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An uneasiness washes over me. I stand there for a moment, looking at him with fresh eyes. Reflecting back on my last few visits, a terrifying pattern starts to emerge. He’s been forgetting small things. Little insignificant things to others, but tells to someone who knows his routine. He’s been leaving the porch light on all day. And he looks tired. Fatigued in a way that sleep doesn’t seem to fix. I find myself rubbing the tense muscles in my neck as I consider how he seems to be aging faster than I’m prepared for. The lines around his eyes are deeper, his shoulders slightly more rounded.
What will happen when I eventually lose him? I’ll be all alone.
“Grandpa?” I say, stepping closer to gently rest a hand on his shoulder.
His eyes flutter open, unfocused for a second before brightening with recognition. “Alexis,” he mumbles, rubbing his face with a weathered hand. “I must have dozed off for a minute.”
“It’s okay.” I pull the book from his chest, setting it on the side table. “Are you feeling okay?”
He waves a dismissive hand, adjusting his glasses on the bridge of his nose as he pushes himself upright. “Of course. I’m fine. Just the weather getting cooler makes an old man lazy.”
I narrow my eyes at him, my physician brain kicking in despite my best efforts. “What does your doctor think about your laziness?”
Grandpa lets out a raspy chuckle, tossing me a dry look. “That I’m old, Lexi. That I deserve the ability to take a nap whenever I like now. That’s what he thinks.” He laughs again and starts to push himself out of the chair to head toward the kitchen, but I catch the slight wobble in his knees before he rights himself. I encourage him to continue reading or napping, whichever suits him while I throw together a quick dinner.
I tuck the worry away in a corner of my brain for tonight. I’m surprised I have any extra room. But it’s clear I need to locate someone to help him with meals, keep the house tidy, and make sure he’s not pushing himself too hard when I’m stuck at the clinic.
His face appears concerned, almost anguished. My brows pinch. Is he just tired? Or is there something heavy brewing behind his usual jovial façade? “I just wish you had someone special to come home to instead of spending your evenings with this old coot.”
My eyes hold his as I set two plates on the kitchen table, the reality of my life pressing back in. I’d only considered how work might be affected by that sham of a marriage. But would this impact Grandpa Henry? His place abuts Sam’s. I’d be a stone’s throw away if I wanted to check on him or bring him dinner.
Sitting across from the man who raised me, the man who held my hand through the worst grief of my life, the noise in my head finally falls away, leaving one undeniable truth. Nothing will ever come between me and my grandpa. This man loves me enough for a mother, father, grandmother, and grandfather. I know he wants me to be happy. It would provide him comfort to know I wouldn’t be alone if something happened to him. And despite the bad blood between me and my childhood best friend, Grandpa would be thrilled to see me marry his best friend’s grandson.
Looking at my grandfather’s gentle smile as he passes me the salad bowl, my heart settles on what I must do next. Now to find a way to survive this.
Sam
I walk along an empty path, the dirt trail winding through the silent rows of Sutter Creek. I haven’t slept more than two hours straight since Lexi walked away from me at Luigi’s. The morning fog hangs low over the valley, blurring the edges of the world around me until it feels like I’m the only one left alive out here. Well, I guess I am. Just me and my lonely shadow pacing the ground where my grandfather once planted dreams.
In my back pocket, my phone rests like a lead weight. A mobile torture device waiting to shatter the quiet. Every time a faint vibration tricks my mind, my heart skips a beat.
What if she says no?
If Alexis turns me down, the entire plan collapses. There is no plan B. The emergency fund stays locked, the bank moves in on Sutter Creek’s debt by the end of the quarter, and Pop’s entire life’s work gets auctioned off to the highest bidder.
I tread down another row of grapes, my boots kicking up dust. The air hasn’t turned warm or humid, but it’s early yet. It’s only 7:15.
Alexis has probably already had her first surgical consult, her mind miles away from me, my stupid bouquet of roses, and my pathetic proposal.
I continue to walk this path alone, every step a slow march through my own mistakes. My hands are shoved deep into my pants pockets, fingers pulled into tight fists to hide how badly they’re shaking.
I’m not just terrified of losing the vineyard. It’s the humiliating realization of how much power Alexis Patterson still holds over me. Twenty years of keeping her at arm’s length. But with one look into her big blue eyes, they brought me to my knees.
All of a sudden, a sharp buzz breaks the silence, vibrating against my hip. I freeze mid-step. My breath hitches in my throat. I pull the phone from my pocket, staring down at the screen through the early morning light. An unknown local number. My face falls. But, wait. I recognize it. It’s the number I dialed the other day. The one for Hanover Urology.
It’s her.
Chapter Eighteen
Lexi
“Okay, I’ll do it,” I blurt before I can stop myself. Picturing my grandpa’s concerned expression, wishing I had someone to come home to has been playing on a loop in my head. Or could it be visualizing another woman standing before Sam at the altar that has fried my brain? Just don’t let me do this with someone else.
Ugh! I need to have my head examined.
I don’t bother with cordial greetings. Standing by the window of my private office at the clinic, I grip the phone with white-knuckle force. I don’t give him the satisfaction of hearing me sound nervous or hesitant. “But I have conditions.”
For a moment, there’s only the sound of his heavy exhale. “Whatever you need, Lex,” he finally responds. His voice is softer than usual, stripped of all its arrogant jibes. He sounds… well, exhausted.
