Risking the Vine (Romancing the Vine Book 1) (14 page)

Chapter 12

After an hour of bookmarking promising sites, Jac began shutting down the tabs she had opened. Her phone chirped with the alarm she’d set. She’d been up for two hours and her stomach was rumbling.

Walking into the dining room, knowing Luke wouldn’t be there, felt a tad lonely. She shouldn’t be anticipating his company quite so eagerly but she couldn’t help herself. After filling her plate from the buffet, Jac joined Sally and Belinda at a table in the corner.

“You missed a fun little concert last night,” Sally said. The woman wore a garish yellow T-shirt with red capris.

In contrast, Belinda’s outfit could be called dour, her gray blouse straining her buttons, paired with tight black jeans. Even her voice was grim. “Jeff and Jeremy got wasted and started singing along when the quartet played ‘Moon River.’”

“What’s a Moon River?” Jac asked.

“That song from the movie
Breakfast At Tiffany’s
.” Sally hummed a few bars of the song.

Still drawing a blank, Jac shook her head. “Was that a movie? I thought it was a song by Deep Blue Something.”

Belinda snorted and shook her head, setting her curly gray hair in motion. “You are so young. Your generation has a lot to learn. ‘Moon River’ was the title song of the movie. One of Andy Williams’ best works.”

Jac sure as hell wasn’t going to ask who Andy Williams was. And her generation might have plenty to learn, but they had a lot to offer as well. “Oh. Did the guys only sing that song, or were there others?” She could only imagine FIG and DIG singing karaoke with the student string quartet for accompaniment.

“Marcus stood right behind their chairs and laid his hands on their shoulders.” A wicked grin lit Sally’s face. Clearly, she liked seeing the dorky guys reined in. “Gentle, but very persuasive. Then he took their wine away. After which, the boys lost interest.”

Belinda leaned back in her chair and sent a shrewd glance around the room. She dropped her fork to the plate with a clatter. “So, where’s your partner?”

Sadness swarmed Jac. “He was summoned back to his office. He left before seven this morning.”

“Sucks for you.” Sally brightened and sat straighter in her seat. “Hey, you could join our team. Girls against the boys.”

Belinda shot a sneer at her co-worker and crossed her arms over her ample bosom. “We should probably let Jules decide who Jacqui should be paired with. Don’t want to be presumptuous.”

Good Christ, it was as though the woman didn’t want Jac on her team. Well, she didn’t really want to be on the same team as the lawyers because of their constant bickering, but the idea they—or at least Belinda—didn’t want her, stung.

A wave of longing for Luke’s company hit her, hard. She shrugged it away. “I’m sure Jules will come up with a good solution.”

Jac devoted her attention to the scrambled eggs on her plate as Jules strolled into the room. After stopping to say good morning to the quieter-than-usual, green-around-the-gills insurance agents, she moved over to the beverage station. Opening a tea bag, she dropped it into a cup. Vapor steamed over the rim as she poured hot water into the mug.

A broad grin stretched across her face as she made her way to Jac’s table, cup in hand.

“Good morning, ladies,” she greeted them. “Jac, I’m sure you know Luke got called back to the office early.”

“He stopped by my room to let me know he had to leave.” She didn’t add how he wouldn’t have needed to stop by if she’d stayed in his room a little longer this morning. Waking up next to him had been wonderful, but it had happened far too early in their romance. Or whatever they had going.

“Well, his departure presents a dilemma for the teams, you in particular.” Jules nabbed the remaining upholstered chair and sat next to Jac.

Sally’s plate scraped the table as she pushed it away. “She can join our team.”

Belinda cleared her throat and sent a piercing glare at Sally. Jac held back a snort. Belinda just blew her chance of being named to the Team Playing Hall Of Fame.

“Nice of you to offer, Sally, but I had something else in mind.” Jules pivoted in her seat and focused on Jac. “If you don’t mind, I’ll be your partner for the rest of the week.”

Surprise caught Jac unawares. She’d never expected this. “Really? That would be pretty darned fantastic.”

“Wait just a minute. Wouldn’t she have an unfair edge in the competition, if the director of the program is on her team?” An unflattering note of jealousy deepened Belinda’s voice.

Jules shook her head. “Not really. Because each set of exercises today will require brainstorming to solve the problem. Since Jac and I have never worked together, your team will actually have the advantage. You and Sally are already familiar with each other’s thought processes, so you should be able to work faster to achieve a solution.”

