Page 38 of Let It Breathe (The Can’t Have Hearts Club #1)
R eese offered a weak smile as she took in the view of Larissa parked in her desk chair.
She wore a short skirt that showed off her legs and sent an inexplicable surge of fury through Reese.
She hated herself for imagining those legs wrapped around Clay’s waist, and hated herself even more for caring.
But Larissa smiled, and Reese couldn’t bring herself to hate her cousin. Truth be told, she was actually the most welcome sight among her visitors.
“Axl, Sheila, Larissa,” Reese said, her voice tinny with false cheer. “What are you guys doing here?”
“We wanted to hear how things went with the bank,” Larissa said. “Did you get the money?”
Reese sighed and shook her head. “Long story. The short answer is no.”
“Motherfucker,” Axl spat.
“Pretty much,” Reese agreed and leaned against the wall. “Look, I’d love to stay and talk, but I’ve got to go feed all the animals.”
“I fed them all an hour ago—even that little opossum—so you could stay and talk,” Larissa said. “Come on, we need details.”
“Thank you.” Reese sighed. “Do we have a bottle of Pinot open?”
Larissa stood up and headed for the wine bar. “Nothing open, but let me grab a bottle from the ’21 Emerald block. We’ve got a lot of that left.”
As Larissa scurried from the room, Sheila gave Reese a sympathetic smile. “I dropped by to pick Eric up, but he’s still finishing up down at the other cellar. Larissa told me you were with the bank people, so I thought I’d stick around and offer moral support.”
“Thanks,” Reese said. “I suppose I need it.”
“So no luck with the bank fucks?” Axl asked.
“No fuck with the—” Reese closed her eyes. “No luck with the bank fucks.”
Sheila shook her head. “A friend of mine manages a credit union over in McMinnville. If you want, I could try talking to her, see if there’s anything they can do.”
“Thanks, but I don’t think there’s much use,” Reese said. “Word got around fast about the fire, and we’re already mortgaged to the hilt. I don’t think bank loans are the answer.”
“Larissa always goes to those sales pitches with those little-bitty skirts and low-cut blouses,” Axl said. “Seems to work with the wine reps. Maybe we should send her in to talk to investors or bankers or something?”
“Sure,” Larissa chirped, breezing back into the room with a bottle of Pinot under one arm and the stems of four wineglasses wedged between her fingers. “I’m always happy to show a little skin for the sake of the business. Who am I flashing?”
“No one!” Reese snapped. “We don’t need you flashing anyone.” Wincing at the waspishness in her voice, she softened it and tried again. “I don’t think cleavage is the answer here.”
“Depends on the question,” Larissa said as she held out the wineglasses for Sheila to take. “Anyone know where all the corkscrews are? I can’t find a single one.”
“They’re not in the drawer?”
“Nope. The drawer is empty.”
Reese sighed. “What the hell kind of winery can’t open a bottle of wine?”
“Gimme that,” Axl said, snatching the bottle from Reese. “I’ll just shove it in.”
“A phrase no granddaughter ever wants to hear from her grandpa,” Reese muttered.
“You’re lucky I’ve got my hands full or I’d smack you upside the head right now,” Axl said as he used his teeth to peel the foil off the top of the bottle before shoving the cork in with his thumb. Wine splashed down the neck and bits of cork floated inside, but it got the job done.
“There,” Axl said, thunking the bottle on the desk. “All done. Someone pour.”
Sheila lined up the glasses and took the bottle from Axl. “So what’s your next course of action?” she asked. “If sex appeal isn’t the answer, what is?”
Axl snatched a glass. “You want I should rough somebody up?”
“No,” Reese said. “No violence, no cleavage.”
“You’re really not leaving us a lot of options, hon,” Sheila said. “I guess there’s always bribery or bank robbery.”
“I’m in,” Axl volunteered.
“No illegal activity,” Reese interrupted. “We’ll come up with something, but I don’t think we’re on the right track here.”
Larissa looked thoughtful as she sloshed wine into the glasses. “How about your new boyfriend, Reese? He’s loaded, isn’t he? Maybe he’ll loan us the money.”
Reese froze. “Boyfriend?”
Larissa grinned, not meeting Reese’s eye as she picked up a glass. “The veterinarian? Aren’t you two dating?”
“Right,” Reese said, regrouping. “I hardly think one date that involved picking my cousin up at the police station is grounds for requesting a six-figure loan.”
Axl shrugged. “Maybe if Larissa showed him a little leg?—”
“Enough with the sexy talk about Larissa!” The second the words left her mouth, Reese regretted them.
Everyone stared at her oddly, so Reese took a shaky breath and tried again. “I’m sorry, ’Riss. I didn’t mean it like that.”
“No, you’re right.” Larissa squeezed her hand. “Now’s not the time to joke about it.”
