“What do you make of this?” he asked.
“Someone’s storing wine here.”
“Who?”
“Maybe someone with a bond issue.”
In order to legally make and sell wine, wineries had to take out bond coverage, which was essentially an insurance policy, required by the feds, which covered a winery’s annual excise tax liability.
Calculating that tax liability wasn’t an easy thing to do. It took looking at the total volume in gallons of wine that a winery may potentially have stored on their site during any given month of the year. To further complicate things, that total volume had to be broken out by tax class, which was determined by each wine’s alcohol content.
If a winery vastly underestimated their production, or what they produced was significantly different in terms of alcohol content, and didn’t bring their bond up to meet the changes in production, they could face stiff fines and penalties, including loss of their license to sell the wine they produced.
Naughton’s guess that it might be someone with a bond issue made a lot of sense. The barrels were unmarked and obviously whoever put them there, needed to store them somewhere they wouldn’t be found.
“Heard any rumblings about anyone in trouble?” Maddox asked.
“Brodie or Alex would hear before we would.”
Brodie had essentially been out of the wine business for the past six months. Which left Alex. Maddox wasn’t in a position to call her at all, let alone call her only to ask about wine industry gossip.
He and Naughton planned to be here every day for the next month, analyzing the vineyards and formulating a plan to get them back into production, and then gradually implementing the plan.
The number of barrels stored in the caves was worth a substantial amount of money. Whoever they belonged to would be back.
“I’m going home,” Alex told Peyton.
“Good. We’re fine here, and you don’t want to do too much too soon. Get some rest.”
The doctors told Alex to not to resume what she considered “normal activity,” for four to six weeks. Her surgery was eleven days ago. She had a long way to go before she felt normal again. Although with Maddox out of her life for good, what would normal feel like?
When Stave first opened, she walked to the tasting room and home every night. Life was simpler then, for both her and Peyton. Alex couldn’t remember the last time she walked to work. It had to have been a couple years at least, and yet, when she walked to Moonstone Beach earlier in the day, she’d been within two blocks of home.
Walking would be good for her, and she’d make it a point to do it more often. In fact, once she got home, she’d take another walk on the beach, and talk to her papa again.
Being tired wasn’t the only reason she left Stave. Gabe’s behavior was so odd, something had to be wrong. She wished he, Eli, or JQ would call her back, so she’d stop worrying.
Of the three, she was closest to Elias and Joaquin, who were two years older and younger than Alex, respectively. Eli looked out for her and she looked out for Joaquin. That’s the way it worked in the Avila family, the older looked after the younger.
She’d be more upset if she told Eli or JQ it was urgent they get back to her, but she’d only told them to call as soon as they had a chance.
Unlike the Butler boys, none of her brothers lived at Los Caballeros Ranch. There had been a guest house on the property at one time, but it burned to the ground before Alex was born.
Gabe, Elias, and Joaquin lived on their own in Paso Robles. Cristobal lived in Palo Alto, and her two youngest brothers shared a house in downtown PR, but they were almost never there. The rodeo circuit kept them on the road most of the year.
It had been a long, damn day, and Maddox was beat. It began shortly after sunrise, with Alex telling him they were done. This time, instead of just walking away, she told him straight out. It felt different, because it was different.
Then, before breakfast, he could’ve sworn he saw his dead brother. And lastly, he roamed the land his brother left him, and explored wine caves unlike any he’d ever seen, including those on Butler Ranch. Someone was storing barrels in those caves, containing some of the best wine he’d ever tasted.
He closed his eyes, knowing he’d be asleep in minutes, hoping tonight he wouldn’t dream about Kade or Alex.
Alex drifted off with the television on, and her phone next to her. When she woke up at three a.m., there still were no calls from her brothers, and an infomercial blared on the flat screen.
Worse, what jarred her awake in the first place, was a dream. In it, she and Maddox were walking along Moonstone Beach—and he was holding their baby.
It hadn’t been twenty-four hours, yet her body yearned for his as though it had been months since she felt his touch. These feelings were easier to push away when she was mad at him about something.
Rolling to her side, Alex set her phone on the nightstand, but then picked it up and took one more look. Nothing. No texts, no calls, no messages.
She swiped to her photos and looked at the one that always came up first. It was a shot of Maddox, just his face, and a little bit of his chest. Even his shoulders were cropped out of the image. He was looking straight into the camera, that’s why she loved the photo so much. It felt as though he was looking right at her.
Alex ran the tip of her finger over his thick beard, his lips, and then down, to where the image ended. She’d never forget the day she took the photo, and if she closed her eyes, she could remember exactly what it would’ve looked like had she not focused on his face. He stood before her naked that day, daring her to take his photo.
She could see it in his eyes, the smirk, the laugh, the dare. She snapped so many images, but this was the best. It was one of the last ones she took before she erupted in giggles, as Mad tried to pry the phone from her hand to see if she’d met his dare.
She had, but he deleted the one that showed him in all his glory. What she’d give to have that photo now.
When her phone pinged, she dropped it on the bed, as though it was burning hot.
