Can't Hurry Love (21 page)

It was so hard to breathe, let alone swallow, as she absorbed his familiar face. It took two tries, then she licked her lips. “I am crying,” she whispered. Then she took another breath and smiled. “And so are you.”

His hand jerked up. He wiped the moisture away with the heel of his hand, clearly embarrassed. “I . . . seeing you with a baby . . .”

“Liam!” Penn was at the end of the row now, driving one of the Bennett ATVs. “Coming?”

He glanced back, then looked at Giuliana again. Another tear trickled down his lean cheek.

“Liam!” Penn yelled. “Get your ass in gear!”

When Liam flipped his brother off, she could almost laugh. “I . . . I don’t know what to say . . .” he started, his voice hoarse.

You have to learn to live without fear.
“Maybe . . . maybe I do.”

He scrubbed the heel of his hand against his face, his gaze suddenly hard on hers. “Jules?”

“Go with Penn,” she urged. “I’ll be at your house tonight. At eight.” Though they had so much to accomplish, the sisters had sworn to each other they’d clear out before then. She and Allie had agreed on one thing. They had to ensure Stevie got plenty of rest.

Now Giuliana hoped her message was clear. He’d told her she’d have the place to herself if she came before seven. She would arrive later, when the two of them could be alone. Together.

Her message must not have been clear, Giuliana thought. It was closing on eight P.M., and Liam hadn’t arrived back at his house. Or maybe . . .

He wasn’t interested in what she had to say.

That could be likely, given that he hadn’t responded to her call to his cell phone or her text. He’d not tagged her on her phone, either.

Alone in Liam’s house, she decided waiting wasn’t an option any longer. It was nearing full dark as she set off, taking the shortcut. It vee’d at one point, one leg going toward the winery. She took the other that led to the farmhouse.

Approaching the back door that opened into the kitchen, she heard laughter. Through the windows, she saw Penn and Jack moving back and forth. The husbands were cooking and the group looked relaxed and happy.

She hesitated. It wasn’t so much about being the fifth wheel. They wouldn’t close her out of their circle because she wasn’t paired up. But there was the Tanti Baci land—and her part in the threat to it.

Still, she steeled herself to join them. The laughter stopped when she pushed open the door. Jack smiled, though, and Penn, the most easygoing of the bunch, came forward to pull her inside. Her other brother-in-law poured her a glass of the cab they were apparently drinking with burgers and fries.

Her sisters didn’t give away their thoughts, so she surveyed the platter of red meat and the steaming batch of crispy fries on the counter. Fine, it looked great, but her maternal instincts reared their head.

“I hope you’re planning a salad to go along with that.”

Without a word, Stevie turned around to grab a bowl of watermelon slices she put on the table. Allie placed a bowl of greens, tomatoes, and avocado beside it.

She could feel the weight of her sisters’ gazes. It was nothing compared to the weight of responsibility she’d felt since she was sixteen . . . no, before that. Could they understand? “She always told me to look after you. When she knew she was dying of cancer, she said it was my job. That I would be a good mother to the two of you.”

“Oh, Jules,” Allie said.

Giuliana covered her eyes with her hand. “I was so sad when she died.”

It was Stevie who touched her. She put her arm around her shoulders. “You were the one closest to her.”

“She loved all of us equally,” she replied, hearing the fierce tone of her voice.

“Of course,” Stevie said. “I get that. But I also get that you being the oldest put a heavier burden on you.”

“When things changed with Liam . . .”

“You mean when you started kissing Liam,” Allie put in, a bubble of laugh in her voice.

That lightness lifted her heart a tiny bit. “I found new happiness. It wasn’t so dark everywhere.”

“Oh, Jules.” Allie again.

“But I left you guys. I wasn’t supposed to.”

“Giuliana.” Stevie spoke with the confidence of a woman who had figured out things about her own life and love. “You didn’t abandon us. We were constantly talking. You monitored closely—very closely at times, I’ll say—what we were doing.”