“I’d love to be on your team, if you’re sure.”
What a relief.
Thank goodness she wouldn’t have to be the lady lawyers’ walking hemorrhoid for the rest of the week, unwanted and most unwelcome, at least by Belinda.

The legs of Belinda the Crotchety’s chair caterwauled on the tile floor as she shoved away from the table. Grunting, she stood and propped her hands on her hips. “I still don’t think it’s fair. Come on, Sally. Let’s take a little walk before the competition begins.”

Sally was slow getting to her feet to follow. Belinda snapped her fingers and the younger lawyer leapt from the table. She nodded and scurried away.

Jac gaped at Jules, brows raised. “What the fuck? Is there a contest I don’t know about? Does the woman know how
not
to be competitive? You sure you want me on your team?”

“I’m sure. I’ve already spoken to Marcus about it and he’s taking over the instruction today. Dude all but chortled when I asked. He’s going to mix it up so he can stump me. But with you on my team, we’ll be fine.”

She spoke out the corner of her mouth, her brows drawn in a mock-frown. “But, if it appears Belinda is getting too bent out of shape, you won’t mind goofing off a little, right?”

Jac smiled easily at her companion. “I’m all about goofing off. What’s the activity this morning?”

“Scavenger hunt. Which works perfectly for me to give you a guided tour of the farm. We can chat about growing seasons and fertilizers today, which will leave us free for a little girl-talk Friday night, instead of a boring tutorial.”

Girl-talk? Like we’re friends
. Jac welcomed the idea. She’d enjoyed spending time with Jules last night. The woman was an exceptional second choice to having Luke as her teammate. “I’m sure it won’t be boring.”

“Yeah, it would, but it’s a necessary evil if you’re serious about getting into such a crazy business. This way, it will be more interactive for you.” Jules stood and pointed at Jac’s sandaled feet. “Cute as hell, but not a great shoe choice today. We’ll start in fifteen minutes, so be ready to run.”

Not waiting for an answer, Jules strode out of the dining room. Despite missing Luke more than she should, this day was shaping up to be pretty awesome. Jac carried her dishes to the bus tub in the corner, added more coffee to her cup before following Jules from the room. She sent a nod toward the lingering agents as she passed their table.

Twenty minutes later
,
Jac met the rest of the group on the front porch. She’d added a lightweight jacket, tied around her waist, to her outfit of tennis shoes, yoga pants and a T-shirt that read
Nothing Bad Ever Ended In Tini.

Marcus explained the rules as he passed out clue sheets and large canvas sacks. “You’ll locate the items by following the clue on your sheet. Each solved puzzle leads to the next. Once you find all your items, you’ll have to figure out how to assemble the final product.” He handed a slip of paper to Jac with a grin and slid a sidelong glance toward Belinda. “Your clue list will be extra-long, eliminating the unfair advantage of having Jules as your partner. You’ll end up with a lot of pieces you might, or might not, need.”

Jules, who’d changed into jeans and a sweatshirt, rolled her eyes. “Are we allowed to know what we’re building?”

Crossing his arms over his massive chest, Marcus smirked. “Everyone else will, but you’ll just have to figure it out. We’ll call it a handicap.”

“That’s a pretty big disadvantage.” Jules pouted. “What do you think, Jac? Too big?”

Confidence that had dipped at the length of their list burgeoned back to full strength in her chest. “Probably not. Maybe one of us should be blindfolded as well,” Jac teased.

Belinda harrumphed loudly from her seat on the porch railing. The wood creaked as she jumped off and snatched the list from Sally’s hand. “Let’s just do this,” she snapped.

Marcus kept his expression bland. “The last clue you find will be a picture of what you’re supposed to build with the pieces you find. You have until noon to find everything on your list and return to the pavilion by the gift shop to assemble.” He shot a hard stare at Belinda and Sally. “There is no prize on this other than knowing you worked as a team to solve a problem and bring a product to market.”

“Whatever.” Belinda pursed her lips into a very thin line. She spun on her heel and promptly tripped over Sally. Righting herself, Ms. Cranky-Pants scowled at everyone assembled and brushed past Jeff and his cohorts as she raced down the steps toward the waiting golf carts. She hollered, “Let’s go, Sally.”

