“You think I’m embarrassed about your father dating?”
He shrugged. “Aren’t you, like, jealous or something?”
“Oh no.” She shook her head. “Thank you for being considerate, but I really do not care about your daddy dating at this point. I am way past caring about that. Now, when he dates women three years older than your sister—”
“Oh my God, that was the worst.” Adam’s cheeks were bright red, bless him. He’d inherited his father’s coloring.
“If it helps, I have met the most recent woman and she’s a normal age.”
“Okay.” He looked away. “Cool, I guess.”
Megan still sensed there was something else going on. Something was bothering her boy, but she also knew how to pick her battles. He’d softened a bit—pushing him too hard would undo that.
“You can talk to me about anything, you know.” Megan leaned against the entryway wall. “Even if it seems embarrassing, I’d rather you just tell me and not keep it bottled up. That’s not healthy.”
“I know.”
“And I’m really not the meanest mom ever. I’m cool with stuff.”
He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, Mom, I know.”
“I mean, I’m hip.” She struck a pose. “With it. I know how to dance.” She started doing the Running Man in the middle of the entryway. Okay, it wasn’t as smooth as when she was Adam’s age, but it was close.
Adam closed his eyes. “Oh my God, Mom, please stop. Nobody does that anymore.”
“What are you talking about?” She kept going. “Don’t y’all do the Running Man anymore? I thought the nineties were cool again?”
“Not your version of it.”
“I’m sorry—I can’t hear you past the rhythm of my moves.”
Adam couldn’t stop laughing. “You need to stop so you don’t, like, hurt your hip or something.”
“Oh, you little shit.” She stopped and tried to nudge the back of his knee to trip him. “I’ll show you a hurt hip.”
Adam dodged her and laughed all the way down the hall. “Okay, bye. Good talk.”
“Love you, baby.” Megan watched him go, feeling a little lighter in her heart but still harboring the suspicion that something else was bothering her boy.
Then she headed to the kitchen to look for some ibuprofen because she could already tell that in a few hours, her hips were going to be screaming.
Chapter 12
After the long-planned-for Harrington wedding on Saturday afternoon, Megan was more than happy to make a cold side dish and hand over the rest of her weekend plans to the Dusi family extravaganza. She showed up at Frank and Jackie Dusi’s giant house overlooking the ocean with two kids, a large bowl of potato salad, and a mind half-full of dread.
She didn’t dread Toni’s family. Far from it, in fact. What she dreaded was the lingering suspicion that Drew Bisset had planted in her mind. Could one of these amazing, hilarious, and nosy people be the cause of Nico and Henry’s loss?
Even more, could they actually have taken a turn so violent that someone ended up in a shallow grave?
She walked up the long sloping driveway, passing a line of pickup trucks, small SUVs, and a few old station wagons. Family dinner for Toni’s clan usually ran between fifty and seventy-five people, with a few outsiders welcome and a whole lot of help from the entire family pitching in. The grandmas and aunties ran the kitchen part of the dinner while the grandpas and uncles ran the giant grill smoking in a corner of the yard.
And when Megan said giant, she meant giant. This was a trailer-style grill, the likes she’d only seen in rural California. An entire side of beef could be cooked on this charcoal-burning contraption with room for a few chickens around the outside.
And it smelled delicious. As they walked toward the backyard, the scent of smoke, salt, and garlic filled the air.
“Mom, can I go find Katherine?” Trina asked.
“I don’t know if she and Baxter are coming today, but sure, you can look.”
Cami stuck close to Megan. “Is Adam already here?”
“He was coming with his friends, so I think so.” Megan had tried to gently pry about what was going on that morning. She’d tried to ask him about school and get him animated about whatever he was doing on the basketball team. Unfortunately, he’d completely shut down again.
She put an arm around her youngest and felt Cami hug her back as they walked. “Hey, Cam, how has Adam been at school? Do you see him much?”
“Not really. The freshman and sophomores are on the shady side of the building, and the seniors and juniors are on the sunny side.”
