“I love it when you do that,” he said.
“What?”
“Get that pink glow.” He leaned in closer and peered inside the neck of her shirt. “It spreads all over you,” he whispered with a lecherous look in his eyes.
“Flynn, stop it,” she pleaded. People were crowded in the aisle next to him, still looking for their seats.
He sighed. “How long till we get to Broome?”
“We’ll be there in time for dinner tomorrow night.”
“I thought your mother was never going to stop hugging us goodbye and now to have to share our honeymoon flight with my father…”
Keely laughed at him. “We’ll go our separate ways once we get to Perth. Anyway, what can you do on a plane?”
“These seats are very close, aren’t they,” he said.
“Excuse me.” A man stood in the aisle waving his hand at the window seat beside her. “That’s my seat.”
Keely grinned at the frown on Flynn’s face as he stood up to let the man past.
* * *
“I can’t believe I’m here.” Keely sighed. The late-afternoon Broome sun was delightfully warm after the cold winter climate of Adelaide. She gripped Flynn’s hand and spun around to face him. “It’s nearly a year since I first left home to travel north via Perth and I’m finally here.”
“It’s much better at this time of the year,” he said. “Lucky I stopped you at Jurien Bay last time.”
“And lucky you decided to come with me this time.” She hugged him. “You weren’t really going to call in at Levallier Dell, were you?”
“I could have made it there and back in time to catch the flight.”
“Flynn.” She pulled away from him. When they’d landed in Perth the day before there’d been a call from Hugh. Flynn was overheard saying he could drive down and take a look but both Euan and Dianna berated him for even thinking about it.
“Just kidding. Euan will be able to keep an eye on things while we’re away. As long as he doesn’t meddle with my blends.”
They sat down on the sand and watched the water. Keely leaned her head on his shoulder.
“Wherever we go, we always have to live near water, either the sea or a river,” she said.
“We can’t get much closer to the water than the studio. Do you think we should move?”
“No. I can’t imagine not living at Levallier Dell and we’ll be very happy in the studio, but I’m just letting you know that I think water has been lucky for me.”
“I thought I was your lucky charm.” He draped an arm across her shoulders and cuddled her close.
“You’re my number one lucky charm.”
“We might need some luck to get through the next few years. It’s a risky venture you’ve joined.”
Keely noticed the little frown lines across his forehead as he stared out to sea. “Are you worried about the loan?” she asked.
“Things will be tight for a while.”
“But the vintage went well.”
“Yes, and so did you.” The frown disappeared into a smile. “That’s when I really knew I couldn’t do without you.”
“You hardly saw me.”
Keely recalled the hectic times they’d just lived through. Flynn and Euan had been flat out. There were vintage workers to organise at Levallier Dell where everything was handpicked, and contractors at the Haystack Block where the grapes were harvested by machines. Keely and Dianna had been kept busy organising food, running errands and helping where they could in the sheds. Levallier Dell had been a hive of activity from early in the morning till late at night.
“At least you know what kind of life you’ve let yourself in for,” he said.
“I love it.”
The vines were just shooting when she’d first come to Levallier Dell and she’d stayed on and been a part of the whole process, right through the vintage. Flynn had been accurate when he’d said she’d find work. She had a few customers already for her fledgling design business and the cellar door kept them busy. Euan had agreed to it after Keely had suggested they turn the old shed by the river into a standalone cellar door so strangers didn’t come to the house yard. Work had begun on the conversion and although Euan was still prone to mutter about hordes of tourists and the cost of licences he was taking a keen interest in the construction.
Keely had even done a bit of relief teaching and, while she was comfortable with it, she knew the winery was truly where her heart was now.
“Country life is portrayed as slow paced but there’s always something to do in a winery,” she said.
“You’re a quick learner,” Flynn said. “I think you must have been born under a winemaker’s star. Although I’m a bit offended you haven’t acquired a taste for my Whipcracker red yet.”
She ignored his dig at her lack of finesse when it came to red wine. “I hope you’ll make a better job of the albariño.”
“It’ll be a few years before we can try that. But you’ll love it. It reminds me of warm evenings in Barcelona. I think we’ll have to go there and try it so you’ll know what to expect.”
“A trip to Spain!” Keely couldn’t believe her ears. “I’d love it. And it would be an opportunity to come up with a name for it.”
“I’ve got an idea for the label.”
“You really are getting ahead of yourself.”
“Something that involves a sketch of you.”
Keely shook her head.
“Yes, you’d be perfect for it. I’d call it the River Nymph.”
She laughed. “We’ll see.”
“And while we’re travelling we’ll go to Greece, sample this assyrtiko Theo has mentioned. Who knows, we might plant a Greek variety here one day and Theo could be on the label. It would be a nod to his and the wine’s Greek heritage and also a reminder that we wouldn’t have the extra vineyards without his help.”
Keely’s heart melted. “You really are a good man, Flynn Levallier. You know I can’t believe I wasted all that time worrying about teaching. When I came west last year, I was desperately looking for something. It turns out the something was the lifestyle at Levallier Dell. And the bonus was, I found the someone as well.”
