Fate Actually: Moonstone Cove Book Two

by Hunter, Elizabeth

  “Chill.” Toni opened the door and yelled at the cat. “Stop teasing him, you hussy.”

  Shelby and Earl adored each other in a way only possible between divergent species. Shelby bestowed her presence upon Earl, and Earl whined helplessly and cast her longing stares from outside the house.

  Toni got a large bowl of water and took it out to Earl before she went back in the house and put on the electric kettle for coffee. She could make a couple of pour overs. That way she could give Henry caffeine and she could drink the decaf she got for her mom until she found out what was and wasn’t on the “bad food” list.

  No alcohol. No coffee. No sushi? Was that still a thing? It had been a few years since either of her sisters had been pregnant.

  So far, pregnancy sucked hard.

  Her nausea actually seemed to calm down when she opened the coffee, as if the scent alone was enough to calm her quickly escalating anxiety.

  You’re pregnant, Toni Dusi, and the father of the baby is cleaning up your garden and has no idea.

  “I can do this.” She repeated her mantra from the day before. “Katherine says I’ll be a great mom, and she’s like the smartest person I know.” She got two filters from the cupboard and filled the first with decaf and the second with regular. Then she poured the piping-hot water over the ground coffee and let it sit.

  She went to her bathroom, washed her face, and put on a pair of work pants and a long-sleeved shirt. She wasn’t going to let Henry do all the gardening alone, and she’d already been planning on digging out some of the weeds on the far side of the house.

  The little stone house had a decent-sized porch and a wide, stone-covered patio under the oaks on the north side. When the weeds were cleared out and the grass grew back between the stones, it would be a shady spot perfect for a dining table and chairs. Maybe she could even host Wine Wednesday at her house someday.

  You’re going to have to unless you find a babysitter.

  Toni sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the cracked plaster wall. The enormity of changes threatened to pull her under a rising wave of panic.

  “Toni?”

  She blinked hard, pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes, and took a deep breath. “Yeah?”

  “There’s an old rose in the middle of one of the rows. It’s pretty beat up, but I can transplant it if you have a spot.”

  She took two deep breaths. “Yeah. Sure. That sounds good. I was going to turn the bed in front of the porch into a rose garden.” Actually that had been her mother’s idea, but it was a good one. Toni wasn’t a fan of cut roses, but she liked the ones on bushes. They were pretty and they were hard to kill.

  “Okay great. I’ll move it over there. It’s thorny, but it’s a really beautiful red.”

  “Great.” She stood and slapped her cheeks, pulled on some socks, and walked down the hall, only to see Henry standing in front of the mantel, staring at the fireplace.

  “It turned out great.”

  “Yep.” She refused to think about that day. Things were too complicated. Toni turned to the kitchen, and Henry reached for her wrist.

  “Just tell me why,” he said quietly. “Is there someone else?”

  “No. That’s not it.” Toni shook his hand off and continued to the kitchen to finish making the coffee.

  “Then why?” He walked over to the kitchen, bracing his arms in the doorway. “Because I work for Nico?”

  “I mean…” That was part of it. Toni pushed the filters down and let the dark brewed coffee drain into the mugs. She had a feeling Nico wouldn’t be too thrilled that she and Henry—

  “He knows, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

  Toni spun around. “Nico knows what?”

  Henry held up his hands. “Just… that I’m into you. That’s all. I asked him if you had a boyfriend and he asked me if I was thinking of asking you out and I told him yes. So like… he knows that I’m into you. That’s all. Not that we… you know.”

  She could tell from his expression he was telling the truth. Who was she kidding? Henry always told the truth. She was the one lying. “What did Nico say when you told him you wanted to ask me out?” She was surprised her older brat of a cousin hadn’t said anything.

  “He just laughed.” Henry frowned. “I don’t know why.”

  “Probably because he thought you were joking.”

  “Why would I be joking?”

  Because big handsome hunks don’t generally ask out older women who routinely make grown men cry. “I just… don’t date a lot.”

