St. Helena Vineyard Series: Sneaking Up on Love (Kindle Worlds Novella)

by Stephanie St. Klaire

  Surprised by his answer, she questioned, “And then it’s done?”

  “Technically, but it won’t taste like much other than grape juice…it needs to age.” He explained.

  “How long before we can drink it?”

  A smile grew large across his face as he thought about his answer, “Six months.”

  “Ohhh….” She didn’t have a problem waiting six months to drink their wine with him.

  CHAPTER 8

  Seth and Molly walked hand in hand down the rows of vines to the point just before they sloped. A bottle of wine and two glasses in one of his hands, her hand in the other, Seth led the way to a spot that would boast the most beautiful sunset views for miles. They sat and drank, speaking very little, enjoying their silent company while taking in the breathtaking scene unfolding before them.

  The painted sky of golds and oranges rested on the highlighted vines and hills beyond, melting into a layer of reds and corals, shadows dancing as the sun made its slow descent. Pulling his sheers from his rear pocket, Seth collected a couple of fruity bunches for them to enjoy while watching the magic of God’s beautiful majesty.

  Several glasses in, and many grapes later, Molly was lying in his lap and feeling the day’s intoxicating abuse with a serious bout of the giggles and case of the clumsies. Feeding each other grapes had been romantic until she began to miss her mark, losing her grapes as they rolled off Seth’s face, making their way to the ground around them.

  She sat up and faced him to have a better shot at her target but was quickly lost in his stare, giggles briskly silenced when he pulled her close and kissed her. A soft sweet kiss with intentions of more, he swiped her lips with his tongue, inviting her to play. She opened to him and kissed him back full of a boldness that she hoped led him to her bed sooner rather than later. Her hands resting on his shoulders, grapes still in hand, she leaned in, tempting him with her chest as it pressed against his. He had one hand at the back on her neck; the other was sliding down her back, resting on her ass.

  A clicking sound behind them jostled their attention; a startled Molly dropped the grapes to his lap before they rolled down the side. In a precarious position, she bent forward, head nearly in his lap altogether before sitting up. The clicking from behind her was going off in rapid fire secession. A large sigh from Seth as he looked to his left was all she needed to hear.

  Oh shit. Nora Kinkaid.

  “THIS is a public place you know! I sense a theme here!” Nora seethed through gritted teeth, “Do either of you own a bed? There are families here…for shame!!”

  “It’s not what you think; we were waiting for our wine and watching the sunset.” Seth explained.

  “Well the sun has set,” Nora rebutted, gesturing toward the darkened foothills to the west, “but you wouldn’t know that with all of this, this…canoodling!”

  “What are you doing out here, Nora?” Molly said full of suspicion, given just how far out in the vineyard they were from the activities.

  “Well! That, young lady,” her cheeks puffed out and reddened, her shoulders tight, she emphasized her final words, “is none of your business!”

  Nora briskly walked off in a huff, throwing around a fit of words under her breath as she charged up the slope toward the crowds.

  “How does she keep doing that?”

  ***

  It was worse than they thought; Nora Kinkaid’s venomous strike was the worst yet. Not only were there pictures of an intimate kiss, but also one with what looked like Molly’s face, strategically planted in Seth’s lap, while he had an awkward cross eyed look, his head half-cocked and his mouth gaping wide open. No mention of dropped grapes or startled by sneaky old ladies. Just a nice comment about today’s young people, public indecencies, demeaning act of oral sex, and a dig at the Sherriff for allowing their town to become an outdoor brothel.

  While Molly and Seth sat speechless looking at the pictures the entire town would have the pleasure of misinterpreting, a buzz and ping came from Molly’s phone.

  ‘Alley behind Priscilla’s. Come alone. Back your car in. Discuss with no one. Ten minutes. Bring the boy. –Chichi’

  “Well that’s ominous.” Seth said while reading the text again.

  “She says come alone, but bring the boy? Guessing you’re the boy?” Molly laughed, picturing Chichi and her posse surrounding her while she wrangled a text message together.

