As he headed over to the house to clean up, he saw Gina standing on the front porch with an oversized basket, full of clean wineglasses, looped over one arm.
“Hey, Dad.” She gave him a sly look. “Did I just catch you spying on the guests in the tasting room?”
“Just checking things out. Seems to be working out nicely.”
“Yeah. Garth and Sophie say they’re loving it. It’s so cool. I mean I barely launched the website and already I’ve made two reservations for group visits. Isn’t it exciting?”
“Yeah, exciting. Garth told me this morning the tasting room is already boosting sales.” He patted her head in a patronizing way just because he knew she hated it. “Nice work, princess.”
“Thanks a lot.” She smirked back at him. “Ready to make me your business partner now?”
“Don’t push your luck.” He smirked. “This could be a long summer.”
“Okay, but tell me the truth, don’t you think it was worth it? I mean my work on the tasting room and our social networking and everything.”
“Time will tell.” He rubbed his chin. “Now that you’re not so busy setting these things up, you can help your aunt Sherry with your grandma’s eighty-fifth birthday party. Remember, it’s in late July.”
“Really? You’re shoving that off on me?” Gina scowled.
He shrugged. “Or you can come work in the vineyard. That’ll give me more time to help your aunt.”
“That’s fine with me.” There was a challenge in her tone.
“I mean in the burn area, Gina. Restoration over there is hard labor, and it’s been really hot. It’s exhausting and dirty.” He held up his soot-stained palms like a visual aid, certain she’d back down.
“No problem.” She shrugged. “I’d rather get dirty than be stuck helping Aunt Sherry.” Without giving him the chance to renege, she ducked off to the barn, but he was pretty certain he wouldn’t see Gina working the burn area anytime soon. For that matter, he wouldn’t even want her there.
“Well, that serves me right,” he muttered to Babe as they went inside. “Give that girl an inch and she’ll take a mile.” But at least she wasn’t bugging him about turning their house into a B and B today. That had been her latest harebrained idea. She’d actually suggested they create living quarters above the barn—where she and he would stay in order to rent out his comfortable house to guests. She’d even calculated the income it would bring them. But he was not having it. Not at all! His house was his kingdom, and he did not intend to be dethroned for a bunch of noisy tourists traipsing in and out. Sure, they might be tightening their belts this season, but they were not destitute. Not yet anyway.
Brynna couldn’t deny that Sonoma County was beautiful and well worth seeing. Everything was so green and beautiful this time of year. Really, this part of the country was amazing. From castlelike estates to gorgeous sprawling haciendas, the properties they’d visited in search of Leroy had been magical. But by the third day, and umpteenth vineyard tour, Brynna was fed up. Not at the gorgeous vineyards they were driving through but at Jan’s and Mike’s diehard persistence that they locate her old camp flame.
Yes, Mike had remained with them. And for some reason, Jan hadn’t objected when he’d set up his camp right next to her trailer at the Sonoma RV Park a few days ago. And the day after that. And the next night too. According to Jan, her only interest in Mike was friendship. She later confided to Brynna that Mike reminded her of her dad. Sure, he was a nice guy and Brynna liked him well enough. He was helpful and lighthearted and just plain fun. Even so, she wondered how long he’d continue to tag along with them.
On the first day of touring wine country, Mike had jokingly titled their little road show “The Three Musketeers Looking for Leroy.” He even made up a song about it. At first Brynna had been amused, but with each additional day, and the multiple winery tours they took in pursuit of their quest, she grew increasingly aggravated. Mike was clearly obsessed with finding Leroy. So was Jan. And it seemed they were only fueling each other.
Today, their third day, and what Brynna hoped would be the final day of the Three Musketeers tour, she sat in the back seat of the SUV, wishing she was somewhere else. Anywhere else! As usual, Jan and Mike sat up front discussing the afternoon’s itinerary. And as usual, Brynna felt like a third wheel. Even worse, she felt like a child—like the kid in back with the parents up front ignoring her. She wanted to shout out “Are we there yet?”again, but she knew they were tired of that joke.
And she was tired of this! So tired that she’d put her foot downthis morning, insisting she planned to remain at camp instead of traipsing off to one more vineyard. It would be another hot day and their RV park had a nice swimming pool. She wanted to lounge by it with a good book and a cool drink and forget all about vineyards and Leroy. She’d actually begged them, but Jan and Mike wouldn’t hear of it. “This is our last day to look for Leroy,” Jan had told her. “You’re coming with us!”
Their obsession tofind Leroyhad turned into a real-lifeWhere’s Waldo?game. They’d mapped out all the vineyards Jan had found on the internet. Anything remotely related to an old Italian family-owned vineyard or the nameLeroyhad made Jan’s looking-for-Leroy list. Surprisingly, she’d found quite a few suspects. But after two long, hot days of driving and touring various vineyards, they’d come up empty-handed. Well, except for the wine collection that Mike had stashed in the back of Jan’s SUV. But Brynna was sick of this game.
“You guysdorealize there are more than four hundred vineyards in Sonoma County,” Brynna reminded them. “And that Jan’s reservation at Yosemite is just two days away now. Youdounderstand you’ll have to give up this wild-goose chase.”
“Yeah, yeah, we know.” Jan pulled into a gravel parking area outside of what looked like a Spanish mission home. “But we still have a couple of hours to look.”
“And who knows.” Mike opened her car door. “Thiscould be the place.”
“When have I heard that before?” Brynna stretched as she got out, glancing around the immaculately landscaped property. She couldn’t deny it was pretty here, and apparently it was popular too. Visitors were crawling all over the place. But something about this vineyard felt too commercial for her taste. It seemed highly unlikely that Leroy could be here. And that suited her just fine. She had no real interest in crossing paths with him, and by the end of the day, she’d happily put all this behind her. By tomorrow or very early on Sunday at the latest, they’d have to resume Jan’stravel schedule and journey toward Yosemite. End of story. The Leroy story anyway.
“Clementino’s goes back several generations.” Jan read from her phone as they strolled toward the stately buildings. “It’s one of the larger vineyards in the area and—”
“Any mention of a Leroy?” Mike interrupted.
“No, but the website doesn’t really have much information about the owners or their history. Mostly it’s about the wines and accommodations and such. Their B and B is very highly rated.”
“And so the hunt for Leroy continues.” Mike sounded like a tour guide. “Let’s hope our mystery man lives here.”
“Don’t count on it,” Brynna said, her tone terse.
