Under A Harvest Moon (2 page)

The attorney also had filled her in on Nico. He'd had a stellar education, courtesy of her father. He'd attended the University of Washington where he'd earned a master's in biology. From there he'd gone on to take winemaking courses at the University of California, Davis. He'd worked his way up to Head of Production here at the vineyard, a prestigious job.

Nico raised a hand in greeting and Danielle waved back. That was all he'd get from her right now. She needed to settle in before she spoke with any of them. She wasn't looking forward to telling the employees about her plans for the vineyard. Some of them had been with her father from the beginning. Danielle removed a bag from the trunk then followed Kaiden up the porch steps.

"It's hot." Kaiden pushed his hair away from his forehead.

"So you're speaking to me again?" Danielle glanced at him. His anger made her sad and filled her with regret, but she understood it. He blamed her for the divorce.

When Kaiden didn't reply to her question, she said, "You're right. It's hot. I'll bet it's over ninety." The dry heat baked them, made it hard for Danielle to breathe. She wasn't used to such high temperatures anymore. Seattle had great summer weather with the temperature rarely climbing out of the eighties.

"Unfortunately, it's going to get even hotter as the summer goes on," she said. "Once we're settled, I'll take you down to the swimming hole. There used to be a great rope swing. I wonder if it's still there."

Kaiden kept walking. He didn't reply, but his anger silently vibrated between them. In his mind, she'd taken him from his friends and his father. Thankfully, Kaiden was unaware that she had no idea where Peter was. The snake had run off, leaving her to deal with the mess he'd made of their lives. She'd done her best to make excuses for Peter's absence, but the excuses had worn so thin they had holes in them.

"I'm surprised Lola hasn't come out yet," Danielle said as they reached the door.

Lola had been the housekeeper at Whitney House since before Danielle was born, staying on even after Danielle and her mother had left. She had her own rooms in the house and regularly declared she was going to be buried right here, on Whitney land. Lola had been like a second mother to her when she'd been a child, and Danielle wasn't looking forward to telling Lola that she'd lose her long-time home when the place sold.

The front door opened, and Lola appeared. She wiped her hands on the apron she almost always had tied around her waist.

Although she'd seen Lola at the funeral, tears pricked her eyes at the sight of the housekeeper. For Danielle, Lola was home. "Hi, Lola."

She accepted Lola's hug, smashing the bag of groceries between them, while absorbing the scent of cinnamon and cloves that clung to Lola's clothes.

"My Danielle." Lola's once black hair had turned gray, but her open smile and kind gray eyes were the same. "Welcome home. At last you are where you belong." Lola pulled back. She frowned. "You're too thin."

"Stress," Danielle said with a shrug. She glanced over her shoulder at Kaiden. "Come and say hello to Lola."

"There's my boy," Lola said. She hugged Kaiden so tight Danielle thought he'd protest, but he didn't. Lola kissed his forehead. "I swear you've grown since I saw you two weeks ago. I'm going to take such good care of you."

Kaiden threw Danielle a look that said,
help me
.

Danielle bit back a smile. Kaiden could use a little extra love right now, and Lola was just the person to provide it.

"Come on inside." Lola placed her plump arm around Kaiden's shoulders. "Maria's here. I'll introduce you. She's Nico's daughter, and she's about your age. I just pulled a fresh batch of snickerdoodles out of the oven."

"All right," Kaiden said without much enthusiasm.

"Here," Lola said to Danielle, "let me take that." She took the bag of groceries from Danielle. Kaiden and Lola disappeared inside. Lola's chatter was a soothing balm for the tension that had been Danielle's constant companion for months now.

Danielle turned back to the car to grab the rest of the groceries. One of the bags had spilled. She struggled to get all the apples back in the sack when Nico asked, "Need help?"

She hadn't heard him approach, but recognized his voice immediately, the low timbre forcing a flood of unwanted emotions through her. Danielle jerked upright. She'd been dreading this moment, for more reasons than she could count.

"Hello, Nico."

"Danielle," he said softly. "Welcome home."

Did he mean the words? She doubted his sincerity. Her presence here threatened everything he held dear. She'd seen him at the funeral, but they'd barely spoken. She had to admit he'd grown into a handsome man. His Italian and Hispanic heritage had given him his black hair and golden brown eyes, the color both rich and soft at the same time -- glowing eyes, filled with fire and the promise of something a little wicked. How many times had she wanted to just sit and stare into his eyes as a teenage girl?

Nico smiled at her, and it was the same indulgent smile he'd given her when she was fifteen and so in love with him her stomach ached. Oh, how she'd longed for him to notice her!

Annoyed with herself for letting him get to her, Danielle lifted the bag of groceries. "It seems you and I have a lot to talk about."

He nodded, but Danielle didn't miss the way his mouth tightened. "Yes."

"I want to get settled first," she said, "but I'd like to talk tonight, to fill you in on some things before I meet with everyone else."

"Whenever you're ready." He pointed to the groceries. "Can I help?"

"I'm fine." She wished they were on better terms. They were both victims of their parents' mistakes, yet that didn't make being with Nico any easier. "But thanks for the offer. I'll see you later."

Her arms full of groceries, ignoring the pang of guilt in her chest, Danielle left Nico and headed up the stairs to Whitney House.

***

Danielle lugged the last box into her bedroom and placed it on the floor with the others. They hadn't brought much with them because there wasn't much left to bring.

