Between the Vines

by Tricia Stringer

  “Different to what?”

  “I don’t know. The city I guess. I’ve had the odd weekend in the country. Life seems quiet, not as frantic.”

  “Depends who’s around and what’s on. Some weekends you can’t get to the bar for patrons.” He drained his beer. “If it’s a party you want I’m sure I can think of something.”

  She laughed. It was a deep throaty sound. “Steady up, Ed. Just drinks, remember.”

  Taylor’s cheeks glowed pink and he drank in the sparkle in her blue eyes. She was one very attractive woman. He didn’t much like being called Ed either but he would put up with it for her.

  CHAPTER

  4

  Taylor slipped from the motel and closed the door gently behind her. She was glad of her sunglasses. After the gloom of the curtained room the morning sun was bright. Mandy was still sleeping. Taylor hoped the others were too as she walked quietly down the drive. She’d left a note to say she’d gone out for a walk. She was, that was true, but she’d omitted to say she was meeting Ed for breakfast.

  A shiver swept over her in spite of the warmth of the air. Edward Starr was one good-looking guy. He was the reason she was escaping from her friends. She was meeting him at a cafe for breakfast. She turned out into the street and set off towards the shops, following the directions he’d given her last night. A truck rumbled past along the main road and then another, their engines loud in the quiet street. The motel was around a slight bend in the otherwise straight main drag, lined either side with stone houses. She passed gardens full of beautiful roses, their sweet smell wafting in the air. It was a pretty town with plenty of space, a world away from the noisy streets of Adelaide and her small flat.

  A dog barked as she approached the corner. Second street, turn left, look for an old weatherboard cottage. She could see it ahead along the wide flat street, nestled amongst similar buildings still in use as homes. It had market umbrellas in the garden and an old sign hanging from a wooden frame over the gate. She paused as she relived the feel of Ed’s hands on her body, the delicious male scent of him.

  He’d walked them back to the motel from the pub. Each bump against his arm had sent a tingle through her. Cass had made herself scarce. Alone outside Taylor’s room he bent to kiss her. It was a brief brush of her lips. She’d wanted more and so had he apparently. Before she knew it she was pressed against the wall, their lips together, tongues probing, hands searching.

  Taylor bit her lip. She took a deep breath to slow her thudding heart. Somehow she’d extricated herself from his arms. It had been a long time since she’d been with a man and she wasn’t going to give in to a one-night stand. Not that it had helped with Larry. They’d been on several dates before they tumbled into bed. Waiting hadn’t made any difference to her bad choice. He’d managed to keep his visits home to his wife a secret.

  She took one more deep, calming breath and continued on to the cottage. Ed wasn’t in the garden. She bent to get in through the low doorway and glanced around. Two couples seated at tables but no Edward.

  She ordered coffee and checked out the seating. Outside was best. Keep it casual. This was the new Taylor. No jumping in headfirst anymore, besides she was only here for a weekend. There was no harm in a casual get-together with a good-looking bloke but that was as far as it would go. She took a seat at the rustic wood table and flipped through one of the magazines scattered there. Several more people came in, all couples and groups. The coffee arrived, and she drank it. Perhaps he’d changed his mind. They hadn’t exchanged phone numbers. She glanced at her watch. The girls would be up by now surely. It was time to go back.

  “Sorry I’m late.”

  She looked up into the rugged face smiling down at her. Once more she couldn’t control the surge of excitement that coursed through her.

  “It’s fine,” she squeaked. She cleared her throat. “I had a coffee while I was waiting. It’s a nice spot.” She glanced around at the now-full tables in the garden.

  “Let me get you another. Do you want breakfast? My shout.” He flashed his charming smile and disappeared inside before she could respond.

  Taylor pushed her sunglasses firmly against her face, sent Cass a quick text to say she’d catch them later and leaned back in the sunshine. She was trying to avoid spending money and drifting from shop to shop with the girls would be too tempting. She was happy to let Ed get breakfast. She wanted to know more about him but his physical presence sent her common sense out the window. If they were sitting across the table from each other eating breakfast, maybe they could just talk.

