* * *
Rosa was home.
Regina had ensured that everything was in place in the Cabernet Room, and Cruz made sure Rosa’s bed faced the broad west windows, overlooking the vineyards. Pete Gallagher was coming to help capture and trim the vines after he met his new grandson. Rory was bringing the kids over, and Cruz was making a list of what needed to be done.
The list was huge, and he’d gotten about halfway done when his phone rang. His boss’s private number appeared in the display. He let it go for three rings before he answered. “Rodney, good morning.”
“Where are you, Cruz? Because I know you’re not at your desk, which is where I told you to be.”
“I explained, sir. My mother is terminally ill and I’m helping her get things in order. And spending time with her. Chen is—”
Rodney exploded. He didn’t like to be disobeyed, and Cruz had refused to come back to the office, which meant the never-satisfied boss already had a full head of steam worked up. “Don’t tell me about Chen! He’s an incapable youngster who has already blown one deal and is seriously undermining the next one, which puts him precariously close to being terminated because I don’t lose easily, Cruz. You know it. I know it. I need you back here now. I didn’t hire you to work remotely, I hired you to be on-site, and that contractual position has not changed. You either get back to the office or you’re fired.”
In Cruz’s world, the best didn’t get fired, they negotiated terms with other movers and shakers and changed offices. To be let go smacked of ineptitude and Rodney knew it, which was probably why he was using the threat.
So be it.
He’d always planned to leave the firm on his own time frame. That didn’t seem possible unless the boss was bluffing, but right now, Cruz didn’t care. “Feel free to send me the termination of contract via email.”
He hung up.
He thought he’d feel bad.
He didn’t.
He felt as if something had changed, but not necessarily for the worse.
No job, but money in the bank and time to set things right in Grace Haven.
Rory would call it God’s will. His timing.
Was there such a thing? He’d come back here testy and angry. He’d surveyed the downfall of his father’s industry, and his mother’s bad choices.
He should feel terrible, but he didn’t and he wasn’t sure how to rationalize any of it, except that maybe the man he was today was different from the guy who’d purposely rolled into town in a luxury car.
He pocketed the phone and stepped into the lower barn. The upper barn was where they’d stored equipment, with a section for the dairy goats to dash in and out as needed.
He almost looked that way, as if “Mama” and “Mia” would lead the rest of the goat herd across the fenced-in area, looking for food.
Brian Gallagher’s mother used to create old-style cheeses for his family, and goat milk fudge.
Three Mennonite farms had supplied custom cuts of meat and eggs for Rosa’s specialty dishes. And the Bach farm had provided fresh lamb, perfect for Greek wedding feasts.
He paused outside the barn, examining the past through adult eyes and wondering if he’d uncovered a truth he’d never seen. Choreographing all of this and utilizing it in a successful business didn’t just take hard work, it took vision. His mother’s vision.
The barn smelled old. He found the smell offensive, an insult to Hector’s memory. He opened the three south-facing windows, letting fresh lake air flood the interior. The movement was just enough to cut through the stale scent.
He took down a whetstone and the hand scythes, then descended to the creek. He sharpened the blades old-style, like Hector had done for decades, using the cool creek water and the dark gray stone to hone the perfect edge. And when the noise of children drew his attention up, it was Rory he saw, standing there. She’d shaded her eyes with her hand, searching for him, and when he stood, their eyes met.
Would she come down? Or should he move forward?
He moved to take a step when a text buzzed in. It was Chen, with one single word.
Fired.
He wanted to swear.
But he didn’t, and when the kids dashed through the overreaching strands of grapevine, he was glad of his restraint. “Hey, guys! Rory brought you over?”
“And we can stay! I’m so ’cited!” Javi leaped into his arms and Lily grabbed his legs, but their reaction drove the point home. Chen had a wife and two kids. Sure, he’d find another job, but just as good? As well paying? And was it Cruz’s fault that his work partner was getting the boot from an angry boss? How could he manage what he needed to do here with Chen’s fate on his shoulders? Maybe that was Rodney’s plan. To fire Chen to force Cruz’s hand, to make him come back. He and Chen had worked together for a while. They’d built a team. Rodney knew that.
He set Javi down while he texted Chen back.
Strong-arm tactic, will call later.
He got back three short words.
Was escorted out.
Leave it to Rodney to add embarrassment to the equation. To lead Chen out as if he’d done something wrong, a man who erred on the right side of legalities every single time there was a choice, even if Rodney would have preferred otherwise.
“Can we have lunch, Cruz?” Lily asked. She added a little tug to his arm for effect.
“I’m starvin’!” Bug-eyed, Javi gazed right into his face, and there was no doubting the intensity of his little-boy look or his hunger.
He’d never thought of lunch for the kids, which meant he might have to start making lists to remember all the little things that went into having children to care for. “Sure. Let’s go see Rory and Mimi.”
“Miss Wory had to weave.” Javi’s shoulders drooped and his chin aimed down. “She had to get stuff.”
“I wanted her to stay with us.” Lily clutched his hand tighter. “She makes me smile all the time, and I don’t worry about things when she’s with me.”
