Risking the Vine (Romancing the Vine Book 1) (15 page)

“Wait!” Jac jerked her head up and gawked at Marcus. She wasn’t truly competitive by nature . . . Oh, who was she kidding? She wanted to win this in the worst way. She struggled to keep the whine out of her tone. “Without a picture and without help from my teammate, I’ll never figure out what I’m supposed to be assembling. How is that team building?”

“I have faith in you, Jac. You’ve been resourceful this entire week.” A confident grin brightened the big guy’s handsome face. “I tell you what, once you figure out what to build, Jules can help.”

“Marcus, remind me to add a note to your personnel file about being difficult to work with.” Jules dragged a finger over the palm of her hand, as if already writing the note.

A loud noise drew their attention. Sally cringed as Belinda clapped her hands together and barked instructions. “No, turn it around! It’s upside down.”

“Jesus, I hope you beat those two,” Marcus muttered. He shoved away from the railing and went over to mediate between the lady lawyers.

Jac’s knees ached a little as she leaned forward to move pieces around the tarp, hoping to find the pattern Jules had mentioned. She hated the fleeting sensation of the nearly recognizable picture being there, yet gone before her subconscious could interpret the image. Shutting her eyes, she attempted to make the picture coalesce. She gave up when all she saw behind her lids was Luke’s sexy mouth. She wouldn’t mind contemplating
that
picture all day long, but she had a goal to achieve.

Reluctantly she opened her eyes and pulled on her earlobe as she studied the pieces littering the ground in front of her. “Okay, some of this stuff is more high-tech than the rest.” She mumbled her thoughts out loud as Jules sat quietly next to her, an encouraging smile on her face. “So, if I regroup the parts by what seems to belong together . . .”

She moved the coiled tubing next to the small pump, then set the gallon-sized glass jug by it. Positioning the wheel at the base of the two long poles they’d lugged all over the vineyard, she studied the pieces again, still not quite seeing the overall result.

Jeff and Steve came huffing back up the steps to the porch. Sweat stained the back of FIG’s cotton pullover shirt and beaded on his brow. As he jostled past Jac and Jules, a drop of perspiration plopped on the board next to where Jac rested her hand. She curled her fingers into her palm, thanking her lucky stars her hand hadn’t been one inch to the right, where FIG’s sweat bomb would have scored a direct hit.

She forced her attention back to the task at hand and squinted at the convoluted mess in front of her. To her surprise, the answer to the puzzle took shape in her head, the way the Magic Photos images revealed themselves behind colorful blurred lines. Sudden and unexpected. “Oh, my God! Jules, it’s a wheelbarrow.”

“Holy crap! You’re right.” Jules’ delighted laughter filled the cool autumn air. She reached for the mesh bag of hardware.

While she dumped the screws out of the bag, Jac upended the large tub they’d taken turns toting around the vineyard balanced on their heads. Positioning one pole over the convenient pre-drilled holes, Jac took one of the bolts from Jules and fitted it through both sets of holes, holding it in place while Jules tightened a nut down. Thirty seconds later, they had the second pole secured in place.

Jac stole a glance at the other contestants. Sally and Belinda were closest to being done, while the insurance guys still hadn’t figured out which pieces they needed. Other teams were at various stages of construction on their projects, but none were closer than the attorneys. Determined not to lose to the lawyers, Jac threaded another bolt into the wheel bracket. Working as a team, they quickly added the wheel, then righted their finished product.

“Done!” Jules hollered, as she high-fived Jac and hugged her hard.

Their delighted laughter was drowned out by the groans from the other teams.

Jeff cast down the rubber gasket he’d been trying to fit over the glass jug. He leered across the porch at them. “I’d be pretty pissed off if you ladies didn’t make victory hugs look so hot.”

“Shut the hell up, Jeff,” Belinda barked, a scowl forming between her brows. “No one wants to hear you being an asshole.”

“Congratulations on winning despite having all those handicaps.” At least Sally seemed pleased for them.

Marcus stepped forward and bent to examine their completed project. “You did well on this task. We gave you a lot of extra pieces to work with and made sure they could work for multiple tools we use here in the vineyard. We’ll see how you do on the next task after lunch.”

He clapped his hands for attention. “Okay, you’re all dismissed for lunch. Be back on the porch at half past one for the next activity, ‘Wine Country Shootout.’”

