Under A Harvest Moon (15 page)

"Grab some breakfast," he said.

Danielle glanced away from him. He was so not the man for her. Controlling, opinionated -- just like her father. Why couldn't Nico be ugly? Suppressing a smile, Danielle snagged a bagel and cream cheese, a cup of coffee, and they left the house together.

Now that she was up, she had to admit she liked being awake in the middle of the night. There was a certain peace, almost like a velvet blanket thrown over the land. And the sounds: the frogs, the ducks, the whir of the sprinklers; all sounds seemed heightened at this hour.

Danielle munched on her bagel as they drove out. "Where are we going today?"

"Block 6. It's -- "

"On the south end of the property," she finished for him, licking cream cheese from her fingers.

"I'm impressed," he said with a grin.

"I've been studying the map of the vineyard," she admitted. "You grow merlot grapes there, right?"

"Right." Nico kept his attention on the path ahead. "I want to lift some of the weight from the vines. There's a storm coming."

"No way." She didn't believe it. A billion stars winked over-head in a cloudless sky.

"We have a mini weather center at the office. All signs point to a shift in pressure, bringing in moisture. I worry about too much moisture this time of year. Moisture can bring mildew and a host of other unpleasant problems. If we remove a lot of the leaves, the grapes will be exposed to the sun. They'll dry quicker, hopefully avoiding any problems with mold."

"Interesting." There was so much about this business she didn't know. Again, she wondered why her father had never included her. Feelings of low self-worth returned, strong, taking everything Danielle had to keep the destructive emotions buried. She deserved to know this vineyard, even if her interest was temporary.

"Admit it." Nico glanced at her. "You're intrigued by the place."

"A little, but that doesn't change things for me." She removed the lid from her cup and poured the last couple of drops of coffee outside the cart before setting the mug on the floor. "It's just a matter of time before Peter and I wind up in court. I need to go back to the city. Kaiden needs his friends, his school, his life."

Nico nodded, seemingly satisfied with her answer.

"I've been thinking a lot about the Whitney name, about what it would mean to let it die." She watched the vineyard roll by, row after row. Even in the darkness there was such a beauty to the place, a magic.

"You don't want that?" Nico asked.

"I'm not sure. Letting the name die would hurt my father." She turned to look at him. "But I don't think hurting my father will make me feel any better, even if he does deserve it."

"What did he do to you?" Nico stopped the cart and swiveled toward her, giving her his full attention. "How did he hurt you?"

Danielle turned away. She wanted to tell him and was a little surprised he was completely clueless. To her, the way her father had ignored her, his philandering and bullying ways had been obvious. "He wasn't an easy man to get along with. He fought with my mother all the time, mostly about the other women he slept with. And I don't mean arguing. I mean all out bashes, with dishes flying, obscenities batted back and forth. He said cruel things to her, and she said mean things to him. Their fights terrified me. After dealing with my mother, my father seemed to have little if any energy left over for me. His lack of interest in me hurt. I know it sounds silly, but I wanted his attention and never got it. Sometimes I wonder if my marriage failed because I tend to fight back, like my mother. One marriage was enough for me. I'm not going down that road again."

"I'm sorry," Nico said softly. "I had no idea. I never saw the two of you together much."

"I used to hide in my closet, covering my ears with my hands when they fought." She shivered at the memory. "Every once in a while, they'd pull me into their fights, use me as some kind of pawn. Those fights were the worst."

"The anger was between the two of them," Nico said. "They weren't angry at you."

"Maybe. I couldn't help but feel I was a colossal disappointment to my father. He wanted a son, not a blonde, silly, spoiled daughter."

"He never harmed you, not physically?"

"No. He was more subtle." Danielle said. "He'd get us trapped in the car, and they'd fight. He knew it terrified my mother if he accelerated, driving like a crazy man with me in the car. She'd scream at him to stop, but he'd only go faster.

"One time, he drove us to the state park, and I think he was drunk. He knew how terrified I was of cars. Looking back, I think it had to do with my own lack of control. Inside a car, I felt powerless. Anyway, we were at the lake, and they had a fight. We got in the car to leave, and he drove crazy, doing donuts in the parking lot, making the car engine rev. To this day I hate the sound of an engine revving."

"That's not the Phillip I knew," Nico said.

"And that's what's so unfair." Danielle smiled sadly. "He treated you like a son should be treated, with respect, like an equal. He wasn't there for me. He never apologized to me for the terror he brought into my life. He just let me go."

"Maybe he thought letting you go was the kindest thing to do. Maybe he was ashamed."

"I needed my father. Cutting me from his life was cruel and I believe he knew exactly what he was doing." Talking to Nico about her father lifted a weight from her heart. Her feelings suddenly had validation. "Why didn't he call me?"

"Maybe he didn't feel welcome."

"Maybe, but he should have been the bigger person. I'm his daughter. I wouldn't let anything keep me from Kaiden."

"He loved you," Nico said, taking her hand. "I think you were his biggest regret."

