“Speak for yourself,” Seth said, chuckling. “I still feel like I have such a long way to go. If this crop of table- and stock grapes happens, then next year I’ll start pressing and fermenting.”
“I’ll be serving the Bluestone & Vine Llamarama Label here before you know it.”
Seth chuckled. “Fingers crossed.” He’d named his label long before he’d harvested his first bunch of grapes. He’d done it partly for Sarah Bianchi, and partly because it just suited the way he thought. He’d thought he’d go on to have a herd of llamas back then, but Dex was worthy of the label all by himself, even if he would forever be the only one.
“Now all you have to do is get the girl,” Sawyer said.
Seth shook his head. “I don’t know,” he said. “The more I listen to myself explaining it to you, the more I think maybe you’re right, about all the planning.” He checked his cell phone, then tucked it back in his pocket. “And maybe all this is moot. Maybe she’s going to make the decision for me.”
“Maybe so,” Sawyer said, then looked beyond Seth’s shoulder. “Whatever the case, I think you’re about to find out.”
Seth turned and saw Pippa entering the room. Jake was with her, and he was carrying an old fiddle case.
Pippa waved and Seth started to lift his hand in response, then he realized she was waving to Drake. In fact, he didn’t think she’d even noticed he was there. He thought about getting up, going to talk to her, but then Drake was crossing the room and he, Pippa, and Jake disappeared back through the doorway.
“What’s that all about?” Seth wondered.
“There’s one way to find out,” Sawyer said, then made a shooing motion. “Go see.” He grinned. “Maybe you’ll get the chance for a little PDA. No better place to put your grand plan into motion than at the mill. Before supper, every man, woman, and sheep will know the two of you are making more than googly eyes at each other.”
Seth shook his head, but looked at the now empty doorway. “I don’t want to intrude on whatever she’s got going on. I don’t even think she saw me.” He turned back to find Sawyer leaning back in his chair, arms folded across his chest, a very satisfied smile on his face. “What?”
“Nothing. Other than this is going to be a very gratifying time in my life.” He lifted his hands and gestured around him. “My brewery is taking off. The guild has the mill hopping. Sunny just got her new grant approved for her next research proposal.” He folded his arms again. “And I finally get the chance to see you make a complete fool out of yourself over a girl.”
“Har, har,” Seth grumbled, wondering why he’d thought it was such a good idea to tell Sawyer anything in the first place.
“Fair is fair, after all,” Sawyer added.
Seth thought about that and a smile creased his face. “Yeah, well, there is that.” He pushed his chair back and stood. “You were pretty spectacularly awkward in your pursuit of Sunny. It’s a credit to her she saw through all that to the stellar man underneath.”
Sawyer stood, too. “Thanks, I think,” he replied, chuckling. “I’m sure Pippa will do the same. Eventually. I’ll be happy to have a chat with her if you think it will help.”
Seth just gave him a quelling look. “I think I can handle this on my own.”
“Yeah,” Sawyer said with a laugh, “because you’re doing an awesome job of it so far.” Sawyer walked around the table and clamped a hand on Seth’s shoulder a little harder than was necessary. “Just don’t go hurting her and make me have to hurt you. Don’t screw this up.” He let his hand drop away.
Seth rubbed his shoulder. “Gosh, thanks, Dad. I’ll do my best.” He snagged his fleece off the back of the chair. The unusually warm spring weather had taken a dip back toward the frigid that morning. “I’m going to head back up to the vines. I’ve got a distributor coming by later this afternoon. It looks good that he’ll be able to handle getting my table grapes sold this fall, along with bulk stock grapes to other vintners.”
“That’s great news,” Sawyer said, though Seth could see that he was disappointed Seth wasn’t going to go track Pippa down right that instant.
“It’s not a done deal yet,” Seth said.
The trio of musicians on the stage, still sans Drake, started up a lively tune featuring a folk guitar, a bass, and the accordion. Folks immediately started tapping their toes and the couple who ran the photography studio in the mill got up and started an impromptu little dance.
“Sunny has been playing Pippa’s music over the greenhouse sound system that Noah helped her and Stevie set up,” Sawyer mentioned, out of nowhere. “She says the orchids like it.”
