Tangled Vines: An Australian Rural Romance (13 page)

“I came down to the beach to clear my mind. Instead what I saw was someone being pulled from the ocean who looked a bit like you and my world started falling apart. All I could think was you were being taken away from me. I didn’t want to live if you weren’t standing beside me.”

He framed her face and her breath caught in her throat at the intensity of emotion shining in his eyes. Her heart leapt. She hadn’t dreamt what he’d said.

“Yes, I’ll give you a chance. I love you, Jordan. When I arrived at my house that late Friday night I never expected my life would change so much the next day. From that first encounter in the bathroom, you have pushed and prodded me. You’ve given me the courage to seek help to let go of the guilt that had been eating me up for so long. You’re giving me a peace I never thought I’d ever possess. You also taught me to love again. I can’t let you go. No, I won’t let you go.”

She needed confirmation even though he’d told her twice how he felt about her. “You love me?”

“Yes, honey. Yes I do. I love you with my whole heart. And it’s becoming whole now because of your belief in me.”

Jordan couldn’t doubt his words. Kyle had laid himself bare to her over and over again. No man who didn’t have feelings for her could lie that well. She knew she could trust him with her heart and her life. This was one risk she could take.

“Oh Kyle, I love you too. You’ve shown me what true love is. I don’t want to go through my life without you standing next to me.”

She made the move this time and captured his lips. In the background she could hear sirens. It seemed wrong to be so happy and kissing the man she loved when someone was fighting for her life a few feet away. She broke the kiss.

Only a few people from the crowd remained, and she could see the person who they’d been working on was sitting up. Jordan smiled at the sight. No one was going to experience a tragedy today. Only life and new beginnings.

“I think we should go home now.”

“There’s one more thing I need to do.” He dropped down on one knee and Jordan wrapped her arms around herself. “Jordan Hastings, I want to walk through the rest of my life with you by my side. Will you consider marrying me in the future?”

Jordan never imagined when she arrived to see her father with her life in turmoil that a couple months later she’d be on a beach with a man on bended knee. Now she couldn’t imagine not having Kyle in her life.

“Yes, Kyle. Yes, I will consider marrying you in the future.”

He stood and wrapped his arms around her, lifting her high. “I love you, Jordan Hastings and I can’t wait to make it official.” He set her down on the ground. “Thank you for pushing me to try again. I love you.”

“I’m sure there will be a time when you’ll be pushing me. I love you too, Kyle.
Now
can we go home?”

“Absolutely.”

One year later – Boxing Day

Jordan stood on the beach and watched as Kyle waded into the shallows, a wreath in his hands. He was surrounded by a number of people doing the same thing. She couldn’t be prouder of Kyle.

He’d surprised her when he agreed to her suggestion to come to Thailand for Christmas and participate in a memorial service for the victims of the tsunami.

A hand landed on her shoulder and she turned quickly to see Shey standing behind her. “Thanks for coming, Shey. I know it means a lot to Kyle to have you and Nate here, considering all you’ve done for him over the years.”

“Oh sweetie, it’s me who should be thanking you. You’re the one who worked your magic on Kyle. If you hadn’t, he’d be holed up in that house of his in a drunken stupor.”

Jordan laughed. “Well that’s your fault too. You neglected to put a clause in my contract.”

Shey eyed Jordan’s swelling belly. “I somehow don’t think you mind my matchmaking skills.”

Jordan wrapped her hands over her baby belly and rubbed gently. “Nope. I can’t deny everything has worked out well.” Jordan touched Shey on the shoulder. “Thanks for everything, Shey.”

“You’re welcome, sweetie.”

They stood shoulder to shoulder and watched as Kyle let the wreath go. Jordan walked down to the shallows and waited. It wasn’t long before Kyle turned and headed toward her. He stopped in front of her and Jordan wiped away the lone tear rolling down his cheek with her thumb.

“I’m proud of you, sweetheart,” she whispered. “I know how hard it was for you to come here.”

