Her finger traced the side of his face. She felt the prickles of his day-old beard, the softness of his lips. His mouth opened and sucked the end of her finger.
“Good morning,” she whispered.
“Good morning yourself.” He turned to face her. His kisses roamed down her neck, across her shoulders until she could think of nothing else.
Pete showered and pulled on some fresh clothes. He pictured Taylor’s beautiful smile as she’d kissed him goodbye this morning. When they’d finally dragged themselves out of her bed they’d sat side-by-side in the kitchen eating toast and coffee together. He’d had trouble keeping his hands off her. He loved everything about her – her hair, her skin, the way her cheeks went pink when she was embarrassed, the way her eyebrows raised in surprise. He’d studied every little thing she did for so long but now they’d explored each other’s bodies he felt as if he knew the real Taylor. It was as if he’d known her forever. They were good together. He hadn’t wanted to leave but there was work to do.
They’d have to be careful around Ed for a while. He’d been particularly vicious when he’d thought they’d been together before. Pete hadn’t been able to admit his interest in Taylor even to himself back then. Now that he’d taken the next step he wanted to protect what they had together. He didn’t want his brother to have the chance to put a damper on what he had with Taylor, not yet.
Pete stepped out his back door, gave a long look towards the quarters then set off to the winery. He wanted to do the first round of plunging for the morning, including the NS18, and be well out of the way before Ed turned up to do the next plunge. The NS18 was another thing he didn’t want Ed to know about for now. Pete had never changed the board in the office. The first lot of cab sauv had been pressed and stored in the tank that said NS18. They’d barrel it next week. Ed hadn’t asked what stage in the process the new cab sauv was up to. Pete hoped that meant he’d given up on selling it but he still had a niggle of a doubt.
He unlocked the winery door and went into his office. He wasn’t good at keeping secrets. At least over Easter there was no Felicity keeping her sharp eye on things and Noelene wouldn’t be back till tomorrow. With any luck he wouldn’t cross paths with Ed until dinner tonight and then they’d be with a big group of locals. The NS18 shouldn’t even get a mention.
Edward tucked his phone back into his pocket with a smile. At least something was working out. All he had to do was make some excuse why he couldn’t go with Peter and Taylor to Coonawarra tonight and he’d be right. They’d probably be happy without his company anyway. In fact they might want to stay home. He’d have to make sure they didn’t do that.
He flexed his arms. With Taylor here he hadn’t done as much plunging as he usually did. His left arm was being a bit dodgy. At least he’d made the effort to help today and Antoine would be back tomorrow.
Edward checked the time. They’d have to open the cellar door soon and he’d promised to top-up stocks. He jumped in his four-wheel drive and drove along the track past Peter’s cottage to the winery. Peter was coming from the round the back of the barrel shed. Edward slowed to a stop and lowered his window.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“Fine. Just doing the rounds.”
“Whatever floats your boat. I’m going to check stock and make sure the cellar door’s ready to go for Taylor.”
“Great. Thanks.”
“Looking forward to Donella’s dinner tonight?”
“Yeah.”
Edward had to make sure Peter had no excuse for him and Taylor not to go.
“Taylor’s really looking forward to it,” he said. “She’s cooked so much for us she’ll appreciate someone else’s cooking.”
“Yeah.” Peter nodded his head. He looked distracted. “Catch you later.” He went round the back of the four-wheel drive and on to the fermenting shed.
Edward drove on. When he reached the end of the track he saw Felicity’s car out the front of the office. She was just coming out the front door. She locked it and gave him a wave. Once more he lowered his window, the passenger side this time.
Felicity paused then she leaned in. “Hello, Edward,” she purred.
“Don’t tell me you’re working?”
“No, I…I dropped off a little something in the lunchroom. I was going to text you tomorrow. It was going to be a surprise.”
“That’s good of you. Sorry to spoil it.”
