Fate Actually: Moonstone Cove Book Two

by Hunter, Elizabeth

Toni tucked the small black-and-white pictures in her backpack and started the car. Megan had taken off shortly after Toni’s appointment was over, but Toni was eternally grateful that she’d been there. Megan knew what questions to ask, having done this three times herself, but she never made Toni feel stupid for not knowing about baby stuff.

  Baby stuff.

  She started imagining what her house would look like. Would her cat like the baby? She’d need a crib and a bunch of stuff. Did she have enough closet space in her house? Maybe she’d need to do an addition at some point.

  She was an active enough aunt that she knew babies came with a lot of extra baggage.

  Good thing the garage is doing well.

  Oh God, she was going to have to tell her dad. Her dad was probably still deluding himself that she was a virgin since she’d never been married and never brought a serious boyfriend home.

  “Don’t think about that, Toni,” she muttered to herself as she pulled into lunchtime traffic in downtown Moonstone Cove. “Think about something more pleasant. Something less complicated. Like murder.”

  Seriously, why had Marissa and Whit Fairfield been together? Toni was hoping her next appointment might give her some insight.

  She pulled into the Depot restaurant a little after two o’clock. Nico had set up this meeting, but she knew who she’d be talking to.

  Ruben Montenegro was one of Nico’s peers, a skilled farmer and vineyard manager from an old Portuguese farming family who’d graduated from the same viticulture program Nico had at Central Coast State. They’d gone to high school together, and Nico had a lot of respect for Ruben even though the man had taken a job managing Fairfield vineyards two years before.

  Toni spotted Ruben on the far side of the back patio at the Depot. He stood and waved her over.

  “Toni!” He smiled and held out a hand. “You look great. It’s been a long time.”

  “You too.”

  He did look great. His dark brown hair was salt and pepper at the temples, but it looked good on him. He was clean-shaven and handsome. His collared shirt was open at the neck, and his sleeves were rolled up, showing off muscled forearms.

  Toni sat across from him. “I don’t think I’ve seen you since your mom brought her Cadillac in.”

  He smiled. “God, she loves that car, and it’s so old.”

  “You tell her to hold on to that old girl. It’s a classic again. People are starting to look for them.” Ruben’s mom had acquired a 1977 Cadillac El Dorado with ridiculously low mileage and brought it to Toni to get it checked out. “It’s worth its weight just for the chrome and leather.”

  Ruben laughed. “I ordered a couple of glasses of the Fairfield claret. You know I gotta show off a little.”

  “I can have a sip, but I’m on a medication right now, so that’s all.” She waved her hand. “It’s no biggie, but I don’t want my mom to give me crap, you know?”

  “I know how that goes.” Ruben reached for the two glasses as the waitress returned and ordered a cheese plate for them to share. He waited for the server to retreat before he asked, “So Nico said you had some questions about Fairfield? What’s up? You become a detective in your spare time or something?”

  “I mean… kind of?” Toni shrugged. “It’s more personal. I’m just feeling some way about it because he was murdered right behind my house I guess. I don’t know.”

  Ruben raised his eyebrows. “I mean… the police aren’t seriously looking at Nico, are they?”

  “Oh yeah. They’re serious. Everyone knows they didn’t like each other, and Fairfield land borders Dusi land.”

  Ruben waved a hand. “It was all stupid shit.”

  “Tell the police that,” Toni said. “I think he’s their main suspect at this point. All the people who hated Fairfield, and it seems like they’re only looking at Nico.”

  “Well…” Ruben shrugged. “Can you blame them? You know I respect Nico a lot, but the guy can go off half-cocked.”

  “When someone is harassing him? Of course he can.”

  “Nico blamed Whit for everything though. It was kind of overboard, Toni.”

  “Was it though? I’m not asking you to talk shit about your ex-boss—”

  “I mean, Fairfield’s still my boss. Or his estate is.” Ruben shrugged. “As far as I’ve been told by the lawyers, nothing has really changed. Whoever owns his estate owns the winery too.”

  “So business as usual for you guys?”

