Page 125 of Love Among Vines

He leaned in for a gentle kiss and disappeared. Her heart thudded in her chest as she watched him walk away.

Her muse was back. The proof was spread all around her. Would the gallery take them? There was only one way to find out. She pulled out her phone and typed a hasty email with a few pictures attached. She pressed send before she could change her mind and bustled into the kitchen. There was coffee to make, a mural to paint, and a move to plan.

It was a brand-new day.

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

JADE

“Oh, honey,”a voice behind her said.

Jade jumped like a bomb had gone off. Her paintbrush clattered to the floor, which she had thankfully covered in a drop cloth earlier.

“It’s stunning.” Margie put a hand on her arm. “I knew you could do it.”

“Well, it’s not finished yet,” Jade said, surveying the scene in front of her. There were still at minimum two days of work ahead of her on the mural—layering, detail work, final adjustments. But her success in painting hadn’t been limited to the small scale of canvas.

In front of her, a massive mural splayed over the café wall. A quaint scene played out—harvest festival banners hung from the trees. Gingham tablecloths covered the picnic tables at the lakeside park, strands of Edison bulbs shone against the magnificent sunset that settled over the crooked lake.

The library towered above the scene. Townspeople were sprinkled over the sidewalks and village green. There was Ted the baker, muffin in hand. Margie was closing up the café, partially obscuring the sunflower on her door. She looked over her shoulder and smiled at someone—David, her deceasedhusband, who Jade had rendered from the memory of the picture in Margie’s glovebox.

Cindy and Tom walked toward the lake, bag of wine barely visible slung over Tom’s shoulder. Gemma descended the steps of the courthouse, yammering into a cell phone, while Elena waved down the block, stooped grandmother at her side.

And there, crowded together on the dock, were Jade, Rett, and Penny. A little piece of them would live on forever, even if it was just in the acrylic world she had created.

“I think it’s just about perfect. We’re closing up, honey. Why don’t you get cleaned up and I’ll give you a ride home?”

Jade blinked wearily. The day was catching up with her. “Speaking of home. You know how you offered me the guest house? In case I decided to stay?”

A small smile appeared on Margie’s face. “Mmhmm.”

“We’ll have to talk about rent. I was thinking starting in January?”

Margie laughed delightedly and pulled her in for a hug. “You decided to stay?”

Jade nodded. “Rett and I talked about it. We want to see where things go. And I love it here.” She gestured to the mural. “It’s home.”

Home. The reality was setting in. This wasn’t just some bachelorette jaunt to the Finger Lakes anymore. She had finally found the place where she belonged.

Margie wiped a tear away and took a step back. “Well, I’m honored to be your new neighbor. We’ll talk about rent later.”

Jade smiled. “Let me just rinse these brushes and get everything covered up and I’ll get out of your hair.”

She ran a hand over her eyes. They burned, and rubbing them was like sandpaper. Her phone beeped, and she glanced at it.

Rett: How did it go?

Her heart warmed. He had remembered to check on her at closing time even though he was probably in the middle of doing setup for the party. She glanced behind her at Margie, who had turned back to the mural with her hand pressed to her lips. Her eyes were glued to the tiny David.

Jade: Good. I think anyway. How is setup going?

Rett: Only seven or eight disasters so far. Do we really need unbroken glassware? People can just drink straight out of the bottle, right?

Jade grimaced. It was time to make good on her promise to help with the party. She would just steal a cup—or gallon—of coffee and head over to the vineyard. But first she had to pick up Penny the furry menace and her study materials for her learner’s permit.

After an exhausting hour towing Penny in a bike trailer, she rolled to a stop at the rack outside Rhodes Vineyard. Covered in sweat and legs burning, she secured the bike and looped Penny’s leash around her wrist.

Boom.

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