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And that is the true sort of partnership I always wanted out of life.
Who would’ve ever thought I’d find that partnership with my ex-fiancée’s sister?
“I don’t know. Ideally, I guess I’d see us here when I’m in season for the next three years, but after that…who knows? Maybe to Temecula because we put down roots here. Maybe back to Minnesota because we love it there too. Or maybe, in the best case, we split time between the two. As long as my hand is in yours and I don’t have to go longer than seven days without holding you in my arms, it doesn’t matter to me.”
Her eyes get misty at that. She clears her throat. “Does Nana know what you learned?”
I shake my head. “Not yet. I was just on my way back from Temecula when I ran into you, so I haven’t had a chance to talk to anyone yet.”
“Then I think we need to make some calls.”
“Starting with…?” I ask, trailing off to let her fill in the blank.
“Starting with letting Nana know what I want to do.”
“And what’s that?” I ask, a little nervous about what she’s decided.
“I want to stay here with you. I want my dad to keep running the vineyard in Minnesota. You and I will check in when we can. But I want to get to know my uncle, and I want to get to know the land and the grapes here in between cheering you on at every single Storm game. I want to build a life wherever you are, and I want to take that life with us wherever we go. We don’t have to decide right now.”
I reach across the table and take her hand in mine. “And your sister?”
She twists her lips as a little sparkle twinkles in her eye. “She’s fired.” She laughs. “I’m kidding. The place will need a new hospitality manager, and she’s worked hard to learn more about the vineyard since she’s been trying to prove she deserves it.”
“A promotion? That’s awfully generous, don’t you think?” I ask.
She sighs. “Someone has to be the bigger person.”
“It was always destined to be you. Giving it all up for love? I think that will tell Maggie everything she needs to know about who deserves to raise a family there…someday.”
Her eyes get a faraway look in them as she shifts her gaze back to the bay, and I can see her imagining that future now—just as she once described it to me.
Our kids playing out in the tire swing.
Her sitting on our patio, watching them after a long day of work.
Me meeting her out there with two freshly poured glasses of wine—one that I press into her hand, the other that I hold in my own. We toast to our love, our future, our family, our land, our many blessings.
And then we live happily ever after.
Epilogue: Grace Nash
The Best Drunken Mistake
Six Months After the Wedding
“I’m so glad you’re home,” Dad says to me, and I hug him tightly.
“This is Theo,” I say, linking my arm through my great-uncle’s.
My dad sticks out a hand for his uncle to shake, and Theo bats his hand out of the way as he pulls my dad into a hug.
“I knew I had nephews, but I never thought I’d actually get to meet them,” he says. “And you must be Jimmy,” he says to my great uncle, whom he hugs next. “Gracie has told me so much about both of you.” He leans in as if he’s telling a secret. “Once you get this one talking, it’s hard to get her to stop.”
I playfully jab him in the arm. He’s only about ten years older than my dad, and somehow he was my great-grandparents’ best-kept secret…which is a real shame because Uncle Theo is a freaking hoot.
He’s like the male version of Nana.
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, I guess.