Sally stared after her, sighing. “Can I get a new partner?” she mumbled.

Marcus plucked the list away from Jac as she made to follow the rest of the team builders. His dark brown eyes were filled with apology. “Sorry, Jacqui. Your handicap of pairing with Jules means the other groups get a ten-minute head start.”

Jac watched the other participants retreat from the porch. Frustrated that she wasn’t immediately allowed to follow, she arched a brow.
“
Really? Suddenly, having Jules as a partner is tremendously less appealing.”

“Ha. I could have penalized you with a thirty-minute time out and you’d probably still beat everyone else.” Marcus folded his arms over his massive chest.

“Damn straight,” Jules quipped. “Come on, Jac. Let’s get a coffee refill. At least we got to read the first clue. Let’s see if we can figure out where it might lead.”

The ten-minute timeout passed as they tried to reason out the convoluted clue.

“The noontime sun still casts a shadow to the west.” Jac recited the first clue. “What the hell does that mean? I thought at high noon there weren’t shadows.”

It had taken Jac throwing out the names of the few buildings she knew of on the property before the words finally made any sense.

Jules flung up her hands. “Yes!”

Ten minutes later Marcus handed the clue list back to Jules and wandered away to check on the rest of the players.

“Damn that Marcus. I bet he laughed the entire time he rewrote the clues for us.” Jules seized Jac’s wrist and dragged her down the steps. “Come on. I know exactly where we’re heading for our first stop.”

Together they raced toward the gift shop on the opposite end of the parking lot. Jules trotted around the shop. There, they found a coil of plastic tubing tagged as Clue #1. The next clue led them to the picnic pavilion where they picked up a small mechanical device Jules called a pump. On their third stop, they found a mesh bag filled with screws, nuts, and bolts.

They continued in the same manner for two hours, seeking clues and picking up bits and pieces of one or another unknown piece of equipment. Sweat trickled down Jac’s spine as they stopped to rest at the water station set up under a large oak near the stream bisecting the vineyard. The water cooled her throat as she gulped it down.

Jules stripped off her sweatshirt and tied the arms around her waist.

Twice, they’d come across other players racing toward their next clue. They’d paused briefly, comparing notes and checking out the parts they’d all picked up. Unfortunately, their items were completely unlike what the other teams had found, leaving Jules scratching her head. From what they could tell, they’d all be building different pieces of equipment.

When they found the clue that came with two long wooden poles, Jules cursed Marcus. One clue led them to an oversized tub, which Jules resorted to carrying on her head. The canvas sack grew heavier, digging into Jac’s shoulder and bumping against her hip as they jogged to the next destination.

Balancing one of the long bars under her arm while Jules carried the other, they scurried into the cask room, where they found a wheel and a large glass jug. Block letters proclaimed this their final clue. They sprawled on the cool cement floor as they tried to decipher the last location they had to find.

It only took a moment to figure out their final destination was the yard in front of the house. Dropping their burdens, they collapsed onto the ground. The other teams had already arrived and had puzzle pieces spread out on small, square blue tarps.

While Belinda held the picture of the apparatus they were to build, Sally attempted to attach a red plastic handle to the big clear glass jug, identical to the one Jac and Jules had picked up.

Jac spread the pieces they’d acquired over the blue tarp, and sat on her heels to study them. It would be a lot easier if she knew what they were to build. Suddenly, not having a picture loomed a larger handicap than finding twice as many clues with ten fewer minutes than the other teams.

Jules squatted next to her, a frown puckering the skin on her forehead. She shook her head, her blond hair swishing across her shoulder blades. Keeping her voice low and even, she mumbled to herself. “There’s some kind of pattern here but I’m not sure . . .”

Marcus joined them and checked their inventory against the cheat sheet in his hand. Jules attempted to peek at the paper.

He lifted his arm over his head and rested his hip against the railing. “At least you remembered to grab everything as you found the clues.” He pointed to Jeff and Steve who jogged awkwardly away from the porch. “They forgot to pick one up and have to go back to find it.”

Jules dropped to her bottom and drew her knees against her chest. “You want us to slow down and let them catch up?”

“Nah. The idea was for two people to work together as a team, to communicate. They didn’t do it, and now they’ll have to face the consequences.” He pointed at Jules. “But did I mention that you aren’t actually allowed to help Jac? She’s on her own to figure out what she’s supposed to be constructing.”