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Kane
For the last few weeks, the restaurant on the vineyard my brothers and I owned had been open for business, and business was good. People streamed in and out on a fairly regular basis, especially considering how badly it had fallen off before it was closed down. My brother Alex had done a lot of work setting up online reviews and inviting influencers to the vineyard. Reviews had been steadily coming in from foodies and wine lovers alike, with top ratings across the board.
I was happy for my brothers Noah and Derek. Noah had put in so much time rebuilding every structure on the property, but none had caused him as much headache as Derek’s kitchen. Derek and his sous chef, Ally, had a lot of very strong ideas on how to build it back, and Noah had not been terribly pleased by much of the discussions and demands. Cameron had been pretty liberal with spending on the kitchen as it was going to drive a lot of our business, but Noah didn’t like plans changing. He never had.
Somehow, through all the stress and confusion and work, Noah and Ally had fallen for each other. Their baby girl, Bella, was a surprise, but the very best kind. Her impending arrival had thrown off the schedule a little bit, so it took longer than we had expected to get the restaurant open and welcoming guests. But it was more than worth it.
Derek finally had the kitchen of his dreams and was getting rave reviews, and Noah had moved on from the tragedy of losing his first wife to a wonderful relationship with a terrific woman who was also in the family business.
I was over the moon that my brother was so happy with Ally, and Bella was an absolute joy for everyone. Yet, it also highlighted just how unsettled I was.
I was standing in the main office, having come in to check on a few things that I didn’t have the information for down in the dungeon where I did most of my indoor work. Feeling down wasn’t something I was used to, and I hated that what spawned it was thinking about my brothers’ happiness. Jealousy wasn’t my thing.
I checked the calendar in the office again, sighing. Monday was when I could let go of everything else and focus on what I truly loved, when I could really start making wine again. Then I could settle too.
My brothers each had their own focus. Noah was a builder, never feeling better than when he finished a new job. Derek was the chef and described feeling a sense of euphoria at the end of every dinner service. Alex was a computer guy and spent his time focused on technology and media. That left my twin and me. Cameron was the money guy, the businessman, and the one who loved the minutia of running a company.
For me, it was grapes. Specifically making new and interesting strains of wine. I was happiest either in my lab in the dungeon or in the fields covered in mud. I could spend my entire life out there and I would be just fine. Or at least, that’s what I felt like most of the time. I had to admit a certain twinge when I saw how happy Noah and Ally were.
It was time for me to clock out and enjoy a weekend with very little to do. I lived on the edge of the property and could walk there, but I had driven my truck to work and felt like driving home. I could stop in the restaurant and grab some dinner, but I wanted to avoid my brothers at that moment. I just wanted to get on with my weekend.
I hopped in my truck and drove through the packed parking lot. It was a good night for the restaurant. Maybe it was best for everyone I didn’t come in and take up a table. I needed things to be calm and quiet, and they would be anything but, in the bustling, busy restaurant.
I got onto the main road and started the drive around to the back of the property. It was in the far corner, in an area where the vines didn’t really grow, and the soil was bunk. Years before, our grandparents had a little house out there with a stable. That had been before I was born, and by the time I had any memory of this area, all that was left were the run-down horse stalls.
Cameron and I had discussed building houses on the property, both as a way of staying close but also as a possible side business venture later on. A bed-and-breakfast at a vineyard had a certain appeal, and a house to start with would give us an idea of how feasible it was. Noah helped construct the house before work began on the restaurant itself, and a separate crew had come out to build it. I financed the entire operation myself, outside of the money for the vineyard, and was pretty proud of it.
