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I hurried out of the tasting room with no idea where I was going.
“He’s over here,” I called out to Ray and Teddy as I spotted Ron walking down Foxtrot Road. Albert was in the distance, following in his tractor.
“Ron,” I said, and after a second, he slowly turned toward my voice. “You okay?” I approached him. He had a dazed look in his eyes, and he appeared completely lost.
He had called Ray, saying he went for a walk and couldn’t remember how to get home. Ray and Teddy had headed out to get him, but they couldn’t find him either, and he wasn’t answering his phone. They called Albert, who called me, and we had set up our own search party. It had been two hours. The sun had set, and I was afraid we weren’t going to find him.
I debated calling Brady, but the last update I gave him, Brady seemed annoyed I had brought it up. Not that I could blame him. The childhood trauma he suffered at the hands of Ron wasn’t something someone could forget. I almost hated myself for being kind to him, knowing how he had treated Brady, but so many of his issues stemmed from the deep-seated emotional trauma he suffered in war. It took too long, but he finally got help.
“I took a wrong turn,” Ron said. “I just wanted to go for a walk.”
He had lived in Vine Valley his entire life and only left for his stint in Vietnam. He knew this area better than anyone.
“It’s okay. I’m just happy we found you.” I tossed my arm around his shoulder and headed toward the guys. Ray hurried to us.
“What the fuck, man? Are you okay?” he asked Ron.
“I took a wrong turn,” he mumbled.
“I thought you got eaten by a bear,” Ray shot back.
Ron glanced at Ray, and his vision cleared. “You and I both know I could take on a bear.”
Teddy laughed.
“Let’s get your ass home before you take another wrong turn,” Ray said.
Ray moved to Ron’s side, and I moved away, letting Ray put his arm around him and guide him toward Ray’s car.
Albert made it with his tractor. He said a few things to the guys and rolled up on me. “Hop on. I’ll bring you to your car.”
I held on as Albert put the tractor in drive.
“This seems weird,” Albert said.
“What do you mean?”
“It feels like it should be four in the morning, and you should be missing a piece of clothing.”
“Those days are behind me,” I said.
Albert let off the clutch, and the tractor stalled out. “Since when?” he asked and quickly got the tractor moving again.
“Since I met my match,” I said.
“Met or finally noticed she’s been there all along?”
A smile spread across my face. The old bastard acted like he didn’t give two shits about anyone, but he was very observant. “Something like that.”
“What are you going to do about it?”
“I’m trying to figure that out. I broke her trust.”
“Dumbass.”
“Thank you. I’m aware.”
“Maybe it’s time you’re honest with her.”
