Autumn Shadows by Shirley Wine

Author:Shirley Wine
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: new zealand setting, rural romance, family setting, small town series romance, deep south romance series
Publisher: Shirley Wine

Chapter Sixteen

Scowling, Ben strode away from Gemma and her probing questions. That she’d hit on a really sore point rankled. She could never understand the burden of family expectation. How could he explain the need to leave before he was crushed beneath its weight?

He’d barely gone twenty yards when a voice hailed him from the next row of vines. “Ben? Ben, is that you?”

He halted. A man emerged from the colourful foliage, walked towards him, pulling off a picking glove, and stretching out a hand. “You old son of a gun, I thought it was you. How are you man? How long have you been back here?”

Ben laughed at the barrage of questions. “Zeke, it’s great to see you. You haven’t given picking away yet?”

They shook hands and slapped each other’s shoulders.

“I keep threatening to.”

“And I’ve sure as hell heard that before.”

Zeke threw back his head and laughed, his teeth gleaming white in his tanned face. “I run the gang now, but we only work a few vineyards, Maison de Clairière here, and two or three others. Most places around here have amalgamated into much bigger concerns, and they use mechanical harvesters.”

A tall, gangly youth popped under the grape vines. Zeke put a hand on the youth’s shoulder and drew him forward. “This is my boy, Josh. He’s been coming here a couple of seasons now. Josh, this is Ben, Madame’s son.”

Josh pulled off a glove and extended a hand. “I’ve heard tell of you.”

“I’ll bet.” Ben shook the youth’s hand, laughing. “Your dad here was once hell on wheels.”

“And you weren’t?” Zeke chuckled, and turned towards his son. “You get back on the job, Josh. I’ll be back in a few.”

The boy darted back under the row of vines. Zeke turned to Gemma. Ben saw his gaze flick from her left hand to Lucas bouncing in the backpack, and knew he was drawing his own conclusions.

“I see congratulations are in order.” He winked at Gemma, his dark eyes twinkling. “I never thought I’d see the day when any woman tamed Ben. And here he is toting a baby around, and with a pretty woman on his arm.”

Ben extended a hand to Gemma and drew her forward. “This is Gemma, and the little guy in the backpack is Lucas. Gemma, this is Zeke Thornberry. Zeke and his extended family have been picking grapes here for as long as I can remember.”

He held his breath. Would Gemma set Zeke straight about their non-existent relationship, or would she allow his assumption to stand?

“Pleased to meet you.” She smiled, and accepted Zeke’s handshake. “I don’t think there’s a woman alive who will ever truly tame Benjamin McGlade.”

“McGlade?” Zeke’s mobile eyebrows rose. “Since when?”

“Since I joined the army and took my dad’s name.”

“I heard tell you were serving overseas; Madame mentioned it a time or two.”

“Did she?” This was news to Ben, for so long he’d thought she didn’t care, one way or the other, let alone share news about him. “I’ve been deployed overseas several times, and mustered out last spring.

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