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“No sign of Rooker,” said Beau, glancing at his phone after we’d finished eating. “Decker reminded us that the winery will be empty this afternoon if we want to take a look at it.”
“Can I come along?” Cord asked. “I’ve never been in the place.”
Since it wasa nice day and most of the snow had melted, Beau parked near the main house, and the three of us walked to the winery.
Growing up in the Central Coast of California’s wine region, I’d been in several. More, after I went to work for Stave. The Lilac Lane building was impressive, given the relatively low number of hectares dedicated to vineyards as well as the estimated number of cases they released each year.
For fermentation, there were ample stainless steel tanks, plus barrel rooms. Their harvest production area was equally impressive.
“Thoughts?” Beau said, grinning when I came back from taking a look at the tasting room.
“Someone sunk a lot of money into this place. They could easily produce three or four times the amount of wine they’ve averaged. They’d need more fruit, but my guess is that wouldn’t be hard to come by.”
Cord looked from Beau to me and back again.
“I have a degree in ag business. My emphasis was in growing and grafting Vitis vinifera.” When I saw his eyes glaze over, I stopped talking and laughed. “Sorry. I’d probably have the same look on my face if you tried to talk to me about cows.”
Cord chuckled too. “Cattle.”
“I want to inspect the tanks, air and water lines, as well as take a look at their bottling area,” said Beau.
“Can I help?” Cord asked.
“Yes, but don’t be surprised if you smell a bit like vinegar when we’re finished.”
I was about to follow them into the other room when two alerts went off on my phone. The first was a reminder for me to call the church secretary. The second was a text from Juni, saying she had more information about Cena’s family and was wondering if she could stop by.
By the time I got to the fermentation area, Beau was lying on the concrete floor, inspecting the area beneath one of the tanks.
“Hey, I’m going to head up to the house. I have a call to make to the church, and Juni wants to stop by.”
“Right. I can pick up where I left off tomorrow.”
“Go ahead and finish your inspection now. Hoss might be back tomorrow.”
“Will you be all right, walking up to the house alone?”
Beau couldn’t see him, but Cord’s eyes opened wide.
“Yes, future husband, I can manage a ten-minute walk on my own.”
He scooted out from under the tank and looked at Cord. “She loves me.”
He laughed. “That, she does. If you want, though, I can walk with her.”
I rolled my eyes. “First of all, don’t talk about me like I’m not standing here. Second, isn’t the fancy-schmancy security system supposed to keep me safe?”
“Affirmative,” said Beau, sliding beneath a second tank. “In fact, I received word from Decker a few minutes ago, saying installation as well as testing was complete.”
“Then, I’ll see you later.”
“Wait.” Beau slid out again, got to his feet, and approached me.
I waved a hand in front of my face. “You’re going to need winery clothes. Those already smell.”
“Yeah?” He stepped forward, acting like he was going to rub fermented residue all over me.
I giggled and raced toward the door.
