Rafe came over to me and took my hand. “Ready to get your feet messy, City?”
“Let’s do this.”
He led me to the water station at the edge of the clearing. Everywhere I could, I had placed Vierra Ranch stickers I had printed on the inkjet printer. We didn’t have time to have everything branded professionally which meant I needed to improvise. Instead of having the equipment fully branded. I had things labelled as “Property of Vierra Cattle Ranch” or “Property of Sterling Vineyards.” It appeared functional, as if we just needed to make sure things went to the right owner at the end of the night. But it served the branding purpose I needed.
For the first time, I was integrating myself with Rafe’s world. Or maybe it had been happening slowly, but it was noticeable now. I was handling the business side for both the ranch and vineyard. Both men knew what they were doing when it came to the operations of their respective businesses. And Allie was more than a teacher. She had become the face of both enterprises in a single evening. She did the one thing I could not do. Face the public.
For that, I was eternally grateful. Calvin arrived back in time for the stomping event. As the vintner, he wanted a hand in each step of the process. Which was why he took the final bin to the barn for crushing. And why he made it back to the ranch for the stomping. He too, would not actually be stomping. Instead, he allowed his wife to stomp in the first barrel. The idea was once she was done, he would be free to mingle with the other participants. Rafe and I would be second.
Instead of wearing my yellow boots for the evening, I changed to the black pair I purchased which stopped just above my ankles. It didn’t have the same flair as my yellow ones but for the evening it was dressier but still practical with my dress. Rafe removed one boot and then the other before he rinsed off my feet. To ensure my feet stayed clean. At least, that was what he said. He picked me up and carried me to our half-barrel before placing me inside it.
My feet sank into squishy, slimy grapes, and I pressed my eyes closed as I let out a chuckle. “Eww. It feels so weird.”
I hiked the side of my dress into the elastic of my thong. Thank goodness the price tag on the dress was not high. There was no way I would be walking away from the evening without some purple splatter on it.
“Now you march on the spot, City.” Rafe held my hips as I found my footing. “The more you stomp, the more juice we’ll get into our barrel.”
The winner would receive a case of this year’s vintage, and all participants would be getting a bottle of next year’s.
One foot at a time, my feet crushed the grapes. It was a sensation that took some getting used to. And the more the purple stained my skin, the more I knew I would do anything to stay. I wanted the community. Allie as my best friend. I wanted Calvin to make the best wine in the country. And I wanted Rafe. Not only as a protector or a boyfriend. I wanted him. He was my everything. I wanted to rebuild the ranch to its former glory. I wanted to be at his side as we created something magnificent in the town which was slowly becoming my home.
“I love you.” I blurted the words before I had a chance to overthink it. “I know it’s quick. And logic says I shouldn’t get involved with anyone, but it's true.”
Rafe cupped my face in both his hands. “I love you, too. And I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe.”
I nodded. “Rafe, you have to know I’ll never be safe, right?”
“One step at a time, City.” His hands tightened on my hip. He gestured in the direction of Vance who was in attendance, but chose not to stomp. “He is not going to win this round. And then once we have kids, your brother’s motive for killing you will be gone. Which means the only reason for searching for you will be the ledger, and something tells me he would rather you and the ledger stay as far from him as possible.”
He was right… except… “Wait? Kids?”
“Where do you think this thing between us is headed?” A smile played at the corners of his mouth. “Besides, we need to have a son so Calvin’s daughter can have a chance at a normal life.”
“What?”
I obviously missed half of a really important conversation.
He chuckled as hands moved from my hips to my waist. “Long story, City. I’ll fill you in later. But for now, you’ve stomped all the juice you’re going to get out of those grapes.”
He lifted me once more, and carried me back to the water station. He took his time rinsing my feet, making sure all traces of skin and MOG were removed from my feet and lower shins.
It would take a while to rid my feet of the purple stains, but it was a stain I would proudly wear.
Once I was planted back in my boots, Rafe was free to mingle. No small amount of sexual favors had to be promised for him to leave my side and show everyone in attendance what a crucial part of the town’s ecosystem he actually was. While we had kept the guest list small, we were sure to invite some vendors who relied on income from Rafe, and provided much needed services in the area. At the end of the night we wanted to make sure all the investors understood what would happen to the town without Vierra Ranch. We also wanted to show how abundant water was in the area. But without their own aquifer they would be reliant on Rafe. And that it wasn’t a bad thing since Rafe supplied the entire area, and had no intention of raising his prices.
The whispers among the guests were clear. They wanted a second survey. They wanted a reason to pull out of the deal with Argent. And then there would be a bidding war for the land. Argent still wouldn’t lose on their original investment. In fact, if they did some damage control and controlled the narrative they could still walk away with minimal reputational damage. Since I didn’t want to draw the attention of the Argent board, it was the way I was hoping Vance would go.
Despite hating it, Rafe had found himself in the middle of several conversations. Joel Pederson, who owned a hotel chain with several branches in Northern California wanted to discuss beef prices. He also wanted to talk once the second watersurvey was done. At one point, I overheard him speaking to Vance about making it happen with an independent geological company instead of someone employed by the county.
Vance had been sulking ever since.
His car was still parked at the edge of the clearing, yet he was nowhere to be found. Maybe he wandered off. I walked around the edge of the tent and exited.
As I headed for the equipment barn, I smiled remembering what Rafe and I had done there a few days earlier. I tried the handle but it was locked. Rafe had ensured that earlier in the evening. Saying, with all the strangers walking around the ranch it made sense to keep the expensive equipment under lock and key.
I checked the clearing where the cars were parked once more. Vance’s black SUV was still parked there.
Movement over at the animal barn caught my attention. It wasn’t anywhere close to where the festivities were happening so no one should be over there. It better not be Vance trying to sabotage anything. As quickly as I could, I walked in the direction of the barn. The rooster stood outside, quiet for once.