“I should have stopped Allie deciding to marry Tommy when she was barely out of high school,” Giuliana confessed.

“Pfft,” Allie responded, waving a hand. “I couldn’t be swayed and I see now why you didn’t say I was too young—hello, pot, kettle—but that’s not about you.”

Penn moved close to his wife. His hand smoothed the back of her long hair. “Okay?”

She sent him a smile and then went on tiptoe to kiss his mouth. “Okay. But man, are these oldest siblings annoyingly over-responsible.”

Giuliana’s mind instantly turned to the man who wasn’t home. “Liam . . .”

“Also annoyingly over-responsible,” Penn confirmed.

“Do you know where he is?”

His half brother shook his head. “Is something wrong?”

“No.” She didn’t want to admit he’d stood her up.

“Will you eat with us?” Stevie asked. “Allie’s getting fat. We can halve her portion.”

The youngest Baci gasped. “I am
not
getting fat.”

“That’s not what you said when you tried on my blue butterfly top.”

“Wait.” Giuliana felt compelled to jump in. “Wasn’t that
my
blue butterfly top?”

Stevie grimaced. “That’s right. I borrowed it a while back. Before the fire.”

“Doesn’t matter. It never looked good on me.”

“The butterfly top doesn’t look good on anybody,” Allie declared. “Can the three of us at least agree on that?”

Giuliana found herself smiling at them. This is what she’d missed and what she wanted again. Borrowing clothes, exchanging frank opinions, being sisters again. Being sisters always. “The Three Mouseketeers,” she murmured.

“Ladies,” Jack interrupted, “I’ll burn that blue top if we could all just sit down and eat. I’m starving and Stephania has Fabulosa to consider.”

Giuliana was too restless for a meal. “I’m on my way.”

Allie caught her hand. “Really, Jules. Stay.”

“No, not for dinner.” She squeezed her sister’s fingers. “But about the other . . . yes.” Whatever happened with Liam, she belonged in Edenville, with her sisters and working to keep the Tanti Baci legacy alive.

Her sisters exchanged glances. “Yes?” they said together.

She nodded. “Yes. The contract with the Bristols was just in the exploration stage and I’m not selling a square foot of family land unless we all agree. I say we carry on with the Vow-Over Weekend and then we carry on making wine for the next one hundred years just as we have for the last.”

She made it out without a meal but could live for a long time on the hugs and happiness that had filled the kitchen. Penn had wanted to drive her back to the Bennett house, but she’d insisted he sit down to dinner. The walk would do her good. If Liam was still AWOL by the time she returned, she’d pack up her grocery bags and head back to her sisters.

They’d likely torture the truth out of her, but a pity party might be just what she needed. Getting over him wasn’t an option, but she’d have to find a way to deal. Running away had never worked and she refused to try it a second time.

The sound of tires on the gravel drive had her heart leaping. Liam? But it wasn’t his Mercedes. Instead, it was Kohl’s dusty Jeep. He braked beside her and rolled down his window. “Can we give you a lift somewhere?”

Giuliana waved at Grace, then shook her head. “I’m fine.”

“We’re going out to dinner. Want to come?”

“No, thanks.” She hesitated. “But, uh, have you seen Liam?”

Kohl glanced over at Grace. “No. Not since we buttoned up for the night. Do you need something?”

“No. I just sort of . . . lost him.”

The vineyard manager looked at Grace again. There was a moment of silence, then the other woman piped up. “I think he’s at the wedding cottage.”

“What?”

“Anne and Alonzo’s cottage,” Grace said.

Why would he be there? Had they gotten their signals crossed? “Did you see him, Grace?”

“I, um, think I did.” It was difficult to read the other woman’s expression in the darkness, with only the dashboard glow to see by. “Shall we go with you to check it out?”

“No.” Still puzzling over it, Giuliana waved them on their way. “Go on and have your dinner.”

