The Winemaker: An Ashford Family Small Town Romance

2. Conner

2

Conner

“What do you expect from me, Dad? Carter’s a grown man, he can do whatever he wants.”

My father turned his critical gaze on me. I knew what that look meant. I’d been on the receiving end of it my entire life. It was his ‘do as you’re told’ look, but I outgrew that demand at least a decade ago.

My younger brother, Carter, not so much. The little coward was hiding somewhere, avoiding another lecture from Dad.

“You are my heir, Conner, and the Ashford legacy will be yours to command one day when I’m gone. You need to keep your brothers in line. Keep Carter away from that Contreras girl. The last thing we need is for him to get it in his head to marry that girl—or worse, get her pregnant.”

I smiled at the thought of a Contreras-Ashford wedding. “He’d do it just to tick you off.” I shuffled through the pile of paperwork on my desk, avoiding my father’s icy gray gaze. He was right. The Ashford empire was mine to run—whether I wanted it or not. Most days I did. The winery was in my blood. The contracts, employees, and the incredible responsibility of it all.

“Keep your mind on the business, son. You spend too much time with your hybrid crops and that mangy dog of yours and not nearly enough on what matters.”

I absently reached down to scratch between Duke’s ears. He was not mangy. He was a regal brindled Irish wolfhound with wiry gray, brown, and black fur. About seven feet tall when he stood on his hind legs, and the most loyal dog in the world. He was my best friend. Pathetic. But it was true.

“Sure thing, Dad. I’ll talk to Carter about his … associations.” And then, I’ll watch it go in one ear and out the other.

“See that you do.” My father stood, his back ramrod straight. “I don’t have the patience for Carter’s rebellions anymore. I don’t know if that boy will ever grow up.”

“He will, Dad. He just needs to find his own path.” The more Dad came down on Carter, the more Carter pushed back. If they would just stop trying to make each other crazy, my life would certainly improve.

My father turned back at the door, scowling at my choice of office space. “And some boys just need a kick in the pants and a little old school discipline to get through to them.”

“We’re not cutting him off, Dad. Carter’s not a bad kid.” We’d had this discussion before. Dad thought it would do his youngest some good to have to make his own way without the support of his ample trust fund. I had more confidence in my brother. Carter would figure out his way soon enough.

“Yeah, well, he’s not a kid anymore either.” My father stepped out of the barn where I kept my office and left me to my piles of paperwork.

After college, when I first started working for Ashford Winery, I worked in the fancy offices in town with my father full time. Since then, as I took on more responsibility, I made it clear I couldn’t tolerate the stuffy executive’s corner suite in town more than necessary. I only worked there part time. For the rest, the barn right here on the Ashford Estate suited me just fine. I preferred being closer to the vineyards and our workers. I’d also divided the traditional barn space into two sections. The front was my wide-open office space, and the rear of the barn was outfitted with vintage equipment for my winemaking experimentations.

It had taken a long time to get my father to understand I wanted to be more hands on in the family business. I wanted to be approachable in ways my father and grandfather before me hadn’t been.

“You can come out now,” I called into the shadows at the back of the barn. “He’s gone.”

“How’d you know I was here?” Carter shuffled toward my desk, his hands shoved deep into his jeans pockets.

“I heard you come in through the back just before Dad came storming in the front. He saw you leaving the bay boardwalk earlier. And we all know you weren’t there for the shopping.”

“Who says I don’t like shopping?” Carter toed his boot through the fresh hay I’d just laid out in the stalls for Duke.

“Says everyone who ever met you, Carter.” I looked up with a grin I couldn’t hide. My little brother was many things, but complicated wasn’t one of them.

“I buy things.” Carter dropped into the chair in front of my desk wearing his patented cheeky smile, his too long auburn curls bouncing around his face. I envied his laid back life.

“If it can be ordered from the internet, yes.” I returned to my desk. I needed to finish going through several new purchasing contracts before I could call it a day. “But if it requires you actually stepping into a store—especially the fancy boutiques at the bay boardwalk—it’s not going to happen. So, you were with her again. At your little hiding spot under the boardwalk.” I hated the tone of accusation that entered my voice. I wasn’t Carter’s father. I was barely his employer, but I’d really rather just be his brother.

“So what if I was?” Carter rolled his eyes. “The Contrerases are good people, and Selena is my best friend.”

“You know how our family feels about those people.” I winced at how awful that sounded. Like the Contrerases weren’t good enough for the Ashfords.

“Congratulations, brother, you’ve never sounded more like Dad. He’d be so proud. We should call him back and have you reenact that little moment there.”

“I’m trying to help you.” I sighed. He was right, I sounded like a jerk to my own ears.

