I found Jordan with Annie. She was seated in his lap, and they were laughing and kissing. I’d never seen Jordan this happy. Too bad I was about to wreck it.
“We need to talk,” I said.
Jordan frowned as his eyes settled on me. “Sure. What’s up?”
“Alone.”
Jordan protested, but Annie was already getting to her feet. “I’ll go watch the show. Find me later.” She planted another kiss on Jordan’s lips before disappearing.
Jordan watched her go like a man dying of thirst. Then he looked back to me and stood. “You saw Dad?”
I pointed toward the back suite. It was being used by the band, but they were playing, so we’d have some time.
Jordan nodded and then entered the room. The band sure was hard on their space. Drinks and clothes and instruments were scattered everywhere. It didn’t matter right now. I shut the door.
“You invited Dad here without telling me?” I snapped.
Jordan ran a hand back through his hair. “I did. I should have told you, but I wasn’t sure if he was going to come.”
“Well, he’s here, and he ambushed me. Said he wanted a fresh start.”
“Is it impossible to believe he wants that?”
“Yes!” I cried. “Don’t you remember what it was like in Vancouver?”
“I do. I remember more than you do,” Jordan said. “But I also know that I’m like him. I’m just like Dad in so many ways, and Annie gave me a second chance that I didn’t deserve. I can’t help but think we should give him one even if he doesn’t deserve it.”
“What you did was nothing compared to Dad. And anyway, he’s had second and third and fourth chances.”
“He’s still our father.”
My eyes widened. “So?”
“Our cousins lost both of their parents young,” Jordan reminded me. “We’re fortunate enough to have both of our parents still alive. Hasn’t there been enough loss all around? Shouldn’t we get to know the man he is rather than what we idolized him as?”
“Do you think he’s changed?”
Jordan sank onto the arm of one of the chairs and shrugged. “I honestly don’t know. It’s not like I’m going into this blind, Julian. I want him to be a better man, but I’m willing to believe he’s the same. And if he is, then that’s that.”
I sighed and turned in a circle. My anger never lasted that long. Everything had already drained away from me. Jordan hadn’t done anything malicious, and as per usual Jordan, he was already working with a contingency plan.
“I still don’t like that I was ambushed.”
“That was my fault. Forgive me about Dad?”
I waved him away. “Whatever. I don’t trust him.”
“I get that. He hasn’t earned our trust yet.”
A knock came on the door, and then Hollin burst into the room. “There you fuckers are.”
I chuckled. Hollin Abbey was our cousin on the other side of the family. My dad’s brother had five kids—Jensen, Austin, Landon, Morgan, and Sutton Wright. But my mom had two siblings, and we had been lucky to find the Abbeys—Hollin, Campbell, and Nora. Hollin and I had hit it off right away even though we were complete opposites. He was a burly, tattooed, motorcycle-riding cowboy to my city-slick, fashion-obsessed, sports car–driving businessman. But we just clicked.
“Anything wrong?” Jordan asked, standing.
“Nah, a reporter showed up. Probably don’t want me to do that interview,” Hollin said with a laugh.
Jordan and I shared a look. Yeah, probably not.
“You take it,” Jordan said.
“What? Me?” I asked in surprise.
“It’s all you!” Hollin agreed.
I was still getting used to taking charge of the winery. Jordan had done so much of the prep to get us the place, and Hollin ran much of the day-to-day operations. But I was the real business owner, taking on more and more of the responsibilities. It was a whole new experience.
“All right,” I said with a nod, dropping the problems with Dad for another day. “I got this.”
4
Jennifer
“What’s going on?” Sutton asked with a concerned look as I scurried over with my camera.
“Uh…I think Julian’s dad is here.”
Her eyes widened. “Owen?”
I shrugged. “Yeah.”
“What does he want?” she snarled.
Sutton had every right to hate her uncle. When Jensen had left as CEO of Wright Construction and Morgan had taken over before she was even thirty, Owen had shown up like a knight in shining armor. But instead of helping her, he tried to undermine her at every turn. He’d even tried to get the board of directors to throw her out and put him in her place. Owen might be their uncle, but he wasn’t welcome in Lubbock.
“I have no idea. I left him with Julian.”
Sutton sighed and rubbed her temples. “Should I tell Mor?”
“I think Julian can handle it. It’s his place anyway.”
“Right. I have to remember that my cousins are perfectly capable. I’m just used to going to Jensen and Morgan when things start going south.”
“I wouldn’t say a text to them would be out of line.”
She nodded and pulled out her phone.
“Aww,” she gushed.
She turned the phone to face me. On the screen was a picture of her husband, David Calloway, the CFO of Wright Construction, and their two kids—six-year-old Jason and one-year-old Madison. Only Jason was smiling at the camera. Madison was trying to eat Jason’s fingers, and David was attempting to stop her. It was too cute.
“Too much.”
She laughed and went back to texting.
I stepped around her and pulled my camera back up to my face. Campbell Abbey was onstage, singing his heart out to an adoring audience. The rest of the band was rocking out like they were in Madison Square Garden and not a backwoods barn in West Texas. I’d been a fan of Cosmere for years. Even before they’d broken out. Their hit song “I See the Real You” really got me in the feels. I was always the girl who wanted the guy to see the real me, but it never happened that way.
I snapped picture after picture of the show as they moved from one song to the next. I was completely in the zone that I didn’t even notice that others had gathered nearby until someone tapped my shoulder.
I whipped around. “Hey.” Then my friends Piper Medina and Blaire Barker materialized in front of me. “Oh, hey!”
I threw my arms around Blaire, and Piper fended off a hug.
“Hey, girl,” Blaire said, tugging on her signature baseball cap. This one was for her wellness blog, Blaire Blush, which had started with her discussing things that made her blush. A makeup company had asked her to create her own blush on their line, but she wanted an organic, environmentally friendly company.
“This seems to be a success,” Piper said diplomatically. She brushed her dark brown hair back from her sun-kissed brown skin and eyed the backstage area.
Piper ran Sinclair Cellars, a rival winery in town that had originally been started by the Sinclairs but had been passed down to Piper’s father. He worked his way up in the job after immigrating from Mexico.