Page 19 of All I've Waited For

Derek whirled as Nancy finally piped up.

She worried her lip. “Five years is just an estimate. It could be longer if he cuts back on the amount of stress in his life.”

“Nancy, we talked about this.”

“No,youtalked about this, Jack.”

Heather turned wide eyes toward Derek. Her response was warranted though—he couldn’t remember the last time he’d heard his stepmother raise her voice.

“You’ve been working yourself ragged these last few months. All the stress of keeping the vineyard running hasn’t been good for your blood pressure or your heart. You have to stop.” Her eyes pleaded with him.

As if no one else in the room existed, Dad lifted his swollen hand to Nancy’s face and lightly brushed a piece of gray hair behind her ear. “I can’t let our family legacy die, Nan. I’ve worked too hard. My family has worked too hard. And I need to have something to leave the kids.”

“Dad, we have a say in this too.” Derek moved back to the couch, plopping down so hard the legs scooted back an inch. “I, for one, agree with Nancy. You have to take it easy. I’m back now and I’ll take over for you.” He’d just have to live here for the time being, even after the wedding. Maybe he could fly out to France every month or so, split his life between the two vineyards. Claire would understand.

At least, he hoped so.

His father looked at him. “Much as I appreciate it, son, you have a wedding to plan. You don’t have time to take over fully.”

“Ashley has a lot of it covered. I can still help relieve a significant amount of the pressure.”

Frowning, his dad finally nodded. “All right.”

“And what about us? We can help too, you know.” Heather gestured between herself and Christina. “We love our home just as much as Derek does.”

“And you.” Christina’s voice broke. “We loveyou,Daddy.”

Dad leaned forward and took Christina’s hand. “And I love all of you. But while Derek actually enjoys this work, I know if it were up to you girls, you wouldn’t be here anymore. You’ve got other dreams and goals than to be tied to this place—and to a dying father. And I will not be a burden to my children in the time I have left.”

“You’re not!” Heather looked nearly in tears as she huffed out the words. “Wedowant to be here. There’s nowhere else I’d rather raise my daughter than right here, with her Papa and Yaya.”

“All right, all right.” How was his dad’s tone so full of peace? He was the only calm one in the room. Ironic, since he was also the sick one.

Derek, on the other hand, was ready to rip the curtains from the window.

He inhaled a deep breath. He wasn’t helpless. No, he couldn’t reverse his dad’s diagnosis or procure him a kidney, but he could do something to help. The partnership with Claire’s company would ease their burdens financially. Once that started, they’d have the funds available to hire another manager—maybe they could even get Jorge back—and then Dad could rest.

Which meant from now until Memorial Day weekend, making sure his wedding went off without a hitch would be his top priority.

Chapter 5

Today, at least, her job would be fun.

Ashley, Bella, and Shannon huddled in a semicircle of white rocking chairs on the raised back patio of the Iridescent Inn, Ben’s B&B. Bella’s maid of honor and best friend, Jessica, had experienced a last-minute car malfunction and hadn’t been able to make the meeting to talk wedding plans with Bella’s two other bridesmaids.

Ashley took a sip of lemonade as a breeze wafted off the ocean, rustling the papers in her notebook. “So I know you mentioned getting married during the family reunion, but have you chosen a date for sure?”

From this vantage point, Ashley could spy numerous surfers taking advantage of the Saturday morning waves. April had given way to May, and Ashley basked in the gorgeous high of sixty-eight degrees predicted for today.

Bella pulled her legs up onto her chair and hugged her knees. “We went back and forth, because we would like to spend time with everyone before leaving on our honeymoon, but we also didn’t want to be overly stressed trying to get stuff done while everyone was here.” She picked at some lint on her linen pants. “But I think our desire to see family outweighs anything else, so we’re thinking July third.”

“That makes sense.” Shannon pulled her long blonde waves up into a messy bun on the top of her head. “No one will have to change their travel plans to come earlier, and those who can only come for the long holiday weekend will be able to attend the wedding.”

“Exactly.”

Opening her planner, Ashley examined the week of the family reunion, which was scheduled for June twenty-seventh through the fourth of July. While she agreed with Bella’s logic, it would make it more difficult to focus on the family reunion events if she were doing last-minute stuff for the wedding too.

Oh well. She’d just have to figure it out and coordinate everything really well beforehand.

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