Their mouths met. Though his heart was still soaring, he felt steady, strong . . . himself. Finally, after all this time, himself.
“You found it,” he said against her lips. But he didn’t mean the treasure. She’d found something more valuable—inside Kohl she’d found the better man who’d been missing for so long.
Grace Hatch squeezed her eyes tight shut and hoped to goodness she wasn’t dreaming. But she couldn’t be, she couldn’t, because she was in Kohl Friday’s arms and pressed into her back was the metal edge of those bells. She’d found them . . .
. . . And he’d taken it in stride.
Taken her into his warm, sure embrace.
“Kohl,” she said against his mouth.
He lifted his head to gaze on her with his dark eyes. For so long she used to watch him from afar. First those growing-up years and then later, when he’d returned to Edenville, she’d see him around town. One of the perks of her job at the winery was the secret thrill she got out of looking at him every day on the grounds of Tanti Baci. Just glimpsing him made her feel so safe.
Now, though, now he was looking at her. And she didn’t feel quite so secure.
He touched his forehead to hers. “I hear wheels turning.”
She voiced a niggling doubt. “Giuliana.”
“Ah.” He leaned over to deposit the bells on the bed of rose petals, then straightened to sweep his palms over her hair. “She was good to me and I’m grateful for that. I thought it meant something more . . . but now I realize . . . it’s nothing compared to what I feel for you.”
Grace’s heart expanded in her chest. The pressure on her ribs was the best possible hurt. It healed so many of her lingering bruises and unseen scars. “I didn’t know it could be like this.”
He smiled at her. Then he straightened and took a step back. “But I have to be honest, honey. I’m not suddenly Mr. Sunshine. Though I’ve been improving lately, I still sometimes drink too much, I still sometimes have blackouts.”
She reached out to place her fingertips on his chest, and his heart thudded against them. “You’ll never scare me. Or scare me off.”
He covered her fingers with his own and laughed. “I’m not trying to do that . . . believe me. But you have to know who I am and what kinds of things I’ve done. I was out of it the night the cottage was trashed. I lost time the evening of the fire at your apartment, too. I might even be smoking again—please, God, don’t tell my mother—because I came to with matches in my pocket and—”
Kohl froze. His handsome face turned horrified. “Jesus. What kinds of things have I done?”
He stepped back again, leaving her hand clutching at air. “Kohl,” she said. “You can’t imagine—”
“I can’t know.” He put his hands to his head and took another step back. “I watch cop shows. I had means and opportunity.”
“And motive?”
“I’m a bad-tempered son of a bitch. Maybe I was mad at Giuliana for going back to Liam. Maybe I wanted to hurt her.”
“Don’t be silly.” Grace’s own temper lit. She’d never realized she actually had one before this moment, but now she felt hot and fierce and ready to do battle. “She hadn’t gone back to him the night of the fire. And you’d never hurt someone like that. Maybe you’d slug somebody, or punch a wall in frustration, but you wouldn’t do anything sneaky and mean.”
He yanked on the ends of his hair. “How do you know, Grace?”
Her heart was everywhere, throbbing in her fingertips, pulsing in her belly, making her toes tingle. Grace Hatch had been the “little rabbit” Kohl had called her for twenty-four years. She’d been the downtrodden daughter and the abused wife. What she’d never, ever been in her entire life was a woman. The situation called for that now. The situation called for her to be the fighter this time, and wage war to get through to her man.
She stepped up to him, toe-to-toe. Her fingers fisted in his shirt and she used them to draw him close. “Because I know sneaky and mean firsthand, Kohl,” she said, her voice fierce. “I could never be in love with someone like that.”
Breathing hard, he stared at her. Then he broke. He swept her up in his embrace, taking her feet straight off the ground. Her heart seemed to break, spilling a sweet, hot liquid that felt like joy. Dropping her head back, she laughed. And then harder, when he swung her in a wide circle.
In that movement, she was both the carefree child she’d never been and the cherished woman she longed to be. “Kohl.” She was still laughing as he took her around and around. “I’m getting dizzy.”