10
Why was it when he was most tired, he couldn’t sleep? Maddox tossed and turned all night. Along with replaying his conversation with Alex, he couldn’t get the image of the man on the street in Harmony out of his head.
In both cases, he wished he’d acted. With Alex, he should have swept her up, tied her to the bed, and forced her to tell him again it was over. She wouldn’t have been able to. Her body was his, and they both knew it. If he had his hands on her, Alex turned to putty.
Why was it so damn hard for him to tell her he wanted her to move in with him because he wanted her? It had nothing to do with her being pregnant. He needed her. Not one week out of every three or four, but always. Every day.
If Kade was still alive, that’s who he’d talk to. There had been many nights they’d message back and forth. His three in the morning was Kade’s three in the afternoon.
Typically he’d be readying for a night mission, but would tell Maddox talking about home eased his mind. He’d ask crazy questions like what Maddox ate for dinner. Or he’d ask about the grapes, or ask what he planned to bottle in the coming week. He never once asked why Maddox was awake at three in the morning. At some point in the conversation, Maddox would bring up the reason he couldn’t sleep.
If he could talk to Kade tonight, there would be so many questions he’d ask. He’d start by asking why he bought the property on Old Creek Road, and why he didn’t tell him about it. What he wouldn’t ask is where he got the money.
The other thing he’d ask is how he knew about Brodie and Peyton. Kade told him he planned to propose to Peyton when he came back from his last mission. How could he have known that their ma would ask Brodie to deliver the box of Kade’s belongings to her? How could he have known that Brodie and Peyton would collide like two atoms, forming a bond so strong that even a plane crash couldn’t keep them apart?
But more, how had Kade
known he was ready to give Peyton up? That would be the most important question he’d ask his older brother. That’s the answer he needed. How did he know? Because Maddox didn’t know if he’d ever be ready to give Alex up.
Would Kade tell him to let her go, give her the chance to find a man who could love her better than he could, like Kade had told Peyton?
“I realized that I’d never love you the way you needed me to.” Those were the words Kade wrote. Was that why Alex ended things with him a couple hours short of twenty-four hours ago? Was it because Maddox could never love her the way she needed him to?
But who could love her better? Who knew Alex the way he did? No one could come close to understanding her the way he did. It wasn’t just sexual either.
He understood that when Alex felt uncomfortable, she’d fly rather than fight. For years he’d let her. He didn’t force her to fight for him, or for them, but there was never a time that Alex decided to come back, that he didn’t open the door and invite her in.
Other women weren’t one night stands, because he was never with them all night. He didn’t bring them to his house. Only Alex came to his house, only Alex slept with him. He might sleep with a woman more than once, have dinner or drinks, but he never brought them around his family. If they wanted more, he’d tell them the truth. He didn’t.
What would Kade have said this morning, if it had been him Maddox saw in Harmony? Would he tell him to get his ass back to Alex’s, and tell her how he really felt? Would he tell him to admit that he thought he might love her? Or like he did with Peyton, would he tell Maddox to let her go, so she could finally find someone who could love her better?
The thought of it destroyed him. The idea that he’d never hold her in his arms again made him ache. Maybe he wasn’t as good a man as his older brother. Maybe he couldn’t do the right thing by her and let her go, because he needed her. Had he ever told her that? How could he have when he just realized it himself?
He picked up his phone, thinking at first that his battery was dead. When he powered it on, it was fully charged. He didn’t remember turning it off, but he must have. He’d missed a call from Gabe Avila, and another from Brodie. Both also sent texts, asking that he call as soon as he got their message. He doubted they meant three in the morning.
There was nothing from Alex, but he knew there wouldn’t be.
For twenty years they’d been playing a game. Thinking she was pregnant would have meant the end of the game, but it also would’ve meant the beginning of a life. Not just the baby’s life, their life together. That’s what he wanted, and there was only one way to find out whether something permanent would work between them.
Maybe he should start telling her how he felt, but in a way Alex could handle. He sent her a text.
If you ever wake up and think no one needs you, you’re wrong. I need you, Al.
What the hell was Maddox doing? Did he sense she was serious this time, and decided to put a little effort into keeping her hooked, like a fish he reeled in and then threw back once it was caught?
Alex climbed out of bed, went into the kitchen, but couldn’t decide what to do when she got there, so she went back into the bedroom. Instead of climbing into bed, knowing she wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep, she picked up the clothes scattered on her floor. The things she didn’t remember wearing, Alex hung back up. If she thought she might’ve worn it, or it was too wrinkled to wear, she threw it in the laundry hamper. When she finished with her clothes, Alex collected shoes and put them away in the closet.
When had she last washed the sheets? Last week maybe, but since they smelled like Maddox, she pulled them off the bed, and started a load of laundry.
Alex surveyed her kitchen, hands on her hips. No wonder she always went to Peyton’s or ate out. Her kitchen was disgusting.
Since it was almost four, she made a pot of coffee. Doing so meant she had to wash the pot and the filter, so while she was at it, she put the rest of the dirty dishes strewn around the kitchen into the dishwasher.
