Rivers Edge: A Candlewood Falls Novel (The River Winery Book 1)

by Jen Talty

  He knew that all of that was true, but he wasn’t about to admit it out loud. Part of him really liked the idea of selling and how it would give his parents some enormous freedoms. Not to mention, his siblings could go and do whatever they wanted.

  But that wasn’t the message he was getting.

  From anyone in his family. And that was the reality he needed to deal with.

  “You have to understand that my mother had me believing she had a buyer. It’s not like I brought one to her feet.”

  “But you went and found one as soon as you got here, and you’ve wanted her to sell for the last five years. You’ve been begging her to consider it.”

  He raised his hands to the sky. “That’s not entirely true. And you don’t know the entire story between me and Mom.”

  “Oh. She’s told me why, and it’s a lame excuse.”

  He waggled his finger. “I know my mother. There is no way in hell she told you the entire story of why I refused to come back and help with the family business. Or even why I now believe it’s time to let it go.”

  She opened her mouth, but he didn’t give her a chance to say a single word. He’d had enough.

  “Did you ever wonder why I’m the only one who went into the business of grape-growing or winemaking?”

  Her jaw dropped open as she nodded.

  “Did you know that my sister Chablis has the same degree I do, but after she saw what I was going through, she ran off and became a firefighter? And my brother, Merlot, started off in the same program, but quickly changed his second year and became a parole officer.”

  “Those are two quite different careers,” Eliza Jane said softly.

  Malbec let out a slight chuckle. “The only reason the three youngest are even remotely in the business is because as much as we tried to shield them from the insanity that is my mother, they grew up in a very different environment and didn’t see some of the weird things the rest of us did as kids.”

  “I don’t think Weezer is any different than the rest of us. Misunderstood maybe, but that’s about it.”

  “That’s true,” Malbec said. “But growing up as her kid wasn’t easy. My mom has softened a lot in her old age. People in this town aren’t as afraid of her as they used to be. However, that doesn’t change the fact that one of my friends in grammar school told me that he couldn’t come over and play because someone told his mom that my mom had loaded shotguns in the house and often threatened to use them if anyone behaved badly.”

  “Oh. That’s horrible. I hope it wasn’t true.”

  Malbec smacked his forehead. “Well, not really. I mean, we have guns, sure, but they aren’t loaded. They are locked in a gun closet, and the ammunition is secured in a different cabinet. And my mom doesn’t threaten children. Just adults. But she doesn’t mean it. And of course, she once said she was going to go after one of the alpacas that came onto the vineyard. They were eating some of our best grapes. She was pissed. But she’s like madly in love with the stupid creatures now. She pretends she’s not, but she totally loves the one named Alpacino. Has for years. And she keeps opening the fence and letting them in. I swear she feeds them on purpose.”

  “So I’ve heard,” Eliza Jane muttered. “And I’ve seen the evidence. There are fresh vegetables and fruits at the property line every day. I think that’s how she keeps them off the land, even though she encourages them.”

  “That and the fact that she ropes off the fence and only lets them into the vineyard when it serves her purposes.” Malbec shook his head. “That should tell you that she loves the alpacas and uses them when she wants. And, trust me, my mother has a reason for everything. We might not get it, but it makes perfect sense to her.”

  Eliza Jane continued down the path toward the main building as it wove through the vineyard. “Why do you think your mother came looking for me and offered me this job?”

  “My mom has always kept a finger on the pulse of this business. I suspect she believes you’re really good at your job,” Malbec admitted. “But I don’t know why you’re so important to her on a personal level, and that is something I want to find out.” Gently, he curled his fingers around her forearm, forcing her to stop. He turned her body and stared deep into her eyes. “When my grandfather died, he told me there was a secret. One that would change the course of my life.”

  “What kind of secret?”

  “It has something to do with this winery and the land it sits on. My grandfather said a lot of strange things before he died, but the weirdest was that it was up to me to toe the line and make sure the secret stayed buried just like his father and he had done, and Mom did after. He wouldn’t tell me what it was. Said that had to come from my mother. That it was tradition. But when he got sick, he said even stranger things. Stuff that made no sense. But now I wonder if perhaps I should have been paying more attention. And what really bothers me is that my mom refuses to tell me the secret. She said it was a burden that’d nearly destroyed her relationship with her father, and one I didn’t need. Ironically, that damn secret has come between my parents and me in more ways than one. My grandfather told my mom it was the only way to keep the winery at its best. I told my mom that if she couldn’t tell me what Grandpa was talking about, then I’d never come home and run it.”

  Eliza Jane tilted her head. “My grandfather also said some strange things right before he died. And, oddly, some of them had to do with his trip to this winery.”

  “Why do you think that was?” Malbec scratched the back of his neck. “Your grandfather was a lawyer, right? He wasn’t in the wine business.”

  “He never finished law school,” she said. “My father and grandfather sold wine, much like your siblings do, and had a specialty shop. But my great-grandfather worked at wineries, and there are stories that he owned a winery at one point.”