She shrugged, her heart heavy. "Who knows?"

Nico gave her hand another squeeze. "Come on. Let's get to work."

Glad for the change of subject, Danielle got out of the cart.

Nico lit two lanterns, turning the wicks up high, flooding the area with light. Danielle followed him down two rows of grapes before they stopped.

"Will you teach me to prune?" She'd watched last time, this time she wanted to pitch in, to learn the craft, even if her time here wasn't permanent.

Nico handed Danielle a pair of gloves. "Okay." He went back to the car, rummaging around in the back, removing another knife. "I know you've seen me use my knife. The Mexicans call it a
cuchillo
. This is a grower's best friend." He held the scimitar-shaped knife out to her.

Danielle put the gloves on. She took the knife from Nico, the weight solid in her hand. "I'm ready."

"You can see we've already pruned to shape the vines like a small umbrella." Nico pointed out the curve in the vines. "We're going to continue on, doing the same cutting on down the row."

He showed Danielle how to spot trouble areas, instructing her on which leaves and how many leaves to remove. Danielle caught on fast.

They worked in silence. After a time, the muscles in her legs and back started to ache. She paused to stretch, then went back to work. As she pruned her mind cleared. Danielle tuned her senses into the land, and an alien peace settled over her. She loved this, loved being outside, loved watching the first streamers of pink light the eastern sky.

Careful, Danielle, you're falling in love with the place. For the first time she understood her father's passion for the land, a passion she didn't want to feel, yet the vineyard was seducing her. She refused to allow herself the luxury of thinking about staying. In her heart, she didn't want to. Not really. And in the back of her mind she knew Nico wouldn't want her to stay. If she did, she'd kill his dream of owning Whitney Vineyards.

The sun eased over the horizon, spilling a bright beam of light on them. The vineyard came to life as everything began to wake up and warm up. A clear pale blue sky stretched above them. Was rain really coming?

"Let's break," Nico said. He wiped the blade of his knife on a rag that hung from his belt beside the leather sheath. He replaced the knife.

"Okay." Danielle straightened and stretched, holding her arms above her head to get the kinks out of her back. Her leg muscles ached, and she knew they'd feel even worse tomorrow. Nico held his hand out for her knife, and she passed it to him.

"It's hard work." Nico gave her a knowing smile. "You're doing great. I think you have more of your father in you than you realize."

"I'm enjoying the work," she admitted.

"Good."

They walked back to the golf cart. Danielle started to climb in, figuring they were going back to the house for breakfast, but Nico said, "I thought we'd eat here."

He removed a small ice chest from the back of the cart. She'd noticed before that he kept ice cold water and Gatorade inside, but this morning, he'd stocked it with food as well.

"I cheated. I had Lola pack us a meal." He grinned.

"Yum," Danielle said, lifting the lid on a container of fresh fruit; strawberries, raspberries, watermelon, and peaches.

Nico passed her a plastic fork. "Dig in."

There was cold quiche with cheddar and bacon, poppy seed muffins, and the fruit. Danielle's stomach rumbled as she gorged herself on the cold breakfast. She couldn't remember the last time anything she'd eaten had tasted this wonderful.

She paused mid-bite into a muffin when she noticed Nico watching her.

"What?" she asked.

"I love watching you eat." He polished off the last of his quiche. "It's like you've never tasted food before. Like it's all new."

"It is. Divorce is hard on the appetite," Danielle admitted. "I haven't tasted anything in a long time."

"It will get better, I promise."

She wanted to believe him.

Nico reached over and squeezed her fingers. "Trust me, Danielle."

His words touched the core of her soul. "Trust is hard for me right now."

"I know." He brought her hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to her skin.

The kiss held a sweetness, a promise of more. Nico, her first crush, her first true love. She wanted to kiss him, knew she shouldn't, yet she leaned toward him, her eyes on his mouth. Her fingers touched his hair, and he lifted his head, bringing his lips to hers.

She couldn't remember the last time she felt this aroused, wanted a man this way. She kissed him, unable to get enough of him, tasting him, tasting the sun and grapes that surrounded them both.

In the back of her mind, she heard men's voices, but it wasn't until Nico's lips left hers that she realized they weren't alone any longer.

Two young Hispanic men stood in the next row, big knowing grins on their faces. One said something to Nico in Spanish and the other man laughed.

"Yeah, yeah," Nico said, his mouth twisted into a wry line. "Get back to work."

Danielle turned away during the exchange, trying to pull herself together. What on earth had possessed her to kiss him? Kissing Nico made her forget everything but him, everything. His kiss was dangerous, so dangerous to everything she wanted for herself and Kaiden.

He touched her shoulder. "Sorry about the guys."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have kissed you. I don't even have an excuse."

"You don't need one," he said, with a sideways nod of his head. "Let's finish the pruning." He squinted at the sun. "It's going to be a hot one today. Feel that humidity? I'd like to get out of this block by noon."