“And why wouldn’t they?” Seth asked, suddenly needing to get out of the mill, back in his truck, and on up the road. Back to his winery, his vines, even his dang llama. To the life you understand.
“You listen to her music?” Sawyer wanted to know.
“That’s a story for another day,” Seth replied. “I really need to get on the road.”
Sawyer nodded, finally conceding he’d done all he could.
Seth got his fleece on, but never made it out to his truck. Will intercepted him as he was heading out the main door to the side parking lot.
“Have you seen Jake?” Will asked, looking none too happy.
Seth stopped, frowned. “Yeah, he’s with Pippa and Drake. Is something wrong?”
Will was older than Sawyer and Seth, just shy of forty. He topped out right about six feet and his wiry build belied the fact that he tossed bluestone and granite around all day like they were pick-up sticks. “Where are they?” he asked, prompting Seth to put his hand, gently, on Will’s shoulder.
“What’s wrong? Has something happened?” Then Seth recalled what Jake had been carrying when he’d stepped into the pub. “Is this about the fiddle?”
Will had been about to push past Seth, but his green-eyed gaze swiveled right back. “So he does have it?”
Instead of relief, what Seth thought he saw in Will’s eyes was a flash of—grief? Regret? He wasn’t sure. Whatever it was, this was no small thing to him. He’d never seen Will this disturbed. “I’m guessing he didn’t have permission?”
“I don’t know what’s gotten into him lately. Ever since he met up with Pippa MacMillan, he’s been a changed kid.”
Seth smiled then, thinking maybe he was beginning to understand, but kept it gentle. “He’s a brand-new teenager, with brand-new hormones. He’s got a little crush on her. It’s okay, Pippa knows just how to handle it. She’s great with him.” At least in as much as Seth knew.
“So great that she’s talked him into taking one of my fiddles without asking?” Will asked. “I think we might have different interpretations of great, then.”
He went to push past Seth again, and this time Seth put his hand on Will’s arm, not as gently, but not in anger. Not yet, anyway. “Whoa, whoa, hold on. Tell me what’s happening.”
“This is between me and Jake. And Pippa, apparently.”
“I know you’re angry,” Seth said, realizing now he’d clearly misread just how upset Will was. “But I promise you, there’s nothing nefarious going on here. Pippa is one of the kindest, most generous people I know. She’d never encourage any kind of dishonesty. Maybe Jake wanted to impress her, I don’t know, but I don’t think it’s worth—”
“This doesn’t have anything to do with you, Seth,” Will bit off. “Let me pass.”
If it has to do with Pippa, it does, was the first thought that ran through Seth’s head. “Fine,” he said, “I’ll go with you.”
Seth thought he heard Will swear under his breath, and still confused by what would send one of the smoothest, most even-tempered men he knew into such an agitated state, Seth decided he’d take the lead. Not that he thought Will intended to do any physical harm to anyone, but why take chances?
Just then the squeaky, rusty notes of a fiddle echoed down from the upper floor, followed by a mix of male and female laughter. Will turned around and was up the st
airs before Seth could stop him. “Wait,” he called, knowing he should save his breath.
Will strode right into the music studio classroom without knocking.
Seth was right behind him. “Sorry,” he said. “I tried to—”
“Jacob Wilson McCall,” Will said to his son, stopping just a few feet into the room, his tone far calmer than Seth would have expected, which, in turn, made it feel that much more portentous.
Drake sat on a stool in the front of the room, his fiddle in one hand, bow in the other. Jake sat on a stool next to him, in a mirror pose, with his fiddle and bow—or Will’s fiddle and bow—in his hands in the same position. Pippa sat on a folding chair facing the two, her hands clasped. Or they had been. She’d risen immediately to her feet and turned to face their surprise guests.
“You must be Jake’s father,” Pippa said, smiling and extending her hand, as if Will wasn’t standing there, glaring a hole right through her. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. Jake talks about you nonstop.”
“Dad,” Jake croaked, fumbling to stand up, almost knocking the stool over. His ears were tipped in bright scarlet. “I can explain.”