He felt the same way. Things took on a brighter perspective when she was around.
“At least she’s coming back.” Lily let go of his hand and skipped ahead. “But her dad is here, and he’s going to help.”
Lily’s words made him smile, despite the news from New York.
“Cruz.” Pete was hailing him from two rows over. Cruz crested the top of the vineyard and moved that way.
“Rory went to buy scrapers to start working on the front of the house.”
“To start painting?” He’d figured on hiring a team to come in and take care of the scraping and painting, but there hadn’t been time to do that yet.
“Yes. I told her white satin, top quality, and half a dozen scrapers and brushes. And a couple of small buckets for when folks are on ladders. I thought you might want to pick the shutter colors, but that’s easy enough once the base paint is finished.
“Kate’s visiting with Rosa right now,” he went on, “and Regina’s daughter came over to keep an eye on the kids while her mother keeps an eye on your mother.”
His surprise must have shown because Pete clapped him on the back. “Cruz, you’ve been in the city too long. That’s how it’s done here. At least once your mother let down that wall of pride she spent years erecting. You ready?” Pete aimed a look his way, and Cruz nodded.
“Yes, sir, I am.”
“Well, let’s send these youngsters inside for lunch and get a move on.”
* * *
Rory pulled into the Casa Blanca driveway, got out of the car and whistled as she crossed to the edge of the hill overlooking the trellised slope. “I can’t believe the difference ninety minutes has made. The vines look so much better. And the tangle is gone on these two rows.”
Her father slapped Cruz on the shoulder. “This guy knows his
way around a vineyard. But then, he was taught by the best.”
“Dad had a way with the vines.” A mix of pride and sadness tinged Cruz’s tone. “I didn’t know I still remembered all of that, honestly.”
“And yet, you did.” Pete’s tone offered praise for a job well done.
Rory turned his way. “And you’re feeling all right, Dad?”
“They operated on my brain, not my arm,” Pete teased, and when she looked chagrined, he laughed. “It feels good to be doing something again. Don’t repeat this to your mother, at least not yet, anyway, but I was sick to death of traveling from place to place, seeing things. Once I started feeling better, I knew I’d much rather be doing. Watching other people do things gets old real quick, so I’m glad to be helping out here. I’m happy to be feeling better and to be home.”
He gave Rory a half hug, then moved toward the house. “Mom ordered pizza for six o’clock, then we’re getting cleaned up to go visit that new grandson again. And I’ll be back, first thing in the morning, Cruz.”
“I’ll welcome the help, sir.” He watched Pete stride into the back entry of the house, then looked down. “He’s amazing.”
Rory nodded. “We like him pretty well.”
“He doesn’t talk much.”
“No. But when he does, we listen. And Mom talks enough for both of them, so it’s all about balance. I can’t believe these first rows look this much better. It’s amazing, Cruz.”
“You think?”
She looked up at him, and when he tipped his gaze down, she couldn’t think at all.
He took her down the first row and when he demonstrated how they captured the vine, then trimmed and tucked it back into the wire fencing, she whistled softly again. “How did you know to do this? The vines look so much better and I can see the grape clusters now. They look positively happy.”
He laughed softly. “I think they are. They love the sun. My father truly enjoyed all of this.” He gazed across the vineyard rows. “He grew up working for my grandparents. My grandfather taught him everything. And when they died, they left everything to my mother, but she’d never worked the field. She knew nothing about the farm production side of things.”
“And yet she made this place into an amazing event center,” Rory observed. “How?”
“That one’s easy.” He ran a hand across the nape of his neck as his gaze swept the broad, sprawling farm. “She worked, night and day. She saw pictures in magazines and she wanted Casa Blanca to be like those pictures.”
“It worked.”
“She’d gone to college, gotten a degree in interior design and used some of that to decorate the reception areas, but new businesses struggle. Hers was no different, and she knew nothing about how to have one business offset the other.”
“But your father did.”
“He wasn’t a citizen. But if they married, he’d become one and she’d have expert help bringing the vineyard to fruition.”
“A marriage of convenience?”
“Except he loved her.” His voice deepened. “It was there, in everything he did, in everything he said, for so long, but it was as if she was ashamed of him. And maybe of me, by default.”
“She’s proud of you, Cruz.” She moved in and took hold of his arm. “She told me all about you. She’s told lots of people in town about her wonderful son, his great successes. As if raising you was something she did right while all of this was eroding around her. Did you ever think that maybe neither of you really understood the other? And that maybe you should have talked more?”
“Talk more?” He made a face. “Effort was encouraged. Talk was barely tolerated.”
“Which means the three of you walked around with your feelings bottled up, exactly what I tell kids not to do. Sometimes dealing with grown-ups is a whole lot more confusing than the simple honesty of children.”
“A lesson that’s clearly working with those two.” Cruz pointed toward the nearby barn. “Lily’s not afraid to speak her mind, and Javi’s always trying to make people happy.”
“Beautiful, diverse personalities. Like God intended us to be.” She followed the direction of his hand, leaned against a vineyard post and smiled, and when she did, a shift of wind swirled her hair across her cheeks, her face.
