by Nan O'Berry
“Stand still, I’ll get them.”He thrust the small stack of manila folders he was holding into her hands and before she could say another word, he bent down and began to rescue the items from her purse.
Jenna stood patiently as he picked up the swatches Connie had given her, her wallet, and her planner.
“Here you go.” He glanced around along the pavement. “I think I got everything.”
“Thank you, yes,” she replied, and they stood staring at each other in an awkward silence. Finally, Jenna spoke. “Forgive me, I know we met, but I don’t remember your name.”
He smiled. “Not a problem, you were a bit preoccupied when we meet on Saturday.”
The word, ‘preoccupied’ made her laugh. “I think that’s the polite way of saying it.”
His grin widened and took on a decidedly wicked expression.
His warm gaze made her heart skip a beat.
“I know you’re Jenna McCormick. I’m Carson, Carson—”
“Murphy.” Her eyes widened as the last name came to her. “See, I do remember.”She grinned.
“So, you do.” He nodded.
They stood quietly staring at one another. Then his eyes widened a bit as he glanced at the folders she still held in her hands. “Oh, here, let me take those folders back.”
She shifted her bag and handed him the papers.
Carson stuck them under his arm and dampened his lips to speak.
“So what are you doing in town?”
“What brings you to St. Helena’s?”
Their questions came in tandem and they laughed.
Jenna liked the deep baritone sound of his voice and his wonderful laugh.
“You first.” He nodded.
“I came to pick up some things from work,” Jenna told him.
His brow furrowed. “Work? Shouldn’t you be taking time off?”
She rolled her eyes in distain. “Is that all anyone can say to me, shouldn’t you take time off?”
“Sorry.” Carson shrugged. “It seems that you should get some time to sort things out.”
Jenna nodded. “I took a few days, but I need to focus on putting my life back together.”
“Okay,” he replied. “I understand wanting to put your life back together. But didn’t you schedule a honeymoon? Couldn’t you use that time?”
She hoisted her purse on her shoulder. “I did and it was only for a few days. We thought it would be best to come back and take a longer trip later in the year.”
“I see.” He stared at her.
Jenna shifted her gaze at the ground for a beat of her heart, then raising her glance, she smiled. “So you. What are you doing in St. Helena?”
He tilted his head at the papers he carried. “Just rented a house and I’m getting ready to start my new job.”
“New job? Here in St. Helena?” Jenna asked in surprise.
Carson nodded. His mouth opened and she waited; only someone else spoke up. Someone, she’d hoped to avoid.
“Jenna…” Rhodes’ voice echoed across the street.
№
Carson watched her face pale. He turned to see a guy walking toward them. His jeans were pressed with what appeared to be a permanent seam down the front of each leg. His white long sleeve shirt unbuttoned to the third button showed the tan of his chest while the cuffs were rolled up half way over his forearms. A perfect GQ specimen if heever saw one. At that moment, he decided he didn’t like this man at all.
Carson focused his gaze on the woman who stood in front of him.
Jenna’s breathing seemed labored as her eyes teared up and now he had no doubt who he was about to meet. The missing groom.
“Jenna, I was hoping to run into you.”
Rhodes flashed a set of perfectly even pearly white teeth that made Carson suddenly wanted to put his fist through them. Instead, he drew himself up straight and moved to stand close to Jenna. His hand, instinctively, cupped her elbow, so she would know he was there.
The man in question moved ever closer and never seemed notice him until she stepped to his side. Rhodes’ gaze shifted to him and he paused. A questioning look darted to her then back to where Carson stood.
Without thinking, Carson slid his arm around Jenna’s waist.
Rhodes’ face twisted and his eyes filled with hate. “Jenna, I…” He glanced one more time at Carson before looking back at Jenna.His lips pressed into a thin line as he worked to hold in his anger. “I want to apologize,”the words came out clipped.
Jenna stiffened.“Apologize?” she repeated, as if dumbfounded that he had the audacity to use the word.
“Look.” He glanced around. “Can we go someplace and talk?”
Carson felt his glare.
“Just you and me, Jenna, alone.”
She dampened her lips and Carson caught her glance at him from the corner of his eye. “No. Rhodes, I don’t think we can. If you wanted to talk to me, you could have done it before the wedding, before I planned all of it out and before I spent my life’s savings on that day. But since you have no scruples and you decided to play junior-high-breakup on the most important day of my life, I don’t think we have anything to say to each other, now or in the future.”
“Jenna!”For a moment, he sounded truly offended. When he held out his hand and she refused to take it, he slowly brought it back to his side and stuffed it deep into the pocket of his perfect trousers. With a toss of his head, the thick blonde hair that lay against his forehead flowed back in place along his brow. His haircut probably cost more than Carson made in a month. “It was always you, Jenna. There was never a plan for me was there?”
“That’s not true, Rhodes. We planned this together.”
He raised a brow. “Did we?”
Beside him, Carson heard Jenna suck in a breath.
Seemingly unaware, he was burning the last of his bridges, Rhodes continued, “What did you expect me to do? You already had everything planneddown to the last drop of the dammed pedals of the flower arrangements. You didn’t leave room for backing out.”
