“Grant knows I have friends, and I know he has friends. Besides, you’re not just a friend, you’re family. Are you going to let Vince know where you are?”
“No,” Roz answered tersely while Dylan tried to lick her face.
“Roz,” Caprice said in warning.
“Let him worry a little bit. That might not be very nice, but he’s caused me so much worry—”
She glanced at Caprice’s expression, and although Caprice didn’t say anything, Roz acquiesced. “All right. I’ll text him. Maybe in a couple of hours.”
Caprice knew that was the best she was going to get for now. She scratched Dylan around the ears and gave him a pat on the head. The little dog got along with Lady and Patches so there wasn’t a problem there.
“I took Lady over to Grant’s before coming here today, so when Grant comes over he’ll be bringing both dogs. Are you okay with that?”
“They’ll get along. I don’t know how Sophia and Mirabelle will feel about it.”
“They’ll adjust,” Caprice said matter-of-factly. “They might sit on their top two shelves of the cat tree, but they’ll be fine. And if Grant’s there, he’s pretty good at keeping them all calm. You go to my place, get comfortable, and relax. I’ll be home as soon as I can and then we can talk.”
Roz gave Caprice a hug with Dylan still in her arms. “Thank you.”
“No thanks necessary. Come on, I’ll walk you out.”
After Roz got into her car and drove away, Caprice felt like calling her brother. But she wouldn’t. She had to stay out of this to a certain extent. But only to a certain extent.
* * *
When Caprice walked into her house, she had to smile. Grant, Roz, and the three dogs were watching TV. She hung her sweater coat embroidered with flowers on the antique oak mirror stand in her foyer and laid her purse on the marble-top table. Grant had left the small Tiffany-style lamp burning to welcome her home.
The aroma of pot roast simmering in the slow cooker wafted through the house. She was glad she had started it this morning and made a salad to accompany it. Redskin potatoes and carrots were nestled around the roast, so supper would be ready when they were.
As soon as Grant heard and saw her, though, he was on his feet. Crossing to her, he gave her a hug and a short but thorough kiss. “I’ll leave so you and Roz can talk.”
“That’s silly,” Roz said from the sofa. “Caprice has supper ready and I’m sure you’re hungry. I am too, but probably shouldn’t be. Stress eating. Stay with us and tell me about the plans for the addition. Your perspective might be different than Caprice’s.”
Grant chuckled. “I don’t know about that. We had to approve the plans together, and we did that. I think they’re going to fill both of our needs and make the pets happy too.”
Dylan, who was sitting on Roz’s lap, roused, jumped off the sofa and ran over to Caprice. Patches and Lady, together on one side of the coffee table, stayed napping.
Caprice stooped to the little dog and picked him up. “I’m glad somebody’s excited to see I’m home.”
Grant tapped her on the shoulder. “I’m excited to see you’re home.”
She laughed.
“How did the open house go?” Roz asked. “I’m sorry I barged in like that. I never should have done that. I should have just had you meet me outside.”
“No harm done. I think we had three couples who were seriously interested. We’ll see what happens in the next few days if a contract comes in.”
“Are you sure you want me to stay?” Grant asked Roz, expecting her to be honest.
“I do,” she said. “We’ll talk about additions and pets and have a nice meal.”
Roz and Grant both helped set the table while Caprice dished out the main course. As they passed the meat platter and serving dishes, Grant described the office addition along with the attached powder room.
“That’s a great idea,” Roz said. “Not only for your office and your clients, but if you ever had a guest who needs to stay here.”
“Exactly what we thought,” Caprice said. “How about blueberry bread for dessert? Grocery Fresh had some beautiful organic blueberries. I couldn’t help but pick them up.”
“And coffee?” Roz asked.
“Of course. Decaf or caffeine?”
“I’d like caffeine,” Roz said. “I’m sure we’re going to be up late talking.”
“That’s fine with me,” Grant agreed. “I have work to do after I get home.”