“I couldn’t have done it without you. Thank you for making me come.” Kyle gathered her close and she closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him. They stood there, the water washing over their feet, holding each other, Jordan passing her strength to Kyle.

After their declaration of love on the beach last year, they’d spent Christmas Day (complete with a Christmas tree) and Boxing Day together. They’d also gone to counseling and she’d watched Kyle begin to heal. He was finally able to visit his parents’ and Emily’s graves and say what he hadn’t been able to before.

Then they had got married in a quiet ceremony at the Margaret River property, the vineyard a backdrop to their happy day. And now they were starting their own family. Kyle had also come around to part of her business plan and with a baby on the way, she had to say she was happy with what they’d planned.

She thought back to those couple of weeks after their reunion on the beach. The powdery mildew test came back negative. The grapes grew beautifully over January and February and come harvest time they ended up with a good crop that they sold to a well-known winery and received a nice sum of money. On that principal, Kyle had agreed to her plan of growing and selling the grapes. They had started to investigate the possibility of obtaining the necessary tanks and barrels and equipment for Jordan to make her own wine. Then she’d found out she was pregnant and becoming a mother became the most important thing she wanted to do in her life. Winemaking would always be there. It wasn’t going to go away. When she was ready she’d go back to it—something she’d never thought she do. For so long making wines had been so important to her. Now spending time with Kyle and growing their family had become her priority for the time being.

In the meantime they split their time between the house in Perth and the Margaret River house. Her dad was still the caretaker and he tended to the vines with the same care as Jordan did. Life couldn’t be better.

Suddenly the baby kicked and Kyle chuckled. “I think our Emily is telling me she’s had enough of being squashed.”

“Or she’s telling her daddy she loves him.” When a scan had shown she was carrying a baby girl, she’d known exactly what they should name her—Emily, after Kyle’s sister. Kyle had smiled so big when she’d suggested it.

Kyle kissed her softly on the lips. “I like that idea much better. You always have the best ideas.”

Jordan laughed. “Everyone’s waiting. Are you ready to go have some lunch?”

Beneath her cheek Kyle’s chest rose as he took a deep breath. “With you by my side I can do anything. Let’s go join our family.”

Arm in arm they walked up the beach to where Shey, Nate, their two kids and her father and his lady friend stood waiting for them.

She’d been wrong that day on the beach when Kyle declared his love to her. Life could get much better.

I’d like to thank Cameron Shephard for answering my “blast from the past” email with my questions about the workings of vine management so I could have a credible reason for Jordan to hang around at Christmas. I have great memories of visiting your family property in Yallingup. It was the inspiration for this story.

Thank you to Tara, Julie, and the team at Crimson Romance for seeing the potential with this story and giving me the opportunity to share it with my readers.

My web designer, Katrina of Kika Web Designs, is amazing. She revamped my website, and it is fantastic. Thank you again for answering my call of “I want to do something to my website, but I don’t know what” and making it even better than I imagined.

Paula Jeffrey, thanks for taking the time out of your extremely busy job to visit my dad for me. Much appreciated.

Shey, I hope I did your name proud. Miss our lunches together.

A huge thank you to Jennifer Greeff of More Than Words Promotions for helping me with all things PR. Looking forward to sharing many more book releases with you.

To my readers, well, this is book 13 and a lucky one it will be. Thanks for reading every one of my books and for supporting me. To my new readers who have just found me—welcome to my world.

Princess and Sports Dude – I love you. That is all.

Finally, to my husband, Jason, who put aside his work to come home when he knew I needed him. Thank you. Love you, babe.

Daniel Whitman swirled the glass tumbler, watching the amber liquid circle and cling to the outer edges of the glass, the ice clinking against the sides in musical accompaniment. It did little to drown out the noise coming from the party going on behind him.

He should have been celebrating with the rest of his family. He was happy his little brother had found contentment and happiness in his life. Jen, his brother’s fiancée, had made remarkable changes in Chad’s wayward, fun-loving personality. Seems everyone around him was finding love—including his father. He took another gulp and welcomed the burn trickling down his throat.

