Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 76759 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76759 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
“Kind of like a guardian angel,” I say.
“Except I wasn’t dead.” He clears his throat again.
“Right. That’s not what I meant.”
“I know that, my dear.” Ennis stares at me, almost transfixed. “My, you do look just like Daphne.”
“Thank you,” I say. “I’ve seen pictures. She was very beautiful.”
“Oh, she was. Her hair was the same color as yours, and it was even longer. It was a different time then, and she wore it straight. It nearly reached her bottom. She had such deep and expressive brown eyes, just like yours.”
“Did you ever…”
He chuckles. “When I first met her, yes. But once she met your father, there was no one else for her. When Patty and I got together and I fell for her, I understood.” He rises, walks to the mantel, leaning on his cane, and gazes longingly at an old photo. Is it Patty? It’s in black and white, so I can’t tell. He returns. “So while I probably could have found love as a young man, I didn’t. I fell so hard for Patty, felt her loss so deeply, that I never wanted to.”
“So you feel it’s possible to meet the love of your life at such a young age?”
“Yes, of course. I wasn’t yet twenty when I met Patty.”
A feeling of warmth exudes through me.
“That’s so very sad,” Maddie says.
“It is,” I say. “To find love like that is a miracle, but you only had it for such a short time.”
Ennis nods. “That’s how I’ve chosen to look at it, my dear. A miracle. Looking at it any other way would just be too sad. Patty was such a bright light. I never believed that she left me. I never believed the story her parents told.”
“They were paid off,” Donny says.
Ennis nods, sighing softly. “Yes, I see that now. And frankly, I’m glad they at least had some kind of financial benefit. It certainly doesn’t take the place of the loss, but at least they didn’t have to worry about money anymore.”
Brock clears his throat then. “We should probably be going.”
“No.” Ennis turns to me with a twinkle in his eyes. “I’m fine. Really. I’m happy to answer your questions. And I get the feeling, young lady, that you have a reason for asking.”
He doesn’t know how right he is.
I shrug, but my cheeks warm. “I’m just interested. Curious. It’s a beautiful love story with a tragic ending.”
“Yes, I’ve often compared us to Heathcliff and Catherine of Wuthering Heights. Tragedy on the moors.”
“Except on the western slope of Colorado,” I say.
“Yes.”
My heart goes out to Ennis. And to Patty as well, taken from her vibrant life at such a young age.
“Did you try to find out what happened to Patty?” Maddie asks. “Sean Murphy’s nephew tried nearly his whole life to figure out what happened to his uncle. We only just found out the truth.”
Ennis chuckles. “Sean Murphy. He was a character too. Hair almost as red as Patty’s. They even dated a bit before I knocked her off her feet.” He smiles. “And to answer your question, I tried for a while. I didn’t want to believe that she had left, which was the party line at that point. Brad helped. But there was no trace. Nothing. So I poured myself into my work.”
I smile. “Yeah. My brother Dale says you’re the reason the winery is so great.”
“I can’t take all the credit. Your uncle Ryan is truly gifted, and he took the business to places I couldn’t.”
“Yes, but you taught him.”
Ennis nods and closes his eyes. Then he rises, steadying himself on his cane. “I hope you don’t think me rude, but I’m quite fatigued.”
Brock stands. “Not at all. Like I said, we’ve got to get going ourselves. But we will see you tomorrow for tea then?”
“Yes, absolutely, and I’ll make sure I nap beforehand so I will be in much better spirits.”
As we leave Ennis’s beautiful home, all I can think about is his tragic love story.
He loved once and then lost.
And I fear my story will echo it.
Because there’s no one else on earth for me except Jesse Pike.
Chapter Thirty
Jesse
I wake the next morning in my private room next to Brock and Rory’s suite.
Seven o’clock.
I’m awakened by the alarm on my phone, which I wasn’t expecting.
Damn it, Rory.
But oh my God…
Finally.
Finally I slept.
I followed Rory’s instructions to the letter. First, at the spa, I sat in the Jacuzzi for the hour before my massage. Then I lay on the massage table as skilled hands kneaded my sore muscles for an hour and a half.
I returned to my room, ordered room service for comfort food—a steak and fries—and then I ran myself a bath.
I hate baths. I still do.
But I did it, and once I was out and dried off, I slipped between the sheets of the king-sized bed, laid my head on the fluffy pillow, and the last thing I remember is the image of Brianna Steel’s deep brown, long-lashed eyes.