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She groaned "Pig" Then she stabbed several pieces of penne and chewed on them

"You’ll be able to drink coffee soon," he told her

"Not if I’ And I plan to, for at least a while I mean I think I can have a little, but it won’t be the same Ielse I had to give up This had better be an a a letter of corinned "I’ement you can only dream about"

"So I’ve heard"

He pulled out a chair and settled across from her "Is this a late breakfast or an early lunch?"

"It’sfor days Not sure why Maybe the baby’s having a growth spurt Do they do that?"

"Do I look like I know?"

"Not especially I brought you so" She pointed to the stack of books on the table "Since you’re stuck here for a while I thought you’d like a chance to find enlightenlanced at the books and saw several of the

This was Brenna--subtle as an explosion Too bad he wasn’t interested in playing the game

"Not for me," he said

"Oh, coes You ht find yourself fascinated"

"Brenna, don’t push nant It’s not as if you can threaten me physically Besides, it’s time you accepted who you are--a Marcelli Wine is cool"

He swore under his breath, then pushed to his feet "I’ to be interested Not in this place, the land, or the wine Just so we’re all clear on the subject This isn’t ht his attention He turned and saw Grand room Her eyes ide and filled with pain

Perfect, Joe thought gri just perfect

He hesitated, not sure what to say, then he figured there weren’t any words and he stalked out of the house

Darcy wandered through the various rooiven a very detailed tour, she couldn’t remember what all the equipment was for The various barrels were nized She supposed there was a code that explained as inside, when it had been put in the barrel, and maybe even when it was supposed to co in the thick scent of grapes and wine and so to know more about the process and how the decisions were ued"

She turned and found Grandpa Lorenzo standing behind her "I’ll admit it," she told him with a smile "I didn’t realize how ot here I don’t drink it o out, someone else usually picks"

"Without wine, there can’t be life," the elderly man told her "Come I will show you"

He leaned heavily on his cane as he led the way into another rooe, stainless steel vats

"The white wines," he said "Chardonnays and blends Different kinds of barrels give a different taste"

"But how can ht The wine is different because it doesn’t have the flavors of the wood We play tricks with the grapes We tease them and coax them Sometimes they listen, sometimes they do not Like children We knohat is best, but there are times everyone has to learn on his own"

He led her into a room filled with all kinds of equipment and a narrow conveyor belt that looked like a snake "We bottle here You will co Brenna can’t stand to be here She says the treatment is too hard on the wine and it makes her sad to see it battered"

He pointed out where the barrels were emptied and how the liquid flowed into the bottles Labels were applied, corks pushed in, then sealed with foil coverings

"So ," Lorenzo told her "The bottles don’t move, the wine doesn’t pour, the labels are crooked But we persevere and then we have this…"

He opened a door, and she saw cases of wine nearly stacked to the ceiling They were everywhere, leaving only enough space for a small table, a phone, and an intercom

"My retreat," he said "When I want to be alone I like the room when it’s like this--crowded before the trucks come to take the wine away In a few days it will be empty I spend my afternoons out here Tessa worries about me I’m too old to be alone" He touched the intercom "I call her from here It buzzes in the kitchen But still she worries An old woman"

Darcy heard the love in his voice, and it made her feel warm inside They had to have been , still affection

"You’re very lucky," she said

"You would think so, eh, but look at this" He opened one of the cases and pulled out a bottle of chardonnay He pointed at the label "The saet a new one? No Brenna brings ns They’re so bad Animals and flowers We are Marcelli Wines We have a proud tradition"<ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>