Fifteen Weekends (13 page)

  Walking down the long corridor Amanda still felt shaky, desperately hoping she would not be sick again.

  “Miss Amanda, I am sure you have figured it out by now, but Vince asked us to move you out of your condo. Your roommate, Daniel was given the remainder of your half of the rent through the end of the year. I think you should call him because he was very confused as to what was happening.”

  A ghost of a smile crossed her face. Amanda could only imagine what Daniel was thinking. She had only informed him about Vince and the fact they had been dating for a short time just last week. Daniel’s head must have spun around like Linda Blair’s in
The Exorcist
. No matter, Amanda was relieved to be out of the condo with Daniel.

  “Okay yeah, that is good idea.” She paused for a moment, “Alex, can you do me a favor?”

  The light flipped on in the pantry and Alex began moving things around, when he looked back and said, “Sure anything, Miss Amanda.”

  “Can you just call me Amanda, please?”

  “I can absolutely do that,” he said looking at her and smiling. “Hey! I found some chicken broth and saltine crackers.” He was holding them up in her direction. She nodded and took a seat at the breakfast bar.

  “I cannot believe I got food poisoning. That is totally embarrassing. Did I throw up a lot in front of Vince?”

  “Not in front of Vince, just me,” he said winking at her.

  “Oh God, I am so sorry,” she said burying her face in her hands. “I’m so completely embarrassed.”

  Grabbing the can opener and the sauce pan he looked at Amanda and said, “I’m not sure if you know this about me, but I have seen far worse in combat.”

  “Yes, I suppose that is true.” 

  Amanda propped her arm up on the bar and rested her chin in her right hand. She watched Alex carefully pouring the broth into the saucepan and then stirring it. He took a glass from the cupboard on the left side of the refrigerator and poured some Gatorade.

  “Dr. Sherman said you were to rest and if you experience any more symptoms, we were to get you some over the counter meds.”

   “Fabulous, thanks for looking out for me, Alex,” she replied.

  The smell of broth filled the kitchen. Alex placed a few saltines in front of Amanda with the glass of Gatorade. Looking at her and smiling with both hands firmly placed on the counter, he said, “That is not a problem. I am just glad you are feeling better. Now, take a small bite of the cracker and a few sips of Gatorade. We will have you feeling better in no time.”

   “Oh shit! I need to call work. Oh no. No. No. No!” Amanda jumped up from the bar and was frantically looking for her phone. She remembered it was in the bedroom on the nightstand.

  “Amanda. I called your work and spoke to a gal who said her name was Katie. She was informed that you were ill and that is why you were unable to go to work today. She didn’t believe me,” he said with a deep sigh placing the bowl of broth in front of her.

  “Yeah, she’s kind of a bitch. So that doesn’t surprise me.”

  “You know,” he paused in a dramatic like fashion, “I used to listen to your radio show all the time, back in the day.”

  Amanda looked up from her bowl and stared at Alex. She was noticeably startled. Swallowing hard, she said, “You…you know who I am? How did you listen if you were in Afghanistan?”

  “Amanda, there’s no need to worry. Vince had me look into your past, but it seems your past is nothing that the public doesn’t know already.” Smiling sweetly at her, he continued, “Besides, I was in Kosovo and only in Afghanistan for one tour. I retired from the Army over seven years ago.”

  “Yeah, I guess I don’t have the best track record,” Amanda huffed. “So are you from Michigan originally then?”

  “We all have things in our past that we aren’t super thrilled about, but that is precisely why they are in the past. We learn from our mistakes and move on. Nope, born and raised in Detroit.” 

   “You sound like someone speaking from experience,” she said eyeing him intensely.

  “Like I said, I’ve seen war and it is ugly. But, I would go again…” his gaze shifted downward.

  Amanda smiled sweetly. She had a question on the tip of her tongue and she felt comfortable enough to ask Alex.

  “Alex, have you…have
you
killed anyone?” she asked with a bit of fear in her voice knowing what the answer could be.

  Alex was standing at the sink rinsing his bowl and spoon. He turned around and gave her a half smile saying, “What do you think Amanda?”

  She paused for a few seconds and replied, “I think you have.”

  Alex’s phone began to ring. “Excuse me Amanda, but I need to take this.” He turned and walked out of the kitchen. “Hey boss. Yes, everything is good here.”

  Amanda could no longer hear what Alex was saying, he was already down the corridor past the wet bar. Amanda checked her phone, there was a message saying she had twenty percent battery remaining. Hopping out of the chair she took her bowl to the sink and began rinsing it out.

  A few moments later Alex returned and said, “Vince has to stay in New York this weekend. He’ll be calling you once he reaches his apartment.”

  A frown appeared on Amanda’s face upon the delivery of that news, another lonely weekend without Vince. She padded back to the bedroom and flopped down on the bed.  Half an hour later her phone rang, it was Vince. They stayed on the phone talking and laughing for over an hour. Calmness swept over her body as she drifted peacefully to sleep.

Chapter Seventeen:

Emily

  The California breeze tousled Emily’s long brown hair as she attempted to tame it by putting it back in a low ponytail. From the passenger seat of the silver BMW 328i convertible, she peered through the grey tinted lenses of her sunglasses at Ethan, who was driving them over the Richmond San Rafael Bridge towards Sonoma. Ethan had managed to convince Clark to give him and Emily that Friday off. Ethan had plans for them to spend a romantic weekend together before they needed to be in Los Angeles the coming Monday.