  Malbec pressed his hand to the small of her back and guided her along the path toward the main building. “Where in the country was the winery he owned?”

  “That is a bit of a mystery,” she said. “And it was always a sore subject with my grandpa. To the point he wouldn’t even discuss it, other than to say that his dad gambled away anything and everything important. So, I never pushed. I did, however, try to get my dad to open up about it, but he told me he didn’t know.”

  “Did you believe him?”

  “Not one bit,” she admitted. “My father and grandpa are as thick as thieves.”

  “Sounds like both our families enjoy secrets.” Malbec was generally interested in Eliza Jane’s family’s history. Because he wanted to know more about her and her life. But he needed to first deal with his mother and whatever haunted her past. He needed his mom to share about the history of the vineyard so he could best make decisions about his future and that of The River Winery. Once he did that, he could then explore the feelings that circled his heart when it came to Eliza Jane.

  Because all he wanted to do was kiss her again.

  Actually, he wanted a lot more.

  “What are you doing for dinner tonight?” He stood in front of the main doors at the gift shop.

  She shrugged. “I haven’t given it much thought.

  “I’d like to take you out. There’s a great restaurant just outside of town. My treat. We can talk about plans for the winery.”

  “You haven’t really given me a strong reason to tell you anything.”

  He laughed. “I want to hold onto my shares of The River Winery and continue working in Napa Valley.” He pressed his finger over her lips. “As long as my mom is willing to step down, and your plans are in line with mine and you’re willing to work with me, I think we could have the best of all worlds.”

  She furrowed her brow. “But that means I’m never an owner.”

  “Probably not,” he said. “I and my siblings would still own the winery, but you’d have your own line, and you’d have control of that as well as management and a lifelong position. Isn’t that what you want?”

  “I do want that.” She
tucked her hair behind her ears.

  He wanted to twist those strands between his fingers.

  “But I also wanted a percentage.”

  “I’m willing to give you that in your line, but not in the winery. It’s already going to be split eight ways between my siblings, me, and my parents—for as long as they are alive.”

  “I have to think about that. Getting skin in the game so I’m never pushed out was something I needed in the employment contract with your mom.”

  “If I take over, and my siblings are with me, I’m not sure that’s going to happen,” he said. “I will talk with them, but why don’t we have dinner to hash it all out?”

  “We just did.” She pushed open the door.

  He blinked. That wasn’t what he’d had in mind. Or what he’d expected her to say to his proposal. “Um. Well. I think we still have some things to discuss.”

  “Are you good with a grill?”

  “As long as it’s steak.”

  “Perfect. Pick up a couple and a bottle of wine and I’ll make a salad. I’ll see you at seven.” She slipped through the door into the gift shop of the winery, leaving him standing outside.

  Well, that settled that. Now, he had some shopping to do, not to mention he needed to find his mother. She had some explaining to do. And this time, he wasn’t going to take her standard answers.

  8

  Weezer

  “Whatcha doing, old man?” Weezer set some grapes and other treats on the ground for Alpacino. She perched herself on a large rock by the hole in the fence between the winery and the alpaca farm.

  Alpacino cocked his head and smiled.

  Well, Weezer thought he smiled. Then he lowered his head and chomped on the food.

  “You the only one in this town besides Carter who understands me. And even he doesn’t get it sometimes.”

  “I take offense to that,” a familiar voice rang out.

  Weezer jerked. “Damn. You scared me.” She patted her chest.

  Carter leaned against the post. “I thought I might find you out here.” He glanced at the animal. “I’m surprised you don’t have a bag packed and aren’t running off with this sexy creature.”

  Weezer laughed. “Don’t tempt me.” She pulled the piece of paper from her pocket. Normally, she kept it in the safe in Carter’s closet. It was the one place the kids wouldn’t look for any secrets—not that they knew what they’d be looking for.

  “Funny you should be carrying that thing around.” He pointed. “It’s exactly what I wanted to talk to you about.”

  “I can’t tell them,” she said, shaking her head. Her heart hurt so much, she thought it might burst. She wanted to hate her grandfather and father for doing this to her and her children. It had been the worst burden to carry, and she would not pass it down to her kids. “Our children and Eliza Jane can never know what my grandfather did. I can make this right without them ever knowing the truth.”

  “But the truth will set you free.” Carter inched closer. He tapped her thigh and sat down on the rock next to her. Birds chirped overhead. Alpacino just stared at them with oddly kind eyes.

  “You need to have more faith in our children and their ability to forgive. Besides, it won’t change anything, and God only knows what other secrets are buried in this land. Your father always loved to talk about a box of buried secrets that he wished he could find because he’d like to burn it.”

  “I used to have to send you out in the middle of the night because he’d go digging for it.” She reached into her other pocket and pulled out another piece of paper—the one she’d never shown Carter.

  The one she’d hidden in various places inside her home throughout her entire life.

  The one that would destroy her family if Eliza Jane ever got her hands on it.

  The one that proved there were other secrets. God forbid anyone ever find that box. She had no clue what was in it—though her father did say that even he wasn’t entirely sure what was in the container. Only that he knew of its existence.

