day drinkers in today, huh?” she asked. He knew exactly when she recognized him because she paused her fingers just as they were about to pull the lollipop from her rosy lips. Rico would have hoped for a delighted smile or a cheeky glint in her eyes. Instead, Jacklyn frowned, her expression the silent equivalent of Oh, it’s you.
“They were just headed out,” Theo said, his eyes flicking between Rico and Jacklyn. “Rico, you’ve got a long drive ahead of you.”
“It’s still early,” Rico replied breezily. He couldn’t take his eyes off Jacklyn. Her dark hair was swept up into a messy bun, revealing a long, tantalizing neck. He would have preferred her in the tight T-shirt she’d worn yesterday, but even the oversized, long-sleeve tee swamping her lean frame couldn’t hide her beauty.
“Of all the wine joints in all the towns in all the world, you walk into mine,” he said, his voice silken, as he took a step toward her.
“Hey, asshole, it’s my wine joint,” Theo said behind him.
Someone, maybe Hue, snickered.
“Still, we meet again,” Rico purred. “What a happy coincidence.”
“I work here. Not a coincidence.” Jacklyn started moving again. The way her body swayed in her loose clothes made his balls ache .
“Jax and I have got to start setting up,” Theo said, a protective note ringing in his voice. Rico glanced over his shoulder and could read his friend’s expression perfectly. Don’t even think about it.
Rico tried to hold back a grimace. With Mr. Cockblocker in the way, he didn’t have a chance of correcting yesterday’s kitten golden shower catastrophe. Nor could he roll out his flirting A-game with the peanut gallery looking on.
She was coming closer to him. The lollipop shifted to the other side of her mouth. God, some lollipops got all the luck. But this wasn’t over.
She made to move by him.
“Here.” Rico held out a business card. Completely cringe, yes. But Theo was about ready to chase him out with a pump-action shotgun in hand. Rico had little time and fewer options.
“I’m heading out of town, but I wouldn’t mind coming back soon,” he said to Jacklyn. “My number’s on that card.”
She looked from him to the card. Everything inside Rico clenched. He needed to see Jacklyn again. This woman was invading his thoughts, tangling him up in all sorts of painfully delicious ways.
After an excruciating pause, Jacklyn took the card without a word. She shoved it into her back pocket, then clomped behind the bar in her huge black boots.
Rico smiled to himself. Sure, her utter lack of excitement wasn’t ideal. But that card in her back pocket was a chance. All Rico needed was a chance and he knew he could sweep the mysterious, tantalizing Jacklyn off her booted feet.