“Yeah, I was pretty shocked,” she confessed. “It felt like real-life déjà vu. Now it’s hard to shake it out of my mind.”
“Interesting.” Mike slowly shook his head. “So, Leroy’s the guy who got away?”
“And you really think he was from Sonoma?” Jan asked Brynna.
“Yeah. When you mentioned Sonoma, I had this vivid flashback to when Leroy told me about his family. They were into agriculture. I think it was a vineyard that—”
“Leroy’s family owns a vineyard?” Mike poked Brynna’s shoulder. “Hey, we should look this dude up. Maybe we can camp on his property.”
“Wouldn’t that be fun?” Jan tossed another log onto the fire.
“What’s the dude’s last name?” Mike asked.
Brynna felt her face warming. Was it from the fire—or the memory? “I, uh, I can’t really remember.”
“Seriously?” Jan raised her brows.
“I honestly don’t recall.” Brynna frowned, trying hard to think. “I always just called him Leroy. Sometimes Leroy Boucher, but that was just a nickname.”
“You really don’t know his last name?” Mike looked disappointed.
“I’m totally blank. Except that I think he was Italian.” She tried to remember. “I’m not sure, but I think it ended with a tini or bini or—”
“Martini?” Mike tried. “Bambini?”
“Rusini?” Jan tried.
“Or maybe it was a tino.” Brynna held up both hands.
“Valentino?” Jan suggested. “Augustino?”
“No, no ... that’s not right.” Brynna closed her eyes, trying to force the name to the surface.
“Farrentino? Martino?” Mike threw even more names out, and the more Brynna heard, the less able she was to concentrate.
“This isn’t helping.” She stood up. “Give me time, maybe it will come to me. And, really, what difference does it make? It’s not like I plan to look him up.”
“Why not?” Mike asked.
Jan crossed her arms in front of her. “Yeah, why not?”
“What would be the point? I’m sure he’s happily married and living his life. He doesn’t need some old girlfriend popping in.” Brynna backed away from the fire’s heat.
“But it might be interesting,” Jan said. “You could see how he’s doing, catch up ... like a mini reunion.”
“And maybe we could camp at his vineyard,” Mike said again.
“You mean his family’s vineyard,” Brynna added. “Because I do remember Leroy saying he planned to become a photographer. He had no interest in working for the family business.”
“That’s too bad.” Mike looked seriously disappointed. “But maybe his family’s vineyard is still there.”
“It probably is.” Brynna came closer again and sank back into her seat at the picnic table. “I remember now that Leroy mentioned it was one of the oldest ones in that part of the country.”
“We should try to figure this out,” Mike insisted. “It’ll be like solving a mystery.”
Jan held up her cell phone. “I’m going to start doing an online search of Sonoma vineyards—and the name Leroy.” She glanced at Brynna. “Just for fun, mind you.”
“Whatever.” Brynna just shook her head.