She watched them continue toward the road, then hurried in the opposite direction. It seemed all was in order as she approached the winery buildings. The newly erected tents stood undisturbed. The caves and administrative offices were quiet, the security lights creating small puddles of brightness in the dark. Beyond them was Anne and Alonzo’s cottage. Her heart started pumping. Besides the security lights there, she could see another light glowing inside.

Liam. She paused a moment to gather her thoughts, then started forward again.

She had to look for what she’d lost.

As she mounted the steps to the porch, she could see that one of the double front doors was ajar. Her rubber thongs rendered her steps silent and she paused again before crossing the threshold. Risk never came easy.

On a deep breath, she pushed open the door. It let out a little squeal.

A man turned.

It wasn’t her husband.

This dark-haired person stood beside the table set with bottles of
blanc de blancs
and glassware. A coil of rope sat beside them. The lacy tablecloth was askew and one of the wine bottles had fallen to the floor.

It rested against Liam, who was lying there, too, his body still, his eyes closed, a trickle of blood on his forehead.

20

Giuliana’s heart slammed against her ribs and she took a step forward just as the thinking part of her brain kicked in.
Run!
it said.
Get help!

But the stranger beside Liam spoke, too, in an accent she found vaguely familiar. “Come on inside, ma’am.” There was a gun in his hand, pointed at her. She might have still chanced flight, except then he pointed it at the unconscious Liam. “You try to leave, I’ll shoot him.”

She didn’t move a muscle in either direction. “What do you want?”

He shook his head, ignoring her question. “You’re early. Who told you we’d be here?”

“Grace—” she began, and at the word she knew his identity. Not a stranger. Grace’s ex-husband. He’d approached her at Vincenzo’s when she was there with Liam. And then again, on the Edenville street. He’d been wearing a ball cap that day and talked to her about his voodoo aunt and his superstitions.
This guy had been watching her.

“Ah, Grace.” He gestured her inside with his free hand. The hand with the gun continued aiming downward, at Liam. “As soon as I take care of you, the two of us will be back together.”

Giuliana came farther into the room, her steps slow.

“Sit down, sugar. I need to deal with your husband before I get to you.”

Get to me
how
? Deal with him how?
her brain screamed. But she tried appearing calm as she slid onto the last bench at the rear of the room. Twisting in her seat, she could see both him and Liam. “What’s, uh, what’s your name?”

“Daniel.” He leaned down and fished under Liam’s inert body. When he straightened, he had a cell phone in his hand. “He whipped this out pretty fast. I don’t think he managed to call, though.” His thumb moved and she guessed he was checking the log.

“What, uh, do you want, Daniel? I don’t have my purse with me, or even my keys to the winery offices, but I could get them. We have a little bit of cash there.”

He glanced at her, his expression scornful.

“Or wine! We have wine!” She gestured to the bottles on the table beside Liam. On the opposite wall was another table with even more
blanc de blancs
. “That’s a sparkling white, but we make a chardonnay and a very nice cab, too.”

“I don’t want your money or your liquor, sugar.” He pocketed Liam’s cell phone. Then he strode toward her.

She slid down the bench. “What
do
you want?”

He held out his palm. “Your phone.”

Stalling seemed like a good idea. “Why would you want that?”

Annoyance crossed his face. “Sugar—”

“I don’t know why you’re here. I don’t know why you’d want anything to do with me and Liam.”

He glanced over his shoulder. The body on the floor was so still.

How bad was Liam hurt?
“Let me go to him,” she pleaded. “I know first aid.”

“He’ll be fine,” Daniel said. “I just coldcocked him with my gun. The fire will do the rest.”

Her blood didn’t run cold. It just stopped running altogether. And her mind went very, very quiet. “Fire?”

“I wasn’t trying to hurt anybody with that arson at the apartment. I just wanted Grace out of there. I thought if she didn’t have a place to stay, that she’d come back to me.”

Giuliana swallowed. “It was you who started that.”

