Page 70 of Cru's Crush

I walked from where I stood between rows of grapes over to the ATV. “Can he?”

“Apparently, he had enough votes to be named chairman. The next step would be to demand Noah be removed from both the board and the company. He’s also called for my dad’s and Hewitt’s resignation.”

“Daphne has Noah’s power of attorney.”

“My dad intends to fly over, as does Hewitt Ridge. They haven’t withdrawn from the board yet. There are ten voting members currently, plus the chairman, whocan only settle a tie. Hewitt, my dad, and Daphne make up three.”

“So they need three more votes.”

“That’s right. They intend to see how it’s looking. If it’s promising, they’ll call for a vote to oust the chairman.”

“I’ll go with them.”

“Hold up, Cru. I don’t think you should.”

I clenched my fists. “Why not?”

“The biggest reason is the board might see your arrival as a weakness in Daphne. The second is so she learns she can do this without either of us intervening.”

As hard as it was to admit, Beau was right on both counts. “I’ll wait to hear what your dad and Hewitt find out.”

“Listen, you understand that I don’t mean to?—”

“We’re engaged.”

“What did you say?”

“Daphne and me. I asked her to marry me.”

“That’s great!” Beau shouted. “Hey, Sam. Daphne and Cru are engaged.” There was a pause. “She says congratulations.”

“Thanks.”

“When did this happen?” he asked.

“The same day her dad had the stroke.”

Beau’s mood shifted immediately. “God, I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be. We’ll figure this out one way or another. The most important part is I love her and she loves me.”

“I hear you. I can’t tell you how happy I am for you, Cru.”

Beau ended the call, saying he’d be in touch as soon as he heard anything more about the situation with Cullen House’s board.

I remained on the ATV and took several gulps of cold water. Today was the sixth day in a row with temperatures close to one hundred. On top of that, we’d had very little rain. When it did come, it was in a torrential downpour that started and stopped in under five minutes, nowhere near long enough for the moisture to penetrate the soil.

“Hey, Cru. Got a minute?” Bit asked, walking up to me.

“Sure. What’s up?”

He opened his gloved hand and showed me the fruit and leaves on his palm.

“Fuck,” I groaned when I leaned in and saw why he’d brought it to me. “Botrytis bunch rot.”

He nodded.

The fungus was also known as noble rot. If caught during the flowering phase, we’d have the chance to eradicate it. As far along as we were with grape cluster, there was nothing we could do. “How bad is it?”