Love Me Last

by Parker, Weston

  It was difficult to see if that was because we’d had sex or if it was just that I was getting to know him and see how hard-working he really was, but I definitely believed now that if anyone was going to fix the books, it was Hayden. So, I needed to take a step back now and stop worrying so much about it.

  What better way to stop thinking about it than a day off with Leslie? Leslie groaned as the hairdresser massaged her scalp. “Oh my gosh, you don’t know how badly I needed this,” she said.

  I laughed from the next station over. “Oh yeah I do,” I reminded her. “Almost as much as me.”

  Leslie laughed as well. “I’m just glad you were okay with taking the day off. Especially so last-minute.”

  I shrugged. “Like I said, I know that I need to just trust Hayden to deal with the books,” I told her. “And anyway, if there are any problems with anything, they know that they can always call me. But with all the pruning basically done at the moment, there’s not all that much that needs to be done around the winery. We’re really waiting for spring. So right now, they don’t really need me.”

  “Never stops you from going in and puttering around anyway,” Leslie pointed out. She paused and then said slyly, “One might almost think that this Hayden guy is a good influence on you or something.”

  I snorted. “Hayden has nothing to do with it,” I lied.

  “Bullshit,” Leslie said, calling my bluff. “You’ve never trusted anyone the way that you trust him. Except for maybe Charlie, but that’s because he’s been with the company since your grandfather was in it. I think you just may like this Hayden guy.”

  I couldn’t stop the silly grin that spread across my face. “I mean, he is a nice guy. And he works hard,” I said, ignoring the knowing look the hairdresser gave me. “I honestly didn’t think that I would ever meet someone who wanted to stay at the winery later than me. But he’s had to lock up a couple of nights this week already because he’s been so busy at work.”

  “Jesus, you trust him to lock the place up for you?” Leslie asked, sounding awed.

  I snorted. “Well, I’m trusting him with the very future of the winery,” I reminded her. “After that, I guess there’s just not much I can worry about.”

  “Fair enough,” Leslie said. “I really hope he gets everything fixed up. For your sake. I can’t imagine you doing anything else with your life.” She grimaced, “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said it like that.”

  “No, you’re right,” I said, knowing that she wasn’t trying to worry me. “I can’t imagine doing anything else either. But I have a good feeling about things.” I paused. “I took Hayden out for a tour of the vineyard yesterday and tried to get him to understand how much the place means to me. You know, like I basically grew up there. And he seemed to understand.”

  “That’s good,” Leslie said, but there was something in her voice as she said it. She paused. “I hate to say it, but make sure you’re not making too much of this.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.

  “Well, I mean, you know that I’d love for you to find someone who loves you. But this guy is your employee. And you didn’t even like him when you first met him on that date. Are you sure you really want to get involved with him? Maybe you’re just so relieved that he’s able to fix the books that you’re, like, showing your gratefulness in other ways or something?”

  “That’s not it,” I said immediately. “I misjudged him, that’s all. I mean, he’s late all the time, and that does drive me crazy. And he could definitely stand to dress a little nicer. But he’s actually a pretty nice guy. And he’s smart. And caring. He’s got a son. A six-year-old.”

  Leslie’s hairdresser squawked as she suddenly sat up to look over at me. “Oh no,” she said. “You’re not just interested in him because he has a kid.” She sounded exasperated.

  I rolled my eyes. “Of course not,” I said. “I mean, you know that I’d love to have a family one day. But I never imagined, you know, shacking up with a guy who has a kid. I’m just trying to say, I think he’s more responsible than I gave him credit for. And I imagine that’s probably part of why he’s later in the mornings. Takes a bit of work to get a kid ready and off to school, right?”

  Leslie sighed, “I don’t like this,” she said. “Like I said, I know how important this kind of thing is to you.”

  “This kind of thing?” I interrupted.

