Page 20 of Trouble Me
“No. We always use local contractors if they meet our standards of craftsmanship. If not, we look outside the immediate vicinity.”
She turned her head and leveled a gaze at him. “Who’s your contractor?”
“Reynolds Construction and Restoration.”
“Really?” Her head jerked back. “I didn’t realize you’d hired them.”
“Any relation?” Shane asked, not that it mattered. He didn’t have time to find a new contractor if this one was no good, but he would if necessary.
“As a matter of fact, yes.” A smile played on her lips. “Noah’s my cousin.”
“So, you can vouch for him, right?” Shane teased with a grin, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall.
“Noah’s a great guy. He’s more like an older brother than a cousin. I practically lived with his family as a kid.”
It was an interesting tidbit of information that made him want to know more about her. He pushed away the thought and focused on the topic at hand.
“The company has a stellar reputation.”
Emma nodded. “My uncle started the company with the intention of having his sons go into business with him. But Del went to California, and Aidan went into the military. Noah is the only one who stuck around the Ridge, so he owns it now.” She turned to Shane. “I'm sorry. I derailed us. Lead me to the vines.”
He wanted to learn more but nodded and gestured for her to walk ahead of him. “Ladies first.”
“So how many of your cousins disappointed your uncle?” he asked as he steered her through the large room and down the hall past the kitchen.
Emma stopped and turned back to him. “What makes you think my uncle was disappointed?”
Shane smiled and held open a door leading outside. “I know all about the dynamics of a family business, remember?”
“Right. Anyway, it was two sons.”
“Let me guess. Noah’s the oldest?” He smiled when she nodded. “No wonder he and I get along so well.”
She raised a brow in question and he shrugged. “We walk around with the weight of the world on our shoulders.”
“Yeah, that would be Noah,” she commented while they walked toward a small brick storage building that sat on the edge of the vineyard.
“What’s this?” she asked, following Shane toward the structure. It resembled a barn, but on a smaller scale.
“This is where we house the hand tools used to work on the vines.” He pulled a set of keys from his pocket and unlocked the padlock on the barn door. It swung open, revealing a wide, open space with a wood plank floor, the smell of earth rising up to him. The sun filtered in through two large windows on either side of the barn, casting shadows through the cool room.
She walked in ahead of him, looking around at the variety of commercial-grade garden tools. She turned back to him, her brow furrowed. “These are the tools you use?”
Shane laughed. “No. We’d never get a bottle of wine produced if we used hand tools on a vineyard this size. We keep these on hand for smaller, more delicate projects if they’re needed. There’s another storage facility on the other side of the vines that houses all the heavy equipment. But here,”—he motioned her to follow him to a bench against the far wall—
“is where we get our boots to walk the field.”
She wrinkled her nose as she studied the shin-high rubber boots lined against the wall. They were caked with the red clay associated with the area’s earth, but the soles were still solid. In the silence, Shane’s arms crossed his chest and he leaned against the wall as if he had all the time in the world. He bit his lip in order not to laugh at the look of disdain on her face.
Damn, she was cute.
He eyed her shoes. “I don’t know a lot about women’s designer shoes, but I know for a fact you spent a pretty penny on those shiny, red-soled heels.”
Emma looked over at him, a sheepish look on her face. “They’re my weakness.” She glanced down at her shoes, something akin to adoration in her voice. “They don’t make these in this color anymore.” She paused, meeting his eyes again. “Anyway, I’m not afraid to get dirty, but I draw the line at mud on my shoes and dress clothes.”
Shane chuckled softly. “Well, your best bet, then, is to wear the boots. The ground is pretty dry right now.”
Emma walked over and plopped down on the bench along the back wall. “Fine. I’ll wear them.” She gave the rubber boots the side eye. “I guess it would be too much to ask if you had a size seven.”
