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“Or Cos has in being spontaneous,” I said.

“Or any of you has,” Hudon said, “in not taking every opportunity to bust each other’s chops.”

True statement.

“Well, there’s a new sheriff in town. And maybe she’ll be different.”

I thought of Rae’s full breasts and hips which I’d love dearly to hold onto as I held her above me in bed. Mind out of the gutter. Time to take my own advice. “I’m afraid the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree in this case.”

“And if it did, you’d be the last one of us here to figure it out. We need someone to talk to her,” Min said, “and it sure as hell shouldn’t be Marco. Unless we want to piss her off.”

Another true statement. When people asked about our family, my mother had an analogy. Cos was the wood, Neo, the match. Min, those crystals you sprinkle on top that turn the flames all sorts of colors.

Me? I was the ignitor fluid. And this situation definitely didn’t need to be ignited.

“I’d say Brooke,” Cos said, “but it probably should be one of us.”

“Agreed,” Brooke looked at Min. “I think you. Woman to woman.”

Min nodded. “I was thinking the same thing.”

“I’ll find out about that permit tomorrow,” Cos said. “But in the meantime, let’s enjoy another successful Saturday.”

When he looked at me as if I was responsible for it, for Grado Brewing Company coming strong out of the gates adding a whole new dimension to our estate, I smiled. Even if my chest went tight with apprehension at the approval, which was sure to be fleeting.

SIX

rae

“Is thereanything else you want to see?” Brien and I stood on the dock looking back up at the tasting room.

Sunset’s Vineyard operations manager was one hell of an employee.

“Let me get this straight. You oversee growth, maintenance, and harvest of approximately three hundred tons of wine grapes. You prune, track cane weights, monitor pest issues, and handle canopy management, and then during harvest you transition to wine production? Plus product sales?”

“Sounds about right.”

There was so much to get back on track here, I didn’t know where to start. Not that I had carte blanche to make any changes I wanted, which was part of the problem. Unfortunately, Jerry owned the controlling share of Sunset and despite the fact that he lived and worked in Manhattan, he wanted his fingers deep in the Sunset pot.

He was supposed to have been here to meet me this weekend, but a work emergency kept him in the city. So in the meantime, I was just trying to learn everything I could.

“Sunset has been extremely profitable. Why don’t we have a dedicated wine production or sales team? Or do you enjoy those aspects of the job?”

Brien didn’t trust me. That was evident. He was a nice guy, a father of three who lived just outside of Kitchi Falls and had been working in the wine industry his whole life. Knew a hell of a lot more than me, or either of Sunset’s owners. That was for sure.

To him, I was just the owner’s daughter. And since Jerry hired him, I wasn’t sure enough of their relationship to be as blunt as I’d like. To ask him for the real story here. We’d get there, but in the meantime, I needed to tread carefully.

“That would be a question for Jerry or your father,” he said, my suspicions confirmed. He wasn’t going to open up. Not yet.

“If you could streamline your position, how would you do it?”

The fact that the question surprised him told me all I needed to know. How my father could be friends with a guy like Jerry Reed, never mind going into business with him, I’d never understand. It was nearly as difficult to understand as Jerry’s family dynamic with a separated wife and new child plus two ex-wives, two of whom he started dating while married. I supposed frat life must have been a real bonding time between him and Dad.

And now you’re working for the doorknob. Way to go, Rae.

“Well...I’ve done just about every job in the industry.”

As we spoke, both tasting room associates got ready to head home. I’d met the staff a few times in the past, but it was different now, and I could feel the tension exuding off each and every person I interacted with here.


Tags: Bella Michaels Romance