His dad and stepmom sat on the loveseat, holding hands, and his middle sister, Christina, perched on the edge of the blue La-Z-Boy recliner. Christina stared into the empty stone fireplace, tugging on a strand of her long auburn hair as she worried her lip.
Dad bounced Heather’s daughter, Mia, on his knee, wincing in the process. As soon as Mia saw her mom and Derek enter, she hopped up and ran toward them, throwing her arms around Derek’s leg. “Uncle Elephant!”
“Hey, Peanut.” Before she could respond, he lifted her up and tickled her belly. Her hysterical squeals filled the room, easing some of the tension from everyone’s shoulders. Too bad her giggles couldn’t cure the room of it altogether.
He placed Mia back on the ground, and Heather swooped in. “Millie made some cookies, baby. Why don’t you go ask her for some?” Millie Rosche, their housekeeper and cook, had been with them since Derek was a child, and she helped watch Mia while Heather worked from the office attached to the tasting room.
Mia scampered out of the room, yelling “Cookies!” at the top of her lungs.
Dad gave a warm chuckle. “That girl brings so much joy into this house.”
“She’s the light of my life, that’s for sure.” Heather sat on the couch, and Derek joined her. “Now, what’s going on, Dad?”
Nancy shifted in her seat.
Dad patted her hand. “As you all know, I had my six-month checkup.” He paused, pulling his lips into a straight line. “It looks like my prognosis has worsened.”
“Worsened? Ten years wasn’t bad enough?” Reaching for a couch pillow, Heather clutched it to her chest.
“I’ve moved into end-stage renal disease.”
Derek breathed hard through his nose. “Remind us what that means in layman’s terms.”
“They’ve given me about five years if I go on dialysis.”
Five years? That … No. “Why did this happen?”
Dad looked at each of his three children for a long, meaningful moment. “We knew it would come to this if I didn’t receive a transplant. True, it came sooner than we’d have liked, but I’m not dead yet.”
Christina straightened. “Daddy!”
“Well, I’m not, and I’ll not have you all treating me like an invalid.” His voice was full of emotion. “I feel grateful God has given me as much time as he has, and we’re just going to make the most of every minute we have. Okay?”
Standing up, Derek moved to the window, taking in the fields, the hills, the green. This was supposed to be a good year, a fruitful one, the year when life turned around for his family. “There’s got to be more that the doctors can do.”
“Not at the moment.”
“That’s not true.”
Derek whirled as Nancy finally piped up.
She worried her lip. “Five years is just an estimate. It could be longer if he cuts back on the amount of stress in his life.”
“Nancy, we talked about this.”
“No, you talked about this, Jack.”
Heather turned wide eyes toward Derek. Her response was warranted though—he couldn’t remember the last time he’d heard his stepmother raise her voice.
“You’ve been working yourself ragged these last few months. All the stress of keeping the vineyard running hasn’t been good for your blood pressure or your heart. You have to stop.” Her eyes pleaded with him.
As if no one else in the room existed, Dad lifted his swollen hand to Nancy’s face and lightly brushed a piece of gray hair behind her ear. “I can’t let our family legacy die, Nan. I’ve worked too hard. My family has worked too hard. And I need to have something to leave the kids.”
“Dad, we have a say in this too.” Derek moved back to the couch, plopping down so hard the legs scooted back an inch. “I, for one, agree with Nancy. You have to take it easy. I’m back now and I’ll take over for you.” He’d just have to live here for the time being, even after the wedding. Maybe he could fly out to France every month or so, split his life between the two vineyards. Claire would understand.
At least, he hoped so.
His father looked at him. “Much as I appreciate it, son, you have a wedding to plan. You don’t have time to take over fully.”
“Ashley has a lot of it covered. I can still help relieve a significant amount of the pressure.”
Frowning, his dad finally nodded. “All right.”
“And what about us? We can help too, you know.” Heather gestured between herself and Christina. “We love our home just as much as Derek does.”
“And you.” Christina’s voice broke. “We love you, Daddy.”
Dad leaned forward and took Christina’s hand. “And I love all of you. But while Derek actually enjoys this work, I know if it were up to you girls, you wouldn’t be here anymore. You’ve got other dreams and goals than to be tied to this place—and to a dying father. And I will not be a burden to my children in the time I have left.”
“You’re not!” Heather looked nearly in tears as she huffed out the words. “We do want to be here. There’s nowhere else I’d rather raise my daughter than right here, with her Papa and Yaya.”
“All right, all right.” How was his dad’s tone so full of peace? He was the only calm one in the room. Ironic, since he was also the sick one.
Derek, on the other hand, was ready to rip the curtains from the window.
He inhaled a deep breath. He wasn’t helpless. No, he couldn’t reverse his dad’s diagnosis or procure him a kidney, but he could do something to help. The partnership with Claire’s company would ease their burdens financially. Once that started, they’d have the funds available to hire another manager—maybe they could even get Jorge back—and then Dad could rest.
Which meant from now until Memorial Day weekend, making sure his wedding went off without a hitch would be his top priority.
Chapter 5
Today, at least, her job would be fun.
Ashley, Bella, and Shannon huddled
