The Winemaker

by Michelle MacQueen

“Go on, Duke.” Lena gestured toward me and my sparkling Mercedes that looked so out of place among the dusty roads, rusty equipment, and apple trees.

  Duke finally relented and returned to my side. I didn’t like not having him there. We’d been a pair for too long. He was my truest friend, and I wondered if that made me pitiful. Suddenly, I couldn’t leave while Lena and I were still at odds.

  I stopped at my car, tapping a knuckle against the dark paint, and turned. Lena was still there, waiting for me to leave.

  “Can we call a truce?” I blurted.

  “A what?” She didn’t laugh at me like I’d half expected. Instead, curiosity rose in her gaze.

  “A truce. Sign a peace treaty. Whatever you want to call it. I’m tired, Lena. So tired of being told I have to hate people I hardly even know. I don’t want to hate you anymore or fight with you.” As I said the words, I knew I still couldn’t give her what she wanted. I couldn’t sell the land without my father.

  My grandfather’s words came back to me, and I realized I didn’t want her to fail. That wasn’t the kind of person I wanted to be.

  Slowly, agonizingly slowly, Lena nodded. “A truce. Okay. No more fights in front of the entire town?”

  My lips quirked up. “No more trips into the bay.”

  She stuck out her hand. “Deal.”

  I clasped her hand, feeling her warmth wind through me. Something wet hit me, and I looked down to see Duke lick our clasped hands. Lena laughed as she pulled her hand back and wiped it on her pants. “This doesn’t mean we’re friends, though, right?”

  Friends. It was such a foreign word.

  “Definitely not.”

  Yet, when we shared a final smile, it felt like maybe that was possible. I got it now. Why Carter kept coming back to her despite threats from his family. Lena was special. But more than that, the thought of having a friend, having someone who actually cared, meant more than any of our trust funds ever could.

  16

  Lena

  Superiore Bay was going to hate me.

  There were three things the people of this town detested. Hidden gossip—they preferred to know it all. Hidden allegiances—Superiore Bay or die. And Hidden Cove—the town next door with an even bigger stretch of coast than us. They’d been our rivals as long as I could remember.

  Our businesses fought for superiority, our town councils fought for tourists, and our high schools fought for sports supremacy. Hidden Cove was no trouble when it came to sports. We always won. But tourists … well, they had more beaches than we did. The Ashford’s vineyards and winery brought people to town, as did our orchard, but neither compared to the gorgeous beaches, boat tours, and the Hidden Point Lighthouse.

  Basically, the residents of Hidden Cove considered us second rate.

  But what they also had plenty of? Land. And the town council attracted new businesses with tax cuts and grants, something Superiore Bay didn’t have the money or available land to do.

  I stared at my computer screen as an icon circled. Our internet was ridiculously slow, but it was all we could get out at the orchard. The page finally pulled up. I looked around my parents’ kitchen, making sure no one was around, before diving into the information on Hidden Cove.

  If the Ashfords wouldn’t sell me the land at a reasonable price, I had to look elsewhere. I wasn’t ready to give up my dream. There was another reason Hidden Cove was the logical place to look. Investors.

  I’d said I wanted to do this myself, but the reality was, I might never get approved for a business loan. No matter how cheap I could get the land, it wouldn’t matter if I couldn’t get the funds.

  And investors flocked to the tourist haven, all wanting a piece of their summer dollars.

  I had an email sitting in my inbox right now from someone who’d gotten my name from Eli. A young investor looking to make his first splash. That was how he’d put it. I could tell his youth from the way he talked in his email. I’d guess he was around my age and had some of Daddy’s money to put to use.

  I’d stared at the email long into last night when I should have been sleeping to prepare for another exhausting day at the orchard. I hadn’t expected my grandmother to notice how tired I was and demand I take the day off.

  So, now, my dad was out picking up my slack, and I felt awful about it.

  But not as awful as I’d feel once the town found out what I was considering.

