“Perhaps you should fight for her instead of planning your exit strategy.”
“Fight for her?” Both of my eyebrows lifted as I looked at him. “I was married before. I fought for my wife every day. Our disagreements were rare, but I never let them divide us. I learned to adapt to her triggers and she mine. This is not a disagreement. This is not an infidelity. This is not something I can defeat.”
Talon stared at me.
“She needs to decide whether this is something she can accept…or something she can’t. I could kiss her and remind her what we’re fighting for. I could beg and plead for another chance, but that wouldn’t be right either. I want her to make her decision with a clear mind, and I will respect whatever that decision is.”
Talon continued to look at me, his eyes sheathed in empathy.
“The decision lies with her.”
A couple days later, Talon returned again.
I was in the bar where he’d seen me last, and he took a seat without ordering a drink.
I hadn’t expected to see him for a while—or at all. I wasn’t sure why he was so kind to me after I’d hurt his daughter.
“I want to show you something,” he said as he nodded for the door.
I had nothing else to fill my time, so I followed him outside onto the cobblestone street. It was late afternoon, the sun still bright because it was summertime. We walked through the town in silence, catching the attention of a lot of people on the road.
When we reached the end of town, two horses were waiting for us, held by the guards.
“Can you ride?” Talon asked as he climbed up on his horse.
It’d been a long time, but it was something I would never forget. I climbed up easily and grabbed the reins.
“Follow me.” He cracked the reins and tapped his heels against the sides of the horse before he took off along the slope of the road that led up the side of the valley.
I rode behind his black horse on my chestnut mare, the view of the village changing as we moved farther into the valleys and the hills. After a ten-minute ride, we arrived at the top of the hill, a breathtaking view of the sea and the cliffs where the castle sat in the distance.
It was a vineyard, a house at the top of the hill next to a barn. The land stretched out with rows of vines, purple grapes hanging from the leaves.
I didn’t know why he wanted to show me this place.
He dismounted his horse and tied the reins to a post.
I did the same.
He walked to the barn and rolled open one of the big doors, showing the equipment used to process wine. I didn’t know the name of any of the pieces or how they worked together, but I could figure out this place was designed to make wine from the grapes.
I’d never cared for wine until I’d drunk it with Lily over dinner. It meant something else to me now…and made me miss her more than I already did.
“Why did you want to show me this?” I asked.
“Because this land has been abandoned for a while, and I thought you might like to upkeep it.”
I turned to look at the vineyards again, acres of land to maintain. “Why?”
“You seem like a man who works with his hands.”
“I used to be a carpenter…and a painter.”
“Then I’m sure you’ll figure this out.”
“I don’t know anything about wine, Talon.”
“You’ll figure it out,” he repeated. “You can’t make a living off hunting elk and selling it to a butcher.”