“Finally, something I might win. I’m a crack shot with a rifle.” Steve boasted. “Although Jeff might be a handicap. He can’t shoot his way out of a wet paper bag.”

“Don’t be a douche, Steve,” Jeff grumbled.

Belinda glared at Jac as she hurried past, a trailing Sally in her wake.

“Can you shoot?” Jules asked as she set about tidying up the porch.

Jac answered with a grin. “Nope. Never learned. Didn’t need it in the city and Gramps wouldn’t let me touch his guns whenever I visited.”

“Good. There’s no way we’ll win this afternoon’s activity. Should keep the natives happy.”

Laughing, Jac dropped the leftover hardware back into the mesh bag. “At this point, even if I was a sharpshooter, I’d find a way to throw the contest. Occasionally being part of the team means letting someone else take the lead. Somehow, I’m guessing Belinda and Sally will win this event. I bet Belinda has a Carry Concealed permit.”

“You’re probably right.” Jules dusted her hands down her thighs. “I have to stop in my office for messages. You going to eat in the dining room?”

“I’ll catch up to you at one-thirty. I thought I’d grab a plate and take it to my room. I promised my boss I’d check in at noon every day.” Jac cursed herself for being such a team player.

Ironic
.

Chapter 13

Reluctant to call her office, Jac lingered on the porch, staring at the scenery. Jules retreated into the cool shadows in the front hall, and disappeared into her office. As the door swung shut, Marcus’ laugh boomed out. The sound jarred Jac from her reverie, pushing her to keep her promise to check in with Ted. Still dragging her feet, she fixed a plate of food before retreating to her room.

Once there, happiness suffused her in the form of a text message from Luke.

Stopped for a short coffee break. Almost home. Hope you are having a great team-kind-of day. Already missing you and looking forward to Saturday
.

She sent a fast text back to let him know Jules was her new partner and they’d won this morning’s event. Pressing ‘send’ made her positively giddy. She, too, looked forward to their date. Hugging herself, Jac called her office.

Grim overshadowed giddy as she addressed the latest problems Deidre’s inept management had caused.

Her lunch sat neglected on the desk next to Jac as she worked with Valerie to correct a billing issue complicated by Deidre’s version of fixing. She debated calling Ted and delivering her two-week notice. Deciding it would be best to hand in her letter of resignation in person, she clenched her fist around her iced tea and fought for patience. The billing program was simple to understand, but each time Deidre got near a client, it became a twisted, tangled jumble, reminding Jac of strands of Christmas lights not stored properly.

At a quarter after the hour, she shut down her office link with a sigh. The idea of starting over glittered with sunbeam-bright intensity on a stormy sky. Consulting the clock by the bed, she hurried to check her email for a response from her cousin.

The second her inbox popped up, excitement flourished up her spine. Rowena had responded. Fingers poised over the keyboard of her tablet, Jac hesitated. Uncertainty and second thoughts formed. Once she read her cousin’s answer, her destiny could be set. It would be a sign endorsing her decision to quit her job.

Starting a new venture in Eugene was the right course of action. Unfortunately the two-hour drive from Medford could spell the death of her budding relationship with Luke. Sure, weekends would be doable, but the commute would get old fast. He’d complained about his excessive work schedule. Add commute time to Eugene to spend a day and a half with her might put him over the top.

How long could they last when he faced a tedious drive just to see her? How long before he found someone he liked better just five minutes away from him? Someone he could spend every night with?

And getting the farm back to working condition would be a day-in, day-out labor of love. Including the weekends she could be spending in Luke’s arms. He certainly hadn’t signed up for that. Truly, he hadn’t signed up for anything.

Three days ago—even yesterday morning—there was nothing holding Jac in the community where she’d lived for the past three years. Yesterday afternoon, everything changed. She’d fallen into bed with the best reason to remain. And maybe she’d fallen into something else with him as well. Now she had a personal reason to stay, but no professional inclination to do so.

Her relationship with Luke was new and exciting. Even thinking his name left her with a heady feeling. So did the idea of moving to the farm and beginning the next chapter of her life. She’d be better to end things now, before her heart got too involved. Selfishly, she buried that thought in the darkest corner of her mind.

Holding her breath, she tapped the link to open her cousin’s email. And as she scanned the note, she forgot to start breathing again.