“Bummer.”
“Ariel says it’s not, because she said the older kids used to really pick on the younger kids and this was the way they solved it. I only see Adam at assemblies.”
“What about at your dad’s house?” Megan couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going on. “How about then?”
Cami rolled her eyes. “Then he’s just, like, acting way more cool than me. I don’t want to bug him, Mom.”
“And you don’t have to.” She kissed her temple. “Adam’s choices are Adam’s choices. Don’t worry about him, okay? You are supremely cool.”
“Oh my gosh, Mom, that’s like the least cool thing you can say.” She shook her head. “Oh! Deirdre is here. I didn’t know she was related to Toni.” Cami waved at a girl who looked like she was around the same age. “Mom, can I—?”
“Go. It’s fine.”
Cami patted Megan’s arm. “I’m sure your friends are around too.”
“Keep your phone on!”
“I will.”
The last of her parental responsibilities appeared on the edge of the crowd in a group of around half a dozen teenage boys, all sporting variations of the same haircut and the same shirt.
Ah, the teenage years. Megan would like to say that she hadn’t been as conformist as her son, but she’d probably been more so.
“Hey, Atlanta,” a deep voice boomed behind her.
Megan turned and squinted into the sun as Nico walked toward her. “Hey yourself.” She ignored the feeling of Sugar doing cartwheels in her belly. “So were you a follower or a leader in high school?”
“Oh man.” He cracked a smile. “That was a while ago. Leader hopefully?”
“Did your hair always fit the latest style? Did you have a cool car?”
Nico scratched his beard. “I don’t think I remember how my hair was done. My sister cut it, but she was pretty good, you know? I think it was just… normal. And I was working and bought my own clothes by the end of high school, so I imagine I bought whatever I thought looked cool but was still cheap because I really liked saving money.”
“And your car?”
“My dad’s old work truck, so not much has changed.” His half smile turned into a regular grin. “How about you? Cheerleader?”
“Oh no, I was not athletic enough for that. I went to a real big high school and the cheer team was competitive. It went to national meets and stuff like that.”
“Way more than pom-poms?”
“So much. I was on the softball team though.” She mimed throwing a ball. “Center field. I was fast.”
“And had a good arm too, no doubt.” Nico watched the boys in their group near the barbecue trailer. “It was a different time. I don’t envy the kids now. I think everything in life has gotten a lot more competitive. I don’t think I would have gotten into Central Coast State with my grades if I had to apply now. I didn’t have any extracurricular activities.”
“Nothing?”
He shook his head. “I worked. Came home from school and went out to the fields. It wasn’t bad. My dad paid me fair, and I liked the money. I was kind of bored in high school.”
“So you worked and were really busy. Didn’t care much about your clothes or what you drove… You were the cool guy.” She smiled. “The mature, cool guy who was so over it all.”
He shook his head. “I don’t think—”
“Oh, but that’s part of the mystique.” Megan put a hand on his arm. “You can’t know you’re the cool guy. Or even care. The minute you care about being the cool guy, you’re automatically not the cool guy anymore.”
Nico chuckled. “Well then, I was very cool.”
“The coolest.”
“So cool.” He glanced at her. “This is a ridiculous conversation.”
“Not as ridiculous as the underhanded machinations of the mother of the bride yesterday.” Megan nearly growled remembering it. “I do not like when people try to manipulate me.”
“Uh-oh. So the Harrington wedding compromise wasn’t as straightforward as you’d planned?”
“She tried to pull a fast one, but I caught her.” She looked up to see Nico watching her intently. “I politely but firmly held my ground for Miss Ashley, and everyone was fine. And we sold a shedload of wine.”
“My favorite thing I’ve heard today.” He held out his hand. “Well done, Ms. Alston-Carpenter.”
Megan took his hand, but instead of shaking it as she’d expected, Nico lifted it to his lips and pressed a fast kiss to her knuckles before he tucked her arm under his.
