Of Merlot & Murder (A Tangled Vines Mystery) (16 page)

When they finally came up for air, she smiled up at him and slipped her arms around his neck. “I guess I could stay. But then you’d have to explain your earlier comment—the one that included the ‘L’ word.”

“I suppose I could do that. I might even throw in breakfast. I do have some diet soda in the fridge.”

Her laugh was low and throaty as she pulled his lips back down to hers. “Done.”

sixteen

Elise was not a
morning person by any stretch of the imagination, and it was a rare day when she awoke before eight a.m. without the help of a blaring alarm. So when she surfaced on Monday morning and rolled over, it took her a few moments to realize she was alone in Jackson’s bed—and not her own. Glancing over to his night stand, she was surprised to read the time on the clock. So how was it possible that she was wide awake at six forty-five?

Stretching like a lazy cat, she couldn’t help the satisfied smile that spread across her face. When she buried her nose in his pillow and breathed in his scent, a flood of memories from the previous night turned her smile into a full-out grin.

Mmm, mmm, mmm, that man has the most fabulous hands—and really knows how to use them. And for the love of God, is that bacon I smell?

Climbing out of bed, she picked up the shirt Jackson had been wearing the night before from the chair and slipped it on. Making a quick pit stop in the bathroom, she glanced into the mirror to make sure her mascara hadn’t morphed into raccoon eyes overnight. Then she followed the tantalizing aroma to the kitchen.

And found Jackson putting together a couple of breakfast burritos that looked quite tasty.

“I find a man puttering around the kitchen making me breakfast kinda hot. And you
know
how I feel about bacon,” she began, leaning against the door jamb. “But I have to admit, there’s a part of me that’s just a little bit annoyed that you’re fully dressed, making breakfast, and it’s not even seven o’clock. Especially after last night’s Olympic events.”

He turned and grinned, wiping his hands on a towel. And damn if her knees didn’t go weak at just the looks of him.

“When you taste my breakfast burritos, you won’t be annoyed for long,” he replied with a smirk.

Eyeballing the shirt she was wearing—his shirt—that ended well
above her knees, he ran his tongue over his teeth. When he raised his eyes and their gazes met, the look he gave her had her pulse picking up speed.

“Nice shirt,” he said, strolling toward her. When he reached her, he lifted her chin with a finger and settled his lips on hers. “What do you have on underneath it?” he murmured against her lips as his other hand began to gather the shirt material against her leg.

“Not a thing,” she replied, melting into him and returning his kiss
when his hand wandered higher to further torment and arouse.

But just when he’d gotten her motor good and running, he pulled
back. “Though I’d love to continue this delightful morning
…
discussion,” he said with a sexy smile, “I have to be at the station in about twenty minutes.”

She squinted up at him. “Wow. Are you kidding me with this? Are you trying to torture me by getting me all worked up with no intention of finishing the job? If so
…
evil, Deputy Landry. Very evil.”

He laughed out loud at that. “Trust me when I say that I’d much rather stay here and
finish the job
, as you so romantically put it. But I told Jim I’d be there by seven thirty. So, I guess you’ll have to take a breakfast burrito as a consolation prize.”

“Yeah? Well, all I can say is it better be one helluva breakfast burrito, mister.”

Snickering, he went over to the fridge and pulled out a diet cola. Handing her a burrito and the can of soda, he grabbed his coffee and car keys off the counter.

“Lock up when you leave, okay?”

“Seriously?” She stared at him as if he’d sprouted another head. “You’re really leaving?
Now
?”

“Sorry, darlin’. Some of us do have to work for a living.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean? I work.”

He gave her a quick kiss and headed out of the kitchen. “Do me a favor and be a good girl today, okay? Stay out of trouble,” he said over his shoulder.

“Oh
…
my
…
God. Just for
that
smart-ass remark, I’m gonna go out of my way to find the first trouble I can get into the minute I get dressed,” she hollered after him. “You big tease,” she muttered to herself when she heard the front door close.

