A bout of coughing made Sami turn around. Tibby was covering his mouth, a smile tugging at his lips while he struggled to contain himself.
"You finished drooling over the neighbour enough to get back to work? Fence won't strain itself you know."
"I'm not drooling, thinking about things. Don't get the two confused, old man." Sami grabbed the fencing pliers and got back to work, determined to make her way without creating too many waves. Tonight's visit was something she could do without for a while. But it seemed almost impossible to say no to Mason, he had his mind made up and she may as well get it over and done with. Once he realized she meant what she said, he would go away about his own business and leave her alone. Or so she hoped.
Chapter 7
Mason chose a bottle of wine with care, passing on his first choice of a crisp clean Merlot and picking up his favourite bottle of Gold Label Shiraz instead. He wanted Sami's first taste of his wine to be full of flavour and memorable for many reasons. He walked out of the cellar and into his office to collect his car keys.
"I'm out for the night, James. See you tomorrow." He waved to the semi-retired winemaker sitting at the computer poring over his figures and walked out, his feet peppering out a sharp beat as he stepped over the cobbled floor of the winery. Mason closed the door and walked around the side of the sandstone building to the old stables now housing his car.
Pushing the remote, he opened the door of the dark green Landcruiser and slid inside, carefully placing the bottle on the front seat beside him. He reversed out of the car park and drove slowly down the drive, his gaze going over the section of vineyard he needed to prune tomorrow in preparation for winter. It was now all of the little jobs that had built up would be taken care of. Pruning, cleaning and raising the wires would take him a couple of months.
It also gave him time to reflect on where he was headed next. Desperate to expand the winery, his focus was on the farm next door. Even though Sami had already said she wanted to keep the farm, he was going to put his case forward and hope for the best. It was a shame his father had already tried to push her to sell. Now she had her back up and he had an uphill battle ahead of him.
Awesome move Dad. Once again you put your foot into my business and get it wrong. Thanks but I refuse to bully someone for land they don't want to part with. You on the other hand act as though you don't care about her feelings.
Mason drove down the driveway and turned left down the road toward Buttercup Farm. Tibby was probably still working and with any luck Sami would be in the thick of it too. Catching her while she was busy would put her on the back foot and give him a chance to put his case forward, much easier than if she was sitting waiting for him to arrive with refusal on her mind.
He pulled up at the house, his gaze quickly searching for activity inside. Getting out of the car, he looked toward the hay shed and was headed that way when a noise caught his attention.
Mason stepped up onto the rough wooden floor as Sami came flying through the door partially hidden beside a stack of hay and landed at his feet.
"Ooph, damn it. Sami, you bloody clumsy oaf," she muttered.
She pulled herself to her knees and inspected her hands, picking at the splinter deeply imbedded in her palm. "Fuck, it hurts." Her dark brown hair fell over her face and she brushed it away impatiently.
Mason kneeled down and took her hand. Her head shot up and she pulled back looking surprised to see him standing there.
"I didn't see you. Sorry. Hell, that stings." Sami took her hand back and shook it before blowing on the splinter.
"That won't fix it. Come on." He held out his hand and pulled her to her feet. "Let me get it out for you. There must be a first aid box in the house somewhere."
Mason took her hand and ignoring her protests, guided her from the barn. He kept his hand around her shoulders as they walked up into the kitchen and he pushed her into a chair taking note of the pallor of her skin, hoping she wouldn't faint in a heap. "Now where would I look?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "No idea. I just moved in, remember?"
He started looking in cupboards and finally found a small kit in the pantry on the top shelf. Placing it on the table, Mason opened it, pulling out the contents.
"This will do." Holding up a pair of tweezers he reached for her hand.
Sami's face paled even more and she sat back, clutching her hand to her chest. "No, don't."
" I can leave it there and let you deal with it later but looking at you now, I somehow doubt you will do anything other than let it fester and get infected. If I take it out, it will heal quickly and be over and done with."
"Sami hates the sight of blood, especially her own, even though she tries to tell herself otherwise." A gangly teen walked into the kitchen, grinning, and leaned against the back of a chair. "Hi, I'm her brother Garth."
"Mason, nice to meet you. How about you talk to her?"
"Just do
