Authors: Courtney Rice Gager
I arrived at the barn
a few minutes early, expecting to beat Jake there, but he came hustling out the door before I could make my way inside.
“
Morning, Tessy.”
“
Hey. You’re here early.”
“
Yeah, well I can’t stay,” he said. “Sara’s having a craving and she’s making me run to the store so she can make fried chicken.”
“
Jake, it’s not even nine in the morning. It can wait.”
“
You’re telling me. Sorry, Tessy. I’ve gotta run.” He turned and broke into a jog.
“Wait!”
He stopped and pivoted back around. “We’re having twins. Did I tell you that?”
I softened. “No. You didn’t. But it’s great. It’s really great.”
“It is, isn’t it?” His eyes were shining.
“What about the meeting?” I asked.
“Are we going to reschedule?”
“
You go on without me. There’s some paperwork inside. Pass it along for me, will ya?” He trotted away, chuckling and shaking his head as he muttered to himself. “Twins.”
“
Jake, I can’t do this without you,” I called. “I don’t have any idea what to say to this guy.”
He
looked over his shoulder. There was a sly smile on his face. “I’m sure it will come to you.”
“
What’s that supposed to—”
And then I saw it, off in the distance: a truck making its way up the drive.
Thatcher’s truck.
Though I’d been fooled by the sight of his truck before, my instincts told me this time was different. It was him. I was sure of it.
My heart pounded hard. I looked around for Jake, but he was gone. A part of me wanted to hide, but there was nowhere to go. He’d already seen me. All I could do was stand there, trying to act casual. I was fully dressed, but I could imagine what it felt like to be a nude model posing for an art class; awkward, vulnerable, exposed.
The truck came to a stop and Thatcher sat inside for a moment, staring at me with one hand on the key in the ignition. He looked as surprised as I felt. Maybe a little more, even.
I forced my hand up and waved at him.
He stepped out and walked over to me.
“Shouldn’t you be on your honeymoon?”
“
Excuse me?”
“
I saw the article in the paper,” he said.
I sucked in my breath. The paper.
I’d forgotten all about it. How many other people had seen it, too? I wasn’t ready to talk about the wedding. I wanted to forget it ever happened. But it looked like that wasn’t going to be an option.
“
Yeah well, I guess the article didn’t mention that I called it off.”
“
You
what
?” It was the first time I’d ever seen Thatcher completely lose his composure. He tugged on his baseball cap to recollect himself.
“
I didn’t get married,” I said. “I called it off.”
He looked past me
to the mountains in the distance. What was he thinking? I couldn’t read him.
“And
shouldn’t you be shacking up with DJ?” I asked.
He winced.
“She told me about how you…”
“
I went there because I needed a ride to the airport. And yeah, I needed someone to talk to. It was the night after I said goodbye to you, right before I left town. It was late. Real late. She said she’d seen you that night.”
I nodded. “Yeah. We met up at the restaurant.”
“We talked, and she drove me to the airport. Nothing happened. And even if it did, I thought you were getting
married
.”
I studied him as he spoke, searching his face for a sign of deceit.
“Honest,” he said, “I probably should have asked someone else for a ride, I’ll admit it, but nothing happened.”
“
Wait a minute.
You knew
?”
“
Knew what?”
“
About the wedding. You knew?”
He stuffed his hands into his pockets.
“Yeah. Well, not at first. But then, yeah. Jake told me. At the time, I don’t think he realized we…”
“
Is that why you left? Is that why you said you didn’t love me?”
“
I didn’t say that.”
“Yes you did. I asked you if you loved me—”
“And I said I was leaving. I didn’t say I didn’t love you. Jake told me about the wedding, and… I wanted you to be happy, Tess. I didn’t want to get in the way. I thought you’d ride off into the sunset and that’d be the end of it.”
“
Well I didn’t. And I wasn’t. Happy, I mean. And you should have told me the truth. You broke my heart, the way you left.”
He nodded, looking down at the ground.
I remembered the letter, which I’d tucked into my purse before leaving the cottage, and a surge of adrenaline pumped through my body as I pulled it out and unfolded it. “Thatcher…” The paper made a soft crinkling sound in my hands. “Did you mean to give this to me?”
He looked up
, and his eyes widened at the sight of the letter. I handed it to him, and he held it with both hands, scanning over the words as if he were checking to make sure it was real.
“
I thought I lost this.” He cleared his throat. “Where did you find it?”
“
In the box with the boots.”
“
And you read it? All of it?”
“
Yeah.” I nodded. “Maybe I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry.”
He tore his gaze away from the paper and folded it back up.
“No. It’s okay. I’m glad you did.”
I chewed on my lip, unsure of what to say next.
“It’s funny,” he said, “I had no idea it was in there.”
“
It is weird, isn’t it? Almost like Carl wrote it knowing I’d read it someday, too.”
“
Wouldn’t put it past him.” He shook his head, looking down and smiling with closed lips. “Always was one to meddle.”
“
You should know, though”—my voice shook—“that I just found the letter today. I didn’t call off the wedding because of you. Not entirely, anyway.”
“
Good.” He took a step toward me. “And you should know I didn’t buy the vineyard because of you.”
