by Frank, Ella
God, this just got worse every time he opened his mouth.
“You’ll tell people this was an unfortunate result of a one-night stand because you were so distraught Noah left you.”
I lowered my head in disgust—at him or myself, I couldn’t be sure—as the realization of what I would be agreeing to enveloped me.
Harry took another step closer and tipped up my chin. “You do this and I’ll help your mother. We both win.”
I couldn’t stop the tears from falling now. The pain of what he was asking me to let go of in order to save another becoming too much to bear. “I…I can’t do that.”
“Really? You’re willing to pick Noah over your mother’s health?”
No. God. What he was asking me was impossible. “What about Noah?”
“What about Noah?”
I flinched at the coldness of his responses.
“He’ll grow up, live his life, and become the success I always wanted him to be. Nothing can replace that.”
Meaning me or a child.
I swallowed back the shout I wanted to let free at his willingness to destroy our lives for the sake of his pride, for the sake of his desires. But there was no way I could turn down the opportunity to have my mom treated by the best, for her to have the chance at more time, and this soul-deep shame I was feeling… Surely it would ease over time.
“Well, what’ll it be, Miss Anderson?”
I squeezed my eyes shut and tried not to think too hard on what I was about to do. Not only to myself, but to Noah and the child I was carrying.
“I have a condition.”
Harry’s lips curled at the side, and the pleasure he took from a win as disgusting as this told me everything I needed to know about him. Maybe Noah was better off away from this monster after all.
“And what might that be?”
“A job.”
“A job?”
“Yes. I’m going to need one, and since I have other, more pressing matters than university right now, you can supply me with one.”
Harry eyed me but then nodded. “Done. We’ll find something for you up at the villa. You can stay until—”
“I decide to leave.”
He flicked the coin again. After he caught it and stuffed it back in his pocket, he held out his hand. “Deal.”
I swallowed, then reached out and took it, sealing my fate. I knew one day I would live to regret what I had just done. But right now I had no other choice. Why else would the devil have shown up with a deal I couldn’t refuse?
29
Noah
“NOAH? NOAH, ARE you in here?”
I glanced up from the numbers I’d been crunching to see my mom standing in my office doorway.
“Oh, there you are. When you get a free moment, Ryan asked if you could come and see him. He’s working on the west yard’s fencing where some of it has weathered.”
“Not a problem. I’ll just wrap this up and head on out.”
“Great.”
Mom smiled at me, and when she didn’t immediately leave, I tossed my pen down on the desk and sat back in my seat. “Was there something else on your mind?”
She looked over her shoulder and then stepped inside, closing the door behind her. “I’d like to talk to you for a minute about something in your father’s will.”
Shit. That was the last thing I wanted to do right now. But I’d just scheduled a meeting for the end of the month with the accountant about the whole Justin situation, so if Mom had something she needed to discuss regarding anything monetary, I supposed now would be as good a time as any.
“Okay. What is it?”
Mom twisted her hands in front of herself as she took one of the chairs opposite me. She appeared nervous, which was unlike her, so I sat forward and reached across the desk.
“Mom? What’s going on?”
She placed her hand in mine and squeezed, then offered up a tight smile. “It’s about Ryan and—”
“How Harry fuck—screwed him?”
Mom lowered her eyes and nodded. “Yes. I don’t like what he did, Noah. What he withheld from him? Ryan has worked here his entire life, and what Harry did was…atrocious.”
“I agree.”
She looked me in the eye. “You do?”
“Um, yes.” I couldn’t help my derisive laugh. “That’s why I’ve been poring over these books since we found out. I’ve been trying to work out a way to, umm…funnel some extra cash his way.”
Mom’s eyes turned glassy as tears welled, but the smile that lit her face was bright enough to light the room. “Really?”
“Really. Harry’s always been a bastard, but what he did to Ryan was some bullshit.”
She wiped at her damp cheek and sniffed. “I know. I never thought he would be so cruel, and to Ryan of all people. He loved Harry, used to follow him everywhere.”
I scoffed. “I’m not surprised. Harry didn’t have a kind bone in his body.”
“That’s not true.”
“Okay, he didn’t have one for any of his kids.” I let out a sigh and ran a hand through my hair. I wasn’t going to let Harry cause an argument here. Not when I could see that Mom was already feeling emotional.
“Will you let me know what you come up with?”
“Of course. I’m going to have to be stealthy about it. I can’t see Ryan taking this willingly.”
“I know.”
“Okay. Then leave it with me and I’ll see what I can do.”
Mom got to her feet and headed to the door, and just before she opened it, she stopped and looked over at me. “Have you seen Laurel today? I’ve been looking for her all over, but I keep missing her.”
You and me both. It was Monday afternoon and had been fairly quiet for the most part. Something I’d hoped to take advantage of by tracking down Laurel and finding out why she was avoiding me. But like my mom, I’d had a difficult time locking Laurel down. Every time I found her, she’d make up some excuse to be gone, and I had a pretty good feeling why—last night.