  Ruben smiled. “I mean, Whit won’t be butting in, which isn’t all bad, but other than that, all the same.”

  “Oh.” Toni tried to get a read on Ruben, but his walls were pretty dense. There was something though… “So was he pretty intrusive?”

  “Oh, not that bad. I mean, he was okay, but he really didn’t know much about wine.”

  Ruben was holding back on something. There was a lot more going on between him and Fairfield than he was letting on. The tension emanating from him had gone way, way up. It was enough to make Toni’s skin itch.

  “But you’re still in charge over there, right?”

  Maybe Ruben had reason to get rid of his boss too. Even though they had a seemingly amicable relationship.

  “Oh yeah. If anything, I’m probably busier now, but I’m sure they’ll eventually hire some kind of business manager and I’ll have to give my reports to them or something. Long term, I imagine whoever controls everything—”

  “Any idea who that is?”

  “None.” Ruben shook his head. “We weren’t buddies. He was a decent boss. Paid well. He could be a pain in the ass about the vineyard, but if I put my foot down, he listened.”

  Toni didn’t sense anything untrue about that. “Huh. Good to know.”

  “But we didn’t talk about personal stuff. I don’t think he had any kids, so it’s not like there are heirs. He came from money, so maybe his parents? A sibling? Like I was saying, I imagine that long term, we might be sold to another company, but I’m hoping that the value the winery adds to the estate will be enough to keep things going the way they have been.”

  And keep you in a job.

  Toni propped her elbows on the table. “But can we be honest? You know your boss was giving my cousin shit, right? No bullshit, Ruben. We both know he was a dirty player.”

  Ruben took a deep breath and sat back in his chair. “Do I know that Whit pulled some stunts to make Nico’s life a little more difficult? Yeah. He wanted that land along the creek and had plans for it.”

  “Nico’s not going to give up that land, Ruben. It’s not even his to sell; it’s family land. And why would the family sell any of their land, especially to someone who was so obnoxious as Fairfield?”

  “Come on, you guys haven’t even owned it that long. Maybe… twenty years or so? It belonged to that weird old guy from Hungary before, didn’t it?”

  “I’ve got no idea. Nico knows all that stuff. I just don’t understand why you’re covering for Fairfield when he’s dead.”

  “Hey.” Ruben raised his hands with a smile. “I’m not covering for anyone. I don’t deny that Fairfield was a jerk to your cousin. But I don’t think he was involved in anything illegal. He knew I wouldn’t back him up on anything like that.”

  “Tampering with Nico’s tractor? Tampering with his tanks? Stealing his crews?”

  “You can’t steal a harvest crew, Toni. They’re independent contractors. If you give them more money than what your cousin’s offering—”

  “To sit around and not harvest his grapes?”

  “To do whatever,” Ruben said. “I’m not saying I agreed with him, but it’s not illegal.”

  “Tampering with equipment is,” Toni said. “Sabotaging a tank is.”

  “Can you prove any of that was Whit and not teenagers? Or a disgruntled employee?”

  “Okay, even if you’re right, can we talk about Fairfield literally dating Nico’s ex-wife and flaunting it?”

  Ruben’s cheeks turned a little red. “I don’t know anythi
ng about that.”

  “Oh, come on, Ruben. Why on earth would Fairfield be seeing Marissa of all people unless it was to piss off Nico?”

  “All I can say is the few times I overheard Marissa and Fairfield talking, it wasn’t Nico’s name that came up.”

  “No?”

  “No.” Ruben looked at her dead in the eye. “It was his winemaker. Henry Durand.”

  Chapter 12

  Toni waited in her Mustang, debating whether to go in or not. She wished she had Katherine’s gift of foresight, because she knew she needed to talk to Henry, and she had no idea what she was going to say.

  But no. Instead of foresight or telekinesis, she had the “gift” of empathy. She knew when people were lying to her. She’d always had a fairly good bullshit detector before the incident at the gym. Now? It was foolproof, and Toni wished it wasn’t.

  Most people had no idea how many tiny deceptions people told throughout the day, many of them for innocent reasons. To spare someone’s feelings. To ease through an uncomfortable conversation. To gloss over an inconvenience.

