The Winemaker

by Michelle MacQueen

  I had no hopes my father would do the same.

  “You look deep in thought.” My grandfather stood in the doorway, his weathered face showing hints of concern.

  I’d planned on seeking him out today because of the digging I’d done about the land Lena and I wanted. A file was open on my desk with all the documentation, but I wasn’t sure if it made any difference. My grandfather wasn’t one to defy my father.

  “Just a lot on my mind.”

  He walked farther into my office. “You haven’t told your father yet, have you?”

  I wasn’t sure how this man could always read my mind. “He won’t be pleased.”

  “That’s an understatement.” He dropped into a chair across from my desk and leaned back. “You need to be prepared for his anger. If you expect it, you can weather the storm.”

  “Is that what you’ve always done?”

  He sighed. “The man has always had a temper. He believes his opinions are always the right ones and doesn’t like to be contradicted, but he isn’t a bad man, Conner.”

  “I know that.” I rubbed my eyes. My father never laid a hand on his kids. He wasn’t violent or even cruel. He’d let Conrad leave the family business without a fight, and Carter got away with anything. And Jorgie, she was his favorite. “He’s stubborn.” That was the truth of it. “And afraid.”

  I’d always known that too. My father loved my mother more than anything, and then he lost her. He knew his attitude drove his family away. His brothers rarely spoke to him. He hardly had contact with any nieces or nephews. I was his only kid who had much to do with him.

  My grandfather nodded. “He thinks control is the only way to prevent losing everything else.”

  I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the desk. “But it only pushes us further away.”

  “He will either change or learn that the hard way.”

  “And you? What will you do?” I lifted a single document and held it out to him. It was the deed of ownership to the plot of land Lena and I needed. “It was not bought by the Ashford corporation but by Willard Ashford.”

  His hands shook as he held the paper. “I’d forgotten I put this in my name.” A smile curved his lips. “It’s no secret I loved your mother like she was my own daughter. I bought this land for her as a birthday present.”

  “What did she need land for?”

  “She wanted to open a second facility to make specialty wines, experimental wines.”

  “My mom—” I hadn’t known that about her. She’d been like me in the barn I’d outfitted for that purpose. I tried to recall everything I remembered, but as the years had passed, my memories of her had grown hazier.

  My grandfather handed me back the document. “You can have the land.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t want it given to us. Lena is already skeptical of having one Ashford as a partner. If we’re going to do this, we need to buy the land and put it in her name.”

  He smiled again. “Your mother would have liked her.”

  “There would be no reason for my mother to have known her.” I frowned. “She’s my business partner. I’m her investor.”

  He didn’t look convinced. “Tell me, can she lighten even the hardest of Ashfords? That was what your grandmother did for me. Your mother did it for your father. He used to be so easy going, so light. And you, my serious grandson, does she make you smile?”

  Yes, she did. I pictured her fighting with me in front of the town, pushing me into the bay. “She’s maddening.”

  “That’s the best kind of woman.”

  I shook off all these notions he was trying to put in my head. “We are in business together now. It doesn’t matter if she makes me … light.” Whatever that meant. “Besides, no matter what partnership we form, she is still a Contreras and I’m an Ashford.”

  “Just names, Conner.” He stood. “Remember that.”

  When he was gone, I tried to get back to work, but I couldn’t focus. Giving up, I sent a text to Lena, telling her we got the land, which was our second biggest hurdle.

  Now, I had to face my first.

  I stood and reached for the suit coat I’d hung over the back of the chair, sliding it on. Taking a deep breath, I walked from the office. Some days, I worked from home, others were spent in the high-rise offices of the winery, a state-of-the-art facility. When my father was in town, he worked from here too.

  His office was down the hall and around the corner from mine. I nodded to a few people I passed and sent my father’s assistant a smile. “He here?”

  She nodded. “Just got off a conference call.”

  Perfect timing. A part of me had been hoping he’d be too busy to see me.

  I lifted a hand, knocking forcefully three times. My father respected strength, and that even applied to how one knocked, how they shook hands.

  “Come in,” his gruff voice called out.

  I opened the door to find him hunched over his keyboard, typing rapidly. He glanced up once before going back to what he was doing. “One moment, Conner. I need to finish this email.”

  I stood awkwardly, waiting for him to stop. Finally, he leaned back and met my gaze. “Do you have our third quarter profit projections ready?”

  That was what I’d meant to work on all morning. “I’ll have them on your desk by tomorrow.”

  He nodded, rubbing his chin. “What’s on your mind today.”

  I just needed to rip off the Band-Aid, but this wasn’t going to be pretty. “Can I have a seat?”

  He nodded wordlessly, waiting.

  “So …” I cleared my throat.

  “Conner, speak clearly and with purpose or don’t waste my time.”

  “I’m investing in Selena Contreras’ new business venture.”

  His brow furrowed in confusion. “Conner—”

  “I know you’re going to say it’s a bad idea and that you refuse to let me use family money for the investment, but I have my own funds, plenty enough for this project. I believe in it, Dad. Forget who it is for a moment; we’re Ashfords, do we pass up good business opportunities?”

