What hadn’t been fun was waking up at dawn so she could dash home and help get the barn ready for the party today. Jason was on call this weekend, so he had to run into the vet clinic early to take care of some of the sick dogs, but he showed up at the vineyard around nine, and was currently helping Finn and Dad set up tables.
Erin, on the other hand, was taking a short break to drink her eighty-third cup of coffee.
“Aww, what’s the matter, princess? Up all night with the boyfriend?” Brenna asked, sarcasm dripping all over the word “boyfriend.”
“First, he’s not my boyfriend. Second, I’m doing just fine.”
“Sure you are. You’re barely standing. You know, this whole engagement party thing was your idea. The least you can do is be awake for it.”
“What’s going on?” Honor asked as she stepped up to the two of them.
“I don’t know,” Erin said. “Ask Brenna.”
“No comment.”
“You can talk to us.” Honor smoothed her hand up Brenna’s arm, but Brenna jerked away.
Erin frowned. “What crawled up your ass today, Bren?”
“Nothing. I’d just like a day off every now and then.”
“Then take one,” Erin said. “If you don’t want to be here, bail.”
“Oh, right, like I wouldn’t be judged for that.”
Erin had no idea where this animosity was coming from, but she had the feeling that it had nothing to do with the engagement party for Clay and Alice. “No one judges you.”
Brenna’s look was filled with anger and some kind of frustration that Erin hadn’t known her sister was holding on to. “Don’t they? I’m the oldest, so I’m supposed to set the example for you and Honor. You’re the organized one, Erin, so you never screw anything up, and Honor is the baby so she’s like . . . perfect.”
Whoa. “You really think that?”
“I am not perfect,” Honor said.
Brenna just snorted. “Whatever. I’ve got work to do. So do both of you.”
She walked away, leaving Erin and Honor looking at each other in bewilderment.
“What was that about?” Honor asked.
“I have no idea. She came at me saying I was falling asleep on the job today, and then it escalated.”
Honor looked over to where Brenna was directing the setup crew.
“Something’s upset her,” Honor said. “She hasn’t talked to you about anything in particular?”
“You know Brenna. She keeps things to herself. Always has. When she broke up with Mitch she had already filed for divorce before we even knew they had split.”
“I know.” Honor breathed in and blew it out, her frustration evident. “I wish she’d open up and tell one of us what’s bothering her.”
“Me, too.” Despite her irritation at having taken the brunt of Brenna’s ire, she loved her sister. If she was unhappy, then Erin wanted to fix it. But she couldn’t fix what she didn’t know.
“Let her cool down,” Erin said. “Then we’ll talk to her together.”
Honor nodded. “Good idea.”
Whatever it was that had made Brenna flash up had apparently passed, because after that the rest of the morning moved along smoothly. The one thing the three sisters could do well together was run an event. They had tables and wine set up, food was cooked and ready to serve, and everything was in place an hour before the guests were due to arrive.
Erin dashed into her bathroom to take a shower, dried her hair, then put on a light touch of makeup so she wouldn’t melt into the heat. She slipped on her cotton sundress and her tan sandals.
She walked out of her room at the same time Brenna did—and her sister was wearing the same copper-colored sundress.
Brenna scrunched her lips. “Well, shit.”
Erin laughed. “I’ll go change. You look amazing.”
“No, I’ll do it.”
“No, really, it was a toss-up between this one and the yellow one.”
Brenna tilted her head. “The yellow one looks amazing with your dark hair.”
“Thanks. Yellow it is.”
Brenna started down the steps.
“Bren?”
“Yeah?”
“You know you can talk to me—and to Honor—about anything.”
“I know. And I’m sorry I was such a bitch earlier. I had a bad day yesterday. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”
“It’s okay. That’s what sisters are for. You want to talk now?”
Brenna shook her head. “Not really. Maybe.”
Which to Erin meant yes. “Okay. Spill it.”
“I had a terrible date.”
Erin frowned and walked over to Brenna. “What happened?”
Brenna shrugged. “I had high hopes, you know? On the surface, he seemed like a nice guy. I thought we had a lot in common. But then it all fizzled out over dinner and I was just so . . .”
“Disappointed?”
Brenna waited a beat before answering, but Erin could read her sister’s face.
“Yes. I mean, how hard is it to carry on a conversation over a meal? It’s not like I’m a physicist or anything. I just want to talk about wine and books and gardening. I find out about his likes, he finds out about mine.”
“But?”
“Oh, I found out all about his likes, all right. He was only interested in shoveling food in his mouth and talking all about himself and all his major life achievements. His big house, his bitchin’ car.”
Erin winced. “He did not say ‘bitchin’,’ did he?”
“Oh, he did. And then he expected that I’d come over to his place after dinner for some hot after-dinner sex for dessert. Even though he hadn’t asked me one single question about who the hell I was.”
Erin wrinkled her nose. “How revolting. I’m so sorry, Bren. What a waste of a night.”
“I got a good meal out of it, so it wasn’t a total waste. But still, how hard is it to find a decent man?”
“I wish I had a good answer for that one. But please don’t give up. The right guy for you will come along.”
“Yeah. Sure he will. Anyway, I’m really sorry I snapped at you.” Brenna hugged her.
“It’s okay. Sometimes you just have to let it out. But not at us next time, okay?”
Brenna laughed. “Yeah, I’ll make a mental note. And I’ll find Honor and apologize to her,