  “I know you’re busy. I just think—”

  “Yes.” She went with that. “I am busy. So… damn busy right now. You know the car show is coming up and we have, like, four different clients we’ve been juggling.”

  “Right.” He knew she was lying. “It’s fine. I can be patient.”

  “Good. I mean” —she cleared her throat— “patience is a virtue and all that.”

  What was she going to do with him?

  Kiss him. Tackle him to the floor, tear off his shirt, and—

  “Coffee’s done.” She handed Henry his mug and reached for the milk in the fridge. She dosed her coffee and opened the jar of biscotti on the counter.

  “Are you done with the…?”

  “Yeah.” She handed him the milk. “Do you want the…?”

  “Yeah.” They moved around the kitchen in a dance that was a little too familiar for Toni’s taste. Henry was too accustomed to her home; he fit into her routine a little too easily.

  Is that a bad thing?

  Yes?

  “So does Nico know who messed with the tractor yet?” She took a bite of the homemade biscotti. It was her grandmother’s recipe and the one thing she could bake and not ruin.

  “The police haven’t said anything, but you know Nico. He always blames Fairfield.” Henry reached for the jar of biscotti. “It’s not just the tractor either.”

  “What do you mean?” She grabbed her coffee and walked to the door.

  Henry followed her and waited for Toni to slide on her garden boots before he shut the door behind them. They sat on the two creaking chairs that faced the barn.

  “There’ve been a lot of little things lately,” he said. “Uh… the tractor. A fermentation tank that was tampered with. A call to the labor contractor that changed the day we were supposed to start the pinot harvest. That was the one right before the tractor.”

  “Seriously?” Toni frowned. “So someone is definitely trying to mess with him.”

  “The pinot we bottled last year is looking good, and the conditions this year look even better. The other varietals are our bread and butter, but the pinot is the one that’s going to start winning consistent awards for us, I’m dead sure of it.” He finished his biscotti in two bites. “That’s why Nico was kind of pushy the other day.”

  Toni kicked her feet up on the low railing around the porch and let her senses settle. Dog flopped on the porch and cat sunning in the window. Tall drink of man lounging next to her. Morning birdsong, the wind through the trees, and silence.

  Forget Megan’s meditation. This was all she needed.

  “Did you end up getting all the grapes in the other day?”

  Henry nodded. “The pinot, yeah. Some of the last boxes might be a little high on the Brix, but I can work with it. I have some ideas.”

  “And Nico blames Fairfield, huh?”

  Whit Fairfield had been the bane of Nico’s existence for nearly five years. He’d originally come down to Moonstone Cove as a Silicon Valley millionaire looking to pour money into a winery as an investment. He quickly realized that there was still land available in the hills of the small but growing wine appellation that he could obtain at a bargain if he offered cash. He had pressured landowners to sell and amassed a commanding amount of acreage before he poured a bunch of money into a high-end tasting room and a Napa Valley marketing team.

  Fairfield Family Wines bought black-and-white pictures to hang on the
tasting room walls and presented themselves as a Moonstone Cove institution. Tourists ate it up, and local vintners rolled their eyes.

  “Is Fairfield still pressuring him to sell that acreage along Ferraro Creek?”

  Henry nodded. “Yeah. I don’t think Nico’s tempted even with what Fairfield is offering, because the cabernet vines that grow along there have been amazing the past few years and they’re the backbone of our estate red blend. Danny told me Fairfield doesn’t even want to plant it. But it’s right across the creek from his tasting room, and he wants to expand his event space.”

  “Are you serious?” Toni rolled her eyes. “What an asshole.”

  “Yeah.” Henry glanced at Toni. He looked nervous. “Someone told me they saw Marissa and Fairfield having drinks in town. Have you heard about that? Do you think Nico has?”

  Toni’s eyes went wide. “Are you kidding me?”

  “Nope.”

  “You think it’s just gossip?”

  Henry shrugged. “No idea. The two of them deserve each other, if you ask me.”

