Page 64 of Cru's Crush

She put her hands on my chest. “It’ll be okay, Cru. Let me get home and see what Dad is facing in terms of his recovery, then I can make a plan.”

The word home bothered me. This was her home. At least I thought it was. Or wanted it to be. I got it, though. She was worried about her dad in the same way I would’ve been.

I cupped her cheek. “I love you, Daphne.”

“I know, and I love you too.”

I waiteduntil her plane took off from the San Luis Obispo airport before returning to Los Caballeros. Everything inside me screamed I should be with her, but she was right. There was too much work to be done in the vineyards for both of us to be gone.

At sundown, I called it a day and told the crews to go home and rest. Tomorrow would be another long, hot one. I was about to head to the house when my cell rang.

“Hey, Bit. What’s up?”

“Where are you guys?”

“What do you mean?”

“You and Daphne. I’ve got everything ready.”

I scrubbed my face. “Daphne’s dad had a stroke. She’s on her way to Australia.”

“Wait. What? Shit. This isn’t good. Damn, I wish I would’ve known.”

“What do you mean you have everything ready?”

“Come by the old winery, and I’ll show you.”

I wanted to beg off, but it sounded like Bit needed me to meet him. “Be there in a few minutes.”

I drove the ATV over and parked near where Daphne and I had tied off our horses. It seemed like a minute ago and weeks at the same time. I was already anxious to talk to her, and it would be hours before she landed.

When I walked up to the door, Bit was waiting just inside.

“She asked me to set this up. Said you were celebrating your engagement.”

Strung lights crisscrossed the ceiling, casting a warm glow on the room. In the middle of the space, there was a table set for two. On it were candles, flowers, and an open bottle of wine.

The pain of missing her immediately felt worse.

“Sorry, man,” said Bit.

“Thanks.”

“Wanna eat?”

I didn’t, but after all the work my brother put into this, I had to. It reminded me I’d wanted to ask him to screen in the sleeping porch that was off the second-floor bedroom. I wondered now if there’d be any reason to.

“You should’ve gone with her,” he said thirty minutes into our dinner without us saying a word to each other.

“Too much to do in the vineyards,” I muttered.

He shook his head. “Wine doesn’t mean a thing if you aren’t with the person you love. Nothing does.”

As right as my brother was, I had too many people relying on me to just up and leave. July through October was our busiest time, and without me here to make decisions, ahelluvalot could go wrong.

“What can I do to help?” he asked.

I rested my forearms on the table. “Help me find an interim winemaker to take over the second label.”