by Sara Orwig
Eli held the car door for her and in minutes they were on the highway, heading south to the Ashton Estate. When Eli parked near her door, he cut the motor and turned to her. “I’m glad you came tonight. Let me take you to dinner tomorrow night.”
“I had a wonderful time at the party and I enjoyed meeting your family,” she said carefully, her heart beating fast. “Eli, we might as well say goodbye right now. I’ve told you, I have plans, and our going out together is no part of them.”
“If I thought you didn’t like me, I’d say fine and leave you alone,” he said in a low voice. “But I know differently. When we’re together your heartbeat is as out of control as mine. There’s a chemistry between us that is as combustible as a flash fire. You have plans, but you told me they’re for the fall. What’s it going to hurt to go out tomorrow night?”
“Every hour we’re together makes saying goodbye more complicated, and you know I’m right. We’re not going out again,” she said forcefully and stepped out of the car swiftly. She ran and almost made it to the door before he caught her. He spun her around and they looked at each other.
“No,” she whispered.
“You say no. Your heart says yes.”
“This time you’re not going to change my mind. Until you came into my life I’ve always had control over my emotions and I’m not going to lose that control.”
“You’re fighting yourself right now,” he remarked.
“You act as if you can’t hear a word I’m saying to you. Eli, this is goodbye. And if you say one word, then you’re more like Spencer than you want to admit. He had—”
“Dammit. Maybe I’m not worthy of your love, but stop accusing me of being like Spencer!” Eli snapped.
His words stopped her cold. “Love?” Lara looked at him searchingly. “Eli, what—”
Eli was angry now. “Never mind. It was a stupid slip of the tongue. It didn’t mean a thing—nothing at all.”
Lara knew what he really meant: he was reminding her that although their time together had been magical, it was still insignificant to him. She turned and pushed buttons to unlock the door. The moment she did, she stepped inside and slammed it behind her. She was gasping for breath and she hurt.
She clenched her fists and wished she had been able to control her emotions. All her life she had been able to keep a cool head, but with Eli she couldn’t. She suspected she was testing his restraint, too, but if it had taken that to get him to listen to her, so be it. Yet his words broke her heart. Even though she knew what they’d shared was temporary, hearing Eli’s angry words tonight had hurt. And he wasn’t like Spencer—not in the ways that really counted.
She headed for the stairs in the silent house, climbing them and thinking about the party that had been so wonderful. The night had been enchanted, and she reflected on the moments in Eli’s arms, his kisses that she knew she could never forget. In her small room she closed the door and let the tears come, because in her heart she didn’t want to tell him goodbye.
A light tap on the door made her wipe frantically at her tears. She glanced at her clock. It was past midnight. She swung open the door, thankful she no longer had to worry about Spencer. Franci stood there in striped orange-and-black pajamas and an orange cotton robe. She waved a tray of cheese and crackers and two bottles of pop.
“I can’t sleep and I wanted to hear about your evening.”
“Franci, do you know how late it is?”
“Are you going to sleep now?”
“No,” Lara admitted and swung open the door. Franci sailed inside and plopped on the bed, placing the food on the small bedside table. “I’ll fix the cheese and crackers while you get ready for bed and tell me. Did you have an exciting evening?”
“I had a wonderful time,” Lara said solemnly, and Franci looked up, her eyes narrowing.
“You’ve been crying. Did you fight with him?”
Lara sighed, knowing Franci was her best friend and that sooner or later, Franci would learn what had happened. “I told him I won’t go out with him again.”
“Why?” Franci shrieked and then clamped her hands over her mouth.
“Shh! You’ll wake up the house. And I don’t want Mom asking me a million questions and discussing this with the entire staff.”
“You like him. Why on earth would you tell him you won’t go out? Franci asked, kicking off fluffy orange slippers and sitting cross-legged on the bed while Lara changed to yellow cotton pajamas. She emerged to hang up her blouse and slacks. “I have to stop before things get out of hand,” she said woodenly. She crossed the room to the bed to find Franci staring at her.
