Page 74 of Trouble Me
Emma paused, mulling that over. “When’s the funeral?”
“The day after tomorrow in Napa.”
“You can fly back with me,” Del said. “I’m headed out tomorrow morning for L.A. We can detour to Napa. I’ll go with you to the funeral if you need a shoulder. I met Alan a few times. He was a great man. He’ll be missed for sure.”
“I think I can do more for Shane and KVN by staying here and taking care of their project. Tell Shane not to worry about anything here,” Noah said.
Grace squeezed Emma’s hand. “Are you going to go? You should, Emma.” She pushed back a lock of hair behind Emma’s ear. “I haven’t met Shane yet, but from what I hear around town, he’s a good guy. And I can see in your eyes how you feel about him.”
Emma sighed, not responding to Grace’s observation. She looked up into the face of her famous cousin who was willing to help her in the middle of his hectic Hollywood life. “When do we leave?”
Chapter 25
Happiness Denied Too Long
“Ashes to ashes, dustto dust...” In the quiet of the cemetery, the minister’s voice rang out clearly.
A mahogany casket perched over the rectangular hole in the ground. Large oaks shaded the mourners from the winter sun. Shane and Colin sat in white wooden chairs at the edge of the gravesite, with the rest of the extended family, while others surrounded them, all gathered to pay their respects to Alan Kavanaugh.
It was an impressive turnout, but one that didn’t surprise Shane. Alan had been an innovative and key player in Napa Valley and the international winery community. The Kavanaugh name had been synonymous with fine wine for over a century. As a direct descendant of the founder, everyone knew Alan.
Now everyone mourned him.
The minister closed the Bible in his hands and tucked it under an arm, clasping his hands in front of him. “I’ve known the Kavanaugh family for years. Alan was a kind man and one that never backed down from any challenge handed to him.” The minister cleared his throat and rubbed a hand over his mouth. “Including when his wife passed, leaving him with two young boys to raise on his own. He never remarried, focusing on his family and raising two young men that he was proud of and cherished every day.”
As the minister continued to memorialize the man Shane wasn’t sure how he was going to continue to live without, Shane closed his eyes, trying like hell to calm the storm of grief that ravaged his body. There was a hollowness in his chest that mirrored his life now. He didn’t know any type of world without his father, business or personal. He thought back to the last few times he’d sat with his father. For all the jet lag Shane endured over the last few weeks, he didn’t regret a single moment.
Shane could only be thankful that he’d gotten his shit together in time to help his father before cancer stole his last parent from him. Rage mixed with grief. Fucking cancer.
He glanced over at Colin, who sat stone-faced as he stared at the coffin. His brother had hardly uttered a dozen words the whole day.
An occasional sniffle or quiet sob carried on the breeze. He glanced around and found in addition to extended family, Abe, Jenn and her husband, and several of the other local winery owners in attendance. He caught the eye of one, who nodded in acknowledgement. Shane returned the nod.
He shifted his gaze, and sleep deprivation must have been messing with his head, because he swore he saw Emma standing next to Delaney Reynolds. They stood away from the crowd of people, just the two of them, their heads bowed. Emma’s face was pale and drawn, a look that caught Shane off guard. With Del standing tall next to her, she appeared sad, fragile even. The ache in his chest grew and his gut twisted.
In the midst of the heartache over the death of his father, Shane’s heart lightened. She’d flown all the way out here, and that had to mean something, right? He couldn’t take his eyes off her. He wanted to push through the crowd and gather her in his arms. Get lost in her warmth and the scent that was all Emma. Feel her touch when she ran her fingers through his hair. Maybe he’d finally find some peace in the shit-show that had been his life since he’d left Madison Ridge.
