“Nope. We’re making ‘some wine or something’.” He said, using her words.
“Wine?”
Jason snickered. He was in a playful mood. “Try to keep up, Wilson. We’re making strawberry wine.”
“Oh. Right.” Alli said, as if she made strawberry wine every day.
They spent the next hour hulling strawberries, mashing them in the crock pot, covering them in boiling water and adding lemon juice to the mix. They became a well oiled machine, moving in sync, each instinctively knowing which way the other was going to go. Finally, Jason covered their concoction with a linen cloth and set it in the back of the walk-in pantry.
“That’s it?” Alli asked.
Jason shrugged. “For today. I’ll stir it every day for the next week, then strain it through cheese cloth...”
“Then it’s ready?”
Jason gave her a long suffering sigh. “No. Then you mix in the sugar, and let it set for another week, stirring daily. Then,” He motioned for her to follow him down a hall, and through a door leading to a stairway, “you pour it into glass jugs, and cork it loosely. It should sit like that for three months.”
“Then it’s ready?”
Jason shook his head good naturedly. He was leading her into what appeared to be his parents’ wine cellar. Alli knew nothing about wine, but she was impressed with the number of bottles nestled among the intricate shelves.
“Once it’s clear, you pour it into individual wine bottles, cork ‘em, and let them age for a year.”
“A whole year? Jeeze. Seems like an awful long time to wait for a drink.” Alli was shocked at the amount of work that went in to making wine.
Jason skimmed his fingers along one of the back shelves, stopping at a cluster of light colored bottles. He pulled one from its slot and presented it to Alli.
“Well, Miss Alli, I’m not alone in the opinion that some of life’s greatest pleasures are worth waiting for.” He handed her the bottle with a flourish. She took note of the label. It said ‘Taylor Made’ in a delicate script, the background a pleasing watercolor medley of strawberry impressions.
“Wow. Your own label and everything.”
He smiled at her appreciation. “I’m glad you’re impressed. Here. This is for your Gran, with our compliments.”
“It only takes her a day to make preserves. Seems like she’s getting the better deal here.”
Jason shrugged. “We all play to our own strengths.”
Jason walked her to the door. “Thanks for the help today.”
Alli smiled up at him, suddenly shy. “It was fun. Now I can put vintner on my resume.”
Jason laughed. “Well, let’s not be too hasty. We’ll have to see how your batch comes out.”
“You mean a year from now? That seems a lifetime away.”
“A year isn’t so very long. You just have to remind yourself that it’s worth the wait.” He nodded to the bottle she held. “You’ll see what I mean if your Gran lets you taste it.”
“Alriiiight.” Doug said with great appreciation. “This place is great. Do you think you’ll be settled in enough to host a bar-b-q on Wednesday? I bet your roof top will have a killer view of the fireworks display over the water.”
Jason chuckled at Doug’s enthusiasm. “It will have to be no-frills, but yeah, I think I can be ready to host an Independence Day celebration.”
It would be a celebration of Jason’s independence as well as the nation’s. Buying the old garage was the first step toward opening his own gallery. He had great plans for the building. The lower level would serve as gallery space where local artists could have shows and display their work. The second floor already had basic plumbing and electrical set up for a living space, and the third floor would make an ideal painting studio - especially with the natural light afforded by the skylights in the ceiling. The fact that the building came with a finished roof-top patio was just icing on the cake.
Alli blew out the single candle on the piece of cake set before her.
“Thank you for not making the wait staff sing.” She smiled at Margot in relief.
The two sisters sat at a booth in a small diner. Margot had come up to celebrate Alli’s seventeenth birthday. After treating the girls to a meal at Alli’s favorite greasy spoon, their grandparents had left them to enjoy some cake and solo sister time.
Alli pretended not to care that her parents hadn’t bothered to make the trip. Margot had assured her that they were planning something nice for when she returned home in August.
Margot returned Alli’s smile. “What did you wish for?” She asked, brightly.
“You’re not supposed to tell or it wont come true.” Alli teased.
