Keely followed Flynn out into the yard with heavy steps. Just when she was enjoying a total change, the threat of having to teach again had come back into her life. She should turn straight around and snatch the papers back but she knew she wouldn’t. It had been easier to go along with Anna’s meddling than have to face a barrage of questions from the interfering woman.
Once they were away from the house, Flynn stopped and waited for her to catch up. “I am sorry we’ve been so long. I hope you’re not too tired.”
“I’m fine.”
In the dull glow of the outside light, Keely could see the sparkle in his eyes. He looked at her earnestly and she wondered briefly how much he’d had to drink.
“If you can stand it, there’s something I’d like to discuss when we get home.”
“Well…it’s late.” Keely glanced down. The pleading look in his eyes almost took her breath away.
“Please, Keely.” He reached for her hand and she couldn’t pull away. What was happening? Flynn obviously had feelings for Kat but when he looked at Keely like that, she could almost imagine herself in his arms. She bit her lip and removed her hand from his. She couldn’t allow herself to like him too much; she might need to move on in a hurry.
CHAPTER 19
Light was filling the room when Keely opened her eyes but in the transition from deep sleep to waking she couldn’t think where she was. She turned her head towards the window where the old curtains failed to block much of the light, then she remembered. She had slept her first night in the studio.
She stretched her arms out to the sides of the bed. Night was probably not the right word, more like morning. It had been after one when Flynn and Kat had left and she’d been much too excited to fall asleep easily.
She plucked her phone from the bedside cupboard and peered at it, trying to focus on the numbers. Ten o’clock! She started to sit upright then flopped down on the bed again. What did it matter? It was Saturday, she was on holidays and there was nothing she really had to do yet.
Saturday!
“Damn.” She should ring her mum.
Nearly an hour had passed and her phone was almost flat by the time she put it down. Her mum hadn’t sounded quite so anxious and she’d been interested in the jewellery-making group. At the end of the call her mum had put her on speaker so she could talk to her dad and brothers as well before they headed off to tennis. Then Keely had rung Bec. She was still in bed too and they’d had a good catch-up, filling each other in on all the details of their lives. Bec was enjoying her new job and had been out to a couple of bands. Keely had told her about the winery, the upcoming food and wine weekend and her latest bead projects but she’d changed the subject when Bec had wanted to know more about Flynn.
Now she thought about getting up but there was no rush. Flynn wasn’t coming to collect her until after lunch. He was going to take her to the Haystack Block. If she was having a part in his new wine, he’d said she should at least taste it, so she knew what she was getting involved with.
She felt a flutter of excitement as she recalled the discussion the three of them had had around the kitchen table the night before. Flynn had been cautious to begin with and her curiosity had overcome her initial disappointment that Kat was still with them. He had taken great care to explain how he respected Keely’s privacy but he was really interested in the sketch of Euan and could he please look at it again and show Kat.
Keely had been surprised by Kat’s enthusiasm and then her declaration that it was perfect. Flynn had explained he was looking for a new label design. This wine would still carry the Levallier Dell name but it was a separate label and needed something catchy and distinctive. It was then that he’d asked Keely if she would mind if her picture of Euan and the Scarecrow name were used on the label. It suited his wine perfectly, he’d said.
She’d been so absorbed in what he was telling her that she hadn’t even minded Kat flicking through the other pages of her sketchbook. Keely didn’t have anything to drink in the studio and they’d ended up toasting the new label with water. Flynn had kissed Kat and then Keely. She touched her cheek where his lips had brushed her then rolled over and curled herself into a ball, savouring the memory.
* * *
“So, you were out late last night.” Pappou studied Kat across the lunch table.
She raised her chin. “I’m not a little girl anymore.”
“Of course you are not. I am glad you are enjoying life here. Am I right in assuming it was Flynn you were with?”
Yia-yia smiled at her from the other end of the table. Kat relaxed again. “Yes, we went to the pub then caught up with Keely, who is staying at Levallier Dell. We were just hanging out. It was fun.” For a moment, Kat had thought Pappou was going to give her a lecture.
“Who is this Keely?” Yia-yia asked. “There have been a few different stories.”
“You women and your gossip,” Pappou scoffed. “She seems a respectable young woman. Very reserved.”
“How do you know, Theo?”
“I met her up at the gate a few days ago. She was reading our menu.” He lowered his voice. “I heard she was Euan’s girlfriend.”
Kat laughed. “Oh Pappou, I hope you didn’t say anything. Keely is only a few years older than me. She was travelling and got sick. Euan offered her a place to recuperate, that’s all.”
“What does Flynn think of her?” Pappou asked.
“They seem to be friends.” Kat was puzzled by all this interest in Flynn and Keely. It wasn’t the conversation she’d intended to have. She wanted to get her plans out in the open. Now that she’d made her decision she was determined to explain the future she’d chosen and make it clear to her grandparents. Flynn had said she’d feel better once she did and she was sure he was right.
She smiled as she recalled the evening they’d spent at the pub, then afterwards at Keely’s studio. She really had enjoyed their company.
“He would be a good catch, that young man.” Pappou nodded sagely.
Kat frowned. For whom, she wondered.
