Christmas Home (The Coming Home #6)

37. Ruther

thirty-seven

Ruther

I didn’t want to go to the café yet. I just wasn’t ready when I had so many other things going on. Corey and I were working with Justin, a local attorney, to formalize our business arrangement. Lance, Jake, the mayor, and Amos needed to meet with us to propose the project to the town council for approval.

I met Randy and Cliff Richards, the brothers working under Amos and Todd as our builders, and liked them right away. They were big, tall, rough construction workers who had a great sense of humor and constantly made us laugh.

They were quick to lean into business as well. They showed me new construction projects they’d worked on in Nashville and the surrounding area, and I was impressed. “We believe in quality, which is what’s hurt us getting bids in Nashville. We won’t cut corners,” Cliff said, looking me in the eye.

“If you’re looking for someone who’ll build crap to save you a couple of pennies, we ain’t those people, but if you’re like Todd, Linc, and Amos and believe in a quality product, we’re definitely your guys.”

I glanced over at Corey, who was smiling. “That’s who we are as well.”

“Not that we don’t expect you to adhere to a budget,” Corey added. “We’re strict about that. You should be able to predict the supplies you’ll need for a development project this size, and buying in bulk should cut costs enough to cover overruns. We’re hiring you because we’ve been assured you know how to control a project’s budget.”

“That’s our specialty, as long as you don’t come in wanting fifty changes once construction has started.”

Corey chuckled. “We are developers, not individuals. If we have people wanting to make changes to the design, they’ll be strictly controlled and will occur prior to any building. This isn’t our first rodeo either.”

I cocked my eyebrow at my snob of a business partner using such a Southern saying. Then I shook my head. It’s not like the accent doesn’t rub off on you easily. I just never thought I’d see the day it rubbed off on Corey.

The weekend slipped up on us before I knew it. I’d have preferred to plow forward with the project and get as much done as possible, knowing the ribbon-cutting goal before the first of the year was ambitious even for us.

My plans were for nothing, considering there was a party out at the winery, and everyone we’d be working with made it clear we needed to be there. “This town cares about who’s in it. You’d be better off reconnecting before you announce your plans to the town council,” Emanual had advised.

I already wanted to go. I liked the winery, Logan and Matt, although I’d only met them in passing, and this small town. I’d moved here to be a part of it as much as anything else.

Corey and I drove out to the winery, following behind Jake and Lance, and parked in the space beside a cute little barn. We walked from there to the mill. I wasn’t sure we would ever get there as numerous people stopped Jake and Lance to talk and meet us along the way.

It would take some time to get used to all the small talk around here.

There were hundreds of people gathered around the mill, and a small band played a variety of music, which I was thankful for. Most of the time, it’s only country down here.

There were events, too, even bobbing for apples. There were games for the kids running around, laughing and having fun. There were booths selling products like soaps and homemade crafts.

It was like stepping into a Hallmark movie or something. Not that I watched very many of those.

The delicious smell of something roasting caught my attention, and I turned to head toward whatever it was and ran right into Clyde.

We both froze and stared at each other a moment before either of us could get our wits about us enough to speak. “Um, hi,” I said first.

He nodded and smiled. “Hi, it’s been a while. How are you?” he asked.

I shrugged. “Fine enough. I was just about to go find out what smells so good,” I said, pointing toward the booth where someone was selling what appeared to be almonds.

“Same. Wanna walk with me?” he asked.

I smiled and nodded, and we walked to the booth. “I’ve always loved these,” Clyde said. “When I was a kid, there’d be a big fair every fall, and that’s the one time a year Dad would give us some extra money for rides and stuff. Each year we’d get to pick something to eat. My sisters always wanted the caramel apples but I always wanted the roasted almonds. They just smell so amazing.”

“Two, please,” I said when the guy behind the booth acknowledged us, and I gave him some cash.

When I got our order, and I handed one to Clyde, he blushed. “Oh, you didn’t have to pay for mine.”

“I wanted to, especially after you told me how much you liked them.”

