AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No. Picking will take three nights, assuming nothing mechanical breaks and a freak storm doesn’t roll in.”
“Has that happened?” I glanced up at the cloudless sky.
“Yeah, it’s bad when it rains. You have to wait for the grapes to dry out, and the mud—” He shuddered. “It was a nightmare. I took the blame that year for leaving my lucky euro at home. I will not do that again.”
“You really believe that.” I smiled and shook my head. I’d never been one for superstitions.
“After that year, hell yes.” He pushed a hand into the pocket where he’d put the coin.
The picking machine and its expert crew rolled slowly into action. These people weren’t messing around. There wasn’t a wasted movement or moment.
This crew moved from vineyard to vineyard during harvest season, helping with the picking, sorting, and crushing. They were skilled at operating heavy equipment and experts in thefarming of grapes, helping growers to get the most from their crops at this crucial time. At least, that was what the Texas A&M agricultural report I found online said. And watching them in action, I’d say Texas A&M had been right.
It was fascinating to watch the mechanized dance.
The picking machine shook the vines, batting loose the bunches of grapes as it crawled along. The cut bunches then traveled up a conveyor belt and dropped into the waiting baskets Atley towed behind the tractor on the other side of the row. Any break in the perfect rhythm of the system would cause a disruption that could waste time and grapes.
Taking out my phone, I joined Gabe in taking a handful of pictures. They would look great on all the Blue Star socials. I waved at my brother, who’d rejoined Cameron in the UTV, and he shot me a cheesy pair of thumbs up. I snapped his picture, hoping despite the low light and distance between us, it would come out.
On my smartphone, I navigated to the website for the livestream. The drone swooping overhead gave the internet watcher a bird’s-eye view of the action. I tilted my phone to Gabe, who looked from real life to the phone and back.
“Very cool. And look at the view count. That’s incredible.” Gabe pointed at the number in the corner of the live feed.
“Vacation Dream Homes has great viewership, and the Elmer storyline has been their most popular. Wilson and Cameron’s kiss in the dunk tank keeps racking up YouTube views by the thousands.” Hopefully, the replay of tonight’s livestream would be almost as popular.
“Do you think people will watch all night?”
I laughed. “No, this is only going to run for like 15 minutes. It’s a tease for people who are huge fans.” But then again, if the camera stayed on Atley all night, it might tempt me to stay tuned in. I missed looking at my cowboy up close and naked.
“What do you think, sis?” Wilson pulled the UTV up next to me and Gabe and shut the motor off.
“This is fantastic. You’re a wine farmer!” I slapped him on the shoulder, and he pulled me down for a hug. “Next year, invite Mom and Dad. They’d love this.”
“What about you?” He captured my hand in his and locked eyes with me. A sincerity that I’d not expected radiated from him. It wasn’t a throwaway question.
My heart lurched at the unexpected and utterly genuine invite. Inside, a little voice grew stronger, yelling to be heard over all the shit floating around my subconscious. “Yes!” it screamed. “Join in, be part of it all. He’s asking. Say yes!”
I tried to imagine somewhere I wanted to be in a year’s time that would be better than standing here with my brother and my parents, building a family legacy. And I couldn’t think of anything better. Not a winery in Napa owned by a conglomerate and run by consultants. Not a vineyard in France surrounded by foreigners that didn’t own cowboy boots. Blue Star and Elmer fit me like my boots from Melvin’s shop.
The only thing that could make it better would be if a certain dirty-talking cowboy and I could—
No, not the time for what-ifs. I had a real-life opportunity to grab onto with my brother.
“I’d love it too. If…” I blinked and sniffed a lump of emotion, wadding up the words I wanted to say. No tears, damn it, this was important.
“No ifs. You’re staying. I need you.” Wilson grabbed my hand and squeezed hard.
I nodded, and when emotion bubbled up, I let the tears slip down my cheeks. I couldn’t have stopped them for all the wine in Texas. Wilson jerked me forward, and I fell into his and Cameron’s laps across the front seat of the UTV. The tangle oflimbs and laughter was the welcome I didn’t know I’d needed since the day I’d arrived.
“Yes, I’m staying.” Something inside me brightened, and fifty percent of the dullness I’d been living with floated away. I laughed, pushing up and off their laps.
“Since you’re staying, mind giving poor Atley a second chance? Guy’s turning into a total downer.”
Cameron smacked my brother on the arm. “We talked about this… stay out of it. They are old enough to figure it out on their own.”
Shit, that was news to me. So far, we’d been stumbling around like two blind fools.
“Oh, thank God you are staying! Booking weddings, building out the dancehall kitchen, holding the second annual stomp, all of that scared the hell out of me. I make wine. Events terrify me. And Atley thinks marketing is a dirty word.” Gabe grabbed me around the neck and pulled me in for a bear hug. “Never leave me.”