  Enchanted by the idea of spending time with Ethan in Wine Country she agreed to the plan without hesitation. Emily had only been to California once, and all she saw then was LAX, before departing for Hawaii. So she was overjoyed at the opportunity to be able to view the stunning countryside and the rugged Pacific coastline, especially with her tour guide being a handsome native of the Golden State. 

  Emily’s phone began to buzz. It was a number she did not know, but she decided to answer in case it was work related.

  “Hello, this is Emily Greene.” The wind was so loud.  It kept her from hearing clearly who was on the other end of the line. No sooner did she end the call than her phone began to ring yet again. It was another number she did not recognize.

  “Miss popular today, aren’t you?” Ethan said smiling. Emily gave Ethan a half smile and shrugged as if to say
sorry
.

  “Hello, this is Emily Greene.”

  “Emmmilllyyy. Are
yooouuuu
going somewhere ttthhiiisss weekend?” a strange raspy voice groaned. “Are
you
with
Ethan
? Why didn’t you tell me
you
were leaving? I thought
WE
were friends, Emily,” the voice on the other end was snarling and laughing. Emily did not respond and immediately ended the call. Someone was trying to rattle her, but why?

  “Hey Em, are you hungry?”

  “I’m starving, Ethan,” she replied with a flirtatious smile.

  “How does sushi sound?”

  “I think having sushi in California is pretty much a top priority.”

  “Great. I know the best place in San Rafael,” he said placing his right hand on her left knee.

  Ethan and Emily arrived at Charlemagne Winery just before five in the evening, a beautiful hilltop property with breathtaking views of rolling vineyards, landscaped gardens, picnic areas and natural wetlands. Inspired by Mediterranean design influences and architecture, the estate displayed ornate tiles, covered walkways, roundabouts and a long winding driveway that went up to the property upon passing through the main gate. Gorgeous water fountains and trellises covered in ivy and flowers spanned the grounds. The building that housed the tasting room, marketplace and several large banquet halls was a stunning stucco façade with a clay tile roof. 

  The tasting room was packed with tourists and wine enthusiasts trying award winning Italian and California/French varietals. Ethan and Emily walked up to the bar and a young blonde woman wearing a white polo style top with the logo of the winery on it asked, “Which wines would you like to sample today?” 

  “We would like to try some of the California Varietals, the Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and the Pinot Noir please.”

  “Which one would you like to try first?”

  “Let’s go with the Sauvignon Blanc. It’s best to try whites then reds and the sweet wines should always be first,” Emily said.

  Ethan looked at Emily and then towards the young blonde and just smiled.

  “Very good, that is correct,” the young woman said. 

  Ethan smiled at Emily, whispering in her ear, “You look insanely beautiful today. Have I told you that?”

  Emily blushed and replied, “Thank you Ethan.”

  The young woman returned with the drinks and said, “Now you will notice the…”

  Ethan casually leaned into the bar and slowly waved his hand in the air in her direction. “I’m Ethan Carlson. Do you know if my parents, Tom and Jillian, are here?”

  Both Emily and the young girl exchanged looks of shock. She seemed to be mesmerized by Ethan, and after several seconds she snapped out of her trance, replying to him, “Uh…huh…yes, Mr. Carlson they are in the office upstairs.”

  “Kami is it? Call me Ethan, please, Mr. Carlson is my father.”

  She nodded her head and replied, “Yes, my name is Kami. I am so sorry
Ethan
.”

  “No need to apologize, Kami,” he assured her after taking a drink.

  Emily set her glass on the corner of the bar. She turned to Ethan and said, “What the fuck Ethan? Are you crazy or something? Why didn’t you tell me
this
was your family winery?”

  Ethan only smiled and winked at her. He was quite possibly fucking with her. Emily knew that Ethan’s family owned a winery, but she had no idea he was planning to introduce her to them and as what, his girlfriend?

  “Ethan, don’t you think it’s a little too soon? I…I …mean what will they think?”

  He reached out, took her hand and delivered a light kiss to her palm saying, “Emily, it’s only dinner. Please don’t worry. They
will
love you.”

  “Ethan, I don’t like surprises, and this quite frankly
is
a surprise.”

  As they finished the last sip of their Pinot Noir, Ethan took his money clip out and handed a fifty-dollar bill to Kami. She smiled and said, “Mr. er…
Ethan
this is too much, you are too kind.”

  “I insist you keep it, Kami, and thank you very much for the drinks.”

Taking Emily’s hand, Ethan led the way as they turned and walked away from the bar. Threading in and out of the crowd they came upon a grand tile staircase with wrought iron railings. They made their way upstairs, and Emily suddenly became quite nervous.

 
Is he taking me to meet his parents now?

  She wanted to pull away and run to the bathroom to check her makeup and pop a breath mint. Emily’s phone began to buzz again. She grabbed it out of her purse and saw it was the same number from earlier and hit ignore.

  “Who keeps calling you?” Ethan inquired.

  “It’s a wrong number,” Emily replied, her voice was tight. “I am sure when they hear my voicemail message they will realize they have the wrong person.” 

  They reached the top of the stairs, and Ethan clutched Emily’s hand, pulling her in close to him. Moving his hands to her waist, Emily looked up at Ethan. He lowered his chin and his lips met hers.

  “Come,” Ethan purred with a devious grin. “I want to show you something.”