"It's connected to someone I care about. How fast can you get me something?"
"I'll put someone on it today. Expect preliminary results within twenty-four hours, maybe sooner."
"Good. Call me the second you have anything."
I hang up and dial the second number.
Isabelle answers on the third ring, and the brisk efficiency in her voice tells me she's in the middle of something. "Charlie. How's the stock show?"
"Going well. The horses are showing strong, and we've had solid interest." I get to the point. "I want to talk to you about Sunny."
The pause that follows is brief but loaded. "What about her?"
"Sunny turned down that offer without looking at it, but she's in California right now visiting Evan. I think we need to give her another reason to stay that goes beyond loyalty."
"She went to California?" The sharpness in Isabelle's voice tells me she didn't know the full story. "She told me she needed a few days. I didn't realize she went there."
"She left yesterday. She didn’t like the way things went down at the tasting and felt she owed Evan a proper conversation." I take a breath. "Isabelle, Sunny has given five years of her life to Willow Sage. She built your wine program from the ground up. Whatever Derek put in that letter, we should be offering her something better."
Isabelle is quiet for a long moment. I can hear the distant sounds of the winery in the background, Tabitha's laugh, the clink of glasses.
"I've been thinking along the same line," Isabelle says finally. "Diego and I discussed it last weekend. We were already considering offering Sunny a partnership stake, but the timing never felt right." She pauses. "The distributor event changed things. Watching that douchebag try to pull the rug out from under us made me realize how much we've taken for granted."
"You're open to it then?"
"I'm more than open to it. I'll draft a proposal with our attorney and have something ready by the time she gets back."Isabelle's voice firms. "Sunny Reese is not leaving this winery. Not on my watch."
"Thank you, Isabelle."
"Don't thank me. She earned it and I should have done this years ago." A wry note enters her voice. "And Charlie? Whatever's happening between you two, don't screw it up. She's the best winemaker in Hill Country, but she's also my friend."
"I don't intend to screw anything up."
"Good. Now go show those horses and stop worrying." She hangs up, and I pocket my phone and head back to the barns.
The rest of the afternoon passes in a productive blur. The horses draw steady attention from serious buyers, and Mason handles every conversation with the same ease. Cody stays close, listening more than he talks, taking it all in. I should be right there with them. But I’m drifting through the afternoon like a man with his head in the clouds.
I should be celebrating. Instead, I'm standing in the barn aisle at four o'clock, brushing Colby's coat in long strokes while my phone sits on the tack box, silent.
My phone rings at four-fifteen, and I answer before the second ring.
"Mr. Hayden, this is Jack Moreno. Richard Calloway retained me for the background work you requested." The investigator's voice is businesslike and direct. "I have preliminary findings on both subjects."
"Go ahead."
"Derek Parker, age thirty-two. Middle child of Douglas and Catherine Parker of Newport Beach, California. The family wealth comes from commercial real estate, primarily shopping centers and office parks throughout Southern California. Derek's trust fund was established at eighteen with a reported value north of one hundred and thirty million, structuredwith performance conditions that require him to demonstrate financial responsibility through legitimate business ventures."
I lean against Colby's stall and listen.
"Here's where it gets interesting. Derek has a documented pattern of acquiring businesses, running them poorly, and selling them at a loss, including a restaurant group in LA, a boutique hotel in Napa, and a small tech startup in San Francisco. His parents issued a formal warning through their family attorney four months ago. The terms were straightforward. He has to prove he can run a profitable operation, or the trust disbursements get suspended. The purchase of Beaumont Crest appears to be an attempt to satisfy that requirement."
"He's not buying it because he cares about wine."
"The evidence strongly suggests his primary motivation is preserving access to his trust fund. The purchase price was below market value, which leads me to the second subject." Moreno pauses. "Evan Reynolds, age sixty-four. He's been the owner and head winemaker at Beaumont Crest for close to forty years and has turned down multiple acquisition offers over the past decade. Something changed in the past year. My initial read is that the decision to sell wasn't entirely voluntary, but I'm still pulling threads on that. I should have more within the next day or two."
"What kind of threads?"
"Financial pressure, possibly medical expenses. Reynolds doesn't have the profile of a man who sells willingly, especially at a discount. I'll have a clearer picture soon."
