by Joleen James
"One time, he drove us to the state park, and I think he was drunk. He knew how terrified I was of cars. Looking back, I think it had to do with my own lack of control. Inside a car, I felt powerless. Anyway, we were at the lake, and they had a fight. We got in the car to leave, and he drove crazy, doing donuts in the parking lot, making the car engine rev. To this day I hate the sound of an engine revving."
"That's not the Phillip I knew," Nico said.
"And that's what's so unfair." Danielle smiled sadly. "He treated you like a son should be treated, with respect, like an equal. He wasn't there for me. He never apologized to me for the terror he brought into my life. He just let me go."
"Maybe he thought letting you go was the kindest thing to do. Maybe he was ashamed."
"I needed my father. Cutting me from his life was cruel and I believe he knew exactly what he was doing." Talking to Nico about her father lifted a weight from her heart. Her feelings suddenly had validation. "Why didn't he call me?"
"Maybe he didn't feel welcome."
"Maybe, but he should have been the bigger person. I'm his daughter. I wouldn't let anything keep me from Kaiden."
"He loved you," Nico said, taking her hand. "I think you were his biggest regret."
She shrugged, her heart heavy. "Who knows?"
Nico gave her hand another squeeze. "Come on. Let's get to work."
Glad for the change of subject, Danielle got out of the cart.
Nico lit two lanterns, turning the wicks up high, flooding the area with light. Danielle followed him down two rows of grapes before they stopped.
"Will you teach me to prune?" She'd watched last time, this time she wanted to pitch in, to learn the craft, even if her time here wasn't permanent.
Nico handed Danielle a pair of gloves. "Okay." He went back to the car, rummaging around in the back, removing another knife. "I know you've seen me use my knife. The Mexicans call it a cuchillo. This is a grower's best friend." He held the scimitar-shaped knife out to her.
Danielle put the gloves on. She took the knife from Nico, the weight solid in her hand. "I'm ready."
"You can see we've already pruned to shape the vines like a small umbrella." Nico pointed out the curve in the vines. "We're going to continue on, doing the same cutting on down the row."
He showed Danielle how to spot trouble areas, instructing her on which leaves and how many leaves to remove. Danielle caught on fast.
They worked in silence. After a time, the muscles in her legs and back started to ache. She paused to stretch, then went back to work. As she pruned her mind cleared. Danielle tuned her senses into the land, and an alien peace settled over her. She loved this, loved being outside, loved watching the first streamers of pink light the eastern sky.
Careful, Danielle, you're falling in love with the place. For the first time she understood her father's passion for the land, a passion she didn't want to feel, yet the vineyard was seducing her. She refused to allow herself the luxury of thinking about staying. In her heart, she didn't want to. Not really. And in the back of her mind she knew Nico wouldn't want her to stay. If she did, she'd kill his dream of owning Whitney Vineyards.
The sun eased over the horizon, spilling a bright beam of light on them. The vineyard came to life as everything began to wake up and warm up. A clear pale blue sky stretched above them. Was rain really coming?
"Let's break," Nico said. He wiped the blade of his knife on a rag that hung from his belt beside the leather sheath. He replaced the knife.
"Okay." Danielle straightened and stretched, holding her arms above her head to get the kinks out of her back. Her leg muscles ached, and she knew they'd feel even worse tomorrow. Nico held his hand out for her knife, and she passed it to him.
"It's hard work." Nico gave her a knowing smile. "You're doing great. I think you have more of your father in you than you realize."
"I'm enjoying the work," she admitted.
"Good."
They walked back to the golf cart. Danielle started to climb in, figuring they were going back to the house for breakfast, but Nico said, "I thought we'd eat here."
He removed a small ice chest from the back of the cart. She'd noticed before that he kept ice cold water and Gatorade inside, but this morning, he'd stocked it with food as well.
"I cheated. I had Lola pack us a meal." He grinned.
"Yum," Danielle said, lifting the lid on a container of fresh fruit; strawberries, raspberries, watermelon, and peaches.
Nico passed her a plastic fork. "Dig in."