_____

By the time Elise ran home, showered, and changed clothes, it was half past nine. As she hurried out to the car, a delicious idea of just how she could get into the trouble she’d threatened Jackson with popped into her head.

Since he planned on reinterviewing the Toussaints first this morning, perhaps Toby or Garrett would still be at the motel. Maybe a quick side trip would be just the ticket to innocently ask a few questions. It was sort of on the way to the vineyard … in a round-about way
…
if you drove in the opposite direction and circled back around. Regardless, if neither of the men were there, it wouldn’t be too much of her morning wasted. But if they were
…

Before she could change her mind, she started her little red sports car and headed out of town toward Lost Pines Motel.

Fifteen minutes later, she was pulling off the highway and into the motel lot. After parking, she sat in the car for a few minutes to gather her thoughts. Although the idea had sounded like a good one in her head, now that she was here, she had no clue what she would say to either of the men to explain her presence. And just how was she going to get them to talk?

Before she could come up with a plan, the door to Toby’s room
opened and an older man she’d never seen before exited. He stepped
out into the breezeway and then turned back to say a few words to Toby, who’d followed him to the door. After a moment, both men seemed to come to an agreement about something, and then to Elise’s surprise, they hugged—in a very affectionate way.

So, now who is this guy?

She supposed he could be a family member who’d come to provide support. But to her knowledge, Divia didn’t have family anywhere in Central Texas, or Texas in general, for that matter. And if the man was one of Garrett’s relatives, then what was he doing in Toby’s room? And why would they be so affectionate with one another?

As she climbed out of the car, she watched the man cross the park
ing lot and made a mental note of the license plate for later. When Toby saw her, she waved and started toward him. Still having no idea what she was going to say, she held tight to her resolve. It was too late to turn back now.

“Hey, Elise,” he greeted her as she neared. “What are you doing out this way?”

“Oh, I just thought I’d check on you and Garrett this morning. See how y’all are holding up, if you needed anything.” She knew her answer was pretty lame, but it was all she could come up with on short notice.

“That’s very kind of you,” he repliedd, though the look on his face said he wasn’t quite sure about her explanation either. “It’s been really hard, but we’ll get through it. Mom would’ve wanted us to soldier on, you know?”

“I understand. We went through something similar a few months
ago. Of course, I wasn’t as close to Uncle Edmond as I’m sure you and Divia were.” She glanced over her shoulder to where the man she’d seen coming out of Toby’s room had been parked. “Was that a relative of yours?”

“Was who a relative?” he asked with an innocent look.

“The gentleman I saw leaving as I arrived.”

“Oh
…
uh
…
him,” Toby stammered, beginning to look a bit uncomfortable.

“I only ask because you two looked close.” She smiled, hoping to put him at ease. “You know, the way he hugged you.”

“Sam was just offering support.”

When he made no further comment, the conversation fell into an awkward silence, and Elise struggled to find a way to ask him the questions hovering in her mind. In the end, she opted for the direct approach—with as much tact as she could muster.

“Actually, there is something I’d like to talk to you about, Toby. Do you think I could come in for a minute? It’s kind of sensitive.”

He looked a little wary, but nodded. “Okay,” he said slowly. “Come
on in, but don’t mind the mess.”

As Elise stepped from the brightness of the breezeway into the room, she had to blink several times to adjust
her eyes to the dim light.

Toby went about picking up newspapers, fast food containers, and clothing that seemed to litter every surface. It looked to Elise as if housekeeping hadn’t seen the inside of the room in several days. Once he’d removed the debris from a chair at the small table in the corner, he gestured for her to have a seat.

“Now, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?” he asked when he’d joined her there.

Not knowing quite how to approach the subject, she took a breath and plunged ahead. “Well, it’s about a rumor that’s been going around. I know it’s really none of my business, but the wine community is pretty tight-knit. Anyway, I know you and Maddy have gotten
…
quite a bit closer lately, and I just wanted to make sure you were aware of what was being said.”

