Cabernet Zin (The Southern California Wine Country Series) Read online

  Cabernet Zin

  Discovering True Love in a California Vineyard

  New Adult Contemporary Romance

  By

  J Gordon Smith

  Ayton & Greene Publishing Company

  Detroit, Michigan

  Copyright (c) 2013 by J Gordon Smith

  Editorial Summary

  Zachary Steel is a handsome, stay-at-home father, in his mid-twenties who sacrificed his promising industrial career to make life better for his children. He finds his now sole-bread-winning wife becoming resentful and more vicious and then he learns – unfaithful. His passion copes by throwing him into his small, struggling California winery investment.

  Among the Temecula Valley vineyards, Zack glimpses the promise of love again when he meets Claire Vega touring the wineries with her friends – a captivating and smart young woman finishing her business degree.

  Claire wonders why she finds this young married man so charming and desirable and worries she is only his fling when she wants so much more of him. Zack is terrified Claire could abandon him and twist his heartache for her into disappointment, sadness, and dark loneliness – especially when he finds she has been keeping a secret from him. Can they cling together through tragedy and strengthen each other against family opposition to their growing relationship? Will they build trust and True Love on top of hot desire among the California vineyards? Will they find despair … or happiness?

  A New Adult Contemporary Romance

  Recommended for adult readers due to sexual situations, language, and content.

  Chapter 0

  BURNISHED GOLD GLINTED from the tip of the somber mountain that stood along the vastness of the southern horizon, but the color disappeared as the winter sun faded into shimmering starlight. The evening brought a crisp breeze darting up the dormant vineyard in snappy bursts to remind its trembling vines that spring remained elusive yet.

  Zack pushed through the heavy oak crush-pad doors of Amber Mountain Winery toward the parking lot. “Another failed year, Rutger! How do we increase customer traffic and earnings?” He flipped his sports jacket lapel, the charcoal fabric fading into the evening, while his other arm gripped a stack of grim binders. His polished shoes sparkled in the slit of light cutting from between the barrel racks inside the winery. “You have enough cash for the capital call?”

  Rutger searched his pocket for his rental keys, his feet crunching in the gravel, “In the middle of the deepest recession in eighty years? No. But we are still early in this project as investments go. We won’t be able to evaluate it for at least five years.”

  “Let’s toss these in our cars and get back to the tasting room. I want to see how busy the floor traffic is.” Zack peered over his shoulder, the rough stone of the winery chunky and solid against the hill and glowing with energy from within. Guests and winery investors floated through the warmly lit tasting room and the tiled patio. They cupped goblets of wine like delicate crystals scattering light that winked at the twinkling stars far overhead.

  “Traffic looks good.” Rutger opened his car door and tumbled the binders and notes across the passenger seat. “I have pictures of the other wineries from today. They were all busy, but it looked like we are the busiest.”

  “That’s good to hear –”

  “– and I think we have the youngest crowd. If we can convert them into repeat customers while we grow, then I have hope for this place.”

  “How do we track demographics?” Zack caught the edge of the bounding trunk lid as it sprang open, “The men will tell us directly, but how many women are going to say how old they are? My wife avoids sharing that statistic.”

  “Scan data and the rating cards along with photographs. We don’t need to be exact with ages, just know if we see a lot of younger, middle aged, or retired groups and what they spend. Then we target advertising and hope for the best.”

  A diesel tour bus growled up the drive. The splash of a banner plastered along its side proclaimed San Diego Party Platoon. Both Zack and Rutger banged shut their cars before swirling dust coated the interiors.

  Rutger coughed, “When are we upgrading the drive?”

  Zack said, “Not used to this dry air being away from that foggy London dampness?” He slapped Rutger on the shoulder, “Martin Ginter has the task punch list. And so far he’s keeping on schedule; the drive gets upgraded this next summer.” They walked to the sharp light of the barrel cave and then up the gritty cement steps to the main tasting room.

  “Think that bus is full of casino retirees?”

  “Can’t say since I couldn’t see through the window tinting. However, Rutger, I’ll pour your first glass of wine if they are all twenty-something. Good odds since some of these bus lines specialize in younger groups.”

  “I can only hope. You are married and what, barely over twenty yourself?”

  “Twenty-six,” Zack admitted. “See how free we are with ages?”

  “But married. That’s in my favor. I’ll have the whole fancy market to myself.”

  “I’ll bet you are extra attractive with that British accent you barely hide.”