“Doesn’t matter.” She smiled widely, her perfect white teeth a sharp contrast to the bright red lipstick she wore.
He lifted his finger in a wave and drove on. No doubt Noelene would have chocolates tomorrow as well. He should go into town and get something for them. Perhaps later, if there was time. First he had to make sure everything was in place for tonight.
Pete took Taylor’s hand as they stepped out into the chilly air. It was wonderful to feel his touch. They’d been so careful all night to act like friends rather than lovers. Ed hadn’t come with them so that had made it easier.
No sooner were they inside Peter’s ute than he reached across and kissed her. Taylor’s lips responded.
When they came up for air Pete took a strand of hair from her face and tucked it carefully behind her ear. “I hadn’t thought we’d stay so late. I’ve been busting to do this all night.”
“Take my hair out of my eyes?”
“This.”
His lips met hers again. They kissed hungrily this time. Taylor felt a little shiver as he slid his hands inside her shirt; partly because his hands were cold but partly because they felt so wonderful against her skin. She tried to get closer. The console was in her way.
“Arrgh!” Pete growled. “Let’s get home.”
“Your place or mine?” Taylor gave him a flirty look.
“Mine. I’ve got more room and I’ve changed the sheets.”
“I’m guessing that’s a good thing.” Taylor hadn’t taken any notice of the state of his sheets last time she was there. She’d been too busy noticing Pete and how well their bodies worked together. She leaned back against her seat and groaned. “That food was fantastic but I wish I hadn’t had a second serve of that delicious apple crumble.”
“Donella’s famous for her food.”
“There were a lot of people there. I don’t know how she did it.”
“I see Howard and Margaret had you bailed up for a while.”
“They wanted to know more about me. I think they were fishing for gossip. Here I am living with three men and what are my intentions?”
“What indeed.” He chuckled. “Margaret has been known to make up what she doesn’t know about people.”
Taylor laughed too. “I think I’ve probably given her enough information to make a good story that could possibly involve Antoine.”
Once more Pete’s warm chuckle filled the ute. “We’ll find out soon enough, no doubt.”
Taylor looked out at the vines lit by the headlights on either side of the highway. Most of the grapes were gone and many of the leaves had changed colour. During the daytime the scene was full of colour from bright yellow to deep red. It was just over a month since she’d arrived here looking for Ed. She glanced at Pete. She felt guilty about Ed now. It was a part of her life she’d like to forget and yet it had led her to Peter.
He glanced back at her. “What are you smiling at?”
“You.” She reached across and patted his leg. He took her hand and held it tight.
“It was good to meet a few more people tonight.”
“You do like it here, don’t you?” He let go of her hand to change gears.
The lights of the ute illuminated the front of the cellar door as Pete turned off the highway and onto the road leading to the winery.
Taylor wanted to say she loved it, she loved him, but she didn’t want to scare him in the first five minutes. “I enjoy the cellar door work the most, although I do like helping you with the plunging.” She gave him a wicked look.
“Let’s get yo
u home,” he said.
Pete slowed to a stop in front of the winery gates he’d locked on the way out. Taylor watched him stride to the gate. He stopped when he got there, bent forward as if he was looking at something then swung the gates open. Instead of coming back to the vehicle he stepped into the yard and stared ahead. She was about to get out when he turned and hurried back to the ute.
“What’s up?”
“I am sure I locked the gate but the padlock wasn’t through the chain. The gate just pushed open.”
Pete drove the ute through and pulled up again. He jumped out leaving his door open. Taylor shivered as the cold night air seeped inside the cab. Finally Pete came back.
“It’s secure now.” He moved the ute forward. “Maybe Ed came through after us.”
“Wouldn’t he go out his driveway on the other side, save locking gates?”
“Usually. Perhaps I didn’t lock it properly.”
“I wonder why he didn’t come tonight? He was the one who suggested it.”
“Got a better offer, he said.” Pete stopped the ute at his front door. “Coming inside?”