  Leslie snorted, waving a hand vaguely towards the ceiling. “A family. A boyfriend. Whatever. I know that’s important to you, and I want the best for you. But at the same time, I don’t want you to rush into things. Just because he’s the first guy to really look at you in a while, doesn’t mean that he’s your soulmate.” She paused, “Remember, his brother felt the need to set you up with him, when he didn’t even know you. That says something about this Hayden guy, if nothing else does.”

  “It says that his brother really cares about him,” I said, stubbornly, even though I’d had similar thoughts to the ones that Leslie was voicing now.

  Leslie sighed. “Well, just don’t go getting in over your head,” she said. “I mean, sleep with him or whatever, but maybe hold off on meeting his kid for the time being. You’ve got enough on your plate at the moment without adding to that drama.”

  I shrugged as my hairdresser finished rinsing my hair and sat me up. “I’m meeting Booker this weekend,” I confessed. “Hayden wants him to see the winery, so I said that I would meet the two of them there.”

  Leslie groaned. “Aren’t you worried what the rest of the workers are going to think?” she asked.

  “There shouldn’t be too many people there,” I said. “Anyway, none of them except for Charlie knows what Hayden is even doing there. They just think that I’m working with Hayden on some secret project. So, I’m not too worried about what they think about us.”

  Leslie rolled her eyes but stayed silent. Even that silence, though, showed me what she really thought about my current work situation. Whatever, though.

  “I think it’ll be good, getting to know Booker,” I said. “I think it’ll help me get to know Hayden better, actually. And that will help me trust him even more. You know I like to know the people that I do business with. That’s what Gramps always taught me. If you can connect to people that you work with, if you only work with people that you trust are good people, then there’s no way to do bad business.”

  Leslie shook her head. “Honestly, it sounds like maybe you’re trusting this guy way more than you should,” she said. “And with more than just the business, too. Just don’t go getting your heart broken.”

  “I won’t,” I said. Because after all, this had nothing to do with my heart. Sure, I liked Hayden. But it wasn’t like that. The sex was good, and I liked talking to him. I trusted him with the business because I could tell that he understood how much the winery meant to me. That was all there was to it.

  He wouldn’t be the first person to bring their kid to the winery, either. I didn’t know why Leslie was making such a big deal about it. Originally, I had planned on telling her that Hayden and I had already slept together, but now, I wasn’t sure that I wanted to open that can of worms. I had a feeling she would make a little too much of it. It had just been sex, quick and messy sex and nothing more.

  Of course, I liked Hayden, sure. He was a nice guy, and the attention was flattering. But there was nothing more to it than that. I knew that once this month was up, as soon as he had fixed whatever was wrong with our books, I would never see him again. I wasn’t getting in over my head.

  Hayden wasn’t the right guy for me anyway. He was just a temporary fix.

  I grinned flippantly at myself in the mirror as the hairdresser finally spun me around. “I love it,” I said, fluffing my hair just a bit with my fingers. She had totally transformed my long hair, adding in some subtle highlights and trimming it into luscious layers that emphasized how full it was. I winked at Leslie as she caught my eye in the mirror. “If anyone’s heart is getting broke
n here, it’s definitely going to be Hayden’s.”

  Leslie laughed and shook her head, but I could still see a hint of worry around her eyes.

  Chapter 19

  Hayden

  I wrapped a scarf around Booker’s neck and helped him into his coat. “How’s that?” I asked him.

  “Too warm,” he said, shaking his head and flapping his hands.

  I snorted. “It’s going to be a lot colder outside than it is in here,” I reminded him. “But how about this, we’ll take off the scarf for now and put it in your pocket.”

  “Fine,” Booker said. “But my hands are too hot too. See?” He reached out and pressed his hand against mine. It was pretty warm. I unbuttoned a couple of buttons on his coat.

  “We’ll try that, and if you’re still too warm when we get outside, we’ll figure something out,” I promised him.

  I knew he was getting a little frustrated with me. That I had fussed with his clothing more than I needed to that morning. It wasn’t like he was going to Antarctica or anything. But it was a bit chilly outside today, and I wanted him to appreciate the vineyard without spending the whole outing feeling miserable because he was too cold.