“I just don’t know what the hell to do.” Reese let her head fall into her hands. “We can’t get a loan, our construction project is screwed, our wine club hates us, the media is starting to figure out we’re hacks, and our winery barn has a giant fucking hole in it.”
“The documentary might not happen.” Larissa winced when Reese gave her a sharp look. “Sorry. Thought I’d slip that in there while you’re listing things.”
Reese’s head throbbed. “You mean they’re no longer making a documentary about women in the wine industry, or we’re no longer invited to be part of it?”
“The last one.” Larissa held up a hand. “Don’t worry, I’m working on it. I still have a few tricks up my sleeve.”
“Great.” Reese hadn’t realized she could feel worse, but contemplating her cousin’s tricks left a sour taste in her mouth. She swallowed some wine to make it go away.
“Maybe all of this is some kind of sign, hon,” Sheila said, touching her arm. “Maybe you’ve taken on too much.”
Reese shook her head, but couldn’t think of a snappy retort. She was just too damn tired. Sheila patted her hand and took a sip of wine. “Let’s talk about something else. I want to hear about the boyfriend! Eric said you were seeing someone, Reese, but I didn’t know it was serious.”
“It’s not serious,” Reese said. “I’ve seen him exactly two times. The first time he stuck a thermometer up Leon’s ass, and the second he took me to the police station to get my drunk cousin.”
Larissa grinned. “Romantic.”
“So you’re bonding,” Sheila said brightly.
Axl looked up from his wine. “Bondage?”
Reese sighed and stuck her nose in her Pinot glass. “I don’t know where things are headed. It’s complicated. And it’s early. Let’s talk about wine instead.”
Sheila rolled her eyes. “Why would we talk about anything else?”
Reese shrugged. “You’re in a winery. You married the winemaker. Our topics for conversation are a bit limited. Does Eric think we can save most of the stuff that was in the barn when the fire started?”
Larissa nodded. “The Sauvignon Blanc wasn’t as bad as he thought but still not worth putting our label on. We can maybe wholesale it.”
“For less money,” Reese muttered.
“Not as bad as it could’ve been,” Larissa pointed out. “We got lucky.”
Axl grinned at Reese, but she cut him off before he could make a crack about getting lucky. “That reminds me, Axl, I saw your girlfriend at the First Friday Art Walk last night. Francie? She seems to be under the impression that you’re in the hospital.”
“Aw, fuck. What’d you tell her?”
“That my grandpa is a skanky man-whore. Not something every granddaughter gets the chance to say.”
“Beats sitting around a nursing home playing pinochle,” Larissa said. “Who’s the other woman?”
Axl grinned, unperturbed by the insult or the prospect of having to make excuses with his girlfriend. “A stripper I met at Stars the other night. She gave me a free lap dance and I told her about my Harley.”
Reese took another sip of wine. “That’s a sweet story, Axl. Remind me to save it for the grandkids.”
“Mmmph,” Axl said. He sipped his own wine for a moment, eyeing Reese over the rim of the glass. “You’re really shook up about this loan thing, aren’t you?”
Reese looked up at the ceiling. “I’ve put everything we’ve got into this construction project,” she said.
“If we can’t get the money, it’s not just a matter of losing ground on the construction.
It’s not even about our reputation with the wine club and the rest of the public.
Do you know how many special events we’ve got on the books for the pavilion? ”
Larissa bit her lip. “Now’s probably not the time to tell you we had another wedding party cancel this morning.”
Reese closed her eyes, but all she saw were dollar signs swimming on the backs of her eyelids. “It’s like we’re taking handfuls of hundred dollar bills and flushing them down the toilet. We can’t host any of the things we’ve booked if we don’t have the pavilion done.”
Axl nodded. He started to lift his wineglass, then stopped. “Let me see if I can come up with a plan, Peanut Butter Cup.”
“Axl,” Reese said, shaking her head. “I don’t want anything illegal tied to the vineyard. Really, we can just?—”
“It’s not illegal!” Axl insisted. “Not much, anyway.”
“Illegal?” Sheila asked. “What are we talking about here?”
“Long story,” Reese said. “Suffice it to say, Axl is either growing perfectly legal medical marijuana or perfectly illegal street-worthy weed.”
“Recreational pot is legal in Oregon!” Axl insisted.
“Not in quantities large enough to bail like hay,” Reese retorted.
“Where?” Sheila asked, mystified. “Not here?”
Reese sighed. “Out in the pole barn. Axl says it’s all on the up-and-up. The jury’s still out on that. I just don’t want things to get out of hand.”
“Because things never get out of hand in this family,” Larissa pointed out.
Reese rolled her eyes and looked at Sheila. “We’re trying to keep it kind of quiet.”