Margot studied her sister intently. “Something’s different about you.”
Alli put on her most innocent, doe eyed expression. “What do you mean?”
Margot narrowed her eyes, having been made instantly suspicious by her sister’s evasion.
“It’s a boy.” She said matter of factly.
Alli’s eyes became round as saucers. “How could you possibly know that? I only met him last week!”
Margot crowed in triumph. “Ha! I knew it! You’re having a little summer romance. Who is it? Do I know him?”
Alli took a deliberately slow bite of her cake, and laughed as Margot squirmed with impatience. “No. You don’t know him. And I wouldn’t call it a summer romance. It’s more just a summer flirting.”
Margot smiled at Alli’s slight blush.
“Where did you meet him? Let me guess - the library?”
Alli dead eyed Margot. “Ha. Ha.” She said flatly. “He’s the Taylors’ son, home from college.”
Margot raised her brows in interest. “A college boy huh? My my. And he’s flirting with my baby sister?”
Alli dropped her eyes to her plate and pretended to be very interested in her fork. “He may or may not be under the impression that I’m nineteen...”
Margot snorted with mirth and rolled her eyes.
Just then, the door opened and in walked none other than the topic of conversation himself.
Jason spotted Alli immediately. His eyes lit up, and he changed course mid-stride to go to her table.
Alli’s heart flopped into her stomach as she watched him approach. Speaking low and fast she said, “Ohmygod Margot - that’s him. He’s coming over here. Please please please, as a birthday present for me, don’t tell him I’m only seventeen?!”
Before Margot could answer, Jason had reached their table.
“Jason, what a pleasant surprise.” Alli smiled too widely, to the point that it looked like she was baring her teeth. Margot shook her head at Alli in a fruitless attempt to get her to stop looking like a lunatic.
“Hi, Jason, I’m Margot, Alli’s-” Alli cut Margot off.
“-My little sister. Margot. Margot this is Jason. His folks are the Taylors.”
Margot looked Jason over with interest. She could see why Alli was so obviously taken with the guy.
Jason nodded to Margot. “A pleasure to meet you. Are you staying with your grandparents this summer as well?”
“No, I’m not a farm-life enthusiast. I’d much rather hang in the city. Alli here is horse crazy, and likes to commune with nature. She’s probably only a few summers away from going one hundred percent granola, wearing hemp clothing, and throwing out her razor.”
Alli snorted a laugh and smacked playfully at her sister.
Taking notice of the cake, Jason raised his eyebrows. “Someone’s birthday?”
Alli chuckled like a nervous crazy person. “Yup. I’m nineteen. the big one-nine. Practically in my twenties-”
Margot kicked Alli under the table. “You’ll have to excuse my sister. We had some celebratory champagne with dinner.”
Jason smiled warmly, then looked skeptically around the diner. “They serve champagne here? To minors?”
Margot mumbled something about their own private stock and asked Jason if he’d like to join t
hem for a piece of cake.
“I couldn’t think of a nicer way to spend my Friday night, having cake with two lovely ladies such as yourselves. Unfortunately, I just came by to pick up an order for my parents. They’re expecting me back any minute now.” He smiled familiarly at Alli, “Can I take a raincheck?”
Alli was lost in the dreaminess of his eyes. It took another kick from Margot for her to realize she was supposed to respond.
“Ouch! Oh. Pardon?”
Jason was trying valiantly not to laugh. “A raincheck?” Alli was still staring at him blankly. “For the cake?” He prompted.
“Oh, right. Of course! Cake. Yes, please. I mean, please do.”
Jason did laugh then. A sweet chuckle of endearment as he turned to go.
“Until then. It was nice to meet you Margot. And Alli?”
Alli raised her brows in a show of how alert she was. “Yeah?”
“Happy birthday.” With that he headed for the counter and his waiting order.
“He’s nineteen?” Asked Margot, skeptically. “He doesn’t seem nineteen to me.”