  And there was a deeper, underlying nervousness that was only making me even more neurotic about layering today. A nervousness that stemmed from the fact that we were meeting Mallory at the vineyard. A nervousness that stemmed from the fact that she had called this a date.

  I knew that was just a saying. I knew that she didn’t really mean it that way. Or did she? Did I want her to think of this as a date? I just didn’t know what to think.

  Loading Booker into the car, I drove us over to the vineyard. It looked just as beautiful as always. I just hoped Booker could appreciate it. Maybe I was wrong to bring him here now. Maybe I should have waited until the spring when the vines were all budding and bright with green. Or the fall, when he could actually pick some grapes and maybe help out with mashing them. I could only imagine what Mallory would think if Booker just shrugged and said the vines looked like a bunch of dead bushes or something.

  I leaned around towards the back and Booker gave me an inquisitive look. “We’re meeting one of my friends here,” I reminded him.

  “I know, Dad,” Booker said.

  “So, I want you to be on your best behavior,” I continued. “Be polite and use your manners. That sort of thing.”

  Booker nodded seriously. “Okay, I will,” he said. “Can we get out of the car now? It’s too hot in here.”

  I laughed and got out, going around to help him out, which was ridiculous since he was perfectly capable of getting out himself. “All right,” I said. I held off on asking him what he thought of the place yet. He had barely seen anything beyond the parking lot. No point in asking him now.

  Mallory walked out of the building and came to meet us, a grin on her face. “Good to see you, Hayden,” she said to me. Then, she knelt down, so she was on eye level with Booker. “And you must be Booker.”

  Booker gave her a quick once over and then grinned, nodding his head. “But my dad calls me Booger,” he said. “You can call me that if you want.”

  I tried not to laugh, and I could see that Mallory was trying not to laugh either. As far as I knew, Ace and I were the only people that Booker ever let call him Booger, and that was because he didn’t have any say in the matter really. For him to offer that to Mallory meant something. I wondered if she realized that.

  Damned kid was too perceptive. He probably could tell how important Mallory was to me. Not that I had done a very good job of hiding it, with all my nervous fussing.

  I shook my head but couldn’t help grinning.

  “Well, Booger, why don’t I show you around?” Mallory suggested. “Are you warm enough?”

  “Too warm,” Booker said plaintively.

  Mallory laughed and glanced up at me, her eyes twinkling with mirth. “Yeah, you look kind of like a marshmallow,” she teased. “Dad wanted to make sure you didn’t get cold, huh?”

  “Yeah,” Booker sighed. But he was smiling as Mallory led him over to a golf cart.

  “Figured this would get us around a little faster,” Mallory said to me, while Booker cheered about the novelty of riding around in the golf cart. “You can drive if you want to,” Mallory told him, and his eyes got really big as he looked up at me.

  “Can I, Dad?” he asked, and I could hear the hope in his voice.

  I grinned and shook my head. “I guess so since Mallory said it was okay,” I told him. “Be careful, though.”

  “Here, I’ll teach you how,” Mallory said, helping Booker into the driver’s seat and climbing in next to him. I had to admit, I liked watching her with him. She was patient and supportive, and Booker picked it up quick. Soon, we were zooming off across the vineyard. Mallory laughed as her hair blew back in the breeze, and I was struck again by how beautiful she was.

  “Can I climb the tree?” Booker asked excitedly, pointing to the very same tree that Mallory had shown me earlier in the week.

  Mallory laughed. “Of course you can,” she said. “I’ll race you to the top. But you have to be careful. One time, I got stuck up here and couldn’t figure out how to get back down, and they had to call the fire department for me!”

  Booker giggled and headed over to the tree. Mallory boosted him up to the first branch, and they both climbed up. Mallory looked back at me suddenly, her eyes twinkling. “Well?” she asked me.

  “Well what?” I asked.

