Love's Harvest, page 11
part #1 of A Salmon Run Novel Series
Barbara continued. “Look, Julia, since we don’t know when James’ll show up, I and my deputies will be at the winery by dawn’s light. I’ll bring the deed with me so we can get this handled once and for all.”
Julia continued to feel a renewed sense of peace come over her as she smiled into the receiver. “I’ll be up with the coffee pot on. I can’t thank you enough, Barb.”
“It’s part of my job as sheriff, Julia, as much as it’s my obligation to you as your friend. You’re sure hiring Gayle is a good idea?”
“Absolutely!” Julia answered looking back at her sister-in-law. “We’ll both be here when you arrive in the morning. Good night, Barb. Thanks for all!”
“Good night, Julia. Pray everything tomorrow goes without a hitch.”
“I will.”
Gayle was the first to speak. “Barbara doesn’t think I should work here, does she?”
Julia smiled. “I think she was simply surprised is all. We’re all friends, remember?”
“Yes, and I promise to stand by you tomorrow, no matter what!”
After Gayle and Julia said their goodbyes, Julia locked her front door, hoping to get some much-needed sleep before the four a.m. alarm went off in the morning, but she wasn’t counting on it. Whatever was to happen tomorrow would change the course of not only her life, but the life of the winery and all those who worked for it, including Gayle.
As she prepared for bed, Julia thought about Eduardo and Felicia and how much they were growing on her. She thought about Mariela and Rafael and their dedication to her and the winery. Mostly, though, she thought about Diego and how she felt whenever he was near.
She couldn’t help but notice how empty she felt when he wasn’t around, and how comforted and alive she felt when he was in her presence. She prayed God would forgive her for having such feelings so soon after Robert’s death, but she couldn’t help it. The pull on her heart felt a great deal like love. At least, that was what she guessed, for it’d been some time since she’d experienced anything like what she was experiencing now.
~
The night had cooled down. Diego opened the miniscule window in the back of his tiny bedroom and enjoyed the light breeze which had come up as soon as the sun set. Physically, Diego was exhausted, but emotionally he was a ball of nerves.
Never before in his life had he encountered this conflagration of feelings—anxiety, loneliness, anger, love. Well, maybe not love exactly, but something more like respect, loyalty, and, all right, desire. He had to admit it. He was falling in love.
Yet these feelings for Julia were new to him. Yes, he’d been in love before or what he thought was love, but this time was different. Not a second went by without him having some thought or another about the Señora—where she was, what she was doing, if she was thinking of him as well.
Every inch of Diego’s body vibrated with the anticipation of holding the Señora again, to feel her lips against his, and to allow his hands and mouth to explore her body. Julia’s beauty wasn’t merely physical. She had a soft and caring heart, not only for the winery, but for his people as well. He only hoped she felt the same about him.
Wearing only his boxers, Diego lay bare-chested on the top of his bedding, yearning for sleep. Yet, every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was James and whoever he brought with him inflicting their brand of pain on Julia and those who worked at the winery.
The rage he kept buried during the day surfaced in all its fury in the silence of the night. He wanted to strike back, hard, but knew if he did, things would more than likely escalate beyond a point of safety. He absolutely refused to be responsible for a single person getting hurt. This feeling of rage, he was all too familiar with. When he learned his best friend Jorge had convinced his fiancée Paulina to leave Diego and marry him instead, it took everything Diego had not to cross the border back into Mexico and kill Jorge.
He’d felt betrayed, ridiculed, and even angry at God. Now as he lay in his bed, he realized perhaps he wasn’t as in love with Paulina as he’d earlier thought. He certainly didn’t have the same feeling for her as he now had for Julia.
Diego was smart enough to know it’d take nothing short of a miracle for him and Julia to become a couple, especially since it’d not even been a week since Señor Robert had been interred. Besides, who was he to think a woman of Julia’s class and distinction would fall for a displaced immigrant like himself.