  Toni felt them all. It was one of the reasons she really appreciated spending time with cars more than people.

  Now she was sitting in the driveway of Henry’s small apartment on the outskirts of Moonstone Cove and wishing she could turn all her psychic power off. In the silence of the early evening, she could admit that.

  If everything between them had been a lie, she didn’t want to know.

  Someone tapped at her window and she started.

  “Hey.” It was Henry carrying a bag of groceries. His smile lit up the evening gloom. “This is a nice surprise.”

  She opened her door and looked at his blue truck. “Can I help you carry anything in?”

  “Nope.” He lifted the paper bag. “It’s just this. What’s up?”

  “Do you mind if we…?” She motioned toward the stairs that led to his second-floor apartment.

  “No.” He was concerned. “Everything all right?”

  “Yeah. I mean… I’m sure it is.” There had to be a good explanation. A logical one. There had to be.

  This was Henry. And Henry was good.

  “Okay.” He looked confused but still happy. “Come on up.”

  She walked up the stairs and squeezed into a corner of the landing while he opened the door. He hadn’t even locked it.

  Typical, trusting Henry.

  “Woof!” Earl’s deep-throated bark greeted them as the door opened.

  Okay, maybe not all trust. Any burglar who ventured into Henry’s house would be greeted with a hundred pounds of awkward canine. Toni knew Earl was harmless, but most criminals probably wouldn’t.

  “Hey, Earl.” She bent over to rub the dog’s floppy ears while Henry put the groceries away. “How you doing?”

  He sniffed her legs thoroughly, whining a little.

  “Sorry, buddy. Shelby’s at my house.”

  Earl sighed and lay down at her feet.

  Henry came up behind her, put both his big hands on her hips, and squeezed. “Back off, Earl. She didn’t come to see you.”

  She leaned back into his chest, closed her eyes, and let the warm wave of desire wash over her. It wasn’t only desire. There was affection. Surprise. Delight.

  And maybe, worst of all, hope.

  “Henry, I didn’t come over here for that.” She turned and his hands slid around her hips. “I wish it was just that, but I need to ask you a question.”

  He frowned. “What is it?” Worry. Pure worry. “Is everything all right?”

  “I’ve kind of been looking into what happened with Whit Fairfield.”

  The flavor of Henry’s worry turned sour. “Okay.”

  “And… I’ve been trying to figure out one main thing. Him and Marissa. Why would he be with her? What did he get out of it?”

  Henry let go of her and stepped back. For the first time ever, Toni felt a solid wall rise between them. His face shut down. His emotions shut down.

  “I mean, probably just to irritate Nico, right? What does it matter?” Henry asked. “Do you think Marissa’s a suspect?”

  Toni felt an ache knotting her stomach. “I don’t think so. But according to Drew, Fairfield had a fiancée in San Francisco, which meant that whatever he had with Marissa here was just… a fling. Maybe less.”

  “And?” He cleared his throat. “I mean, it’s shitty, but men like Fairfield cheat on their girlfriends pretty frequently.”

  “But Whit Fairfield was so calculating. So… careful. Why risk pissing off your fiancée to fool around with Marissa of all people? It’s hard to imagine that it was just to piss off Nico.”

  “Why not? I mean, he’s an asshole. Was an asshole.” Henry crossed his arms over his chest. “It seemed like both of them were pretty horrible people. They deserved each other.”

  “You said that before,” she said. “At my house when you told me someone saw them having drinks.”

  “Well, it’s true.” He walked to the kitchen. “You want a beer?”

  “No.”

  “I want a beer.”

  Her heart was pounding. “Henry, why did Marissa ask about you when I saw her at the country club?”

  Henry slammed down the beer bottle he’d just picked up and spun around. “What did she say?” His eyes were wide and angry.

  “Nothing much.” She swallowed hard. “I, uh, I didn’t know what to say when she asked about you. I wasn’t expecting that, you know? You always sounded like you hated her.”