  The chair beside her moved. She sat up and his arm brushed hers. Once more the tingle of electricity sparked between them. There went that idea. He’d sat himself in the chair beside her instead of across the table.

  “How are the others this morning?” he asked.

  “Still sleeping when I left.”

  A phone buzzed. Ed pulled it from his pocket. He peered at the screen, frowned, then held up his hand to her and spoke.

  “Peter.”

  Taylor glanced around. She never liked being close to someone talking on a phone but Ed didn’t move away. He listened, grunted a few times then hung up.

  “My brother,” he said as he stuffed the phone back in his pocket. “He’s a bit of an old woman when it comes to his wine. That’s why I was late. We had a tanker in early this morning to pick up some wine for bottling. Peter wouldn’t let it go before he’d checked everything twice. Now he’s checking on some paperwork.”

  Taylor’s phone vibrated along the table.

  “My turn, sorry.”

  It was Cass. Taylor stood up, put the phone to her ear and moved out to the footpath.

  “Where are you?” Cass asked.

  “Not far. Didn’t you get my text?”

  “Yes, and Mandy’s just come in with your note but you didn’t give much information. What are you doing?”

  “Having breakfast.”

  “With Eddie?” Cass hissed into the phone.

  Taylor could hear muffled voices in the background.

  “You head off shopping,” she said. “I won’t be long. I’ll call you.”

  “Tell me more.” Cass’s voice raised a notch. “Did you come home last night?”

  “I’ll meet up with you soon.”

  Taylor ended the call. There was no way she would be grilled by Cass when she didn’t know the answers herself. Besides she couldn’t talk about Ed when he was only a few metres away.

  The waitress was placing plates on the table when Taylor returned. She took in the poached eggs with salmon and hollandaise sauce in front of her. She wasn’t a fan of salmon and she particularly detested hollandaise sauce. Ed was peppering a plate of bacon, eggs and tomato. The coffees came. Cappuccino wasn’t her thing either but she would drink it.

  “Enjoy,” he said, not noticing her hesitation. “They do the best breakfast in town here.”

  Taylor’s phone vibrated in her back pocket. She ignored it, more intent on how she was going to eat what he’d chosen for her. She decided on distraction.

  “I think of a tanker as something that carries fuel,” she said. “Why does one come to take your wine?”

  “It’s going to be bottled.”

  “Oh, is that something new?”

  He stopped eating and raised an eyebrow.

  “You said your brother was fussing over it. I thought it might be something new.”

  “No, we always outsource the bottling. It’s our chardonnay. The one you tasted yesterday. We’ve won two gold medals for it. He’s like an old mother hen when the tanker comes.” Ed put down his knife and fork and picked up his coffee. “He’s…passionate about the wine he makes.”

  “And you?”

  “Of course.”

  Taylor noticed the slight hesitation before he spoke. He went back to his food.

  Taylor fiddled with hers. Thankfully Ed was busy eating and talking and he didn’t notice her slide the salmon under the Turkish bread
and scrape the sauce from the egg.

  “So what do you do when you’re not being the designated driver?”

  Taylor looked up from her plate. Ed’s was completely empty. He was studying her closely.

  “Tell me about you, Taylor.”

  Her heart did that extra thud thing again. His gaze penetrated her, as if he could see deep inside her.

  “Nothing as exciting as making wine.” She paused, where should she begin? “Business course at uni.”

  “Ditto,” he said.

  “Worked in a pub and also did casual office work to get enough money to go overseas. Came back and worked in marketing for a charity. Went overseas again.”

  “I’ve never been outside Australia.”

  His phone rang. He peered at the screen, held up his hand to Taylor again as if he was stopping traffic and answered.

  “Noelene,” he said.

  Taylor studied him as he listened. A dark look flitted across his face.

  “Okay, won’t be long.”

  He hung up. “Sorry,” he said. “Some issues at the cellar door and we open in half an hour. I have to go. Would you like to come with me? I could drop you back into town later.”