“I know just the thing that will relax you after a harrowing wedding with Judy Harrington.”
Yes, relax me, you sexy man!
Oh Sugar, you are walking into dangerous territory.
“Do I need relaxing?” Megan asked.
“Everyone needs some relaxing.” His voice was low and a little hoarse. “And I know just the thing.”
Before her imagination and her libido could go too wild, Nico and she pushed through a crowd of gathered men to reveal a scene that had Megan immediately rolling her eyes.
“Horseshoes?”
Nico bent down and put his distractingly perfect lips close enough to Megan’s ear to make her shiver. “Just this once?”
“Fine.” He really needed to step back before Sugar lost control of her company manners. “But you owe me.”
“I’m fine with you putting it on my tab.” Nico stepped back and bent down to pick up a set of horseshoes with both hands, raising them over his head as the men around him quieted down. “Gentlemen!” he shouted. “I have my team—who has the guts to challenge us?”
A roar of good-natured challenges arose as Megan was pushed forward. Nico stood in the middle of the crowd, negotiating bets and making jokes.
Oh yeah. He was definitely the cool guy.
Nico was counting the money from the bets he’d won on horseshoes while Megan sat at a picnic table across from Frank, Toni’s older brother.
“So you’re ridiculous at horseshoes,” Frank said. “Even better than my sister, and she’s really good.”
“Beginner’s luck.”
Nico raised an eyebrow. “Is that what you’re calling it now?”
And a good helping of telekinesis. “I’m telling you, I haven’t played in years.” Megan took a long drink of the cold cider Frank had poured for her. “It’s fun though. I won’t play too often. Don’t worry.”
“Oh, if Nico managed to convince you this week, I have no doubt he’ll wrestle you into playing again.”
And now she was picturing a mud-wrestling scenario with a half-naked Nico Dusi.
Not helpful, Sugar!
“So did Drew fill you in on what’s happening with the case so far?” Megan asked. “I talked with him a few days ago.”
Frank and Nico exchanged a grim look. “He’s updated us some,” Nico said. “We know about the blood they found, but it sounds like they still don’t know where it all came from. There’s no trace of the vines in the truck. And it was stolen, so the paper trail for that stops there.”
She saw a man waving Nico over to a table where a group of older people were sitting.
“That’s my dad,” Nico said. “I’ll be right back.”
Megan waited until Nico was gone before she asked, “So who do you think might have taken Nico and Henry’s vines?”
“I have no idea. What a mess, right?” Frank shook his head. “You know, Nico’s dad wasn’t too sure about that whole business with the new vines at the beginning. I guess that’s what he told my pop. But then once the opportunity was gone, you’d think it was Uncle Phil’s idea. And when they heard about the blood and everything… Horrified. Uncle Phil was horrified. Fairfield was bad enough last year. We’ve never had anything violent happen on our farms before.”
Was violence attracted to psychic energy? That was a depressing thought.
“So Phil, that’s Nico’s dad?”
“Yeah. And my dad, and Toni’s, is Bobby. He’s the oldest, but Phil is right behind him. Then there’s Gina, our aunt, and then the youngest brother, Martin. And then all the cousins and stuff related from that.”
“Good Lord, how do you remember them all?”
“Honestly?” Frank crossed his arms. “I don’t really. I mean, I remember my kids most of the time. I’ll be able to remember Toni’s ’cause she just has the one. And I remember Luna’s. Anything beyond that… it’s a fifty-fifty chance.”
Megan smiled. “You’re joking.”
“Only a little.” Frank nodded at Nico. “You know, your boss there— Oh, but he said you’re on your own now, yeah?”
Megan nodded. “I am. He’s backing me starting my own events company. I’ll have business cards by next week.”
“That’s fantastic.” Frank slapped her shoulder. “Jackie’ll end up calling you, I know it. She’s too busy in the office these days—she doesn’t have time to plan the company parties and all that stuff anymore. Not a good use of her time.”