“Mmm.” He shook his head. “I didn’t think she’d really go through with it . . . leaving me. Sure, I knocked her around a few times, but that’s the only way to get through to her. Her dad told me that.”

Giuliana’s fingers curled into fists. She wasn’t stupid enough to take a swing at him herself, but she wanted to knock
him
around, she did. After she’d been mugged, she had revenge fantasies for months. They were all coming back to her.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Liam twitch. Her belly tightened.
Don’t call attention to yourself,
she thought, sending him the silent message.
Don’t give him another excuse to hurt you.

“I remember our conversation on Market Night,” she said, babbling whatever came into her head so Daniel would keep focused on her. “I remember you have an aunt who practices voodoo.”

“Yeah.” He frowned at her. “Now hand me your phone.”

She slowly stood. “I don’t have one on me,” she said.
Damn.
It was a fact. She must have left it at the farmhouse. Wearing only her jeans and a Tanti Baci T-shirt, it was easy to prove the truth of her statement. “See?” She patted her front pockets, then twisted to show there was no telltale bulge in the back ones, either. Remembering something Grace had once said to her, she tried looking apologetic. “I’m forgetful. My papa said all three of us girls put together were hardly as useful as half a son would be.”

Daniel’s mouth quirked. “Grace was like that. Always forgettin’ stuff. I like raspberry jam on Saturdays, not strawberry. I decided I like my shirts washed inside out, but could she remember that?”

Petty bully, she thought to herself. Who knew you could be scared spitless and incensed at the same time? She bet if Grace remembered raspberry was his Saturday favorite then the next weekend he’d change it back to strawberry. Instead of showing her disgust, she sighed. “I have a memory like a sieve.”

Still searching for another delay tactic, she darted her gaze around the room. It snagged on the framed photograph on the fireplace mantel with some other vintage Tanti Baci memorabilia. The items used to sit in the display case damaged during the vandalism. Hah. She could guess the culprit of that crime now.

Her eyes focused on the picture of Anne and Alonzo, arm in arm between flourishing vines. “Uh, what was it you said about evil spirits, that day we met up?”

“You don’t want to wake ’em.” His brows came together and he cocked his head. “What made you mention that?”

“It’s just that we’re here in the wedding cottage.” Behind Daniel’s back, Liam’s legs moved again. Then she saw him wince and his eyes half opened. She raised her voice, hoping to help orient him. “We’re here in the cottage of the couple who founded the winery, Daniel. My great-great-grandparents. They’re supposed to haunt the place.”

The man twitched. “Nah.”

“Oh, yeah. When you were married, didn’t Grace ever tell you that? It’s common knowledge in Edenville.”

“She’s a quiet thing,” he said. “When I get rid of this place, then she’s going to see that she needs to come back to me. Without a job, she’ll have to.”

Panic tightened her throat.
Get rid of this place?
“Tanti Baci has been in my family for a hundred years.”

“Yeah? Grace was my wife for three. She’d still be my wife if you hadn’t given her a job.”

“I’ll fire her. Right now. Give me Liam’s cell phone, and I’ll call her this instant and tell her not to come to work tomorrow.” She’d call 911 first. Or after. She just needed to get her hands on that phone!

Daniel sighed. “My wife is stubborn when she gets a mind to be. You could fire her and she’d still be back here tomorrow. I think it’s best if I stick to the plan. Burn the place down, with your meddling self and your husband inside the cottage. I’ll get the offices next. That farmhouse while I’m at it.”

“Oh, Anne and Alonzo will be very unhappy if any of that happens.” Giuliana didn’t have to fake her shudder.

“How quickly does a vineyard burn?” Daniel asked, as if it was a perfectly natural question.

Perfectly natural to discuss the destruction of her heritage. Her family. Not only was he talking about harming her and Liam, but Allie, Penn, Stevie, and Jack were at the farmhouse. And Myauntiescool Andspoilsme.

