“I just wanted you to know that I’ve decided to leave,” said Kevin. He was sitting cross-legged on the bed, and she felt just like old times, when her brother and she had been chatting sometimes deep into the night like this. She hadn’t realized how much she had missed those times. “I’mgoing to give my share of the winery to Joe and I’m going to leave and never come back.”
“You want to give the winery to Joe?” asked Steph.
Kevin shrugged.“He is our brother. So he has a right to his share.”
“That’s not for you to decide, Kev. That’s something Mom and Dad have to figure out, along with Hazel, of course.”
Kevin grinned.“Hard to imagine Dad and Hazel. How old is Joe?”
“Nineteen.”
“So this affair has been going on for twenty years at least.”
“And Mom knew about it—and Dad knew about her. It’s crazy.”
“It is,” said Kevin. “Though I shouldn’t speak. I’ve been having an affair with Dominic for ten years that nobody knew about.”
“At least you weren’t married to a different person.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s true.”
He reached out a hand to tickle Zoe’s belly and Steph said, “Let her sleep.”
“She’s going to have a lot of uncles now. Uncle Kevin and Uncle Dom, and now also Uncle Joe. She’ll get lots and lots of presents and will be spoiled rotten.”
“I’m also leaving, by the way,” said Steph. “I’m going back to Paris. I remembered this afternoon how much I miss being in charge of my own life. And somehow, out here, it’s all about Mom and Dad and about the winery, isn’t it?”
“I know. If we want to make something of ourselves, we have to get away. Which is what I told Dom. But he doesn’t agree. He wants to stick around and take over the Kosinski Winery one day.”
“I guess he’s made of the right stuff—whatever that means.”
“It means he’s the son his dad wanted him to be,” said Kev. “Whereas we didn’t turn out the way our parents wanted. We don’t fit into their dream since we have dreams of our own.”
“I still think you should stick around, though,” said Steph. “I mean, Mom and Dad aren’t going to be running this place forever. And once they step down, you and Dom will take over, and you can join both wineries into one big super-successful business. And frankly speaking—what else can you do, bro?”
This had Kevin burst out laughing, before quickly controlling himself when Zoe stirred.“Nice one, sis. Don’t hold back. Tell me what you really think.”
“No, what I mean is—this is what you trained for. This is what you love.”
“I love the work. Not so much the people that are in charge.”
“Like I said, Dad won’t be in charge forever. So don’t be an idiot and throw away your birthright on a whim. Use your head for once, knucklehead.” And she rapped his head with her knuckles for good measure before he slapped her hand away.
After some joshing and gentle ribbing he smiled at her.
“God, I’m going to miss you when you go back to Paris.”
“Not as much as I’m going to miss you. But I’ll be back.”
“I know. You’re like a bad penny. You keep turning up.”
“Fart face.”
“Buttface.”
They both dissolved into giggles.
[Êàðòèíêà: img_4]
Ian wasn’t sure about this. He hadn’t told Rai, for one thing. And he’d noticed that whenever he didn’t tell his wife what he was up to, it usually meant it was a pretty bad idea. Rai was smart, and whatever she said was mostly right. But whether it was a good idea or not, it had to be done. Especially after what happened today.
His family was falling apart, he could tell. Steph would go back to Paris and take their grandchild with her, and Kevin would marry Dominic and go and live on the Kosinski farm. Or maybe they’d both move away altogether. And then what? He’d have to train Joe to run the Stewart Winery one day? The kid was great, and he loved him to pieces, but he simply didn’t have what it took, and Hazel knew this. Which is why she never told him that Ian was his dad. So the kid wouldn’t get any ideas. Now the cat was out of the bag, of course, and he’d have to give him something.
If only he’d locked that door. He always locked the door. Had locked it for the twenty-five years Hazel and he had been together. For the first fifteen Rai hadn’t known, and even when she found out, she hadn’t been as thrown as she could have been. But then she had recently started her affair with Larry, soon after Larry’s wife Wendy died, so she couldn’t really say anything, now could she?
And so they made a deal: they’d stay together for the kids, and for the winery, and each go about their own business, on the condition they be discreet about it. And now, on the same day, that idiot Robbie had to go and catch them both at it, and of course blurt it out to anyone who would listen, the blithering fool.