Alli shrugged noncommittally. “Nineteen, twenty... who cares? He’s the most perfect specimen of man I have ever seen, and he happens to live within spitting distance of our grandparents.”
“He is gorgeous, I’ll give you that. If he wasn’t so obviously interested in you, I might have found a compelling reason to stay for a while.”
* * * * *
Jason raised the plastic fork, balancing one of the last bites of cake on the tip. “Are you sure you don’t want any of this?”
Alli just shook her head, trying not to stare at his lips as he ate. He had very full lips, and they looked soft... Alli could feel a familiar heat crawling up her cheeks. She dipped her head to hide her face, and scratched industriously at the ears of the border collie dog in her lap. “You like that, Chase?” Chase thumped his tail against the barn floor, pressing himself harder against Alli’s lap.
Finishing the cake, Jason set the paper plate out of reach of Gus, and went back to lining up boards. He was constructing a pen in the front part of the hay loft with the intention of buying a few more goats at auction.
Alli’s throaty giggle caused him to glance over at her in time to see Chase trying to lick her face. She was losing the wrestling match. In her struggles to avoid being covered in dog slobber her eyes met his over Chase’s furry head. There was a definite attraction between them. It sang like electricity in the air all around them. Frankly, Jason thought it was silly of them to pretend they didn’t notice.
“So, you were saying, a livestock auction?” Alli was asking.
“Yeah. This Saturday. You want to come?”
Alli had never been to a livestock auction before. It sounded interesting. “Sure. Sounds like fun.”
Chase had settled down, and was now lounging against Alli’s side as she gently stroked his ears. Jason tried not to notice the way her hair was falling over her shoulder, caressing the side of her breast. “I don’t know if ‘fun’ is an adjective I would use to describe a livestock auction, but I’m sure Gus will appreciate having some company around here.”
Jason looked around his immediate area for a tool. Finding it out of reach, he gestured with his chin, his hands being busy holding together two pieces of wood. “d’you mind handing me that level?”
Alli handed him the level, and sat down beside him. “How’s your dad?”
“He’s mending. He should be right as rain by the time I start back to work. Or at least well enough to handle the day to day minutia of a hobby farm.”
“So, shirtless cowboy will have a real job.” Alli bit her bottom lip impishly.
He snorted with mirth. “Well, we can’t all make our livings stealing shirts. It’s simple economics. The shirtless cowboy market would become saturated.”
“What do you do?” She was genuinely curious. During their long conversation at the soda fountain, he had mentioned quitting his job, but he had never mentioned what exactly that job had been.
“The only thing a lit major can do, with any authority. I teach.”
That surprised Alli. Jason was way too sexy to be a teacher. She sighed in sympathy for the little girls that must moon over him, unable to concentrate on their assignments.
“What grade?” She asked.
“So far just eighth. I’ve only been doing it for one year.”
“You like teaching?”
He became thoughtful for a moment. “Yeah. It’s just sad to see how uninterested kids are in reading any more. It’s all about texting and tweeting now. I wonder if they’d be more interested in Hemingway if I fed it to them in one hundred and forty character increments.” Jason stopped himself. “God, listen to me. I’m such an old geezer.”
Alli laughed. “You are not!”
“I’m what, four years older than you? Jeeze, it seems like decades ago that I was nineteen.”
Alli sobered quickly at his math. “Four years isn’t all that much.”
“It wouldn’t be if you were, say, thirty, and I was thirty four, but from nineteen to twenty three, that’s a key four years.” Jason put the boards in place, double checking the level.
“Yes, I’m sure you’re so much more mature and wise than I.” Alli handed him a hammer before he had to ask.
“I didn’t say I was more mature, Alli. Just that a lot of life lessons are learned in those short years. You’re not your average nineteen year old though.” Jason smacked a nail in place in two hits.
“Yes I am. I’m totally nineteen.” Was he on to her?
“You’re an old soul, Alli. Talking to you is easy. I would love to hear your take on things when you’re this side of twenty.”