Toby sighed and leaned back in his chair. “I think I know where this is going. Let me guess. You heard that there was a
discrepancy
, shall we say, with Third Coast’s books?”

She gave him a sympathetic look and nodded. “Then you are aware. I’m sorry, Toby.”

“It’s all right, Elise.” He leaned on the table and studied his laced fingers for a moment. “I know just who you heard it from, too. Monique Toussaint is a devious, vindictive bitch with a big mouth.”

Wow, tell me how you really feel.

He raised his eyes and the wry grin on his face had her smiling back in response, despite her best effort not to.

“But by the look on your face, I’m betting you know that as well.”

She thought the best course of action was to sympathize with him, and she made a disgusted face. “I will never understand why people feel the need to make things up, to spread terrible rumors. It’s like they have to tear others down to feel good about themselves.”

“That’s nice of you to say, Elise. But unfortunately, the rumors are true.”

“Oh,” she said, unsure of how else to respond. This was just what she’d come looking to confirm, but hearing him say it so matter-of-factly had kind of taken the wind out of her sails.

“The fact that it’s true doesn’t make Monique’s gossiping about i
t any less despicable, but it also doesn’t make what I did right,
either.”

“You must have had a good reason to do what you did.”

“Not really.” He shrugged and then his shoulders slumped in defeat. “I did it because of my mother.”

“Because of Divia? Why?”

“Look, it’s not an excuse,” he said, putting up a hand. “What I did was wrong, and I take full responsibility for my actions. And I loved my mother. But she wasn’t a very nice person and was extremely hard to please. She was always telling me what a failure my father was, warning me not to be like him. Said he was not only a loser, but dangerous to boot, and if he ever found us, there’d be trouble.”

Elise nodded with understanding. “Was that why she took you and ran away from Grace and her dad? She thought your biological father had found you?”

“Yeah. At least, that’s what she said at the time.” His eyes took on a faraway look, and she had the feeling he was seeing it in his mind. “She was scared, Elise. Really scared. Then, a few months later, she told me that Grace and her dad had died in a horrible fire.”

“Oh, Toby. That’s terrible.”

He slowly nodded before turning to her with haunted eyes. “Yes, but the
really
terrible part is that she told me she thought my father was responsible.”

Elise gasped. “What? She made up a story about Grace and her father dying, and then blamed it on your biological father? Why would she do that?”

“Because it gave her the opportunity to reiterate how violent he was and how important it was that he never find us. And it did one other thing that was just as important to her
…
it stopped me asking when we were going home. With Grace and Walker Vanderhouse dead, there
was
no going back.”

“I’m so sorry, Toby.”

He shook his head as if clearing his mind of the ugly thoughts and shrugged again. “Of course, that was a long time ago, and the sketchy memories of a ten-year-old boy.”

Probably not as sketchy as you’d like me to believe.

When she didn’t respond, only smiled back at him, he continued. “Anyway, as I was saying, when Mom made Garrett give me the job at Third Coast, I kinda went off the rails for a while trying to show her that I was nothing like my father.”

Though his story made her uncomfortable, Elise also felt bad for him. How terrible it must have been for a young boy—growing up continually trying to please a mother who would never be satisfied with anything he did, and would lie to him with such terrifying abandon.

“I was living way beyond my means and it all got away from me,” he stated. “I kept thinking I would find a way to pay it back, but I just got deeper and deeper into trouble.”

“So how did Monique find out, Toby?”

He hung his head for a moment, and she wasn’t sure he would answer. Then he looked up, and the sadness that clouded his eyes was almost painful to watch. “We ran into each other at a party about six months ago, and she came on to me pretty strong. Emotionally, I was in a bad place, and she’s so beautiful. I was flattered by the attention, and we ended up having a thing for a few months.”

Elise watched his eyes, as the previous sadness was replaced by an anger that transformed his normally soft features into a twisted mask of hatred.