AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I follow him in; punching the code in, the alarm falls silent, yet it still rings in my ears.
Jack moves through every one of the small offices and then heads into the tasting room that’s adjacent to my office. I’m certain he won’t find anything, but I indulge his need to be sure.
He comes back, a hand running through his hair as he announces that all is safe and clear.
“Does it go off frequently?” Jack questions. “Your alarm system seems a little outdated.”
He’s right, it is, but rewiring the place is a huge expense and an even bigger undertaking. We added cameras a couple of years back and it’s been working out all right.
“Every couple of months or so,” I tell him shrugging my shoulders. “We can watch the video from the cameras if you want to see if you can figure out why it went off.”
“I feel a little better knowing you have cameras, but…”
“Jack,” I say, interrupting him, because I don’t think I want to hear where’s he’s going to go with this conversation. It’s weird having someone interested in my safety, in addition to taking an active interest in the winery. “It was probably just a bobcat or a fat raccoon. The motion detectors are a little sensitive. They pick up things through the windows sometimes.”
“If you say so,” he replies conceding, but I don’t see this being the last of the conversation.
We walk back to the cottages in silence, neither one of us wanting to bring up what was about to happen between us. We both know had we not been interrupted we’d be in Jack’s bed right now.
I’m not one to believe in signs or fate or anything else like that, but it’s hard to push it from my mind. Jack showing up here after all these years, still harboring those unrequited feelings he admitted to, and me, while not admitting it out loud, completely agreeing that there was something between us fourteen years ago.
Looking back on it now, I may have claimed to hate Jack and all his teasing, but I remember finding myself strangely jealous as girls threw themselves at him at our school dance. That feeling tightening deep in my stomach and pushing its way into my chest as my heart clenched in response.
We were just kids and at fifteen years old neither one of us knew what it was we were feeling or even how to act on something like that. Jack teased me mercilessly and in response, I claimed to despise him.
I did hate it then, and I looked at him as immature and childish, but I was no better. Stomping around, huffing and puffing, rolling my eyes at everything he said and did. Not wanting him around and being far more dramatic than necessary when I was asked to entertain him.
The thing is, when he finally left, I missed the hell out of him. Whenever friends from school would bring him up, a lump would form in my throat, strangling my words and I’d dismiss their conversations. I couldn’t bring myself to talk about him.
I moped around the vineyard for weeks after he left and my mom even suggested I write to him. That was also the first time I met Will when Ellen brought him home to me our family. He agreed with my mom and suggested the same thing. But that would mean I had to admit my feelings for Jack.
At fifteen, having that conversation with your mother is mortifying and there was no possible way I was going to give up on the ruse I had stuck with.
Jack was annoying back then, and actually still is, but as always, there was something endearing and sweet about him, and that was the part I missed.
We stop just between our two cottages, and while we both know the moment has passed, that spark between us is still lingering. It’s something I imagine won’t ever be extinguished, because if it can last fourteen years, it can last a lifetime.
“It’s late,” I say, breaking the silence. “I should be getting to bed. I have to be up early tomorrow.”
“Me too,” Jack replies, but he’s smirking at me. “My boss is a real hard ass and I don’t want to ruin this good thing we’ve got going on. She might fire me.”
“You’re ridiculous.” I give Jack a little shove and let my hand slide down his arm, giving his hand a squeeze before I walk away. “Good night, Jack,” I call, looking over my shoulder at him, a smile on my face that just won’t seem to fade.
“Night, Lu.”
I’m up with the sun and spend most of the morning clarifying and transferring wine into barrels with Tommy’s help. It’s a long and tedious process, but something that is necessary if we want our wine to taste well. After about five hours, both Tommy and I call it quits, getting in our cardio for the day, moving barrels and climbing ladders, driving forklifts and walking the length of the massive storage building.
I haven’t seen Jack yet, but I know he’s up and working his ass off too. I heard the sound of a nail gun echoing across the vast openness, so I know he’s fixing the loose boards on the side of one of the sheds. I’m guessing he’s working his way through the list I gave him the other day and there’s something about that that I find comforting.
I wash up and head to my office, needing to finish up a few things in there. After my evening with Jack there’s an email that needs to be answered. It’s been sitting in my inbox for a few days and I’ve been avoiding it. But my time with Jack has given me the clarity I need to get back into things.
I need to stop putting my past ahead of what is best for the business, and this newfound happiness I have with Jack around has made me want to move on more than ever.
I flop down in my desk chair and pull up the email. I’m not sure why this woman’s inquiry is any different than the ones I’ve received in the past, but something is different.
Something about me is different, and I owe it to Jack.
I send off the email, a smile still lingering on my face when Ellen walks through the door.
