Marina Adair - Autumn in the Vineyard

“It destroyed Dad and Grandpa’s relationship, their marriages, their connection with their kids, and in the end they wound up alone. We didn’t want that kind of life.” Jonah reached across the table and gently nudged her hand with his. “And I sure as hell don’t want that for you.”

“And I don’t want you guys to make this any harder on Grandpa. He’s had a rough year and things are already strained enough between everyone. As for why I bought Sorrento Ranch, I’ve waited my whole life for this chance. It’s what I want, for me.”

“As long you aren’t doing this to prove to Grandpa what we already know, you’ve got my support,” Jonah said softly and something inside Frankie warmed.

And just when she almost leaned across the table to give the guy a hug, he added, “Because Adam, Dax, and I all agree that living outside the old man’s world of grapes is nice and it’s about time that you tried it.”

That was easy for him to say. He had his brothers. Always had. Always would. Whereas Frankie was always too female, too young, and after the divorce, too limited to weekends and rotating holidays to be anything but peripheral in her half-brothers’ lives.

She was pretty much on her own. And as long as she remembered that, she wouldn’t be let down.

“Now that this kum bay ya moment is over, can I go?”

Jonah smiled. He actually smiled. “Not until you tell me what all that was about back at the ranch.”

“All what?”

“The name calling, the pissy stares, shanking DeLuca with your elbow in the back of the cruiser.”

“It’s called irritation.” That much was true. The man irritated her into warm fuzzies.

“Really? Because from where I stood, it looked a lot like foreplay. Especially since everyone is talking about how the two of you were sucking face at the Showdown.”

“Who says ‘sucking face’? What are we, twelve? And he kissed me!” Frankie snapped, her face going red.

Jonah just smiled bigger. “Have you seen the picture?”

Yes, she had. Everyone in town had after Nora Kinkaid insisted on including it in her Summer Wine Showdown Facebook Photo Album. “I am so not having this conversation with you.”

Frankie stood, grabbing her plastic bag of personal items that Jonah had confiscated when taking his sweet time locking her in a cell. Unzipping the bag, she started angrily pulling items out and shoving them in her pockets.

“Hey, I didn’t mean to upset you.” Smile gone. “Sit down, finish your coffee, and tell me how you’ve been.”

Without looking up, she smashed lip balm in her back pocket and jerked her chin toward the cup. “I assume that’s not soy.”

“No. And since when did you go all tree hugger?”

“Since I’m allergic to milk.”

“When did that happen?”

She lifted her head and stared at him. For a long moment, she couldn’t even speak. When she did, it came out harsher that she’d hoped. “At birth.” He opened his mouth, most likely to apologize since that guilt was now piling high on his oh-so-capable shoulders, which were starting to sag. “If you’re done with the touchy-feely shit, I have an alpaca to feed and property to defend.”

Jonah looked at her for a long minute. His expression said I’m worried about you . Frankie knew that look. Knew it meant he was going to try to fix her life. Which meant he’d call in reinforcements.

“You aren’t going to tell Mom and Grandpa about me going to court Friday over the land, are you?”

Jonah was quiet, considering his options. Suddenly, her stomach felt way too small for the three ham and double cheese croissants she’d had at the Sweet and Savory Bistro. Having to argue with Nate in an open court of law over a piece of land that was rightfully hers was bad enough. Having her mom and grandpa there to witness the moment would only make it worse.

“I should,” he said. “Maybe she could talk some sense into you. But that would mean she’d be staying at my place and driving me insane. So you’re safe. For now.”

“Thanks,” Frankie whispered.

“As long as you promise to come over for dinner soon. We only live five minutes from each other, Frankie, so you don’t have to wait for Phoebe to visit to see me. You know how much I love these talks,” he added, his chest extending with a laugh.

Heading toward the exit, Frankie did a little extending of her own, with the middle finger fully engaged. “Maybe next time I’ll bring some wine coolers and we can get drunk and then take turns braiding each other’s hair.”

She was nearly out the door when Jonah said, “Hey, Frankie?”

Everything inside her stilled and her heart, which had been beating too fast all morning, stopped in her chest. Back to him, she closed her eyes and willed herself to breathe.

Frankie knew that after three tours in Iraq, their brother Dax was coming home for only four days. Just like she knew that Jonah and Adam were headed to San Francisco on Friday to pick him up and welcome him home. She also knew she would never insist on tagging along, but if they invited her, she would drop everything to be a part of that. Even if it meant begging Judge Pricket to change the court date.

“Did you know that Saul had split the land before you bought it?” he asked.

Frankie hated herself for being stupid enough to hope.

Ignoring the pain rippling through her chest, she turned to face her brother. When she did, the ripple became a full tsunami of hurt. One look at the deputy standing across from her was the reality check she needed.

Jonah was a mountain of a man, sharing the same deep blue eyes, dirty blond hair, and trademark Baudouin intensity as her two other brothers. Aside from her unnatural height and inability to connect to others, Frankie was nothing like them.

Something she’d spent her whole life trying to overcome, with no luck.

“Yup.” She choked out a laugh, while forcing herself to suck it up before she did something totally undignified, like cry. “I did my homework before I signed anything. I didn’t know it was DeLuca who’d bought the other parcel, though. Mrs. Sorrento told me Saul had sold it to a developer.”

Jonah nodded, a flash of pride flickering in his eyes. “You think he knows?”

“Since when do you care what the DeLucas are doing?”

“I don’t,” he said. Frankie knew that admitting he cared meant admitting he was affected by losing Grandpa’s good opinion. “I was just curious.”

“By the look on Nate’s face when he saw me on the property, I’m betting, no.”

Working side by side with Nate wasn’t ideal, but it wouldn’t affect her end goal. She wouldn’t let it. As for him, once he learned how the property was divided—Frankie smiled. “But I’d give anything to see the look on his face when he figures it all out.”

After a morning spent at the sheriff’s department, and an afternoon stranded in town without his car, Nate needed a cold drink and some time to come up with a plan. He was due in court Friday morning, and if he didn’t figure out a solution, he might lose everything.

Nate opened the door to the Spigot, the only bar in town that served mostly locals instead of tourists and always straight-up. The chilly evening air was replaced with the smell of buffalo wings and greasy fries, reminding him that he hadn’t eaten since breakfast. Football played on the old television perched above the bar and, despite the fact that the wine cave turned sports saloon was in desperate need of an overhaul, a decent happy hour crowd already filled the tables.

Nate started for the bar to grab an empty stool and— son of a bitch .

His two younger brothers sat at a booth in the back, huddled around a pitcher of beer, tossing back a few as though Nate hadn’t spent the past four hours in the planning commission’s basement alone. They hadn’t bothered to answer a single one of his ten phone calls.