She reached up to push the hair back.
Cruz beat her to it. His big, strong, beautiful hand swept the hair back behind her ear, then stayed right there, holding her cheek.
Perfect.
The feel of his hand to her face, his roughened palm against the softness of her skin.
She looked up into his eyes. Serious eyes, deep and richly toned.
His focus shifted to her mouth, wondering.
He didn’t ask permission and she didn’t want him to. It was as if this moment was scripted long before they’d met.
And when he drew her closer and deepened the kiss, her heart beat in time with his. “Cruz...” She whispered his name as he held her close to his chest.
“Best kiss ever.” He whispered the words, making her smile. “I’ve been thinking about this for a while, Rory.”
“You haven’t been in town all that long,” she whispered back.
He laughed softly. “That should tell us something. If it seems like too long to wait, it probably is.”
“Cwuz!” Javi spotted his hero and ran their way. “Cwuz, I saw the b-b-biggest fish!”
“This big?” Cruz spread his arms wide, and Javi scoffed.
“Not that big, siwwy. Our cweak is wittle. But it was pwobably this big!” He spread his arms in a miniature version of what Cruz had done. “I have to go tell Mimi!”
He raced to the house, the excitement of the moment fueling his steps.
Cruz stared after him. “He loves her.”
“And she loves them.” Was that hard for him to see? To hear? It had to be when he’d grown up feeling like a second-class citizen in his own house. The slap of the back door echoed down the hill. Rory sighed softly. “It will be hard for them to have her gone. Rosa is all they’ve known for the last two years. They’ve already experienced a lot of sadness and change in their little lives.”
“You don’t think I should take them back to New York with me.”
New York.
She hadn’t been down to the city in several years. While she’d loved the quick-paced energy of Manhattan, she’d never thought of it in terms of raising a family. And yet millions of people did it. “Cruz, these two will bloom and grow wherever you plant them, as long as they’re loved. Kids are resilient, and Lily and Javi have never had a father figure. You’ll be good for them. And I expect they’ll be good for you, too.” She believed that wholeheartedly. The only problem was, if he was going back to the city with the kids, what was she doing kissing him in the vineyard?
She didn’t kiss casually, so when he started to turn her way, she backed up a few steps. “There’s shade in the front of the house, and that’s the best way to paint, midsummer. I’m going to get started.”
He studied her for a moment, then nodded. “And I’ll get back to work down here. The busier I am, the easier all of this is.”
He moved down the next row, maneuvering the thick wire with a twist of his hand in a movement that seemed natural and synchronized.
He fit here.
She saw it. He didn’t. Maybe the old emotions made being here too much of a hardship. He’d told her that people with money weren’t overcomers.
He was wrong. A kid who grew up feeling unloved had a great deal to overcome. Money might make some choices easier, but it didn’t pave the way to happiness.
Her father had unloaded the paint cans onto the shaded porch. He’d set up a ladder, too. She grabbed a scraper, climbed up and began to fix years of neglect, one board at a time. How she wished a sorrowful hear
t could be mended as easily.
Chapter Eleven
Cruz started work in the vineyard the next morning, thinking of Rory.
He’d kissed her. He’d kissed Rory Gallagher right here in the sun-drenched vines. He’d taken her into his arms and kissed her, and he’d do it again, given the chance.
But how could it work between them?
She was right to step away even though he was pretty sure she’d enjoyed that kiss as much as he had. She’d melted into his arms, into his embrace.
But within a few weeks he’d be sending an updated résumé to a Manhattan recruiter. Then he’d meet suit after suit while eating overpriced food during interviews at upscale restaurants where no one in their right mind would call him sweet thing or darlin’. And he’d be looking for a bigger apartment downstate, one big enough for two small children.
Air-conditioning and high-speed internet. Your very words. And with hedge funds in decline, why not branch out? Chart your own path? Why does it have to be New York City?
“Cruz?” Regina interrupted his thoughts. “Your mother’s awake.”
“Good.” He stowed the thought temporarily as he made his way into his mother’s room. “Hey, Mom.”
Her eyes blinked open when she heard his voice. She held out a hand. He drew up a stool next to her bed and took her hand in his. “How are we doing?”
“I am tired, Cruz.”
He saw the truth in that and nodded.
She breathed softly, then redirected her gaze outside. “I see you working there. I saw the arm and the scythe working, so much like your father. His ways, his style, his urge to get it done the right way.”
“I may have inherited that trait from both of you.” He pressed her hand lightly. “It’s not a bad characteristic.”
“It isn’t, but I made it too important, Cruz.” Now she brought her eyes back to his. “I made money and work and status too important and it ruined things.”
“With Dad.”
“And with my son, because I didn’t take the time to be a good mother. How foolish, Crusberto.” She peered at him as if her vision was being tested. “I should not have been careless in my love for you, so when Elina brought the children to me, I had a second chance. A second chance to fix what I messed up the first time. Never did I think she’d leave and not return, or I’d have fixed things, legally. And then it was too late.”
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