by Jill Sanders
Alan nodded, then headed to the next room to gather the bottles he knew she’d want.
“So?” Luke asked when he followed him into the kitchen.
“The guy’s an ass,” he said, pulling out the box with the new wine inside.
“I’ve got some connections in the legal field. I’ll have my guy call you, just in case.” Luke helped him carry the box. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” He looked into the next room and smiled when he heard Grace laugh. “I’ll be okay.”
“Good.” Luke slapped him on the back. “You deserve to be happy.” He stopped him by putting a hand on his arm. “There’s some quick advice I can give you for tomorrow… If they’re anything like my father used to be, they’ll try to prove that Grace is unfit to spend her inheritance. Just remember, she’s been on her own for a while. Besides, it would be up to them to prove she’s unfit. The rest, well, I’ll have my lawyers call you to give you better advice, but don’t worry.” He glanced around and smiled. “No one’s going to take this away from her or from you.”
Alan smiled at his friend. “Thanks,”
He set the box on the coffee table in front of Grace and sat next to her.
“You okay?” he asked softly.
“I am now that I have my family.” She smiled.
She opened the box and pulled out the first bottle of wine with her new label on it, her smile growing. “Since I… we had to legally change the winery name and labels, we decided to save the first case of newly labeled bottles for a special occasion. I can’t think of a better one than gaining five brothers and five sisters.” She turned the bottle around.
She’d shown him the new wine bottle labels. They were a classy silver and black with the words Chateau Gratia in a soft font above a bundle of grapes.
The bottles were passed around, then opened and shared as everyone cheerfully praised the wine.
“Now, all we have to do,” Grace said, sipping her wine slowly, “is mass produce these suckers and get them on shelves.” She sighed and rested back into his shoulder.
“You shouldn’t have any problems,” Luke said. “I know a few places off the top of my head that are waiting to place their first orders.” He winked at her.
Alan knew that both Cassey’s bar and grill and Luke’s hotel chains had agreed to carry Grace’s bottles.
“Thank you.” Grace smiled.
“I haven’t carried wine in my store before, but I’d be willing to give it a try,” Shelly added. “I’ll have to check what kind of license I’ll need.” Shelly took out her phone and started searching.
“You’ll just have to register with the TTB,” Grace answered. “Search online, it’s easy enough.”
“Then it’s settled.” Shelly smiled. “Count me in.”
Grace chuckled. “Thank you, each of you. I do have meetings with the local stores and a few distributors later next week. But thank you all, for tonight, for everything.” She held up her glass to toast. “To my new beginning and my new family.”
“To family.” Everyone cheered.
17
Grace found it hard to fall asleep, even with Alan’s arms wrapped around her. Her mind kept circling around what she wanted to say to her parents in the morning.
She must have dozed off, because when her alarm chimed, she jerked awake.
“Hey, easy.” Alan’s arms wrapped around her again. He kissed the side of her neck and she relaxed slightly. “Morning,” he said into her hair.
“Morning.” Her eyes stung when she opened them. She knew today was going to be a bad day. “I need to get ready.”
“Yup,” he said, still holding her down.
“Alan.” She nudged him, only to have him roll over and pin her down. His eyes ran over her as he frowned.
“Nope, not yet,” he said, then before she knew what he intended, she was naked and writhing under him as his hands drowned out her thoughts. His mouth was unyielding as he nudged her legs wider apart.
She must have screamed, because Ralph let out a low growl, causing her to laugh.
“He thinks I’m hurting you.” Alan smiled as he covered her with his body, then slid slowly into her.
“You are, if you don’t speed things up.” She gripped his butt and tried to force him to move faster, which only made him chuckle.
Using her legs, she jerked him around until he was pinned under her, her hands locking his above his head.
“Now I’m in trouble.” He smiled up at her.
“Scoundrel,” she said, using her hips until she found the pace she wanted. Closing her eyes, she leaned back and took what she wanted. When she heard and felt his release, she let herself finally go with him.
Laying on his chest, she felt when his heart finally settled down.
“Feel better?” he asked, his hands running over her bare hips.
“Much. Why didn’t we do this last night?” she asked.
“We did, well, not exactly that…” He smiled up at her.
She chuckled. “Point taken.” She jumped off the bed, feeling lighter than before, and almost glided into the shower.
He joined her, but since they had eaten up half an hour from her schedule, their shower time was shortened.
She knew that no matter what she wore or did, her parents would never be satisfied.
Still, she put on her clothing and makeup like she was putting on armor. She’d carefully chosen every item of clothing. She pulled her hair up in a loose bun, then put on the diamond earrings her grandmother had left for her only granddaughter.
She dressed in record time and tried to make herself as presentable as she could. Still, she felt like a child heading to the first day of school.
She met Alan in the kitchen and smiled at the dark slacks and button-up shirt he wore. He’d cooked scrambled eggs and toast and had a cup of coffee waiting for her when she sat down.
“Ready?” he asked her as he set a plate of food in front of her.
