Page 2

And nothing ever stays a secret in Magnolia Bay.
But it doesn’t matter if my return is fodder for local gossip. I’m here for answers and I’m determined to find them.
“Caden!” I hear my name echo from across the vineyard. Daisy stands on the porch of the lodge, waving frantically. She hops down the steps and races up the drive, her strawberry-blonde ponytail swinging wildly, her gray Converse pounding against the pavement. She reaches me and launches herself into my arms.
I feel an odd softness in my ribs as I hug my sister.
“You’re here!” she cries, and when she pulls back, there are tears in her eyes. The last time I saw her, she was only nineteen. Now she’s twenty-four and god, she looks so much like our mother. The bright blue eyes, the dimple at her chin, the way she smiles. It’s a punch to the solar plexus. For a moment, I can’t catch my breath.
“Course I’m here,” I say gruffly. “Told you I was coming.”
She punches me on the shoulder.
“Ow,” I say.
“Don’t you dare act like that,” she says. “Five years. You’ve been gone five years, Cade!”
“I know,” I say, feeling a sharp twinge of guilt.
Daisy takes in my clothes and her eyes pop. I guess distressed jeans and a plain white tee weren’t my usual attire. Dad insisted I always looked presentable.
But I don’t follow his rules anymore.
“You gottattoos!” Daisy cries.
Oh. Right. “Yeah,” I say, looking down at the intricate sleeve of ink that covers one arm.
“Cool,” Daisy says, grinning. I’m glad I’m seeing Daisy first. I don’t know what my other siblings think of me. Of my absence. I haven’t been completely off the grid—after the first year, I started reaching out to them on birthdays. And the anniversary of Mom’s death. Not my father though. I swore I’d never speak to him again.
Looks like that’s one promise I’m going to have to break.
“How have you been?” I ask.
“I’m officially in charge of running the tasting room, as of this summer,” Daisy says proudly.
“Wow,” I say.
“And Alistair is doing PR for the estate and he’s actually really good at it.”
“This does not surprise me,” I say with chuckle, running a hand through my hair. It’s longer than it used to be. I don’t keep it neatly trimmed anymore. No one cares what I look like when I’m working in the vineyards. “Alistair and PR go to together like?—”
“Peanut butter and jelly,” Daisy finishes.
“I was going to say caviar and champagne. That’s more Al’s style right?”
Daisy laughs and loops her arm through mine. “Finn and Alistair are in the house. They’re going to be so happy to see you.”
I’m not so sure about that. I abandoned my twin brothers along with the rest of my family. There are five of us Everton siblings: me, Von, Alistair and Finn, and Daisy. As we head into the house, I ask, “What about Von?”
“She’s a lawyer with some big firm in the city. She said she was going to try and come out for dinner when I told her you were arriving today, but she hasn’t confirmed. She’s like that now. She works insane hours.”
“Dad’s not grooming her to run the estate?” I ask, surprised. That was the threat he had leveled against me before the fateful party—do what he says, toe the company line, or else Von inherits Everton and I’m left with nothing. I assumed, having chosen to leave the country, I made my intentions clear.
Daisy shoots me a pitying look. “Oh Caden,” she says.
“What?”
She just shakes her head. Then she looks up at me with a fragile blue gaze.