Page 24 of A Thirst for Franc

She glanced at her phone and her teeth slid over her lip. She gave a slight nod before dropping her phone in her bag.

“She does. When I first told her I was moving, she cried for a week straight. Begged me to stay, and I almost did.”

“Why didn’t you?”

She shrugged. “My mom. She told me I’d been taking care of everyone for so long, it was time I took care of myself. I knew if I didn’t leave then, I never would.”

That’s all I needed to know. It confirmed my first instincts were right about Quinn. She was a good person, and I was damn lucky she walked into the tasting room when she did.

The sound of little feet slammed against the stairs, and a moment later, Gio ran into the kitchen.

“Slow down, bud.”

He came to a halt right in front of Quinn. “Hi, Quinn!” Gio spun toward me. “Grandpa said he’d call you later.” Then he spun back to Quinn. “What are we going to do today?”

“Gio, take a breath,” I said. “And don’t expect Quinn to take you somewhere every day.” I didn’t want Quinn to feel pressured into anything. There was a perfectly good playground out back that rivaled any of the local parks.

“Actually,” Quinn said, “I was reading about an alpaca farm.”

Gio’s eyes doubled, his mouth dropped open. “Can we go? Can we go?”

“Absolutely. Why don’t you give Sally her breakfast and put your shoes on?” Quinn paused before adding, “And triple check the lid is secure.”

My lip quirked, a rush of amusement flowing through me as if Quinn copy and pasted my morning routine with Gio.

Gio threw his fist in the air and bounced off. It amazed me he didn’t leave a cloud of smoke in his wake.

“Cindy and Addy are great,” I said. “They own the farm.”

“Have you been?”

“Not yet. Do me a favor and don’t remind Cindy? She’s been trying to get me over to that farm since she bought it.”

“How do you know them?”

“Other than it being a small town, they both come to the winery. Cindy had a bunch of friends stay with her, and I gave them a private tour and tasting.”

“You should come with us,” Quinn said.

The offer was tempting. Almosttootempting, but I had interns to teach and a vineyard to run. “I have to work.”

“Oh, of course. That’s why I’m here. So you can go to work. I don’t even know why I asked.”

“I appreciate the invite. Maybe another time.”

“Sure.” That white zinfandel pink spread across her cheeks, and she dropped her gaze to the floor.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my wallet. “I know they have a gift shop, and I know my son.” I took out a hundred and held it out to Quinn. “He’s going to want something.”

She waved me away. “That’s fine. I can always get him something. I don’t mind.”

“That’s very sweet of you, but not necessary. Please take the money.”

She hesitated, but then took the hundred and stuffed it in her bag.

“And if you decide you want to grab lunch, it’s on me. As long as Gio doesn’t spend the entire hundred at the gift shop.”

“I’ll make sure to tell him only one thing.”

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