He forced a smile. “Mostly bamboozled.”
She patted his back. “I bet. Sleep well, okay?”
He said he would, but as he trudged upstairs, he suspected that was a lie. Despite his anger at the way Brynna had connived and tricked them, all he could think of was the hurt in her eyes before she left. And that just made him mad. She was the one who created this mess—why should he feel guilty about it?
After a mostly sleepless night, Leroy got up early the next morning. He made a pot of coffee and took a steaming mug out to the back terrace. Sitting in a chair with Babe lying nearby, he staredout over the little guesthouse where Brynna had been living—right under his nose—all this time. And he’d been oblivious. Or had he? He remembered the times he’d spied her ... walking barefoot through the vineyard at dusk, playing with his grandkids in Sophie’s garden, watching the sunset on the bicycle. And each time, what had he thought of? Brynna Meyers. Was it possible that somewhere in his psyche he’d really known it was her but had been afraid to admit it? No, that was ridiculous!
“Hello there, stranger.” Judith came out with her own mug of coffee. “Mind if I join you?”
He wanted to say “I do mind,” but knew that was rude, so he just shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
“Thank you.” She scooted a chair next to him, disturbing Babe from her place. The old dog gave Judith a questioning look, then moved to his other side. For some reason he thought Babe was making a statement about Judith. She didn’t like this intrusive woman any more than he did.
“I know you’re feeling out of sorts,” Judith said quietly. “Gina told us the story, and I must admit it’s a strange one.”
“Uh-huh.” He’d “thank” his bigmouthed daughter for that later.
“I thought there was something suspicious about Bree, or Brynna, or whatever she goes by. But I never dreamed the woman was a stalker.”
He turned to stare at her. “A stalker?”
“That’s what it seems like. I mean, showing up like she did. Pretending to be someone else. Seriously, it reminds me of that creepyFatal Attractionmovie.” She shuddered. “Next thing you know, she’ll be boiling a rabbit.”
He suppressed the urge to tell Judith to shut up and leave him alone.
“Clearly that woman was out to get her claws into you, Leroy. You must know that by now. She probably saw you as a nice prize.” She waved a hand toward the fields. “With all your vineyards, the owner of Sorrentino’s.”
“She’d been working in the office, Judith. She saw the books. She obviously knew the winery was barely scraping by.” He narrowed his eyes at her. “Not exactly a gold digger.”
“Maybe not.” Judith smiled coyly. “Maybe she just likes you for your looks. Can’t blame a woman for that.”
He rolled his eyes but kept his thoughts to himself.
“Oh, really, Leroy, I think you’re taking this whole thing much too seriously.” She leaned forward to look directly at him. “That is, unless you still have feelings for this woman.Do you?”
He blew out an exasperated sigh. “I don’t knowhowI feel, but I know this—I’ve got work to do.” He stood and excused himself. But as he stormed off toward his Jeep, with Babe right at his heels, he bristled at Judith’s suggestion that Brynna was the kind of woman to stalk anyone. Or that she’d boil a rabbit!Seriously?
Chapter 25
Brynna had broken down and called Jan last night, pouring out the whole sad story. “But don’t worry. You don’t need to do anything,” Brynna had finally said. “I’m going to stay at this sweet little B and B for a few days. Just until I can get a flight out of San Francisco, and then I’ll go home.”
“I’m sorry it fell apart,” Jan told her.
“Yeah. Me too. But it was a dumb thing to do.”
“We shouldn’t have encouraged you, Brynna. It sort of occurred to us later that we shouldn’t have pushed you so hard. But at the time, it seemed right. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m glad I did it. I mean, sure, it hurts a little. But it’s good to know that Leroy has no interest in me. I think it was actually kind of therapeutic.” She sighed. “What I’ll miss most of all is his daughter Sophie and her family ... and the land.” She wanted to add “and the dream of a life like that” but knew that sounded pathetic.
“Well, Mike and I are coming to get you,” Jan had said. “We’ve had enough of Yosemite. We’ll leave tomorrow around noon. We should be there by dinnertime.”
“You really don’t need to—”
“We want to.” She paused. “Mike says we’re definitely coming, Brynna. No arguments.”
It was settled. But as Brynna went to bed, she almost regretted agreeing. She’d been looking forward to some rest and a few calm days in the B andB.
But by morning, after a sleepless night in a bed that wasn’t as comfortable as the one back in the guest cottage, she was glad to know she’d be leaving that evening. As she repacked her bag, she realized her cell phone was dead, but she couldn’t find her charging cord anywhere. Maybe it didn’t matter. It wasn’t like she had anyone to talk to anyway.
