“Sorry, Ollie. We’ll be right in,” I assured him. He gave me a wary look before nodding and walking back to the porch. I let the window slide back up and then faced Cami. She looked stunning. Since we’d moved into our new home, she spent time with me outside, walking the land and learning it. All that fresh air and sunshine had given her cheeks a golden glow and sun-kissed streaks in her wild hair, which she had tamed into a braid. “You look beautiful,” I told her softly.
She smiled and leaned over to kiss my cheek gently. “Thank you,” she replied quietly. Her lips were pale and glossy, and I was tempted to stay locked in the car and devour every inch of them. But Oliver was watching and, from one quick glance out the windshield, waiting.
“Let’s go,” I said, opening the door to the car. We’d come bearing gifts, and I saw Cami grab the cardboard box filled with some of Uncle Charlie’s reserve blends. We’d found them in the cellar, and I was surprised he would leave them behind. On our first night in the house, Cami and I’d opened a bottle of cabernet and, after letting it breathe, we’d enjoyed it under the stars. It had tasted almost like heaven on my tongue.
I followed Cami up the steps, and she presented the box to Oliver. “Hi, Oliver,” she greeted him shyly. “Thank you for inviting us.”
“It’s good to see you again,” he replied, taking the wine from her. “And under happier circumstances.”
I side-stepped them both and headed right for Neil. “Hello, little brother,” I said, but soon realized Neil was taller than me. He wasn’t so little anymore. “It’s been a long time.”
I waited for him to greet me with a cool indifference, but he startled me by wrapping his arms tightly around me. “I’m so glad you’re safe, Garrett.”
My arms found their way around him, and we stood there for what felt like the longest time. Two brothers reconnecting. It was hard to ignore the tears that managed to escape and travel down my cheeks. I let go and stepped back to admire my little brother, to really look at him. “I guess I can’t call you little now, can I?” I quickly wiped away the tears from my cheeks and smiled, embarrassed that my emotions got the better of me.
“Late growth spurt,” he said with a shrug.
I wanted to ask him about swimming, about his life, about everything I missed during the past ten years, but from the corner of my eye, I saw Oliver leading Cami inside. I guess it was time to face the music and properly introduce her to my father. Before I even stepped into Oliver’s home, I could hear him bellowing for me.
“Garret! Garrett, get in this house,” he yelled.
Cami was frozen in the middle of their living room, her eyes wide and glassy with unshed tears. “What’s wrong?” I asked her, coming up beside her and wrapping a protective arm around her. It was the only shield I could offer her.
“Garrett, what is the meaning of this?” I looked toward my father, who was gesturing between me and Cami.
“Dad, this is Cami Sorenson, my fiancée.”
“The hell she is!” he roared.
“Excuse me? How dare you yell at her!”
“How dare I? How dare you bring another man’s girlfriend into my home!”
I was utterly confused. “Your home? This is Oliver’s home. And Cami is my fiancée.”
“So you stole her from your best friend? From Palmer? I taught you better than that, Garrett.” He paused for a moment but then set his cold, nearly black eyes on me. “I guess the Army taught you how to be a thief because clearly, you weren’t satisfied stealing from your friends. You stole from your family as well.”
His true intentions were finally revealed. He was never angry about Cami and Palmer, which I would ask her about later. This was all about buying the one piece of property he could never own.
“I didn’t steal anything. I put everything I had into buying what rightfully belongs to me now,” I told him.
“Rightfully yours? Son, you must be mistaken. That land was supposed to be mine.” His voice was low and menacing and his eyes narrowed. “You knew I wanted it, and you took it right out from under my nose. How could you do that to your own father, Garrett? How could you betray me?”
Oliver, Tabitha, and Neil all stood just off to the side, far enough away to withstand the impact of the verbal blows my father was throwing my way. Cami remained resolutely by my side, but I could feel her tremble with fear. This was not how we imagined the night would go. This was not how I wanted to be reunited with Neil.