  Weezer handed the paper to Carter with a shaky hand. “My dad gave this to me a few months after Riesling was born.”

  Carter shifted his gaze between the paper and her. “We got divorced about that time.” He waved the document under her nose. “Is this why you decided we could no longer be married? That I shouldn’t be part-owner of the winery, at least on paper?”

  Weezer wiped the tears that escaped her eyes. Typically, she wasn’t the type of person who cried in front of other people—not even the man she loved the most in this world.

  But this was a unique situation. Her entire life had been wrapped up in a lie. Everything she’d done hadn’t been about protecting the lie but making sure her family wasn’t hurt by it any more than necessary. If they had found out the truth about how her grandfather had acquired the winery, it would have been devastating.

  But knowing that she’d perpetuated it by having the knowledge that there was a living relative who was the rightful owner?

  Her kids would never forgive her.

  Perhaps that’s why she pushed them all away. But the one thing she couldn’t answer was why she’d never been willing to sell. Had she done that, this would have never been a problem. Of course, her family would have had to leave Candlewood Falls for good.

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  “My God,” Carter said. “This is a confession from your grandfather, stating he didn’t win the winery. He stole it from Elijah James ‘EJ’ Blue. He cheated a man out of his family business and called it his.” Carter slumped forward. “You didn’t know about this until after Riesling was born?”

  “I swear, I didn’t.”

  “Did your father know?”

  “He swore to me that he didn’t know until the winery was in my name.”

  “Shit, Weezer. That was when Chablis was born.” Carter ran a hand over the top of his head. “Why the hell did that old coot feel the need to fucking confess.”

  “I don’t know,” Weezer admitted. “But I wish my father never felt the need to tell me.”

  “No wonder you were such a mess when Eliza’s dad and grandpa blew through town.”

  “I thought for sure they were going to tell me they’d filed some legal proceedings to take the winery away from us. That’s when I knew I needed to find a way to merge our families. I just wasn’t sure how to do it, and it couldn’t be with joining forces with either of them.”

  “I did find it odd how hostile they acted toward you. Did they always know the winery was stolen?”

  She let out a slight chuckle. “No. At least not from what I could tell. We never talked about it. They just made strange, all-knowing comments about gambling and taking advantage of people, and then they left. I never heard from them again. But I kept my eye on them and their little shop.”

  “I’m sure you did,” Carter said.

  “I don’t want this for our children. But knowing that Eliza Jane, who was named after her great-grandfather, was out there and wanting to make wine… couldn’t let that go. I had to bring her here, and I needed to know her. The second I met her and saw she was perfect for Malbec, I thought maybe this was the answer to making all these wrongs one big right. But I couldn’t just go and put her in our will.”

  “No. You couldn’t do that without causing a ruckus.” Carter put a strong arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “You can’t meddle in Malbec’s life.” He kissed her temple. “If he’s going to fall in love and get married, that has to be on his terms. But I understand better now why you’ve done certain things.”

  She blinked, glancing up. “You’re not insanely mad?”

  “I never said that.” He gave her a good squeeze. “You should never have kept this from me, and us getting a divorce was never the answer. But what’s done is done. The question is, how do we proceed?”

  “You can’t tell them.”

  Carter swiped his thumb and forefinger across his square chin.

  “You know I’
m right.”

  “No. I just don’t believe we can throw it all at them at once. I’m trying to figure out the best plan of action. And, also, we have to consider how Eliza Jane will take to all of this. And then there are the legalities of it—if this is true.” He waved the paper. “Something I need to do some research on.”

  “Do you think it’s possible that my grandfather was just speaking gibberish?”

  “Anything’s possible. Why don’t you let me do some digging, and we can just sit on this for a bit?”

  “We can’t afford to let Malbec go back to Napa Valley. He has to stay.”

  “Even if he does decide that he wants to return to Candlewood Falls and The River Winery, he’ll have to return to California for a bit to leave his job properly and pack his belongings. Let’s focus on finding out as much of the truth as we can. I know he’s already talked to the twins and Zinfandel about what it would look like if he kept a finger on the pulse but still lived in Napa.”

  “That’s not a good idea.”

  “Maybe not. But he’s thinking about being involved, and that’s a start.”

  “Yeah. However, once we tell him what my grandfather did, he won’t want a damn thing to do with this winery, and we’ll have to give it all lock, stock, and barrel to Eliza Jane anyway. Not that I don’t want her to have it, because that’s why I brought her here, but I also still want to keep it in our family. My grandfather might have stolen it, but the rest of us put our blood, sweat, and tears into this place.”

  “I understand,” Carter said. “How long have you been planning this little matchmaking scheme of yours?”

  “Honestly, I’ve been cooking it up for about two years. But Faith really made me think it could work when she had that vision or whatever it was. Not that I believe in them, but she just moved here. What the hell does she know?”

  “Enough. Her family has been here forever.” Carter sucked in a deep breath. “You have to promise me that from here on in, we have no more secrets. And that you will let me handle all this—including Eliza Jane’s contract.”