  The Hidden Cove official website had a listing of land and properties for sale. I’d already made a few calls and had my first appointment in one hour. I slammed the lid of my laptop harder than I’d planned and looked up to find my grandmother watching me.

  “What did that computer ever do to you?”

  I wasn’t telling the rest of the family about my meetings in Hidden Cove. They wouldn’t understand what I was willing to do to make this happen. Not even Enzo would approve of me looking outside Superiore Bay. He’d been the football captain in high school and never gotten free of that rivalry.

  But Gram was different.

  I sighed, leaning back in my chair. “I’m meeting with an investor today.” I paused. “In Hidden Cove.”

  The condemnation I’d expect from anyone else didn’t come. Instead, she sat across from me. “I’m proud of you.”

  “Why? For taking the easy route?”

  Gram shook her head. “There is nothing easy about this path you’ve chosen. But you’re willing to fight for what you want. Forget town rivalries, you’re swallowing your pride by taking that meeting. And pride has no place in business or in dreams. Sometimes, we need to sacrifice our stubbornness, our desire to do everything on our own.”

  “Gram, what if this man … what if he doesn’t see my vision?”

  “There’s no law saying you must take his money if you don’t see eye to eye. It’s just a meeting.”

  “I know.” I blew out a breath. “I should get going.”

  She nodded. “Don’t let anyone try to dictate how you achieve your dreams, Mija. As long as you have a foundation of strong values, determination, and a desire to affect change for the better, you’ll be fine.”

  Leave it to my grandmother to choose those as her tenants of solid business decisions. I couldn’t say she was wrong. I’d wanted to do something good for this town, but if that wasn’t possible, I still wanted to do something good. It was only the location that changed.

  I walked out of the house, stopping in my tracks as I caught sight of Enzo and Carter huddled together near the barn. I started toward them, hearing their whispers but not making out their words.

  My foot scuffed on the ground, and they both turned to me, looking like they’d been caught with their hand in the proverbial cookie jar. My eyes narrowed. “Hey guys.” As far as I knew, they weren’t friends. Enzo may have been nicer about it, but he’d warned me away from Carter, just as Carter’s brother warned him. They didn’t think our friendship was worth inflaming the families.

  My eyes shifted from my brother to my friend and back again. They were up to something. I could tell. And when either of them were plotting on their own, it spelled trouble. Together …

  But I didn’t have time for this. “Enzo, shouldn’t you be working?”

  “Si, hermana.” He scurried off. But now, I was even more suspicious. Enzo didn’t often pull out the Spanish, not like our parents and grandmother. It was a distraction, meant to make me think he was just being affectionate.

  I shook off my suspicion and turned to Carter. “You’re driving.”

  “Sure.” He walked to his car and opened the door for me. “Where are we going?”

  “Hidden Cove.”

  “Do I want to ask?”

  I sighed as I sank into the leather seat, wishing this car wasn’t so small. I felt it closing in around me. Carter cranked the engine, and it roared to life, way louder than it needed to be. He grinned as he took off down the drive.

  We’d reached the main drag that would take us out of town by the time I answered him. �
��I’m about to become a traitor to Superiore Bay by considering another town for my business.”

  “So, I’m the accomplice?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “Well, being that it’s my family forcing you to look elsewhere for land, it’s fitting you bring me down with you.”

  “Glad you see it that way.”

  We shared a smile before he turned back to the road. I hung my arm out the window, letting the rush of air blow strands of hair loose from my braid. I’d be a mess by the time I got to this meeting, but that wasn’t anything new for me.

  Reaching into Carter’s glove box, I retrieved the sunglasses I always kept in there and relaxed to enjoy the short drive up the coast. Superiore Bay faded behind us, and it wasn’t long before Hidden Cove materialized, its main town center more pristine than ours. It lacked the character I loved Superiore Bay for, built more for tourists than the enjoyment of the people living there year round.