“They aren’t the enemy.” Carter moved to the edge of his seat. “This whole family feud is a little too Capulets and Montagues, don’t you think?”

More like the Hatfield and McCoys. I gave a mental shrug. The kid was right. The bad blood between the families was old news. I couldn’t even begin to explain how it all came about. But keeping Carter away from the Contreras girl would make my life easier, and I was all about making my life easier.

“Hey, Duke.” Carter grinned as Duke emerged from under my desk. The traitor loved my brother. “You’re looking as handsome and as tall as ever.”

Duke was enormous—a gentle giant for sure. He busied himself sniffing Carter’s hair, and since they were at eye level, it made for a strange sight. “I think he likes my cologne.”

“Duke, enough, go get your teddy.” I pointed to the large bed in the nearest stall where Duke took his afternoon naps. The great gray beast scampered over like a young pup and snatched up his “teddy,” a toddler-sized golden teddy bear he’d had since he was a baby. The eyes were chewed out, and I’d had to stitch it back together more times than I could count. I didn’t know what I’d do if anything ever happened to teddy. Duke would be inconsolable.

“One of these days, I’m going to dog-nap this guy.” Carter shook his head, smiling at Duke’s antics with teddy.

“Trust me, you’d call begging for me to come get him.” I shoved the contracts to the corner of my desk. They could wait until tomorrow. “Just … stay away from the girl. It’s not worth the hassle.”

“Says the guy with no friends.” Carter glanced up from watching Duke. “You’d sing a different tune if you had a best friend you couldn’t live without.”

“You really expect me to believe you’re just friends with this girl?” I sat back against my chair, studying my brother’s face for any sign that he might be lying. I’d known her as long as him, though not nearly as well. She was pretty, and my brother was a sucker for a pretty girl. Especially one that would make our father crazy with rage.

“I don’t expect anything from you. Just stay out of my business, and we’re good.” Carter leaned forward just as the phone rang. “You can tell Dad we had the talk, and I’ll behave myself long enough to get him off your back. And mine.”

I nodded as I reached for the phone. I could live with that arrangement for the time being.

“Conner Ashford,” I answered the phone, waving to my little brother as he headed out the door to an evening free of responsibility. I envied his ability to walk away sometimes. Well, most of the time.

“What can I do for you, Eli?” I’d hoped to be out of the office at a reasonable time tonight, but with a late call from the family lawyer, who was also my cousin, it didn’t look like that was going to happen.

“Conner, glad I caught you, there’s been a development on the parcel of land you were hoping to sell.”

“You have a buyer?” I ran a hand through my hair. It would be good news if Eli had an interested buyer—not that I needed the money. The land was fairly useless to me now. Ever since the Bay Yacht Club acquired the beach front parcel right next to the Ashford property, any plans to develop it had gone on the back burner. Better to let some other developer come in and put up affordable housing or some other less profitable project that would be a waste of my time. It was good land, I just didn’t need it.

“Yes,” Eli hedged. “Maybe … it depends.”

I sighed as I sat down at my desk. “Just get to the point. I’m sure you’re as anxious to get home as I am.” Not that I had anyone to go home to. It was just me and Duke … and the grapes here at Ashford Winery … unless I wanted to spend the evening with Dad and my grandfather, which I did not.

“Someone’s interested. She hasn’t put in an official offer yet, but she’s eager. I’m not sure she can scrape together the full market value, but she means to make a decent offer.”

“Good news, Eli. I don’t care if she can’t come up to full market value. I just want to be rid of the parcel.” And continuing to pay the high property taxes on a useless piece of land was just a bad business decision. “Who’s the buyer?” I grabbed a pen to scribble down the name so I could reach out to her realtor and get the ball rolling.

“That’s the thing.” I could hear the hesitation in Eli’s voice. “I need you to keep an open mind here. It’s Selena Contreras.”

“Are you serious? What do the Contrerases want with more property? They can barely handle the taxes on their lands as it is.” Really, it was only a matter of time before Orchard Hill Farm belonged to the Ashfords.

The winery was a big tourist draw. So was the quaint little beach town. But Orchard Hill Farm was also responsible for bringing in tourists during their harvest season. And for the last several years, they’d experienced a disappointing harvest. What could this girl be thinking? Now was a time to trim back the excess and reevaluate her business plans for the future. It was not time to charge forward, buying expensive property she couldn’t afford to do anything with.

“She has plans,” Eli said. “Big plans, but that’s all I’m at liberty to say.”

If it were just up to me, I wouldn’t care one way or the other if Selena Contreras decided to buy all the land for sale in Superiore Bay. But it wasn’t just up to me. My father would have to agree to sell the land, and he would never sell a blade of grass to a member of the Contreras family.