Black Karma (5 page)

“It's beautiful here,” she noted as she walked barefoot across a grassy lawn that looked out over the rolling landscape.

“I'm glad you like it. I put it in Dan's name.”

She turned to him. “You put
what
in Dan's name?”

“This estate,” he explained. “Eighty acres, forty of them in vines, ten in fruit trees, and thirty fallow. This is the main house. There's a caretaker's cottage the other side of the vineyard. The place is self-sufficient; the fruit pays for maintenance and taxes, with a little left over.”

“Wait a minute. You bought our daughter a vineyard? Why?”

“I thought it might be nice to have a place outside the city where the girls could come to play. There's a pool on the far side of the house and room for horses, if she wants them. Also,” he hesitated, “if anything happens to me, I wanted her to have something, a gift from her father. I haven't been able to give her anything before now.”

She looked out over the vineyard then turned around to look at the house. “You're not planning on going anywhere, are you?”

He smiled. “Not intentionally.”

She considered his offhand remark as well as the gift. On one hand, the gift seemed ridiculously extravagant. On the other, she wasn't sure she could deny him the right to gift his daughter. She had little choice, it seemed, but to accede graciously. “It really is beautiful. I'm sure the girls will love it.”

“That's settled, then,” he stated. “Let's have dinner.”

He took her arm to lead her around the house to a flagstone patio where a table waited under an arbor covered in grapevines. Twinkling lights sparkled discreetly around the arbor and surrounding terrace. White linen covered a small circular table set for two with a lush, low centerpiece arrangement of tropical flowers. Blue plate chargers edged in gold rested on the table.

“Are you hungry?” he asked.

“Famished. And a little drunk.”

He grinned at her with a predatory smile. “Good. There's hope, then.”

She returned his smile while he pulled out a high-backed upholstered chair for her. As if on cue, crickets and frogs started their nightly concert while the fading light turned the sky dusky. As she settled in, he pulled a bottle of white wine from an ice bucket and poured each of them a glass.

No sooner had he filled their glasses when a woman, perhaps in her fifties, in a white chef's apron stepped out of the house to place chilled forks and delicate china plates with salad on the table before them.

Jason spoke to the woman. “Thank you, Coleta. The table looks lovely.”

She smiled and nodded while Jason continued. “This is Bai Jiang. I've told you about her. I'm sure you'll be seeing more of each other as time goes on.” He gestured at Coleta. “Bai, this is Coleta Corazon. She and her husband, Fausto, have been managing this vineyard for some time.”

Bai greeted Coleta, who exchanged pleasantries with her before excusing herself to return to the kitchen. When she'd left, Bai turned to Jason with a questioning look.

“Coleta and Fausto are honest, hardworking people who've managed this property for the last fifteen years. It's up to you whether or not you want to retain them, but I'd suggest you do. Coleta, as you're about to find out, is an amazing cook.”

Bai nodded and tried the salad. The dressing tasted delicious with the perfect balance of anchovy and garlic. An added textural interest of homemade croutons made the salad even better. The flinty, dry fruit of the white wine, a Pine Ridge Petit Clos, proved the perfect accompaniment.

“Have you spent much time here?” she asked.

“Not as much as I'd like,” he replied. “The tranquility here is soothing.”

“You'll always be welcome here,” she stated in a magnanimous moment.

He smiled. “I would hope so, but I won't hold you to that. People change . . . the world changes. I'm happy just taking life one day at a time.”

She'd finished her salad when Coleta came back wheeling a cart carrying covered plates. The first plates she presented to each of them held a grill-marked filet mignon. Completing the presentation on the plate were a rosette of foie gras and a fanning of sautéed mushrooms.

Jason reached over to fill another long-stemmed glass with red wine.

“What are we drinking?” she asked.

“In celebration of your wearing a dress, I decanted a 1980 Jordan Cabernet. You'll have to take a look at the wine cellar in the basement. I purchased the house in turnkey condition as part of an estate sale. The former owner had excellent taste in wine. He'd been collecting vintages from the Napa and Alexander valleys for the last forty years.”