“Well, it’ll be right up my alley. Just tell her to give me a call.” Megan racked her brain, trying to figure out a way to steer the conversation back to the vines. “So does your dad have much to do with the winery? Or is that mostly Nico and his dad?”
“It’s mostly them, but we do have a few younger cousins who are coming up and they’re into wine. Most of them are still in college though. One has an internship up in Oregon at a winery there.”
“But the cousins around your age, it’s pretty much just Nico in the wine business?”
“Well… mostly.” Frank crossed his arms. “Most of the cousins our age are still in vegetable farming. Couple in the dairy business. But one of Gina’s boys got really into the marketing stuff with her restaurants. He’s worked at a few different food and wine venues around the Cove. That’s Kellan. He never seems to settle into a job though, you know? One of those guys who’s always looking for the next big thing.”
Everything about this cousin pinged as sketchy on Megan’s radar. “So what’s he doing now?”
“You know, he was talking with Nico about something not too long ago. Something about Italian versus French wines… I don’t know. Not really my department, you know?” He lifted his beer. “I like wine. I like beer. I don’t much care where they come from as long as they’re local.”
“Did Kellan stay local?”
“Yep.” Frank nodded. “He’s at Coral Canyon right now.”
“Oh really? I like Coral Canyon.” It was a pretty winery, and it had been on Nico’s list of possible suspects. They also had one of the highest limestone soil contents that Katherine had found in her survey. “I was just out there last week.”
“It’s a pretty place,” Frank said. “You know, it’s got a real unusual microclimate. They used to grow the sweetest cherries there until the farm was bought out and they planted grapes.”
“They do a really nice pinot noir, right?”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that.”
“Interesting.” Megan nodded. “And your cousin Kellan works there?”
“Oh yeah, for now. If he and Nico got along better, he’d probably be working for Dusi Heritage.”
“They don’t get along?”
Frank shrugged. “Eh, you know Nico. He’s a straight arrow. Works his ass off. Kellan likes to go with the flow a little more, if you know what I mean.” Fra
nk smiled. “He’s a good guy, but he’s kinda immature.”
“How old is he?”
“Early thirties? Somewhere around there. He’s on the younger side.”
“Still…” Megan took a sip of cider. “Kind of old to be always going with the flow, right?”
“Now you sound like Nico.”
“Don’t make me hurt you, Frank. You know Toni would help.”
He laughed, and Megan smiled to disguise the churning thoughts the conversation had provoked.
So Nico had a cousin who was interested in wine, and could have—in theory—wrangled information out of either Toni’s dad or Nico’s father about the Poulsard vines.
Megan waved goodbye to Frank, who was ready to join another game of horseshoes with the Dusi cousins calling his name. Was Kellan with them? Looking at the mass of people wandering around the yard, there was no way of knowing.
Megan wondered what Toni thought of her cousin Kellan. Did he know enough to plan a vine heist? Did he know what he was doing planting grapevines, or did he just think he knew enough? More importantly, did he have the stomach for violence?
Whatever the case might be, Megan needed to get Toni and Katherine together so they could find Cousin Kellan and ask him a few questions. She texted both of them to see if they were still around.
She was watching her phone for a response when she heard someone sit beside her. She looked up and saw Nico with his legs sprawled out.
“Hey.” Megan smiled. “You finish counting our winnings?”
“Our winnings?” He nodded. “Why don’t we split that up right after you tell me what you and Frank were talking about?” Nico’s eyes cut toward her.
Uh-oh. The man did not look pleased.
Megan set her cider down and leaned toward him. “You hired me to investigate this theft. I gotta ask questions.”
“Not about my family.” His jaw was set.
“Nico, if one of them was involved—”
“You know what?” He rose and took Megan’s hand, dragging her to her feet. “Why don’t we go get your jacket? You look cold.” He linked their hands and pressed them against his hip as he leaned down. “And then we can chat a little bit about how you go about questioning my family.”
Fate Interrupted: A Paranormal Women's Fiction Novel (Moonstone Cove Book 3) Page 10