Tess in Boots (22 page)

“
Oh yeah.” She rolled her eyes. “Himself.”

“
Himself?” I expected her to give me a name. To tell me something that would make sense of why he left the way he did.

“
Yeah, himself. At least, that’s the way it seemed back when we were kids. He left because he wanted what he wanted. And he didn’t care who got hurt because of it.”

Of course
she would think that, I realized. He told me he headed off to school right after they broke up, and she was stuck here, waiting tables.

“
I don’t think he’s ever loved anyone more than himself,” she said. “Don’t get me wrong. It’s not for lack of options. I’ve seen my share of women throw themselves at Thatcher over the years.”

“
Really?” Like it was so hard for me to believe. Like I hadn’t fallen for him, too.

She nodded.
“If I’m being honest, that’s a big part of why I was so awful to you. I assumed you were like the others.”

“
The others?”

“
Yeah. All those money-hungry girls trying to get their hands in his pockets.”

“
It’s not like that, DJ.”

“
I know. I thought it was at first. But now that I’m getting to know you a little better, I can see you’re different. It’s refreshing. You’re about the only girl who
hasn’t
tried to go after Thatcher’s inheritance check.”

“
That’s awful.”

“
Tell me about it. Anyway. I thought you were using him. Maybe because I didn’t want to think it was anything more.”

I nodded.
“Can I ask you one more thing?”

“
Yeah, sure.”

“
What was it you said about not trusting him? About him using me to get to Jake?”

“
Oh, that.” She stopped to take a noisy slurp of her drink. “It’s just no one’s sure why he’s back. Word is he came to get the vineyard. And he’s suing Sara. When I heard you were Jake’s sister, I assumed he was using you. I don’t know what for exactly. Maybe to get close to Jake somehow, to try and find something he could pin against them in court or something like that.”

That checked out, I realized, with what Sara said last night about the rumors.

But they weren’t true. Thatcher was helping her, out of sheer goodwill. At least, he was as far as I could tell.

S
he placed her napkin onto her empty plate. “But then, like I said, I saw you together. And I heard what he told Ms. Betty. Anyway, I hope you guys are happy. You’re a cute couple.”

There was a sinking feeling in my stomach, but I tried to smile through it. “
Oh, we’re not a couple. He left town. It was weird… and sudden.”

She looked confused.
“Are you sure?”

“Positive
. You know, it’s probably for the best. I’m going back home soon, myself. After the wedding.”

“
It seems so strange that he’d leave. I thought…”

“
Well, he did.” I sighed. “It seems strange to me, too. But he
did
leave, and he’s not coming back.”

“I don’t—”

“I have to run. I’m sorry.” I didn’t feel like talking about it anymore. I stood from the table and put my purse over my shoulder. “I’ll see you Friday. Thanks for dinner, and thanks for all your help.”

“
Wait! Let me grab you a catering menu.”

“
Oh. Right, thank you.”

She disappeared into the kitchen again, and I passed the time by digging around in my purse for my keys. I retrieved them as she popped through the door.

“Here it is,” she said. “Take a look, and call me if you have any questions. Oh, and don’t sit on this. You need to call in your order tomorrow.” She pulled a pen out of her apron and jotted something down on the menu. “There’s my cell. Why don’t you call me, and I’ll put in the good word?”

“Sounds
great.” I took the menu and, before I could talk myself out of it, I wrapped my arms around her. “Thanks again.”

She hugged me back.
“Yeah, well… it’s the least I could do. And hey, if Thatcher comes back and tries to pull something crazy, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Like I said, he thinks you’re pretty special. And I guess I think you’re all right, too.”

I smiled at her and headed out the door.

He thinks you’re pretty special.

It was a nice thought,
and I wished it were true. Perhaps it once was, but somewhere along the line, things changed. I had no choice now but to accept it. Thatcher was gone, and he wasn’t coming back. Not anytime soon, anyway.

CHAPTER 24

There was a light on
at the barn when I passed by on my way home.

A glimmer of hope welled up inside me. Was it him? Maybe he hadn’t left yet. Maybe I could still catch him.

I put the car in reverse, easing back toward the barn and parking outside. I took my time getting out. As much as I wanted to see him, I didn’t know what to say to him. Not after how things went last night.

But still. I needed to talk to him. I needed to make things right between us.

I held my breath as I walked through the entryway to the barn. A rustling sound came from the back room. I braced myself, then headed behind the bar and pulled the plastic curtain aside with a swift, purposeful motion.

“
Oh. Hey there, Tessy.”

I missed him
.
I could feel my heart deflating.

“
Hey,” I said, “have you seen Thatcher, by chance?”

“
I think he left. He went back home. Said he had some things to take care of.”

My face must have given
my disappointment away, because Jake furrowed his brow at me. “Why?”