Pippa turned then. “Oh, Jake, no,” she said softly, as awareness dawned.
Will was already past Pippa, having ignored her outstretched hand. “Pack it up. We’re going home. Where you’ll be staying for an indefinite period of time when you’re not at school. You’re grounded.”
“Will,” Drake began. “He just wanted to learn—”
Will turned to Drake and though his expression was still tight, he seemed to be realizing that he was making quite a scene, so his tone was more modulated when he said, “I don’t have a beef with you, Drake. This is between me and my son.”
“Mr. McCall,” Pippa said. “I’d like to—”
“Jacob?” Will said, cutting her off, and Jake, who’d already hastily packed up the fiddle, walked quickly toward his father.
The two turned, leaving Pippa standing there, her mouth hanging open in dismay, only to find Seth in the doorway, blocking their exit. “First,” Seth said very quietly to Will, “you’ll do me the favor of turning around and showing your son how you treat a lady. Pippa clearly didn’t know. This isn’t on her.”
Will stared down Seth for a long moment.
“Dad,” Jake began, but stopped when Will shot him a quelling look.
Real concern etched Seth’s features then. He’d never, not ever, seen Will like this. An outburst was one thing, but this was so out of character it was alarming. Something else was clearly going on here. Something that involved far more than Jake’s borrowing a musical instrument without asking.
“Jake,” Seth said kindly but firmly, “why don’t you go on out and get in your dad’s truck. Your dad will be out in a minute.”
“Seth—” Will began, a warning tone in his voice.
Seth waited until Jake had cleared the room and his footsteps could be heard on the steps leading down to the main floor, then he stepped closer to Will and lowered his voice so it didn’t carry past the two of them. “I don’t know what in the hell has gotten into you,” he said, his tone calm, his gaze far from it, “but I know you well enough to know you’re going to regret how you’re handling this.”
“You don’t know a damn thing,” Will said, but didn’t move away.
“I get that. Whatever the hell this is about is your business. You don’t want to tell me, fine. At the moment, I’m just trying to keep you from making a bigger ass out of yourself than you already have.” He held Will’s stormy gaze with his own steely one, then said, “If you think you have it in you, apologize to Pippa. That’ll be one less regret you’ll have later.”
Will held his gaze a moment longer, and that’s when Seth saw what was lurking behind the anger. Fear. The bald, uncontrollable, crumple-to-the-knees kind of fear. Seth knew that look, because he’d seen it on the faces of his comrades many, many times, and on his own face as well. He also knew the fury was so big because anger was the only emotion potent enough to quash that kind of terror. He saw the twitch at the corner of Will’s mouth, the throb in his temple, and knew if he were to shake Will’s hand right then, he’d feel a tremor there, too. The kind pure force of will couldn’t control.
Seth was just about to make his excuses to Pippa and Drake, and get Will the hell out of there so he could fall apart in private, when Will sucked in a hard breath and turned to face Pippa and Drake. Neither of them appeared angry. Concern was the only emotion etched on their faces.
“This has nothing to do with either of you,” he said stiffly. He looked at Drake. “It’s kind of you to offer, but Jake will not be learning how to play the fiddle.” He glanced at Pippa then, and Seth saw his jaw tighten and his throat work. “Jake talks about you nonstop,” he told her, sounding neither complimentary nor damning. Simply stating facts. “I’ve never seen him quite like this.” He took a moment and his throat worked, but none of the rigidity went out of his frame. If anything, Will seemed so stiff, he looked brittle rather than hard. “I’ve appreciated your music for a very long time.” Will paused, then added, his voice hardly more than a rasp. “It reminds me of . . .” His voice quavered, badly, and when he finished, he sounded like he’d swallowed a handful of gravel, the emotion in his voice was so thick. “Someone I loved. Very much. I’d, uh . . .”
He stopped then, and Seth could see Will was visibly trembling now. Seth wasn’t sure how to comfort him, or help him, or if it would be welcome if he tried. All he could do was let Will say his piece.
“I’d appreciate it,” he managed, the words being ground out through a world of emotion, “if you’d leave Jake be. It’s not about you. I just . . . please.”