The first two sentences of the message rambled about Ro’s life in general, how busy she’d been and that she couldn’t wait to move from the duller-than-dust farm for a new apartment in the bustling university town.

The words in Ro’s second paragraph kicked her in the gut.

‘. . . the county sent a letter about a past due property tax bill. The grand total with penalties was in excess of fifty thousand dollars . . .’

Rowena was prepared to let the land go to auction. She was purging “crap” Grandpa had held onto for years to get the house ready to list on the market. She’d known the taxes were due, but it had slipped her mind to make the payment on the due date.

For three years? How could anyone forget for that long?

Jac slumped in the chair, tears gathering in her eyes. Paying the tax bill was a condition of Rowena’s occupancy in the house. She’d lived rent free, and only had to be responsible for making sure the property stayed current with the county. Frustration grew, squeezing the breath from Jac’s lungs with the vicious force of an iron fist. The debt was ginormous, insurmountable.

A single tear trickled down her cheek. She brushed it away impatiently. She was at a fucking team building camp. Supposedly learning how to make magic happen, to face down unreasonable odds. Unfortunately, it appeared she’d be a team of one, overcoming this setback. Even if she could raise the cash in time to pay off the tax debt, there wouldn’t be enough left over as seed money to kick-start planting on the farm.

No, dammit!
Jac jumped from her chair, restless with anger and determination. She was screwed, not defeated. As she paced in front of the sunny window, she considered her options. She’d seek agricultural or small business loans. Or ask her parents for the funds, with the promise to pay them back with interest.

And she’d insist Rowena kick in some of the money. She had to have some cash tucked away since she hadn’t been paying rent
or
the taxes. Ro owned that much, in return for living in the lovely turn of the century, four-bedroom home absolutely rent-free.

The farm had belonged to Jac’s family for generations. She wasn’t going to let the land or the opportunity slip through her fingers because her fiscally irresponsible cousin had farted around and not taken care of her responsibility.

She paused in front of the window and gazed at the vineyard. Jules had a pretty sweet setup here. She’d opened her home to visitors to teach them team building in addition to running the vineyard. Perhaps, once the farm got going, Jac could open a small inn to supplement her income. Maybe even try to work out an arrangement with the university to house their visiting faculty.

She had options and she wasn’t going to allow this small roadblock to keep her from achieving her dreams. Sure, fifty thousand wasn’t small. Still, nothing, even that breath-stealing sum, was going to stand in her way.

Resolving to respond to her cousin tonight, Jac shut down her email. This afternoon, she’d figure out how to pay the tax bill and start making a mental list of everything she’d have to do to move forward.

Luke couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so out of his depth. Waves of frustration kept breaking over his head and it was becoming more difficult to swim back to the calm he needed. Negotiations with the nurses’ representatives weren’t going well. Mostly due to Brian Evert’s belligerent tone and bullying attitude.

For the fifth time in the last ten minutes, Luke wished he had a roll of duct tape in his back pocket. He’d tear off a strip and cover his boss’ mouth in a heartbeat.

They were on a short break, opting to take a time-out after their afternoon meeting hit the four-hour marathon mark. Tension, too thick to be cut with anything less than a hacksaw, lingered in the room and pinched the back of Luke’s neck.

Struggling to let go of the negativity suffocating him, he poured burned coffee into his mug. The second the bitter brew hit his stomach, it pitched and rolled like a rowboat tossed on angry waves. He grabbed a bottle of water instead and let his thoughts wander while he stared out the window at the mountains surrounding Medford.

The quiet chatter behind him receded as he pulled an image of Jac into his brain.

Warmth suffused him as he recalled how she’d looked when he had opened his door to her last night. The black sleeveless T-shirt stretching across her breasts offered a tantalizing glimpse of nipples outlined beneath the thin cotton. Her legs were a mile long, framed in the animal print, lace edged shorts she’d worn. Bright pink polish tipped her toes in whimsy.

He’d told her he wouldn’t kiss her for fear he wouldn’t be able to stop. God, how he’d wanted to. Desperately needed to.

And after sleeping curled around her all night, saying goodbye this morning had sucked. Jesus, he’d met her a month ago, had really only known her few days and already, she’d claimed a corner of his heart. Without her next to him, the world seemed less bright.

He rubbed his fist absently over the empty ache he felt in his chest, hoping to ease the gnawing pang. A fast glance at the clock revealed he wouldn’t see her for at least forty-eight hours. An eternity, possibly made longer if he couldn’t resolve this stalemate with the nurses.

