Page 40 of Christmas in Vines

He grabbed the pillow and waved it, “You know I’m right.”

“I know you’re a dumbass,” I snickered and lunged for the pillow.

He held it like a football and shielded it from my attempts to grab it and when I did grab a handful, he held it over my head, forcing me to jump for it—and jerking it away every time. This was the one time I hated guys over six feet.

“Give—” jump “—to—” jump “—me!”

“Nope,” he grinned, ducking away and dangling the pillow two feet over my head. “I like making munchkins jump.”

Munchkins?

Oh hell no. That was it. I would have to climb him like a tree.

Grabbing his shoulder, I leaped up, locked my legs around his waist and reached for the pillow, grabbing it out of his hand with a victorious cry—

“…What is going on here?” Dad said behind me. “What in God’s name are you doing, Willow?”

If the ground opened and swallowed me hole, I’d be thankful. Mortified, I felt my face flame hotter than a thousand suns as I slipped down Tyler’s body and hit the floor, pillow in hand.

“It’s nothing, Dad,” I said, trying to keep a straight face. “Tyler and I were just playing around.”

Nervously, I looked at Tyler as he nodded, “Sorry, sir. We didn’t mean to get carried away.”

My dad shook his head and stuck out a hand and Tyler took it. “No harm done. It’s been a while since I’ve seen my daughter laugh that way. You’re one of the hands around here, right?”

“Dad,” I groaned.

“Yessir.” Tyler nodded. “And she’s recruited me into going with her to the homeless shelter you guys sponsor.”

“Ah, that’s my girl,” Dad grinned, while his cell rang.

He took it out of his pocket. “Excuse me—” he stepped away and listened, “…yes, this is he speaking … Excuse me? You’re Ethan Vega’s PA and he wants a meeting with me? Is this a joke?”

My head snapped to Dad as his lips fixed tight. Tyler, had turned away, obviously to give Dad some privacy, but my heart was hammering in my ears. A call from the Vega family? After all the years Dad had tried to get a hold of them? Was this a trick? Why now?

“Um, Willow?” Tyler said quietly. “Do you need anything else? If not, I’ll head out.”

I shot a look at him, then back to Dad. “I’ll catch up with you later. For now, I need to go talk to Dad.”

He smiled, tugged his beanie out from his pocket and jammed it on his head. “See you later.”

With a nod, I turned and dropped the pillow to the couch then hurried to find Dad. He was in his office, but now on his landline and had a notepad in front of him. He looked up at me, just before he pressed the speaker button and rested the phone in its cradle.

“Clarkston here,” Dad said.

A strange voice came on. “Mister Clarkston, it's Ethan Vega. I know this must seem out of the ordinary, and it truly is. I had no idea that you had asked my father for a collaboration years ago to promote the region’s beverages. Before I go any further, I must apologize. It was not fair, nor was it right, but I think you know, well, half of the state knows how my family and the Sullivans were at war for years. Sadly, your petition got swept under the rug in light of that feud.

“However, Mia Sullivan, who found out that her father had gotten the same request from you, sends her apologies as well. I believe she will go into deeper detail on that when she calls, but you are right. We do need to collaborate on making a joint promotion, your company, mine and Mia’s. And for further clarification, Mia and I are engaged.”

My dad’s mouth dropped, and shock painted his face. Me, not so much, I’d gotten a hint of that from seeing the post on Instagram. Dad recovered quickly though. “Well, I am… taken aback, but my best wishes for you.”

“Thank you,” Vega said, “I appreciate it. Now, are you willing to start on this collaboration, even a decade later then what you had planned?”

Dad nodded, even though the man couldn’t see it. “Of course. Better late than never, Vega. How would you like to proceed?”

I left the room, feeling like I was walking in a dream. How was it, that after all these years, this was happening? I’d been so sure that those two families wanted nothing to do with us—but now, I might have to take that back.

I checked my watch; only three more hours until we were needed at the homeless shelter. I couldn’t wait to tell Tyler.

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