The Second Chance

Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Why can’t you be more like your brother?

I’d heard those words so many times they were permanently etched in my brain. I had my answers too, but none I could speak out loud.

Because I didn’t have a permanent stick up my rear.

Because I didn’t want wine to be my life.

Because I didn’t know who I was.

That last one was my greatest secret. I knew what the town thought of me. The rebel Ashford. Carter was trouble, he didn’t care about anything.

Maybe I was. Maybe I didn’t.

I wasn’t sure. What I did know was that I wanted the chance to figure out what I was truly meant to do in this life. Both my brothers had figured it out. Conrad was a vet, running the Corolla horse sanctuary. And Conner only ever wanted to make wine.

Like our father. The man standing in front of me with blazing anger in his eyes.

I shrugged nonchalantly, like I always did, showing him his ire didn’t bother me. It was my go-to defense mechanism.

His jaw tightened. “Carter, I’m tired of you being a stain on the family name.”

“I could change my name if that would make you feel better.”

“Careful, kid,” my grandfather warned. He wouldn’t stand up to my dad, but he wanted to, and that counted for something.

I straightened to my full height, which happened to be a few inches taller than the man some of our employees had nicknamed “The Ashford,” as if saying his first name was some kind of curse.

The man was intimidating to most people, but I saw him for what he was. A man with a deep need to control everyone and everything around him. It was sad, really, how unhappy he was.

At this point, I hardly remembered what we were arguing about. Probably what a disappointment I was.

Oh, and I may have lost us a big distribution client.

Oops.

But seriously, it was my dad’s fault for sending me to the meeting when I had no sales skills to speak of. One day, he’d learn to stop forcing me into the business.

“They’ll come back once you smooth things over.” I crossed my arms.

Dad’s eyes narrowed. “You flirted with the man’s wife.”

My cheeks reddened. Okay, it hadn’t been my lack of skills that lost the client, more like the fact I had too many skills. “In my defense, I thought she was his daughter. She’s like thirty years younger than him.”

Dad’s face turned so red I worried he’d explode and make a mess all over the books he never read in his study.

“This would have never happened if I’d sent Conner.”

My chest ached with the reminder of how I couldn’t possibly measure up to my father’s expectations. I hated myself for letting his words affect me. “Yes, the Conner that has fallen for the one girl you forbid him to see.”

I instantly regretted my words. Conner’s girlfriend, Lena Contreras, was my best friend. What bothered me was how I’d had to hide my friendship with her for years, but Conner’s relationship with her was just accepted now as inevitable.

Figured.

Dad took a step toward me, his dark eyes peering into mine. “You are an Ashford, Carter. That comes with expectations. I will decide what to do with you, but right now, get out of my house.”

I stared at him for a moment, trying to see how serious he was. I knew it was a bit pathetic that I still lived in my father’s house in my twenties, but that was what our family did. It wasn’t only his; it had been in our family for generations.

Plus, there was enough room so we never had to run into each other.

Except right now, he wanted me out.

“Fine.”

I passed my grandfather as he tried to say something, not letting him get it out. Digging in my pocket, I retrieved my keys and rushed down the stairs to the grand foyer. I pushed out the front door, thundering down the drive to my Ferrari, a shining beacon waiting to take me to safety. She was a beauty.

I barely breathed until I was resting against the leather seats. Dark auburn curls fell in my eyes, and I blew them away as I started the engine, sighing at the familiar roar.

I spent my life avoiding my father for this very reason. He had the ability to rattle me like no one else. And there was only one person who could calm me down once I was rattled.

Peeling out of the drive and through the gates, I headed across the Superiore Bay Bridge toward Orchard Hill Farms. The extensive apple orchard stretched into the distance, a beauty so different from our vineyards and also the same. They both held the same kind of peace.

Only months ago, I couldn’t drive right up to Lena’s place. We had to meet in secret, where neither her parents nor mine could find us. We still had our spot near the boardwalk where we shared some of the best moments I’d had in years.

Now, our families grudgingly accepted that our generation was not going to continue the ages old family feud between the Contreras’ and the Ashfords’.

I jumped out of my car when I got there and knocked on the bunkhouse door before yanking it open. “Lena?” I stepped inside and froze.

Lena and Conner were on the couch together, asleep. I stared at them for a long moment, wondering if things would ever be the same now that she was with my perfect older brother—both in their personal lives and in business.

The two of them had been working nonstop lately, and I knew they were exhausted, so I didn’t have the heart to wake them. They deserved their calm, even if my turmoil never stopped.

Heading back out to my car, I waved to Lena’s brother Enzo, who was just coming in from the orchard. I turned back toward the dusty roads that would take me out of town.

Part of me wanted to keep driving and never look back. To shed the yoke of the Ashford name and make a new life for myself. One where I could succeed on my own merits, find something I was good at.

But I’d never had the courage to take a step like that.

Sometimes, when life weighed me down, I drove up the coast, letting the ocean ease my nerves. But a drive wasn’t going to help me today, not when I felt so sorry for myself.

