Page 4 of So Right
“Ha. There’s not much to cool off—as you well know.”
This was true. Because Luke shared a house with his brother just outside downtown Ribbon Ridge, they were pretty much up in each other’s business. Maybe not 24/7, but certainly more than Luke would like. He preferred his own space, but property was at a premium in Ribbon Ridge. Both he and Jamie had moved back to town about two years ago to start up this winery, and since neither wanted to live with their parents, they’d decided to rent this house together. But Luke was starting to get antsy. He missed having his own digs. He was actually thinking of looking into one of those tiny houses.
“I thought you’d be happy about that,” Jamie added. “I didn’t think you liked Madison that much.”
“Eh, she’s all right.” She was nice enough, but very high maintenance—the kind of girl who pouted when Jamie wasn’t available when she wanted him to be and expected him to change aspects of his personality for her. Now that he thought about it, she wasn’t all that different from Paige. At least Paige hadn’t been annoying.
Jamie hiked up the hill beside him. “Didn’t you call her a soul-sucking banshee or something?”
Luke nodded. “Because she is.” Last weekend, she’d demanded Jamie bail on dinner at their parents’ house because her plans had been canceled. When Jamie had refused, she’d chewed him out. “She deserved that. What kind of girlfriend expects her boyfriend to skip out on his family just because she suddenly needed to be entertained?”
“She wasn’t really my girlfriend,” Jamie said, somewhat defensively. “Anyway, I think we’re done. My soul does feel a bit buggered.”
Luke chuckled.
“And you’ve neatly deflected the conversation from Kelsey. Well done.” There was a hint of admiration in Jamie’s tone. Luke stifled a smug smile.
As they neared the winery, Hayden came to meet them.
“Why aren’t you guys working?” he asked without heat.
“Too bloody hot,” Jamie said. “I need some water; then I’ll get back at it.”
Hayden looked toward Luke. “When do you think it’ll be finished?”
“Later in the week, depending on the workforce. It shouldn’t be a problem. I just hope the rain holds off.” Luke followed the weather as if he were a damned meteorologist.
Hayden pressed his lips together. “Yeah, I saw they’re calling for a slight chance come Tuesday. Fingers crossed it’s nothing much or stays away altogether.”
“Agreed,” Jamie said. “One of Dylan’s crews will be here Monday to work on the tasting room.”
“Right. It’s about damn time.” Hayden shook his head. “We’re so behind schedule on that, and we have our first wine club dinner in just a couple of weeks.”
“Do we even have enough people to justify the expense?” Luke asked, looking between Hayden and Jamie, who was the money guy.
“We do, actually,” Jamie responded. “Cam’s been killing himself to get that club up and running, and Brooke’s been helping quite a bit. We’re probably going to have to hire her away from the distributor.” Cam’s girlfriend worked for a distribution company and was selling their wine. However, when she and Cam had grown serious, she’d started helping him out with marketing that went beyond the scope of her duties. None of them minded because it helped West Arch. Plus, they liked her. Still, adding to their employee roster seemed a big step.
Luke peered at Jamie over the top of his sunglasses. “Can we afford that?”
“I’m crunching the numbers. We’ll see how much wine this guy can make this year.” He jabbed his thumb toward Hayden.
“Hey, that depends on this guy’s yield.” He pointed his finger at Luke.
“Oh, so now it’s all on me? I better produce so you can pay for stuff. No pressure.” He had a good idea of what their yield would be, but he wouldn’t relax until everything was off the vine and appropriately staged in cold storage or in tanks in the winery. “On that note, I’m going back to work. Get your asses back in the vineyard.” He pressed his sunglasses to the bridge of his nose as both Hayden and Jamie saluted him.
Shaking his head, Luke made his way further up the hill to check on their army of pickers. He kept an eye out for Kelsey but didn’t see her. People trickled out over the course of the evening, and he missed her leaving.
His brother’s teasing came back to taunt him and he shook it off. Had they been flirting? Maybe. Not that it mattered, since he didn’t have time to date anyone anyway.
That didn’t stop him from thinking that he’d be sure to stop in at the library. Everyone needed a good book now and then, right?
