Page 72 of A New Year In The Presidential Suite

Kayla’s phone rang.

“Hello. Oh, hi, Sarita. Yes, I’ve seen him. He’s here with Lori and me now. He’s okay. In fact, he’s helping us with something. Please tell his mother that we’ll bring him home when we can. Thanks.”

“Guess this isn’t the first time you’ve run around the grounds,” said Lori.

Bert grinned.

“No worries. Let’s talk some more, and then we’ll take you to your mother.”

With the addition of a cookie to keep him speaking, Lori and Kayla learned that Bert, who apparently loved to take off and wander the area, had seen the man hovering around the barrel office the day before, but he’d been frightened away when his father appeared to check the area.

“Griff and Pete need to know about this,” said Kayla. “Why don’t I take care of calling them while you take Bert home?”

“Okay,” Lori quickly agreed. She didn’t want Bert to get into trouble for telling them the truth.

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

GRIFF

Griff’s jaw tightened when he heard the news that Bert had observed a man meddling with one of the tractors. The tall man perfectly described Slim Owens, someone Pete had hired the previous week. Griff hadn’t been happy about it after meeting him. There was something secretive about him. With competition among the wineries at a high level, it was important to keep information about Adeline Hills private. A smaller winery in the valley had been forced to close, and there was a rumor of another shutting down.

He left his office and went to find Pete at the barn.

Griff recalled how, as boys, he and Pete had wandered the vineyard. He understood why Bert had done the same. There was a lot of nature to discover in open land like theirs. Griff had loved to wade in the creek and build tiny fortresses of sticks and mud.

As he approached the barn, he saw Pete, Kayla, and Lori talking together.

“Where’s Slim Owens?” he asked them.

“I fired him, told him not to return, and took back his badge,” Pete said.

“He understands we know what we did,” said Kayla.

“I told him we’d notify other wineries about his activity,” said Pete. “He was furious, but we owe it to the others to inform them of his actions. He’s working for someone else. We just don’t know who.”

“Unfortunately, that can happen,” said Griff. “I need to remember to trust my gut. There was something about him I didn’t like. We never should’ve hired him.”

“It’s my fault,” said Pete. “We needed help, and I didn’t check him out as carefully as I should have. All it takes is one person to upset our operation.”

“Do things like this usually happen?” asked Lori.

Griff, Pete, and Kayla all shook their heads.

“I took Bert home to his mother,” said Lori. “I explained that he was very helpful to us.”

“I’ll speak to her myself,” said Griff. “Pete, remember how we spent a lot of our time as boys his age?”

“Yes. Those were good times,” said Pete. “I’ll work on the tractor and hope it didn’t do much or any damage.”

“Thanks,” said Griff. He turned to Kayla and Lori. “How’s the training going?”

“It’s excellent,” said Kayla. “I believe Lori has a complete overview of what happens.”

“I’ve learned a lot,” said Lori.

“Then, I want your help at the reception center. Okay?”

“Sure,” said Lori. “Thanks, Kayla.”