Taylor jumped out and rubbed her hands together. “I hope it’s warmer.”
“I’ve got a slow-combustion fire. I left it going.”
They ran up the steps. He put his key in the lock and pushed it open.
Taylor went to step forward but he put out his arm.
She turned to look at him. He had a strange expression on his face. Suddenly he bent and scooped her up.
She gave a cry. “What are you doing?”
“Welcoming you to my home.” He carried her inside, kicked the door shut with his boot and kept walking.
“Isn’t this for new brides?”
“I don’t care,” he said. “I wanted to do it.”
“You do remember I’ve been here before?”
“How could I forget?”
Taylor wrapped her arms around his neck and enjoyed the feel of his strong arms carrying her back to his delightfully cosy bed.
CHAPTER
52
Pete slid from his bed. Taylor stirred and rolled over. He paused. Her pretty blue eyes remained shut. She was the best thing that had happened to him in a long time, and not just in bed. They worked well together, laughed at the same jokes and she’d developed a love of Wriggly Creek. He plucked a strand of her flyaway hair from her cheek and draped it with the rest fluffed around her on the pillow. Her sweet pink lips parted a little as she breathed out – he bent closer then stopped. It wasn’t fair to wake her. They’d had a late night. He fought the urge to jump back into bed and wake her with a long, slow kiss. His body went into overdrive at the thought.
He took his clothes from the floor, pulled the door to behind him and made his way to the kitchen. It was built across the back of the cottage making it a dining-cum-family room as well. The cold room was nearly as good as a cold shower. He tugged on his clothes and bent to inspect the fire. It was out. The day would warm up. No point in lighting it again until tonight. He’d have to find time to collect some more wood soon. He only had a small pile left over from last year.
He boiled the kettle and made a coffee. He wanted to get the first lot of plunging done. It was only the reserve cab sauv in the stainless steel fermenter now and the new cab sauv in the cement fermenter. Once Antoine came back he’d have help again. He took some slurps of coffee while he pulled on his socks and boots. Damn, it was cold all of a sudden. He gave one more thought to Taylor snug and warm in his bed, tugged on his beanie and set off to the winery.
Not far from the shed that housed the new wine tanks he paused. He could see one of the doors was partly open. He moved closer, unease worming through his chest. There was a hose protruding from the gap and a red stain all over the ground. He covered the last few metres in quick strides. His brain couldn’t comprehend what his eyes were seeing. A hose lay at his feet, red wine soaked into the dirt around it. He threw open the door and followed the hose to the second tank. Still not sure exactly what had happened here he checked the tank. It was empty, barring the last layer of wine at the very bottom.
Pete staggered back. He looked around and then down at his boots which had left a muddy wine trail across the floor. He plucked his phone from his pocket and selected Ed’s name. It took a while for his brother to answer.
“What time do you call this?” Ed’s voice was croaky.
“We’ve been robbed.”
“Is this a joke?”
“No joke, Edward.” Pete looked around at his tanks. There could be others that were empty. He hadn’t thought of that. “Get over to the winery. Someone’s stolen our cab sauv and who knows what else.”
By the time he heard Ed’s vehicle pull up outside, Pete had checked the other tanks. They were all full. He’d also checked the fermenters. Everything was as it should be, even the NS18.
He went out to meet Ed waving his mobile as he went. “I’ve called the police.”
“Was that necessary?”
“A whole tank of cab sauv is gone. I’d call that necessary, wouldn’t you?”
Ed looked down at the wine-stained dirt and went to step past. Pete put a hand to his brother’s chest. “I’ve already been clambering around in there. Probably better if we let the police take a look before we do any more.”
Ed shook his head. “I can’t believe it. How?” He turned towards the gate. “You’d need a tanker to steal that much wine. How did they get in?”
Pete started walking towards the gate. “Did you go through here last night?”
“No.”