  “This should be interesting!” Seth tilted his head with raised eyebrows and laughed while checking his watch, “Let’s go – we’re probably down to about eight minutes.”

  ***

  Backing into the alley behind Pricilla’s as instructed, Seth and Molly sat in his SUV unsure what to do next when another buzz and ping sounded. Molly went to her phone and read aloud.

  ‘Kill the engine and lift the hatch’

  “Is she watching us?” She tossed a quick puzzled look to Seth before looking around to see how she knew they were there, then finished, “This feels very mob boss. Why do I feel like we’re the hut?”

  Another buzz and ping got their attention, another text.

  ‘Do not turn around. Just sit there, remain calm, and DO NOT draw any attention to what is happening behind you.’

  Seth immediately turned to see what was supposedly happening behind them and said, “What’s happening behind…”

  And another buzz and ping stopped him as they quickly looked to the next text message that just arrived in rapid fire time.

  ‘I said do not turn around! Look straight ahead, do not draw any attention. You’re almost done.’

  Just as they finished reading, a subtle commotion of shuffling feet and whispers could be heard behind the vehicle along with the slight sway to the car that corresponded with a crinkling and sliding. Something was being loaded in the back of Seth’s SUV…that’s why the hatch was to be opened.

  “What the fuck?” Seth let out as he squinted into the rearview mirror to see what was happening, careful not to turn around and earn another scolding text.

  “Wha…what is it?” Concern began to fill Molly. This felt weird, and although she trusted Chichi, this provoked every fear derived from late night scary movies of her past.

  “No clue, I only see…” Seth’s lips curved to a near smile, and his eyes twinkled with amusement as he looked at Molly, “I see a bunch of gray hair! It’s a bunch of gray haired heads shifting around back there.”

  Chichi’s bitty brigade - no wonder it felt like an old mafia classic full of unknowns…the foxy ladies were involved. Of course it was dramatic. Before they knew it, they were back to a stifling silence until another buzz and ping alerted them of their latest instruction.

  ‘Nearly finished. Stay in the car. Close your hatch, and pull in front of S&S. Park. Wait five minutes, then meet us at the table in the far back. Do not speak to anyone.’

  Another buzz and ping rang out before they could even process what they were to do next.

  ‘P.S. this is still Chichi’

  A quick giggle between them, and they followed their instruction to a T. The annoyance was quickly being replaced with amusement…hidden camera’s wouldn’t surprise them at this point. Parking in front of the Sweet and Savory as requested, they quickly hustled to the back table where Chichi sat, ignoring the hello they received from Lexi as they passed the check-out counter.

  Do not speak to anyone rang through their minds as she spoke…Molly would apologize later. Side by side they sat across from the one who summonsed them. They grabbed each other’s hands under the table, feeling nervous from such vague texts and the ominous mood lingering.

  “Chichi, what’s going on? What did you guys put in the back of my rig?” Seth asked, breaking the silence and hoping to get to the bottom of whatever shenanigans these old broads had planned. He had had enough of the old ladies of St. Helena of late.

  On queue, the little gray haired heads Seth saw in his mirror walked on either side of them, each flanking Chi-Chi’s left and right. Lucind
a, Priscilla, and Clovis – the gray haired mob enforcers. Italian mob boss moment, there was definitely a trend building. Again, she was only missing a hairless feline to wickedly stroke and finalize her building identity.

  Chichi gave Seth a disappointing look and shake of her head. Before she could scold him for not following orders, however, Seth interrupted her thought as if reading it like a book.

  “I didn’t ‘look.’ I happened to see their heads in my rearview mirror, okay?”

  A subtle grin from the three ladies and a nod from Chichi followed.

  “Toilet paper.” Chichi deadpanned.

  Molly tilted her head confused by the random statement, “Toilet paper?”

  “Toilet Paper.” Lucinda and Priscilla said excitedly in unison, followed by a giggle full of menace.

  “We saw Facebook. What that weasel Kinkaid posted from the vineyard yesterday.” Clovis chided with disgust and a shake of her head.