Alli was feeling more and more guilty about her little white lie. Would Jason still want to hang out with her if he knew her real age? Would he still look at her like that? He seemed to be eating her with his eyes. Lord help her, his eyes alone made her stomach do flips. Their multi layered hues of grey, surrounded by those thick black lashes that would make a mascara model green with envy. Alli had to remind herself to breathe.
Jason was fascinated by the way Alli’s skin bloomed when she blushed. Her blushes started in her cheeks, then spread all over. He wondered how far down that blush went. He shifted his weight in an attempt to accommodate the swelling in his jeans without her noticing. This was ridiculous. It was like he was nineteen again.
Alli’s stomach gave a loud growl. She laughed in embarrassment. “And on that note, I think it’s time I get home for dinner. Will you be around tomorrow?”
“I should be. I’ve got a few odds and ends to take care of, but you’re welcome to come loiter if you want.”
As if she could stay away! Alli smiled coyly. “Maybe I will.” She untangled her legs and stood to go. “Have a good night.” She shot over her shoulder with forced casualness.
Jason watched her leave, appreciating the subtle sway of her slender hips.
“Okay, open your eyes!” Alli opened her eyes and stared at the new painting hanging above the small fireplace.
“Well? What do you think?”
The painting was that of a woman on a beach. The sun was setting and she was mostly in silhouette, but you could still see certain details. She was in profile, and you could just make out the hint of a smile on her lips. “It’s lovely.”
“So you like it?” Greg was eager for praise. “It’s by the same artist that did the mural in the café you’re so fond of. I thought this one would go well here. She reminds me of you.”
The fact that Greg had gone to the trouble of seeking out an artist for her was really touching. “It’s perfect. Thank you. I can’t believe you went to all that trouble.”
“It wasn’t really all that difficult. The artist turned out to be affiliated with my mother’s foundation. He has a local gallery. Buying this piece was actually tax deductible.” Greg couldn’t keep the smugness from his answer.
Alli laughed at his l
ook of accomplishment and thanked him again before hugging him and giving him a kiss.
Greg pulled back a bit, but kept her firmly wrapped in his arms. “Well, it’s a birthday present, but I was also hoping it would be a house warming present.”
Alli could feel her face taking on its deer-in-headlights look. She had been putting Greg off for the better part of a year now. He had mercifully refrained from asking her to marry him, but that hadn’t stopped him from pushing to have her move in with him. Alli was running out of excuses. She was also running out of time. If Greg kept up the forward momentum of this relationship, Alli was going to be forced to either step up or step away.
The thought was frightening. She hadn’t felt bad about their relationship in the beginning. As far as Alli could tell, Greg was initially attracted to her for her looks, as well as the added bonus of her serving as a gateway into her father’s prestigious law firm. Greg’s shallow reasons for pursuing her were what made her agree to date him in the first place.
Alli was damaged goods. She was incapable of giving her heart to a man, but she couldn’t deny the benefits of having a boyfriend. Having Greg around gave her peace. Peace from Margot’s pitying looks. Peace from her father’s suspicious scrutiny. Peace from her mother’s dejected head shakes. Being Greg’s obedient little girlfriend was a fair price to pay for such peace.
It hadn’t been easy at first. Alli had struggled with her moral compass, trying to convince herself that being with Greg wasn’t the same thing as prostitution. She tried desperately to fall in love with Greg. He was quite a catch - handsome, rich, intelligent... But he wasn’t Jason.
Alli didn’t think Greg loved her either. He said he did, and he may have even convinced himself of as much, but Greg didn’t really know what love was. Alli did. Alli knew what love felt like, and it wasn’t this. So now she was faced with a dilemma. Keep up the charade and play house with Greg, or be honest with herself and move on alone.
Alli thought of the fall out that would happen as a result of her breaking up with Greg. He had just been taken on as an associate at her father’s firm. Their families had weekly dinners together. Alli was going to be a bride’s maid in Greg’s sister’s wedding... It would certainly rock the proverbial boat to say the least. It was too much to think about just now. This was her birthday weekend - she should be enjoying herself.
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