Coming Home

by Judith Keim

  “Thank you,” said Cami, feeling sick to her stomach. “I’ll have my lawyer follow through on this. In the meantime, only I will be responsible for any dealings with the bank.”

  “Understood,” said the banker. “I’ll be sure to remove Jonathan’s name from all of your accounts immediately. Welcome aboard. We always enjoyed working with your grandmother. It will be a pleasure helping you.”

  ###

  Three days later, Cami stood inside the airport terminal in Portland. She gave Jamison a hug and stood back. “I wish you didn’t have to leave. You’ve been such a great help to me handling the issues with Jonathan and assisting in setting things up properly.”

  “I’ll be back. I promise. And next time, I’ll bring Wynton with me. I think he’d love the landscape as much as we do.”

  “That would be fabulous,” Cami said. “It would be such an honor to meet him.”

  Jamison’s smile was warm. “I think he’d enjoy meeting you too.” She waved goodbye and walked away.

  Standing by herself in the bustling noise of the terminal, Cami wished she could take off, fly anywhere to escape. The work ahead of her was daunting.

  On the way back to the inn, her cell phone rang. Bernard.

  Cami hesitated, then answered. “Bonjour, Bernard. What is it?”

  Bernard let out a long sigh. “I miss you, chérie!”

  Though her heart was doing a rebellious leap, Cami forced herself to stay silent.

  “I was thinking I might come see you in Oregon. My job at the vineyards here has ended.”

  Cami’s mind raced. “But I thought you were going to buy into the vineyards, have a piece of the action with your brother.”

  “Pouf! It ended up being nothing. That’s why I thought I should come stay with you.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea. There are too many things to settle here. Give me a few weeks to get on my feet and then we’ll see about that.”

  “But I thought you’d want me with you,” Bernard said.

  Resisting every urge to tell him to come immediately, Cami stopped him. “I’ll let you know.” She hung up before she could change her mind. At the sound of his smooth, sexy voice, her body had reacted with a familiar ache.

  She found herself speeding along the highway as if she could hurry the time until she could call him. Slowing down before any cop could stop her, Cami realized Jamison was right. As far as romance was concerned, Bernard was a frog, not a prince. Besides, she had to devote all her time and efforts to getting a handle on the business, not trying to resurrect a one-sided love affair. Besides, who did Bernard think he was? He had broken her heart. He’d never even called her on the day of Nonnee’s funeral.

  When she realized she was gripping the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles had turned white, Cami took a deep breath and relaxed her grip. Bernard had already shown his true self. Why would she ever want to see him again?

  Her thoughts turned to issues at the inn. The staff, it turned out, hadn’t been as impressed with Jonathan as he was with himself. After meeting with several of them, Cami felt they’d at least give her a chance to prove herself capable. When Nonnee had run it, the Chandler Hill Inn had been one of the best places in the valley for staff to work. She wanted that to happen again.

  As she pulled into the driveway of her home, her grandfather was leaving. He approached her car with a smile. “Hi! I just finished loading the last of my belongings. Want to come over and see how things are going at the cabin?”

  “Sure,” Cami said, wishing she didn’t have to face another change. She got out of her car and climbed into his silver truck.

  In silence, Rafe drove the short distance to the cabin. When he pulled to a stop in front of it, he turned to her. “After I’m settled here, you and I need to talk about a few things. I want Drew Farley to begin working at the winery for me.”

  “I thought he was set to work for Chandler Hill.”

  “Scott’s son, Adam, is training to take over for him. Drew wants an opportunity on his own. He’ll continue to help Sam with the vines here at Chandler Hill and at Taunton Estates. Seems only appropriate since you will someday own both.”

  Silent, Cami nodded.

  Rafe placed a hand on her shoulder. “I know it must seem like all these changes are too much to handle, but you can do it.”

  “I hope so. I don’t want to disappoint Nonnee or you.”

  He smiled. “Don’t worry. You couldn’t. We both love you so much.”

