Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 60864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
“What’s funny?” he asked.
I glanced over at him, barely realizing he had heard the laugh. “Oh. Nothing. I just had a thought.”
“What was it?” he asked.
“That if only Jack were gay, we could make this whole thing work so much more easily,” I said.
Derek laughed and shook his head as he poured the eggs he’d been working on out onto a large plate.
“That would certainly have been a better approach,” he said.
We sat down for breakfast and settled back into our comfortable conversation. I was happy and relaxed, but only because I wasn’t letting myself think about the outside world. Not until I absolutely had to.
When it was time for us to get ready and head to the vineyard, the anxiety started creeping in again. By the time we got there and walked into the restaurant, my stomach was in knots. I spent the rest of the day looking over my shoulder and waiting for that moment when the doors would open, and Jack would walk inside.
That moment never came, and I was beyond relieved to go back to Derek’s house at the end of the day.
Of course, the next day it just played out over again. I spent the next few days on edge every second I was at the vineyard, knowing he was there. Even though the brothers had agreed to not bring him near me or the restaurant, Jack was his own person. They didn’t have control over him. I just hoped while he was working with Noah, Alex, and Zane, they kept him busy enough and had enough recommendations for meals and socializing after work would keep him from venturing to the restaurant.
It helped that Derek pulled me to bed every night and cuddled me close to keep my anxieties at bay.
I didn’t lay eyes on my brother again until a week after he showed up at the King Vineyard. It was just after the end of the workday, and we were getting ready for dinner service.
Lunch had been different that day because of a very large private party that rented the restaurant for a few hours at the beginning of the day. They were a demanding group who kept those of us taking care of them hopping the entire time. It was exhausting, both mentally and physically, and at the end of it, Derek and I both needed a bit of a breather.
He took my hand, and we walked out the back of the restaurant to take a stroll through some of the gardens in that area. As we were walking along a narrow path that wove through lush trees and smelled sweet like flowers, we heard voices coming from somewhere nearby. We came around a curve and were able to see one of the small private parking areas used only by the family and certain unauthorized people working at the vineyard for specific projects.
Cameron and Zane were walking toward a car with Jack walking between them. They stopped beside the car and chatted for a few moments. We couldn’t hear exactly what they were saying, but the tone seemed perfectly pleasant and comfortable. I realized then that I missed my brother.
That was an unexpected reaction. After a year of running from him and only thinking about how upset and angry I had been at him for seeming to become just like our parents, I suddenly remembered how close we used to be. We might not have had the secret twin language or be able to sense when each other was hurt the same way some identical twins could, but we had a very tight relationship.
We were very close growing up and spent as much time as we could playing together, then commiserating about school and the children of the families around us. We were very similar in some ways, and it had bonded us. Not having him as part of my life anymore, and indeed feeling like I had to do everything I could to avoid him, made me feel like there was a part of my life missing.
That only increased my anxiety because I knew it didn’t matter how sad I felt, I needed to protect myself.
After their conversation, Jack shook both of their hands, climbed into his car, and drove away. Derek released my hand.
“Wait right here,” he said.
He jogged down the path and around a curve until he met up with his brothers. They talked briefly, and he came running back to me.
“So?” I asked. “What’s going on?”
“They’re done,” he said.
“Done?”
Derek nodded. “They finalized their plans to ship wine from the vineyard to the eastern seaboard and finished up the paperwork. They were showing him the vineyard for the last time.”
The words hit me, but I couldn’t really process them through. Finally, Derek reached out for me and pulled me close to him. Being wrapped in his arms was all I needed for my stress to crash down around me. He held me there while I let everything out in big, ugly sobs.