Love's Harvest (A Salmon Run Novel Book 1)

by Gwen Overland

  “Oh, I had lots of help. You know that. Diego, Mariela, and her family. The workers. You and Alicia always willing to talk whenever I needed to merely hear either of your voices.”

  “You know darn well I meant James and Gayle. What is with those two? I mean, not only are they never around when they could help, but when they do appear, they act like they’re granting some enormous favor. I don’t know. They’ve changed a lot over these last few years. I remember when they were first married . . . when was it? Fifteen years ago? James and Gayle were always the first people to come to your door whenever you were in trouble.”

  “Yes, I know what you mean. I used to ask Robert about it all the time, but it upset him so much that after a while I didn’t feel comfortable broaching the subject. When Robert got sick, I stopped bringing it up all together. Robert and James were close when they were younger, but when James began his law practice and Robert became more and more involved with the winery, they drifted apart. Gayle and James always seemed too busy with their children. And of course I was rarely in town long enough to deepen our friendship before I needed to rush off to the next piano recital.”

  “I know. But, this is more than merely time not spent together. Whenever James speaks to you, he actually sounds angry, like you did something to enrage him.”

  “I always thought so, too.” Julia sighed. “But, Robert assured me it was something much deeper—maybe jealousy over the winery, or the feeling that Robert and I weren’t doing our part with his dad, Buck. Especially after all of us had to move him to the nursing home.”

  “Have you ever asked James what is going on?”

  “No. I’ve been too busy and too tired to do so. And perhaps a bit embarrassed. Or intimidated. But I did ask Gayle, and she told me she wasn’t any clearer as to why James acts the way he does. I’m not absolutely sure, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she was hiding something from me as well. But what, I haven’t the slightest.”

  “Do you want me to ask her?”

  It seemed to Julia that Barbara was rarely if ever too embarrassed or intimidated to do whatever she felt like doing. Julia certainly wanted some clear answers, but she didn’t want Barbara’s overbearing manner to get between herself and her friendship with Gayle.

  “No, that’s all right. I’m sure things with James will cool down now that I can turn my full attention toward the business of the winery. But thank you anyway, Barb. As always, you’re the best friend a girl could ever have.” Julia kissed her friend lightly on her cheek as the two embraced before the proceeding into the building and the reception.

  ~ ~ ~

  A blast of cold air from the air conditioner stationed in the reception room broke whatever spell Julia had been under while seated at the gravesite. Her mind felt clearer than it had in months. She was eager to thank each person attending the reception for coming to Robert’s service.

  The first person to see Julia as she made her way through the sea of well-wishers was Alicia. She took Julia’s hand, concern on her face.

  “Are you all right?”

  “Yes, of course. I simply needed some time to gather myself. And to thank Mariela and her family for attending the service. I owe those people so much. Beginning Monday, I’m going to make the winery my first and only priority.”

  “What about your concert career? You’re not through playing are you?”

  Julia hesitated. She knew Alicia was proud of her ability to play the piano with a joy and freedom very few artists exhibited.

  “Well, I’m not sure . . .”

  “But, Julia, what are you saying? Your piano is who you are. When you play it’s as if you and the spirit of the music are one. You can’t just give that up.”

  “No, I am not finished with the piano, but I’m not sure about continuing my career. What I am certain of is my promise to Robert. I must do my best to turn the Nooksack Valley Winery around and make it the success it once was. It deserves to resemble the dream Robert and his father shared. I hope James and Gayle feel the same so we’ll be able to work together. I also want all the people here who work so hard to feel secure in their jobs, to feel the same sense of pride of ownership in the winery as I do.”

  “If anyone can do that, it’s you, Julia. You’re the most single-minded, determined woman I’ve ever known.” Alicia squeezed Julia’s hand. “And I am so proud to have you as my sister.”

  “I feel the same way about you, Alicia. To go back to school and pursue a law degree is no small potatoes either.”

  Julia kissed her sister lightly on her forehead and gave her one of her best sisterly smiles. They’d not always been as close. Julia’s mother died tragically in a car accident when she was five years old. It didn’t take long for her father to remarry, and soon the new couple had a little girl of their own. Alicia Treadaway was seven years younger than Julia, which in itself put a fairly significant gap between the girls’ ages.

  In addition, Julia was musical like her father. Alicia wasn't. As children, this created tension between the girls. When it came to her father, Alicia claimed she could never measure up. For Julia, the feeling of being the outsider in a contained family forced her to always look for ways in which she could be accepted and approved of by her father.

  And even though her new step-mother Trudy was kind, Julia never grew as close to her as she had been to her own mother. Yet despite their past differences, Julia and Alicia had found a way to mutually respect and sincerely care about one another over the years. Hell, they loved each other. There wasn’t any other way to describe it.

  Within the next hour or so, everyone paid their condolences and gradually filtered out. With the exception of Alicia, Julia steered clear of her family, particularly her in-laws. She knew she couldn’t leave without speaking to Gayle. After all, she was the one who coordinated the service and supervised the women from the Riverside Lutheran Church who provided the food for the reception. Julia made her way into the kitchen where Gayle, working by herself, had moments ago finished cleaning up.

