Matt—The Callahan Brothers (Brazos Bend Book 2) (32 page)

Twenty minutes later, Matt worked the register to total the two couples’ orders.

Torie waited until the door closed behind them before she whirled on Les. “Six hundred dollars? Good grief, Les.”

“Just wait until later this afternoon when the tour buses pull up loaded with riders already three sheets to the wind,” Matt said. “I predict come five o’clock, we don’t have a single bottle of Four Brothers blended red left to sell.”

At that point, another group of visitors entered the winery and Torie soon found herself smothered in work. The handcrafted items sold as quickly as the wine, and she was back and forth from the storage room so often that she wished she’d worn sneakers rather than sandals. But just like Les had promised, she was having fun—until a pack of local casserole queens arrived to spoil her mood. There were five of them, three brunettes, two blondes, and a redhead.

It started innocently enough, lots of oohs and ohs over her engagement ring, and questions about the Bali wedding. Then one of the brunettes dropped the little tidbit that Matt once had been engaged to be engaged to a local girl, but dropped her like a scalded cat after she wanted to move the wedding date closer.

“Engaged to be engaged?” Torie questioned, keeping the smile planted firmly on her face. “I’m not familiar with the conventions of that idea.”

“Well, some folks call it goin’ steady,” said the blonde. “Here in Brazos Bend, girls ask for more commitment from a fella before ... well ... you understand.”

Oh, yeah. She understood. These women were looking to cook up trouble. Torie wanted to ask them what year they thought they might finally graduate from high school. Instead, she acted more direct. “Matt told some girl he’d marry her to talk her into bed? How old was he? Sixteen? Fifteen?”

The girls shared a glance that proved her point, so Torie continued. “If girls believe what boys tell them at that age, then shame on them. So, are you here for the wine tasting? Les will be happy to take care of you.”

Maybe that would mellow them a bit.

The redhead dawdled behind the rest. She smiled apologetically, but the look in her eyes was hard. Torie figured she must be one of the legion of Matt’s old girlfriends. She’d have asked him, but the coward had retreated to the storeroom the minute the women walked through the door. She spied him keeping an eye on things from the doorway, but the local girls never did.

The crowd swelled and visitors exchanged stories with one another, the opening of the new wine bar, market, and bistro down Highway 16 causing the most stir. Talk about the gourmet take-away menu had Torie’s mouth watering. Why couldn’t Matt have taken her for chicken-and-truffle lasagna on a vineyard picnic instead of fried catfish served beneath a stuffed cow head?

“Have you considered adding a gourmet market to the winery?” she asked Les after the local women wandered outside to giggle and gossip.

“It’s on the drawing board on down the road,” he replied. “That and an art gallery.”

Now, that surprised her. “An art gallery? In Brazos Bend?”

“Fine art belongs everywhere,” he replied, his tone just a bit chastising. “You might tuck that into the back of your mind. After seeing those bluebonnet pictures of yours ... if you decide to give up celebrity chasing, you might consider taking your talent in that direction.”

She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Well, that’s the nicest compliment I’ve had in a long time. Thank you, Les.”

“Don’t dismiss him,” Mark said from behind her, just inside the storeroom, after Les moved back to the tasting bar.

Startled, Torie twisted around, “Mark, I didn’t see you.”

“That’s the idea,” he muttered. “About Les, just so you know, when he comments about art, you should listen. Have you heard of Warfield Galleries?”

“In New York?”

“And London and Tokyo. That’s his family. His sister is the director.”

“You lie,” Torie said.

“All the time, but not about this.”

“But I thought Les was career navy.”

“It’s that black sheep thing. It’s why he and Matt hit it off so well.”

“Matt’s not the black sheep of the family,” she protested.

“We’re all black sheep,” Matt said, taking Torie’s arm and guiding her away from Mark and over to a display case where a young man wanted a woman’s opinion about an Anduze pot he was considering as a gift for his wine-loving future in-laws.

