Kade's Game (20 page)

"How the hell did you convince a pretty girl like that to ride out here with you?" he jokes, prompting me to laugh as I make my way back toward the nervous girl.

Threading our fingers together, I pull her toward him, happy to make introductions.

"Granddad, this is Raya Capperton.  Raya, this is my grandfather, Thomas Colton."

"That's the best you can do?" Thomas pokes.  "You're supposed to introduce her as who she is to you as well.  That's how it works.  Friend?  Girlfriend?  Fiancée?  Wife?"

Wife?  He's lost his mind if he thinks I'm ever getting married.  But... what is Raya?  Shit.  We should have discussed this earlier.

"You'd know it if I got married," I say, stalling as I try to think of how to introduce Raya. "This is my... girlfriend?" I say, but I sound pathetic when it comes out as a question.

"Are you asking or telling?" Granddad teases, making me feel all the more awkward.  Of course he couldn't let that go.  God forbid he let me hold onto my dignity.

"I suppose... telling?"  Hell.  It sounds like a question again.

Why is such a simple question so hard to answer?

"I swear, boy.  If you have a girl
who looks like her, you say 'girlfriend.'  You don't stumble around like an idiot who's waiting on her to clarify.  Be a man."

Granddad was my favorite in the family.  Until this moment.

Raya bursts out laughing, and I'm sure I'm turning pretty damn red right about now.  Mean old man.

"Be a man," Raya adds, teasing me.  But it actually makes me relax to hear her joking about it.

"Don't encourage him," I grumble, making both of them laugh.

Her lips have the power of a siren's song, and I allow myself to crash against them for a kiss I wish I could take farther.

"Come on in.  Show her around," Granddad says, seeming amused when I pull back.

I'm sure that has a lot to do with the fact I've never once brought a girl around this place.  Plenty of girls I know have come, but I never brought them personally.  No one else would have appreciated it the way Raya is, so I'm glad she's my first.

As my own words resonate, an odd shiver runs through me, and I breathe in deeply.  Fuck it all.  I'm falling a lot harder than I meant to.

Once we're inside, I stand back and let her digest her new surroundings.  Her smile brightens as she looks around at the wines and sugary treats Granddad insists on having.  I'd prefer just the wines, but this place will always have all sorts of other things just because it'll make me think of him.

Raya moves slowly around the store, her eyes drifting to the signs in each room.  Then she tucks her hands in her pockets, suddenly seeming uncomfortable as she warily shifts away from a selection of wines.

"You good?" I ask, letting my fingers run through the strands of her hair that shouldn't feel so silky after our windblown trip out here.

"Paranoid," she says, eyeing one of the merlots and prompting me to laugh.

"If you break something, I'll try to talk to the owner about giving you a pass.  We're pretty close," I playfully retort, drinking in the sound of her laughter.

I could get used to seeing her smile and laugh like this everyday.  I'd prefer to never see her as lost as she looked when she got home today.

When a small silence descends on us, I realize she's waiting for me to speak.  Which is perfect, because I could talk wine all day.  At the risk of sounding incredibly pretentious, I start telling her everything in small, summarized bits.

I explain the grapes, Granddad's intuitions, and then I answer her questions about the wines.  She doesn't think I'm smug or boring.  She's smiling and genuinely interested.

Every time I tell her something new, her eyes light up, making my chest contract harder.  When she leans in
to me and starts asking more questions, something inside me snaps.

"I need to go check on a large order we're supposed to ship out tomorrow.  Care to hang out for a minute?" I ask, ignoring the thunderous thudding in my chest.

She smiles and offers me a permissive nod, and I kiss her cheek, needing distance and air.  As soon as I hit the outside, my knees give out, and I drop to an old rocking chair.  Hot and cold chills of panic, along with dread consume me, and I do what I can to keep my cool.  This wasn't supposed to happen.

Fucking shit.  I'm in love.

I've been looking at this
order for a while, and I've barely checked any of the crates.  Raya is in my head, consuming my thoughts, and eating me alive.  How did I let this happen?

"You keep staring at that page and I'm going to start worrying," Leonard says from behind me, startling me a little.

I've never been too fond of Granddad's lawyer being here so much.  I'm really not crazy about him helping out with the orders lately, but I can't seem to get my head out of my ass enough to concentrate.

"Just a little distracted," I murmur vaguely, rereading the same line of the invoice yet again.

"I'd be a little distracted, too, if I had a pretty girl like that riding around with me."

Even he has to go and remind me of Raya.

I look away from the invoice to see him smiling.  He circles the table, keeping that grin on his face.

"You two serious?" he asks, his probing unwelcome.

I really don't need questions like this right now.  I'm having a minor panic attack as it is.  Are we serious?  Apparently we're both too serious too early.

"Have you already inspected this order?" I ask, changing the subject.

He moves around, glancing at the invoice I'm struggling with.

"Three times, but you're welcome to inspect it again."  His suppressed grin seems mocking, but I choose to ignore it.

"I'm sure it's fine," I mutter, finally dropping the invoice and giving up.  I shouldn't be this distracted for any reason.

"We've got some larger orders coming in next week.  They came out, tasted the wine, and now they're desperate to have us.  Not to mention, there's also the huge account you landed for the millionaire wedding.  Never had a wedding out here," he says, not seeming thrilled about the fact I scheduled the Marlone family to hold their epic wedding here.

The press they'll receive will bring us even more business, so I couldn't pass it up.

While walking with him, I try to pay attention as he runs through next week's schedule, but there's only one thing on my mind, and I need to talk to her.  We have to slow this thing down between us.  I think.  Fuck, I don't know.