Without resolution, he’d be tied up dealing with this monumental problem when all he wanted was to wrap Jac in his arms, sink into her soft heat, and make love to her. As blood heated and rushed south, his cock twitched to life. He shoved his hand into his pocket, hoping to camouflage the swelling bulge. It would be awfully inconvenient to go back to the bargaining table rocking a great big stiffy. For sure, the angry union rep would slap him with a sexual misconduct complaint.

Luke scanned the room’s reflection in the window. The nurses and their attorney huddled in one corner, whispering, scowls all around. The hospital’s attorney had retaken her seat at the conference table and furiously scribbled notes on a legal pad. She stopped long enough to jab her pen toward the hospital’s board president. The lawyer pursed her lips, the crevasses around her mouth standing out even in the reflected image. The board president laid a placating hand on the woman’s arm and spoke directly into her ear.

The picture they presented was too casual, and perhaps a bit too cozy for a purely business relationship. In the opposite corner, Brian brayed out a laugh while he talked on the phone, as if he couldn’t be bothered to worry about the tense negotiations underway.

Luke dug his fingers into the knotted muscles at the back of his neck, hoping to alleviate his escalating tension. With Brian’s attitude, the chance of settling contract terms vanished faster than smoke in the air.

After disconnecting his call, Brian shoved the phone into his pocket and joined Luke at the window. “The only thing remaining on the agenda is the bonus situation. I’ve polled the board and they’ve agreed to meet the union halfway. We simply don’t have the money to make the full concession.” The smug smile on Brian’s face told a different story.

Luke shook his head. “We can and should meet this demand. It’s a drop in the bucket compared to the bonus structure in place for physicians. I’ve studied the balance sheets and if we cut executive and medical staff payouts by one percent, the nurses get what they need to go back to work.” One fucking, measly percent could solve the standoff.

Judging by the way Brian crossed his arms over his chest, Luke’s suggestion floated as well as a submarine with screen doors. “If we bow to this demand, what will we have to offer with our next contract? We can’t give in.” His tone resounded loudly enough to be heard by the people in the next room.

“Keep your voice down,” Luke hissed. The last thing he needed was for the nursing staff to learn the hospital CEO was a bigger dick than they’d thought. Who was he kidding? Judging by the stony expressions of the people who’d sat across from him all afternoon, they already knew.

He angled his shoulder to eliminate any potential eavesdropping. “Perhaps we can negotiate a contract extension on the back end. Give the center some padding. The hospital has had several good years, so we can afford this.”

Brian squinted and compressed his lips into a thin line. “Whose side are you on here, Luke? Your job is to have the company’s best interests at heart.”

“I believe settling this amicably with the nursing staff is in the company’s best interest. If the support staff remains on this sick-out, we’ll lose patients. The billings loss alone will cost us more than agreeing to their demand.” He pointed to the reflection of the nurses in the corner.

“Do your job, Luke. Or you’ll regret it.”

Shit
. The last thing he’d expected to hear from his boss was a threat. Anger and disquiet seethed and boiled in his gut. His position clearly resembled that flat, uncomfortable area between a boulder and a hard slab of granite. Six months into a job, and he faced the possibility of being let go because of contract negotiations gone awry.

The marketing and PR departments had done a good job of hiding the negative aspects of the job when Luke had interviewed. He’d had no idea at the time what he was landing in. Even though he was expected to take a lead role in the bargaining because of his knowledge of the budgets, he’d have to tread carefully.

Resolutely twisting the cap back on his water bottle, Luke sucked in a huge breath. “Ready to get back to it?” he asked the room in general as he moved to the black lacquer conference table.

“The nurses are.” The union rep pulled out a chair and dropped onto the cushioned seat.

Luke retook his own seat, thinking if the hospital had furnished this room with hard wooden chairs, negotiations would go a lot faster. He drew on the memory of Jac’s soft hand holding his, and searched for the calm needed to deal with the union and his pissed-off boss. “Okay, we’ve agreed on the new grievance procedure, so the only item left is the bonus situation.”

Brian leaned back in his chair as if he didn’t have a care in the world, eyeing Luke, waiting for him to continue. After consulting his notepad and the spreadsheets he’d brought with him, Luke opened the haggling once again.