There was cold quiche with cheddar and bacon, poppy seed muffins, and the fruit. Danielle's stomach rumbled as she gorged herself on the cold breakfast. She couldn't remember the last time anything she'd eaten had tasted this wonderful.
She paused mid-bite into a muffin when she noticed Nico watching her.
"What?" she asked.
"I love watching you eat." He polished off the last of his quiche. "It's like you've never tasted food before. Like it's all new."
"It is. Divorce is hard on the appetite," Danielle admitted. "I haven't tasted anything in a long time."
"It will get better, I promise."
She wanted to believe him.
Nico reached over and squeezed her fingers. "Trust me, Danielle."
His words touched the core of her soul. "Trust is hard for me right now."
"I know." He brought her hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to her skin.
The kiss held a sweetness, a promise of more. Nico, her first crush, her first true love. She wanted to kiss him, knew she shouldn't, yet she leaned toward him, her eyes on his mouth. Her fingers touched his hair, and he lifted his head, bringing his lips to hers.
She couldn't remember the last time she felt this aroused, wanted a man this way. She kissed him, unable to get enough of him, tasting him, tasting the sun and grapes that surrounded them both.
In the back of her mind, she heard men's voices, but it wasn't until Nico's lips left hers that she realized they weren't alone any longer.
Two young Hispanic men stood in the next row, big knowing grins on their faces. One said something to Nico in Spanish and the other man laughed.
"Yeah, yeah," Nico said, his mouth twisted into a wry line. "Get back to work."
Danielle turned away during the exchange, trying to pull herself together. What on earth had possessed her to kiss him? Kissing Nico made her forget everything but him, everything. His kiss was dangerous, so dangerous to everything she wanted for herself and Kaiden.
He touched her shoulder. "Sorry about the guys."
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have kissed you. I don't even have an excuse."
"You don't need one," he said, with a sideways nod of his head. "Let's finish the pruning." He squinted at the sun. "It's going to be a hot one today. Feel that humidity? I'd like to get out of this block by noon."
Danielle helped him pack up the remains of their make-shift picnic, eager to get back to work, eager for the distraction the pruning would offer. She didn't want to think about her feelings for Nico, feelings that were changing. She only wanted to lose herself to the grapes, to the peace the pruning would give her busy mind.
***
Danielle's peace was short-lived.
The minute she walked in the house, tired and dusty from the eight hours of pruning she'd done, Kaiden waited for her, upset, a frown in place.
"Dad called," he said.
"What did he want?" She sat and pulled off her sneakers, then her socks. She noted the ring of dirt around her ankles. Ugh.
"He wants me to come to Seattle for the weekend."
She didn't trust Peter's motives, knew he was up to something. "I'll talk to him." She wasn't about to let him intimidate her. If she'd learned anything since coming here, she'd learned to stand up for herself. She wasn't going to let Peter push her around anymore. Maybe if she'd developed a backbone as a child, things would have ended differently with her father.
"I want to go, Mom," Kaiden sa
id with determination. "You have to let me. Dad promised I could see Billy and Gus. It's been forever since I've seen my friends."
"It's been a little over a week," she said, not buying in to his drama. "Invite them here. I'm sure their mothers would love a mini vacation from them." She smiled.
"Call Dad now, please," Kaiden whined, ignoring her suggestion.
"Kaiden, I've just put in a back-breaking day in the fields." She started for the stairs. "I'm going to shower. Once I'm clean and feeling human again we can discuss this."
"Mom," he said, her name a drawn out plea.
"I'll be back." In her bathroom, she stripped off her sweat-stained clothes and stepped under the warm spray of the shower. Had anything felt so good? For a full minute she thought of nothing but the healing power of the hot water against her aching muscles, then reality returned, bringing with it a sour stomach.
Damn Peter. Instead of thinking about her kiss with Nico, she had to think about her ex-husband.