  “Gayle, I’ve been meaning to tell you how much I’ve appreciated all that you’ve done to make Robert’s service as successful as it was. The minister, the flowers, and this beautiful array of food has been on your shoulders and not on mine. These last few months have worn me out, and I know today couldn’t have happened without your expertise and support. You are a true friend.”

  Gayle laid down her dishtowel and turned her gaze at Julia as if she were an intruder. “I did it as much for Robert as I did it for you. He’ll be greatly missed.”

  “I’m sorry I haven’t been as close to you and James during this difficult time. I can’t imagine how James must feel, losing his only sibling at such a young age. I did reach out on several occasions, but it seemed like the two of you were either busy with the children or with your work commitments. But I do want you to know I understand and deeply care for you both.”

  Actually, Julia didn’t understand why Gayle and James had kept their distance from her and Robert this last year. Maybe it had something to do with James’s inability to face Robert’s cancer, or who knows what. All she knew was that she could’ve used the strength of their noticeably vacant friendship during these last few months. Yet this was the time for forgiveness, for starting over, for working out a new relationship between her and her brother-in-law and his wife.

  “No, I don’t think you do understand, Julia,” Gayle snapped back, her voice escalating. “This has been difficult for James and our family. Robert’s illness and death, the financial windfall at the winery, and Buck’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis have hit us hard. If you think Robert’s life insurance policy is going to cover all of these expenses, you are in for a big surprise. According to James, the policy won’t even cover Robert’s hospital expenses. No, Julia, I don’t think you understand anything at all.”

  “Gayle, I . . .
”

  As if on cue, James barreled into the kitchen. “What is going on in here? I can hear you two all the way out into the dining room.”

  As far as Julia could tell, James had a superior talent for interrupting whatever was going on and manipulating the moment to fit his needs.

  Gayle didn’t answer, but turned around and began putting away the clean dishes. Julia wanted to tell James to shut up and mind his own business, but actually all of this was his business. Robert had been his brother. The winery was as much his as hers, and it was his father sinking fast into a sea of oblivion.

  If the truth be told, Julia hadn’t given much thought to the financial issues incurred by Robert’s illness. It was all she could do to keep herself emotionally afloat and be the anchor Robert needed as he, too, slipped away.

  “Gayle was merely reminding me of my financial predicament. But, I promise you, James, I’ll give everything I have to the winery beginning Monday morning. I know over time I can turn it around. It’s a beautiful winery, and part of your family—our family—for as long as we care to have it. I know its success is something both Robert and your father wanted, and I’ll make good on my promise to Robert as long as I’ve the energy to do so.”

  “Julia, you know as well as I do that the winery is a monetary drain on all of our resources, not only yours. I’m afraid we’re going to have to make some hard decisions within the next few days if we want to break even, let alone find ourselves in the black. You’re an intelligent woman, Julia, so I am sure you’re aware of what needs to be done.”

  The last thing Julia wanted to do right now was talk about the financial issues surrounding the winery, but she felt James missed the entire point. The winery was as much a part of his family as his wife and children. It was what his mother and father, not to mention his brother, had worked so hard to leave as a legacy not only to their children and their children’s children, but to their community as well.

  So many people put their hearts and souls into the Nooksack Valley Winery. For the Hispanic workers, it was more than simply a job. It was their livelihood, a labor in which they took pride. The winery provided them with a place to lay down new roots. A home where they could start anew and give their children the opportunities and things which all parents hoped to provide for their children—a future. Julia knew this wouldn’t be an easy fight, but she fully committed herself to giving the winery a second chance.

  “I merely need time, James. I’m aware I haven’t done the best job I could to keep this winery going, but with the help of the workers, especially Mariela and her brother Diego, I’ll be able to find a way to pull the winery up from the ground and reestablish it among the best in Washington State. I know I can do it. But I need you to give me the time to do so.”

  The silence in the room was impenetrable. Finally, James motioned to Gayle. “Let’s go. We’ve said enough for today.”

  Julia watched as the couple walked out the door, feeling more abandoned and alone than ever before in her life. Other than Barbara and Alicia, she had neither friend nor family to turn to. Only the slim hope her employees were as capable as she needed them to be. All she knew was that she didn’t have a wisp of a prayer to resuscitate the winery unless Mariela and Diego were willing to stand by her side.

  Chapter 2

  Up until a few days ago, Julia hadn’t slept at home in weeks. She either kept a vigil seated at her husband’s side in the hospital or stayed in one of the private rooms extended to her as part of the hospice. The prognosis had been grim from the very beginning. A matter of months, the doctors had said. Instead, Robert’s cancer took its time, whittling him down from the man he’d been to the skeleton he’d become.

  But now Julia was home. She loved the tiny bungalow attached to the main winery building since it looked out over the entire vineyard. From her living room, she viewed everything from the production barns to the housing units provided for the full-time year-round workers.

