Page 124 of Wicked Dares
Our mornings begin with horseback rides through the hills, and by midday, I’m walking through Belladonna Ridge with Ellie Mae while she excitedly tells me about all her plans.
Arthur and Levi disappear in the afternoon and return smelling of cigar smoke and bourbon.
But night time is best.
Levi and I spend those tangled together in bed, and he wraps me in his arms like he can’t bear the idea of letting me go even in his sleep.
It’s strange how quickly all of this starts feeling normal.
Like I somehow slipped into another life entirely.
My only complaint is that time moved way too fast for my liking. Everything happened too quickly.
And I’m not ready for it to end yet.
But time waits for no one, not even me.
Today is the harvest, the final event in Arthur’s legacy tour.
Levi and I will be heading back to New York tomorrow afternoon, then… I’ll have a different set of questions to worry about.
For now, though, I’m going to enjoy the harvest.
And I’m going to enjoy being with Levi.
We meet the others at the entrance of the vineyard. We were told to get out here by nine. Arthur wants us to have the whole experience of cutting the grapes and making wine.
He and Ellie Mae head a team of what must be a hundred people, who are ready and eager to go. Their three sons are all here, too, as are a few other family members.
Arthur clears his throat, and all conversations cease.
“Good morning, my dear family and friends,” he says, stretching his arms wide. “My family and I are thrilled to have you all join us for this year’s harvest. Enjoy yourselves, and for the love of the good Lord, don’t damage my grapes.”
Everyone laughs, and then we get down to business.
We’re each given harvesting shears and assigned a section of the vineyard. Rows of empty wicker baskets have already been laid out between the vines waiting to be filled with freshly harvested grapes. It amazes me that someone could spend an entire week out here and still not finish cutting every cluster of grapes by themselves.
Levi and I stick together, spending the rest of the day gathering grapes, laughing, and pretending we actually know what we’re doing. We only stop for a light lunch before heading back out to harvest more.
We finish just before the sun begins to set, then, one by one, we all carry the overflowing baskets of grapes toward the massive wooden vats near the winery. Music and the evening festivities are already starting.
“The crush!” Ellie Mae announces excitedly, rushing up beside me. “This is my favorite part.”
I set down my last basket and stare at one of the giant vats overflowing with dark purple grapes. There are ten of them.
“Is everyone really just gonna jump in?” I look at it more carefully, thinking of all the movies I’d see where people crushed the grapes with their feet.
“Absolutely. Belladonna Ridge still honors the first crush the old-fashioned way. And you’re joining in, Miss Lady.”
I snap my gaze to her, and Levi laughs.
“Oh no, I don’t think I can.”
Arthur laughs loudly somewhere behind us. “Oh yes, you can. Don’t offend me now.”
“I’ll take care of her,” Levi says, taking my hand.
He leads me to the long copper basins that have been set out nearby so everyone can rinse their feet. I wondered about that. I couldn’t imagine everyone jumping in with dirty feet.
