Page 6 of The Land that Binds

She cast her gaze down to her chipped nail polish.

Silence stretched between them, only filled by the soft creaking of their chairs.

“Have you spoken to Tess?” Otto asked.

She twisted her lips, then shook her head. Alana hadn’t spoken to her best friend since that day three years ago. Tess had texted her persistently in the hours following her sudden disappearance, and Alana eventually texted her back.

ALANA

I needed to get away. I know it doesn’t make sense. I’m sorry.

Her reply was immediate.

TESS

Promise you won’t do anything stupid. And tell me as soon as you get home.

Otto rubbed his beard. “How about Chris? Does he know you’re home?”

Alana shook her head again. “And don’t tell him, please.”

“All right.” He crossed an ankle over his knee. “But you know this place. They’ll find out eventually.” Steam curled into the air from his mug, the drink holding its temperature despite the chilly bite of wind from the lake.

She rested her fingertips on her own mug, the ceramic still perfectly warm. She frowned at it.

The distant sound of creaking hinges broke another long bout of quiet between them.

Leo held the screen to his door open as a husky mix bounded out of the house toward the field. The man smiled softly and leaned against his doorframe, watching his dog do his business. His eyes roamed the fields, then landed on their patio.

Otto raised a hand and waved.

Leo raised a hand back, his smile fading as his gaze moved to Alana. Even from a distance, with fields of vines between them, she could feel those piercing blue eyes on her. Goose flesh pricked at the nape of her neck. She scratched it, twisting to face the lake as she finished her tea.

He whistled to his dog, signaling that it was time to go back inside. Then he shuttered the door without a backward glance.

Alana picked at a loose thread on her sweatshirt sleeve. “How long has the winemaker been living in the guest shed?”

Otto raised a brow in her direction. “His name is Leo.”

She stared blankly at him, waiting for her father to continue. When he didn’t, she rolled her eyes. “How long has Leo been living in the guest shed?”

He smirked, looking satisfied. “Since he started working here three years ago.”

“So since I left.”

“It was you and your mother with the talent for tending the vines. We were drowning, and I couldn’t afford to drown.” He blew on his still steaming tea. “Plus, he’s been good to us. He helps with repairs on the house and around the farm. He’s a hard worker, and he doesn’t ask too many questions.”

“So that means he gets to live here for free.”

“Your mother did that too, remember?”

Alana scowled, glancing away. Years earlier, Sibyl had fled her home in search of a new one. The Mariens offered her a place to stay in exchange for help in the vineyard. She gratefully accepted their offer, then proceeded to fall in love with their son.

“Is he going to marry Freya?” She pointed a thumb behind her, toward the house.

Otto shrugged. “I think your sister might like that, but I’m not so sure about him. I think whoever he was with before really broke his heart. He doesn’t talk much about it though. Keeps to himself mostly.”

“Well, if he doesn’t have ties to this place, then there’s no reason to see him off.” She shimmied her legs closer as she burrowed deeper into her sweatshirt.