  “Oh, no, thanks anyway. I’ve got to meet the girls.”

  He took her hand and leaned closer. His touch sent a wave of anticipation through her.

  “Can we catch up later?” he asked.

  “The girls…”

  “After the girls, tonight, just you and me, no girls, no phones.” He bent his lips to hers. He tasted of coffee. His touch sent a tingle from her lips to her toes. She closed her eyes. Then his lips traced across her cheek to her ear. “I want to get to know you better,” he said.

  She opened her eyes to see the woman at the next table staring.

  “We’re going out for dinner, we could be late.”

  “I’m a night owl,” he whispered. “I’ll wait up.”

  “Okay.” It was all she could manage. He was nibbling gently on her ear.

  He sat back abruptly and she nearly fell off her chair.

  He plucked a card from his wallet. “That’s my number. Ring me and I’ll pick you up.” He stood up. “Sorry I have to go.”

  “Thanks for breakfast.”

  “You’ve hardly touched yours. I should have known someone with such a good figure would be watching their weight.”

  He bent down and kissed her firmly. “See you tonight.” He turned away and stopped beside the woman who had been staring at them. “Enid, George,” he said. “Nice morning for breakfast in the sunshine.” He turned back, winked at Taylor and left.

  Once more she sat back in her chair. She closed her eyes but she knew the woman was still watching her. What did Taylor care? She was savouring the feel of his lips on hers, the needling of his teeth on her ear. She opened her eyes. Enid looked away.

  Taylor stood up. What was she doing? Where was this going? Was she being a fool again? She should put a stop to it now before anything happened. She wasn’t a one-night stand kind of girl and tomorrow night she’d be back in Adelaide. She’d probably never see Edward Starr again.

  Several people were lined up at the cellar door bar by the time Edward had finished cleaning up the mess that the broken fridge had caused. Noelene was dealing with them. Thank goodness she was unflappable and dependable. Unlike his brother. Damn Peter. No doubt he was off with the fairies somewhere. He had no idea how important the cellar door was to their business. He only saw it as a distraction from talking to his grapes.

  Edward carried the bucket and mop through to the small kitchen. His breakfast with the luscious Taylor had been cut short. She was different to the last few women he’d been with. She had an inner strength that matched his, he’d seen it straight away in spite of her agitation. He thought that had been more about embarrassment for her friends’ behaviour. Last night he’d thought she was going to invite him in. She was certainly hot and this morning after breakfast– He ran his tongue over his lips. He could still taste her. He’d hoped to get a bit cosier but Noelene’s call had put paid to that. All he could do was hope Taylor would ring him tonight.

  There was a noise in the back room. Immediately he pushed the thought of Taylor aside. He stuck his head into the bar area to make sure Noelene had everything under control.

  “Back in a moment,” he said.

  She nodded and turned her attention to the group who were keen to buy a couple of cases of cabernet. They were in safe hands. If anyone could sell wine it was Noelene. He stepped into the back room and closed the door. Peter was in the process of swapping his shirt for one of the green-and-blue checked shirts they wore in the cellar door.

  “Sorry, I’m a bit late?”

  “A bit.”

  “I didn’t sleep last night worrying about the tanker. After I spoke to you I thought I’d lie down, just shut my eyes for a few more minutes.”

  Edward sucked in a breath as he watched his younger brother fumble with the buttons. He could be such a klutz sometimes.

  “One of the fridges died. Noelene turned up to a mess and nothing ready for this morning’s customers. Last night you said you’d be here.”

  “I know, Edward. I’m sorry.”

  Edward sighed. Peter must have been sorry to use Edward’s full name. He usually called him Ed.

  “Have you given any more thought to selling the NS18?” Edward watched as Peter’s fingers stopped on the last button.

  “No. I don’t need to,” he said evenly. “I’m making our own wine with it. You know that.”

  “We’ve already got a good range of wine for a winery this size. We talked about it last night. I thought you understood. Selling those grapes is money in the bank.”

