Leroy chuckled. “Well, I think your aunt outsmarted herself this time.”
“Huh?” Sophie’s brow creased.
“No worries, honey. We’ll figure it all out. Hopefully your new employee is good at helping to organize birthday parties and anniversary celebrations and all the other activities your baby sister might still have up her sleeve.”
“Oh, I’m sure Bree can handle it. She seems very capable.”
He gently patted Sophie’s overly round belly. “Good. Because you, my dear, need to slow way down. For your sake as much as for our little bambino here. And I’m not just saying that because you promised to name him after me either. And, don’t forget, I’m not holding you to that. It hasn’t always been an easy name to live with.”
She nodded with a twinkle in her eye. “Well, I guess you’ll just have to wait and see.”
He opened the car door for her, making a silly face through the window for his grandkids as Sophie eased her bulky self behind the wheel. So much like her mother, so organized and maternal—and overly busy. She really did need to slow it down, and he was determined to make sure she did. Leroy smiled, waving both hands at the kids as Sophie drove away. Hopefully this wonder woman Sophie had hired wouldn’t disappoint. They had a big summer ahead, one that had just gotten bigger, thanks to Sherry. Everyone at Sorrentino’s would have to pull their weight—and then some.
Chapter 15
In the middle of a mostly sleepless night, Brynna figured it all out. In the morning, she would call Sophie and apologize to her, saying she had changed her mind and was unable to accept the generous job offer. She would wish Sophie well and that would be that. Sure, it was the coward’s way out, but the idea of facing Leroy—as his new employee—was just too overwhelming. She promised herself, when she got home to Oregon, she would write Leroy a long honest letter—including a long overdue, heartfelt apology. End of story.
But at breakfast time, when she told Jan and Mike her plan, they went ballistic. “You can’t do that,” Jan insisted. “Not after all we did to help you find Leroy. We won’t allow it!”
“That’s right,” Mike agreed. “Running away like that is like running away from God.”
“Running away from God?” Brynna blinked.
“Well, that might be overstating it some, but I can’t help feeling that God ordained this whole thing.” He rubbed his bearded chin. “Okay, I take it back. You might not be running from God, but it’s kinda like slapping kismet in the face.”
Brynna couldn’t help but laugh. “Seriously? Does kismet have a face?”
He shrugged. “It’s a metaphor.”
For a long moment, no one said anything. Then as Jan refilled her coffee cup, she quietly spoke. “The whole thing really did seem meant to be, Brynna. I mean, what were the chances we’d really find your Leroy?”
“He’s notmyLeroy.”
“You know what I mean.” Jan frowned. “After all our work, and after Sophie offered you a job, well, it seems you could at least give Sorrentino’s a try.”
“But I—”
“In all the years we’ve taught together, you never seemed like a cowardly person,” Jan said, using a firmer tone. “I honestly thought you were braver than this.”
Brynna considered this. It was easy to appear confident at school, where she knew the rules and was respected. But Dirk had taken a huge toll on her courage. Not only because he usually shut down her dreams, which made her stop dreaming altogether, but the divorce had been the final blow. Oh, she’d wanted to return to her old self, not that she’d made much progress. But taking a job at Leroy’s vineyard? Well, that was just too much to expect of anyone. In fact, it was perfectly ridiculous.
“Where’s your spirit of adventure?” Mike paused from cleaning bugs off his motorcycle to look at her.
“Good question,” Jan chimed in. “Remember how we all agreed that this was a summer for adventures and risk taking?”
“Yeah, the Three Musketeers,” Mike added. “Remember?”
Brynna closed her eyes, trying to think of a way to shut them both up. She could see their point . . . and yet. “Okay.” She wanted to be honest. “Maybe you’re right about being courageous and taking risks. I do want to be like that. Part of me would love to work at the vineyard ... and maybe even get reacquainted with Leroy. But the truth is, I’m just plain scared.”
Suddenly they were both talking at her, taking turns encouraging her, telling her it would be okay, creating worst-case scenarios,and assuring her it wouldn’t be so bad. Finally, she held up her hands. “I just need to think about this. I want to take a nice, long walk.”
“Not so fast.” Jan held out a hand.
“What?” Brynna stared at her.
“Hand over your phone.”
“What?”
