Page 197 of Taken Away

Aubrey released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

Anne continued.

"But people do strange things when money gets involved. I've seen it my entire life."

"Fair enough," Bennett said.

Something passed between them.

Neither willing to blink first.

Anne finally looked away.

"Look, baby."

Aubrey knew she wasn't going to like whatever came next.

"You don't owe Mabel Blackwood anything."

"Anne—"

"No."

Anne waved a hand toward the windows and the vineyard beyond.

"The winery is beautiful."

She glanced around the foyer.

"The house is beautiful."

Then she shrugged. "But it's still a winery."

Aubrey stiffened.

“You had a life before this.” Anne pointed at her.

"You had a career, baby."

"You don't have to spend a year proving something to a dead woman."

Aubrey didn’t look away. “Maybe that’s not what I’m doing.” There was a new edge in her eyes that made Anne pause.

Resistance.

And suddenly Anne felt uneasy.

Because Aubrey wasn't looking at Blackwood the way she was.

Not at all.

"Come on," Anne said. "Let's get settled."

Anne headed toward the staircase.

Halfway up she glanced over the railing at the sprawling vineyard beyond the windows.

Row after row of vines stretched across the mountainside.