“No,” she said honestly. “I doubt I’ll ever be ready for what’s coming.” She nibbled on the dry toast. She doubted she could keep anything down, but knew she had to put something in her stomach.
“I’m here,” he said, taking her hand in his.
“Thank you.” She knew she could be strong with him by her side.
Just then, Ralph let out a bark and rushed towards the door.
“Sounds like they’re early.” Alan stood up.
“No, I’ll get it.” She motioned for him to sit and finish his food. “I don’t think I can finish mine.” She pushed her plate away.
“I’ll clean up.” Alan took the plates to the sink as she made her way towards the front door.
Her parents stood on the other side of the glass, looking annoyed that there was a dog barking at them.
“Ralph, shush.” She motioned for the dog to sit. He plopped himself on his butt, his tail wagging as he waited for her to open the door.
When she did, he rushed out between her parents’ legs and took off towards the grass.
“Morning.” She motioned for them to enter.
When they were sitting in the living room, Alan walked in and sat next to her. He took her hand in his as she waited for her parents to speak.
“We have filed to declare you incapacitated and have asked to be awarded conservatorship over you and your inheritance.” Her father handed her a folder he had tucked under his arm. His face was clear of any emotions.
“I’ve already spent my inheritance.” She raised her chin, feeling all the blood leave her face when she realized most of the money still sat in a business account.
“You’ve spent a chunk of it as a down payment. The rest is sitting in your business account, which we are in the process of getting blocked. This entire… fiasco is just too big of a risk for the family name.”
“I’m as much of a Hamilton as you are.” Grace’s chin rose. “Even if I’m not yours.”
She saw the truth in her mother’s eyes. Years of suspicion, whi
spers from others, and teasing from her brothers had revealed the truth. “It’s true.” She narrowed her eyes and felt the anger grow. “You won’t even give me my own mother’s money.”
“Grace.” Her mother started to speak, but was silenced when her father rested a hand on her arm.
“Per law, you’re our daughter. And we will do everything to make sure you don’t soil the Hamilton name,” her father said.
She set the folder down slowly, noticing that her hands shook as she did so. “Do you hate me that much?” It came out as a whisper.
“This has nothing to do with how we feel about you,” her mother said. Grace noticed that there wasn’t even a drop of wetness to her eyes.
Alan took her hand again. “You’ll have to prove that Grace is unfit to make financial decisions for herself.” Grace looked over at him in shock. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but for the past year, she’s lived on her own, paid rent, attended school, made payments on her school loans, arranged for the purchase of this property, and successfully closed on it as well.” Alan stood, pulling her up with him. “You can try all you want, but no judge will every side with you. I think it’s time you left.”
Her father glared at Alan, then stood and waited for her mother to follow him. They walked to the door, then he turned and glared at Alan. “Expect to be hearing from our lawyers.”
“Expect to hear from ours.” Alan opened the door, then shut it behind them and gathered her in his arms.
“Luke has a handful of lawyers. He gave me their numbers last night. Gave me some damn good advice too.” He sighed into her hair as silent tears slipped down her face.
“They can’t take it away.”
“I know,” he said into her hair.
“No.” She leaned back. “You don’t understand. They can try to take it away, but, at least I did something right. I have full responsibility as far as the loan from the bank, but the deed for the property is not only in my name.” She smiled and watched as realization crossed his face.
“Me? Why?” he asked softly.
“It was a last minute change, because I didn’t want to do this alone.” She felt her heart leap at the scared look that crossed his face when he realized he had a stake in her future.
“But, why trust me?” he asked.
“Trusting you was the easiest thing I’ve ever done.” She wrapped her arms around him. “As was falling in love with you.” She hadn’t meant to tell him like this. She’d mentally planned a candlelight dinner somewhere. Maybe amidst the grape vines or down by the stream. Instead, she’d just blurted it out while tears rolled down her face and anger still caused her hands to vibrate.
His eyes grew wide for a split second, then he was kissing her, lifting her off her feet, and carrying her back into the bedroom.
Heat and passion replaced hurt and anger. She forgot all about her parents and their plans to ruin her life and focused on what the man of her dreams did to her body. The touch of his hands on her healed every ache and pain her parents had caused.
His lips caused her entire body to shake with want as he slowly made love to her as the sun rose higher.
* * *
Half an hour later, sweat rolled down his back as he lay beside her. Her hair was tangled in his fingers and her scent filled his every thought.
“We need another shower,” he joked.
She glanced at the clock and cringed. “I was supposed to meet Jon in ten minutes.”
He chuckled. “I’m sure he’ll wait.”
“I can still make it…” She rolled off the bed. He wanted to pull her back down but knew she had a job to do. He had a few things on his list as well. Taking that folder her father had left them to Luke’s lawyer was at the top of the list.
When she emerged from the bathroom, refreshed, he stopped her from rushing out of the house.
Kissing her softly, he looked into her eyes. “I love you, too, you know.”
Watching her eyes soften, he realized he should have told her sooner.
“Tonight,” he promised, “we’ll have a long talk.”