He fisted the bed sheet in anguish. On the surface, it all appeared so hopeless. Yet, something deep within him told Diego to remain patient, to keep his attention on the health of the winery, and most of all to believe in the power of love.
Chapter 8
The next morning Julia woke with a start. She glared at the clock. 3:47. She had only slept five hours, if that. There was little or no reason for her to stay in bed, given what the morning threatened.
She swung her legs off the mattress and immediately felt the cool night air slam into her body. “From her toes to her nose” as Robert used to say.
In the distance, she could hear the braying of a lone donkey, probably the hinny from the neighboring ranch on the other side of the road adjacent to the vineyard. Funny how she had never paid attention to that sound before. Yet, this morning all of Julia’s senses were on high alert.
Quickly, Julia got dressed and turned on the coffeepot as promised. She didn’t think she could eat anything for her stomach still felt as if in a knot. To put on a CD also felt like too much of a good thing, so no food and no music.
One thing she was certain of. This day wasn’t going to be met without at least two cups of coffee. All right, maybe the whole pot. Whatever was needed to put her in the zone, and in the zone was exactly where Julia seriously needed to be if she was to hang on to her home and the business of the winery.
She’d barely finished fixing her hair when she heard a rumble of tires and flying gravel.
“What in the world?” she asked an empty house. She raced to the front door and peeked out the peep hole, expecting the noise to belong to James and whoever else he talked into assisting him. Instead, screeching to a halt in front of her house was a humongous white school bus.
As the dust cleared, she recognized the words emblazoned on its side. RIVERSIDE LUTHERAN CHURCH, Salmon Run, Washington. The passenger door immediately flew open, and there sat Gayle at the steering wheel, grinning from ear to ear.
“Good morning, Julia!” she sang out as she set the emergency brake. “I hope I didn’t wake you, but an idea came to me last night and I knew you’d approve,” she said as she hopped down from her station.
Initially, Julia was speechless, but then the absurdity of the entire event struck her funny, and she began to laugh. “Gayle, what’s all this? I can’t believe you drove that thing all the way out here by yourself. Are you nuts?”
Gayle grabbed Julia with her strong hands and drew her into an embrace. “This is a bus, silly. And, yes, I probably am nuts.” The two women then rocked back and forth in each other’s arms.
At that moment Diego came running up the hill, looking as though he’d only seconds ago woken up. “Señora Julia, what’s going on? Are you all right?”
As he continued to peruse the vehicle positioned in front of him, both women turned in his direction and burst out in laughter for a second time. Diego raised an eyebrow and felt the corner of his mouth turn up.
“No, offense Señora Gayle, but are you loco? Bringing an empty church bus here onto the property? And on a day like this?”
As soon as the two women heard the word loco, they lost it yet again. “I’m sorry for laughing, Diego, but if you’d seen your face when you came charging up the hill, you’d be in tears too.”
Julia finally calmed down and turned back to Gayle. “So why did you bring the bus? I mean, other than the obvious reason—you are loco!”
Gayle wiped her eyes on her shirt sleeve. “Well, like I said, I had this wonderful idea last night, so I ran it by Pastor Knudson and he said, ‘by all means, take the bus!’”
Julia waited for her goofy-faced sister-in-law to continue but soon realized Gayle needed a nudge. “And?”
Gayle noticeably sobered as she continued. “I thought given we don’t know what kind of danger we may face today, I thought I’d round up all the children and bring them for a day’s activities and fun at the church. Sort of like a makeshift Vacation Bible School, if you know what I mean. That way the children will be safe and sound, and their parents won’t need to worry about them getting hurt. Then after things cool down, I’ll bring them back home again. What do you say?”
Again, Julia was stunned by Gayle’s generosity of spirit. It was Diego who spoke first. After taking a second, he finally said, “I think you Lutherans are a crafty bunch! Almost as crafty as us Catholics!”
Gayle warmly smiled at Diego. “You’re probably right. Except this little Lutheran lady has a bus and you don’t!”