  Henry’s eyes were wild. He looked down at the counter. Out the window. Anywhere but directly at Toni. And his emotions were all over the place. Toni felt anger. Embarrassment. Shame.

  “I do hate her,” Henry said. “She was horrible to Nico and the kids.”

  “That’s not why.” She could feel it. There was something he was hiding.

  “What are you trying to say?” His jaw clenched tight and he stared at her, his stance alert like an animal ready to flee. “You don’t believe me?”

  If she put her hands on him, she could make him relax. She could make him tell her whatever she wanted and she would know he wasn’t lying.

  And she’d never trust him again.

  Toni took a deep breath and put her hands on her burning cheeks. She was upset, but she was trying to remain calm. “Henry, I need to you to be honest with me. For… so many reasons. I need to know why Marissa and Whit Fairfield would be talking about you.”

  “I don’t know why that sonofabitch and that woman would be talking about me.”

  She closed her eyes and tried to stop the tears. “You’re lying.”

  “I’m not…” He gave a sharp, bitter laugh. “It doesn’t matter.”

  “What doesn’t matter?”

  He abandoned his beer in the kitchen and walked across the room, raking a hand through his hair. “Everything I’ve done. The months I’ve spent…” Henry turned, and the look he gave her cracked her heart open wide. “There’s no win here. Nothing I did for Nico is going to matter, and worst of all, you’re never going to…” He gripped his hair in his hand and clenched hard. “Fuck!”

  Toni walked over to him and took him by the shoulders. “Henry, just tell me. Tell me everything. I can’t help you if you—”

  “There’s nothing to help!” His eyes tore her apart. “I had a fraction of a chance with you before tonight, and now I’m going to have nothing. It’s not the job. I don’t care about the job; I can get another one if Nico fires me, but us…” He shook his head.

  “Did you sleep with her?” The thought twisted her guts, but she needed to know.

  “No!” He swallowed hard. “She tried. It was right after I moved here and started working at the winery; it was pretty obvious she and Nico were unhappy. I was trying to be nice, and maybe she took it for something else. I don’t know. I’d had a little too much to drink after a Friday staff party, and she cornered me in the barrel room.” He closed his eyes and stepped back, crossing his arms over
his chest again. “She kissed me. I didn’t react fast enough—my head was swimming—but I realized what was happening and I pushed her away.”

  Toni felt the worst of her anxiety release. He was finally telling the truth.

  Henry didn’t look relieved though. He looked ill. “She laughed at me.” His cheeks were flaming red. “She laughed and said it could be our little secret. Don’t tell Nico, she said. Don’t tell anyone. If I did, she’d tell them I came on to her.”

  It was the truth. She could feel his shame and his anger. “Henry, that wasn’t your fault. She was your boss’s wife. She had the power in that situation and she abused it.”

  “I realize that. Now. But I didn’t say anything, not even after she left him. I should have told Nico what had happened and been honest. But by the time she’d left, I’d met you.” He blinked hard and reached across the space between them.

  Henry ran a finger down her cheek, his thumb brushing the edge of her lip. “I’d met you, and I just thought you were so… cool.” The corner of his mouth turned up. “You weren’t like anyone I’d ever met before. You were so funny and smart. You didn’t care what anyone thought about you. You were so bold, and I’ve never felt that way. I always worry what people think.”

  “You could have told us. Me or Nico.”

  He dropped his hand. “You are so damn loyal to your family, Toni, and your family may like me, but I am not one of theirs. If Nico got angry with me, you’d have sided with him. And I was still working up the nerve to make a move with you. I didn’t want to mess anything up, so I just…”

  “Tried to pretend like nothing happened.”

  Henry nodded. “Yeah.”

  It was the truth. He was telling her the truth, but he wasn’t telling her everything.

  “What happened after?” She held her hand out. “Tell me, Henry.”

  He let out a long breath and crossed his arms over his chest. “It was about a month after we’d won our first medal at the Central State Fair. It was a really big deal, remember? First gold medal for a Dusi wine, and it was the first pinot noir that Nico and I had worked on together.”

  “I remember. He called you his lucky charm.”