  Cami climbed out of the truck and waited for him to join her. Together they went inside.

  At the sound of hammering and a mumbled curse loud enough for her to hear, Cami followed her grandfather to the master bedroom.

  Drew Farley looked up at them from where he was kneeling on the carpet. “Almost got this bed put together, but it isn’t easy.”

  Cami stared at the huge four-poster bed partially assembled. Rafe had insisted on continuing to use the bed following Nonnee’s death and had brought it with him to the cabin.

  Cami was happy to choose something simpler, more contemporary for the master suite at Nonnee’s house.

  Rafe and Cami held the headboard and the footboard while Drew slid the side rails into place.

  “There, that’s going to do it,” said Drew standing.

  “Help me get the mattress and box spring onto it and then the housekeepers from the hotel can do the rest,” said Rafe.

  Watching the men lift the heavy mattress onto the bed frame, Cami couldn’t help staring at the way the muscles in Drew’s arms knotted.

  Her grandfather checked his watch. “Your bed is due to be delivered now, Cami. Better go. And, Drew, why don’t you go with her to make sure everything, including the mattresses, are set in place.”

  Drew glanced at Cami and then nodded. “Sure, no problem.”

  “Want to borrow my truck?” Rafe asked.

  Cami shook her head. “No, we’ll walk. It won’t take us long.”

  She and Drew left the cabin and headed for her house.

  Outside, Cami drew in a breath of the crisp, fresh air. She loved this time of year—the autumn weather and the knowledge that the ripening grapes would soon be picked.

  She turned to Drew. “Look, you don’t have to accompany me to my house. I’m pretty sure I can handle things there.”

  He shook his head. “I’ll go with you. I’d do anything for Rafe.”

  They headed toward her house, walking easily across the land.

  “Pretty time of year, huh?” said Drew.

  “Yes. Mother Nature does her best with colors in the fall. I never tire of looking at them. They make me want to sit with my paints and try to capture them.”

  “You’re an artist?” Drew asked as they ambled along side by side.

  “Not really. I studied fine arts, but don’t fancy myself as anyone but a person who admires nice work.” Bernard had made fun of the few paintings she’d tried of fields of flowers in the south of France. It had stung at the time, but she realized he was right. She’d never be anything but a novice at painting.

  “In college I took an art appreciation course,” Drew said. “It was an easy way to get a high grade.”

  Cami laughed. “Well, did it help you to understand some of the better-known art we see today?”

  “Actually, it did,” said Drew grinning. “Art galleries aren’t quite so baffling anymore.” His expression grew more serious. “Speaking of baffling, why does Jonathan Knight have such a thing against you? You seem pretty reasonable.”

  “My grandmother might have given him a wrong impression. I believe he actually thought he was going to end up owning a piece of the business. But that was never going to happen, especially when I have a strict duty to my grandmother to carry on for her. That’s my reason for coming home.”

  “Where were you before you came here?”

  “In France. Another long story. One I’m glad is over.”

  He stopped and studied her with the
light-brown eyes she found intriguing. He was handsome—a Ryan Gosling lookalike. “Yeah. I have a long story too,” he said. “Live and learn, I say.”

  “My grandfather told me you’re going to become a winemaker for him. You realize that makes us rivals, don’t you?”

  He grinned. “Both Chandler Hill and Taunton Estates wines are superb. But I’m hoping to do a little experimenting for a new wine. We’ll see.”

  Until now, Cami hadn’t been anxious to get started on winemaking. The thought of trying to beat Drew in wine competitions suddenly made it seem exciting.

  “Who’s going to run the inn with Jonathan Knight gone?” Drew asked, bringing her back to reality. She couldn’t think of getting overly involved in winemaking until the inn was in order.

  “Becca and I are going to run it together. We’ll hire a consultant to work with us for a few months, and then we’ll be on our own.”

  Drew’s eyebrows shot up. “Becca? She’s really smart. She and I dated a few times, but I told her I’m not getting serious with anyone. No long-term relationships for me. Now, she’s dating a friend of mine.”

