“That’s not true at all. I just find Sheriff Gates a little persnickety, that’s all. He’s constantly coming up with new fines and rules.”
“You can call him Tyler. He didn’t make up any new rules. He’s simply enforcing whatever laws you break. He’s only doing his job, Aunt Pearl.”
Aunt Pearl sighed wistfully. “I never should have run that last lazy sheriff out of town. Don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.”
“That is so true.” I remembered a year ago when Lombard Wines was operating normally. “Now remove your spell on Antonio and Trina.”
“Later. First I’ve got to gather some intel.”
“On Antonio? Why?”
Aunt Pearl rolled her eyes. “Geesh, Cen, you think I’m going to tell you? You call yourself a journalist, but you’re always missing opportunities. You have so much to learn.”
I was about to ask why she felt the need to spy on Antonio when my cell phone rang.
Coincidentally, it was Tyler. He was finally going to tell me about our plans for tonight. Was it an engagement ring?
I imagined him down on one knee, a blue velvet ring box in hand. A beautiful solitaire, sized perfectly for my ring finger because Tyler was thoughtful that way. We’d uncork a bottle of champagne—”
“Cen? Are you still there?” Tyler’s voice jarred me from my daydream.
“Uh, yeah…sorry. Just trying to organize everything with Antonio. Where are you right now?”
“I’m, uh…heading home. Uh…about tonight—something’s come up. Can we make it tomorrow instead? After the wine festival, of course.”
“Sure, why?” My mood soured though I tried to sound upbeat.
“I can’t tell you yet. Pick you up tomorrow morning around 9-ish for the wine festival?”
“Alright, see you then.” He didn’t mention anything about visiting Mom, and I couldn’t think of an excuse to ask him. What if he had changed his mind about us? How silly of me to have assumed a proposal was coming. What was I thinking?
I slipped my phone back into my pocket. If Aunt Pearl really had cast an attraction spell on us as she claimed, what if she had undone it on Tyler? That meant Tyler’s love for me wasn’t genuine, that our future together—”
Aunt Pearl tugged on my sleeve. “Geez, Cendrine, will you get a move on! We’ve got a business to run!”
I swatted her away. “In a minute!”
I needed to pull myself together or Aunt Pearl would see the disappointment written all over my face. I had been looking forward to Tyler’s surprise all week. Now, for some mysterious reason, it wasn’t happening anymore.
I glanced over at Trina and Antonio. They had moved on from their lovey eyes and had already arranged the bottling table. Now they worked industriously and in perfect synchronicity. They set up the wine so it was ready to pour into bottles. They arranged the labels, corks, and bottle corker in assembly line order.
They really were good for each other, spell or no spell. Maybe Aunt Pearl’s spells weren’t so bad after all. Sometimes you needed a spark to light a fire.
I shuffled back to rejoin Aunt Pearl, but the spring was gone from my step. She was assigning additional tasks to Antonio and Trina.
“What should I start on?” I asked.
But Aunt Pearl wasn’t listening. She’d switched her attention to the window. Outside, a vintage red Corvette convertible drove through the open Lombard Wines main gate.
Chapter 5
“Ooh…this should be good.” Aunt Pearl wiped her hands on her thighs and headed outside.
Not sure what was happening, I trailed behind her.
The cold wind of a few hours ago had disappeared. The temperature had risen by a few degrees, though it was still cool outside.
The vintage Corvette’s chrome and candy-apple red metallic paint glinted in the sun as the driver steered the car in a semi-circle so that it faced the gate, ready for a quick exit. The car was in pristine condition, a vintage early sixties’ model with whitewall tires and fancy rims.
The convertible top was down and I had no trouble recognizing the driver’s balding head as he parked the car. Richard Harcourt, the manager of Westwick Corners Bank, had apparently traded in his practical minivan for an expensive collectible car.
Was it a midlife crisis car? He was already having an affair with a younger woman, Desiree LeBlanc.
I refocused my thoughts on Richard’s reason for being here. He was also a long-serving judge at the wine festival, so he certainly shouldn’t be fraternizing with Antonio, a contestant. On the other hand, Desiree was also a contestant and he certainly fraternized with her. Were there some last-minute arrangements for the festival tomorrow? I hoped not, because that meant both Antonio and Mom would have more work to do.
Richard remained inside his car, engine idling. He seemed oblivious to us and in no hurry to get out. My stomach turned into a hard knot as something told me that this wasn’t simply a courtesy call. Antonio had confided in me that he had fallen behind on his mortgage payments. A successful wine show tomorrow could quickly change that, of course. It was all he needed for the money to start flowing in again. Everyone knew the wine business was seasonal. Surely Richard had the decency to give Antonio a little leeway to sort things out? As I ran inside to get Antonio, I already knew that wasn’t going to happen.
It was soon obvious why Richard had remained in his Corvette. He had been waiting for someone.
Jose’s black Cadillac drove into the lot and parked haphazardly a few feet from Richard’s Corvette. Both men exited their vehicles and walked toward the winery entrance, whispering.
Richard, at 6-foot-6, had the dubious distinction of being the tallest man in town. He had to stoop slightly to talk to Jose, who at about 6-feet appeared much shorter than his actual height compared to Richard.
Though Jose was a few inches taller and slimmer than his older brother, it was obvious that he and Antonio were brothers. Both had the same short dark hair sprinkled with gray. Both were cleanshaven and