Her chin came up. “A real man wouldn’t have.”
His eyes turned the coldest blue, Carson had ever seen.
“A real man would have never let you plan his life down to the last second. Evidently, you have a plan for everything.”
Carson even felt the glare he gave her.
“What are you talking about?”
Rhodes gave a nod to him. “You even have my replacement planned out.”
Jenna’s jaw grew slack.
“Hey, that’s uncalled for!” Carson snapped.
Rhodes shrugged, but before she could reply, he turned on his heel and stormed away.
Carson could feel her body shaking. “Come on,” he urged. “Let’s get out of this sun.”
Jenna shook her head. “No. Just walk me to my car. I-I want to go home, Carson.”
“Sure, Jenna, sure.” His hand still upon her elbow, Carson helped her navigate across the street. They walked in silence until she reached her car parked in the lot behind the hardware store. He held the door open while she placed her things inside and climbed behind the wheel.“You call me when you get home.”
“It’s not necessary,” she whispered.
Her focus seemed to be on the motion of the people walking past, yet somehow, Carson knew that behind those big dark glasses Jenna McCormick was running scared.“Yes, it is necessary. Hand me your phone.”
Jenna turned to stare at him.
He offered her a smile.“I’m just going to put my number in.”
She swallowed, then turned and shuffled the contents of her purse around. Retrieving her cell, she handed it to him.
Carson punched in his number.“You can delete it after you call.” He handed it back. “If you don’t feel like talking, leave me a text.”
“That’s sweet of you, but you don’t—”
“Yeah, I know, I don’t have to. Let’s just say, I’m doing it for a friend.”
She pa
used. “You hardly know me.”
“I know enough to say I’d like to call you friend, if you’d let me.”He watched as her lips softened into a grin.
“Thank you, Carson.” She slipped the keys into the ignition. “I’ll text you when I get home.”
He stepped away as the car slid back from the parking space. Stepping onto the sidewalk, he watched as she drove off toward the outskirts of St. Helena. “I must be crazy,” he muttered. Yet, he couldn’t contain the spark of excitement thinking about the text that was sure to come. “The last thing she needs is unwanted attention.”
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe it’s exactly what she needs.”
Startled, he flinched and peered around to see Marco Deluca, his arms folded over his chest while grinning.
“You saw that, huh?”It was a rhetorical question of course, he saw it, otherwise he wouldn’t have made the comment.“It wasn’t what you s-saw,” Carson stammered.
Marco held up his hand. “What I saw was a gallant act of kindness.”
Carson’s lips twisted in an odd gesture of half smile and half grimace. “Just remember what you witnessed, if mentioned in some circles, it could get my manhood crushed.”
Marco froze with a look of pain. “We shall not speak of this again.”
“Good.”
Taking a deep breath, Marco let his arms drop naturally to his side. “Well, what happened that put you two together?”
Carson looked back to the direction Jenna took leaving St. Helena. “Ran into the ex.”
“Ouch!” Marco placed his hand over his heart. “I saw you two walk over and thought maybe I’d catch you to see if you’d like to join us for a beer after work.”
“Sounds good to me,” Carson agreed. “Where shall we meet?”
“Over at the Spigot.”
“Time?”
“Around seven?” Marco suggested.
Carson nodded. “That works well.”
“Maybe, I’ll even let you win a game of darts.” Marco grinned.
“We’ll see,” Carson warned him. “We’ll see.”
Chapter Five
Carson moved to his sedan and pulled the keys from his pocket. Thumb against the button, he pressed to unlock the doors. Bending low, he stowed the manila folders into the passenger’s seat then climbed in, behind the wheel. Seconds later, with the key in the ignition, the motor sprang to life and he eased back from the parking spot.
“Just follow Main Street out of town to the south and you can’t miss it,” he repeated out loud recalling the directions given by his boss back in Bakersfield.
Swinging the car onto Hunt Street, he rode one block to Main and then turned south. So far so good, if my luck holds, I’ll arrive in plenty of time. Once past town, he merged to the left and took a side street that led up toward the foothills that surrounded St. Helena. The tree lined street shielded him from the harsh late morning sun. A mile and a half further, he was about to give up when he caught sight of a wooden sign nestled beneath a wind tossed pine. The letters KVINO were burned into the wood.
“This must be the place.” He turned off the road.
Carson let the car coast around the meandering drive until it gave out in front of a low, slung brick building with two large satellite dishes stationed on either side. A small parking lot had been created out front. He turned into a spot, cut the engine, and gathered his materials from the passenger side. With them safely tucked under his arm, he pushed the door open and stepped out into the drive. It didn’t take long for him to walk over to the plate glass doors.
Sitting behind the front desk, a young girl in her middle twenties looked up from her work and smiled broadly at him.
Summoning his courage, Carson pushed through.
“Hi, welcome to KVINO,” she said without missing a beat. “How can I help you?”
Carson returned the smile. “I have a meeting with Mr. Tarkington.”
She pulled a strand of blonde hair back from her face to tuck it behind her ear. “Let me check.”Her fingers flew over the keyboard of the computer. “Mr. Teague Murphy?” she questioned.
