Page 52 of A New Year In The Presidential Suite

“I was surprised to learn that Griff still lives at home,” said Lori.

Kayla chuckled. “It’s not like anyone else I know who is still living at home. Griff has his own private wing of the house, all the amenities of a hotel with a spa and workout room, and the swimming pool outdoors. Sarita is a fabulous cook, and he doesn’t have to worry about his meals, even though his wing has a private kitchen.”

“Griff talked about how much he owes to his grandfather and Sarita. I’m sure that is part of the decision to remain close, too.”

Kayla studied her. “Exactly. You understand him.” She led Lori into the barn and handed her a pair of comfort gloves and a pair of pruning shears. “Because we’re pruning new growth, these shears will work well. Be careful, though, they’re sharp-edged for a clean cut.”

Lori accepted the gear.

Kayla pointed to equipment stored on shelves nearby. “For our winter pruning, motorized shears are used to cut through vines with clean and swift movement. We’ll be working with tender green growth.”

Lori pulled on her gloves, tested her shears, and slid them into the holster Kayla had given her. She put on her sunglasses as Kayla instructed.

“We need to protect our eyes while working with canes. We will be doing a different kind of pruning. Let’s head out,” said Kayla. “I thought we’d work in our pinot noir section, one of our fussiest areas. We’ll do the work carefully.”

As they walked, Kayla said, “At lunch time, workers head back to the barn. Sarita fixes a bunch of sandwiches and Carlos brings drinks and chips. We don’t have a lot of workers year-round, but those we do have are well treated. Come planting, pruning, and picking, we use crews that travel from one vineyard to another during those times. We’ve even used college students and occasionally younger students to help us, depending on weather and time commitments.”

“Yes, I’ve read how important it is to harvest the grapes at a certain stage,” said Lori as they left the building.

Kayla looked at her. “I can see why you and Griffin became friends. You’re very down to earth. Many of the single women in the area want the prestige of being with him. They were furious when they learned about him and me.”

“So, how long have you been together?” Lori asked.

Kayla looked away and back again. “Very soon after he returned from Florida, Sam wanted it more than we did. But it’s turned out well, and it gives Sam a lot of comfort to think the vineyard will be taken care of if anything happens to him.”

“I see,” said Lori, surprised. It didn’t sound like a passionate affair. But then she’d been drawn to Griffin when he wanted nothing more than to be friends. This was different.

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When they got to the section of grapes they were going to work in, Kayla explained that they had to put their shoes into a footwear bath holding a chlorine solution and to spray their shears with an ethanol solution.

“Every vineyard has a different protocol, but it’s important,” said Kayla, twisting from one side to another. “You might want to do these stretches as you’ll find the work hard on your back.”

“So, what exactly are we doing?” asked Lori.

“We are going to check to see if any shoots need to be secured to the cordon wire, thinning them lightly by removing those that are emerging from the bottoms of cordons. We can also remove suckers, which are shoots growing from the trunk below the vine head.”

“It’s a beautiful day to do this,” said Lori.

“We only do this work in dry weather because shoot removal does wound the vine, and we don’t want any pathogens in the rain to infect the vines,” said Kayla.

“Wow, you know a whole lot about this,” Lori commented.

Kayla laughed. “I worked on a vineyard as a kid and have a degree in wine making. I’ve always loved the process and the magic of it all.”

“I knew I wanted to be a teacher,” said Lori. “I love working with kids.”

“You don’t have any children of your own?” asked Kayla.

Lori shook her head. “No, my husband died just after we’d decided to try for a baby. But I haven’t given up on the idea.”

Kayla stopped and looked at her. “I can tell you’d make a wonderful mother. Me? I don’t want kids.”

Lori studied her. Griff hadn’t been in a time and place where it would seem appropriate to discuss having children of his own one day.

“Enough talk. Let me demonstrate what we’re looking for,” said Kayla. “First, I’ll give you a little course in terminology.”

By the time they stopped for lunch, Lori was exhausted, but she vowed not to show it.