“You’re in love with him!” Franci exclaimed, wriggling with excitement and making her thick mop of black curls bounce.
“No, I’m not!”
“Yes, you are,” Franci argued. “You’re in love! Why won’t you go out with him if you’re in love?”
Lara thought about Franci’s accusation. Was she in love with Eli? “I may have fallen in love with him, Franci, but he just seems to want a physical relationship. And he seems to be so single-minded.”
“Give it up a little. Give him a chance,” Franci said, slicing cheese and putting it on a cracker. Lara shook her head.
“I can’t eat a bite.”
“Oh, my. You’re definitely in love. You always have a little snack with me when I bring one to your room. No appetite, tears. Go out with the man and follow your heart.”
Lara shook her head, hating her churning emotions and the threat of more tears. She took off the necklace Eli had given her and turned it in her hands. “He gave me this because he knows I like antique jewelry. It was his grandmother’s.”
“He loves you, too!”
“No, he doesn’t. It’s a bauble to him. I’m going to mail it back to him tomorrow.”
“You can’t, Lara! Stop tossing away happiness with both hands, for heavens sake!”
“I have to do what I have to do,” Lara said, placing the necklace on her dresser.
“Okay. Tell me about his family. Are any of them overbearing like Spencer?”
“Eli is probably the one who is most like Spencer, but he’d hate to hear me say that. No, they’re not. They’re wonderful people and I had a marvelous time. Franci, I hurt him tonight. I told him that he was like Spencer and he got so angry. I just need to take care of Mom and go to law school, and I don’t have a place for a man in my life right now.”
“You’re in love and you have to go out with him again.”
“No, I don’t,” Lara said woodenly, and in minutes she claimed a headache and shooed Franci out of her room, sagging against the door with relief when she was alone. She switched off the light and climbed into bed, but memories of that first night with Eli plagued her. He didn’t belong in her life, and the more she saw him, the bigger the heartbreak would be. And heartbreak would come. Eli didn’t want any commitment. She had a plan for her life to follow and there was no place for Eli in her plan.
Yet his words haunted her. Maybe I’m not worthy of your love, but stop accusing me of being like Spencer! Lara wondered if it had really been a slip of the tongue. Could Eli have fallen in love with her? Did he really think he was unworthy of love because Spencer had abandoned him as a boy? Her heart broke anew.
She balled her fists against her eyes and hated that she couldn’t govern her feelings. “Eli,” she whispered. “Eli, I love you.”
Eli drove home and took the stairs two at a time to go to his suite. He closed the door and walked to the bedroom, tossing off his clothes, throwing them over a chair. He paced the room and felt on fire. He wanted Lara and she didn’t want to go out again—and it wasn’t because she didn’t like him. Her reasons frustrated him and he tried not to be angry. Worst of all, he’d said the L word—which he didn’t understand at all. Where had that come from? She’d just got him so riled.
“Damnation,” he said, raking his fingers through his hair. He spun around and went to his closet. In minutes he
was dressed to swim. Leaving the house, he crossed the yard and headed to the lake. He switched a light on, on one tall pole along the dock at the lake. It threw a shimmering silver beam across the inky water. He dropped his towel and kicked off his loafers, making a running dive into the cold water.
He swam until he was nearly exhausted and finally climbed out, toweling off and slipping back into his shoes. He turned off the light and walked through the vineyard to go back to the house.
Picking a grape leaf, Eli rubbed his fingers over it, feeling the texture. His thoughts jumped right back to Lara and her kisses. She’d had a good time tonight. “Forget her,” he told himself, striding back to his suite where he uncorked a bottle of Merlot and poured a drink. He sat in his living room, thinking about being there with her hours ago. He wanted her in his arms. He wanted her in his bed. He glanced at his bedroom and, for the first time in years, thought about getting an apartment in Napa. He wanted his own place.
He raked his fingers through his hair. “Dammit,” he mumbled. Even if he had his own place, she wouldn’t stay with him. She was a woman with a plan that didn’t include him. He had to forget her, but she wouldn’t stay out of his thoughts.