Yia-yia began clearing the plates and Tony appeared in the doorway.
“Tony,” Yia-yia said. “Have you had lunch? I can make you something.”
“No thanks, Mama. I ate earlier.”
Katerina looked at her uncle. His face was grim.
“How are things in the vineyard?” she asked.
“Most of the chardonnay shoots have shrivelled.”
“You’ve still got time to get secondary shoots, haven’t you? I know Dad managed to recoup a little last time we had damage.”
“Maybe, with care.” Pappou glared at Tony as if he was personally responsible for the hail that had fallen from the sky. “The yield will be greatly reduced.”
“That’s not the only problem,” Tony said. “We’ve found garden weevil in a couple of rows of the shiraz vines.”
Kat helped Yia-yia clear up while she listened. Garden weevil could do a lot of damage if not controlled.
“The same vines as last year?” Pappou asked.
“No, a strip further over on the northern edge.”
“How bad?”
“We’ve trapped four or five per vine.”
“Time to spray the butts.”
“If that’s what you want, Baba.” Tony stepped from one foot to the other. “It’s not too late to try something else, dacron wrap perhaps?”
“Bahh!”
Pappou stood quickly, his face an angry red. Kat took a quick step towards him as he grabbed the back of the chair for support but he righted himself. It wasn’t good for him to get so upset. She glanced at Tony and Yia-yia but he was looking down and she was stacking dishes; neither had noticed Pappou’s wobbly legs.
“We’ve got a new patch of vines to get up to scratch,” Pappou said. “There’s a mortgage on the last block, we’ve lost our chardonnay crop and now you want to spend money on expensive strips of plastic when a dose of spray will do the same job.”
Tony loo
ked up. His face was expressionless but there was a definite droop to his shoulders. Kat felt sorry for him, knowing how difficult it must be for him to get Pappou to change his mind once he dug in his heels. “Dad tries to avoid chemicals these days,” she said. “He uses the sticky wrap to trap the weevils.”
“He can on his little winery,” Pappou snapped. “It’s much too big a job here. Spraying is the best option and the cheapest.”
Kat gave Tony a weak smile and was pleased to see him wink back. It was good to see he hadn’t lost all his spark.
“Come, Katerina, we will leave the men to their business,” Yia-yia said.
Kat picked up a stack of plates and followed her out. Any last thoughts about staying in Margaret River had been squashed. She definitely couldn’t work for Pappou.
* * *
Flynn arrived to collect Keely in the new car. This time she was a little disappointed he hadn’t brought his bike. She’d tied back her hair and put on her jeans just in case. At least there was no sign of Kat and the car was easier for conversation.
“Are you ready to taste the great wine that will be adorned with your artwork?” Flynn asked.
Keely smiled. “Yes.”
“I hope you’ll approve.”
“I’m afraid I’m not a very competent wine judge.” She looked over the rows of vines bathed in sunshine. It all looked so simple but she was beginning to realise there was much more to winemaking. “How do you know when it’s time to bottle the wine?”
“It’s a combination of things.” He was looking ahead, manoeuvring the car out of the driveway and onto the road. “We do lots of blending trials, or at least in the case of this sauv blanc semillon blend, it’s been me rather than ‘we’. I keep careful notes. There are lots of things to take into consideration. I want to make sure I get the percentages of the blend in perfect harmony.”
His eyes were on the road but Keely could hear the enthusiasm in his voice.
“How did you learn what to do?”
Flynn glanced at her then back to the road. “I think I took a lot in by osmosis. I was kind of submerged in winemaking from birth.” He chuckled. “I guess that helped. I used to concoct wine brews in the kitchen. Then I studied and travelled overseas. I spent four years at uni in Adelaide.”
“South Australia?”
“Yes. It’s a renowned course and I wanted to…try somewhere different for a while.”
“Did you see much of the state?”
“Mainly the wine-growing areas. I visited quite a few including the Clare Valley but the Adelaide Hills was closest, I have a good mate there, and I spent time in the McLaren Vale region.”
“I live near McLaren Vale.”
“It has a similar climate to this region. We both benefit from the sea breezes.”
Keely sat back and watched the scenery. Sometimes the trees along the road were so thick you couldn’t see what was beyond them, then a break would give a glimpse of rows of vines or paddocks with cows grazing in the sunshine. It was funny to think that Flynn had spent some time in her patch of Australia. She wondered if they had ever passed each other, oblivious to the fate that would one day bring them together on his home turf.
They drove through Margaret River. It was a glorious afternoon, sunny with a gentle breeze. Groups of people strolled along the footpaths on either side of the main street.
“If we had a cellar door, we could be attracting some of these people to try our wines.”
Keely glanced at Flynn. She wasn’t sure whether he was speaking to her or himself.
He gave her a quick grin. “You may have noticed Euan and I have opposing views on the subject.”
She looked back to the people in the street. “I had assumed all wineries had a cellar door. I guess they’re the only ones I know about.”
“Precisely my point.”
“I thought Euan said you sell all your wines through distributors.”
