Bitter Truth (Hawthorne Vines #1)

“Yeah. I think it is.”

Aunt Sarah watches me for a minute before pushing off the frame and entering my room. She crosses over to my bed and takes a seat on the edge, facing me.

“I couldn’t hear the argument from inside the restaurant, but it looked like Memphis was pretty upset.”

At that, I laugh. “That’s an understatement. He’s just …” I shake my head.

If I get into the nitty-gritty about Memphis and why he’s so mad at me, I’d have to tell Aunt Sarah about what’s going on with the vineyard, and how Dad’s thinking about selling it. That’s just not something I want to get into tonight. Not when I have so much else on my mind.

“He’s just worried,” I end up saying. “He really wants the restaurant to be a success, and I think he’s stressed that something could happen if Wes and I are seeing each other.”

“Do you think he’d be so upset if he wasn’t worried about the finances?”

My back straightens then as surprise tumbles through me.

It must show on my face because Aunt Sarah gives me a knowing smile.

“I know the vineyard’s struggling, Murphy. Have for a long time. You don’t have to hide things from me.”

I blink a few times, not really sure what to say.

“I’ve known about the problems for years,” she continues, “and I’ve been begging your father to either hire someone to help sort things, or at the very least let me try to help.”

“And he wouldn’t?”

She sighs. “Your father is stubborn. I don’t have to tell you that. He’s never been good with numbers or finances. But he refuses to ask for help, and the vineyard is suffering now because of it.”

“Unfortunately Memphis has inherited Dad’s stubborn streak.”

“Oh, Memphis doesn’t hold a candle to your father,” Aunt Sarah says with a laugh that tells me she’s seen a thing or two. “The fact your brother talked to you about what’s going on instead of living in denial means he’s willing to accept suggestions or ideas. But your dad grew up listening to our dad talk about responsibility and the job of the men of the house.” She rolls her eyes. “With the way that man talked, you’d think my mom and I never did anything around the vineyard.”

Something occurs to me then. Something I hadn’t ever thought of before because it just wasn’t on my radar.

But now, talking to Aunt Sarah, it just makes me wonder.

“Did you ever hope Grandpa would leave the business to you instead?”

Something sad flashes across her face, but only for a second. “Oh, that just wasn’t their time, you know?” She waves her hand in the air. “Women didn’t run businesses when he was learning everything from our grandfather, so it’s only natural he’d pass it on to your dad.”

“But did you ever want him to?”

There’s a long pause where I think she’s deciding how best to answer. And when she does, it breaks my heart a little bit.

“Murphy, as you get older, you start to realize that a lot of things in life are out of your control. And you can either lay in bed at night and think about all that’s gone wrong, or you can choose to focus on what has gone right.” She shrugs. “It’s no use thinking about whether or not I wish my father had given the vineyard to me. Besides, I love my brother too much to resent him for something that wasn’t his choice in the first place.”

There’s truth to what she’s saying, absolutely. But there’s also a heartbreaking element as well.

My father left the vineyard when he graduated high school, much like I did. He proposed to my mom—his high school sweetheart—moved to San Jose, got a job working in sales, and had two babies. And then my mother died giving birth to Micah, and my dad moved back here to work on the vineyard and get help from my grandparents and aunt in taking care of us.

In all the years my dad was gone, Aunt Sarah was still here, working the fields and handling things that would have been Dad’s responsibility. Yet my grandfather still gave the vineyard to my father.

And she’s still here, working hard and demanding nothing.

I hate that for her.

“Can I give you a suggestion? Don’t let Memphis make decisions for you,” she says. “If there’s something special between you and Wes, fight for it.”

“I was planning to. I love Memphis, but I’m in love with Wes.” I puff out a breath. “I guess I just have to see if he feels the same.”