  “The prettier the girl – the bigger my accent!” Rutger shuffled his feet in a little dance step. “The best me Mum could give me – with chutney and tea!” He pushed his black-rimmed glasses tighter on his face and laughed.

  People mingled three and four deep around the long curving bars. Everyone chatted, laughed, and clearly enjoyed the evening. Rutger said, “Good sign, both tasting bars are packed and still a younger crowd. The only older people I see are really the investors, but few of them are on the floor.”

  “Most of the investors are outside at the reflection pools or the sides of the patio.” Zack nodded toward the floor to ceiling plate windows that arched up two stories, split only by brickwork and dark wood trim. In the daytime, the windows blazed with the panoramic view of the vineyards streaking away to the mountain range along the distant southern horizon. “I didn’t see the bus unload yet.”

  “I see the bus lights shutting down, should be soon.”

  “Oh! Looks like you are pouring mate,” Rutger said as the main tasting room doors swung wide to pass the bus load of cheering women trailing a petite blond-haired woman in a tiara. “Looks like a bachelorette party. I’ll see you at the bar table over there where Samantha is standing. I’d like a red wine.”

  “Hello, Samantha. Here you go, Rutger.” Zack set down the two drinks he cradled in his hand, “One of these is for you, Samantha.”

  “Rutger told me you had a bet on the age of that last bus.” Samantha slid the spaghetti strap of her floral print dress into place. The dress fit Samantha’s slim frame perfectly, running straight from her hips to where it ended at her knees, revealing expensive custom alterations. She kept both of her burgundy heels as modestly close to each other as if she were sitting in a chair. Zack knew she was in her late fifties, and probably colored and curled her shoulder length black hair, but she could be in Rutger’s assessment of the younger crowd. Zack tightened his stomach muscles without thinking – a nearly involuntary clench.

  “Rutger didn’t know I was going to get the wine anyway. I had Martin Ginter pour us a barrel sample.”

  “Which one Zack?”

  “The Cabernet Franc. The father vine of the Cabernet Sauvignon that every other winery carries these days.”

  “Cab-Sauv can be fantastic,” Rutger said.

  “Try this.” Zack swirled and sipped his wine, “I think you’ll like the finish.”

  “Oh, yes.” Samantha agreed. “This is great and it’s only missing a bit more
time with the oak.”

  “This is what we expect.” Rutger said. He glanced around, pushing his glasses up, “Looks to me like the customers are mostly twenties still and more women, even outside that last bus – most of them are clustered over there.” A lot of cheering and laughing came from that corner of the tasting bar.

  Zack nodded, “Good to draw the younger segment, maybe the best segment to pull, if we can create customers out of them now they could stay with us as we grow. That would be great. Could they be more adventurous and willing to try a new winery?”

  Samantha shrugged and sipped her wine, “Could be simply that this place is fun. It has a great vibe.”

  Rutger held up his camera, “Zack, here are those pictures I mentioned. I wanted to see how our customers compared to the competitors. I only saw retirees at the spa winery up the street. Disturbing that none of them are smiling. Is the wine over there so sad it makes everyone grumpy? I’m glad I only see smiles and laughter here at our place.”

  Zack glanced from Rutger’s phone to the crowd, “I see what you mean. What do you think Samantha?”

  Rutger added as the phone transferred hands, “– those two pictures show our tasting room and theirs around two this afternoon, at least within fifteen minutes of my car drive. So comparable.”

  Samantha studied the pictures and the tasting room, “Rutger’s right. More people and a younger crowd. I even think that we should give up our table, it’s getting packed –”

  “Hey, excuse us,” a pretty voice behind Zack said. “Do you mind if we share your table? It’s full in here!”

  Zack turned and saw three friends with freshly poured wine glasses and a plate of cheese in the speaker’s hands. Zack scooted closer to Samantha and tugged on Rutger’s jacket sleeve, “No. Happy to share. We should give you the table since we’re mostly just the help.”

  “You don’t look like just any help,” said one of the two girls. Her eyes seemed to smile along with the corners of her mouth when she said, “I’m Claire.”

  “I’m Zack,” he shook her hand after she set her wine glass on the table. She wore a sleeveless blue top and black slacks over matching open toed sandals. Zack kept his eyes fixed on Claire’s, “Rutger, make a note we need to double the number of tables in here.” Claire’s eyes lingered on his then slipped away, her lips still holding their smile.

  “Yes, adding to the punch list.”

  Samantha asked, “Are the three of you from around Temecula or farther away?”

  Claire said, “I’m from Long Beach. Leiko and I were roommates at Cal State. She’s from Japan originally. Alfanjo works in Old Town Temecula.”