Something had changed between the beginning of our date and the end of it. And while I’d thought she was having as good a time as I was, there had been a distinct shift in her mood after our…second tasting.
“She’s around, but I’m not sure where,” I replied.
“Okay, well, if you see her, can you let her know I’m looking for her?”
“You got it.”
With a final wave, Mom disappeared out the door, and I decided that I might as well go and see what it was Ryan needed before I got stuck back into the numbers.
I exited my office and was about to head out the back when I spotted Laurel entering the tasting room. A glance at my watch told me she’d be leaving for the day soon, and I wasn’t about to let her go without talking to her first.
I didn’t want any misunderstandings between us, and if I’d done something to offend or, worse, hurt her, then I wanted to know.
When I entered the room, I found her standing over by the large wall of windows that looked out over the deck and vineyard. She didn’t acknowledge me, which could be due to one of two reasons: she didn’t hear me or she just didn’t want to. But when I finally came to a stop beside her, she turned my way.
“Hi.”
It wasn’t the Hi, I’ve been dying to speak to you all day greeting I’d been hoping for, but it was better than nothing. “Hi yourself. You’ve been busy today.”
“Yes. I’ve been running through some of the events the winery usually attends throughout the year and trying to decide which ones I think we should still make an appearance at. I’ll bring you the final list, of course, and if there’s any—”
“Laurel,” I said. She licked her lips, and I couldn’t help but remember the way they’d tasted the night before. “That’s fine, I trust you, and whatever you think will help improve the sales and marketing, let’s do it.”
“Okay.”
“Okay.” When that same uncomfortable silence from the end of last n
ight reappeared, I moved in a step closer and asked, “Are you okay?”
Laurel brushed at a piece of imaginary lint on her sleeve. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“No reason. I just wanted to make sure because I thought we had a good time last night.”
She raised her eyes to mine, and for a second I thought I caught a hint of longing there, until she turned back to face the window, crossing her arms over her chest. A barrier if ever I’d seen one.
“Look, if I did something to upset you or hurt you at any point—”
“You didn’t.”
The two words were clipped and made me frown. “Then what’s wrong? Did something happen after you left? Are you okay?”
Laurel closed her eyes for a moment, took in a deep breath, and slowly let it out, then looked my way.
“I’m fine, and last night was wonderful. Really.”
I reached for her elbow, and when I touched her, the pulse at the base of her throat began to flutter. “Then let’s do it again.”
“Noah…”
“There’s no reason it has to be a one-off. You had a good time. And I definitely did. So why can’t we do it again?”
“It’s more complicated than that.”
“Why? Because the town knows we used to date? Who cares? They’ll probably be happy about it.”
Laurel was about to respond when something outside caught her eye. We turned in time to see Ryan and—oh great—that jackass from yesterday’s baseball game who’d wanted to lob a ball right between my eyes.
I looked back to Laurel, about to continue with the conversation, but I noticed the rapt way she was staring at the young guy outside. The same guy who seemed shocked that first day he’d seen the two of us in the wine cellar together.
Huh. Was he the reason for Laurel’s hesitation now? Maybe he was an ex. Sure, he was a little young, but Laurel was hot. Any guy with a pulse would look twice, age be damned.
“Is he the reason you didn’t want to go out with me? Why you won’t go out with me again?”
When Laurel shut her eyes and rubbed at her arms, I knew I had my answer. He was the reason—whoever he was.
“Is he your ex?”
Laurel’s eyes flew open and her head whipped around until we were face to face. “My what?”
“Your ex-boyfriend?”
The shock on her face would almost be comical if I hadn’t been so pissed off that some guy was influencing her decisions. But as it was, I was too irritated to be amused.
“No.” She shook her head. “I mean, it is because of him. But he’s not my ex.”
“I’m confused, then.” I looked back out the window to where the guy was now trailing Ryan back to the production facility with a toolbox. “Who is he?”
Everything went quiet then, so quiet you could’ve heard a pin drop. But it wasn’t a pin that was dropped at my feet. It was a nuclear fucking bomb.
“He’s my son.”
30
Laurel
FOR YEARS I’D dreaded this exact moment right here. Where the only two men I’d ever loved in my life found out what a fraud I was.
I’d always known it would come. The day when anger, hurt, and confusion stared me down. But I’d never quite prepared myself for the pain that would follow, the pain I felt now watching Noah back away from me, his walls rising as he studied me as though he’d never seen me before in his life.
My heart ached and my stomach churned, but I fought the urge to go after him and explain. There was someone more pressing than Noah in my life these days, and he was whom I needed to see to first.
I turned back to the window and noticed that Jake was no longer with Ryan. Damn it. So I pulled open the sliding door and made my way across the back deck.
I really needed to talk to Jake. The way we’d left things last night, the way he’d left period, was not going to work for me. I’d always had an open line of communication with him, and that wasn’t about to stop now just because this particular topic wouldn’t shine well on me.
Jake had a right to know the answers to the questions he was finally asking, and I needed to be brave enough to tell him the truth, no matter the consequences. This was no longer about me or my feelings, it was about his, and I wasn’t about to let another second pass without talking to him.