He had to respect her plans to take care of her mother. From the time he was eight until Louret became a success, Eli’s whole purpose in life was to take care of his mom and his siblings. He and Lara were alike in that, and he admired Lara for it. And he admired her independence—so long as she didn’t direct it toward him.
She wasn’t like any woman he had ever known. Independent, poised, driven—and sexy beyond measure.
He took a long drink and lowered the glass, staring into space and seeing Lara, thinking about her light-brown eyes and her thick auburn lashes. remembering holding her in his arms, dancing with her. Another disappointment in a lifetime of disappointments and rejection. And Lara wondered why he didn’t trust people.
He rubbed his forehead. Was he in love? Had he ever been in knots before, even when he had been in serious relationships? He’d been hurt, but not as though his heart had been ripped out.
He groaned and, like an animal in a cage, got up to pace the room. His tall clock chimed three. He strode through his suite and dressed in chinos and a knit shirt and left again, heading to his office. He knew he wasn’t going to sleep, so, hopefully, if he threw himself into work, he would forget her for a while.
Over a week later, on the twenty-second of June, Eli stood, brushed dirt off his work pants and climbed back on a tractor. He had been plowing under their winter cover crop of barley and legumes that had been planted between the rows of vines. He glanced at his watch and saw that it was four-thirty in the afternoon. As he reached toward the ignition, his cell phone rang. Eli pulled it out of his pocket and answered, “Eli, here.”
“It’s Grant.”
Eli frowned because Grant’s voice had an unfamiliar rasp to it. Instantly he suspected a problem. “What’s wrong?” Eli asked.
“Two detectives from the SFPD are here,” Grant replied in a tight voice, and Eli’s stomach clenched. “They’re taking me in for questioning,” Grant added.
“Damn!” Eli swore. Concern for Grant’s welfare mushroomed because Grant didn’t have an alibi and, worse, he had a motive. Yet Eli didn’t think Grant could have committed the murder any more than he himself could have. “I’m in the vineyards right now and I’m hot and dirty, but I can be ready soon. Will they let me ride into the city with you?”
“I’ll ask,” Grant said, and Eli could hear muted voices before Grant returned to the phone. “No. I have to go alone with them. At least there are no handcuffs so far.”
“Have you told Mom or Dad? ”
“No. You’re the only person I’ve called. I’m still here at Louret,” Grant said. “I asked them if I could clean up and change clothes. They said I could.”
“I’ll clean up and get there as soon as possible,” Eli said. “You need a lawyer. The family will take care of it.”
“Thank God for your family! Tell your folks thanks until I can tell them myself. I’m glad you’re coming. It’ll be reassuring to have someone with me.”
“You wait for an attorney to get there before you answer any questions. I’m on my way.” Eli jammed his phone in his pocket, started the tractor and headed home. He dreaded breaking the news to Lucas and Caroline because he knew they were fond of Grant and would be upset. His mother answered the phone in a friendly voice.
“Mom, I’ve got bad news.” Eli tried to cushion what he had to say, pausing a moment. “Grant just called and the detectives are taking him in for questioning.”
“Eli, that’s horrible! You know Grant wouldn’t have shot Spencer,” Caroline exclaimed.
“I know, but as far as the police are concerned, he had a motive.”
“A lot of people had motives. We’ll hire a lawyer for Grant. I’ll see if I can get Ridley Pollard to recommend an experienced criminal attorney,” Caroline said. “You call Grant and tell him we’ll have a lawyer meet him in the city.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
Minutes later he raced up the stairs to his suite. As soon as he closed his door, he yanked off his clothes and tossed them down as he rushed to shower. He was toweling dry when his cell phone rang again.
It was Lucas. “Eli, the attorney for Grant is Edgar Kent, and Ridley will go along with him for moral support. Are you going into town?”
“Yes. I’m dressing as fast as I can.”
“Keep in touch. Someone’s at the door so I have to go.”