Diego threw back his head and laughed out loud. Julia thought for a moment she’d never seen a more dashing man—two sexy dimples, perfectly shaped white teeth, and sparkling black eyes. Diego was an exquisite combination of both his Mexican heritage and indigenous background.
“Well, Señoras, let me find Mariela. If anyone can gather together a small group of half-awake children, it’s her.”
He put his straw hat back on the top of his head and made his way down the hill. The women watched him until he disappeared. Gayle turned once again to Julia.
“You’re very lucky to have this man in your life, Julia,” she said softly so as not for him to hear,
Julia felt her cheeks redden. “Yes, he’s been an excellent orchard manager and liaison between me and the workers.”
Gayle snickered. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”
“What are you talking about?” Julia stared at the ground and rolled a tiny rock around with her toe. Gayle then took her by the shoulders and stared her straight in the eyes.
“He likes you, Julia. I mean, he really likes you, and it’s okay to like him back, you know.”
Julia felt suddenly embarrassed that her hidden thoughts and feelings were so evident. “It’s only that I feel it’s been too soon since Robert’s death for me to look for someone else, and yet I’m inexorably drawn to this quiet man.”
“Oh, pish-posh! What do you care what others think? He obviously cares about the winery, and he cares about you. Besides, you’re old enough to make your own decisions for your life. And, in my opinion, he’s a good one!”
Julia reached for Gayle’s embrace. “Thanks, Gayle. I’ve been facing all this business with Robert and the winery alone for so long, I’ve forgotten how important it is to have good friends.”
Gayle put her palms on either side of Julia’s face. “I know I have some things to make up to you for, but I’m still your friend, Julia. And I promise I’ll remain so for the rest of our lives.”
At that moment Mariela and Rafael were seen leading a small group of children including their own up the hill and toward the bus. “Señora,” Mariela called. “I have all the children here except for two, Joaquin Lopez’s grand babies, Mateo and Sofia. Diego will bring them up shortly.”
“Thank you, Mariela. I’m not sure you’ve met my sister-in-law, Gayle Reynolds? Gayle, Mariela and her husband Rafael Pasqual.” Julia introduced the couple to the woman who in a matter of minutes would drive their children away, at least for the better part of the day.
Mariela took a step toward Gayle. “Señora Reynolds, Rafa and I wish to thank you for thinking of us and our children. We don’t want anyone to get hurt either, especially our sons and daughters. After all, they’re innocent and only here because of us, their parents.”
Gayle marched forward and took Mariela’s hand in hers. “It’s my pleasure. I want you to know I do not approve of what my husband’s doing, and I never will. I promise you, all of your children will be well cared for, and I’ll make sure we’ll all have a great deal of fun.”
“Gracias Señora.”
“Gayle, please.”
Mariela nodded. “Gayle, my husband Rafael will call later to see how the children are faring. If there should be a problem with us here at the winery, I’m sure Sheriff van Persie will get a hold of you and, if need be, figure things out from there.”
Mariela’s eyes filled with tears. “Our children are everything to us, Gayle. That’s why we came here to Washington—to start a new life for them.”
Gayle cradled the woman in her arms. “Don’t you worry. No matter what happens, your children will be well taken care of. I promise you that.”
~
The women were interrupted by the voices of two little children running up the hill and followed by Diego. “Wait for us, Señora Reynolds. We want to go to the Bible school, too!”
Diego helped Gayle usher the remaining children onto the bus. She kissed Julia goodbye one last time before she climbed into the driver’s seat. It was a little after six by now and time for the children to vacate the winery. It was unclear as to when James would arrive to do his dirty work, so the sooner the children were gone, the better.
After waving goodbye to children, Mariela, Rafael, Diego, and Julia took a moment to take in all that’d transpired over the last hour. Finally, Rafael spoke. “I’ll go down to the compound and see who may be available to help us today. Now that the children are safe, perhaps more of the adults’ll be willing to stand up to James than I’d previously guessed.”