I turned back and headed toward the main square, where my favorite food truck would sate me with cheese.

I parked and walked up to the Cheddar Chariot, thankful there wasn’t a line. Mallory’s bright smile greeted me.

“Carter, what can I get for you?”

Mallory was a genius with grilled cheese, and I’d learned they could cure anything. “Got a special today?”

She grinned wickedly. “You betcha. Can I surprise you?”

I nodded. “And one of Mrs. Anderson’s pickles.”

“Hunter,” she called. “Can you ring Carter up?”

Mallory’s co-owner, Hunter, appeared, a more subdued smile on his face. “Hey, man. That’ll be nine dollars.”

I passed over a twenty. When he made change, I put it in the tip jar and went to wait at one of the white plastic tables nearby.

The square was busy, and though people glanced my way, they generally left me alone. I wondered if they could tell it was what I needed.

Mallory set a plate in front of me. “Four cheeses, prosciutto, with jalapeño chutney.”

“That’s sounds absolutely disgusting.”

She took a seat opposite me. “Trust me.”

I did. I took a bite. At first, it tasted strange, but then all the flavors hit me and I quickly took another.

Mallory nodded in satisfaction. “Now, you can tell me why you’re here in the middle of the day instead of at the office.”

Mallory and Hunter had both worked for my father at Superiore Bay Winery. Hunter was fired, and Mal quit for various reasons. It was the best thing they could have done because their food truck was now a staple of Superiore Bay.

“You know I hate being there.” I’d spent a lot of time over the last few months eating Mallory’s concoctions. In that same time, my father started demanding more of my involvement in the business.

That would probably come to an end now.

Mallory pinned me with a look.

I swallowed. “What?”

“Who is she?”

I laughed at that. “You think this is about a woman?” I hadn’t seriously dated anyone since high school, since I was shown even good things can’t last. “It’s not a woman.”

It sort of was. If I’d just kept my flirting to myself, the distributor might not have thrown me out and canceled the contract. Then, my dad would have one less reason to hate me.

She sighed. “It’s The Ashford then.”

I took another bite, not answering her.

“Carter, he’s a jerk. We all know it. You can’t take anything he says seriously.”

“He’s also my father.”

“That doesn’t mean his words should hold any more weight.”

“Hello, dears.” Mrs. Abernathy stopped at the edge of our table.

I had to hold back a groan. “Hi, Mrs. A. How are you today?”

“Well, you know, it’s a lovely day for people watching.”

I knew what that meant. She was looking for gossip to send into the Weekly Wine, the town’s newspaper that really just spread rumors.

“It sure is.” Mallory smiled up at her. “It was lovely to see you.”

I suppressed a grin at the dismissal.

When she left, I laughed. “Well, looks like you and I will be the next couple in the sightings section.”

“Hunter,” she yelled. “I’m running away with Carter Ashford.”

“Good choice,” he called back, waving from the truck.

She laughed and stood. “I should get back. Just remember, your opinion of you means more than your father’s.”

As she walked away, I started to wonder what that opinion was.

Movement on the far sidewalk caught my eye, and I smiled. My favorite relative meandered, as if she had nowhere to be. I checked the time on my phone, realizing the high school had let out almost an hour ago.

Dumping my empty plate in the trash, I ran to catch up with my cousin.

“Em!” I called.

She didn’t hear me, lost in her own world as usual.

“Emery.” I grabbed her arm, and she pivoted on one foot, rotating to bring her knee up to my side.

Pain spiraled through me, and I fell onto my butt.

Her jaw dropped open as she looked at me and yanked ear buds out of her ears. “Carter, I’m so sorry.”

I winced as I stood. “Well, someone has been practicing their self-defense.” Her mom was big on her kids being able to protect themselves.

My dad thought money solved everything.

I’d only gotten to know Emery and her brothers to spite my father since he’d f*******n it after a falling out with his brother. Then, I’d found out I enjoyed spending time with them more than my own siblings.

Emery was looking at me expectantly, and I realized I hadn’t said anything. “Oh, I was just saying hi. I saw you walking and really needed to talk to someone who was related to me and didn’t hate me.”

Her confusion turned to sadness, and I knew she understood. She didn’t really know my father, but I’m sure hers had told stories.

“Dad is cooking out on the grill tonight. Want to come?”

I didn’t mention that I’d just eaten because it sounded like everything I needed. “Okay.”

Emery rolled her eyes and gripped my arm to drag me with her. “I’m sorry about your side.”

“No, you’re not.”

One corner of her mouth curved up, and she pushed strawberry blond hair over her shoulders. “I’m really not.”

“Brat.”

“Slacker.”

I slid an arm over her shoulders, wondering what it would have been like having this kind of relationship with any of my siblings. Instead, Dad pitted us against each other. I didn’t want to be in competition with Conner or to envy Conrad for getting out.

And my sister… well, none of us knew Jorgina anymore since she hadn’t come home since she left for college.

Welcome to the Ashford family.