“When we got back from the dinner, I found the gate wasn’t locked but I swear I did it properly when we left.”
They set off towards the gate, Ed slightly ahead.
“Did you notice anything when you came through? You would have driven right past the shed.”
“I would have noticed a bloody tanker, that’s for sure.” Pete thought about it. He and Taylor had been so intent on getting back to his place he’d hardly taken in anything else once he’d locked the gate behind them.
They came to a stop in front of the gate. It was padlocked like he’d left it last night. He got out his key to open it just as a police car turned onto the track from the road.
He flung the gates open in time with Ed’s string of expletives.
Half an hour later, Pete huddled over coffee in the lunchroom waiting for CIB officers to arrive from the Mount. The policeman was young and new to the area. He’d called in reinforcements immediately. He was still outside keeping the crime area secure or some such thing.
Ed came through from the back of the winery. “Everything’s okay out there.”
“I made you a coffee.”
“Thanks.” Ed sat down beside him.
Pete clutched the mug, trying to draw some warmth from it. “Our insurance should cover this, shouldn’t it?”
“Of course but I thought you would have been more concerned. They’ve taken our top-of-the-range cab sauv.”
“Top of the range?”
“Your bloody next-best-thing-for-the-Coonawarra icon wine. The NS18.”
Pete gave him a guilty look. “It’s still fermenting.”
“You’ve got it on the board in there.” Ed jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “I just checked.”
Pete sat back. He’d never changed the whiteboard map. It was still labelled as NS18. Perhaps whoever had stolen it thought they were getting the NS18. He felt sick.
Ed scratched at his neck. “If it’s not the NS18 that’s gone, what was it?” His face was unshaven and his long hair had fallen forward over one eye. With the frown on his face it gave him a sinister appearance.
Pete studied him carefully. “The wine that was stolen was our entry-level cab sauv.”
Ed stood up bumping the table. “What have you done with the NS18 now?”
“Nothing. It’s still fermenting.”
“Why don’t you keep that bloody whiteboard up to date
?” Ed waved one hand wildly towards the door.
Pete stood up too. “Maybe it’s just as well I didn’t.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because someone’s stolen a whole tank of wine. The one that was marked on the whiteboard in my office with NS18.”
“So you don’t think it was pot luck?”
Pete sank to his chair and put his head in his hands. “Maybe not,” he muttered. He really didn’t want to think about the implications of someone looking at that whiteboard.
“But that would mean…” Ed thumped the table and swore. “That would mean it would have to be someone who had access to your office.”
Pete looked up at his brother with a heavy heart. “Yes.”
The front door opened and footsteps echoed across the office.
“Pete?” Taylor’s voice was tinged with worry. She burst into the lunchroom and stopped as she looked from Pete to Ed and back again.
“What’s going on? I saw the policeman and thought someone was hurt. He’s got yellow tape everywhere.”
“No-one’s hurt yet.” Ed smashed his fist into the palm of his hand.
Pete grimaced. “Some wine’s been stolen.”
“Oh no.” Taylor crossed the room and wrapped her arms around his neck. She leaned forward and brushed her lips over his cheek.
He took her hands in his and gave them a firm pat. “It’s only wine. No-one’s hurt.”
“I see you two have obviously become close friends.”
Pete looked up into Ed’s dark-blue eyes. A scowl twisted his brother’s face making him look even more sinister.
Pete reached around and drew Taylor close beside him. He stood up so his arm was around her waist. “Yes, we are.” He kissed the top of Taylor’s head. “Very close.”
Ed glared at him but Pete didn’t look away. He’d hoped to break their news gently but there was no way round it now. Ed would have to deal with it.
Once more the sound of the front door opening distracted Pete.
“Mr Starr?” a deep voice called.
“Yes.” Ed and Pete answered together.
The policeman stuck his head into the room. “CIB are here. They’d like you to come outside.”
Between the Vines Page 30