Seth looked from Will to Pippa. Tears were making tracks down her cheeks, and he could see it was costing her to not go to Will, to try to comfort a man who was clearly in a great deal of pain.
It was a humbling moment, for all of them.
“I promise,” she said, her voice thick with tears. “If in time, you ever reconsider, you’ve only to—”
“Thank you,” Will said, then turned and exited the room, his stride determined but no longer rigid.
Pippa looked at Seth. “I didn’t know,” she said, her eyes huge with sorrow, her voice trembling. “I’m so sorry.”
Drake, who had packed up his own fiddle, walked over to Pippa and put a hand on her shoulder. “I think we all know this is about Will. Don’t take it personally. You just wanted to help.”
She nodded, swiped away a few tears, and smiled. “Thank you for being willing to help, Drake. It was very kind of you.”
Drake shrugged. “I’ll always support a budding musician.” He walked to the door, pausing by Seth. “Sorry, man,” he told Seth. “Thanks for sticking up for her, though. It was the right thing to do.”
Seth just nodded; then Drake left the classroom, too.
“He was speaking about his wife, wasn’t he?” Pippa asked, tears glittering on her eyelashes again.
Seth turned to her. “I think that’s a pretty safe bet, yes.”
“Does he ever talk about her?”
Seth shook his head. “Not in the time I’ve known him. He’s a quiet man. But a good one, despite what you just saw. This was so far out of character for him,” Seth began, feeling he needed to defend Will, who’d been nothing but a good friend to him.
Pippa nodded. “I could see that. Jake is such a great kid, and I don’t doubt his dad is responsible for that. Jake told me that his mom died when he was little, that he doesn’t remember her. Do you think Will talks to him about her?”
Seth shrugged. “Don’t know. But given the fact Jake took that fiddle—which clearly has some history behind it—without asking, indicates there’s some kind of disconnect there.”
Pippa sighed. “I feel so bad for both of them. Will is still hurting, and so is Jake. I wish there was some way to help them. If they’d just talk about it.”
“As a rule, my gender isn
’t big on that.”
She smiled then. “I don’t know, you do pretty well.”
“I grew up in the estrogen ocean—I had no choice.”
She let out a short, surprised laugh at that. “Maybe we just need to stick Will and Jake in a house with my sisters and your sisters for a month.”
Seth chuckled. “There’s an idea.”
“Are you going to talk to him? Or try?” she asked quietly when their smiles faded once more. “I will honor my promise, about steering clear of Jake, but I can’t help feeling that’s not going to help matters any. If this is about his wife, Jake’s mum, and it looks to be, then Will’s sticking his head in the sand won’t make this go away. If he doesn’t want to confront his painful past, he doesn’t have to. Only Jake’s not a little kid anymore. And he clearly wants to pursue things that Will wants to keep dead and buried.” She lifted her hands, let them drop. “Forcibly keeping Jake from exploring that part of his life, whether it’s about his mom, or his interest in music . . . that’s going to eventually drive a wedge between them. My parents didn’t understand me at all when it came to my passion for music. Fortunately, they supported me anyway, but if they hadn’t? If they’d forbidden me?” She blew out a breath. “I don’t even want to guess what measures I’d have been willing to take. I mean, it would be one thing if I—or Jake—wanted to pursue something illegal, or that could get me killed or something. But it’s music we’re talking about. I don’t think Jake fancies himself a career musician. He just wants to play music like his mom and dad did.”
Seth looked at her. “Jake’s mom played?”
“You didn’t know? I don’t know if she played, but she was a singer. That’s how she met Will, back when he was in the military. He played the fiddle at some local place near whatever base he was stationed on and she asked to sing with the band.” Pippa lifted her hand. “That’s all I know. I’m not sure what all Jake knows. That’s all he told me.”
Seth nodded. “I’ll talk to Will. At some point. I think we need to, for Jake’s sake, if nothing else. I’ll talk to Sawyer, too. And Addie Pearl. Will’s mom was a good friend of hers, from childhood, I’m pretty sure. I don’t think she knew Jake’s mom. Jake didn’t come to live here until his mom passed, but I can see if Addie Pearl has any insight into what happened.”
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