“Then we’re even.” But he stopped twirling and let her slide down his body. Her breath caught as her body skimmed along his hard muscles. Every one.
He groaned. “Grace . . .”
“Make love to me,” she said, her voice husky.
“What?” He looked around. “Here?”
She laughed again. “No. In that unmade bed of yours.”
“What the lady ordered.” He swooped to retrieve the tarnished bells.
The action gave her second thoughts. “Oh. Should we make some calls to the Baci sisters tonight?”
“Nope. Tonight, all the treasures belong to me.”
Vern and Rand Bristol were waiting for Giuliana outside the caves when she made it to the entrance a few minutes before seven o’clock. She quickly let them through and punched the security code, eager to not be seen with the brothers by anyone. They were her secret until after the Vow-Over Weekend.
The caves were their chilliest in the mornings, so she’d dressed in jeans and thick sweatshirt over a thinner tee. It should have been enough. But still, as the doors closed behind her, she shivered so hard her teeth nearly chattered.
She hadn’t wanted to leave the soft sheets of Liam’s bed. They’d gone out with her sisters and brothers-in-law the night before after all. The other two couples had laughed and teased throughout the meal, trading ridiculous ideas for baby names. Of the worst, one sounded like a Harry Potter incantation. The other was just plain silly.
Fabulosa Magnifica Parini.
Myauntiescool Andspoilsme Parini.
And she hadn’t been able to do anything but move her food around her plate and remember that her husband had suggested to Jack that “Liam” might be a good name for the baby.
“You’re not eating,” he’d said then, leaning close and spearing a chunk of roasted zucchini from her plate. He’d held his fork to her mouth. “You need to keep up your strength.”
She worried she’d never be strong enough to resist him.
“Giuliana?”
Shaking herself, she realized that Vern and Rand were staring at her. “I’m sorry . . . I missed what you said.”
“We were saying we’re happy to poke around by ourselves if you’d like. You seem a bit preoccupied.”
“Oh.” She shoved her hands in her pockets. “Fine. I’ll tidy up the tasting area.” Being alone was best right now. “I can let you have twenty minutes, okay?” Longer could risk discovery.
The men disappeared down a side passage. She aimed her feet straight ahead to where the carved bar stood. To one side was an old wooden wheelbarrow that displayed Tanti Baci T-shirts sized from small to XXL. Operating on automatic, she began checking the stacks to ensure they were arranged by size. It was one of the first jobs her mother had given her at the winery, besides watching over her little sisters.
Then, the tasting room had been part of what was now the administrative offices. In the early mornings, before visitors arrived, Stevie and Allie used to ride their tricycles on the sidewalk outside. She and her mother would work beside each other, one eye on the younger girls, as they moved around the retail area tidying merchandise.
Closing her eyes, Giuliana could remember her mother’s smile as she watched the little Baci girls careen back and forth. The maternal content had been catching and she had shared smiles with her mom over their antics. Though they were only a few years younger, she’d enjoyed her status as the oldest. The ha
ppy mother’s helper.
Big Girl. Remembering that funny nickname, she chuckled to herself. They’d had an idyllic childhood and she was glad they’d enjoyed it so fully, without an inkling of their troubled future ahead.
A loud clatter caused her eyes to pop open. Her heart jerked as the cave doors flung open and a passel of people rushed inside. Their footsteps echoed loudly. Allie, red-cheeked, followed by Penn, a bemused smile on his face. Kohl and Grace next, who looked extremely pleased with themselves . . . and each other? Jack and Stevie brought up the rear, walking at a more sedate pace.
Allie skidded to a halt, her face breaking into a grin. “Ask them, Jules! Ask them what they found last night!”
“Who?” She glanced around at the people circling her, pausing for a moment on her middle sister’s face. “Steve, you feeling all right?”
The other woman waved the concern away. “Jack’s already told me I have the pallor of death.” Her fingers crept around to her lower back. “Have we got a surprise for you.”
Giuliana swallowed and tried not to keep herself from looking in the direction of the secret visitors. “Why don’t we go discuss this in my office? It’s warmer there and I can make coffee.”
