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Season of Change(127)



                “No, but I want to. Plain diamonds, channel set in platinum.” Nothing but the best for his wife. She was the primary reason he was finally ridding himself of the shackles of the Death and Divorce House. The twins, his friends, Hiro. They had created a very strong supporting role, so that he’d finally learned that money couldn’t wipe out mistakes.

                “Oh, yeah.” She nudged him playfully with her hip. “I won’t worry about losing that, either.”

                “I have an early wedding gift for you.”

                She raised an eyebrow. “Seriously? You were that confident I’d accept?”

                He pressed a kiss to her forehead, choosing not to tell her how lacking in confidence he’d been. “I made an offer on some property on the east side of town overlooking the river. We’ll need to build a house, but I know this great architect...”

                “Have fun overseeing the plans. I think that should be a long-overdue birthday present for you.” She snuggled closer, crooning softly, “And many more...”

                “You don’t want to help me design it?”

                “I’m plenty busy working at the winery. Harvest is almost here. And I trust you.” She rubbed a hand over his chest where his tie used to rest. “Ryan had this idea about crowdsourcing, which wasn’t quite right. But then I realized Harmony Valley can call in a crowd—all the younger relatives of our residents. We can give them each a tie-dyed T-shirt made by Mayor Larry and a bottle of wine when it’s ready. And Flynn wants to pitch moving here permanently to anyone who shows up to help.”

                Slade shifted until he held her at arm’s length. “We were talking about building a home. The place we’re going to raise our children. And you changed the subject to the winery?”

                She laughed. “I know, I know. I get carried away with my work.” She planted a gentle kiss on his jaw. “As long as you have a professional-grade kitchen and some kind of wine storage...and a fantastic bedroom, second story, overlooking the river...I’m in.”

                “You’re a dedicated woman. And I wouldn’t have you any other way.” He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. “Now, my real early wedding gift to you is that I sent out a press release saying our permits and our winery are not for sale.”

                “That’s so sweet.”

                “The reason being that our partnership has already sold—”

                “You lied to me?” Christine tried to push away from him, but he held on tight.

                “Let me finish.” He waited until she stilled. “I bought the permits from the partnership and now I’m giving them to you.” He did release her then. Or at least he let her step back. He kept his hands on her arms. He’d probably always be reluctant to let her go.

                “What? But why?”

                “Because I realized that personal promises should come before profit objectives. Because I’m not afraid to put my future in your hands.” He grinned. “And because we’re three beer guys who know nothing about growing or making wine. We need a fourth partner, someone who’ll be in charge and have our best interests at heart. The partnership still owns the property and the winery, but you’ll own the permit and control how much wine we make and when.”

                She stretched to her tiptoes to press a kiss to the scar on his neck. “You never have to buy me anything again.”