She giggled as she had a brief recollection of the evening she’d arrived at Levallier Dell and Euan had stopped to look at the newly painted sign. “Did you know Levallier Dell rhymes with so many things, including bloody hell? Maybe instead of River Nymph you could call the albariño Levallier Dell’s Bloody Hell.”
Flynn looked at her and shook his head. “Come on, Mrs Levallier Dell, I think you’ve had too much sun.” He stood up, took her hands and pulled her up beside him. “I need to get you back to our room and loosen those clothes.”
Keely took his hand and they walked back along the beach. In a few days’ time they were heading for Derby, then they would begin the journey towards home again. South to the magical river and Levallier Dell, and with Flynn by her side, what else did she need?
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Sixteen years ago I made my first journey to the Margaret River Wine Region in Western Australia and was immediately captivated by its special magic. This work of fiction grew from that first visit. I self-published it in 2006 as River Magic and since that time a lot has changed in both Margaret River and the wine industry. It has been an absolute pleasure to work with my publisher Jo Mackay and editor Annabel Blay to revisit this story and bring it to readers in 2019 as Something in the Wine.
The people who helped with wine and vine research for my original story have moved on but when I visited the region earlier this year to retrace my steps with a new list of questions I found a familiar face. John O’Connor, who runs a local tour company called Wine for Dudes was very helpful. John was just starting out when I first met him at the original Margaret River launch for River Magic and since then his company has gone from strength to strength. Daryl and I had a great day out visiting the wineries John had specially selected to help with my research. If you’re ever in
Margaret River and want to take a down-to-earth tour that allows you to experience the pleasure of wine without all the hype that sometimes goes with it, I can highly recommend Wine for Dudes. And thanks to friends Andrew and Joy Hilder who travelled with us and put up with my wanderings in search of information.
In my original acknowledgements I also thanked the team of readers who support my work and keep me going. They are as valuable as a drop of fine wine. I mentioned Kathy Snodgrass, Sue Barlow, Sue Hazel and Mem Westbrook who still support me today along with my cyber writing pal, June Whyte, who sent the encouragement to hang in there and still does.
Now I also have the fabulous team at Harlequin to thank for bringing Something in the Wine to life. I am so grateful to Jo who wanted to bring the story to my readership, to Annabel for her editing skills and for helping me to see how much times had changed since the original version and to proofer Kate James for casting an eagle eye over everything. The cover designers have once again excelled. I always think they can’t do better than the last cover they created and yet each new cover is unique. Thanks Michelle Zaiter, I love this one. And to Darren Kelly and the sales team and Adam van Rooijen and the marketing/publicity team and the rest of the gang who do so much for my books, my thanks for your dedication.
Just for you, dear readers, I take my research very seriously and, in the case of this book, I sampled some new and different varieties of wine that I’d like to share with you in thanks for your support. In the course of updating this story I came across two wine varieties, assyrtiko and albariño, which were new to me and to Australia as it turns out. My story is set in Western Australia but I managed to slip in a nod to the South Australian wine industry and in particular, Jim Barry Wines in the Clare Valley and Artwine in the Adelaide Hills from where I got the inspiration. Assyrtiko is a Greek wine variety that is now grown and bottled in Clare Valley thanks to Jim Barry Wines. Albariño is a wine variety from Spain and has been successfully grown and produced in the Adelaide Hills thanks to Judy and Glenn Kelly from Artwine. If you like white wine I can recommend both of these varieties.
I am also very grateful to Smokey, my friend in the Force, who was able to help me with police procedure. However, you all know I never let the truth get in the way of a good story so any variations are my own and that includes the finer details of wine making.
When I wrote a book set in Coonawarra wine country, called Between the Vines and published in 2015, I acknowledged my son Jared and said if you ever planned to write a book set in a winery it’s handy if you have a son who’s a winemaker. Jared and I got to work closely on that book and now we’ve had the chance to do it again with Something in the Wine. How lucky am I?
He not only helped me with the wine research but he also has an eagle eye when it comes to proofreading. Thank you, Jared, for the many emails and phone calls we had editing this book and for your support of your mum. I appreciate it more than words can say.
This book is dedicated to my daughter, Kelly, and that is a small acknowledgement for the huge support she gives me. Kelly has been in my corner since I first began to write seriously. She reads all my first drafts and gives feedback, she encourages me to keep writing with regular messages, sometimes just telling me to pull my finger out and get cracking. We chat about plot and characters and nothing’s ever too much trouble for her. Thank you, Kelly, I’m truly grateful for your part in my writing journey.
It’s so hard to single out two children when my whole family are always there for me. When River Magic was published I wrote this –
Daryl, Kelly, Steven, Dylan and Jared – we started the journey together in Margaret River. Your continued support has seen the story come to life. My thanks and love always.
That still holds true today of course but now I can add two daughters-in-law, Sian and Alexandra, and two grandsons, Harry and Archie, to my team and what a team they make.
And to you my readers, thank you for reading my books. I hope you’ve enjoyed your visit to Margaret River and I look forward to bringing you another story soon.
ISBN: 9781489261618
TITLE: SOMETHING IN THE WINE
First Australian Publication 2019
Copyright © 2019 Tricia Stringer
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