Coleta uncovered plates with squares of multilayered au gratin potatoes and lightly steamed green beans. She gestured to the two of them to try their steaks. Bai bit into hers and fell in love. She took a sip of the Cabernet with its subtle tannins and tasted overripe cherries with a slightly tarry finish and butt-danced with joy.

Bai asked, “This steak is amazing. What's your secret?”

Coleta smiled at the appreciative comment. “I put a dollop of Gorgonzola butter on the steaks right after pulling them off the grill.”

Bai smiled and wondered, distractedly, if the former owner had died of heart disease. She took another bite of steak and couldn't bring herself to care. Some things were worth dying for. The meal ended with chocolate raspberry torte and port. She found herself pleasantly inebriated.

Jason leaned across the table to get her attention. “Would you like me to call Martin?”

“Why? Do you want to spend the night with Martin?”

“He's not my first choice,” he confessed. “I thought you might want to take the limo home.”

Confused, she looked around. “I thought this was home.”

He smiled. “And so it is. Can I show you to your room?”

“I'm afraid you'll have to carry me. There's no way I could possibly stand on my own. You've managed to get me wonderfully drunk. As a reward, you can have your way with me, farm boy,” she said, throwing her arms wide in surrender.

“‘Farm boy'?”

“That's your new name. We'll live like farmers, up at the crack of dawn to feed the grapes. And, there must be something that needs plowing,” she said, grinning. “Oh yes . . . that would be me.”

“I can see this will be a night to remember,” he said as he stood to scoop her into his arms. He carried her effortlessly as he walked toward the house. Coleta must have been keeping an eye on them because she opened the French doors at their approach.

“Thank you for the wonderful meal,” Jason said.

He turned so that Bai could wave good night. She couldn't seem to form words. The world had acquired fuzzy edges.

Coleta nodded and covered her mouth to hide her giggles. “I'll come by tomorrow to finish cleaning up, Mr. Lum.”

“Thank you. I'll be leaving early, but Bai will probably still be here.”

Bai waved again at the sound of her name. He turned to carry her across an open living room and down a hallway to a large bedroom where he leaned down to gently lay her on cream-colored satin sheets. Fanning her arms on the slippery fabric, she reveled in the sensation as she wrapped herself in the linens like a caterpillar in a cocoon. And promptly passed out.

Chapter 6

Bai awakened with a throbbing head and a tongue like a wool sock. She raised a hand to pull the sheet away from her face. Bright sunlight made her gasp.

“You're awake.”

She turned her head slowly to find the source of the comment. Lee sat in an upholstered armchair across the room reading a book.

“What are you doing here? Where's Jason?”

“I'm here because Jason can't be. He had an early flight and didn't want to leave you stranded. He offered the limo, but I drove instead. How do you feel?”

“While I was asleep, someone knitted little wool sweaters for my teeth, and there's a monkey banging a drum in my head. Can you make him stop?”

He ignored her obvious discomfort. “Did you know you talk in your sleep? Who is ‘farm boy'?”

“Get me coffee and aspirin, and I'll tell you.”

“There's a nice woman in the kitchen who wants to feed you. She's making biscuits and gravy, and who knows what else. I didn't have the heart to tell her you don't eat breakfast, unless, of course, a doughnut could be considered breakfast.”

“I'm begging you. Don't talk about food. Aspirin and coffee. Please!”

“All right. But after you've had your coffee, I want the whole sordid story.”

She pulled the sheet back over her head and realized she was naked beneath the linens. Jason must have disrobed her. She wondered where he'd put her dress and her knife. It bothered her that she couldn't remember anything beyond landing on the bed. If he'd joined her between the sheets, she had no memory of the tryst.

Lee returned with coffee and aspirin on a tray. He placed the serving dish on a nightstand next to the bed before sitting again in the chair across the room. Slowly, she sat up to acclimate to a higher elevation while her stomach flopped like a fish out of water. Holding the coffee cup in both hands, she sipped carefully and waited to see if her stomach would rebel. When she felt reasonably certain the coffee would stay down, she swallowed the aspirin and leaned back against the upholstered headboard to drink with her eyes closed.

