Rare Blend (Red Mountain #1)

10. Marisa

CHAPTER 10

Marisa

BEST I’VE EVER HAD

T here’s something on my porch.

I spot it immediately and then pause, looking around like someone might jump out and try to scare me. I’ve had my fair share of forgotten online purchases, but I know for a fact this isn’t one of them.

I walk up slowly, suspicious. I need to cool it on the true crime podcasts; they’re making me think everything is an attempt at kidnapping. As I get up to the porch, I realize it’s a plastic take-out bag filled with two styrofoam containers.

That’s strange. Strange, but not so strange I’m not going to rip open the bag immediately.

It’s tacos.

What?

Tacos, like the kind that come from a taco truck.

In my haste to open the bag, I missed the sticky note attached to it. I reach for it, unraveling it from its crumbled state.

Marisa,

I couldn’t in good conscience repurchase your gas station delicacies. Please accept these tacos as an apology for ruining your dinner and being a grumpy asshole. I wasn’t sure what you would like, so I chose a variety.

Enjoy,

Ethan

I am absolutely shocked. I’d be less shocked if they had manifested out of thin air. I fight a smile as my stomach does a somersault.

He bought me food.

It’s a simple gesture, but it’s enough to crack the hardened image of him in my head. Maybe I was too quick to judge and there is a kind human under all that grouchiness after all.

I’m not sure what this means. Are we friendly now? Do we remain passing strangers? I’m full of questions, but there aren’t any answers here.

Leaving the food on my porch, I race over to Ethan’s and knock on his door. Approaching footsteps sound and a pair of puppy dog eyes greet me through the side window, but no Ethan. Disappointed, I go back to my respective cottage. He may not be home, but I know he was here recently, because the food is still piping hot.

I eat half the tacos, which may be the best I’ve ever had, and save the rest for another time.

I’ve barely closed the fridge when my phone rings. It’s Hillary calling to FaceTime.

“Hi,” I greet, swallowing my last bite.

“Shit, sorry you’re eating.”

“No, it’s fine. I’m done. What’s up?”

“Nothing is up with me, my life is boring as hell. You, on the other hand, have the goofiest smile. Do tell.”

I have to be careful with Hillary; she latches onto the smallest details and runs with them.

“Remember the guy I told you about? My asshole neighbor. ”

“Yeah.” She sits up straighter. “I thought we hated him.”

“He dropped me off some food. That’s what I was eating.”

“You ate it?” she asks, obviously alarmed.

“Why are you saying it like that? Do you think I shouldn’t have?”

She shakes her head, her eyes exasperated. “Sweetie, a man who has been nothing but rude to you since you’ve arrived woke up one day and decided to bring you food. It’s suspicious. I mean how well do you know this guy? He’s probably a psychopath.”

I get where Hillary is coming from. Honestly, I’m surprised it’s not my own train of thought, but I don’t see Ethan being any of the things she’s accusing him of. He’s gruff and grumpy and lacking in manners, but he wouldn’t actually hurt me. I’m not sure why I feel so certain of that, but I do. Even in our heated exchanges, I’ve never feared for my safety. Maybe that’s naive of me.

“He’s not like that.”

She huffs. “That’s what they said about Ted Bundy, and we all know how that turned out.”

“Anyway,” I say, trying to change the subject. “How’s the baby?”

“Baby Girl is fine, measuring right where she should be.” She rubs her belly and zooms the camera in on it. “Besides getting enormous, all is well in that department.”

Her face reappears with concern.

“Now back to this neighbor, maybe you should find somewhere else to stay.”

“I’m not packing up my shit again just to move two seconds away. I’m fine.”

She rolls her eyes, but her shoulders slump and I know she’s dropping the subject. For now, at least.

“Besides Dahmer Bundy next door, any cute boys? Any prospects?”

I snort a laugh. “No, and none of that will be happening. I’m not here to date.”

“Who said anything about dating?”

I ignore her not so subtle suggestion. “For all I know, I’ll be gone by next week.”

“Have you heard from any of the companies you applied to?”

“Well, no.” Did she really have to point that out? Dread starts to inch its way into my head. Not one phone call or email, and I’ve applied for well over a hundred jobs.

“Then it looks like you’ll be there longer than that,” she says cheerily, unaware that she opened the door to my intrusive thoughts. “Maybe you should get on an app or two and have some fun.”

“I’m not doing any of the apps. Hard pass.” I dabbled with a few in my early twenties before I met Brandon, but I never took it too seriously, I was trying to have fun. Zoe’s horror stories were enough to completely turn me off from giving them another shot.

“You deserve an orgasm you didn’t give yourself. Might as well have some excitement while you’re there.”

“I get that you’re the horniest pregnant woman alive, but let’s not talk about my lack of a dating life. I’m in my single girl era and loving it.”

She furrows her brows at me but doesn’t say anything.

“Like today, I went to the farmers market and a cute coffee shop and then I drove around town, giving myself a tour while I listened to a podcast. It was lovely.”

Shaking her head, she smiles. “Whatever you say.”

I glance at the clock ticking on the wall and notice it’s almost one o’clock. “I’d love to continue this delightful conversation, but I’m meeting the stepmother soon and I need to prepare myself.”

She exhales sharply. “Fine. Call me later.”

We say our goodbyes, and I spend the next thirty minutes touching up my hair and makeup, trying to shake Hillary’s ridiculous advice. I’m here to get my life together, not sleep with some random local guy. Irritatingly, Ethan is the first image that comes to mind, and I rapidly shake my head of those thoughts. It’s only because I don’t know anyone and he’s decently attractive. Well, he’s more than decently attractive. Still, we’re oil and water, and that’s reason enough to not entertain those thoughts. And him apologizing with some food doesn’t make up for his shitty attitude. It’s laughable, really. Ethan would never give me a second look. I’m sure of it.