  Except for a short visit with her sister Alicia, Julia had spent her time at home, grieving quietly and alone. Truth be told, she was accustomed to being by herself, moving from city to city as she met the concert requirements set up by her agent and public relations secretary. Yet, until now, she hadn’t spent this much time alone in her own home.

  In the past, Robert had always been home to welcome her when she returned. Now, the only reminders of his life were his clothes in their closet, his lonely cello leaning against the piano, and his favorite books and phonograph albums scattered here and there. Robert always maintained that vinyl records could never be replaced by the new digital CDs which had become so popular.

  He’d go on and on about the character of the LPs as compared to the CDs. Something was lost in the digital engineering that was only present on his scratchy records. She laughed as she remembered how the two of them argued this point ad nauseum, teasing one another for the stance they each championed. Ultimately, he‘d concede. But then immediately, he’d turn around and spin one of her favorite records, most likely one of the later Bartok string quartets, simply to prove how absolutely right he was.

  She sighed as she swiped a tear off her cheek. It’d been a long day. She yearned to take off her clothes and slide into a tub full of warm water and bubbles. If she never saw the black dress with matching jacket and shoes she had worn that day, it would be too soon. Not wanting to touch Robert’s records quite yet, Julia instead put on one of her own CDs, Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto in C minor.

  She’d recorded it five years earlier with the London Symphony Orchestra. The event had been such a stunning milestone in her career that each time she played the recording, she felt renewed. She prayed that between the bubble bath and the Beethoven she’d find much needed relief from the stress of the day.

  As she soaked in the comfort of the warm sudsy water, Julia pieced together all the things she knew she needed to do to transform the winery back to its former glory. She wasn’t absolutely certain, but as far as she could tell, the vineyard itself was in good shape.

  That didn’t mean the crop shouldn’t be extended with new plantings or that the grapes they already had shouldn’t be replaced by those of a higher quality. Until she found the funds, the grapes she had would have to do. Of course, she’d have to discuss those concerns with Diego as soon as possible.

  As far as sales went, something had to be done, and fast. Robert had been so good at that sort of thing. In fact, it was his passion—schmoozing with people, spear-heading meetings, making cold calls, running rough-shod over the many distributors who helped sell Nooksack Valley wines and kept the displays and warehouses fully stocked.

  He lived for that aspect of the business. Not Julia. She preferred the more solitary life of a recluse. She relished and savored the time she spent practicing her piano, taking short hikes through the Cascade foothills, reading scholarly articles about music history and piano pedagogy, and her favorite hobby, writing letters.

  No emailing, text messaging, or Skyping for her unless it was absolutely necessary. Julia preferred the discipline of taking pen in hand and allowing the ink to flow across a sheet of luxurious stationary. None of these activities however would be of any use to her now. And she knew it. Time for a new game plan. Perhaps even a change in personality if need be.

  Julia slid under the water to wet her hair. Earlier, she’d dealt with a headache. Now, all she felt was the warm water drifting through her long blonde hair. For a fleeting second she wished she could stay hidden beneath the bubbles, at least until everything in her life straightened itself out.

  But that wasn’t exactly the way life worked. She’d learned that, beginning with her mother’s death and her father’s remarriage. By the time Julia became an adult she sensed that her step-mother’s inability to connect with her had less to do with the woman’s feeling toward Julia, and more to do Trudy’s innate neediness
for her father’s attention. Yet, even as a child, Julia discovered it did no good to hide from the gloomier aspects of life. One had to deal with things as they came, no matter how frightening or how sad.

  Eventually something good would grow out of the rubble, as it had with her sister Alicia, her marriage to Robert, and now the potential of the Nooksack Valley Winery. Something beautiful was about to happen. She felt it in her aching bones. What it was, however, she hadn’t a clue.

  As Julia dried herself off, she heard repeated knocking at the front door. Quickly she put on her robe and slippers, wrapped a towel around her wet hair, and darted toward the sound of children’s laughter emanating from her porch.

  “Señora Reynolds!”

  “Señora Reynolds!”

  “Señora Reynolds!”

  “Señora Reynolds!”

  The voices of Felicia and Eduardo endlessly overlapped each other until she opened the door.

  “Mama sent me to tell you . . .”

  “No, she didn’t. She sent me.”

  “Did not!”

  “Did too!”

  “Did not!”

  Julia wasn’t sure whether to laugh, scream, or cry. “Okay, you guys. I’m sure your mama wanted both of you to come tell me whatever it was she wanted to say. So, do either of you remember what that was?”

  This was a first. For as long as Julia could remember, neither of these children ever came to her door before.

  Felicia, though younger, could talk faster than anyone Julia had ever met. She got the jump on her brother by blurting out, “There’s a party for Señor Robert down at the compound and you’re supposed to come with us.”

  “Si. Music, dancing, and lots of food. Everything you want. So, you better come now.” Eduardo had a way with words, few though they may be.