“Everyone, get up here. It’s time to eat!” Mrs. Summers’s voice carries from the patio. That woman has a set of lungs on her. It was probably necessary when trying to get all the kids in one area.
Piper shakes her head. “My sister must have finally made it. We can talk it over more tomorrow, or when we get home tonight. We’ll figure out which course of action you should take.”
I like how she says we. Like I’m not in this alone. Which I know, of course. She’s always been the one I’ve talked to when I need to make a decision. Only this time, we’ll be making the decision for us. Or, at least, I hope so.
She grabs my hand and pulls me along behind toward the patio. All the Summers kids are gathered around tables. We’re lucky enough to get to the table with Paula and Parker. I guess Tristan is in the studio and couldn’t make it.
Peter and Philip are talking at a table on the opposite side of the patio, leaving the one in the middle empty. Pierce is standing next to his parents. Why does it feel like they are about to say something important? I thought this was only a small cookout.
“Can I have everyone’s attention?” Mr. Summers’s voice booms over the quiet conversations. He waits until we’re all silent before continuing. “As you know I’ve been planning on retiring for quite some time. Well, your mom wants to go on a cruise, and I figured what better time than now.”
“What?” Piper’s voice is a whisper of disbelief. “You implied it would be years.” Her voice is loud enough to be heard over whatever else her dad is saying.
“Not now, Piper.” Pierce admonishes her as if she’s a child.
“Oh, you feel all big and bad because you’re the one in charge now.” She glances around at her siblings. “Did the rest of you know this was happening?”
Parker has the good sense to look away. Philip, Peter, and Paula look as if they are just as surprised as Piper.
“Sweetheart,” her dad says in the soothing tone he always used when she got hurt. “Pierce is not in charge. You all are going to work together, and if you don’t then I’ll sell the winery.”
That’s not a step I ever thought I’d see him take. Paula doesn’t have anything to lose or gain in this fight because she walked away from the family business years ago. She just now started connecting the winery with events, but none of those have happened yet.
Tears well up in Piper’s eyes. “You can’t sell the winery. It’s our family legacy.”
“Which is why I hope the five of you can work together.” He takes a look at his wife and smiles at her. They deserve the chance to travel the world and enjoy some time away from the winery. “We’ve put in a lot of years here and set y’all up for success. You’ve all been running the winery yourselves for the past few years. Keep doing that, and you won’t even notice I’m not a part of the daily grind.”
Piper nods, not trusting her voice to say anything else. I know she’s thinking of all the ways things may fail, but they’ve got this. She’s got this.
“Alright everyone, let’s eat.” Mrs. Summers takes a step back to let everyone form a line.
With everyone busy, Piper takes that moment to stand. “I need a minute.” Then she’s rushing off the patio and around the house.
I get up to follow her, but Paula lays a hand on my arm. “Give her some time. She’s probably at the old swing set.”
Seeing her in pain at what feels like a betrayal is destroying me. Once I tell her the secret I’ve been keeping, all the ire is likely to be directed at me.
twenty-three
. . .
piper
Betrayal doesn’t even beginto explain what I’m feeling. How dare my parents spring this on us like this. I did think it was weird we didn’t do a cookout on Labor Day. Instead, they put it off for a couple of weeks. Just enough time to drop the news and gallivant off to wherever it is they’re going.
They may have said where, but I wasn’t listening. Not great, I know. But I was trying to process the news. Hell, I’m still trying to process it. The fact they’re retiring isn’t why I’m upset. We all knew it was coming. It’s the timing. They said it would be a few years. Mostly because they have control issues and want to make sure we don’t run the business into the ground.
There has to be a reason they are fast tracking this. Something must have happened. Whatever it is, I intend to get to the bottom of it.
I can hear the conversations from the house drifting on the breeze. They don’t sound nearly as upset as I am. They should be. It’s even more painful because Parker knew. We’ve alwaystold each other everything, and this feels like a slap in the face from him especially.
I needed to get away for a bit. Beau got up to follow me, but I’m grateful for whomever told him not to.
There’s no clear path I’m taking. Wandering around the property is something I’ve done since I was a kid. The massive amount of land we own gives me just the right amount of space to think. I can get lost in my head without getting in anyone’s way. And, let’s face it, if I had stayed on the patio, I probably would have lost my shit on someone.
The sky is darkening and I make my way to the one place I always end up…the swing set from our childhood. Honestly, I’m surprised this thing is still standing. My parents got it when Pierce and Paula were little. We’ve made so many memories on this thing. I got my first scraped knee after Parker pushed me off the slide because I wouldn’t let him have a turn.
I plop down into one of the swings, hoping like hell it doesn’t break. Falling to the ground would be the cherry on top of this crappy day.