  The only harsh word Toni had ever heard from Henry was about Marissa, Nico’s ex-wife. Or… almost ex-wife. He’d been trying to get her to sign the papers for six months. She’d up and left him and their two kids a couple of years ago, but Marissa was still hoping to wrangle some of the winery from the Dusi clan.

  “I used to think it was kind of shitty that Grandpa Dusi never signed that land over to Nico outright since he was the one who loved it the most and was obviously the one who would take over eventually, but now I am so glad he didn’t.”

  “I think Nico’s happy about that too.” Henry finished his coffee. “But I still hate the idea of Fairfield fooling around with Marissa and messing with Nico that way.”

  “I don’t think he’ll care,” she said. “It’ll bug the kids though.” She narrowed her eyes. “If it really is Fairfield messing with Nico, I hope that finger we found is his.”

  Henry chuckled. “So vengeful.”

  “You should know this about me.” She looked over at him. “I have a mean streak.”

  “I know. I think it’s cute.” He stood and handed her his mug. “I better get back to cleaning up those vines before it gets too hot. Really appreciate the coffee, Toni.”

  “Sure.” And thanks for knocking me up with your thirty-year-old super-sperm and upending my entire life. Really appreciate that, Henry.

  Toni took both mugs back in the house and shot Shelby a dirty look as she rolled around in the window, baring her belly to a retreating Earl. “Have some dignity, woman.” She shook her head. “You know, this is what happens when you let a man in your life.”

  Chapter 5

  Sunday dinners with the Dusi clan were a rotating affair. They were mainly held at Bobby and Rose Dusi’s house where they’d retired, but now that her parents were a little older, her brother Frank sometimes hosted them at his ranch house out in the country, or Nico hosted them at the giant Mediterranean house at the winery.

  Toni’s house, thankfully, would never be big enough for Sunday dinner.

  Regular attendance from her and her brother was expected. Her older sister Luna and her family lived in Monterey and could skip out on most of them. Nico and his two kids were usually in attendance, especially in the years since Marissa had left.

  And mixing into that core group were various aunts, uncles, grown cousins, and myriad third-generation Dusis, Lanzas, Herreras, and Mendoncas. In all, Sunday dinner was usually between thirty to fifty people, all eating copious amounts of tri-tip barbecue and homemade pasta in the garden behind her parents’ house.

  Sunday dinners were some of Toni’s favorite times with her family, but they’d become a minefield since her empathy had developed. She had to be cautious, or she’d quickly become overwhelmed.

  She grabbed a plate of food and settled in her favorite spot at the picnic table in the back corner. That concentrated family drama on two sides instead of four. Within minutes, her sister Luna joined her.

  “Where’s your wine?” Luna didn’t sit down. “Did you forget it? I’ll get you some.”

  “No.” She motioned for her sister to sit. “Not drinking anything today.”

  Luna was instantly concerned. “Nico brings brand-new bottles and you’re passing? What’s wrong?”

  Not wanting to be hit with another coffee-type situation, Toni had come prepared with a cover story. It wasn’t that her family were alcoholics—none of them had a drinking problem that she knew of—but in a family of farmers and winemakers, not drinking the new wine was noticeable.

  “Okay, it’s kind of weird and it may be an overreaction—”

  “Oh my God, what’s going on?” Luna’s emotional temperature spiked.

  “My blood pressure is a little high. Chill.” Toni held up a hand. “My doctor told me it might just be stress but to cut back on caffeine and alcohol and stuff for a while until we can follow up.”

  Luna’s eyes were wide. “Blood pressure? Did she put you on any meds?” Luna was a marine biologist, but the operating word there was biologist. She was keenly interested in anything medical if it had to do with her family. “Did you tell her about Dad?”

  “I told her about Dad.”

  “And Auntie Gina? Did you tell her about Gina?”

  “I told her about Gina too. Like I said, she’s being cautious and wants to just see what happens if I cut out the wine and coffee and try to get more sleep.”

  Luna pursed her lips. “What did I say, Toni?”

  “Yes, I know. Welcome to my forties.”

  The satisfied smirk was infuriating. “And you were soooo sure—”

  “Can we not?”

  “I’m just saying.”