“Hey, Ryan?” I called out, not wanting to startle him where he was bent over the fence he was fixing.
He straightened up and shaded his eyes, looking in my direction. “Oh, hey, Laurel. What’s up? You leaving for the day?”
I glanced over his shoulder to see if I could spot Jake, but when I came up blank, I shook my head. “No, actually, I’m trying to find Jake. I thought I saw him out here with you.”
Ryan nodded as he dusted off his hands. “You did. He was helping me for a bit, but, uh…”
It was unlike Ryan to beat around the bush, but suddenly he looked uncomfortable.
“But what?”
He sighed. “He has a bit of an attitude today. Was being kind of rude and—”
“Surly?”
“Yeah. Not like him at all. I told him to go and walk it off.”
I rubbed at my forehead. This wasn’t good. Jake was never rude, especially to Ryan. He’d always looked up to Ryan, and this showed just how in his head he was.
“I’m sorry. He’s dealing with something right now, and I know that’s no excuse, but he’s going to feel horrible later for treating you like that.”
Ryan chuckled. “Hey, it’s no problem. He’s a teenager, and let’s be real, Jake’s more responsible than half the men I have around here. Maybe that’s why it was such a shock. He’s allowed to have an off day.”
Off was definitely one way to put it. Angry, betrayed, and disappointed was another. “Do you have any idea where he might’ve gone?”
“He was heading in the direction of the old cabin. That’s where I like to go to clear my head.”
“Okay, thanks. And again, sorry about all this.”
“Laurel, it’s fine, really.”
It wasn’t, but since I wasn’t about to lay all my problems at Ryan’s feet, I turned and headed off in the direction of the cabin. I opened the gate to the west vineyard and made my way down one of the long rows of vines.
It was a beautiful afternoon, which seemed ironic considering the mood I was carrying with me, and as my heels sank into the dirt beneath my feet, it occurred to me that this probably wasn’t the best idea I’d ever had.
I wasn’t about to let a little mud get in my way, though. I needed to talk to Jake and I needed to do it now. When I reached the bottom of the west hill, I saw him disappear inside the broken-down structure.
I took a deep breath of the clean, fresh air then huffed it up the hill to the very top. When I reached what would’ve once been a front door, I stepped over a broken plank of wood and stopped to look around.
It’d been years since I’d been up here, as it wasn’t really part of anything winery related. But as I scanned what was left of the dilapidated pile of wood, I knew it wouldn’t be long before the rest of the framing fell to the ground.
Hopefully, that wouldn’t happen today. Or at least not until I’d found Jake and the two of us were safely outside—away from potential falling hazards.
I tiptoed precariously across what was left of the floor, and as I made my way around what I presumed was a corner, I spotted him. Jake was sitting over on an old built-in window frame. As I moved closer, the click of my heels alerted him to my presence.
He glanced over his shoulder, and instead of the welcoming smile he’d usually aim my way, his face remained impassive as he went back to staring at the rows of vines below.
I took a fortifying breath and made myself put one foot in front of the other, and when one of the floorboards cracked and I stumbled forward, Jake whirled around automatically to catch me.
Well, on the plus side, he still cared whether I broke my neck.
“Thanks.” I squeezed his forearm,
and Jake shook his head.
“You shouldn’t have come up here in those shoes. It’s not safe.”
He was right: my heels weren’t exactly the smartest footwear for trekking up a hill and traipsing through a pile of rotting wood, but I would’ve crawled up here if I’d had to.
“I wanted to talk to you.”
When Jake was satisfied I wasn’t about to fall over, he turned back to his original position. “Well, I don’t really want to talk to you.”
Those words from him cut deep, and while I knew it was my fault he was feeling this way, I was determined to get through to him.
I took a seat on the window beside him, and as we stared out into the vast valley ahead, I clasped my hands in my lap and waited. This was his show, his timetable, and if I had to wait five minutes, five hours, five days or years, I would wait.
As it turned out, five seconds seemed about all he needed.
“Were you ever going to tell me?”
There was no question as to what he was referring to. I nodded. “I was. I just… I was trying to work out how and when it would be right for you. For him… I…I never expected to see him again. Not that that’s any excuse, but there’s a lot more to this than—”
“The golden boy who just rolled into town being my dad?” Jake shot to his feet and began to pace back and forth. Then he stopped and glared down at me. “Or maybe the fact that I’ve worked for my uncle for the past two years and didn’t know?” He shook his head. “Well, at least I know why Harry used to treat me like a fucking pariah now.”
I didn’t bother calling him out on his language, considering the gravity of the issues at hand. He was angry and had every right to be. I got to my feet and reached for him, but Jake took a step away.
“Don’t,” he said, turning his back on me, and the rejection was as good as a slap.
I wrapped an arm around my waist and fought back the tears that threatened. “I should’ve told you.” My voice was soft, barely above a whisper. But it was all I could manage for now. “I should’ve told you the minute he got here. Before he got here, but—”