Page 108 of Sherry and Sunflowers
She could feel the heat creeping up her cheeks. "You don't need to do that, Charles."
He chuckled. "I know. But I think I’d like to." His eyes twinkled "And besides, I’ve shown Henry the photographs of your painting—he’s going to want you to paint his place for him. I can tell him that he needs to get his name down on your waiting list while I’m there."
~ ~ ~
By the time the weekend rolled around, Reaves was ready for a break. He and Ollie had been working hard, learning the ropes of the business from the inside, and he was loving every minute of it. It felt strange and invigorating both, to be a beginner again. He'd been a pilot all his working life, and he and Ollie had been operating in a well-established groove for years. Running the winery was a whole new adventure.
He, Alara, and Zia had spent the day at Ollie's pool with Ollie and Callie and the dogs. Ollie had suggested they make it a regular Saturday thing over the summer, and Reaves loved the idea. Now, they were back at his dad's place, and they’d spent the evening watching a movie. His dad wasn't around, and Faye had gone off to visit friends for the weekend. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been here when neither of them were.
"Prince Daddy! Prince Daddy!" Zia came running in. "Can we go check on our grape?"
He chuckled. "I think it'll have gone to bed by now, Z."
"Oh." Her eyes grew wide. "I didn't think about that. We shouldn't wake it up, then, should we? We can go and see it tomorrow." She frowned. "I worry about it sometimes, though, you know."
"You do? Why's that? I don't think we need to worry about it. It's such a special little grape."
"I know it's special. But I think all the other grapes know it is, too. They might not be kind to it."
He held his hands out to her, and she climbed up his leg to sit on his hip. "You know what I think we should do tomorrow, then?"
"What's that?" she asked.
"I think we should go out and glitter that whole bunch of grapes it's growing with."
She grinned. "I think so too. Then they can all be special together and love each other. And that one little grape won't be lonely anymore."
He chuckled. "No. It won't."
Alara appeared in the doorway. She'd insisted on cleaning up the kitchen after the snacks they'd made earlier.
"You might be glittering grapes tomorrow, Z. But what you need to do right now is get ready for bed."
Zia tightened her arms around Reaves's neck. "Will you read my story tonight, Prince Daddy?"
He glanced at Alara, and she nodded. "Yeah. I'd love to."
He waited while Alara supervised Zia getting ready, but when it came time for the story, she kissed the top of Zia's head and said, "Prince Daddy's in charge now, okay?"
Reaves went to sit on the bed, and Zia snuggled into his side.
"I asked Mom if you could do it tonight, because I have something I want to show you."
"You do?"
"Yeah. Will you turn the light off?"
He clicked off the lamp on her nightstand, and they smiled at each other in the dark.
"What do you want to show me, Z?"
She pointed out through the window. "The man in the stars."
He looked out into the darkness. His mind jumped first to the man in the moon—but he knew Zia better than that. She wouldn't go for the generic story everyone bought into. She'd have her own version.
"What about him?" he asked.
"I never knew him. But he's very kind."