  Tourist shops lined Main Street, selling everything from useless trinkets and t-shirts to chocolate. Chocolate was their claim to fame, boasting of the largest chocolatier in the state. The income the family who owned it generated rivaled that of the Ashfords.

  I’d never tell anyone in Superiore Bay this, but I’d rather our town sell chocolate than wine.

  We drove through town to the address I’d written down of the first property. It was on the far side, but near the center of things. The location was perfect. I wasn’t sure about the small size. It might work for our first phase, but any growth would be constrained.

  Carter dutifully drove me to each of the properties on my list before I told him there was something I needed in town. I hadn’t yet mentioned the investor.

  Carter parked in a lot and cut the engine. “I forgot how much I love this town.” He eyed me. “Don’t you dare tell anyone back home I said that.”

  I let loose a smile. “You just like how there’s a chocolate shop on every corner.”

  “Speaking of … will you be fine on your own for an hour or so? A buddy of mine works in town, and I wanted to stop over and see him.”

  “What friend of yours don’t I know?”

  He shrugged but didn’t answer as he got out of the car. I followed him, relieved I wouldn’t have to tell him about the investor until after I knew more. “Sure, I’ll head over and grab some lunch at the diner.”

  Carter and I went our separate ways, and I walked to the familiar diner, stepping inside as a bell rang above the door. It hadn’t changed, and I soaked it in. In high school, during the summers, Carter and I would sneak over to Hidden Cove with our friend Harper. It was the only way to escape the eyes of the town and our families who didn’t want us spending time together.

  A long counter sat in a semi-circle in the front with glass ketchup bottles spaced out along with silverware and napkins. A scattering of tables were full of hungry patrons eating their lunches.

  An older woman walked toward me. “Hello, dear. Can I help you with something?”

  “I’m meeting someone here. His name is Colin.”

  “Ah.” She smiled. “Colin. Yes, he said he had a meeting. He’s right over there.” She pointed to a table in the corner where an attractive young man sat looking at his phone.

  I stopped at the edge of the table. “Colin Walker?”

  He looked up like he was surprised to hear his name. “Oh, yeah. Colin Walker. That’s me.”

  I sat tentatively. “You don’t sound too sure of that.”

  He slid his phone away and fixed dazzling green eyes on me. His blond hair was shaved on the sides but long on top, looking both professional and not. He wore khaki shorts and a navy blue polo, seeming more ready for the golf course than a business meeting.

  “Okay,” he said. “I’m not Colin Walker. I gave that name because you wouldn’t meet with me if you knew who I really was.”

  I lifted an eyebrow, trying to keep my irritation in check. “I knew this would be a waste of time.” I stood but stopped when his hand shot out to grab my wrist.

  “I’m Colin Hillson.”

  A Hillson. Just perfect. “The only thing worse than an Ashford is a Hillson,” I mumbled. At least the Ashfords were from the right town.

  “What?” His lips quirked up.

  “Nothing. Please let me go.”

  “I’m sorry I lied.” He removed his hand. “But Eli sent me some information about your plans, and I was intrigued.”

  “Why would Eli do that?”

  “For you, I assume. I’ve known him since Harvard. Look, I’m going to be honest, I don’t want to work with someone from Superiore Bay any more than you want to work with me, but I’m trying to bring something big to this town, something that will show my father I can succeed on my own. And I think your plans are it.”

  The chocolate empire must not be any different from the wine business if they too were losing sons.

  I didn’t want to listen to what he had to say, but I wasn’t sure I had any other options at this point. Even if it meant getting put in the middle of another argument between a powerful man and his children, I needed his money.

  I slid back into my seat. “No more lies. I’ll listen to your proposal for bringing the business to Hidden Cove at the very least.” I crossed my arms, wishing I was anywhere else.

  All I knew was if anyone in Superiore Bay found out I’d even set foot in the same room as Colin Hillson, there’d be a reckoning.

  The hair on the back of my neck prickled, and I glanced out the window, feeling like I was being watched, but there was no one there.