  “We did talk about it and I thought you understood my point. This wine will be something new. Not only for us but for the region. It will be fantastic.”

  “Or it might be a disaster.”

  Peter turned a soulful look on Edward. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, bro.”

  Edward stopped himself from letting out a sigh. He didn’t want to put Peter offside but they could do with some cashflow. Peter never understood the money side of things. All he’d ever wanted to do was make wine. “I’m not knocking your winemaking skills. Put it off for one more year. That’s all I’m asking. We’ll still have a crop of new cabernet next year for you to play with.”

  “I’m not putting it off for another year. I’m all set to begin as soon as the grapes are picked.” Peter stepped around Edward. “It sounds like Noelene’s got a few customers. I’ve got it covered. See you after lunch.”

  This time Edward didn’t hold back the hiss that slid from his lips. He had been so sure he’d be able to talk Peter round. There was already a buyer lined up, willing to pay top dollar for the new cabernet. He’d worked hard to broker a good deal. Somehow he had to convince Peter to put off making their own wine with it for at least a year. He thumped his fist into the palm of his hand. Or not, it didn’t really matter. His parents had left the controlling interest in the winery to him. He could make the decision without Peter’s approval. It would just be less hassle if he’d agree.

  Edward’s phone rang. The name illuminated on the screen brought a smile to his lips. He stepped outside as he put the phone to his ear.

  “Mr Cheng, how are you?”

  CHAPTER

  5

  “What are you doing?”

  Taylor turned at Mandy’s question, tugging at the sleeves of the jacket she’d just put back on. Her friend was standing in the door of the bathroom, eyes wide, looking angelic in soft pink pyjamas.

  “Going out.”

  “We’ve only just come in. It’s midnight.”

  “I know.” Taylor took in Mandy’s worried look. “I’m meeting a friend.”

  “The guy you met at the winery.”

  “Edward.”

  “But it’s so late. Where will you go? Nothing’s open in the town.”

  Taylor hadn’t
thought about that but she’d already rung. Ed was on his way. Once again she hadn’t thought it through. She shrugged her shoulders.

  “We’ll find somewhere. Don’t wait up for me.”

  “Taylor.” Mandy took a step towards her.

  Taylor gave her a wave and slipped out of the door just as headlights lit up the car park. A dark four-wheel drive pulled in beside her. The window slid down and she was greeted by a smile and a wink from Ed. She hurried around to the other side of the vehicle and climbed in beside him.

  He leaned across. The sharp scent of aftershave engulfed her as his lips brushed hers.

  “Where would you like to go?”

  His eyes twinkled in the glow of lights from the dash.

  “I’m in your hands.”

  “Only place I know that’s open at this hour is my place. I’ve made supper.”

  “Sounds good.” Taylor smiled in spite of feeling full enough to burst. Rosie’s special night out had been a plentiful dinner at a local restaurant.

  “I’ll take you on a town tour then the back way to my place.”

  They set off and drove up and back along the main street. The only sign of activity was at the pub. He turned down a side street and slowed in front of a large building. The streetlight illuminated cream walls, elegant arched windows and a dark roof.

  “Mary Mackillop Centre.” Ed nodded at the building.

  “Australia’s first saint.” Taylor turned in her seat to take another look.

  “We’re not only famous for our wine.”

  They passed more houses and drove up and down a few more streets with leafy trees and tidy gardens. Few houses had lights on.

  “That’s it,” he declared with a grin. “Now Wriggly Creek.”

  Away from the streetlights the passing scene was lit by a full moon. The landscape was mainly flat with row after row of vines. Ed named places as they passed. A wave of apprehension swept through her. What did she know about this guy? Here she was driving with him to who-knew-where in the middle of the night. Where was the common sense she’d vowed to listen to?

  After ten minutes, he slowed and turned onto a dirt track. Up ahead she picked out the dark shape of a house. He pulled up beside it and came around to her as she opened the door. He gave her a bright smile and took her hand.