“One and the same,” he replied.
“Follow me.” She stepped around the corner of the desk and led him down a corridor to the right.
Carson couldn’t help but notice several plaques the station had been awarded in the last couple of years.
Finally, her steps slowed and she knocked lightly upon the wooden door.“Mr. Tarkington?” She paused for a beat. “You’re twelve thirty appointment is here.”
A gruff voice on the other side of the door answered, “Send him in.”
The young woman opened the door and stepped back, so Carson might enter.
Behind the large wooden desk, a big barrel-chested man dressed in a white shirt and grey slacks stood to welcome him. “Teague Murphy, good to meet you.”Angus Tarkington crossed around the desk to meet him and extended his hand in friendship.
Carson took it and they shook.“Teague is the alias, please, call me Carson.”
The owner of KVINO laughed. “Welcome, Carson. We’re mighty glad to have you join the family. You know when I met with the home company a few months ago, I never thought they’d send their best radio personality to help with our ratings.”
“I’ve seen those plaques in the hall, Mr. Tarkington, I’m not sure you need my help.”
Angus put his fingers on his lips and leaned back with a huge bellow of laughter. “That remains to be seen. I’m hoping we can move up to the next level with your help.”
“I’ll try, sir.”
“That’s all we can ask for.” He offered a hand toward the young lady at the door. “You’ve met my niece, Anne?”
“Yes.” Carson nodded. “She led me down the hall.”
Anne smiled at him. “Glad you’re here, Mr. Murphy. I have to admit I’ve tuned into your show a few times.”
Carson raised a brow. “You enjoy country music?”
Anne blushed. “I enjoy music of all types, but I gravitate towards a good solid song with a story.”
“Country has a lot of that,” he agreed.
“Yes.” She looked toward her uncle. “I’ll get back to the front desk. Just let me know if you need anything.”
Tarkington nodded as she closed the door. “Come on, sit down. Let’s get some of this preliminary stuff out of the way.”
Carson took his position in one of the chairs in front.
“Go on, son, sit.” Angus nodded at the chair as he pulled his own underneath him. Scooting it forward, he pulled a manila folder from the stack on the corner. “These are your w-2 forms, direct deposit, life insurance, etc.” He pushed the forms across the desk. “You can fill them out at you leisure. I just need them back by Friday.”
“Yes, sir.” Carson reached for them. “I’m not sure if you need these or not, but I brought along my letters of recommendation and something Mr. Wilson sent along.”
Angus reached for the sealed envelope. “I’ve listened to your show, that’s recommendation enough.” Taking the correspondence, he placed it on his desk blotter. “That can wait. Let’s tour the building.”
Carson placed his folders on the chair as he rose to follow his boss.
“I’m going to put you on from six to three, Monday through Friday.”
“Yes, sir.” Carson stepped through the open door.
“It’s our prime time and a good way to introduce you to the citizens of St. Helena.” He turned and looked over his shoulder. “Have you had time to meet anyone yet?”
Carson’s thoughts turned to Jenna. “I have done some exploring around the vineyards,” he admitted.
“Ah. They are pretty places to visit. Are you a wine coinsure?”
“I’ve had the occasional glass, but not really much of a drinker.”
“If you live here long enough, it will grow on you. A lot to see when the grapes are harvested, the whole town feels like one festival after the other. You’ll love the cork crawl. We’ll have
a booth downtown. I suspect by then, you’ll have quite a following.”
“If you say so,” Carson replied.
“Here we go.” Angus paused at a sound proof door. “This will be your studio.”
№
Nate heard Frankie storm into their beloved house at the Sorrento Ranch with a slam of the front door that seemed to shake the whole structure. The sound of her purse being tossed onto the sofa followed with the call of his name.
“Nate.”
Swallowing, he peered into the hallway from the kitchen. “Hey, Frankie, back here.”
The stomping of her boots foretold the anger he was about to encounter. Putting the dishrag onto the handle of the oven, he reached for a bottle of red wine specially made from the vineyard and popped the cork from the neck. By the time she turned the corner into the room and took a deep breath, he handed her a tapered glass, half full.
“Do you know what that dick wad did?” She hissed without waiting for him to greet her.
Nate blinked and watched as her chest heaved. “Do I know this before mentioned dick wad?”
Frankie’s eyes narrowed and she wrapped her fingers around the base of the glass.
Nate gulped. “Please tell me it’s not me.”
She took a deep breath and her nostrils flared. “No, it is not you.”
He flinched at her clipped words. “I’m sorry, honey.”
Frankie lifted her glass and took a sip of the wine.
For a moment, her anger was forgotten as he watched her savor the taste of her own creation. Nate slowly made his way over to her. Stepping up behind, he wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled her neck. “Now, tell me what’s bothering you.”
“Two words…” Frankie sighed. “Rhodes Hatfield.”
Nate took a deep breath before he turned Frankie around to face him. “Rhodes came back.”
“Yup.” Frankie took another sip of the wine.
“And you decided to step in.”
She straightened her back and glared at him. “No. I didn’t, I merely found Jenna and told her what was going on.”
Nate raised one brow. “And…?”
