Read Online Tasting Notes by Cate Ashwood - Free Book Online Page A

always wondered why his grandfather hadn’t moved them back there after West’s parents died, but he supposed there were more opportunities in Chicago. Certainly that was true once West set out on the business path.
    He finished the open bottle and popped the cork on the next one. Since leaving on this trip, he’d been more emotional than ever. Thoughts of his grandfather stung, the memories as potent as they were the day he died. West missed him, fiercely and completely. He was out of his depth, and without his grandfather for guidance, he felt utterly lost.

Chapter Eight
     
     
    RUSH SET the lettuce into the crisper, trying not to get the leaves caught in the drawer when he shoved it shut. The image of West’s face seared itself into the recesses of his mind, and no matter what he did, he couldn’t shake the memory of West, his guard down, the carefully constructed control slipped clean away, standing in the middle of Gleason’s Market with sour cream on his crotch. Rush laughed. It was the highlight of his day.
    He finished putting away the groceries and pulled a beer from the fridge. It was still warm, but what’s a guy to do? Retiring to the living room, he fell back onto the couch. Casper appeared a moment later, jumping up and resting his head in Rush’s lap.
    He brought the bottle to his lips and tilted his head back, letting the warm carbonated liquid pour down, and thought about the conversation he had with his mom. He still couldn’t quite believe she was leaving. Yeah, Palm Springs was still in the same state, but California wasn’t tiny. It would be at least a ten or eleven-hour drive to get there, which meant the chances of him seeing her and his dad more than once a year were slim. He was going to miss them fiercely.
    They had a right to be happy, though, and he could certainly understand their desire to simplify their lives with retirement. If anyone knew how much work went into running the boutique winery, it was him. He’d felt guilty when he left for school, knowing they’d have to absorb his portion of the workload until he was back for the summers.
    Suddenly, and completely unbidden, he felt a little bit guilty for not at least hearing West out about his request for help. The guy was clearly an asshole, but he was an asshole who was now the person who could destroy Lennox Hill if he didn’t get it right. Wine making could be a fickle business, and someone like West, who likely wouldn’t know a Cabernet from a Coke, could fuck it up so easily. Rush felt a sense of anger at the thought of someone destroying his parents’ legacy.
    He couldn’t let that happen. He had a duty to them to help preserve the business they worked their whole lives to build. They may not own it any longer, but it was built on their blood.
    “Looks like we’re going to Lennox Hill tomorrow, bud,” Rush said, patting Casper’s head.
     
     
    THE DRIVE over felt the same as it always did. Rush thought his truck probably could have found its way anywhere in town, but the trip to Lennox Hill was one he’d made at least a few thousand times. It was weird to think the property no longer belonged to his family. Enough of his sweat had soaked into the soil that a part of him lived in that land.
    He parked his truck in the same place as always and opened the door, calling to Casper to jump out before closing the door behind him. The door to the main structure was closed and locked. Rush peered through the windows of the wine room as he walked past, but the lights were off and the space was abandoned. Rush and Casper followed the pathway toward the house. Casper sat down as Rush knocked, waiting patiently for an answer. When none came, he knocked again with a little more force. West’s car was parked in the driveway, so unless he had decided to walk somewhere, he should be here.
    A moment later, the door swung open and West stood there, naked from the waist up, his hair disheveled and his cheeks pink.
    “What the