“We need something stronger than that!” Allie crowed, pirouetting on one foot just like she did when she was five years old.
“Penn, she’s going to hurt herself,” Giuliana cautioned. “Can’t you do something?”
Allie stopped midturn. “Stevie’s right. Cluck, cluck. We don’t need a mother hen . . . we need a bottle of something sparkly!”
Laughing, Penn shook his head. “Your mood is bubbly enough.”
Giuliana slid a glance toward the last place she’d seen Vern and Rand. “In my office. I’m sure I have what everyone needs in there.” Sweeping out her arms, she tried herding the group toward the doors.
Allie groaned. “Jules. Please. Ask Kohl and Grace what they found last night.”
Okay, just get it over with. She turned to the vineyard manager and his companion. “What? What did you find?”
From behind his back, Kohl withdrew his hand. Cupped in his big palm was something tarnished. Something of metal and . . . diamonds?
“It’s bells,” he said. “We found it behind the cornerstone plaque. Another of Alonzo’s hidey-holes, I guess.”
Giuliana stared at it. “What kind of bells?”
“Wedding bells,” Allie answered. “That’s my guess. Silver and gold and diamonds. I’ve got to do some research. I’m not even cleaning it up until I find out more information.”
“You’re telling me . . .”
“It’s the treasure,” Liam finished.
Her head jerked up. She hadn’t realized he’d arrived. He was staring at the item, a small smile on his face. Then his gaze lifted to hers. “What the hell, Jules. I think you coming back to Tanti Baci has brought the place good luck.”
Oh, no. No, it hadn’t. And as if to prove that, from the side passage her secret visitors made an appearance. “Hey, there.” They looked uncomfortable, as well they should, Giuliana thought, because they knew their tentative deal was supposed to stay under wraps for another week.
With a high humming in her ears, Giuliana could only make a vague gesture at them. “Early, um, guests.”
Liam had gone still. She read his silent comment: Oh, God. His head shaking, he looked at her again. She supposed he knew something.
“Vern and Rand Bristol,” he said, proving he knew them, at least.
Allie picked up on the tension. “What’s going on?” she demanded, all her exuberant bubbles popped. “Liam, you seem to understand.”
“When it comes to your sister,” he said, “I’m always at a loss.”
Allie whirled toward her. “Jules?”
Really, could the morning get any more messed up? “They’re buyers,” she said, weary of all the deception. “I’ve decided to sell them the Tanti Baci land.”
There was a moment of charged silence. Everyone stared at her. Then Stevie suddenly moved, one hand grabbing Jack’s arm, the other cupping her belly. “Something’s wrong.”
16
Liam ran to the farmhouse for Jack’s car so the other man could drive Stevie to the ER. Nobody argued about that choice, nor about anything else. The fighting would come later, Liam figured, after the Baci sisters were assured that she was fine.
Surely Stevie was fine.
Once he returned to the winery, Liam did what Liam did best: he put on his stoic face. Others took their cue from him. The Bristol brothers had apparently made tracks while he was retrieving the sedan, so he only had to hold doors for Jack as he carried his wife out of the caves and gently deposited her into the car. Liam retained his impassive expression as they all gathered on the sidewalk.
“Call us as soon as you know something,” he told Jack.
“Of course.” The other man tucked a blanket he’d dragged from the backseat around his wife, then cupped her cheek in his hand.
Stevie closed her eyes and turned her face into it. A tear seeped from beneath her lashes.
Allie made a little sound and Penn pulled her into his arms. Liam glanced at Giuliana, but she was looking away, her expression remote. Stoic, like his.
“Let’s all wait at the farmhouse,” he said.
Kohl and Grace decided to go about their usual tasks. They handed Allie the treasure, wrapped in some kind of material, and she took it absentmindedly. Then she and Penn, Giuliana and Liam, trudged down the gravel drive to the Baci home.
In the kitchen, the sisters busied themselves making coffee. Even with this mundane task to distract them, the tension in the room seemed to have its own heartbeat. Two minutes living with it and Liam wanted to run as fast as he could in the other direction.