Jenn found out I went to the farmers market this morning through a friend of a friend, or however gossip spreads around here, and she was a little disappointed I’d gone by myself. So, when she invited me to go wine tasting, just me and her, I couldn’t say no, even though it’s the last thing I feel like doing. I can already predict how this will go. It will be like an awkward first date, filled with get-to-know-you questions and forced conversation.

I wait for her on the sidewalk, and right on time, she rounds the corner, approaching in a white, soccer mom SUV.

She greets me with a warm smile as I get settled in my seat. We’re silent for a moment, an old Faith Hill song filling the void.

“So,” Jenn starts, clearing the air. “Thank you for saying yes. I wasn’t sure you would, and I’m sure this is probably awkward for you. I don’t want you to think I’m trying to be imposing or act like some mom you clearly don’t need. From everything your dad has told me about you, you’re a smart, accomplished young woman, and I would like to get to know you. And maybe, eventually, we can be friends.”

I bite back my sneer. She’s either lying or embellishing things my dad told her for my sake. He’s not the most forthcoming man, and I can’t remember the last time he paid me a compliment. Compliments from him are like unicorns—nonexistent. Even at my own college graduation, where I graduated summa cum laude, rather than congratulate me, he and my mom preferred to deliver little digs to each other in masked happy voices, as if I was a child who couldn’t understand.

“Where are we going?” I ask, completely circumventing her attempt to talk about anything deeper than surface level.

Disappointment flashes on her face, but she quickly recovers. “I thought we would start at Ledger and then maybe check out Benton Winery after that. Those are the two most popular ones in town. And I may be bias, since Leanne, Jack’s wife, is my best friend, but Ledger wines are the absolute best.”

I nod, turning my head like the view from the window is too captivating to do anything but stare at it.

She gasps, and then I feel her head turn to me. “I didn’t even ask you. Do you drink? If you don’t, we can do something else.”

I laugh gently. She looked cool as a cucumber, but I’m starting to think she’s just as nervous as I am. “I’m not a big drinker, but I do drink. And I don’t know much about wine, so this will be fun.” My need to people-please outweighs my disinterest.

She relaxes, easing her grip on the wheel.

While the cottage I’m staying in is on the winery property, I have yet to see the actual winery. Jenn drives along a curved road in what feels like half a circle until a large, open, iron gate appears, with wrought iron lettering reading Ledger Estate Winery and Vineyards.

The building is beautiful, clearly modeled after a French Chateau. What strikes me the most is its grandeur. As I lean forward, my eyes take in the intimidating-looking building.

I was not expecting it to be quite so extravagant.

The exterior is solid stone, imposing, yet elegant. The facade is embellished with intricate carving and decorative stonework, giving it an aged look. Tall, narrow windows line the first and second floors, with Juliet balconies adorning the second-floor windows. It’s as if someone plopped the south of France in the middle of the Washington State desert.

I look down at my oversize, cable-knit sweater and jeans, feeling entirely underdressed to be within five feet of this place. Jenn, also dressed casually, is seemingly unaffected by the grandiose winery. She parks in the designated parking lot, and we walk in together.

The tasting room isn’t busy. There are only a couple different groups seated at high-top tables and others gathered at the marble bar. Whoever designed this building was very detail oriented. Not one area is basic or simple; everything is grand and opulent.

Jenn spots a woman working behind the bar, and the two women embrace excitedly.

“Marisa, this is my dear friend, Leanne.” She turns to Leanne. “Leanne, this is Robert’s daughter, Marisa.”

I extend my hand to her, but she pulls me in for a hug instead.

“So nice to meet you, Robert has told us so much about you.”

My cheeks heat. I’m a little taken aback by the affection as I wonder if she’s being polite or if my dad really has spoken about me.

Jenn and I hop up on the two open bar stools at the bar.

Leanne rests her hands on either side of the counter. “Are we doing a flight or a glass?”

Jenn and I exchange looks, and I shrug. I’m letting her take the lead on this, seeing as I’ve never been wine tasting.

“We’ll start with a red flight and go from there,” Jenn says.

Leanne sets three glasses in front of me and three in front of Jenn and proceeds to fill each one with a few ounces of different wines.

She goes on to explain what each one is, but I’m barely paying attention.

I pick up the first glass and take a sniff of it, because that seems to be what people do when they wine taste, though I have no idea what the reasoning is. It smells like wine, and maybe something spicy. This is so not my thing. If I’m drinking wine, it’s usually label-less, two-buck chuck on sale at the grocery store.

Jenn takes a sip. “Oh, this one is good. Very smooth,” she tells Leanne.

I follow suit, taking a sip. Unsurprisingly, it tastes like wine. This is going to get embarrassing very quickly if anybody asks me a wine-related question.

“How are you liking the cottage?” Leanne asks me.

“It’s great. Thank you so much for allowing me to stay there. I told my dad I was willing to pay.”

She waves her hand dismissively. “Absolutely not. We almost knocked them down a few years ago, but at the last minute decided to keep them up just in case. Hopefully, my son hasn’t been too much of a bother.”

I offer a dismissive shrug. “We’ve barely seen each other.”

Her eyes focus over my shoulder.

“His ears must’ve been burning.” She smiles and then shoots me a wink.

“Ethan, come say hi.”

My back goes rigid. I knew I was going to run into him again, but it didn’t occur to me that I would see him here.