“We do at the moment but I’d like to try something different with the Haystack range. I’ve only got this dry white you’ll taste today and a shiraz that’s nearly ready to bottle. They will be cheaper than our usual Levallier Dell wines. I’d like to have tastings and have our complete range available at the cellar door.”
“I guess you’ve tried to discuss it with him.”
Flynn strummed the steering wheel with the fingers of one hand. “Many times, but Euan doesn’t like to be pinned down and he doesn’t like change.”
“Maybe the Divine Wine and Dine weekend will be the way to show him it can work.”
“Possibly, but he’s not keen on that idea either.”
“I’d love to stay and be part of it. That’s if I can be of any help,” she added quickly.
“You’ve helped a lot already.” He glanced her way then back at the road. “This is the Haystack Block.” He turned through an open gateway and the car bounced over a pothole and onto a rough track.
No fancy signs or gravelled driveways here, thought Keely. She looked at the rows of vines they drove through. Something about them was different from those at Levallier Dell.
“The branches here don’t stick out like your others,” she said. “Is that because they are younger?”
“Partly.” He gave her an appreciative look.
“It’s probably a silly question.”
“No, it’s very astute of you, considering you don’t know much about them.”
Keely looked out at the passing rows. He was right about her lack of knowledge.
“These vines are managed by spur pruning. It’s another thing Euan and I don’t agree on but it allows the grapes here to be mechanically pruned. Euan has always stuck to the traditional methods he learned back in Bordeaux. He uses cane pruning methods. It’s done by hand and the grapes are harvested by hand. Much more labour intensive.”
“Does it make a difference to the wine?”
“It depends who you ask. Euan would say yes. I agree to a certain extent but it depends on the end use and price you want. Ask different vignerons and you’d probably get several varied responses.”
They pulled up in front of an old stone shed. Before Flynn got out, he turned to Keely. “Thanks for your interest and your support. I do appreciate it.”
Keely smiled and lowered her gaze. There was something about those piercing blue eyes that made her heart thump.
“You and Kat have both been great.” He jumped from the car.
Keely followed him. The lightness had gone out of her step. How could she have forgotten about the gorgeous Kat?
* * *
Flynn unlocked the weathered wooden door and led the way into the tasting room. The walls were thick stone with only one small window and the air was cool. The bright sunshine from outside had little chance to warm the room. He flicked the switch to activate a row of modern fluorescent lights.
“Welcome to the Haystack tasting room.”
He crossed to the opposite wall, drew a bottle from the floor-to-ceiling wine rack then set it down on the old wooden cupboard in the middle of the room that served as a table. From the basic sink under the window, he retrieved the glasses he’d washed last time he’d been here with Kat. He smiled at the recollection. She’d been enthusiastic about the wine but she knew what she was talking about. He hoped Keely would at least like the taste well enough to allow her artwork to go on the label.
She was a good choice as a guinea pig. It was the young and less sophisticated wine drinkers he was aiming this wine at and he was keen to see what her response would be.
He unscrewed the cap and poured wine into the two glasses, set one on the table in front of her and picked up the other. He exhaled slowly, swirled the contents in his glass, sniffed it then stopped. He was conscious of Keely’s deep brown eyes watching him closely. She hadn’t picked up her glass.
“Are you going to try it?” he asked.
“I…I had a bad experience the last time I tried the swirling and sniffing. I really don’t know what I’m doing.�
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“I’m not looking for an expert. Just your honest opinion.” He could see she was hesitant. “I tell you what, I’ll take you through the steps of tasting wine.”
He walked around the makeshift table and stood beside her. Her worried expression made him smile.
“Just relax.”
She looked down quickly, leaned forward and he watched over her shoulder.
“What do you see?”
“It looks almost clear.” She glanced back at him.
“Yes, but now pick up the glass, tilt it and look at it with the white cloth on the bench behind.”
Her hand hovered over the glass then she picked it up. “It still looks the same to me. Maybe a tinge of green around the edges.”
“Good, now put it straight to your nose and take a sniff.”
Keely held the glass so gingerly. It was as if she thought it might bite her. He watched as she slowly tipped it to meet her nose.
“That’s it, now swirl the wine and sniff again.” He moved closer. “Close your eyes and let your sense of smell take over.”
She didn’t look comfortable but she did as he asked. His own sense of smell was certainly working well. He inhaled her clean soapy scent.
“It has a fresh smell like…like mowed grass.” She opened her eyes and frowned. “It’s kind of fruity as well.”
He grinned.
She shook her head. “I told you I’m no good at this.”
“You’re doing okay for a beginner. Now for the taste test. Take a small sip of wine, roll it round your mouth then open your mouth a little and breathe in. Think about the flavours then swallow the wine…”
“Aren’t I supposed to spit it out?” The worry had left her face and the hint of a smile played at the corners of her mouth.
“You can if you want. After you swallow…or spit it out,” he conceded, “think about the feeling that lingers after the wine has gone.”
She took a sip of wine, rolled it round her mouth and swallowed.
“Take your time,” he said. “What did you experience when the wine was in your mouth?”
She turned to look at him. They were standing quite close and she was nearly as tall as he was so her eyes looked directly into his. He could see a sparkle of excitement.
Something in the Wine Page 17