I titled my head to the side.
What did he say?
His mouth was set in a straight line, but his eyes
lit up.
“
Did you… wait a minute. You bought the vineyard?”
He nodded.
“But I met…” I fumbled around for my words, still trying to make sense of what he told me. “I thought it was under contract.”
“
It was, but I found a loophole. Every contract has one. Cost me a little, but it’s worth it.”
“
That’s… that’s amazing. But what made you change your mind about wanting to come back?”
He glanced over his shoulder at the fields where the morning sunlight danced off the dewy leaves of the grapevines.
“The first time I left I was just a kid, and I thought I deserved something more than all this. I spent a long time looking for something better, but I never found it. When I heard Grandpop passed, I finally swallowed my pride and came back. That’s when I met you.”
“No, I meant now. What made you come back this time?” I asked.
He smiled. “I’m getting there.”
“Sorry.” I made a zipping motion across my lips.
“It’s all right.” He laughed, but then his expression turned serious. “You changed everything for me, Tess. I guess you know that by now, on account of the boots. When I met you, I thought it was over with Logan. I thought you just needed some time to come to grips with it. And I was happy to wait while you did. But then I found out about the wedding, and it crushed me. I wasn’t going to get in the way, but I wasn’t going to stick around and watch you marry that guy, either.”
You changed everything for me, Tess.
My heart fluttered so quickly I dug my boots into the ground to keep from floating away like a balloon.
“You’re right,” he said. “I should have said something. I should have stayed and fought for you. I guess I let my pride get the best of me by leaving, but I didn’t realize it till I got some distance from this place. I decided I didn’t want to be that arrogant kid anymore, so I came back for real this time. I called Sara on the way to the airport yesterday afternoon, just in time to stop the deal from going through. Felt like I couldn’t get here fast enough. I didn’t expect you to be around, but I’m glad you are.”
“Me too.” I looked at the ground and smiled. “It seems unfair, though, to have to buy something that should’ve been yours to begin with.”
“
Nah. Now that I see it, now that I really understand what the vineyard is and what it means to me, I don’t feel like I deserve it at all. After my parents…” He swallowed and shook his head. “There was some insurance money I wasn’t supposed to touch until I was twenty-three. I grew up knowing it was there and imagining what to do with it, but when the time came, I left it alone. It didn’t seem right to use it. Until now. This seems right.”
I studied his posture. There was a peaceful air about him. He seemed content. Genuinely happy.
“I’m darned near close to broke now,” he said. “I feel like I should mention that. You know, full disclosure and all.”
I nodded. “That’s okay. I think I like you better broke, anyway.”
He smirked and kicked at the dirt.
“
Well, congratulations. So are you moving back?”
“I have to go
back to work in the fall. Then I’ll look into transferring to a school nearby, or maybe I’ll come back here altogether, depending on how things are going. In the meantime, I figure I can keep things running from afar and pop in on breaks. You know, to make sure Jake hasn’t burned down the place.”
“
Jake?”
“
Yeah. My general manager. He knows his stuff. And besides, I trust him. I think I do, anyway.”
I could feel a huge smile spread across my face. Jake and Sara were staying. This was incredible news.
“He called me this morning,” Thatcher continued. “His first order of business was to convince me to let him hire you as the director of marketing and events. I didn’t understand it at the time, because I didn’t know I’d be seeing you again. He kinda sprung this on me. Anyway, I don’t have anything prepared. But the job’s yours, if you want it.”
“
It is?”
“
It is. Seems like you’re the right person for the job. I understand you’ve already made quite the name for this place.”
I shrugged. “It’s a start.”
“There’s just one thing.” He tucked the folded-up letter into his pocket and took a step closer to me.
Then another. And another, until we were standing inches apart.
He was so close he had to tilt his head downward to look into my eyes. I could feel my skin break out in goose bumps like it had every time we’d been close.
“
What?” The question came out a whisper.
“
You shouldn’t date your boss, Boots.” He winked and took a step back.
“
Good, because who says I want to date you anyway?”
“
You do. I can tell. But don’t worry, I’m the boss. I can change that rule.”
I couldn’t help but smile. I tried not to, but my lips wouldn’t cooperate. He
grinned, too, dimples exposed, eyelids crinkled at the corners.
“
Okay then, Boss. What’s your policy on breakfast meetings? Because if I’m going to take this job, we have a lot to talk about. I need an event budget for the grand reopening, and we’ll need to talk vacation days. Oh, and labels for the Restoration Red. Did I mention nobody’s paid me yet?”
“
Labels for the
what
?”
“
The Restoration Red? The wine you and Jake bottled?”
“
Restoration Red… clever. I like that.”
“
Thanks.”
“
You’re full of good ideas, aren’t you?”
“
I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve. But I’m not cheap. What do you say we go negotiate my salary?”
He nodded his head toward the truck and walked over to
open the passenger door for me. I climbed inside and hesitated as I reached for my seatbelt. This was happening so fast. An hour ago I thought I’d be braving the world on my own, and now Thatcher was back. I was glad for it, and yet a small part of me feared him being back. As if I didn’t trust myself not to slip into being someone else again.
“You okay?” Thatcher leaned against the open truck door.