“Do you really think that your son chasing his dreams is a betrayal?”
“Garrett, you didn’t have any dreams last year when you promised to come home and help me and your brother run Hammond Winery.”
“Things change,” I muttered.
“Like what?”
“Like being locked up in a cell for weeks on end!” I roared, partially out of anger and partially out of frustration. “Like never knowing if you’re going to live one day but die the very next! When you’re locked up, Father, and all you can think about are the ‘what might have beens’ or the ‘what could have beens,’ you start to make promises to yourself. I promised myself that if I was freed, I wouldn’t live for anyone else but myself.”
I latched onto Cami’s hand, jolting her to attention, and nearly dragged her to the front door of Oliver’s house. I stopped long enough to say goodbye to brothers before we stepped onto the porch and headed toward the car. It was time I started keeping that promise I made to myself.
Chapter Nineteen
Cami
Family dinner was a complete disaster. I could tell Garrett desperately wanted to reconnect with his brother Neil, but that plan was doomed from the moment we accepted Oliver’s invitation. Betrayal was still too fresh in both Garrett’s heart and his father’s mind. At the heart of all of this was Garrett’s desire for his father to accept him. His wish burned deeply in his eyes, and it wasn’t hard to miss if you merely looked at Garrett when he was in the same room as his father. Jacob was proud of his son—it was obvious when I met him last fall—but he was too stubborn of a man to concede defeat, even to his own flesh and blood.
When we returned home, Garrett disappeared into the makeshift production room. I didn’t follow because it was best to leave him alone. Instead, I baked a fresh batch of shortbread cookies and worked on emptying a few more boxes. We didn’t have much, and the more we unpacked, the more we realized how much it would take to fill up a space this size.
I walked out to the large, empty space that was designated as the tasting room, trying to envision what it would look like once renovations were completed. I could picture a modern yet rustic space with warm wooden floors and stark white walls mixed with some industrial lighting. Long tables would fill the space, encouraging patrons to socialize and interact with one another. Garrett’s dream was so easy to imagine because it had become my own. I wanted this for him more than I’d wanted anything in my entire life.
“What are you thinking about?” Garrett’s voice was low and seductive and kept me frozen in place. I heard his soft footsteps behind me, which were soon followed by his hands wrapping around my waist.
“I was just imagining the tasting room,” I told him.
His placed his chin on my shoulder; his breath was warm on my neck and his hands looped tighter around my waist. “Tell me.”
“Modern and rustic. Stark white walls with industrial lighting and long tables. Fresh flowers everywhere and shortbread waiting to be nibbled.”
“It sounds amazing.” He turned his head and kissed my cheek. “I’m going to make it happen, I promise.”
I didn’t want to admit to him I was wary of his promise. How could he possibly keep it without enough money? Money we would soon run out of unless we were careful. If I spoke those words aloud, all he would hear was doubt, and my role was to provide him with support and encouragement, not harsh realities. So I said, “Well, at least I can make the shortbread happen.”
Garrett followed me into the kitchen where I presented him with
a tray of freshly made golden cookies. He smiled appreciatively and took one from the plate. His eyes scanned the kitchen, and the corners of his mouth turned down instantly. “I’m sorry we can’t make this happen,” he murmured. “You deserve a better kitchen then this.”
I placed the tray of cookies down on the counter and stepped toward Garrett, wrapping my arms tightly around his middle and placing my head right over his heart. “Everything I deserve is right here in my arms,” I whispered.
My eyes closed as I listened to the soft beat of his heart. It was perfectly in tune with my own, and we stood together in the middle of the kitchen for what felt like forever with our arms locked around each other. Then Garrett sighed and released his grip before stepping back.
“I have a plan,” he told me solemnly. “It will probably piss off my father even more, but there’s one other person who might be able to help us out.”
“Who?” The only family Garrett ever talked about was his parents and two brothers. Jackson didn’t have millions sitting in the bank, and it would be a cold day in hell before he asked Palmer for help.