  Molly stiffened at the thought of that post and what these ladies must be thinking, “Chichi, it’s not what it looks like, I can explain! You see, I dropped the grapes, and…”

  Chichi slowly raised her hand to silence Molly and gave her a sympathetic smile, “Nora seems to keep getting the upper hand. The notebook we gave you didn’t seem to help. You haven’t been able to crack her secret. This is plan B.”

  “How is toilet paper a plan anything?” a chuckling Seth asked.

  “She will be gone…Regional Garden Society meeting. She and I represent our chapter together and will be out of town, overnight, to attend.” Chichi responded.

  “Okay, and the toilet paper?” Seth questioned, still not understanding where this was going.

  Priscilla squirmed in her seat from excitement and cheerfully answered, “It’s brilliant really. We each took turns buying toilet paper each trip to the market to build the supply so no one will suspect a thing!”

  “It took us a few weeks, and several extra trips for forgotten items just, so we could grab more. But we did it, and no one was the wiser!” Lucinda added.

  Molly’s head was spinning. Keeping up with these ladies was as easy as herding drunk chickens, “Attention to what?”

  “They’ll never figure it out this way; one large buy would have tipped everyone off! I must say, this is one of your better plans, Chichi!” Clovis praised.

  A sense of pride could be seen as the ladies each praised their fearless geriatric ruler; she was clearly appreciating the pat on the back from her silvery senior associates. And as that moment of old ladies high fiving their leader commenced, sudden awareness of where this was going flooded Seth with a thundering sense of oh shit!

  “Wait…you want us to – T.P. Nora’s house?” Seth asked, whispering the last part so no one outside their corner could hear.

  Molly nearly choked on the spontaneous surprised laugh that jolted her as the ladies slowly nodded in agreement. Yes, that was exactly what they wanted…a treacherous toilet paper storm over Nora Kinkaid’s house.

  Molly’s laugh faded to a serious stare when she realized just how serious these ladies were, “Chichi, we can’t…”

  “Yes you can dear, if you can’t beat them, join them as they say. I also hear we’re supposed to get a little rain tonight.” Chichi reasoned as if rain was the icing on the cake.

  Lucinda slowly shook her head and quietly said in awe, “It’s like it was meant to be.”

  “She ought ‘ta have fun cleaning that up!” Clovis offered under her breath with an enthused snort.

  Shocked by the joy these women shared caught Seth off guard; he disliked Nora but didn’t think vandalism was the answer, “I think this is getting out of hand. We aren’t children anymore – T.P.’ing an old ladies house? It’s, it’s…”

  “Sweet revenge!” Chichi shouted charging her fist in the air, “and watch how you use that phrase, boy, ‘old lady’”

  Priscilla stuck her nose in the air with a huff and replied, “We are mature women!”

  “My apologies,” Seth offered, “clearly you aren’t old – you’re organizing a T.P party, after all.”

  “And honey,” Chichi turned to Molly and winked, “I know a real blow job when I see one. If that was your best, I can only imagine you were a pretty broke stripper!”

  “But I wasn’t a stripper, and that wasn’t a…”

  Chichi cut her off, watching the fury build, “I know dear, I know.”

  And there it was, the not so subtle reminder of just how awful Nora Kinkaid had truly been. She had run Molly’s name through the mud and then spit all over it before using it as toilet paper. As if something snapped, a heated rage flooded Molly as she recalled all of the ugliness tossed her way over the past months by the devil herself – Nora-fucking-Kinkaid.

  “I’m in!” Molly charged full of confidence and spite.

  Seth spun his head quicker than a host body at an exorcism, “You’re what?!?”

  Molly leaned in, squinting her eyes and with gritted teeth and confidence said, “I’m in! She has it coming; it’s time to play dirty!”

  Seth paused on her words for a moment then looked back and forth between Molly and Chichi knowing full well that if Molly was in, that meant he was too.

  With an eye roll and deep sigh as he dropped his head, shaking it, he said, “Well played, Chichi, well played.”

  And Chichi winked.

