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I was about to excuse myself and head to the Smiths when Cos stopped me.
“Looking good, brother,” he said. Cos and Brooke were dressed as Beetlejuice & Lydia. Pre-Brooke, there was zero chance of Cosimo showing up to a Halloween party in a black-and-white striped suit with his face painted white, but here we were.
“Thanks, Beetlejuice,” I said. Cos made a face. “Brooke’s idea?”
“Yeah,” he admitted. “But it’s growing on me. I wanted to talk to you quickly about the post-harvest tour.”
Every year, after harvest, one or two of us embark on what’s come to be known as the post-harvest tour. It started years ago when our parents decided they needed to get around the lakes more often. They got so stuck in their corner of the world up here at the top of Seneca, but they would hear customers talk about wineries they’d never been to, or other little details that could be incorporated here at Grado. So they began to spend the two weeks after harvest touring the region. They used the time to decompress after a busy September and October, meeting new winery owners, getting ideas...just reconnecting.
Eventually, as we all graduated college and moved back, one by one finding our own places at Grado, we started taking turns making these post-harvest tours. Sometimes more than one of us was able to get away. Other times, one sibling would bring a friend, using it as a sort of forced vacation.
“What’s up?” I asked, a little distracted as I marveled at all the guests’ costumes. I wasn’t at all looking for Thayle. Okay fine, maybe I was. She’d refused to tell anyone what she was wearing tonight, even Min. It made me wonder at her secrecy.
“So I know it’s my turn, and I actually think it would be great for Brooke to do, but she was invited to a wedding next weekend.”
“A last-minute wedding?” Seemed odd.
“Sort of. Her friend Tina is eloping to Vegas. I guess there’s a lot of family drama, so she said screw it. And invited Brooke, of course.”
Tina was responsible, in a way, for Cos and Brooke getting together. She had been the one who suggested Brooke stay here for the rest of the summer when they came in June for a girls’ weekend. She fell in love with the Finger Lakes, and as she’d just been laid off, she opted to stay here and got a job part-time and, well, the rest was history.
“Eloping in Vegas. Sounds like a good reason to skip the post-harvest tour,” I said.
“So you’ll do it? I’ve already got the itinerary all set up, contacted the wineries to talk with each of their owners.”
“I let so many things slide with the harvest. What about Marco or Min?”
“They both have things they can’t get out of, but Min looked at your schedule and said you’re free.”
“Sure,” I said, “I’m just the one who makes the wine. But I don’t really have anything else going on.”
“Don’t be dramatic. So you’ll go?”
I wasn’t listening to Cos anymore.
My attention had been otherwise distracted. Holy hell, what was she wearing?
My brother followed my gaze and whistled. “Now I know why she didn’t tell us. Thayle’s a real piece of work.”
I’d have used a lot of words to describe Thayle, but ‘piece of work’ wasn’t the description that came to mind first. Min was laughing as she ran up to her, but I didn’t find it funny. If she came anywhere near me, I didn’t think I’d be able to hide my reaction.
Our sister had a bad experience with a cat when she was eleven. She’d gotten scratched and the scratch became infected. Since then, she hadn’t been a huge fan of any felines. Even kittens freaked her out. So I supposed it was a joke on Min, but the way Thayle was dressed right now was anything but funny.
She wore a black bodysuit, black thigh-high boots with garters running up to the suit. A pair of cat ears completed the look.
I turned away, pretending not to notice her, and called out to Marco, who I’d just spotted as well. He was dressed as the exact opposite of himself. A priest.
“How did I miss you like that?” I asked.
“Like it?”
“You passed up the opportunity to be a part of my British gang, for that?”
“More importantly,” Cos interrupted as Marco approached us, “the post-harvest tour?”
“Who’s the guy with Thayle?” Marco asked. “They look awful close.”
I deliberately took my time turning around, relaxing when I saw who it was. “You never met Garrett? He’s an old friend of hers from the bank.”