Leonard rattles on just as we round the corner, and Raya comes into view, standing comfortably next to my grandfather as she cradles a bottle of wine.  Figures he'd give her a bottle.  I was going to do that, but he likes stealing my thunder.

Putting the confusing mess of unaddressed emotions to the side, I make my way toward them.

"And that's Leonard Mars, my lawyer who keeps all the licenses, contracts, and legal things running just as smoothly as Harry keeps the farm," Granddad says, seeming entirely too chipper.

Raya already has him wrapped around her finger, it seems.  In fact, I think my entire family and extended family love her.  Love
—damn that word.

"Vineyard," I say to irritate my grandfather, forcing a smile.

"It's a farm with a vineyard on it," he retorts, swatting at me.

I walk over to give Raya a small kiss, not wanting to let her know about my inner war.  The last thing I want is for her to pull away from me, so I need to sort my shit out without worrying her.

"I gave the girl a gift.  I told her I might not ever get this chance again," Granddad says, piquing my curiosity.

My stomach clenches when I see what she's holding, and I fight back the first wave of nausea.  Raya's smile falters when she gauges my reaction, but I can't help it.  This is
messed up.  What the hell did she say to him to make him give her the merlot?  Surely she didn't tell him that she loves me.  That's not like her.

"The '93 Merlot?  Have you lost your mind?" I ask Granddad, turning around to glare at him, but he's smiling as though this is just an ordinary, meaningless bottle of wine.

"My mind is one of the few things I haven't lost yet," he says playfully, but the warning is there.

I know better than anyone that there's no sense in arguing with him.  But why is he doing this?

It's then I see the tremble in his hands, and the soft words I overlooked come back and resonate. 
I might not ever get this chance again.
  The chemo is apparently not working as well as I thought, and he sure as hell won't tell me anything about it. This is too much to deal with right now.  Especially in front of Raya.

Swallowing hard, I wrap an arm around Raya's shoulder, ready to leave so I can get home and call Dad.  He'll find out how bad it is.

"We're about to head out.  We've got class tomorrow, but call me if you need anything," I murmur through strain, ignoring the way Raya tenses against me.

"Just worry about getting good grades and taking her out on special dates.  There aren't too many like her.  I can already tell," he says, hiding the pain that is probably gnawing at him.

Then he winks at Raya, making me look down at her, confused as to how the hell she wowed him so much in such a short span of time.  I'm forced to drop my arm off her when Granddad hugs her, shocking me.  He's about as uncomfortable with touching as I am—usually I'm his only exception.

I see him say something to her, but I don't know what.  Raya walks on out as I take my turn to hug him.

"I think you should have given her a less valuable wine," I murmur when Raya is out of earshot.

I grab a crate and some packaging materials as Granddad snorts in objection.

"Boy, that girl is going to be the best thing that ever happened to you.  You'd better wise up and see it before it's too late.  There are many things in life you never get a second chance at.  Believe me when I say I know.  Now go.  Take that girl home and be the man I taught you to be."

He claps my back as though he just spoke words of wisdom.  I'm still trying to figure out what the hell happened in the short time I left them alone.

Raya has the trunk popped, eyeing it uncomfortably while hugging the bottle of wine when I make it outside.  I take large strides to make it to her, clutching the crate much too hard.

"I've got it," I say, my tone more clipped than I mean for it to be.

I take the time to wrap it up tightly in the bubble-wrap, and then I bury it perfectly in the straw.  She watches me, but I can't look at her right now.  My mind is still reeling and needing answers.

"I can't believe he gave you the '93 Merlot.  What did you say to him?" I ask, biting back the anger that is close to surfacing.

"I didn't tell him anything.  I don't want the wine, though.  You should keep it.  After all, it would mean more to you than to me."

I ignore her wounded tone and focus on her words.  She doesn't even appreciate it, so why did he just shove it at her?

"I've already got one.  This one and mine are the only two left," I say absently, fighting hard not to say anything else for fear of what might come out of my mouth.

"Please keep it," she says in a near whimper, obviously sensing my anger.

"If he wants you to have it, then you should keep it.  It's his wine to do with as he pleases."

I slam the trunk and walk away, needing to get us home so I can call Dad.  There's only one reason Granddad would part with that wine.  I don't understand why he gave it to a girl he knew for less than an hour, but that's the least of my concerns.

I don't say anything all the way back, and Raya stares out the window, keeping her hands balled up in her lap.  The silence is almost suffocating, but my mind weighs too much to force it to think of casual conversation.  Speed limit signs frown at me as I break all their rules, desperate to get home.

The second we pull into the garage, I leap out of the car and make it almost all the way to the door as Raya goes to pull the wine from the trunk.  My phone is in my hand before I head to the outside patio, needing privacy for the call.

"Just got off the phone with your grandfather.  I suspected I'd hear from you," Dad says, seeing no need in a simple
hello
.

"Did he tell you he gave Raya the '93 Merlot?" I ask, taking a deep, calming breath.

"He did.  Says Raya is the girl you're going to marry.  It apparently took him all of five seconds to see it.  I'm surprised it took him that long."

Psychos
.  I'm surrounded by crazy people.

"He gave her the '93 Merlot," I say slowly, hoping this time it clicks and he agrees how crazy it all is.

Instead, my father is silent.  Never is he silent.

"He's not doing good, is he?" I ask, sitting down as his silence carries on.

Dad clears his throat as though emotion has knotted up and is battling against him.  My own dread starts to manifest as a sick feeling crawls over me, wrapping me up with the same cling as a tacky spider web.