He knew she didn't want to send Kaiden to Seattle. They'd talked about it. If she did let Kaiden go she was afraid Peter wouldn't give him back, and worse, she was afraid Kaiden would want to stay. The thought brought tears to her eyes. Maybe she'd been wrong to keep the truth about Peter from Kaiden. She'd been so careful not to utter a cross word about him, not wanting to hurt her son. The result: she now looked like the bad guy who was trying to keep them apart.
Danielle turned off the shower and toweled off. After slipping on a cool sundress in a floral print, she towel dried her hair and left it loose to dry. When she could no longer put off dealing with Kaiden and Peter, she left her room, padding down the stairs barefoot.
She found Lola in the kitchen.
"You heard?" Lola asked. She stood at the sink, rinsing off some green beans.
"About Peter's request? Yes."
"Girl, you look worn out," Lola said a look of sympathy on her face. "How'd it go today?"
"I worked hard." Unexpected pride boosted her spirit. "Nico showed me how to prune. And guess what?"
"What?"
"I loved it. There was something so peaceful about it, so satisfying."
"Really?" Lola asked, clearly skeptical. "Imagine that."
"Where's Kaiden?" Danielle glanced around the room. "I figured he'd be here, ready to pounce on me."
"Maria came by. They're outside." Lola poured Danielle a glass of ice tea. "Here, this will help cool you off." She dropped a green leaf into the glass. "Mint, fresh from the garden."
"Thanks." Danielle took the drink, the scent of mint refreshing. "I'm going to head out back and talk to him."
"Good luck," Lola said with a sympathetic smile.
"Thanks, I'm going to need it." Danielle left the house, but didn't see Kaiden or Maria in the yard. She wandered through the rose garden, sipping on her tea, pleased to see several new buds emerging from the cropped bushes.
Wondering if Kaiden had gone over to Maria's, Danielle took the path to the cottage. She could hear the kids before she hit the porch steps, their voices creeping out through the open door. She set her glass on the porch railing.
"I like this one better," Maria said.
"Okay," Kaiden agreed.
"See?" Maria said. "It fits."
Danielle wondered what they were doing. She tapped on the door. "Kaiden?"
A scuffling noise came from inside.
"Mom!" Kaiden cried. A second later he appeared. "What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you." Danielle peered around him, trying to see into the room. Maria joined them, and Danielle swore the girl wore the look of guilt. "What are you two up to?"
"Nothing," Kaiden said a bit too quickly.
"We were just working a puzzle," Maria told her.
"Can I see it?" Danielle asked, still skeptical. Both kids looked shifty. Her gut told her more was going on here than a puzzle. She remembered Nico's accusations about Kaiden doing the vandalism. She hadn't wanted to believe it, but a kernel of doubt had been placed in her mind just the same.
"Sure," Maria said, leading the way.
Danielle followed her into the house. She hadn't been inside the cottage in years. The old furniture was gone, replaced by warm, brandy-colored leather: a couch, love seat, and wide chair with an ottoman. All the colors were rich, warm; the floors were a glowing hardwood. An area rug done in deep shades of green, gold, a brandy color that matched the furniture anchored the room.
The paintings on the walls were gorgeous: one was a painting of a canoe on the water, again in the rich dark tones, with a round apricot sun; the other an old dock, jutting out from the land. But the dock wasn't the star of the painting; that honor went to the sunset and water surrounding it. Both paintings were obviously done by the same artist. The striking colors pulled everything in the room together. The room was masculine, but not so masculine that a woman wouldn't feel comfortable here.
"The puzzle's here," Maria said. She stood before a small table.
It was a puzzle of wild horses in a meadow. A little girly for Kaiden, but if he wanted to work a puzzle, she wasn't going to complain.
"It's nice," Danielle said. "You have quite a bit done."
"I, I mean, we, have been working on it for a couple of days now," Maria said.
"Is your father here?" Danielle asked, wondering where Nico was.
Maria shook her head no.
"Should you guys be here when he's not?" Danielle asked.
"It's okay," Maria said. "He doesn't care."
"Care about what?" Nico asked.
Danielle and Maria spun around. Nico opened the screen door and came inside. Unlike her, he hadn't showered and still wore the dust of the day. His dark hair was wind-blown just like she liked it.