But calm and collected Liam couldn’t do such a thing. Still, his gaze met his half brother’s and the other man seemed to understand. “Hey,” Penn said, “I have some items on the Honey-Do list you can help me with while we wait, Liam.”
Liam knew Allie would hate the term “Honey-Do list.” When she didn’t react, Penn’s eyes widened. “Alessandra . . .”
His wife shook herself, then turned toward her husband. “What?”
He stared at her a moment, then sighed. “You know I love you beyond bearing, right?”
“Yes.” Her mouth curved in a small smile and Liam had to look away from the intimacy in her gaze.
He was damn happy to follow Penn outside to the close-cropped grass in the backyard. There, he managed to inhale a few deep breaths. While the palpable strain in the kitchen had been uncomfortable and Allie’s clearly shaken reaction disturbing, Giuliana’s lack of one had nearly rocked him off his feet. Running sounded so damn good again.
“You okay, bro?”
He turned to Penn. The other man had dragged a couple of cardboard boxes from a nearby shed. “Of course I’m all right,” he lied. He knew his expression appeared unruffled. He was good at looking that way. “I’m always all right.”
“So you say now. Wait until you see what I have for you to do.”
Bemused, Liam studied his half brother, who looked even more of a reflection of himself than usual. Apparently they’d reached for similar articles of clothing when they’d been yanked out of bed by the call from Kohl and Grace. Both of them wore jeans, plain white T-shirts, running shoes. “You actually have a chore for me to do? I thought we were just dodging all the anxiety percolating with the coffee in that kitchen.”
“Of course I have a chore.” And with that, Penn turned over one of the boxes. Tangled strings of outdoor lights landed in a heap on the grass.
“And FYI, I wasn’t dodging my wife and her feelings.” There was an edge of cool reproof to his half brother’s usually genial demeanor. “I thought Jules needed a shoulder and it didn’t look as if she’d open up with you around.”
Hell. Was he that forbidding? He stared at Penn. “Thanks for making me feel like an asshole.”
“Cold fis
h,” Penn said, almost cheerful again. “That’s why you get the crappy task.”
“Was that supposed to be a pun?” Liam asked, annoyed. “Cold fish? ‘Crappie’?”
“No. It really is crappy. You need to straighten out those strings of fairy lights and make sure they all work. Allie wants them decorating the farmhouse on Vow-Over Weekend.”
Shit. Liam stared down at the jumble of wires and little bulbs. He remembered Giuliana talking a while back. When we’re done with the Vow-Over Weekend, there’ll be freedom. “Do you think . . .” He didn’t even want to say it out loud.
Penn was rummaging through the other box. “I think we should tackle one problem at a time. Right now I’m working on a flowerbed irrigation issue. You untangle the lights.”
“Hollywood asshole,” Liam muttered under his breath. “Should’ve known you’d go all Zen on me.”
“I’m sorry, what was that?” Penn asked. “My mind was on my Emmy award and my favorite brand of green tea chai.”
Liam rolled his eyes but took a seat on the grass and began unspooling the mess at his feet. Penn was quiet, too, and the only noise was the buzz of bees sniffing around the blossoms on the two citrus trees in the corner of the yard. His thoughts were as snarled as the lights, and even as he tried tugging one free—the discovery of the treasure, say, or the shocking announcement of the sale of the land—it was quickly subsumed again by the larger scramble.
The images were worse: the tear on Stevie’s cheek, the distress on Allie’s face, Giuliana’s frozen expression.
Through an open window, he heard the sisters’ voices. They’d moved from the kitchen, he decided, and were taking seats in the dining room. “Put some sugar in your mug,” Allie directed.
“I don’t like my coffee sweet.”
“Use it anyway, you’re looking shocky.”
The telephone rang. He and Penn both froze. Footsteps clattered against the hardwood floor. Then returned to the dining room.
“Jules, it was nothing,” Allie said, on a sigh. “A robocall.” There was a long pause. “Jules? Jules?”
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