"That it?" Lola asked, coming in behind her.

"Yes. I sure don't have a lot to show for twelve years of marriage."

Lola touched her arm, the gesture comforting. "How were you supposed to know Peter was a snake?"

Danielle's lips twisted in a wry smile. "I should have been smarter. All the signs were there. He'd come home late, reeking of cigarette smoke, booze, and sometimes cheap perfume. I knew he was gambling. I just didn't realize how bad it was."

"You trusted him, honey," Lola said with sympathy.

"I was a fool. I won't make that mistake again. I don't need Peter or any man. From now on I'm relying on myself, no one else. Peter left us one step away from welfare and food stamps. Truthfully, coming here was the answer to my prayers. I didn't even have enough money to make rent this month."

"What's your mother think of all this?" Lola asked.

Danielle shrugged. "She's furious that Dad put restrictions on the inheritance. But you know her. She never has anything good to say about him."

Lola nodded. "The two of them are like oil and water; they sure don't mix." She chuckled. "Main thing is, you're here now, where you belong."

She didn't belong here, but she'd never say so to Lola. She just wanted to do her time, and then get out with enough money to take care of Kaiden.

"Well, I'll leave you to your unpacking. Night, honey."

Danielle embraced Lola. "Good night. Thanks for everything."

Lola gave her a nod and a smile then left.

Danielle glanced around her childhood bedroom. The old maple furniture looked exactly the same. Her twin bed, complete with a princess canopy, was placed between the windows. Two dressers, one with a mirror, stood against the far wall. Next to the bed was her nightstand. A white bedspread with pink hearts covered the bed. A poster of a teenaged Kirk Cameron hung on the wall near the window. On the opposite side of the room John Stamos smiled at her, both posters reminders of her teen years. The walls were painted Pepto-Bismol pink, a color she wasn't too fond of now, but what was the point of repainting? She wouldn't be here long enough for the color to matter.

Kaiden had taken up residence in the guest room. She'd let him have the room, even though it had a queen bed. Putting Kaiden in the pink girly room of her childhood wasn't an option. She'd thought the big bed would make him happy, but he'd still been sullen when he'd gone to bed around ten. Even the ever-cheerful Lola hadn't coaxed a smile from her son. If she did nothing else this summer, she was going to put the smile back on Kaiden's face.

Danielle glanced at her watch. It was after eleven now and she hadn't found the time to speak with Nico today. Well, it was too late now. According to Lola, Nico got up early. He'd probably gone to bed hours ago.

Her body ached. Her heart ached. She hadn't counted on having such an emotional reaction to the house, to her father being gone. Everything in the house reminded her of her parents. This afternoon she'd sat in her father's office. She'd opened his humidor and breathed in the lingering scent of the Montecristo Cuban cigars he loved so much. The aroma overpowered her, brought tears to her eyes, the first she'd shed for him since his death. She'd cried for her father, for the relationship they'd never have. Had her father been happy with the choices he'd made? He'd been a stranger to her, the vineyard always coming first. She'd given up trying to please him years ago. Why hadn't he tried harder to include her? Why hadn't she tried harder to forgive him? Now, it was too late.

She'd spent the day battling her sorrow and anger, finding no answers to her questions. Her nerves were shot. A bath sounded good. Danielle went to the window to close the curtains before undressing, but stopped when she noticed the light on at Nico's place. She hadn't been surprised to learn that Nico lived in the gardener's cottage.

Why wouldn't he? Nico was the son Phillip never had. Jealousy ate at her insides. Did Nico know the truth about the last summer they were all together? Did he know about the secret affair that took his parents from him and caused her parents to divorce? If not, did she want to tell him, or was it best to let the past stay in the past?

How would Nico react to her news that she intended to sell the vineyard? Would he be happy, wanting to buy the vineyard himself? Or would he be angry? She didn't know him well enough to gauge his possible reaction.

She was about to turn away from the window when Nico stepped outside. Darkness and distance kept her from seeing his features. For a minute she watched his silhouette as he moved around his porch. Was he worried about the meeting tomorrow? Is that why he wasn't asleep? Wanting to end the worry for both of them, Danielle left her room. She tiptoed down the hall, careful not to wake Kaiden or Lola, and let herself out the back door.

***

Nico lowered himself into the porch rocker. Man, what a day. He released his breath slowly, his eyes on Whitney House, on the illuminated window of Danielle's childhood bedroom. Was she in the room? Or had she moved into the guest room or taken Phillip's room? After all, she was the lady of the house now.

The thought landed like a stone in his gut.

Slowly, he rocked back and forth. A light breeze graced them tonight, and all around him he heard the whisper of the grape leaves; a sound he couldn't give up, wouldn't give up, not without a fight.

What did Danielle have planned for the vineyard? Would she take up the reins, take over for Phillip? Working for Danielle would be tough. She didn't know the first thing about the vineyard. Phillip had put the grapes in when she'd been twelve or thirteen. She'd left here at fifteen. He prayed she'd want to sell to him. Whitney Vineyards was more than a job to him; the vineyard was home. His last memories of his parents were here.

It still hurt that Phillip had cut him out of the will. He wasn't stupid enough to believe that Danielle would walk away and leave him everything. Why would she? She was sitting on a potential gold mine. Yet, he'd always believed that Phillip would leave him something, a share in the profits, anything. The old man knew how much he loved the place.