  I rubbed my eyes as I listened to Colin speak, but the sensation didn’t go away.

  17

  Conner

  Something was up.

  Superiore Bay was a rather nosey town. It was something everyone who grew up here got used to. There was a particular interest in my family, the antics of my brothers and my cousins.

  The Weekly Wine was a town icon, the newspaper designed to share town gossip.

  But this time, it held something more serious. I could tell.

  I was sitting in the town square, steps away from the gazebo, where a ring of the town’s worst gossipers congregated in the mornings. They were the old lady crew, a band of retired women who spent their summers hanging out in the park, never alone.

  They’d always kind of scared me a bit, mostly because they were the only people in town who didn’t give me deference.

  “Conner! Conner Ashford.” A woman shuffled my way, and I looked up, relieved it was Mrs. Chapman and not her counterparts. I wasn’t in the mood for the overt flirting I normally got from Mrs. Peterson and Mrs. Jeffries.

  I grimaced, taking note of the copy of the Weekly Wine she waved in the air. “Have you seen it?”

  I sighed, realizing I should have taken the time to pick up a copy this morning before braving town. Setting my coffee down on the table next to the documents I’d been reading, I stood. Sometimes, I stopped in the town square after meetings to catch my breath, to get some space before going back to the main offices, where my father would demand every moment of my time. I was still working, just without him breathing down my neck.

  “Morning, Mrs. Chapman.”

  She frowned. Mrs. Chapman was a formidable woman. “You haven’t bothered to read the news today, have you?”

  “It’s not news if it’s in the Weekly Wine. It’s gossip.”

  She waved away my words and slapped the paper down on top of my folder of documents. “This time, it’s news.”

  I sighed. She wasn’t going to go away until I read it.

  “Look at the sightings section,” she said.

  I flipped the page, my eyes drifting to the column that usually made at least some mention of one of the Ashford boys. But it wasn’t about us.

  The headline read “Selena Contreras, Sleeping With the Enemy?” My throat tightened, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know more. But I couldn’t stop myself.

  The short paragraph described a
wayward Lena, sneaking off to Hidden Cove, our rival town, to meet a secret date. And not just anyone. There was a picture, and I recognized the man instantly. Colin Hillson.

  The Hillson family ran Hidden Cove in much the same way the Ashfords did Superiore Bay.

  And Lena was dating him?

  An unfamiliar feeling curled inside me, something dark and foreboding. For a moment, I realized what an intrusion of privacy it was that someone photographed them, but then my sympathy for her faded away.

  Selena knew better.

  Dating a Hillson was even worse than an Ashford and a Contreras being together. At least both our families wanted our town to succeed, to thrive. The Hillsons only wanted to tear us down.

  “We need to fix this.” Mrs. Chapman crossed her arms.

  I’d almost forgotten she was there as my mind whirled with what this meant, and anger swirled in me. I crumpled the paper in my fists. “Lena will do whatever she wants.”

  “I know your families have their differences, but all of us old women thought it was only a matter of time before you were joined in marriage.”

  The blood froze in my veins, and I stared at her. “What?”

  “You know, your families. Selena and Carter have always been headed that way.” She placed a hand on my arm. “I wanted you to be able to be the one to tell him before he finds out another way.”

  Breath entered my lungs, but it didn’t stop me from feeling like I was being held underwater. The town expected me to fix this. I could see it in Mrs. Chapman’s gaze.

  I had to get away from her before I told her what I really thought of Lena and her stupidity in dating someone from Hidden Cove.

  This town would never forgive her.

  Movement across the square caught my eye. “Sorry, I have a cousin I need to go deal with.” I gathered my things, threw my half-full coffee in the trashcan, and jogged to where I’d just seen Max disappear into the alleyway between the coffee shop and the bookstore.

  I caught up with him only to find he wasn’t alone. His younger sister, Emery, was there with him. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen my two youngest cousins. Their dad had a falling out with mine when I was a kid, and since then, all holiday invitations had been lost in the mail.