  “Aren’t you going to join us?” Mallory asked.

  I blinked in surprise. I couldn’t remember the last time I had tried climbing a tree. But looking at this tree, it seemed sturdy enough. And maybe it was time to start doing things that I wouldn’t normally do. I hadn’t done anything truly spontaneous since Booker had appeared on my doorstep.

  I took a deep breath and headed towards the tree.

  “Wait,” Mallory said. “Can you grab the backpack that’s in the back of the cart and carry it up here?”

  I frowned but did as she asked, wondering just what it was inside the pack that she needed right now. I was surprised to see her call Booker down near us while she unpacked snacks. Plus some grape juice for Booker and wine for the two of us. She grinned at my surprised look. “Well, if you can’t have a picnic in a tree every so often, what’s the point?” she joked.

  Shaking my head, I remembered the way that she had looked for that first date, in her lipstick-red dress with her hair all done up in braids. Compare that to this relaxed look, her in jeans as she unpacked a picnic in a tree, looking for all the world like she belonged nowhere else but here?

  I didn’t think I could like her any better than this. In fact, I wasn’t sure that I could like anyone better than this. And I wasn’t sure what to do with that realization.

  Chapter 20

  Mallory

  Originally, I hadn’t been so nervous about the prospect of Hayden coming to the vineyard with Booker over the weekend. But something Leslie had said had gotten into my head, and I found that by Saturday morning, I was a nervous wreck. What should I wear? Would he agree to the picnic idea? Could he even climb a tree? Was I about to make a fool of myself in front of him?

  But when I thought about the way I had experienced the vineyard when I was a kid, there was no doubt in my mind it was what I wanted for Booker as well. Those picnics with Dad, up in the tree, had been some of the best times of my life. It was our little escape from the rest of the world.

  I didn’t want to examine just why I wanted Booker to love this place as much as I always had. I tried to remind myself that he wasn’t the first kid that I had shown around the place. He wouldn’t be the first kid that I taught to drive a golf cart around the sweeping, open lands. But he was the first kid after me who had ever climbed up that tree in the middle of the oldest part of the vineyard.

  I didn’t regret my choice, though, not as I listened to Booker giggling as he scampered up the tree. I didn’t go nearly as high, my
self. I was past the age where the higher branches would hold my weight. It had been a while since I’d even climbed up the short rope ladder to the lowest boughs of the tree, but although it creaked some, it held my weight.

  And Hayden’s, as he climbed up behind me. I grinned at the expression on his face. I hadn’t been sure that I could actually convince him to join me up there, but here he was. I wondered if he was always so serious, or if that was just while he was around me. Maybe once he got to know me better, he would loosen up a little.

  I kind of wanted to find out.

  I’d found myself wondering how much of his seriousness had to do with Booker. And maybe with Booker’s mother? I could tell that Hayden had done a great job raising Booker. The kid had to be one of the most polite kids I’d ever met. Which was definitely saying something, when I could tell how fun-loving the kid was as well. He had a wild streak, I was sure of it. But he was under control while he drove the golf cart around, and he was careful as he raced up the tree.

  The looming question was what had happened to his mother. Obviously, she and Hayden weren’t together anymore, or else Ace would never have tried to set me up on that date with his brother. But was she in the picture at all? If not, what had happened to her?

  I tried to picture Hayden divorced, but that was difficult. He was so cautious in everything, and I had to assume that it carried over to how he was in relationships, too. But it wasn’t like Booker had just sprung out of nowhere. Maybe Hayden had been married, and his wife had died?

  That could actually explain the way that his brother had been trying to set him up. Maybe he thought it was high time for Hayden to start dating again, but Hayden wouldn’t do it on his own.

  I wanted to ask, but I didn’t know how to do it without sounding like I was prying. And one thing was for sure, this wasn’t the kind of conversation we could have while Booker was around. So for now, I tried not to think too hard about it. For now, I just wanted to enjoy the time I got to spend with them.