  Cami hid her surprise. Becca had never mentioned it.

  As they walked up to the house, a delivery truck rumbled toward them.

  “Good timing,” said Drew.

  Cami hurried inside the house to make sure the master bedroom was ready to receive her new bed. Later, she’d move in her personal items. She hadn’t wanted to disturb Rafe while he was packing up.

  Drew stayed with her while she made sure the bed was placed correctly. After everything was put together and in place, he said, “Guess I’d better go.”

  “It’s lunch time. Want to stay? I make a mean sandwich.”

  He laughed. “Sure. Why not? I wasn’t scheduled to work today anyway.”

  ###

  Sitting on the deck, Cami swallowed the last bite of her sliced chicken and chutney sandwich. “Sorry, I don’t have anything to offer you for dessert,” she said to Drew.

  “No worries. This was great. Now, I’d better go.” His warm gaze remained on her. “Thanks for lunch. With harvesting about to begin, I’m sure we’ll see each other around.” He got to his feet. “See you later.”

  Cami rose and walked him to the door. “May I drop you off anywhere?”

  Drew shook his head. “No, thanks. I’ll go check on Rafe and then go home from there.”

  She stood at the doorway for a few moments, watching him stride away. If she were considering dating, he’d definitely be on her list. But he’d made it plain he wasn’t interested in her or any other woman. Having that out in the open had made their lunch relaxing.

  ###

  Cami hurried into her office and buzzed Becca. She and Jamison had discussed having Becca work beside her, much like Lettie and Paloma had done through the years. Now, it was time to work out some of the finer details.

  Becca came into the office all smiles. “I heard you and Drew Farley had lunch together.”

  “How’d you hear that?” Cami asked.

  Becca laughed. “Nothing goes unnoticed in a hotel. Not with staff everywhere. So, how was it?”

  “If you’re talking about my fixing a sandwich for Drew as a means of thanking him for helping Rafe and me this morning, that was it. Nothing more. He’s not interested in anything between us, and neither am I.”

  “Oh.” Becca sounded disappointed. “I thought the two of you would be great together. Drew’s a good guy.”

  “Yes, he is. You’re dating a friend of his?”

  Becca’s cheeks turned a pretty pink. “Dan Thurston and I have been dating a couple of months now. There’s a spark between us that I’ve never felt with anyone before. I don’t know for sure, but I think he may be ‘the one.’” She made quotation marks in the air with her fingers. “He’s a really great guy who is part of his family’s construction business, and I respect his hard work.”

  “Nice,” said Cami, remembering how she’d once thought she’d found “the one” with Bernard. “Is Dan okay with your taking on more and more responsibility here at the inn?”

  “Yes, he’s very busy, and I will be as well.” Becca’s green eyes studied her. “The first time I met you, I knew we’d be friends. And after watching you work with the staff the short time you’ve been on board, I know I can work with you as your personal assistant. In fact, I think I may have already found my replacement as an administrative assistant.”

  “Really? Fantastic!”

  “Her name is Imani. I told her if you were interested, we’d call and ask her to come in for an interview. I already have her resumé.”

  “Okay, let’s go over that, and if we like what we see, we’ll set up an appointment. Then we need to talk about what needs to be done here at the inn. Paloma, my grandmother’s friend, ended up running a lot of the daily details. I’m hoping that’s what will happen with us.”

  “It sounds great,” said Becca. “I want you to know how much your trust in me means. Jonathan always made it seem as if he was running the show while, in reality, I was doing a lot of the work behind the scenes.”

  “Yes, Jamison and I both are aware of that.”

  After agreeing to meet with Imani and going over a number of duties and a calendar of sorts for the year, Cami rose. “Let’s go say hello to some of our guests. It’s time for happy hour. I’m sure many of them will be at the reception.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Circulating among the guests, seeing how happy they were, was the most pleasant part of the job for Cami. Years of standing by her grandmother’s side as she greeted others at these occasions had always been a joy to her. Hard work went into creating the environment for even the most-easy-going visitor’s stay, and this was a moment to reap the benefits of that.