Her blood
was
running cold now, but a fiery resolve was kindling in her belly. “Anne and Alonzo would really hate for something to happen to the vines,” she asserted. “People have seen them, you know. Their ghosts. We had a man make off with some of our root stock once. Not half a mile away, he ran into a ditch and was thrown through his windshield. As he lay dying, bleeding from a wound that sliced his scalp from his skull, he whispered to the emergency workers he saw Alonzo Baci standing in the middle of the road, a pitchfork in his hand.”

There was a sheen of sweat on Daniel’s upper lip and a little tic was fluttering the corner of his right eye. Over his shoulder, she saw that Liam was on the move, crawling toward their captor, the wine bottle that had been beside him in his hand. Her heart started beating in double time, but she didn’t let her focus stray.

“Then there was what we call the Dick and Balls incident.”

Daniel swallowed. “What was that?”

“Some young buck was riding his motorcycle through the rows, trying to impress my baby sister. He lost control and plowed through several vines. The motorcycle went down and he slid along the dirt, only stopping once his—well—private parts were speared by a stake his wild riding had dislodged. He begged the two people that appeared beside him for help, but they just laughed at his predicament. Later he identified them as my great-great-grandparents.

“We call
him
. . .” Noting the creeped-out look on their captor’s face, she paused for effect.

Daniel licked his lips. “You call him—”

Pop!

The sound cracked like a gun shot. Daniel jumped, whirled, his arm lifting.

From the opposite direction:
Pop! Pop!

When he spun the other way, Giuliana shoved at him with all her might. He stumbled into Liam, crouched at his feet, who took advantage of the other man’s imbalance and yanked him down, his hands going for the wrist of the arm with the gun. Giuliana leapt onto the villain’s chest, then gripped his hair in her hand and lifted his head, only to slam it into the ground.

Adrenaline pouring through her like rocket fuel, she slammed it again. Then again. Nobody threatened her land or her family. Nobody hurt her man. She slammed it again.

“Jules.” She heard her name from a thousand miles away. “Jules, he’s out.”

Her fingers still cramped in Daniel’s hair, she looked over. Liam had the gun and he was rising to a stand. “I’ll get the rope.”

She was breathing hard and her hand was locked in a claw she couldn’t straighten. When Liam returned with the coil, he gently pulled her free. As he began unraveling the rope, she crawled toward the fallen cell phone. She wasn’t convinced her knees would bear her weight.

“Clever you,” she said, her voice a croak as she bypassed the puddle of wine spilling from the abandoned bottle. “Popping the cork. It sounded like a gunshot and startled him.”

Liam grunted as he rolled Daniel over so he could tie his hands behind his back.

“But you just had the one bottle,” she said, frowning. “How’d you make those other two blow?”

Liam slid her an enigmatic look. “I didn’t.”

Less than twelve hours after the police carted off Daniel Mowdray, Liam let himself back into the wedding cottage. His belly jumped as his gaze found a figure silhouetted by the window.

His pulse didn’t stop its chatter when he saw that it was Giuliana. “You should be back at the farmhouse,” he said. He’d made sure she was safely there, surrounded by her sisters and their husbands, before he’d headed for his own home in the early-morning hours. “You’ve got to be exhausted.”

She drifted toward him, looking anything but tired in a pair of faded sweatpants and her “You Had Me at Merlot” T-shirt. Her expression was relaxed and there was a pretty flush on her cheeks and a sparkle in her tip-tilted eyes.

“I feel pretty great,” she said.

“You look pretty great,” he murmured.
Beautiful.
“But what are you doing?”

“Reclaiming the cottage. I’m not letting that sleaze contaminate one of Tanti Baci’s treasures.”

He nodded, proud of her. Not just for that, but because he’d found out last night that she was giving second chances a shot and had decided against selling the land. It made the success of the Vow-Over Weekend just that much more important. “I talked to the police. I think we can keep the incident quiet, at least until Sunday when the celebration is over.”

“Last night you told them the Vow-Over Weekend was why you were here. Someone called who said he was from the tent rental company?”