By seven, her kitchen was spotless, and all but one load of laundry was done. Alex had sorted through her mail, vacuumed and dusted the living room, dining room, hallway, and bedroom. She was on her way to one of the bathrooms, when she heard a car pull in the driveway.
Her reflection in the bathroom mirror looked worse than she imagined. Would Maddox care? Was it even Mad who slammed the door? Were those his footsteps coming up the walk?
Alex pulled her long hair into a tighter version of the ponytail she’d put it in three hours ago, and had just splashed cold water on her face when she heard the rap at the front door.
She took a deep breath and pulled the door open.
Her brother Elias leaned against the doorjamb, looking as though he hadn’t slept in days. “Hey, Alex, can I come in?”
She nodded her head, and stepped aside.
“You okay, Al?”
She wasn’t, she was disappointed, but she wouldn’t tell Eli that. She’d never seen him look as shitty as he did this morning, and lately he’d been looking pretty bad.
“Am I okay? It’s seven in the morning, Eli. What are you doing here?”
He pushed past her, and went into the kitchen. “Got any coffee?”
“It’s old and cold. I’ll make another pot.”
Alex busied herself grinding the dark Columbia roast beans she preferred over Peyton’s go-to French roast. All the while, she sneaked glances at her brother.
His hair wasn’t gray like Gabe and Cristobal’s was, but the deep, dark circles under his eyes bothered her more than any gray hair would’ve.
“Eli, what’s wrong?”
“Alex, I—”
She waited, watching as he sat down on the couch, leaned forward, and put his head in his hands.
“It’s time for me to leave Los Cab,” he began.
“Why?”
He wouldn’t look at her, but she could still see the pain etched on his face he tried to hide with his hands.
“I can’t do it anymore.”
“Does this have something to do with Gabe coming by Stave last night?”
Eli shook his head. “I can’t believe—”
“What? What’s going on, Eli?”
“I’m in trouble, Al. So is the winery, and it’s my fault.”
Alex took in the words he spoke. How could the winery be in trouble? It was one of the oldest in the valley. What could Eli have possibly done to jeopardize the family business? It had always been rock solid.
“Is this financial, Eli?” Her question was almost a whisper.
“Worse, Al.”
There was only one thing that could be worse than financial difficulties, because they could borrow money to get them through to the next harvest. “The bond?”
Without a bond, Los Cab couldn’t sell the wine they made.
“Eli?”
Her brother nodded.
“What happened?”
Elias stood, put his hands in his pockets, and looked out the front window.
“Kade Butler.”
11
Sun streamed through the double-paned bedroom window. Maddox checked his phone a dozen times, but Alex still hadn’t replied to his text. Maybe she was still asleep.
She was a world-class sleeper. He’d wake up most mornings at dawn. Living a life in the vines, it was just what you did. She grew up the same way, yet Alex could easily sleep until noon.
When his phone buzzed, he saw a text from Naught, not Alex.
Get your ass out of bed.
Out.
Be ready in an hour.
Maddox turned the shower on, scrubbed his hand over his face, dropped his boxer briefs, and checked his phone one last time before getting under the stream of water.
He lost a full bedroom when he remodeled the master, in order to accommodate a walk-in closet, a two-person jetted tub, and a shower big enough that if he stood in the center of it and spread his arms, he couldn’t touch any of its walls.
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In keeping with the design of the Scottish-style house his father built, he’d used the same rock in the shower as his home’s front facade. It was open on each end, with shower heads on either side of the corridor formed by its walls. The outer wall had a two-sided, built-in panel that controlled the flow of water for the shower and the tub.
His favorite part was the additional flow of water that came from the ceiling. Hundreds of tiny streams of water flowed from the rectangular-shaped unit set into the ceiling. When it was on, it felt as though he was standing under a waterfall.
How many times had he pushed Alex up against this wall of stone? It looked hard and cold, but it was filled with radiant heat.
He’d press her body against it, lift her and spread her legs over his, and take her from behind. He’d reach over to the control panel and fill the tub, and then keeping their bodies joined, he’d ease her into the warm, jetting water.
The tile floor had drains built into the stone in several places, so it wouldn’t matter if they spilled all the water from the tub as he slammed his body into hers again and again.
He rested his head against the stone, wishing she was with him now, and not just because his body craved hers.
He and Naughton were spending the day working at the property on Old Creek Road. Every minute he was there, he longed to show her all the secrets he’d discovered.
There was at least one more he hadn’t found yet, and Naughton insisted it was better than all the others they’d seen thus far. He almost didn’t want to find it until he could be certain Alex would be with him when he did.
“I don’t understand what Kade could have to do with Los Cab’s bond, Eli. He never worked in the industry, and even if he had, why would he or anyone else report us?”
“I wish I could tell you more, Alex. But I can’t. If I do, it’ll make you as liable as I am. I just came by to tell you I’m leaving.” Eli leaned forward and kissed her cheek.
Alex wrapped her arms around his waist and held tight. “Don’t go. Whatever has happened we can work out as a family.”
The Truce (Butler Ranch Book 2) Page 9