She nodded, then leaned up and kissed him before darting out of the house.
Taking the folder, he drove into town and met Luke at the Boardwalk Bar and Grill.
“We sure miss you around here, Alan,” Leigh Ann said, sliding a glass of ice tea his way.
“You’ll have to come out and visit me then.” He winked at her, then turned and watched Luke and a tall, skinny, very bald man in a very expensive suit walk in.
When Luke spotted him, they made their way towards him.
“So, looks like Grace’s folks are as predictable as I thought,” Luke said, shaking his hand.
“Yup.” Alan sighed.
“Why is it every rich parent things their twenty-some-year-old kids aren’t ready to spend their own money?”
“Because they enjoy control,” the man standing next to Luke said smoothly.
“Alan, William Defoe.”
“Bill,” the man corrected. “And, no, not related to the actor.” The man winked.
“Right.” Alan nodded to the empty table behind them.
After sitting down, Alan handed over the folder.
“Have you looked at this?” Bill asked, glancing through the paperwork quickly.
“Briefly. Can’t make heads or tails of it,” he said honestly. He sat in silence as the man read through everything.
When he was done, he tucked it all back into the folder and set it aside.
“Fighting one of the wealthiest families in the States is rough business, but since the burden of proof is in their hands, all we’ll need to do is build up our case. From what Luke has mentioned, Grace Hamilton has been on her own for the past year.”
“Yes.” He shifted in his seat. He knew some of the details, but not all of them. After all, Grace hadn’t mentioned things like where she’d lived or how she’d paid the bills. Only that she’d been on her own, attending school.
“Good. I’ll of course want to meet with her, go over all the details.”
“Right. But from what you know, is it possible they’ll win?”
Bill sighed. “No, most likely the only thing that will come of this is tying her up in court for the next few years, draining what money she has left to pay for legal fees, which she may or may not get back.”
“Damn it,” he said softly, feeling his gut sink.
“The best way to settle this is to try arbitration, if they’re up to it.” Bill looked between Luke and Alan.
“I seriously doubt it.” Alan took a drink of his tea. “I think they want to ruin her.” Then he remembered what she’d said. “She put the property in my name too, so at least I’ll have a say in the fight.”
“She did?” Luke asked, sitting forward as a slow smile formed. “Smart woman.”
“Yes.” Bill chuckled. “It would appear that she has found a way around her parents’ schemes.”
“How?” he asked, sensing the renewed hope start to bubble.
18
Grace’s meeting with Jon dragged out longer than she’d expected. The man was a genius when it came to making wine and seeing the needs of the business. Alan had been correct. The man deserved a raise, which she planned on giving him the moment she was sure her parents weren’t going to pull the business out from under her feet.
After her meeting, she walked through the aging barrel storage warehouse, checking the changes she was having made there. She tested a few new mixes she was trying. A new blackberry wine made from the berries from Willow’s family down the road was even better than she’d expected. Of course, the mixture was a little tart, since the wine would need to age for six months to a year for maturity. She had plans to try a blueberry wine, as well, but would have to hold off and see about the demand for the blackberry first.
Leaving the buildings, she walked through the vineyard, checking each row as she went along. She knew that it was too soon to see if her new mix of natural fertilizers would ha
ve an impact, but still, she thought the plants looked … happier. Just like she was.
Taking a deep breath, she circled around and smiled when she saw Ralph running through the bushes heading towards the house. She guessed that he’d probably heard Alan returning and started making her way home.
That thought caused her to pause and smile. Home. Her home. Her and Alan’s home. She giggled as she started walking again.
Outside of her parents trying to ruin her life, she was the happiest she’d been in a long time. She wasn’t sure she’d ever been this happy. The only time that came to mind was the day she was to wed Corey.
Even then, this was a different kind of happy. When she entered the clearing and saw her parents’ rental car parked out front, her happiness died away.
“Mother, father.” They sounded a lot like curse words to her as she made her way up the stairs to her front door. Ralph was laying on the doormat, obviously content to see guests.
Her parents followed her into the house. She turned on the lights then moved into the kitchen to start preparing the dinner she had planned for her and Alan.
“We wanted to speak with you outside of that man’s presence,” her father began.
“Alan?” She stopped what she was doing, and narrowed her eyes at her father. “But, of course, you knew his name.” She turned to pull the steaks from the fridge where they had been marinating since lunchtime. She pulled out the veggies and fixings for the salad she planned on making as well.
Her parents stood on the other side of the bar, looking at her as if she’d grown an extra head.
Growing up, her mother had never cooked or baked. Their kitchen had been filled with cooks who had been hired to prepare planned meals.
She continued to work, ignoring her parents.
“We thought it best to talk to you directly. To try and make you see reason,” her mother said, moving forward.
“Reason?” She glanced back as she slid the potatoes into the oven. “Whose? Yours?” She chuckled. “If it was up to you two, I’d be living on the street. After all, you’re the ones who kicked me out after…” She swallowed her son’s name, not wanting to give her parents the satisfaction of throwing it in her face.