Caprice studied him, hoping that in less than a month he would consider this his home. Wouldn’t he? Or would it always feel like her house?
Grant shook his finger at her. “I know what I said and I know what you’re thinking.”
“There’s that reading-minds talent again,” Caprice teased, wondering if he really could.
“After we put the addition on here, this will be your home and my home, together. It will be the same yet different. I’ll have my space if I feel I need it, and we’ll have that new sunroom too, though I imagine you’re probably going to fill it with cat condos and dog beds.”
“How did you guess?” Caprice joked.
He shook his head while trying to hide a smile.
They kept conversation light over dessert and coffee. But then Grant stood. “Do you want to see me and Patches out?”
“I’ll start cleaning up,” Roz offered.
Caprice was about to say, You don’t have to do that, but she knew Roz would anyway. It was her way of repaying Caprice for her hospitality.
As Caprice walked Grant and Patches into the foyer, he said, “I did want to talk to you in private.”
“Is something wrong?”
“No, nothing’s wrong. My parents called this afternoon and said that they will stay with your parents.”
“Victory,” Caprice said with some excitement.
“Maybe. Maybe not.” Grant ran his fingers through his thick black hair. “I just hope they’ll all get along.”
Caprice could see Grant was worried about his parents and hers. “I’ll warn my parents to be on their best behavior,” she assured him. “But Nana is another story. She can be blunt and tactful but sometimes she’s just blunt.”
“My parents got a taste of that when they had dinner with your parents and Nana. They’ll respect her even if they don’t like what she says.”
He blew out a breath and Caprice knew he wasn’t finished relaying “news.” He went on, “My parents also said they were unaware that the groom’s parents should pay for the rehearsal dinner and plan it. I thought it was best to be honest with them, and I told them Roz had offered to have it for us. My father was on the upstairs phone and my mom on the downstairs phone. That’s when Dad broke in and said he insisted on paying Roz at least half the cost.”
“Should we let them duke it out?” Caprice asked. “Roz can be pretty insistent.”
“And my dad can be stubborn. Maybe that would be best. They can figure it out after the wedding.”
Caprice hoped nothing would cause discord, but she also knew something might. When families got together, anything could happen. “Do your parents know about the murder at the winery?”
“I didn’t tell them. If it comes up, we’ll deal with it. We’ll explain that the events room where the reception is held had nothing to do with it.”
Grant wrapped his arms around Caprice, and she was so glad he did. She felt safe in that circle. She felt right. She knew she was independent enough and smart enough to live a contented life on her own. She didn’t want to. Somehow Grant did make her life feel complete. She loved everything about him even when they didn’t agree. They might have bumpy times in the future as well as joyful ones. But they’d get through them . . . together.
After Grant left and the kitchen was cleaned up, Caprice pulled a bottle of wine from her refrigerator. She and Roz sat in the living room. Lady had awakened when Patches left and now she played chase with Sophia around Caprice’s downstairs. Dylan joined in and
the three made a racket as their paws pounded on the hardwood floor and upended the edge of throw rugs.
Roz clinked her glass against Caprice’s. “Thank goodness for pets.”
“Thank goodness,” Caprice agreed.
After a few sips of wine, Roz reached up to the back of the sofa to pet Mirabelle who was napping there. “I don’t know what to do about Vince or Michelle or the way he thinks about his house.”
“If you ignore any of it, it’s not going to go away. I mean, even if he stops calling Michelle or if she stops calling him, you’re going to have resentment there because of it. You need to come to an agreement about it.”
Roz set her wine glass on the coffee table. “What kind of agreement? It’s okay if he has Michelle as a client?”
Calmly, Caprice responded, “If that’s all she is. Let me ask you something and don’t get upset, okay?”
“Everything upsets me these days.” She picked up her wine glass once more. “Go ahead.”
“Are your insecurities in your relationship with Vince causing you to see more than there is between him and Michelle?”