Torie was wrapping up the pot when the casserole queens darted back inside, catching Matt before he could make an escape. The brunettes gushed over his Four Brothers label reds; a blonde waxed on about the port. The redhead hung back a bit, speaking only to ask a question when Matt explained how Les bought grapes from other growers to make the Four Brothers wines until their vineyards matured and grape production increased. Watching the women and Matt, Torie gained a new understanding of his desire to go to extreme lengths to avoid the babe parade, to use his term. Imagine how bad it would be if he weren’t engaged.

The redhead noticed her watching and wandered over. “I understand Mark was hurt in some sort of accident. Is he doing all right?”

“Yes, he’s ...” Torie let her voice trail off. Mark was lying low even more than Matt. What if this chick wasn’t Matt’s old girlfriend, but Mark’s? He wouldn’t want Torie telling her that he was hanging around the back room.

Good Lord, if they knew there were two unmarried Callahans around, the gaggle of women might double in size. Triple. “Mark is fine.”

“Is he staying at Matt’s lake house?”

Torie glanced over at Matt, but he was busy smiling at the blonde. From what she understood, Matt’s ownership of the lake house was still a secret. She decided to play clueless. “What lake house?”

The redhead acted embarrassed. “Oh, I’m sorry. That’s just gossip. The girls said a fisherman spied a couple of fancy boats in an isolated boathouse and people are thinking they might be Matt’s. I guess the house is a long way from here by water, but rather close by land.”

“I wouldn’t know.” Torie said it flatly, abruptly, in an attempt to shut her up and put her in her place, but the redhead didn’t take the hint.

“I know you must think I’m being terribly intrusive, but I worry about Mark. We have a ... connection.”

“What did you say your name was?” Torie asked just as the door opened and a lone man stepped inside. A man Torie recognized.

“Michael?”

Matt’s head jerked up as he went on immediate alert.

“I need to talk to you, Torie,” Michael Harrison said, moving toward her, his voice fierce and simmering with anger. “Now. Alone. I’m so done with your—oomph!”

Matt put him down in an instant.

He stood over the prone man, his boot on the back of Michael’s neck, his Glock in his hand.

Oh, wow,
Torie thought. He’d never shown her his martial arts moves. How sexy was that?

“Matt, it’s all right—,” she began as Mark and two other men rushed into the room with guns drawn. The casserole queens started screaming, someone dropped a ceramic cookie jar, and the tasting room emptied in a tipsy stampede.

“Torie!” Michael’s muffled voice exclaimed.

She couldn’t help it. Mirth bubbled up inside of her and she started laughing.

Les Warfield poured himself a glass of wine.

“Matt, it’s okay. I promise. Let him up. I know him. He’s Michael Harrison. He’s not my stalker.”

“How can you be sure?”

Helen sailed into the room. “Because Michael is my husband!”

***

Summoned by a half-dozen cell phone calls, the Brazos Bend Police Department sent two cruisers and the sheriff’s department sent one. They converged on the winery simultaneously. By that time Matt’s hired guards, Mark, and Les had cleared the parking lot, sending frightened visitors away with a gift and coupons for a free wine tasting on their next visit.

While Mark dealt with the law in the parking lot, Matt stayed inside and attempted to mediate a marital fight, ignore Torie’s requests for a martial arts demonstration, and prevent himself from disappearing into the cellar, tapping a barrel, and drowning his sorrows. The idea had way too much appeal at the moment.

“How long has your sister been married?” he asked Torie.

“Almost six months now.”

That took him by surprise. “I had lunch with your father in January and I asked about Helen. He didn’t mention marriage. In fact, he tried to set us up.”

“The general didn’t know she was married in January. In fact, he still doesn’t know. They’ve kept it secret from everyone. Well, everyone but me.”

“Why?”

“You’d have to know my father … oh, wait. You do know my father. You don’t know Michael’s mother, though, and she makes the general look like a lamb. It’s a long story that involves old promises and dreams of dynasties, and well ... I think there’s a patent in the mix, too.”

