Kate Welsh - For Jessie's Sake

Colin smiled. “That would be Abby’s mom. Let’s go exploring before we head over to the house.” Maybe he’d get some questions answered from the queen mother.

“Am I still gonna have to stay in the living room and on the porch when we get to Torthúil?”

“It’s no different than usual when I start on a house. Till I get the place inspected, and find out for sure where you’re safe, you stay put in the rooms I’ve checked out.”

“But we don’t have the trailer no more. You said this time—”

“I was wrong, partner. Daddies can make mistakes.” And wasn’t that an understatement, considering who owned the house where they were staying and the mess the one he owned was in. “It’s been years since I was here,” he continued as they drew closer to the little Hopewell village that made him feel as if they’d stepped right into the pages of a tour book on Tuscany. “I guess I remembered Torthúil the way it was when I left.”

She gave him a long-suffering sigh. “Then let’s go ’sploring. It’s better than not doin’ nothin’ at Torthúil. Why Gram didn’t fix the roof when it got old?”

“No one’s lived in it for years. A small farm like Gram’s in Florida doesn’t make enough money to survive down there and fix up a house she doesn’t live in up here. Nobody who saw the house told me we needed a new roof or I’d have gotten it fixed. I wish they had but—”

“Look at that big doggie!” Jessie shrieked in his ear. “Isn’t he won’erful?”

Big? He was massive. The Hopewells had a dog? A big dog? Things certainly had changed. “You sure it’s a dog, kitten? Looks more like a horse to me.”

Jessie giggled, strained to sit taller the closer he drove so she could still see the leaping canine monster. Colin parked in the crushed-granite parking lot labeled Visitor Parking, then unbuckled Jessie from her booster seat behind him. He swung her in front of him where she usually took the opportunity to grab the wheel to pretend driving. Today the dog took all her attention, leaping around like a goat as he chased a ball thrown by a tall blond boy who looked about nine or ten.

Colin decided that no matter how affectionate the dog seemed, he wasn’t putting Jessie down to get trampled. But he needn’t have worried about the animal jumping on her or knocking her down. Instead he galloped over and all but fell at Colin’s feet, presenting his belly for scratching. The boy followed and obliged his pet.

“Can I pet him?” Jessie gazed at Colin with pleading eyes. At that moment he silently promised to get her the puppy she’d been asking for since she turned three.

“Sure you can pet him,” the blond boy said. “You could probably use him for a pillow. I do all the time.”

Carefully and slowly, Colin eased Jessie to the ground. All the big dog did was let his tongue loll out of his mouth and pant harder as Jessie none too gently moved her hand over his belly. Then he put his head back and moaned in ecstacy.

Jessie giggled. “He’s funny.”

“My dad calls him a character,” the boy said. “My uncle Nic bought him for me the day they brought my new baby cousin home to Hopewell Manor from the hospital.”

“Actually, if you remember, Uncle Nic bought him for your cousin,” a woman said from behind them. “Lucky for you Thunder’s a little too big for a premature newborn.”

“I never thought I’d see the day dogs were allowed at Hopewell Manor,” Colin remarked absently, waiting for Juliana Hopewell to recognize him.

She walked out the door of the nearby building and cocked her head, her eyes narrowed as if in thought. He was ready for another hard-as-emerald stare when she realized who he was, but instead her green eyes lit with delight. “Colin McCarthy? My Lord, but you remind me of Tracy. And actually Thunder only visits the manor. This is Jamie. He’s Caroline’s son. They live in a house they built toward the back of the winery property.

“The baby Thunder was originally bought for is Sammie’s. Nikki was just barely five pounds the day she came home. Her father was rushing his fences a bit and overjoyed at finally getting her home.” She chuckled. “So, besides having a lovely little girl of your own, how are you, Colin? And what are you doing back here after so many years?”

Apparently James Hopewell hadn’t shared with his wife what had happened between Colin and Abby. Well, he wouldn’t be rude to Juliana when she obviously hadn’t had anything to do with what her husband had done. Besides, from what he’d heard, she’d been on the receiving end of Hopewell’s cruelty herself.

“I came back to live at Torthúil, but the house is in much worse shape than I’d thought it would be. Jessie and I are staying at Cliff Walk until I can renovate it. We arrived in the middle of the storm last night. It was pretty dark so I didn’t get to see everything you’ve done here.” He made a sweeping gesture toward what he could now see was indeed a replica of a Tuscan town square surrounded by four buildings. They were laid out like four sides of a pentagon, leaving the square and the fifth side open to a view of the vines that terraced down the hillside toward the cliffs.

“The girls and I started all this after their father died. This building is the headquarters of Hopewell Winery.” She pointed left. “That one is the winery itself. It houses the gift shop, tasting room and some of the machinery. We had the wine cellars blasted into the rock and they’re below us. And this building and the one at the far end of the court is Bella Villa. It’s a banquet facility. There are three halls between the two buildings and our offices.”

“I hadn’t heard about any of this. I was also surprised to find Abby at Cliff Walk last night.”

“Oh,” she said, sounding somewhat distressed. “I’d better make sure she’s all right. You know, Tracy’s death devastated her, even though they’d drifted apart that last summer. Seeing you probably brought it all up for her again. I imagine coming home for the first time since then did the same for you. That was terribly mean of your commander not to let you come home for your own sister’s funeral.” She reached out and took his hand. “I am so sorry for your losses. I know you and Tracy were close. And we heard about your father’s death when Erin stayed here in May.”

She frowned. “ Was Abby very upset when she saw you again?”

“I suppose she was,” Colin said carefully, his mind whirling once again. Abby and Tracy hadn’t been close that summer? They’d practically been sisters for years. What could have happened between them? He wished now that he hadn’t told his parents he never wanted to hear Abby’s name again. And he wished they hadn’t listened.

“She did take your sister’s death so hard. After that, and my divorce from her father, Abby was never really the same.” Juliana looked over toward Cliff Walk, then blinked, seeming to realize that perhaps she’d said too much. She cleared her throat as if to punctuate a change in subject. “So, how about the two-dollar tour? If we’re going to be neighbors again, you should know what’s going on up here on the plateau.”

Juliana Hopewell had no idea how much Colin wanted to figure out exactly what was going on. And what had gone on in his absence. “I think I’ll take you up on that.

“Jessie,” he called, noticing the boy and his dog had led his daughter farther away than he was comfortable with. They were going toward the middle of the plateau, where all the Hopewell enterprises sat, and he remembered the cliffs that led down from there. He and his buddies had even climbed them in their daredevil teens. And Jessie tended to be more of a daredevil than he’d ever been at her age. No way did he want her finding out about those rocky cliffs.