“Don’t worry about it,” he replied and cut me off with a quick, hard kiss. “Let’s go to bed.”
Any more discussion was tabled when Garrett tugged his shirt free from his pants, giving me an eyeful of his broad, sculpted back and the tattooed tributes on his chest and arms.
When I woke up the next morning, Garrett was gone. A sticky note on the fridge told me he’d “gone to fix this mess.” I tugged it down and crumpled it into a tiny, hot pink ball before tossing it in the trash. I prayed Garrett’s mystery solution wouldn’t come with even more strings attached.
A quick glance outside told me what I already suspected; Garrett took the car, so there wasn’t much I could do beyond our property. There were boxes that desperately needed to be unpacked, but I lacked the motivation. Baking normally calmed my nerves, but our pantry was pretty much empty after I made the shortbread last night.
I brewed a fresh pot of coffee and enjoyed my first cup of the day on the deck with the acres of vineyards spread out before me. This land was so special that a father was willing to sabotage the dreams of his son just to claim ownership. It didn’t seem right. Fathers were supposed to support the dreams of their children. I rubbed at my chest, at the constant ache. I missed my father and knew he’d go to the ends of the earth to help me achieve my goals. I wished that for Garrett.
The sound of tires crunching their way up the gravel driveway had me turning quickly, hoping Garrett’s task had been swiftly completed. But it wasn’t my tiny hybrid coming into view but a big black SUV. Cautiously, I walked down the few steps and headed toward the big open lot that would one day be paved and filled with cars. The SUV stopped at the spot where the narrow drive started to open, and both the driver’s side and passenger side doors opened simultaneously, revealing Neil and Oliver.
“Are you two lost?” I asked, jokingly.
Oliver’s mouth twisted into a grin. “Just came to check out the competition.”
Neil strode forward on his long legs and held out his hand. “We didn’t actually get to meet yesterday. I’m Neil.”
He greeted me with such sweet hesitancy that I wanted to pull him in for a hug. Instead, I took his much larger hand in both of mine and held it. “I’m so happy to finally meet you.”
“I’m sorry about yesterday, Cami,” Oliver said, coming up next to his brother. “Is Garrett around?”
I shook my head. “No, he’s not here. I’m not sure where he is or even when he left.”
Oliver and Neil turned to one another with confused expressions. “He didn’t say where he was going?”
I shrugged. “Nope. He said something about a solution to this mess but wouldn’t elaborate.” It felt awkward just standing around, so I blurted, “Do you want to check the place out?”
“Absolutely,” they both said, almost in unison. It was a pleasant distraction to be able to take them around the property. From the corner of my eye, I watched Oliver delicately touch the leaves and occasionally pull some fruit from the vines and taste it. A few times, he bent down and grabbed a handful of soil before letting it sift back down through his fingers.
“What do you think?” I asked him quietly as we headed back to the house.
“Garrett’s going to make amazing wine here,” he declared. “It’s not going to happen overnight, but if he does it right, he’ll blow us all away with what this place will produce.”
“How long does the whole process take?”
“It depends. A minimum of eighteen months but it can take longer.”
I whistled low. “I had no idea.”
I took them both into the areas needing renovation, and it was hard not to feel disappointed when I saw the emptiness. There were so many possibilities waiting for Garrett to take hold of, and I hoped he grabbed each and every one.
“Uncle Charlie had some pretty grand plans,” Neil chimed in once we left the area designated for production. He had been quiet throughout much of the tour, and I wondered what he thought of this feud between his brother and his father.
“It’s too bad he had to walk away from everything,” I mused.
“Well, Garrett will definitely benefit. A lot of the work has been done for him,” Oliver said.
“I wish your dad wasn’t so hell-bent on ruining his dream.” The words tumbled unexpectedly from my lips, and as soon as I realized what I’d said, I quickly clamped a hand over my mouth. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to sound angry.”