I hesitated. Maybe I should tell him. This was Jake. My Jake. We always told each other everything. I took a breath, preparing to spill my guts.

But at the last minute, I decided against it. “No reason,” I said, looking around the barn for inspiration. “I was going to ask him if he could take care of installing a door there before the wedding.” I pointed to the heavy sheet of plastic.

“
Oh. I can do that for you, Tessy. You think of everything, don’t you?”

I shrugged.

He placed a hand on my shoulder and led me out to the main room. “Have a seat. Where’ve you been tonight?”

I didn’t want to have a seat. I wanted to find Thatcher; to chase him down on the highway. To tell him the things I heard from DJ. To ask him if they were true. To tell him how much I wanted them to be true.

But he was already gone. And
he
was the one who chose to leave. Besides, I came down here to visit with Jake, and we hadn’t had much of a chance to hang out lately.

I sighed and sat down on a stool.
“I was downtown meeting with a photographer and getting food lined up for the rehearsal.”

Jake stood behind the bar, opposite me, leaning over the countertop with a silly smile spread across his face.

“What?” I asked.

“
Nothing. I just think it’s fun to watch you in action.”

“
Maybe for you. But this is killing me. Who in their right mind plans a wedding in two weeks? Oh, I know. Someone who doesn’t have to plan it, that’s who. Someone who makes me run around like a madwoman while they throw money all over the place like it’s falling from the sky. These people are insane. I have half a mind to tell them so, too.”

“
Relax, Tessy. It will all work out.”

“
I’m not so sure.”

“I
t’s okay. You don’t have to be. Want to see something I’ve been working on?” he asked.

I didn’t. I wanted to go back to the cottage and let myself mope around for the rest of the night. But I could tell Jake was excited.

“Sure.” I leaned an elbow on the counter top and rested my chin in my hand.

“
You’re in for a treat, Tessy.”

He ducked down and produced a small white candle and a book of matches.

I must have given him a strange look, because he held up one finger and said, “Just wait.” He lit the candle, and then pulled an unlabeled bottle of red wine from behind the counter.

“
Thatch helped me get the bottling equipment working again,” he said. “We bottled one of the last barrels Carl left aging about four years ago. And this, my Tessy, is the result. An unfiltered, unfined Pinot.”

“
A what?”

“
It’s red wine with a bunch of dirt and junk in the bottle,” he said, looking pleased with himself.

I nodded.
“Ahh. Dirt and junk. The staple of any fine wine.”

“
Actually, yes.” Jake produced a corkscrew and uncorked the wine. “The
sediment
adds more body.” He spoke in a pretend snooty voice, playing the role of an experienced wine connoisseur.

“
Body?”

“
Flavor,” he said.

“
I like this little ambiance you’ve got going.” I gestured to the candle.

“
It’s not for ambiance. Observe.”

He pulled an empty glass container from behind the counter. Then he placed the candle next to it. He pour
ed the wine with the candle positioned directly under the neck of the bottle.

“
See there?” He pointed at the neck. “You want to make sure the sediment stays in the bottle and doesn’t get into the decanter. The light helps you see better when you pour.”

I watched him lick his lips with concentration as the wine trickled out into a perfect even stream.

“Where did you learn all this, Jake?”

He stopped pouring and set the bottle down on the counter.
“Eh. Here and there. Trial and error. I’ve read some books, and Thatch taught me a bunch of stuff. It’s interesting to me.”

The flicker of the candlelight danced across his face. His eyes
shone as he picked up the decanter and swirled it around a few times. Then he pulled out two glasses and poured a small amount into each one. He pushed a glass over to me and held his up.

“
To trial and error,” he said.

I smiled.
“To trial and error.”

We clinked glasses and I took a sip.

“Well?”

I nodded.
“It’s good. I think. It’s… um, oaky, maybe?”

He laughed.
“You’re funny, Tessy. But yeah, it’s good. It’s not bad at least. And hey, that’s a start.”

“
What does Sara think?”

He looked down and shook his head.
“I didn’t tell her.”

“
You should. She’d be impressed.”

“
I doubt it. Things are a little touchy between us.”

I placed my glass down and pushed it aside.
“Yeah?”

“
Yeah. I don’t think her confidence in me is at an all-time high.”

“
I’m sure it’s not so bad.”

He snorted a little.
“Oh come on, Tessy. You know how it is. Screwball Jake on another one of his kooky adventures. What ditch will he run us off into next?”

“D
on’t be so hard on yourself.”

“
No, it’s true. I don’t have a history of credibility in the taking-life-seriously department, do I?” He took another sip of his wine and smiled, but there was an unmistakable sadness in his eyes.

I didn’t answer.

