St. Helena Vineyard Series: Plumb Crazy About You

by Pamela Gibson

  Text copyright ©2016 by the Author.

  This work was made possible by a special license through the Kindle Worlds publishing program and has not necessarily been reviewed by Marina Adair. All characters, scenes, events, plots and related elements appearing in the original St. Helena Vineyard Series remain the exclusive copyrighted and/or trademarked property of Marina Adair, or their affiliates or licensors.

  For more information on Kindle Worlds: http://www.amazon.com/kindleworlds

  Plumb Crazy About You

  by Pamela Gibson

  A St. Helena Vineyards Kindle World Novella

  Dear Readers,

  Welcome to the St. Helena Vineyard’s Kindle World, where romance is waiting to be uncorked and authors from around the globe are invited to share their own stories of love and happily ever after. Set in the heart of wine country, this quaint town and its cast of quirky characters were the inspiration behind my St Helena Vineyard series, and the Hallmark Channel movie, AUTUMN IN THE VINEYARD. I want to thank these incredible authors for spending time in St. Helena, and all of you readers who are adventurous enough to take the journey with us.

  I hope you enjoy your time here as much as we have.

  Warmly,

  Marina Adair

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter One

  Cassie Larkin clenched her fists and counted to ten.

  “Bomber, you can’t do this to me now.”

  A whirring sound mixed with intermittent pauses was her only response.

  “Haven’t I been good to you? Haven’t I put up with your scratches and temperamental quirks? You owe me.”

  No sound rewarded her efforts…none at all.

  “Okay you piece of junk.” She climbed out of the old gunmetal gray military-style Jeep and kicked the front tire. “I’m replacing you.”

  Not feeling one whit better, she slammed down the raised hood, pulled out her cell phone and left a message for her boss.

  “It’s me, Cassie. Bomber died again. Can you send someone with jumper cables? I’m out at the Albani’s place finishing their boundary survey.”

  Some days I can’t get a break.

  Lately, her breaks seemed nonexistent.

  Not only was Bomber wearing out, Mac was planning to retire and Cassie’s savings account wasn’t quite healthy enough to buy him out. But that was her plan.

  She loved Plumb Crazy. Its tiny, two-person office was a couple blocks north of Town Hall. She’d laughed the first time she saw the name, a weird one for a civil engineering firm. But Mac had a sense of humor, and somehow the name fit the town and its culture.

  The building’s stone walls had once been a stable and on a hot day hints of its early occupants’ leavings drifted up through the wooden floor. Mac said it was her imagination. What she smelled was small town ambience.

  If ambience was a draw, St. Helena had it. Every summer the place crawled with tourists. And who didn’t want to come here in the fall when the smell of crushed, fermenting grapes filled the air and the scenery in the orange and gold vineyards was as vibrant as a painting.

  Unless her plans went awry, she’d soon be a permanent part of it.

  She put away her theodolite and tripod, loaded her survey gear in the back of Bomber and made a few field notes. The survey would have gone faster if Mac had come with her, but he was home helping his wife Maddie pack. They were flying to Hawaii tonight and Mac had hired an intern to help her while he was gone.

  Her phone pinged. It was a message from Mac. Help was on the way. Watch for their new employee in a white car.

  Great. The nerdy intern I have to mentor is already here.

  She paced in front of the Jeep. She was restless today. Little tingles had crawled down her spine when she got out of bed this morning. It might have been the big thunderheads in the northern sky, but they’d stayed there, not getting any thicker while she and Robbie, the company’s freestanding robotic assistant, did their job.

  Her weird Aunt Chloe would have called it a premonition, a warning. Cassie shrugged it off as lack of sleep. Putting in long hours generally made her edgy.

  She plodded down the dirt road to where she’d set her last stake. The vineyard was to be sold to a conglomerate right after harvest. It was a shame so many small family farmers were selling, but with land prices sky high, who could blame them? The Albanis were retired and were no longer interested in managing a vineyard. They wanted to live closer to their grandchildren in Oregon.

  Grandchildren.

  She pursed her lips. Her parents continually harped on the fact all their friends had grandchildren and she was their only hope. Her younger sister, Victoria, had a promising career as a model and couldn’t afford to gain an ounce, but what was Cassie’s excuse?

  She’d already disappointed them by secretly changing her major from veterinary medicine to engineering her sophomore year of college. Her mother’s voice still rang in her ears. “If you aren’t going to take over our animal clinic, then marry some nice vet, settle down and raise a family.”

  Blood made her squeamish and throwing up or fainting during an examination was not an option. She loved animals, but she’d rather pet and feed them than sew them up or shove needles into them.

  And marriage was definitely not on her to do list.

  Her gaze landed on the highway below crawling with vehicles. A late model BMW turned onto the dirt road leading up the hill.

  Was that him? The car was white.

  She watched the vehicle’s slow progress. Most local guys sped along the back roads, dirt clods flying, chassis bouncing. This one looked like he was avoiding ruts and didn’t want dust on his roof. Maybe it was a lost tourist.