  I waited for the explosion that didn’t come. Instead, he looked contemplative. “Well, no, we don’t. I’m confused, I’d read this girl was partnering with one of the Hillson kids.”

  The only family my father hated more than the Contrerases. I ignored him calling Lena a girl. One battle at a time. “She was, but the town came together to oppose it. They asked me to invest, practically begged. You should see her business plan, Dad. It’s unbelievable. Even you would be impressed.”

  “You believe in this opportunity?” His expression was hard to read.

  “I do. I really do. And I realized that plot of land you refused to sell her is in Grandfather’s name, so even if you don’t approve, we’re moving forward. I want to make you proud, and I think I’ve done enough to do that, but making you proud isn’t everything to me. Not anymore. I need to make myself proud too.”

  “I don’t like it.” Where was the anger? I’d been prepared for it, just like my grandfather told me to be.

  “I knew you wouldn’t.”

  “If you’re going to do this, son, do it right. Silent partners don’t truly have to be silent. Make sure you get a big enough share to exert your control. I don’t like that family, but if they’re going to succeed, it will be with an Ashford pulling the strings.”

  It made sense now, why he didn’t blow up at me.

  Control.

  He wanted me to control this business venture.

  I’d have laughed if I wasn’t so disgusted with him, because he obviously didn’t know Lena at all.

  I didn’t want her to work for me. I wanted to work with her, to dream her dreams and experience her triumphs.

  Thoughts of her filled my head as I left my father’s office. I was right to use my own funds for this, not to let him anywhere near it.

  He might push businesses to great success, but he also sucked the soul right out of them.

&nb
sp; And I refused to let that happen to Lena.

  I refused to let her get hurt. By him or by me.

  25

  Lena

  I stared down at the contract I was supposed to be signing. Tapping my pen on the desk, the words started running together, and my pulse pounded in my head. Should I be doing this right now? It happened so fast, my head whirled with everything Conner had thrown at me over the last few days.

  “Is there something missing, Lena?” Eli flipped through his copy of the partnership agreement. “I thought we’d covered everything.”

  “She just needs a minute,” Conner said. “We’ve thrown a lot at her.”

  How did he do that? It was like he could read my mind. “It looks great, Eli. I appreciate the way you’ve pulled this all together so quickly. I’m just getting nervous.”

  “Is there anything else we can do to make this arrangement more palatable for either of you?” Eli glanced between us.

  "I can’t think of a single worry that hasn’t been addressed. You’ve really outdone yourself, protecting the interests of both my family’s assets and Conner’s investment.” It was a dream partnership. Legally, everything would be mine within just a few years. Conner would invest his personal funds that weren’t attached to the Ashford family empire, and he would recoup his initial investment plus a fair return over the course of the next five years. That was at my insistence. He wanted to give the business ten years to earn out his investment while also paying me a sizable portion of our projected profits. I insisted we make it five years, allowing for Conner to earn the bulk of the income while the business paid him back.

  I wanted him out of the picture as fast as possible. If that meant I earned less than him for a few years, I was fine with that. It would still be more money than I’d ever seen. Or so Conner’s projections claimed.

  “Then, why aren’t you signing?” Conner sounded amused.

  “I’m trying.” I cracked a smile, positioning the pen over the page in front of me. Anxiety gripped my chest, and I couldn’t seem to make my hand move. It still felt like making a deal with the devil.

  “Do you need more time to think about it, Lena?” Eli’s eyes filled with concern. “We aren’t pressuring you, are we?”

  “Nope.” I leaned over the desk. “I’m just a little terrified.” I took a deep breath and signed my life away.

  “Are you sure about this?” Conner asked. “A hundred percent?”

  I shoved the partnership agreement across Eli’s desk. “No, I’m not at all sure about this venture, but I am certain I want to do this with you. I just hope we don’t lose everything.”

  “We won’t.” Conner grinned, and Duke yipped his approval. That dog really went everywhere Conner went. I wondered if he was some kind of emotional support dog because Conner wasn’t himself unless Duke was with him.

  I leaned back against the leather seat, exhaling a breath and feeling like a ten-thousand-pound weight had lifted off my shoulders. Whatever happened next, like it or not, we were in it together. “What now?”

  Conner checked the time on his phone. “Now, we go meet my grandfather at the bank and buy our land. Then, we’ll meet with the architects.”

  “Oh, boy.” I stood on shaky legs. “We might need to pencil in some time for my afternoon freak out.”

  Eli chuckled at my dry tone. “For what it’s worth, Lena, this plan of yours is brilliant. I can’t wait to see it come to fruition because I’m going to be your first customer.”

  “Thanks, Eli.” Conner grinned. “We’ll hold your place in line.”

  I felt giddy as we walked out of Eli’s office and into the warm spring sunshine. “I can’t believe this is finally happening.” It was like my feet didn’t even touch the ground as we walked down the street to the bank. My mind was floating way up in the clouds, envisioning my little village of white barn-style buildings with bright-colored flowers everywhere.

  “There’s Grandfather.” Conner pulled me back down to earth to introduce me to yet another Ashford I had to convince. Though, Conner assured me his grandfather was more than willing to sell us the land.