“This is different though,” he said. “Something about this place feels… special. It feels right. There’s something about working with the land. Being close to the creation. It appeals to me. There’s so much history here. And beauty.”

“
You want to stay here, don’t you?”

“
I do. I want to make this place a home. And not just our home. Our life. Our livelihood. I like the pace of things out here. I like the idea of Sara and I doing something together as a family. Of raising kids out here.”

“
Are you guys thinking of having kids?” I was baiting him.

Come on, Jake. Tell me already so I can stop playing dumb.

“We’re doing more than thinking about it,” he said. “Congratulations, Aunt Tessy.”

I
smiled, relieved he took the bait. It would have been torture not being able to talk about it with him. “That’s wonderful news! When?”

“
He’ll be here in January,” he said.

“
He?”

“
I can’t explain it. I know it’s early, but I’m sure it’s a boy.”

So Sara still hadn’t told him about the twins, I realized.

“Promise you won’t say anything,” he said. “Sara would kill me for telling you this soon. No one knows yet.”

“
I promise.” Even though I knew it was coming, seeing Jake so excited about the pregnancy made me emotional. My throat was tight. “You’re going to be a great father.”

He swirled his glass.
“It’s changed me, you know. Becoming a dad. I find I’m taking things more seriously.”

“
That’s good,” I said.

“
Yeah. It is. But I’m still not ready to let go of this crazy dream that we could make it work out here.”

“
I understand. It’s a great place. I don’t know, Jake. A part of me wonders if it really is crazy. To think it could work, I mean.”

“
Yeah, well. Sara thinks it is.” He stared past me, out the barn door and into the night sky. “Things are tight. Here, and back home, too. And this place is hemorrhaging money. I know the smart thing to do would be to sell it. Use the profits to pay down some debts and get our life together before the baby. That’s what Sara wants to do. And she’s right. But I keep thinking we can turn things around and make it work somehow.”

I nodded and reached for the stem of my wine glass.

He looked back at me. “When we heard Carl died, and the vineyard was ours, Sara seemed so troubled by it. She couldn’t understand why he hadn’t left it to Thatcher. She wanted to give it to him. She tried, but he wouldn’t take it.”

I sat up straighter on the stool.
“Why not?”

“
I don’t know for sure. Partly because he wanted to step back and honor Carl’s wishes, I guess. I haven’t known him for too long, but he’s a good guy. Not the type to get in the way, you know?”

“
Yeah.” I kept my fingers busy by fiddling with some wax that dripped off the candle.

He sighed. “
Ah, well. At least we got to have a little vacation for a bit. It’s been nice.”

It pained me to see Jake so disappointed, so ready to throw in the towel.
“Don’t lose hope yet,” I said. “We’ve already got a wedding booked. Things could still turn around.”

“
It’s a nice thought, Tessy. But I have to get a grip on reality and sell. We’ll get through the wedding and enjoy a little more time here. Then we’ve got to move on. When we first came here, Sara and I agreed we’d give it until the end of the summer before we made a decision. But she’s starting to get impatient and thinks we should start the process sooner. And with the baby coming… she’s right. I need to let it go.”

I placed a hand over Jake’s and gave it a squeeze.

“I hate that I brought you here for nothing,” he said. “I thought we could hustle to turn things around and show her it would all work out. I shouldn’t have dragged you into this. I’m sorry, Tessy.”

“
Don’t be. You know, Jake, this has been good for me. I needed to get away, too.”

“
I bet you’re itching to get back home by now, huh?”

“
You’d think so, but no. Not at all.”

“
Don’t be silly, Tessy. You’ve got Logan to get back to. And there are hundreds of jobs up there. You’ll find something in an hour. Tops. You’ll see.”

It sounded strange, after all these years, for Jake to call Logan by his real name.

“He’s coming here, you know,” I said.

Jake did a double take.
“Who?”

“
Logan.” I gathered the dripping wax into a ball and rolled it in between my fingers.

“
When?” There was an edge to his voice.

“
After the wedding. He called me the other day and asked if he could come see me.”

He cocked his head. “
Really?”

“
Yeah.”

“
Huh.”

I looked down. “
It’s been so long. I don’t even know if we’ll have anything to talk about.”

“
That’s ridiculous, Tessy. You’ve been together forever.”

“
I know. But… there’s a lot to sort out, you know?”

He nodded. I didn’t want to tell him about the voicemail, or what Annie
saw. I didn’t have the energy. Not tonight.

“
It’s getting late.” I lifted my head and tossed the tiny ball of wax to the floor. “I should get going.”

“
Yeah.” He tapped the bar a couple times. “Same.”

“
The wine was good. What’s it called again?”

“
Pinot Noir.” He slipped back into his snooty connoisseur voice.

“
Well we should give it a real name.” I raised my eyebrows.