My mouth grew dry, and that’s when I realized my jaw had gone slack and hung open as Tommaso came forward and quietly shook the hands of each of The Island Elders.Then he nodded at a surprised-looking Cameron, then stopped and stood next to the cider sisters.
“Whoisthat?”Raina asked.
But nobody had time to answer her before Hattie banged the gavel and commanded all of our attention.She cleared her throat before she started speaking.“Right then.We would like to thank all of you for your patience with this.Bonn Remmen, as you all know, was a pillar of this community, and as the remaining council, we didn’t feel it right to justhandover the gift of his land to just anybody without doing our due diligence.There were a lot of interested parties, but you five had proposals that we liked the most.Each of them unique and wonderful in their own way.We also took into great consideration what we think Bonn would have wanted.”
The rest of the Elders down the tables all nodded in agreement.
“Bonn was a simple man, but he liked a good gathering.He liked people.He liked community and, while he didn’t have any himself, he liked family.Wewere his family.”Her eyes grew a little misty, and her thin bottom lip wobbled as she took a moment to compose herself.
Abe Jefferies reached out and grabbed her hand, giving it a little squeeze.She glanced at him and smiled.
Clearing her throat once more, Hattie continued to speak.“It warmed our hearts to see the feud between Jagger and Raina finally end, resulting in a romance that we’re all certain will last.”
My cousin and the youngest, beardiest McEvoy brother glanced at each other and smiled.
“And the fact that their families’ proposals were so similar just speaks to how aligned they already were.”
Out of the corner of my eye, the cider sisters and distillery dads all shifted awkwardly on their feet.
“So, while we wish we could give the land to everyone, and haveallof your visions come true, we have decided to award the gift of Bonn Remmen’s land to the McEvoys and Westhaven Winery.”Hattie banged the gavel again, and Naomi grabbed me and yanked me firmly into a hug.
The McEvoys were hugging, then they hugged my cousins and me.It was just a lot of hugging.I thought about Gabrielle, who wasn’t a hugger or a touchy-feely person in general.She probably hated this.
Out of the corner of my eye, as Jagger had my feet nearly dangling, his guns-for-arms wrapped around me, I spotted Cameron shaking hands with Tommaso and the two of them talking softly.Tommaso glanced over Cameron’s shoulder at me, only for a second before focusing his light-brown eyes back on the man he was speaking to.Jagger set me down and moved on to hug Naomi just as Cameron—without Tommaso—came over and offered me a handshake.
“Congratulations,” he said, the loss in his eyes unmistakable.
My smile was crooked and small.“It feels bittersweet, honestly.Like, I’m happy for us, but sad for the rest of you.”
“And to wish for more land to come available basically means wishing for one of those old buggers up there to croak,” he said, his chuckle soft.“I get it.We all had a twenty-five percent chance.And obviously, your guys’ proposal was the one they thought Bonn would have wanted the most.”
“What are you guys going to do now?”I asked.
He shrugged a big, broad shoulder.“We’ll figure it out.It’s not that we’re without a place to live or run our business.We just wanted something like what you all have.A homestead where we can do it all in one place.We’ll get it.We just have to be patient.”
A flash of gray out of the corner of my eye pulled my attention from Cameron for a second, but only long enough for me to see Tommaso, in his gray hoodie and dark jeans, disappear back around the corner from where he came.
“I mentioned to Tommaso that your daughter might benefit from the horses the way Cesca has, and he said you could come by.”
Once again, my jaw dropped.
Come by?
“Uh …”
Another nonchalant shrug from Cameron the Confident.“Yeah.Just swing in there one day and go chat with him.”
I didn’t “swing in” anywhere.Certainly not without letting the person know ahead of time and coordinating with them that it was okay.I know older generations did the “pop in,” but not my generation, and certainly not me.
I must have conveyed that on my face because he barked out a laugh.“He doesn’t bite.”
I rolled my eyes.“I’ll think about it.Thanks, Cameron, and … good luck.The right plot of land will come available for you guys.I’m sure of it.”
He kindly gave my upper arm a squeeze before taking his leave and following the rest of the distillery dads out of the conference room.
Eventually, all that remained were the new landowners.The McEvoys, my cousins, and me.
“Congratulations again,” Hattie said, now standing and slowly, carefully making her way out from behind the table to come and greet us properly.“Sunflower has all the necessary documents for you all to sign here.”