  Cami smiled at the memory of her grandmother and moved on to greet someone new.

  Some guests were easy and pleasant. Others, not so much. But Cami made it a practice to listen to each one, storing information to be used later to improve their experiences at the inn.

  Cami lingered to keep an eye on Becca. With her bubbly personality, Becca was a natural with the guests. Jamison had been quite right to urge her to take advantage of having Becca get more involved at the inn.

  Abby, who handled the merchandise for The Barn and the rest of the complex, came into the room. Cami rushed over to her and gave her a hug. If Nonnee was the grandmother every young girl wanted, Abigail Wilkins was the great aunt one wished for. She’d always been more like a fairy godmother, appearing with gifts and games and other surprises from the store. Now in her late sixties and anxious to retire, Abby was eager for Cami to take over for her.

  “Glad you’re here,” said Abby. “I’ve set up a meeting for us later this week. I want you to meet with the staff at The Barn, and then we can talk about the future. I’m sure Rex Chandler had no idea how a simple tasting barn could evolve. Today, The Barn is a major source of revenue and profit for us.”

  “The end of the week sounds fine. Again, thank you for staying until I get things organized. There’s so much to think about.”

  Abby gave her a hug. “You’re not Lettie’s granddaughter for nothing.”

  Cami’s smile wobbled. Everyone else but she was convinced she could easily do the job.

  Rafe walked into the room, causing a stir among the older women. He was still a handsome man and was considered quite a “catch” in the valley.

  He approached, gave Abby a quick hug, and kissed Cami on the cheek. “Looks like I’m all set at the cabin. To thank you, I have a surprise waiting at the house.”

  Cami grinned at him. “Really? I love surprises!”

  Rafe laughed and winked. “I know, and it’s a good one.”

  Anxious to get home, Cami looked around the room. The library was used for smaller groups, but with the inn full of guests, the reception area in the wing of the inn was being used for this occasion. Observing how the colors of the sunset shining through the double set of slid
ing-glass doors were reflected in the crystal chandelier, Cami thought of her grandmother. Just as she’d had a natural palate for wine, Lettie Chandler had had an instinctive ability to create environments of understated elegance. The beauty of the chandelier and plush carpeting in this area was enhanced by views of the rolling hills blanketed by vineyards outside.

  Cami continued to make her round of guests, welcoming them. But her mind was on Rafe’s surprise. As soon as she could gracefully excuse herself, she signaled Rafe, and they left together.

  “Want a ride?” she said to Rafe.

  “Sure. I walked over to the reception. It’s nice the lay of the land gives privacy to the cabin and your house, yet they aren’t that far away from the inn and The Barn.”

  “And not far away from our special grove of trees,” amended Cami, giving him a warm smile as she got behind the wheel of her car.

  He sat in the passenger seat and sighed. “I never dreamed I’d outlive Lettie.”

  “It was an awful surprise to everyone. She was such an active, strong woman.”

  He studied her. “You’re a lot more like her than you think. But, Cami, she wasn’t perfect. Don’t let others intimidate you on that point. Be your own person, go your own way.”

  Tears stung her eyes. They were words she’d needed to hear. “Thanks,” she managed to say. There were times she was scared to death of what lay ahead.

  When she pulled up to her house, Rafe turned to her with twinkling eyes. “Okay, let’s see to that surprise.”

  Cami got out of the car, and she and Rafe hurried up to the front door together. As Cami opened the door, she heard “Yip!”

  Laughing, she turned to Rafe. “A dog? That’s the surprise?”

  “Come see.” He led her to the kitchen.

  Behind a gate in a section of the kitchen, a small, smooth-haired, black-and-tan puppy stared up at her and barked, “Yip!”

  “A wiener dog?” she asked, already reaching for the bright-eyed puppy that was wagging her tail so hard she almost toppled over.