Page 30 of Cherished Lands

Silence.

"What's it say?" he repeated.

"Shh, I'm reading."

I chanced a glance toward the entryway. Elliot's eyes moved line by line until they finally lifted, instantly finding mine.

"Ray Belmonte is suing Tessa for breach of contract. Seems she has a non-compete agreement with Vintage Point."

A muscle twitched in Elliot's jaw. I squeezed my eyes shut, not wanting to see his disappointment in me—his lack of trust or respect.

"Who the hell makes their ownchildsign a non-compete agreement?" Jay asked. "What a fucking?—"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence," Emma scolded.

Moments later, the couch cushion dipped next to me, and a gentle hand stroked up and down my spine. My shoulders slowly dropped from my ears as some of the tension left my body.

I hoped like hell the Everton children knew how lucky they were to have a mother like Emma.

"We'll figure this out, Tessa. Jay is calling Hank now."

Hank Willis was a local legend. Similar to how Edward Choi had been the accountant for every business in Sable Point, Hank was everyone's attorney.

Except Vintage Point's, of course.

Dad didn't believe small-town professionals could handle our business. He didn't shop local. He didn't attend community activities.

Outside of the vineyard and winery, Sable Point might as well not have existed for him.

Mom, on the other hand, was born and raised here—just like Jay. But she'd met Dad in college and married him shortly after. They moved home to Sable Point, and Dad had wormed his way into a successful business that continued to thrive.

But he never wanted to be part of the community, and he stole my mother away from it too.

Not me.

I loved this town and its traditions.

I loved setting up a booth at the fall harvest festival, with a grape-stomping barrel for the kids and wine samples for their parents. I loved attending community-wide retirement parties and weddings and baby showers. I loved watching Lake Michigan freeze over in the winter and fill with boats in the summer.

I lovedSable Point, and I would make a name for myself here.

Without my father.

Boots thudded on the hardwood floor. I opened my eyes to find Elliot squatting in front of me, legs spread wide as he balanced on the balls of his feet. He had a glass of water in his hand.

"Here. Drink. You look like you're going to pass out."

I accepted the glass and took a large gulp. "Thank you. I'm okay. I should have seen this coming."

Emma scoffed. "No child shouldexpecta lawsuit from their parents."

She clearly didn't know Ray Belmonte very well.

Chapter Eleven

ELLIOT

Hank satat the kitchen table, reading glasses perched on his nose and pages of legal mumbo-jumbo spread out in front of him. Tessa sat beside him, her face pale but composed. Mom and Dad hovered nearby. I leaned against the counter, arms crossed, watching Tessa more than the papers.