“I brought a change of clothes for you.”

She opened her eyes reluctantly. “Thanks. Have you seen my dress or my knife?”

“Your dress is hanging in the closet. The knife is in the top drawer of the nightstand. So, what happened?”

She eyed him over the rim of the cup as she drank. “I got drunk. I passed out. If there was any whoopee, sadly, I missed it.”

“Who's ‘farm boy'?”

“‘Farm boy' is Jason's new nickname. He bought this vineyard for Dan. I'm not entirely sure what he was thinking. Anyway, Dan now has a summer home, which seems a bit much for a girl just entering puberty.”

Lee seemed to weigh the news. “Putting this property in her name was smart. The land is valuable now. It will only get more valuable with time. If she ever needs money, she can sell the property whole or piecemeal. You can't fault the investment strategy.”

“I suppose not. And Jason was right in thinking the girls would enjoy summers here. I have the feeling we'll be shopping for horses in the near future. Do you know anything about horses?”

“They're large, hairy, and a bit brutish, like professional wrestlers. I like betting on them, but I've never felt the need to actually touch one—horses, that is. I can't say the same about professional wrestlers.”

“A simple ‘no' would have sufficed.”

“Have more coffee and let me know when you're civil.”

She looked at him, stifled a response, and took another drink of coffee. The restorative properties of caffeine helped. Her headache started to subside.

“I can't seem to get out of my own way,” she moaned. “I completely ruined Jason's big seduction scene.” She smiled at the memory of his carrying her into the bedroom. “There were candles and flowers and dinner with wine. Everything was wonderful. And then I got drunk and slipped into a self-induced coma.”

“It happens to the best of us.”

“So this has happened to you?”

He smiled. “Not really. I was just trying to be supportive.”

She closed her eyes and sighed. “My behavior was pretty adolescent, but I felt really good at the time. I just forgot to put on the brakes.”

“Lesson learned.” He seemed way too chipper. “Are you ready to hit the shower? We're supposed to be in Berkeley today looking for Daniel Chen. Remember?”

She nodded her head and felt a wave of dizziness. “Sure, give me about thirty minutes. I'll be with you.”

“I'll wait for you in the kitchen.”

She staggered out of bed to slowly make her way toward the bathroom. Adjusting the spigot to the proper temperature, she put her head under the hot spray to let the water wash over her. Steamy air and deep breaths helped to clear her head. The residual pain and nausea slowly slipped away.

As she carefully stepped out of the shower, she discovered her equilibrium had returned. She dried herself and ran her fingers through her short, coarse hair. Her clothes—a black tee, black jeans, and black trainers, along with a change of underwear—were rolled up in a small satchel next to the bed. She dressed hurriedly before making her way to the kitchen.

Coleta stood at the stove and smiled knowingly at Bai while welcoming her in a cheerful voice. “Good morning. I hope you're hungry. I wasn't sure what you liked, so I made a little of everything.”

A warming plate filled with bacon and sausage, biscuits, gravy, and potatoes rested on the counter. The expectant look on the housekeeper's face compelled Bai to take a seat at the table while hiding her embarrassment. In a soft and reticent voice, she said, “Perhaps just toast and coffee this morning.”

“I can prepare eggs any way you like them. The pancake batter is already made.”

“Thank you, but no. This is fine,” she said, pouring herself a cup of coffee as Lee watched her from across the table. “You're not eating?”

“I had pancakes earlier.” He turned to Coleta. “They were delicious.”

Obviously taken with him, Coleta beamed. “I'm so glad you enjoyed them.”

“Would you care to join us?” Bai asked.

Coleta hesitated a moment before pulling at the ties on her apron and removing the garment as she walked around the stove to join them. She sat across from Bai and filled a cup with coffee. After she'd taken a sip, Bai addressed her. “I'd like it very much if you and your husband would stay on as caretakers for this property.”

Coleta visibly relaxed and seemed to brighten at the news. “Fausto and I were hoping that would be the case. We've lived here for fifteen years and have come to think of this as home.”