  CHAPTER 9

  “I can’t believe we are doing this!” Molly whispered to Seth as she pulled her dark beanie over her head and checked that her shoe laces weren’t only tied, but double knotted…no room for errors.

  “Neither can I! What happened to all that angry ‘let’s get even’ momentum from earlier?” Seth teased, “Playing dirty I believe was the term used?”

  “Oooh, Chichi got me going. It was a good idea at the time!” she admitted.

  Seth paused and looked her in the eye and asked full of anticipation, “Are you ready?”

  “Ready as I’ll ever be!”

  “Okay,” he said, handing her a dark duffle bag with a long shoulder strap, “I put rolls in bags - thought it would be easier and faster to get in and out this way.”

  Molly offered a silly grin and raised eyebrows, “Looks like I wasn’t the only one gung ho on the idea. This appears to be a well thought out plan, Spangler!”

  “So I might have looked at that picture again and heard Chichi playing over and over in my head. I felt a little ‘motivated’.” He admitted.

  “Where’s the rest of the toilet paper?” she asked, taking notice of how much her bag had, “I thought there was quite a lot more than this?”

  “There’s no way we were doing all of that and not getting caught.” Seth admitted, “I stashed the rest at the station. Nobody will notice. The supply closet is always full of the stuff.”

  “Good idea!” she praised.

  “Alright…let’s do this!” Seth grabbed Molly’s hand and they were quickly on their way.

  ***

  Emerging from Seth’s SUV, they were each dressed head to toe in black clothing with a decent sized duffle bag each, slung across their bodies. They hid in the shadows and quietly made their way a block over to Nora’s, hiding among the bushes as they went. Detected only once by a motion detecting light, they pushed forward until they landed along the tall arborvitae along the side of Nora’s house.

  “It’s dark, no lights inside or out.” Seth assessed in a whisper.

  “Here goes nothing.” Molly quietly giggled while launching the first roll of toilet paper.

  Seth’s jaw dropped, in part from shock, but also surprised by her arm. She catapulted a roll through the highest tree, centered in Nora’s yard, the entire roll streaming from one side to the other.

  Impressed by her first toss, he said, “Nice shot!”

  “Softball, five years, I was a pitcher.” She said with a cocky shrug.

  “Impressive, but can you do this?” A roll in each hand from his bag, he tossed them both simultaneously in a crissc
ross motion, nailing the same tree with his ribbon like décor.

  Molly smacked his ass, startling him, and accepted the challenge. They each took turns cascading toilet paper throughout the yard, not missing a single bush, mailbox, planter, or tree along the way, impressing each other with their creativity upping the ante with each fling of the wrist and tossed roll.

  “Molly,” Seth whispered, “your butt just lit up!”

  “My what?!” she startled, turning in a circle, trying to see what it was that he was seeing.

  “Your butt – it keeps lighting up – your pocket.” He said, pointing to her pocket and stuttering through his words, eyes on her fantastic ass.

  “Oh! My cell phone! It’s on silent!” She replied.

  “It keeps lighting up, as much as I like – looking – I wonder if you should check it out. Might be important if it goes off that often?”

  Molly reached for her phone and her face froze, and drained of what color could be seen under the nights moon lit sky.

  “Oh my God! ‘Abort’ – it says abort!” She looked at Seth in a panic not sure what to do.

  “What?” was all Seth got out before the light in the front part of the house went on followed by the porch light. “RUN!”

  Grabbing Molly’s hand, he began to run, pulling her along behind him, retracing the steps through the grass, bushes, and tree’s that lead them there. They quickly made their way to the vehicle, parked one block over, and damn it if that same motion light didn’t kick on as they rushed passed it just as they heard the familiar sound of Nora’s garage door opening.

  Seth scrambled for his keys to remotely unlock the doors from a distance. They jumped in and tore out of the neighborhood in the opposite direction of Nora’s house, not interested in crossing what was sure to be her angry, vengeful, Facebook posting path. After a few moments of silence and time to catch their breath, Molly began to take off her clothes.