Page 78 of Just Like This
Chapter Thirty-Two
Cami
“Ithink I’m going togo to Napa,” I announced during dinner at the Graysons. Everyone was there—Palmer, his parents, and Valerie—and their stares were currently making me squirm in my seat. A few weeks had passed since my father’s memorial and the last email that I sent to Garrett; it was time for a change. “I mean, Iamgoing to Napa.”
“You are?” Valerie looked surprised, which was understandable. I hadn’t left Gig Harbor for more than a few days over the past two years, and that was only for short trips to Seattle. It was time to start spreading my wings.
“Yes. I miss Garrett so much and visiting his family’s winery might make me feel a little better.”
“I can go with you,” Palmer offered. He was a frequent guest at our dinner table, but tonight, his parents had invited Valerie and me over, so there were four sets of eyes staring at me.
“Have you met Garrett’s family?” I asked
“Twice. But it has been a while.”
“Okay. It might be good not to go alone,” I said. Truthfully, I was terrified of meeting Garrett’s family without him, so having Palmer offer to go with me was almost a godsend.
“When do you want to go?”
“Soon. I need a change of scenery.” I didn’t want to say that living with Valerie in the house we shared with our father was almost like living in a tomb. While the probate issues had been settled easily enough, we hadn’t actually gotten around to cleaning out all of Dad’s belongings. So, his office was still lined with shelves of records and his closet still held rows of khaki pants and polo shirts. Everything was pretty much how he left it.
“I’ll look at flights tomorrow after I check my schedule. We’re slow right now, so I think I can take a few days.” Palmer looked at his father for confirmation, and Tim nodded his head.
“I don’t see why not, Palmer. Valerie, you can take a few days too if you want to go,” Tim offered.
“Thanks. I might take some time off, but I don’t really want to go to Napa with Cami.” Valerie had started to retreat after Dominic broke her heart, and once our dad passed, she was practically a hermit. I had started to worry about her, so when she agreed to take some time off, I reached out and squeezed her hand.
“Maybe you should go to the beach,” I suggested.
“Maybe,” she replied with a shrug of her shoulders.
When Valerie and I left that night, I knew something had to change. We were stuck, just living, and we needed to start moving forward. “I think we need to start clearing out Dad’s things,” I told her. Her eyes were glassy with unshed tears, and I placed my hand on her shoulder. “Not right now, but soon.”
“Okay,” she replied with a shaky voice. “Soon.”
* * *
A week later,Palmer and I sat on the airplane waiting for it to leave the airport. My knee bounced nervously, and my hands fidgeted with the hem of my shirt. Palmer placed a hand over mine and gave me a reassuring smile.
“Sorry,” I said weakly. “I’m just nervous.”
“You don’t have to be nervous. They’re going to love you.” He gave me a wink, but somehow, that didn’t actually make me feel better. It made me feel worse. Did I even have the right to barge into their lives and introduce myself without Garrett? As far as I knew, the only person in his family who knew we were in a relationship was his brother Oliver.
Thankfully, the flight was short, so I didn’t have hours to sit and stew over my nerves. Palmer took charge and led me through the small airport in Santa Rosa. We didn’t have any luggage to check, so we headed right to the rental car kiosk.
“It looks like it’ll only take about forty-five minutes,” he said, studying his phone’s GPS.
I exhaled loudly and replied, “Let’s go.”
We drove from the airport up Highway 101 and into Healdsburg. The scenery was breathtaking as it changed from cityscape to landscape; lush green hills and rows upon rows of vineyards replaced the buildings and shopping plazas. As we drove toward Hammond Winery, colored banners lined the edges of other properties, signaling to tourists as they drove unfamiliar roads.
Palmer started to slow down, and I peered out the front window, waiting for my first glimpse of Hammond Winery. Green banners fluttering in the breeze dotted the perimeter of the Hammond property. Palmer turned onto a long tree-lined drive that eventually opened up into a wider area where several cars were parked.
The main house was stunning. It was large and white with a huge wraparound front porch. Beyond that was a smaller building that must have been the tasting room. Palmer stopped the car and turned off the engine.
“Are you ready?” he asked me.
“Sure. I guess,” I answered with a shrug of my shoulders. There weren’t many cars parked in the small lot across from what I assumed was the tasting room, which could easily be a blessing and a curse. I grasped the handle, opened the door, and took my first step toward Garrett’s past.