What he felt like doing was buying a bottle of the twenty-year-old malt whiskey he was drinking and having his own private little party. Instead, he lifted his near-empty glass in a signal to the barman that he wanted a top-up.

“Everything all right, son?” his father asked as he slipped onto the empty barstool next to him.

Daniel raised his glass in a mock salute. “Absolutely, just having a quiet drink.”

“You might want to go easy on that,” Richard Whitman said as he inclined his head at the glass in Daniel’s hand.

He let out a harsh laugh and downed the rest of the contents. “It’s my first drink, Dad.”

He felt rather than heard the heavy sigh his father let out. “Look, you’re not still upset about the meeting this afternoon, are you? You know Adam and I thought long and hard about your expansion plans for the resort. We agree they have merit and will be a good idea in the future, but with the new microbrewery, we can’t justify another large capital outlay.”

Daniel loved his older brother, Adam. He had missed him while Adam was away carving out his own career in Los Angeles. But during that time, Daniel thought he and his father had grown close while they discussed ideas like streamlining some of the business practices and accounting procedures at Emerald Tea Farm, which had increased profits and productivity. Now with Adam back, it was like Dad had disregarded all those conversations and listened only to his firstborn. He knew it bothered Chad, too, but Chad had eventually talked the family into expanding the diner into a modern microbrewery. Maybe he could use this opportunity to plant the seed in Dad’s mind that proceeding now with the plans for Emerald Paradise Resort was the way to go.

“You do realize, Dad, we are missing out on a niche market? When we had Michael Williams, the actor, staying at the resort, he loved the privacy. It was the first time in years he and his wife had been able to vacation where no paparazzi bothered them. Where they didn’t have to worry about embarrassing pictures appearing in the press.” As Daniel warmed to his topic, his earlier melancholy mood drifted away on the breeze. “If we add a few high-class facilities to the ones we already have and increase the services we offer in the spa, get something that makes our resort stand out from the rest of the resorts in the United States, I believe we’d be running at nearly full capacity year-round. Not to mention if we made a few other changes to our processes—heck, we could be totally eco and environmentally friendly. Those types of features appeal to the rich and famous.”

“Son, these changes you’re proposing don’t sound cheap. How can you guarantee that if we lay out all this money, we will run at capacity? It’s a big risk, and at present it’s one I’m not prepared to take, especially with the new microbrewery expansion.” Dad paused and picked up the drink the bartender had placed in front of him. “Besides, how do you propose we attract these
high-class
guests to the resort? If we publicize our products and services, we effectively neutralize our anonymity, which according to you, is the main drawing card for these guests.”

“Word of mouth, Dad. I told Michael we were looking at making changes, and he said to let him know when we did. He’d come back and let all his friends know.”

“I wish you’d waited a little longer before saying anything, Dan. I know you have control of the resort, but the final decision is still mine. I just think we need to take a little time and sort through all it will take to achieve this.”

Daniel bit back the groan of frustration that threatened to burst out of him. Why couldn’t his father see what a great business decision this was? He’d drawn up a business plan, worked out the costs of the few changes necessary to make the resort one hundred percent eco-friendly. And with Adam’s knowledge, it would be so easy. The main backbone of his father’s business had been organic—sheesh, Chad’s microbrewery was going to be organic. The resort had been one of the first in Washington State to use the latest green technology. They treated him like he didn’t know how to do anything. He was the one who had an MBA in business, for heaven’s sake.

“Dad, we already have a good reputation as a resort that uses green energy, but we’re getting a little tired. We need to freshen things up, offer new and innovative spa techniques. I can’t say it enough; I want to draw a different crowd to the resort.” Then Daniel plunged ahead with an idea he hadn’t presented that afternoon to his father and brothers. “In addition to trying to find something new and innovative for the resort, I’m also looking at introducing holistic massages and therapies to help with the treatment of cancer. Mom would’ve loved this. She’d have been helping me do the research.”