AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Dinner is full of laughter—Olive asking me questions about myself, telling me all about her class at school and her friends, and Kel joining in to clarify or add details to her stories. If I had been asked to describe my perfect family dinner before now, this is exactly how I would have imagined it.
Olive and I are clearing the table while Kel uses the restroom when there’s a knock on the front door. Olive races to open it, leaving me with arms full of plates. “I’ll get it!”
“Olive, sweetie, maybe we should get your—”
“No! No! You go away! You’re a bad man!” Olive screeches at the top of her lungs the second the door opens. She slams it shut again and keeps screaming, kicking the door behind her, even as whoever is out there keeps knocking.
I set the plates down on the counter and hurry to the door, getting there just as Kel emerges from his bedroom.
“What the..? Olive? What happened?” His last question is directed at me as he scoops Olive up in his arms. She’s still crying and yelling at the bad man to go away.
“I don’t know. Someone knocked and she ran to answer it before I could stop her.” My shoulders hunch up by my ears, waiting for Kel’s judgment. “I assumed it was Jackie… Who else would be knocking on your door?”
“Kel!” A male voice calls through the door.
“Fuck.” Kel mutters the word as we both recognize Nate’s voice. “Olive, stay here with Maggie, okay?” He tries to hand her to me but Olive clings to him. “Pickle, it’s okay.”
“No, Daddy, no. Don’t go out there.” Olive is crying, but at least she isn’t screaming anymore.
Kel kneels down with her, unwinding one of her legs to set it on the floor. I reach down and gently pull one of her hands from around his neck. “Olive, sweetie, it’s okay. You stay here with me while your dad goes to talk to Nate.”
In a rush, Olive lets go of Kel and wraps herself around my thigh. Kel rests a hand on top of her head. “I promise, everything is fine, Olive.”
“But he hit you.” Olive’s lower lip quivers.
Kel sighs, rubbing a hand over his chin when there’s another knock on the door. He turns and opens it a crack. “Give me a damn minute.” He closes it just as quickly before reassuring Olive once more. “No one is going to hit anyone, sweetie. I promise.”
I kneel down so I can hold Olive closer. “How about your dad goes outside to talk to Nate, and you and I will stay right here by the door to watch and make sure nothing happens?”
After a moment, she nods and Kel opens the door behind him. Nate is standing there, looking chagrined. When he sees Olive’s tear-streaked face, his cheeks turn pink and he looks away, rubbing a hand at the back of his neck.
“Shit. I didn’t…I can come back.” For the first time since I’ve met him, Nate looks and sounds unsure of himself.
Kel steps through the door, leaving it open for us. “Damage is done, man. What do you want?”
Kel
Nate’s eyes flash over to Olive, tucked into Maggie’s side. Seeing the two of them there reminds me to stand my ground with Nate. That I’m the one who’s been taking care of him, even when he wasn’t here to see it, and now it’s time for me to take care of myself.
Olive, Maggie, and me. The three of us have to be my priority. And as much as I love Sunshine Cellars, it’s not mine and never will be.
“What did you need, man?” I ask again when Nate doesn’t speak.
“I thought we should talk about how we’re going to handle the winery while my dad recovers.”
“We? I thought you didn’t trust me to run things properly.” I cross my arms and raise an eyebrow, waiting for him to explain this change of attitude.
Nate backs up a few steps and I follow, giving him the benefit of not wanting to talk in front of Olive, rather than Maggie. “After you left yesterday, I walked the whole vineyard and looked at it again.” He shoves his hands in his pockets. “Sure, there’s things I want to do differently, things I would change. And I still think Sutton’s plan to level out that south field for an outdoor seating area is dumb. But the plants are in good shape. You’ve done a really good job of taking care of them.”
There were plenty of things I assumed Nate wanted to say, but complimenting the care I’d taken of his legacy wasn’t one of them. “Thanks?”
Rocking back on his heels, Nate tips his head, then looks down at my shoes. “I’m sorry, man. I shouldn’t have come at you like that yesterday…or since I came home.”
“I don’t want to work here forever.” I blurt out the words. “I mean, I’m not leaving now. But once Greg is back on his feet. I need to figure out what I want to do. I thought it was nursing…but it broke me. This was always supposed to be temporary, but I let it drag on because it was safe. Comfortable.”
Nate grimaces. “You can stay if you want. I’ll go back to France.”
I shake my head. “No. You just got here—you should stay. Besides, this isn’t my dream.”