I could tell he didn’t know how to respond, so I just began walking, hoping he’d come with me, and we could avoid the awkwardness.

A big tent had been set up with picnic tables, so I sat down and grinned happily when Clyde sat across from me. We quietly watched all the hustle around us, eating our almonds.

“I-I made a mistake,” Clyde said, catching my attention.

“A mistake?” I repeated, not knowing what he meant.

“Yeah, I, well, when you were here in the summer, I was dealing with some shit. I pushed you away, and you were gone by the time things came together.”

I nodded. “I figured you didn’t want to see me any longer.”

Clyde humphed. “More like I wanted to see you too much. I was afraid of screwing up, again!”

I had no idea what he had screwed up but decided to stay quiet to see if he would explain.

When he didn’t, I cleared my throat and launched into the speech I’d planned for when I saw him again. “Listen, Clyde, I-I haven’t liked someone as much as I like you in a long time. Because of that, I pushed you when you were clear you weren’t interested. I apologize for that. You may have heard already, but I’ve decided to move to Crawford City. I’d like it if we could be friends, and I promise not to push you, okay?”

Clyde surprised me by putting his hand over mine. “I like you, too, and you didn’t push yourself on me. There’s a lot you need to know about me, about my past, and it’s not stuff I want to tell you here in public. But if you’re really interested, want to pursue something, maybe we could find time to talk in private?”

I couldn’t hold back my smile, even though I knew I must look like some lovesick teenager who’d just found out his crush felt the same way he did. “Um, what’s your plans tomorrow, Sunday?”

Clyde laughed. “I volunteered to come back here and help them clean up after the harvest festival, but if you want to join me…”

“I’d love to!” I said and had to force myself not to jump up and pull Clyde into my arms.

We agreed on a time to meet and had just made it official when Logan took over the mic from the band. “If everyone could gather for a moment, we’ve got an announcement to make.”

We followed the crowd and watched as Matt joined Logan on stage. “As you all know, our winery has slowly grown over the past few years. We’ve been lucky enough to win some awards and added several new varieties to our inventory. This year, we’ve conquered one of the most difficult challenges we’ve faced growing grapes in Middle Tennessee, and that is the taming of the muscadine.”

Several people laughed, and I quickly remembered the wine I’d tasted last summer.

“We’ve tested this year’s batch, and y’all…it’s amazing. So—” He looked over at a few of the kids lingering close to the stage. “—if you’re old enough, Lia and Millie will be helping Matt and me give each of you a sample. I think you’re going to be as impressed as we are.”

I wondered if they’d indeed conquered the flavor. It was close last year, the flavors melding nicely with the blend of grapes they’d used. Just a bit overwhelming for my taste.

“Want to try it out?” Clyde asked.

“Yeah, come on,” I said, and we walked side by side to where a line was forming. While we waited, Clyde chatted about everything that’d happened since I’d been gone. The new items Mrs. Cole had added to the buffet line. So-and-so was having a baby, and a couple who’d just announced a wedding. I didn’t know any of these people, but I realized, a few months ago, neither had he. The thought that I’d eventually care about this information filled me with joy. I was beginning a life where I felt like I could belong.

We reached the front of the line, and Matt poured Clyde and me plastic cups of wine and smiled. “Take a sip and let me know what you think,” he said, and not wanting to hold up the line, I did as he requested.

My eyes grew wide at the taste. “Really? Damn, how did you get those flavors out of a muscadine?” I asked, and Matt grinned. “You’ll have to ask Logan, but it’s good, right?”

“Damned good,” I agreed.

Logan, who was standing close enough to hear me, beamed. “I’ll be back to buy a case later. If you have one.”

“We do,” Lia said from behind us. Just come out on Wednesday when the store’s open, and I’ll take care of that for you.”

I gave her a nod, then Clyde and I moved out of the way so they could pass out more samples.

“It’s really good, isn’t it?” Clyde asked as he sniffed the remainder of his sample, then tossed it back.

“It is, just like other Tennessee natives. It’s surprisingly good.”