Page 18 of Vodka And Virtue

“Can I buy you a drink?”

I was so lost in him that I didn’t even hear Rory approach. He sat down across from me without being invited and slid a drink toward me.

“She’s wrong, you know. There’s nothing broken about you. The right person is waiting for you to realize that.”

I swallowed a sip of the Cabernet, letting the bright acidity and sweet, ripe fruit wash over my tongue.

But it was his words and the innuendo behind them, not the wine, that caused heat to gather in my belly.

“I thought you might enjoy that. You looked like you could use it.”

“What is it, exactly?”

“Araujo Eisele Vineyard from Napa Valley. A 2010 vintage.”

I gasped. It cost upwards of four hundred dollars a bottle, but my cheeks warmed that he felt I deserved a glass tonight. Shannon could deduct it from my paycheck if Rory hadn’t already paid for it.

It was worth every penny.

If only I could afford to drink enough of it to make me forget tonight. “It’s nothing I didn’t deserve. I should never have gone back.”

“Nobody deserves that.” He studied me as I pushed the meatballs around my plate, having lost my appetite. “The more I get to know you, the more I realize you have no idea how much you deserve.”

* * *

“Boys! Where are you?”

My uncle’s deep baritone carried through the house.

“In here!”

“Would it kill him to knock?” Gordy asked.

Uncle G leaned in the doorway to the kitchen. “Oh good, I caught everyone.”

Gordy and Carson groaned. “It’s our day off,” Carson complained.

“Which is why I stopped by. I have a job for you.”

“Uncle G, come on, man. Cut us a break.”

Graham leveled a look at my cousin that didn’t invite argument.

“Your mom needs our help. Are you too busy to help the woman who raised you?” He stroked his beard, looking contemplative. “Let’s see, when was the last time she said she was too busy for you?” Shaking his head, he said, “That’s right, never.”

Gordy’s shoulders sagged. “Fine. What’s Ma need?”

“She called and said something got into her vegetable garden and tore it up. Ruined everything. So, we’re building her a fence today.” He pointed to each one of us in turn. “You, you, and you… Don’t be late. I’m gonna swing by and pick up Shannon and head to the building supply store to get the lumber. I’ll meet you there.”

“Why is Shannon going?” Gordy asked, his face looking like a dark thundercloud.

“Because, smartass. I need all the help I can get. Maybe you should thank him, since it’s not his mother’s yard.”

He walked out without another word. Gordy stood and walked to the sink, slamming his bowl inside hard enough to potentially dent the stainless steel. “Thank him, my ass. It’ll be a cold day in hell first.”

He left as quickly as my uncle, leaving Carson and I to exchange wide-eyed looks. “Well, great! There goes our day. Let’s get a move on.”

I would bethe first one to admit construction wasn’t my forte, so instead, I busied myself taking measurements to figure out how many boards we would need on each side of the yard. Shannon and Gordy hauled all of the lumber from the truck into the backyard, working shirtless when their T-shirts became drenched with sweat. If looks could kill, they would both have been dead long ago. The longer we worked, and the hotter it became, the more the tension between them sizzled, burning brighter than the afternoon sun. Until things finally came to a head.

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