the Colt .45 waiting it out—together.” Wanting to change the subject and her lustful focus, she said, “Whatever you think is best. So, tell me about your dad.”
“My dad was the king in this industry. But it also brought him a lot of heartache. We lost my mother when I was seven. The vineyard had produced a few bad crops, and then there was a year when the frost got us. We also had some problems with phylloxera many years ago. It wiped out many of the vineyards here, and it cost a fortune to get things going again for everyone in the valley.”
“Phylloxera?”
“It’s a grape louse, one of the grapevine’s worst enemies. It will eventually kill the entire plant. An epidemic infestation came close to destroying all the vineyards in Europe back in the 1870s.”
“Then how did it become a problem here in the ’eighties?” Nikki asked.
“The pest is native to the U.S. However, the grapevines that were grown naturally here were resistant to the louse. Some East Coast grape-growers unknowingly shipped infested vines to France. The French grapes were grafted and imported back to the United States. Grape-growers take precautions to prevent phylloxera, but once you have it, it’s like an incurable disease.”
“Sounds horrible. What did your dad do?”
“He grasped for the goose with the golden egg. Her name is Patrice. She bailed him out of trouble, but then, after he rebuilt this place and earned millions of dollars more than it took to help him out, she nagged him for the next twenty-something years until his heart finally gave out. Personally, I think he couldn’t wait to see my mother again. They had quite a love affair until she became sick. Even through her illness, he did the best he could for her. He doted on her.” Derek finished off his wine.
“But Patrice is a totally different person than my mother,” he continued. “She gave my dad nothing but grief and a sniveling, spoiled brat of a son who never appreciated how hard Dad worked.
“He always treated me a lot more like an adult than a kid, confiding everything in me, for the most part. He even saved me from boarding school after a few years. Patrice started sending me away each August to some stuffy boarding school back East with the belief system that children were to be seen, not heard unless called upon. When the winery started to make a profit, my dad put a stop to her sending me away. Then along came Simon to take her focus away from controlling me. Poor Simon. Guess he wasn’t what she’d hoped for. Serves her right.” He looked away forlornly and then back at Nikki. “You know, I’m not even sure what it’s like to be a kid. But you get over that stuff, I suppose.”
“I wonder if you really do.” Nikki heard the melancholy in her voice and hoped he didn’t realize that it was coming from her own memories.
“I suppose my dad must have loved Patrice to a degree, or he wouldn’t have been so generous with his will and stayed with her, but I think there was some guilt factor at work there.”
“Because she’d bailed him out way back when.”
“Exactly. I don’t believe that Dad ever had a real close relationship with anyone after my mom passed away. And, honestly, I have to wonder if I’m not following in his footsteps.”
“You can’t be serious,” she replied, beginning to understand the mystery of this man.
“I don’t know. Things sure went wrong with Meredith. I don’t know if I ever want to travel that path again. Apparently, she’s got her eye on Cal Sumner.”
“The same one who was trying to lure Gabriel away from you?”
“Supposedly so. I don’t believe that. Cal has tried hard to get Gabriel to come to work for him, but he doesn’t have much to offer. Frankly, I’m surprised at Meredith’s interest. Sumner isn’t the wealthiest boy in town. Nice guy, though. Can’t blame him for trying to steal my winemaker. He and I have even joked about it together. He’s not the
“My dad was the king in this industry. But it also brought him a lot of heartache. We lost my mother when I was seven. The vineyard had produced a few bad crops, and then there was a year when the frost got us. We also had some problems with phylloxera many years ago. It wiped out many of the vineyards here, and it cost a fortune to get things going again for everyone in the valley.”
“Phylloxera?”
“It’s a grape louse, one of the grapevine’s worst enemies. It will eventually kill the entire plant. An epidemic infestation came close to destroying all the vineyards in Europe back in the 1870s.”
“Then how did it become a problem here in the ’eighties?” Nikki asked.
“The pest is native to the U.S. However, the grapevines that were grown naturally here were resistant to the louse. Some East Coast grape-growers unknowingly shipped infested vines to France. The French grapes were grafted and imported back to the United States. Grape-growers take precautions to prevent phylloxera, but once you have it, it’s like an incurable disease.”
“Sounds horrible. What did your dad do?”
“He grasped for the goose with the golden egg. Her name is Patrice. She bailed him out of trouble, but then, after he rebuilt this place and earned millions of dollars more than it took to help him out, she nagged him for the next twenty-something years until his heart finally gave out. Personally, I think he couldn’t wait to see my mother again. They had quite a love affair until she became sick. Even through her illness, he did the best he could for her. He doted on her.” Derek finished off his wine.
“But Patrice is a totally different person than my mother,” he continued. “She gave my dad nothing but grief and a sniveling, spoiled brat of a son who never appreciated how hard Dad worked.
“He always treated me a lot more like an adult than a kid, confiding everything in me, for the most part. He even saved me from boarding school after a few years. Patrice started sending me away each August to some stuffy boarding school back East with the belief system that children were to be seen, not heard unless called upon. When the winery started to make a profit, my dad put a stop to her sending me away. Then along came Simon to take her focus away from controlling me. Poor Simon. Guess he wasn’t what she’d hoped for. Serves her right.” He looked away forlornly and then back at Nikki. “You know, I’m not even sure what it’s like to be a kid. But you get over that stuff, I suppose.”
“I wonder if you really do.” Nikki heard the melancholy in her voice and hoped he didn’t realize that it was coming from her own memories.
“I suppose my dad must have loved Patrice to a degree, or he wouldn’t have been so generous with his will and stayed with her, but I think there was some guilt factor at work there.”
“Because she’d bailed him out way back when.”
“Exactly. I don’t believe that Dad ever had a real close relationship with anyone after my mom passed away. And, honestly, I have to wonder if I’m not following in his footsteps.”
“You can’t be serious,” she replied, beginning to understand the mystery of this man.
“I don’t know. Things sure went wrong with Meredith. I don’t know if I ever want to travel that path again. Apparently, she’s got her eye on Cal Sumner.”
“The same one who was trying to lure Gabriel away from you?”
“Supposedly so. I don’t believe that. Cal has tried hard to get Gabriel to come to work for him, but he doesn’t have much to offer. Frankly, I’m surprised at Meredith’s interest. Sumner isn’t the wealthiest boy in town. Nice guy, though. Can’t blame him for trying to steal my winemaker. He and I have even joked about it together. He’s not the
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