  The car stopped in front of her truck, hood to hood.

  A modern-day Adonis got out and sauntered over to where she stood. “You must be the damsel in distress.”

  This was the intern?

  He was over six feet tall, built like a warrior, and had a face that was more boy next door than Greek god. Not quite a Ryan Gosling look-alike, but close and about the same age. His easy smile and intense blue eyes made her insides do little somersaults and her morning tingle marched right back up her spine alerting the hairs on the back of her neck.

  Maybe Aunt Chloe isn’t so weird after-all.

  Letting out a breath she didn’t even know she was holding, she walked forward and held out her hand. “Cassie Larkin.”

  His fingers closed over hers in a firm grasp while he looked directly into her eyes. “Nick Sebastian. Mac said you needed to charge your battery.”

  “Yeah.” Her battery was charging all right and she wasn’t talking about her car. Men did not have the right to look like that, especially guys she was going to work closely with for the next two weeks.

  He took out the cables, lifted both hoods and hooked them up with the ease of a professional mechanic. Cassie stood next to him and watched, aware of how stupid it was to be turned on by someone she didn’t even know. He was probably married because he seemed a little old to be an engineering student at the local university.

  And he was definitely not a nerd.

  It must be the dry spell her hormones were enduring. Her last date was a guy she’d met at a party who’d taken her out a few times until it became obvious all he wanted was an introduction to her sister. How long ago was that? The Cork Crawl last year?

  Too long, judging by her reaction
to…Nick?

  He raised his head. “Try it now.”

  She climbed back into the driver’s seat and turned the key. It turned over the first time.

  “Works great. Thanks.”

  He stood by her window. “See you back at the office. Mac is coming by later.”

  “Right. ”She watched him unhook the jumper cables and slam down the hoods. He tucked his long frame back into the car, backed it over to the side, and waited for her to go first.

  Probably wants to make sure this hunk of junk makes it.

  “Okay, Bomber. I forgive you. You’re still my friend. Show him what you’re made of.” She took off in a cloud of dust, remembering too late he’d been slow and careful on his way up.

  Slow and careful is nice for an engineer.

  For a lover, too.

  Too bad nobody wanted to date a girl whose sister hogged all the beauty genes in the family.

  ***

  Nick Sebastian coughed as the cloud of dust settled over his car and drifted into the window. He’d gone straight to Mac’s house when he arrived, not bothering to change or unpack before he was sent out on his rescue mission.

  Putting his car in gear, he caught up to the Jeep as it waited to make a left turn onto Highway 29. It was Friday and the two-lane road from Napa to Calistoga was solid with cars.

  Cassie was not quite what he’d been led to believe. She wasn’t a classic beauty, but she had a great smile and her long-sleeved shirt and baggy jeans tucked into ankle-length hiking boots, didn’t quite hide a nicely curved body. Her long brown hair, tied up in a ponytail, showed off a heart-shaped face, a straight nose and high cheekbones sprinkled with freckles.

  But her mouth, full and sexy, drew his eyes the minute he spotted her standing defiantly in front of her beat up old Jeep.

  He’d raised his eyes to her honey brown ones during the introduction. They’d widened in surprise with a hint of suspicion when he’d introduced himself. Then he remembered Mac said his original plan was to hire a student intern from the nearby university to help out while he was gone.

  She probably thought he was one of those perennial students who ate up their parents’ money while using school as an excuse to keep from getting a job. He’d known a few guys like that when he’d been at Stanford a decade ago.

  She was going to be trouble, especially when she found out why he was really here. Mac said he suspected Cassie wanted to buy the business.

  Unfortunately, so do I.

  A gap in traffic finally opened and they both took advantage of it. He followed her the short distance to the office and pulled in next to her in the small parking lot adjacent to the building.

  She reached into the back seat and loaded herself down with survey equipment.

  “Here, I’ll take it.” He removed a heavy case from her hands.

  “Thanks.” She seemed surprised, but handed it to him, grabbed the rest of her gear and led the way into the office. The woman was totally self-sufficient. It was obvious she wasn’t used to having help.

  Chalk that one up for future reference.

  The interior wasn’t as dark as Nick remembered. Mac had built skylights into the sloping roof and the only indication the building had once been a stable were old markings on the wall where stalls were once attached.

  Two desks, several filing cabinets, a couple of map cases, and a long wooden table with metal chairs at the far end filled most of the space. An alcove contained a coffee pot, microwave, and refrigerator and a door next to it led to the bathroom.

  Functional, efficient, unpretentious…exactly like Mac. He looked around and saw a large painting of a vineyard on one wall. Must be Maddie’s touch. The only other wall adornment was an oversized map of Napa Valley. He wandered over to take a closer look. It was mounted on poster board and had a few dozen push pins stuck in various locations.

  “Our current projects are the red pins. The blue ones have been completed this year. New ones are green.” Cassie stood behind him. Her scent—a mixture of earth and fresh air—made him want to turn and breathe deeply.

