Page 55 of Taken With You
Garrick’s warm hand curled around her arm. “Sorry, Maggie, I have to steal her away.”
“I see that.”
Garrick’s smile quirked as Maggie left with a wave. Then he leaned down to speak into her ear. “Listen, this gathering is going to break up soon. My buddies want to walk over to that climbing cliff, and Logan’s wife is gathering folks to plan a hike to the ridge. Also, my mother is bugging me for that winery tour you promised. Apparently, only you can lead it.”
“That’s right.” Maria poked her head around Garrick. “Garrick knows nothing about wine.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
Maria flung up a hand. “Am I wrong?”
“No.” He shook his head despite his grin. “You’re not. We’ll fit it in. Before that…Amanda and I have an announcement to make.”
Garrick had spoken in a regular voice, but clearly everyone had been tuned in. Conversations faded instantly. Chairs were turned. The young boys were corralled into having another piece of bacon.
He looked at her steady. “Ready to do this?”
“Sure.” The announcement he was talking about had to do with the winery, not anything personal, but for some reason her heart tripped a beat.
“Do you want the honors?” he asked. “It was your idea in the first place.”
“It wasouridea, Garrick.”
“Yeah, but you know you can explain this better than I can.”
“I know no such thing. I have faith in you.”
Dylan shouted, “Anyone bring popcorn?”
Garrick winced at the teasing, but he took it with grace, waiting until the laughter faded before turning to the crowd in general.
“Our announcement has to do with plans for Cedar Grove,” Garrick said, tilting his head toward her. “Amanda put aside several barrels of the harvest this year for a special reason.” He pulled a face as he glanced at her. “Can you explain how it’s special?”
“Forgot your notes, huh?” More laughter erupted. “It’s simple, really. Earlier in the season, I made the decision to separate part of the harvest from one particular area of the vineyard. It’s a small terrace of vines that is the first to catch the mist that comes over the ridge, a terrace that captures the most sun.” She suspected Mr. Brunichelli’s last, best vintage had come from this area. “The microclimate of that terrace makes the grapes extraordinary. Extraordinary grapes make a very special wine. In the business, we call a wine made in this way an estate selection. A special vintage.”
She faltered and signaled to Garrick, who took up where she left off.
“The English translation of all that,” he said, as yet another ripple of laughter went across the crowd, “is that, in a few years, Cedar Ridge will be producing a small batch of a unique vintage. Amanda thinks the wine from that terrace will be bold, and loud, and make everyone who drinks it dream big dreams. For that reason—” he turned to his mother “—we’ve decided to call it Dominic’s Dream.”
His mother gasped and then cupped her mouth. His father cleared his throat as his brow crumpled. Dylan and Logan from the far table cried outhear hearand raised their coffee cups in a toast. The family suddenly swarmed. Amanda worked through the gauntlet, hugging Garrick’s sisters and friends. Luke piped up to reminisce about Dominic going to hilarious lengths to track down a certain red wine, a story that spooled on as other members of the family took up where Luke left off. Soon everyone was laughing and Amanda sensed, for a sweet, single moment, the warm spirit of another presence among them all.
Moments later, Amanda stepped away toward the buffet to pile up some breakfast and get a grip on her emotions. She thought the crowd might break up soon, take that hike, ask for a winery tour, or wander to the cliff, but after the announcement they all seemed reluctant to separate. Garrick’s sister Agnes joined her to fetch more food for her boys, telling her how much this all meant to all of the Kane family. Maggie sat next to Amanda to ask all the technical questions about her plans for the estate vintage, then slipped away to catch Luke as he went for another cup of coffee. Amanda finished her breakfast, watching the groups form, talk, regroup. She remembered her own family, and days like this one, under a similar sort of golden light, when she, her parents, and sisters would wake up at dawn and bring their coffee to the vineyard. Suddenly those memories were indescribably sweet.
Suddenly, they no longer pinched.
Her gaze drifted to Garrick, the cause of all the warmth in her heart. He stood under the open sun with Logan and Dylan, deep in serious conversation. Jenny, Logan’s significant other, suddenly approached where Amanda was sitting, dropping into the chair that Maggie had abandoned. Casey, Dylan’s partner, all toned arms and tanned shoulders, came around to pull a chair out on Amanda’s other side.
“Hey, Amanda.” Casey jerked her chin to where the three men stood talking. “Did Garrick ever tell you how they all met?”
“College,” Amanda said. “They played rugby together, right?”
“Exactly.” Casey nodded. “They’ve been keeping tabs on each other since Dominic died.”
“And for what it’s worth,” Jenny added, “I think this is the first time Logan and Dylan are no longer worried about Garrick.”
“Which is great,” Casey jumped in. “Fabulous, actually. But Jenny and I suspect that the sudden change in Garrick’s outlook in life is less about the winery and more aboutyou.”
Amanda glanced at Casey, then at Jenny, and saw the women’s soft, knowing smiles.
