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“Sorry to interrupt,” Danica stumbled. “I didn’t know you were having a family meeting. I can come back.”
“No, no, come on in,” I said, waving her toward us with my free hand. “Everybody, this is Danica. She’s the inspector I’ve been waiting on coming in to grade the grapes and the wine.”
“Hello,” Ally said, walking with her to the table. She held out her hand, and Danica gently shook it. “I’m Ally, the sous chef. And this is my daughter, Bella.”
I held Bella’s little hand and manipulated it to wave at Danica, who awkwardly waved back before clutching the folders to her chest.
“Hi,” she said, then seemed to rebound. “Good morning, everyone.”
“Have a seat,” Derek offered. “We were just having coffee before the day started, but you are more than welcome to join us.”
“It’s a fancy import coffee,” I said, getting a grin from Ally.
I realized I was holding Bella with both hands, clutching her to my chest and patting her back. It was a good thing I had something to do with my hands, otherwise I would have been tempted to reach out and touch Danica’s hair.
It was the strangest compulsion. I had never in my life been a big hair person, or even really noticed much about a woman’s hair other than the color, and even that was sort of spotty. Yet, with Danica, I was drawn to her soft, golden streaks and wanted to touch them, to run my fingers through them and feel the strands collect in my palm.
Danica had foregone the French braid for the day, opting to keep her hair in a low ponytail instead. It seemed like a lot less work, but it was no less effective in giving me fits. I found myself staring at her and the way the morning light bounced off the strands as it came through the open windows.
For her part, Danica seemed to be dumbfounded by me holding the baby. Something about it either made her envious or repulsed her, and I wasn’t sure which one it was. I wanted to see if she had a tell in that regard and made eye contact with Ally, who had finished her coffee.
“Here you go, mama bear,” I said, handing Bella back. “Derek poured me a second cup, and I have a feeling I am going to need it.”
“Of course,” Ally said. “Come here, little bubbly.”
It was kind of funny to watch Ally become a softie when it came to the baby. In the time that I had known her, she started out a tough-as-nails sous chef and someone who I avoided because she was a very forceful and kind of brash. It wasn’t until she began seeing Noah that I really got to know her, and I grew to like her quite a bit. I especially liked how she made my brother feel. But it was still fun to see her go from the all-business sous chef to cooing mom.
I reached for my coffee mug and downed it in one big gulp.
“Well, I think we have to get moving,” I said, looking at Danica, who nodded. “Lots of grapes out there, and they won’t take samples themselves.”
“Oh, alright,” Derek said. “Well, if you guys need more coffee, I made a ton of it. Just come on in the kitchen and I’ll pour you some.”
“Thank you,” Danica said, backing up a little.
“Thanks, guys. Let’s do this again soon,” I said.
Noah snapped off a salute-like wave, and I stood up, joining Danica. Turning, we headed for the back door and walked through the kitchen to the outside.
The sun was bright and hot, and I was kind of regretting wearing long sleeves. There was a small locker in the office that I was pretty sure I had a change of shirts in, but I was going to roll with it for right then. I didn’t want to leave Danica alone.
She had a host of tools with her and was taking samples mostly in silence as I kept her company. Occasionally she had a question or two about the soil, and I answered them dutifully, but as we neared the legacy vines, she looked at her watch.
“I think I might just get the soil here and then right by the road out front and head out,” she said.
“You aren’t staying for the whole day?”
“No, I have to go to the university before the lab closes to get the samples analyzed,” she said. “I’m hoping to have the results back as soon as possible, so I didn’t want to waste time getting them there.”
I nodded, a little disappointed. It made sense that she would want to get that done, but it meant that she was going to only be around a little while longer and that she was taking a more hands-off approach to the vineyard. I felt a desire to spend more time with her, to find ways to keep her there.