"Nico." Danielle smiled. "I was just asking the kids if they were supposed to be here when you're not."
Nico frowned. "The answer to that is no." He looked pointedly at his daughter. "You know you're supposed to stay at Whitney House until I come and get you."
"We were bored," Maria said a scowl of her own in place. "We came here to work the puzzle."
"You know the rules." Nico didn't back down. "If you two want to work the puzzle you need to do it when I'm home."
"Dad," Maria said, as if Nico were the stupidest person on earth. "I'm not a baby."
"I know, but that's the rule."
Danielle agreed with him. The kids didn't need to be in the house alone. "I just came for Kaiden, and I'll take him with me now."
"Don't leave on my account," Nico said smoothly.
"I'm not." Danielle's pulse jumped. Nico had a way of looking at her, a way of burning her skin without touching her. Her tummy got that funny feeling, that first love rush she hadn't felt since she'd been a teenager.
"Come on," Maria said to Kaiden. "I'll walk back with you. I left some of my stuff at your house."
The kids left, leaving them alone.
Nico came toward her. "You clean up nice. I especially like the bare feet."
"It's too hot for shoes," Danielle said, unable to resist flirting with him. "Someone told me it's going to rain today, but I don't believe it."
"Believe it," Nico said, reaching her. "Can't you feel it? The humidity? The air is heavy with moisture. The pressure is building. There has to be a release."
"Are we still talking about the weather?" Danielle asked, the warm sensation of liquid sex pooling in her lower regions.
"You know what I've wondered all day?" Nico's hands closed around her upper arms.
"What?" Danielle asked, wanting him to kiss her this time. His scent, earth and man, wound its way through her bloodstream, making her weak with need for him.
"Just what were you wearing under your jacket last night?" He brushed his lips against hers, the sensation exquisite. "Was it satin, silk? What color? Pink, black, red? You're driving me crazy, Danielle."
Desire fizzed through her. "White satin."
Nico growled low in his throat as his mouth claimed hers. S
he opened her mouth, taking his tongue, savoring him. Her hands found his shoulders, the muscles strong and taut under her hands. Slowly, she moved her fingers, stroking the corded column of his neck, then buried her hands in his wild mane of hair. His hot mouth didn't stop, his kisses melting what was left of her self-control.
"Dad!" Maria's startled cry shattered the spell.
They broke apart. Danielle turned away.
"Maria," Nico rasped, clearly as rattled as Danielle by the kiss.
"What are you doing?" Maria demanded.
Danielle figured the answer to that question was obvious, but she kept her mouth shut. She exchanged a helpless look with Nico, hoping she conveyed to him she was sorry he had to deal with Maria.
"I'll give you two some privacy." Danielle practically ran for the door.
Nico didn't try to stop her.
Once outside, she noted the change immediately. Clouds had gathered over the Blue Mountains. The air felt sticky, laden with unshed moisture.
She remembered Nico's earlier words about needing a release.
The storm was coming.
Boy, was it ever.
Chapter Eight
Fat rain drops hit Danielle, covering her entire body with large wet dots, as she sprinted from Nico's place back to Whitney House. She bolted up the back steps and let herself in the house. A flash of lightning lit the kitchen. She hated storms. Safe inside, Danielle leaned her back against the kitchen door.
"One, two, three, four, five," she counted rapidly, remembering the game she used to play with her mother when they'd wait out summer thunderstorms, "six, seven, eight, nine, ten."
Right on cue the rumble of thunder shook the house.
"Lord o'mercy," Lola said, coming into the kitchen. "I knew it would rain today. I could feel it in my bones. The humidity has gone through the roof."
Rain drummed down on the house now, sharp and insistent.
"You're too late," Lola said.
Danielle pushed away from the door. "For what?"
"Didn't Maria tell you? Peter was on the phone again. I sent her to get you."
"Oh. No, it must have slipped her mind." She didn't tell Lola that Maria had forgotten to mention the call; she'd been too busy trying to understand why her father's tongue had been down Danielle's throat.