Mariela turned to Julia. “And I’ll see that everything in the retail shop is carefully put away and secure. Don’t worry, Señora Julia. No matter what happens, and no matter who shows up to help, all of us who work here believe you’re doing the right thing.”
Julia bowed her head and answered in a nearly inaudible voice. “Thank you, Mariela. I hope you’re right.”
She was glad Gayle had shown up to take the children away for the day, but she began to feel more and more anxious about what lay up ahead, especially since Barbara, as of yet, hadn’t arrived. Without the backing of the sheriff and the original copy of the deed, things could turn nasty in but a mere matter of seconds.
As Mariela left to go to her duties, Diego turned to Julia and lifted her chin so he could look into her eyes. “Don’t doubt yourself for a minute, Julia. You’re absolutely doing the right thing.”
With that he turned and retraced Rafael’s steps back to the compound. Should James show up, Julia knew that Diego would be ready. In the meantime they all had chores to do and responsibilities to fulfill as they each would on any other day of the week.
~
Julia walked back into her office with the intention of calling Barb. Normally she wouldn’t phone anyone this early in the morning, but she needed her friend not only for support, but for protection as well. She also needed that deed in her hand if she was to have half of a chance of stopping whatever it was James had up his sleeve.
No sooner had Julia picked up the phone than she heard several trucks pull into the winery parking lot, blocking any chance of anyone else coming in or worse, getting out.
“They’re here, Julia!” screamed Mariela. “Oh, blessed Jesus, there’re so many of them.”
From the pit of Julia’s stomach she could feel the bile again rise. Now wasn’t the time for her to show fear or weakness, so she willed the vomit back down her throat and readied herself for what awaited her.
As soon as the first truck skidded to a stop, James jumped out, a golf club in his hand. “Julia Reynolds, I order you to get out here right this second. And don’t you dare make me do something we’ll both regret,” James yelled at the top of his lungs.
If Julia was at all tentative before, she most certainly wasn’t now. How dare he talk to her that way!
No one in her life’s history had ever even tried to boss her around—not a conductor, or an agent, or a greedy son of a bitch like her husband’s brother!
This was her land, not James’s. And this was her family business and legacy, not some indiscriminant piece of purchased land to be done away with. Julia took in a deep breath and opened her front door.
Before her stood two dump trucks full of hired men holding sticks and clubs, ready to wreak havoc upon James’s signal. Julia’s heart sank into her feet, yet she worked hard at not showing her terror.
She’d perfected this cool façade through her many years of concertizing. The first time she played at the five-balcony Burgtheater in Vienna, she was sure she’d pass out before making it to the piano bench, but she hadn’t. A few deep breaths and a reminder that her public by and large adored her gave Julia the wherewithal to step graciously onto the stage and take her place with one of the most brilliant orchestras of her time, the Vienna Philharmonic.
What appeared before her now, however, wasn’t even close to anything she’d ever experienced. In front of her were the angry and malicious faces of at least two dozen men whom she realized had no other agenda but to destroy her and the winery for a mere—what?—twenty dollars apiece?
To calm herself down she turned her focus away from the small army and directed her gaze toward James. Out of the corner of her eye she was sure she saw Duncan behind the wheel of the second truck. Things were beginning to make sense now—the lawyer and the accountant. Of course, they wanted to close the winery, for with the winery closed these two men had everything to win and nothing to lose.
With her arms folded in front of her, Julia hoped to keep her stomach calm while at the same time take on a professionally firm stance. “Good morning, James,” she said. “What brings you out to the Nooksack Valley Winery and Vineyard this early hour of the morning? I am sorry, but we aren’t normally open for wine-tasting this early in the morning. Perhaps if you try later in the day …”
James motioned for the men to descend from the two flatbeds as he stepped toward his sister-in-law. “You know damn well why I’m here. I told you I’d be back to stake my claim and here I am. And there’s not a damn thing you can do about it either.”