Matt rubbed his temples. A patent?

Across the room, Helen burst into tears and Harrison stormed away from her. He turned a glare on Torie, silently warning her against moving to comfort her sister. He advanced on her, saying, “This is all your fault.”

“Now, wait a minute,” Matt warned.

“Someone tried to kill her, so what does she do? She turns to you. Not me. Not her husband. Oh, no. Why, she doesn’t even pick up the phone and call me. I hear about it in an email. An email!” Harrison fisted his hands at his sides and got in Torie’s face. “I’m tired of the worry you cause her. I’m tired of her using you as an excuse not to face the general and be honest about our lives. I’m sick and tired of her always putting you before me!”

“Michael, don’t,” Helen said, her arms wrapped around herself.

“No, Helen. It’s time this was said.” He never took his angry gaze off Torie. “She’s dragged you into trouble all your lives.”

“That’s so not true,” Helen insisted. She stepped toward her husband and her sister. “She’s pulled me out of trouble all our lives. She has! She’s always protected me.”

“Was she protecting you when her stalker almost ran you over?” her husband asked snidely. “Hmm?”

Torie let out a whimper.

“Okay, that’s enough.” Matt stepped between Torie and her brother-in-law. It required all his discipline not to put the bastard on the floor once more. The jerk had hurt Torie’s feelings. Oh, she was trying to be stoic, but Matt could tell. Her eyes looked weary. “You’ll have time to sort through family issues later.”

“Matt is right,” Helen said. She wiped the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand. “What’s important now is Torie’s safety. Did I make a mistake? Have I put her at risk? How did you find us?”

“Certainly not from your phone calls,” Michael snapped, shooting his wife a furious look.

“I had a good reason for not calling, but I’m not talking to you until you calm down,” Helen shot back.

Michael folded his arms and stuck out his chin before answering Matt’s question. “I hired a private investigator. He found Helen right away.”

Looking at his wife, he clarified, “Well, he found Torie, and I knew you’d run to her. You always run to her. I swear I don’t know why you married me, Helen. The only thing you need me for is sex, and you honestly don’t need me for that, since you’re so beautiful and smart that all you’d have to do is snap your fingers and men would line up for the chance to be your lover.”

Matt schooled his features into an expressionless mask and hoped Torie had missed the vital piece of information in the midst of the man’s pitiable outburst.

“Wait a minute,” Torie interjected, dashing his hopes. “Did you say a private investigator found me? How?”

Matt thought fast. This was not how he wanted this to go down, so he interrupted, “Like I said, we’ll have time for all this later. It’s still Wine and Wildflowers weekend, and I imagine Les is about to chew nails for everything to settle back to normal. Helen, why don’t you take your husband over to the house, and y’all can work on your issues in private. Torie, I need you with me. If I have to face the tourists alone, it just might kill me.”

While he spoke, he smoothly separated Torie from the others and led her toward the door. Outside, his hired men had disappeared, he presumed back to their stations. Les picked up trash from the parking lot, while Mark spoke to the occupants of the remaining squad car. Matt recognized the cop as an old friend of Mark’s from high school.

“Matt,” Torie began. “I’m worried. I thought I’d covered my tracks, but if an investigator found me, the stalker could, too. Was it the instant message, do you think?”

“I think you don’t need to worry about it, Victoria. I’ll take care of you. You have my word. Let’s just—”

He broke off abruptly, thankful for the interruption, when his phone rang. He checked the number. Branch. For once, the old man had good timing. “Hello, Branch.”

Except it wasn’t Branch on the line, but Branch’s doctor. “You need to come to the hospital, Mr. Callahan. Your brothers, too, if you can find them. We have a situation involving your father. An emergency, if you will.”

Matt froze. “Another heart attack?”

“No, not that. Please come as soon as possible. It’s vitally important.”