  “I know you are.” Toni adored her big sister. Luna drove her crazy sometimes, but Toni adored her.

  A few minutes later, they were joined by their sister-in-law, Jackie. Jackie’s family were vegetable growers, and Frank and Jackie had been high school sweethearts. Toni hardly remembered when her sister-in-law hadn’t been part of the family.

  Jackie sat down and let out a long sigh. She motioned for Luna and Toni to scoot together. “If you guys just scoot a little closer together, I don’t think the kids will be able to see me.”

  With Jackie’s presence, the emotional energy in Toni’s small bubble turned up to eleven—that was just how her sister-in-law rolled—but Toni didn’t mind. Jackie was a lot, but she always cracked Toni up.

  “Where’s Rani?” Jackie asked. “I didn’t see him around.”

  Luna waved a hand. “He was scheduled to go out on the boat with a group of doctoral students from Central Coast State this weekend. He couldn’t change it.”

  “Gotcha.”

  Luna’s husband, Ranil Abaya, was a marine climatologist who’d come to Monterey via the Philippines and South Africa before he’d gotten a job in California. He and Luna had been working together for barely a year before they’d announced they were getting married. Having a Filipino son-in-law might have been a surprise for their parents, but since Rani was Catholic, they had no issue with it.

  And as Toni learned at Luna and Rani’s wedding, large Filipino families were as fun, crazy, and nosy as large Italian families, so really Luna and Rani were made for each other. Their two kids were twelve and thirteen and currently shouting across the basketball court with their Dusi cousins.

  “Is Rani getting an electric car?” Toni tried to change the subject and not be jealous of Luna’s wine. “He texted me about it two weeks ago and I never heard another word.”

  “He’s a climate scientist. He kind of feels like he has to even though in his heart he wants a muscle car.”

  Toni took a bite of steak. “We’ll get there. You know, there are shops that will take old cars and put electric engines in them now.”

  “Are you thinking about doing anything like that?”

  “I’m considering it.” Toni shrugged. “Gotta plan for the future, right? It’s going to be a gr
owing wing of custom work.”

  “Yep.”

  Jackie took a sip of wine. “Give me any car I can fit four children into and not spend a fortune on gas. That’s all I want.” She glanced at Toni. “You’re not drinking? You okay?”

  Luna said, “She’s got a blood pressure thing her doctor said.”

  “It’s minor,” Toni said. “She’s just being careful.”

  “Did you tell her about Dad and Gina?”

  “She told her,” Luna said. “Relax.”

  “I’m just saying she’s young to have a blood pressure thing.”

  “Hey.” Toni leaned closer to her sisters and tried to change the subject. “Have you guys heard anything about Marissa dating that Whit Fairfield guy?”

  “Seriously?” Jackie kept her voice low. “Are they a thing now? What a pair. They deserve each other, I guess, but that’s so trashy. He was her neighbor.”

  Luna shook her head. “Nico’s poor kids.”

  Nico’s kids were about the same age as Jackie’s. The oldest was just about to graduate from high school, and the youngest was just going in. Since Frank and Nico were as close as brothers, Jackie had spent more time with Marissa than either Toni or Luna.

  “That woman,” Jackie said, “is the most selfish person I think I’ve ever met. Ever. After the way she treated Nico, I hope she gets a UTI every time she has sex.”

  Luna almost snorted wine out her nose.

  “Harsh.” Toni bit back a smile. “But probably deserved.”

  “I know Nico’s kids are teenagers, but they’re still kids,” Luna said. “They’re gonna care about their mom dating someone who’s been so horrible to their father. If nothing else because it’ll make people in the Cove talk.”

  “Please,” Jackie said. “I’m pretty sure I saw Beth text Rosie a meme about one of the real housewives of something or other with her mother’s face pasted over the picture.”

  Toni winced. “Ouch.”

  “Supposedly Marissa has been trying to get something out of Nico. Some piece of the winery that she wants for herself or she’s never going to sign the papers and never give him a divorce and contest everything.” Jackie shook her head. “What a mess.”