Roz was quiet for several seconds. “I suppose that’s possible. I’d like to think I’m not that close-minded. There’s just a familiarity when he talks to her that really bothers me.”
“They dated for a few months, Roz. They know each other to a certain extent, at least their backgrounds. Familiarity just comes naturally if they’re amicable.”
“Oh, they’re amicable.”
Caprice just gave her a steady stare.
Roz sighed. “I see what you mean.”
Caprice pulled her leg under her. “What bothers you the most about the whole situation?”
“Not having my name on the title of the house,” Roz answered without thinking about it. “Vince lets me pay utilities but that’s not the same thing.”
“Then you have to tell him how much that upsets you. Make him understand, Roz. Talk and talk and talk until he does.”
“That’s harder than it sounds.”
“He’s my brother. Don’t I know it?”
Roz gave her a half-hearted smile. “All right. I’ll do what you suggest. But for tonight, how about another glass of wine and just girl talk.”
“Sounds good to me.”
And it did. She missed the time she once spent with Roz. Still, they managed to reconnect even when it wasn’t a serious occasion such as this. Roz would talk to Vince—if she wanted to have a future with him.
* * *
On Monday morning, Roz—who said she was letting her manager run her shop this week—slept in late while Caprice worked on her computer. She was perusing her list for the next house staging. The theme would be Floral Fantasy. After she finished the list for what she might lease from a local rental company, she decided what she could need from an online company. She also went over the list of her inventory in her two storage compartments.
As she checked off items, she realized what was missing. She could use glassware. She knew Mikasa had made pretty bowls and vases with floral accents. Chances were good Isaac Hobbs’s shop Older and Better might just have a few at a good price. And while she was out, she just might stop at the Black Horse Winery and nose around.
There wasn’t a question of taking Lady along, not with Dylan at the house. The two dogs got along well. If they made too much of a ruckus, Roz would get up.
Caprice called to both dogs and they ran into the kitchen, still having plenty of morning energy even though they’d already been out once.
“How about a play session outside before I leave?” she asked them. “Then you’ll be good and tired and maybe take a nap. What do you say?”
Dylan did a little dance and yipped. Lady just cocked her head as if to ask, Why aren’t you opening the door already?
Caprice laughed. “Come on, pooches. I’ll even throw a ball for you.” She said to Lady, “The yard’s not going to be quite as big once we put on the addition.”
Lady glanced over the yard as if she was inspecting it.
“But you’re going to like the sunroom. I’m sure of that.”
Dylan gave another yip and ran down the steps from the porch as if to say, Come on, let’s play. Lady followed happily behind him.
Caprice picked up two balls—one larger and one smaller—that sat on top of the robin’s-egg-blue metal glider. She played with the dogs for a half hour, even going over basic commands. They passed with flying colors. After she’d settled them inside with chew toys, she wrote Roz a note with the time the dogs had been out, picked up her purse and left.
Since her retro-style boxy jacket and Katharine Hepburn-style slacks didn’t require a coat or sweater, she was comfortable driving toward Isaac’s shop which was located on the outskirts of Kismet. When she reached his parking lot, she noticed only one other car. That was good because that meant she and Isaac could chat.
The door to the antique shop opened and an older woman stepped out. Caprice greeted her and then went inside. Isaac was pushing a dry sink back into place against the wall.
“Rearranging furniture?” Caprice asked, teasingly.
Isaac stood, straightened and gave her a scowl. “I’m not sure I appreciate your humor this early in the morning.”
“It’s ten o’clock.”
“That means it’s past time for coffee. That woman who just left wanted me to pull out the dry sink so she could look at it—all sides of it. After spending fifteen minutes doing just that, she decided she didn’t want it.”
“I’m sorry. But you know how picky some people can be. They want an antique with no marks on it.”
He grunted. “Come on. Caffeine makes everything better.”