Eli yanked on a burnt-orange knit shirt and dark-brown slacks. As he was jamming his feet into his loafers his phone rang again. Expecting another call from Grant, Eli answered. Instead of Grant, he heard his dad.
“Eli, Detective Holbrook is here at the house,” Lucas announced, and Eli closed his eyes. He knew from Lucas’s tone that bad news was coming. “The detective is taking your mother in for questioning, too.”
Eli turned to ice and clenched his fist. “What? Where are you?”
“We’re still at the house. She’s getting her things.”
“Dammit to hell!” Eli swore. “Will they let you ride with Mom?”
“Yes,” Lucas answered. “We’re leaving now. I’ve already called Ridley Pollard back to get another criminal lawyer for Mom. We don’t want to take the one away from Grant.”
“Will you be in an unmarked car?”
“Yes. It’s a black four-door sedan with antennae all over it,” Lucas remarked dryly. “We won’t be hard to spot, and I’ll be with her. There are two detectives and they’re in plain clothes.”
“How’s Mom?”
“She’s fine. She didn’t shoot Spencer, and she said she had no reason to. Maybe when all of you were babies, but not now. She’s calm about the whole thing because she’s certain of her innocence. Besides, she was home with me that night, but that didn’t satisfy them because I left for a brief time. We have to go in,” Lucas said in such a soft voice that Eli could barely hear him.
“Sure,” Eli said. “I’ll call the others. Everyone has gone home for the day. I wondered if the detectives waited for that to happen.”
“I don’t know. Let’s just pray the press doesn’t get wind of this. Goodbye, Eli,” Lucas said.
Eli broke the connection. He hadn’t thought about the press. The tabloids would feed on this latest development.
He swore as he pulled on his belt and combed his hair. He jogged to the garage, flinging himself into the car. His mother. How could they haul his mother in for questioning? And just as she said, if she’d ever harbored murderous intentions toward Spencer, why wait thirty years to do it—when she was happily married and Louret Winery was a huge success.
“Dammit!” Eli swore again as he jammed his foot on the accelerator and took off down the drive with a squeal of tires.
He yanked out his phone, breaking his own rule about not using the phone while the car was moving. He called his siblings to inform them, getti
ng Cole and Jillian but unable to locate Mercedes. He called Jillian back to tell her, and she said she would continue trying to get Mercedes.
Louret Vineyards to San Francisco was an hour-and-a-half drive, but within twenty-five minutes Eli spotted the police car ahead of him on the highway. He eased up on the accelerator and gradually passed the unmarked sedan. When Eli saw his mother and Lucas in the back, he hurt all over at the thought of his gentle mother being questioned by the police.
He thought about Anna and how she had fled from the press. Would the press already know about Caroline and Grant?
Eli clamped his jaw closed until it hurt. If there were reporters waiting, he would smash every camera he could get his hands on. “Right, Eli,” he told himself, knowing if he tore into the press, his actions would ensure front-page coverage. He hit the steering wheel with his fist. His mother hauled in like a criminal—suspected of murder. His gentle mother who was kind to everyone and had given shelter to Grant, Anna and Jack and constantly did things for others.
When his cell phone rang, Eli answered to hear Anna’s voice.
“Eli, I heard about Caroline and Grant. Jillian said the police want to question them both,” Anna said, sounding alarmed.
“That’s right. I’m on my way to San Francisco now. I passed Mom and Dad so I’ll get there before they do and I think Grant and the other detectives are behind Mom and Dad. I should get there before any of them.”
“Thank goodness! Please let me know about them. I can’t imagine—”
“I’ll call you, Anna, as soon as I know something,” Eli promised.
“Thanks, Eli.” She hung up and Eli tossed down his phone. His stomach was in knots.
While the sun moved lower in the western sky, Eli raced down the highway, finally tearing across the Golden Gate Bridge and heading to the police station, still in shock and disbelief at the latest turn of events. Another scandal to rock the Ashtons! More lurid notoriety that essentially had been caused by Spencer!
