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SERAPHINA
“It is so beautiful here,” I said when we crested a rise and a view of the rolling hills of Paso Robles all the way to the Pacific Ocean opened up.
“I’ve only been on the ranch a few times, for events, but it is definitely one of the best pieces of property in the area.”
While what he’d said was innocuous enough, his voice was tinged with tension.
“Noah, is something wrong?”
“Mind if we sit?” he asked, pointing to a bench on the edge of a vineyard.
“You’re worrying me,” I said when he took my hand in his.
“I feel almost like a teenager saying this, but I really like you, Sera. More, if I’m honest.”
“If we’re being honest, I feel the same way. But…”
“There’s more we need to talk about.”
I nodded. “I know there is.” While we’d found my sister and had a general plan of action where William Cooley was concerned, there was still the issue of what had happened between our parents.
“When Tryst came by my place the other day to tell me what he’d learned about Cooley, he pressed me to call my dad. He and my mom are on their way back from Australia now.”
“Oh. So, um, what did he say?”
“Only that I wasn’t imagining I wasn’t your mother’s favorite person. He admitted something had happened but didn’t want to talk about it over the phone.”
“Can I tell you what my mom told me?” I asked.
“It’s completely up to you. If you’d rather wait, I understand.”
“I don’t.” I told him she’d accused Hewitt Ridge of stealing my father’s wine formulas, specifically for Vineyard Twenty-Seven.
“My father was in a coma from that night until he died. He never woke up from it, so I don’t know how she’d know. However, she seems adamant.”
Noah cocked his head. “Back to being honest. I can’t see my father doing what your mom accused him of. It wouldn’t be like him. I’m not saying it didn’t happen, because my dad admitted something did, but stealing formulas? It would be completely out of character for the man I believe he is.”
“I don’t disagree. I remember my mother saying the deal your dad made with mine when he bought the estate was generous. What would’ve made her change her mind and accuse him of stealing something?”
He looked out at the ocean. “I wish I knew, but I guess, soon, we both will.”
“Tryst told me he saw my mom and your dad together. Before you have the same reaction I did, he doesn’t think they were having an affair. He thought she might have gone to him for help. Sorry if I worried you for a sec.”
“My dad worships the ground my mom walks on and vice versa. So, yeah, if he’d had an affair, it would have made me question everything about my life.”
“I want you to know I checked, and my father never filed any patents. None. The other thing that doesn’t make sense to me is, if your dad used his formula for the wine made from that vineyard, why is it so good when what my dad experimented with put us into bankruptcy?”
“I gotta tell you, as much as I’m dreading this conversation, I’ll be happy when it’s behind us.”
I rested my head on his shoulder. “Me too, Noah.”
By the timeNoah went back to Seahorse with Press so he could leave his car with me, and my sister, mom, and I went to bed, my belly was full from the wonderful meal Sorcha had served and I was exhausted. While I hoped that meant I’d sleep, I doubted I would.
I couldn’t decide whether to tell my mother Noah’s parents would be coming to Butler Ranch tomorrow. Or at least his dad would be. Part of me didn’t want to ambush her, but another part was afraid she’d refuse to talk to Hewitt, Noah and me. Until we could get everyone in one room and talk this out, it would forever hang over our heads.
As I’d anticipated, I tossed and turned to the point where Luisa asked if I’d sleep in another room. She and I had decided to stay in the room with two twin beds and offered my mom the biggest of the three.
When I closed the door of the bedroom behind me and walked a little way down the hall, I saw the larger bedroom’s door was wide open. I peeked into the other room and saw my mom asleep in it.
