Page 1 of So Right
Chapter One
Ribbon Ridge, Late September
Luke Westcott descended the hillside, his gaze roving over the dark purple fruit hanging among the vines. The volunteer workers had made good progress today, but needed to be back at it again tomorrow. And probably the day after that, since their workforce would decrease dramatically. Today they had every Westcott and Archer in attendance, along with some random guests here and there, plus their hired help.
He could see one of those guests, Kelsey McDade, walking among the pumpkins he’d planted at the base of this slope. He’d met Kelsey on several occasions—she worked at the pub in town and was a friend of his brother’s girlfriend—and liked her. Curious as to what she was doing, he continued downward until the ground evened out a bit. “You lost?” he asked.
Her back was to him, and she jumped. Turning, she held her hand to her chest. “You scared me.”
He couldn’t see her eyes because she was wearing sunglasses. Pity, because he recalled that they were pale blue and quite expressive. “I didn’t mean to.”
He slipped his sunglasses off and blinked against the brightness of the brilliant sun. It was a picture-perfect fall day with a crisp, cloudless, blue sky and temperatures in the eighties. Sweat trickled down his back as if to remind him how hot it was.
She pushed her glasses up onto her head. She’d pulled her long, dark hair into two braids, which fell against her shoulders. “Am I in trouble? I should probably get back to work.”
He chuckled. “You’re perfectly entitled to take a break. I really appreciate you coming out today.”
“I was thrilled to be invited. I’m sure it sounds odd, but harvesting wine grapes is a cool thing to check off the bucket list.”
“That doesn’t sound odd to me at all, but then, I’m pretty much a wine grape freak.”
She tipped her head to the side. “And how’d that happen?”
“I worked at a local vineyard in high school, and, uh, I liked it a lot.” That was a bit of an understatement, but he wouldn’t go into boring detail about how he’d become obsessed with nurturing the vines as if they were pets.
She glanced up the hill toward the vineyard. “Well, you seem to be very good at it. Not that I have any idea what I’m talking about, but the fruit looks gorgeous, and I can attest to the wine being delicious.”
“You can thank Hayden for that.” Hayden Archer was the winemaker and one of the owners of their winery along with Luke and his two brothers, Cameron and Jamie.
“Sure, but he needs good grapes to start with, doesn’t he?”
Luke smiled. He wasn’t always very adept at accepting praise. “Yes. So what are you doing in the pumpkin patch?”
“Oh!” She looked around at the ripening fruit at her feet. “I love pumpkin patches. This is my absolute favorite time of the year. Apple cider, pumpkin spice everything, Halloween… It’s the best.”
He nodded, thinking he couldn’t agree more. “Who doesn’t love fall? Granted, it’s my busiest time of the year with the harvest, but that’s another reason I love it.”
“That’s so great you have a job that you love.” Her tone held a wistful quality that stirred him.
He took a step toward her. “You don’t?”
“I do, actually. At least part-time anyway.”
He recalled that she was also the librarian at the new library in town. “Damn, I still haven’t stopped in to the library to check things out. My bad. In my defense, it really is my busiest time of the year.”
She smiled as she glanced down, her toe nudging a pumpkin vine. “It’s no big deal. Stop in whenever.”
“I will. I promise.” He turned and took a few steps. “I planted white pumpkins too, but they aren’t doing quite as well. I’m going to have to do some research.” If he wasn’t careful, he could see himself becoming as obsessed with the pumpkin vines as he was with the grape. “The goal is to have a pumpkin patch that will entice families to come out for a harvest festival experience—hayrides, pumpkins, and that apple cider you mentioned.”
“What, no wine?”
He laughed. “I forgot the most important thing! Yes, wine for the grown-ups. We reel them in with the kiddos and then get them to sign up for our wine club.”
She rested her hands on her hips, smiling at him. “Sounds like a foolproof marketing plan.”
“Credit Cameron. He’s the marketing guru.”
Her gaze took on a calculated interest—or so it seemed to him. “You don’t like to take credit for stuff, do you?” She’d figured him out pretty quick.
