Page 14 of A Vineyard for Two

Harper did the same. As soon as the food hit her mouth, the flavours burst and she ate more. It didn’t take long for her plate to finish. No one talked. Everyone had the same thing on their mind. Everyone had questions for Georgia, but no one would dare ask with Lisa present. Anything they wanted to know would have to wait.

‘Kids, I’m knackered. Why don’t you tidy up after dinner? I’ll see you in the morning,’ Georgia said and stood up.

‘I’ll do it,’ Brookes offered. He was always one to help first, especially if it meant getting out of an uncomfortable situation.

‘I can help,’ Lisa offered.

Georgia pursed her lips. ‘Very well then.’ Her gaze shifted towards Harper. ‘Let’s all chip in.’

The clean-up was equally awkward. There was small talk between them all, but no one was bringing up the elephant in the room. That was going to have to wait for later.

Zoe was the first to disappear into her room, followed by Tyler. Leo went outside to sort through the rubbish and check on the vineyard. Then there was Harper, Brookes and Lisa. It was only when Brookes announced he was leaving that Lisa decided to go, too. Harper couldn’t help but wonder whether they were going to meet up afterwards. That pang of jealousy loomed and she didn’t like it.

She walked both of them to the door, but Brookes was in a hurry, and he grabbed Rover and jumped into his car before Harper could say anything at all. Lisa just shrugged and gave Harper a hug.

‘Sorry if I intruded. I feel as if I interrupted something.’

‘It’s nothing, really. It was good to see you.’

‘Yeah, you too.’

Harper waited on the veranda until Lisa was in her car, driving away. She stood there staring at the vineyards and the moonless sky as a chill came over her.

EIGHT

After everyone left, Harper poured herself another glass of wine, wrapped herself in a blanket, and sat outside on the veranda with nothing but the fracas of the nocturnal animals to keep her company. Every so often, the echoes of trucks passing by on the New England Highway reminded her that not everyone was asleep and the world existed beyond the vineyard.

The air was warmer tonight, the cold snap that had presented itself the night before was gone, and the temperature increased slightly, which was great for the vineyard. She’d hate to see a year’s worth of crop disappear just because of a temperature drop. It happened on more than one occasion, and for a small vineyard, it could prove disastrous.

A vineyard.

The idea that she owned a vineyard and an inn with Brookes seemed surreal, like the announcement at dinner had been a dream. What in the hell had Hugh Mathers been thinking leaving it to them? Her and Brookes weren’t even together. Hugh had to have made a mistake. Harper’s life was in the city, not here, in wine country. She couldn’t just drop everything and come back. She had a career to go back to, an apartment, and…and what? Friends, lovers. The more she thought about it, the more she started to question her entire existence. There was a job and an empty apartment with the bare minimum of decor. Had she been living or just purely existing?

‘Thought you’d be asleep by now,’ Leo said, walking up the steps.

‘After that announcement?’

‘It was a little unexpected,’ he said, taking a seat in the spare chair beside her.

‘A little? Georgia has known about this for almost a year and only now we find out.’

‘You heard her. They had to investigate first. Ensure that no one was going to contest it,’ he said. ‘So, are you still planning on leaving tomorrow?’

She sighed and took a sip of the wine. She thought she saw movement in the vineyard, then a shadow bounced towards the road. A wallaby or kangaroo. This was their home, too.

‘I don’t know.’

‘Do you have to be back at work?’

‘I can rearrange a few things.’

‘Do that,’ he said. ‘And talk to Brookes. You owe him at least that.’ Leo got up. ‘It’s getting late, and we have an early start tomorrow.’

‘What’s happening tomorrow?’

‘Be up at dawn and you’ll find out.’

He went back in the house while she remained outside, staring at the vines in the distance, more confused now than she had been when she first arrived. The trip here was supposed to be quick. Get in and get out without fuss, then return to her life. How was she supposed to deal with an inheritance? It complicated everything.