  “You two make a nice pair.” The elderly gentleman stepped between us, offering me his arm.

  “Grandfather.” Conner groaned. “Behave yourself.”

  “I meant a pair of business partners.” He ignored Conner and beamed a familiar smile at me.

  “You look just like Carter.”

  “Trouble, with a capital T.” He winked at me. I liked the grandfather immediately.

  “Now, I see where he gets it.”

  “You know you two could just let me give you the land, and then we could all go get cake and celebrate.”

  “We will celebrate after you sell us the land, Grandfather.” Conner held the door open to the Superiore Bay Bank and Trust lobby. “We are doing this all by the book.”

  “I meant we could go celebrate ticking off my son, but I suppose we can celebrate your partnership too.” The old man shuffled into the bank manager’s office, not waiting for an invitation.

  “I like him, he’s feisty.” I followed him.

  “He’s trouble.” Conner shook his head. “But he’s the best man I know.”

  “You’ve got the paperwork ready, Jill?” Mr. Ashford groaned as he sat in the chair in front of the bank manager’s desk. “You know how I hate the paperwork.”

  “I’m sure you’re more interested in getting to lunch than dealing with a boring old real estate sale. So, just sign away. You know the drill.” Jill set a pen and stack of papers in front of Mr. Ashford, and he scribbled his signature and initials across several forms.

  “This is so exciting!” Jill reached to shake my hand. “We were impressed with your business proposal back when you applied for the loan. I truly hated to deny it, but I’m glad you’ve found such a great investor, Lena. Your stores and restaurants will be a huge hit for tourism. And the jobs you’ll bring to this town. You’re an angel.”

  I could feel my face flush with embarrassment. I wasn’t used to such high praise. “Thank you. I just hope you’re right.” I leaned over the forms I had to sign. I was about to make the biggest purchase of my life, and I was afraid I might lose my breakfast right on Jill’s perfectly polished desk.

  “I have no hesitation telling you it’s going to be a huge success, and I don’t hand out compliments like that very often. I can’t wait to shop at your general store. Do you have any idea when it will be open?”

  “We’re meeting with the architects after this, and we’re hoping to nail down some firm dates for breaking ground soon,” Conner answered for me. That knot of anxiety was back. How was I ever going to survive moving at this rapid pace?

  I was in a daze as we walked over to the architect's office. Mr. Ashford came with us, but it was clear he was more interested in the lunch we’d planned to get after the meeting.

  “We want to go straight to phase four,” Conner announced as soon as the drawings came out. These were large scale construction documents the architects had been working on since Conner gave them the go ahead just a few days ago. Their eyes popped when they heard the news about phase four.

  My anxiety vanished when I saw my dream rendered in quarter inch scale. It was happening. From the general store to the bed and breakfast inn. I saw my future flash before my eyes, and it was filled with apple-picking parties, hayrides, stables, gift shops, and a new Christmas tree farm—and one day weddings and large-scale events. My vision blurred, and I wiped furiously at my eyes. There would be time for celebratory tears and wine later. But first. Business.

  “I’d still like to get the general store opened as soon as possible. I know my partner wants to get phase four underway, and I’m still trying to wrap my mind around that, but I think it’s important that we have the general store open for business this year if we can.” I glanced at Conner to gauge his reaction.

  “I agree with Ms. Contreras.” Conner nodded, reaching over to squeeze my hand. He knew I was
nervous about this and the gesture was one of reassurance, but I couldn’t help but think about that kiss. “The timeline will be difficult, but I think it’s doable.”

  “We can handle the timeline for the store,” Mark, the lead architect agreed. “We’d also suggest having the vast majority of the landscaping done by then as well.”

  “The orchard needs to happen yesterday.” I tapped my finger on the space we’d allotted for a small apple picking orchard. “My family will transplant some of our trees from Orchard Hill Farms, but we will need to get saplings in the ground as soon as possible. It will take a few seasons for it to produce, but I plan to set up hayrides to the main orchard for the first few years anyway.”

  “You’ve thought of everything,” Mark said. “I told my wife about it last night, and she wants to be the first to know when you’re taking reservations at the inn. She wants at least a weekend away from the kids.”

  “I would say we should probably start booking in late summer for spring next year.” Conner scribbled notes on his legal pad. Good thing it looked like he was going to be the organized one. I would bet just about anything he was a spreadsheet kind of guy.

  “What do we do next?” I asked, feeling insecure in this office with all these guys who did these kinds of projects all the time.

  Mark smiled, passing me a copy of the construction documents. “You take these home and look over everything, particularly with the landscaping plan and the general store exterior. We’ll meet again in a few days to discuss any changes you want made, and I’ll have some interior layout options for you to review for the general store. Then, we choose a contractor, and in a few weeks, we’ll schedule dates for breaking ground, and we’ll start looking at exterior finishes and landscaping materials.”

  “Oh my gosh.” I rubbed a hand over my eyes. “This is going to be exhausting, isn’t it?” I laughed, looking at Conner for confirmation.

  “It’s going to be epic.” He grinned back at me.