Oliver held up a hand. “Don’t worry about it. You and Garrett need to do whatever it takes to get this place up and running. Don’t worry about Hammond Winery; we’re not hurting.”
All three of us turned the moment we heard tires crunching along the gravel driveway. Garrett was finally home, which meant he could finally have time alone with his brothers.
I jogged down the steps of the front porch to greet him as he stepped out of the car. He greeted me with a kiss and then headed toward his brothers. When they were all together, it was easy to see their similarities. Oliver was the shortest, and Neil seemed to tower over his brothers, but Garrett was by far the biggest and broadest. But they all had the same comfortable, easy smile. And now that they were together, it was easy to tell they all wanted to be closer.
Garrett took his brothers back around the property, and I trailed behind them for a while, eavesdropping on their conversation. Garrett deferred to Oliver when it came to questions about managing the estate and where to find a crew and where to buy equipment. I excused myself to head into town to shop for groceries. We had been surviving on takeout since we moved into the house, and it was time to finally set a routine.
“Hey.” Garrett stopped me right before I got in the car. “Hurry back,” he said with a playful kiss that nipped at my bottom lip.
Chapter Twenty
Garrett
“I went to go see Avery,” I told Neil and Oliver.
“What the fuck, Garrett? Avery? Really?” Oliver rarely got angry, but one mention of Avery Morgan, my mother’s former flame, and Oliver was ready to murder.
“I need help, Oliver, and Dad isn’t about to lift a finger for me.”
“How is Avery going to help you?” Neil asked innocently. He was born after my mother’s affair with Avery. He didn’t see the ugly fights between my parents, but I remembered them clearly, especially the night Avery dared to set foot on our property.
“He knows consultants who are willing to help me make this place sustainable,” I told them both.
“It’s more than that, Garrett. Why did you really go and see Avery?”
Because I knew it would piss off my father, I answered Oliver silently. “Oliver, I don’t have the first clue about making the necessary changes to this place. Dad fucked me over with Tessa McGregor. I’m going to do whatever it takes to get this place up and running, to make Sorenson Cellars successful.”
“But what did you give
him, Garrett?”
“Nothing,” I told Oliver. Nothing yet. We hadn’t come to terms today, but I knew dealing with Avery Morgan was somewhat like dealing with my father. There had to be something in it for him. But Avery was almost like a second father to me. He saw something inside me that my father didn’t, and despite my parents’ wishes, I became close with him. He was the one who drove me to boot camp after my parents refused. He showed up for my graduation from basic training. He sent me care packages during my first deployment and took me out for my first beer when I turned twenty-one. I knew most of what he did was out of obligation to my mother. Long after her death, he still loved her fiercely, and our continued relationship was a tribute to her. “Right now, he’s just helping me find a consulting firm.”
“Garrett, I’m glad to help you any way I can,” he told me with his hand on my shoulder. “I’m happy to see you finally returned to Healdsburg, to your roots. But you should have told your father before you bought Charlie’s property.”
“I understand, Avery, and I wouldn’t have come out to see you if I didn’t have a choice,” I explained.
He told me he would make some calls and get back to me with the name of a firm that could help me. Before I left, he stopped me. “She would be proud that you came back here.”
“I know. And she would love Cami too.”
“I look forward to meeting her.” We shook hands and our meeting ended.
“Don’t give him an inch of this property,” Oliver warned me just as Cami returned from her trip to the grocery store. He and Neil didn’t understand my relationship with Avery. I did everything possible to drive a wedge between my father and I when I was younger while Oliver worshipped the very ground on which he walked. “I’ll help you as much as I can, but do not let Avery Morgan get his hands in your business.”
“He won’t do anything to hurt me,” I assured Oliver. I looked between him and Neil, grateful I was getting the opportunity to spend more time with them. “Can the two of you stay for dinner? I’d really love to hear your thoughts on the property.”
Just Like Love (Just Like This Book 2) Page 12