Isaac’s coffee used to taste like sludge. Then he’d bought a coffee maker that brewed one cup at a time from little pods. Each cup was delicious. He even had flavors.
“What kind do you want today?” he asked.
“How about Chocolate Dream?”
He grimaced. “So you’re going to have that kind of day. You have to start out in a decadent mood.”
She laughed. “Maybe. While I’m sipping on my coffee, I’d like to look around at your glassware. I’m looking for pieces with floral themes, and I was thinking about Mikasa. They had a few pieces with rose patterns. Some of them were even pale pink.”
“I know exactly what you’re talking about—Mikasa’s Bella Rosa Pink. I think I have a bowl in that Shaker hutch.” He pointed across the room while he began brewing Caprice’s coffee. She went to look and saw that the bowl was exactly what she wanted. She brought it up to the counter.
“We’ll haggle after I look around some more,” she joked.
“You’re one of the best hagglers around.” He set the mug of coffee on the counter for her. “Half and half and sugar?”
“A little of both. After all, I’m in the mood to be decadent this morning.”
That brought a smile to his lips. “Where’s Lady?”
“Roz is staying with me and Dylan is there with her, so I knew Lady wouldn’t want to leave.”
“Uh, oh. Trouble in paradise? Vince isn’t thinking about serial dating again, is he?”
Lots of people in town knew about her brother’s history. He had definitely changed after he met Roz. “No, not serial dating.”
“So it does have something to do with the murder.”
“Not the murder per se. But he dated Michelle before he met Roz, and Michelle is depending on him for advice.”
“A past girlfriend. That will lead to trouble,” Isaac assured her. “You had experience with that.”
“Naomi wasn’t an ex-girlfriend. She was an ex-wife. If I had just trusted Grant more, that wouldn’t have been a problem at all.”
Shrugging, Isaac added cream and sugar to her mug of coffee. “You two figured it out.”
Yes, they had, because they’d kept communication open. Roz and Vince weren’t doing that yet.
Changing the direction of their conversation, C
aprice asked, “Do you know anything about Vivian Dodd Granville?”
Isaac thought about it. “Not so much. Everything that could be hush-hush about the Dodd family was . . . unless someone who worked for them leaked gossip. One thing was obvious, though.”
“What was that?”
Isaac inserted another coffee pod in the brewer. “There were plenty of rumors that Vivian drank too much and neglected her children. Her drinking was definitely true. People saw her when she was sloshed. But neglecting her children? I’m not sure about that. That could have been something that William Dodd cooked up to get her to leave.”
“He retained full custody.”
“Yes, he did. From what I understand, he wouldn’t let the boys see her. But that didn’t stop Jarrett. It was true he couldn’t visit her. Yet word on the street was that the two of them exchanged letters through a friend of his so his father or brother couldn’t intercept them.”
“That’s terrible that he even had to think of it that way!”
“Maybe so. You know how it is. Probably no one knew the real story.”
The real story. Just how could she discover the real story?
Only by nosing around more. Something told her that the Black Horse Winery could be one place to glean more information, maybe not about Vivian, but about Travis and his father and the winery business. Passion led to murder. So did greed. So could failure.
Yep, the Black Horse Winery would be her next stop.
Chapter Thirteen
The Black Horse Winery’s estate was very different from Rambling Vines. The building where the wines were created had a stone base. The same stone had been used for the gables, as well as the front portico that had been added. It wasn’t a portico as much as a very wide covered walkway. It had been designed with several arches. There wasn’t an events building but Caprice knew weddings had been held somewhere on the twenty-acre vineyard. When she’d studied the winery’s website, the first thing she’d noticed was the fenced-in area behind the building where three black horses ran. They were beautiful.
She’d booked a tour online so she could actually meet the owner, Earl Hoff. After she parked on the gravel expanse for that purpose, she saw a man emerge from the winery. He stood under one of the stone arches and raised a hand to her in a wave.
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