  He focused on the map. “There’s only one green pin. Don’t you expect to have more business?”

  “Mac’s going to retire at the end of the year. The green pin is a huge vineyard development. The land has to be surveyed and irrigation lines have to be designed. It’ll probably take us into December. In January we’ll take out all the pins and start over again.”

  “Do you already have projects for next year?”

  “A few.” She smiled. “During the rainy season Mac and I usually go out and line up more.”

  “How does the firm do it’s marketing?”

  This time she laughed and it was like sunshine lighting up her face. He found his lips twitching in response. “We check around. In a town this size, everyone knows everyone else’s business.”

  He started to ask about ad campaigns and website updates, but Mac strode in, his long gray hair tied back with a leather thong and his tanned face all hard angles. “I see you both made it.”

  He took a large map out of a cabinet and took it over to the table, rolling it flat and securing it with polished rocks he used as paperweights. Glancing at Cassie, he said, “I told you to get a new battery. Better yet, get a new car or truck. That thing’s going to cough and spit and finally roll over and die when you least expect it.”

  “Now Mac, you know I love Bomber. He’s my family. But I’ll get the battery.” She patted Mac on the arm, affection written all over her face.

  Damn this was going to be hard. Mac said Cassie was fragile and needed to be treated with care. He wanted to be the one who told her why Nick was here.

  “Nick, come over and sit down.” Mac indicated one of the metal folding chairs. “I want to brief you and Cassie about the new project you’ll be working on.”

  He sat, wondering when the bomb would drop, wondering why Mac was prolonging this. Nick knew his father’s best friend had his own way of doing things. He was his godfather, too, so he rarely argued with him. Mac had always encouraged him to find his own way, even when Dad did the opposite and tried to make decisions for him.

  And Mac knew Dad was doing it again, this time using guilt.

  A heavy weight pressed on his shoulders and his throat was suddenly dry.

  If only Jonah had lived I wouldn’t even be here.

  But he hadn’t. His older brother had died a hero serving his country and the pain of loss was sharp and sometimes overwhelming even after six months. Dad insisted he take over Jonah’s old job as vice president of the family’s engineering corporation.

  He couldn’t do it. He loved the technical aspects of his profession, but had no real desire to deal with the administrative and political issues of a large firm.

  If he gave in he’d be lost, his own wants and needs swallowed up in the needs of the corporation. His brother had loved the business. But he was not his brother. If he was to survive and preserve his self-esteem he had to go out on his own.

  Mac knew this and was that’s why he’d brought him to St Helena. He wanted him to become familiar with the town, to be sure it was what he wanted.

  Because this morning he’d promised to sell him his business. When he returned they’d finalize the deal.

  Chapter Two

  Cassie grabbed a root beer from the refrigerator and stood behind Mac’s chair. Pine Ridge was a twenty-acre project requiring substantial expertise. It was on rough terrain west of the city limits on the back road to Santa Rosa. Only ten acres would be planted. Napa County had strict hillside regulations and this land had more undulations than a belly dancer’s moves.

  Why didn’t Mac wait until he returned? Together they could whip this out in no time at all. An intern would not be much use.

  She slanted a glance at Nick who seemed to be listening intently.

  Mac finished his explanation, going over some of the more intricate parts of the design requirements and the timeline for completion. Nick asked some prett
y intelligent questions for a novice. He must be a grad student doing a semester of internship by spreading himself in two-week increments over various companies.

  She studied his profile as he ran his finger over the map. His dark brown hair, worn short in the back. was parted at the side and fell over his forehead when he leaned over. It gave him an adorable little-boy look that probably drove his girlfriends wild. He was exactly the kind of guy her sister would attract.

  But not her.

  “Cassie?”

  She looked at Mac, “Huh?”

  His grin was wide. He looked like a toothpaste model. Damn. He’d caught her looking at the new guy. She hoped her tongue hadn’t been hanging out.

  “So that’s why I’ve brought Nick in, Cass. He’s a registered civil engineer from San Francisco and has the experience we need to get this project off to a good start. I decided not to go with an intern. This project’s too important and I want it pretty well wrapped up before the holidays.”

  Nick raised his eyebrows, a questioning look in his eyes. Mac shook his head. What was going on? Was he afraid they wouldn’t finish in time? The contract completion date was the middle of December. There was a clause allowing for rain delays and unusual circumstances. Surely retiring and selling your business would be covered.

  “Are you a contract engineer?” She cocked her head and waited for Nick’s response.

  He looked at Mac, then gave Cassie one of his heat-generating smiles. “I am. Glad to be able to help out an old friend.”

  Cassie’s nerve endings immediately zinged. Old friend?

  “You’ve known each other for a long time?”

  “It seems like forever, doesn’t it Mac.” He scooted back and crossed his arms behind his head, giving her a good view of his abs as his polo-style shirt tightened across his chest. This guy was walking eye candy, and yet her suspicious nature had started to throw cold water on her hormones.

  He could be competition and by God, if he thinks I’m going to roll over and let him ace me out of my future, he’s wrong.