  Leiko blurted like a boiling teapot, “Alfanjo and I are engaged! Just last week.” Her smile spread while she proudly showed the ring on her neatly manicured fingers.

  Alfanjo moved his sunglasses to the top of his head, burying them in his short-cut deep-black hair, crunchy with hair gel, “Slow down, Leiko.” He grinned. “They’re not too worried about that.”

  Samantha said, “Hey, that’s great! Any date set yet?”

  “Not yet. Maybe next summer.”

  Rutger said, “Talk to Debra, the serious one over there holding the binder and wearing the turquoise shirt, she handles weddings.”

  “Really?”

  Zack said, “Weddings in the vineyard are very romantic. But we’re biased … As you guessed; Rutger, Samantha, and I are a little more than workers, we each own little bits of this place.”

  Claire cupped her hand in front of her mouth to hide the small bite of cheese she had just taken, “Wow!”

  Zack said, “– Small owners. A startup company with thirty-eight partners total. Others have the significant investments. Rutger and I barely afforded this table together.”

  “No Zack, it was the even smaller side table in that back hall over there,” Rutger leaned toward Claire, “Startup is really a code for not making any money yet.”

  Samantha said, “But hopefully making money soon.” she clinked her glass against Zack’s.

  Leiko said, “I live near here and drive this way on my way to work. A lot of people I know come here since it’s nice –”

  Alfanjo raised his glass, “– And the wine is great!”

  They all laughed. Zack glanced at Claire carefully. He turned to Alfanjo, “Alfanjo, you’ve just won a tour of the tasting room! Are you three interested in seeing where the magic happens?”

  Rutger said, “Great idea – I know the way, let’s go.”

  Samantha said, “Zack, I’ll guard the table and the cheese.”

  They took their glasses and followed Rutger across the bustling floor. Rutger reached the employee cellar door entrance; the one marked with the official Employees Only sign and held it open for the others. The women’s shoes clicked down the cement spiral stairs.

  Rutger swept his arms out after they all stood on the polished cement floor “Smell the fermentation. There are nine hundred barrels here.”

  Zack corrected, “Well, probably less since Martin mentioned they moved barrels out to the storage shed for the weekend. We had our investor meeting over there at those tables and the projection screen.”

  Claire said, “This is really cool! Zack what kind of work do you do when not in the wine business?” She sipped some wine but her eyes watched him over the rim of her glass.

  Zack felt the tug of those sparkling eyes hovering like humming birds, “Project manager for automotive suppliers to get products manufactured for the big car companies in Detroit.”

  Alfanjo asked, “How are vehicle sales? My business is all discretionary spends and with the recession, it’s tough. I sell fishing lures to sports stores that my company makes. Not many customers are out fishing now.”

  Zack said, “Cars are almost all discretionary too! I see evidence that things are improving though. Dealers are short the new vehicle we just helped the manufacturer launch, the assembly plant yards are practically empty - not running over as they do leading into a recession. When people believe real estate is firming up then even the newspaper journalists will accept the improvements and the country’s mood will change.”

  Alfanjo said, “I hope you are right. We can use that kind of good news!”

  Rutger said, “… In addition, over here we have more barrels. These are set up for racking the wine, moving it from one barrel to the second. That helps clear the wine –”

  Debra banged open the stairway door, her platinum-bleached hair bounced behind her like a battle-field banner, “There you are! Zack and Rutger – you need to be out on the patio to vote on the caterer for the spring special events.”

  Zack looked at his watch, “Oops. I think we’ve shown off the barrels enough anyway.”

  Leiko said, “We don’t want to hold you up. This was fun.”

  Zack and Rutger followed the group up the stairs. As Zack let the top door swing closed, he said to their guests, “My first tour guide adventure. Be sure to check out the rest of the grounds and tell your friends to visit. I really hope you enjoyed the barrel room tour.”

  Claire said, “It was great! A behind the scenes tour.”

  Rutger touched the back of his hand against Claire’s arm, “We’re working on a regular scripted tour too, so return often and keep a watch for it.”

  “Zack, what do you think of the pork rolls?” Samantha asked. She poked at the bowl of thickly sliced smoked pork spun with California vegetables. This was the last station of the more than a dozen tastes and decisions they voted on.

  “The spicy gaminess pairs well with nearly all the red wines, certainly.”

  Rutger sucked on his tongue, getting more air across it with the mix of meat and a slurp of his wine, he closed his eyes, “Yes. I think this will be a winner this spring. Cannot go wrong with this American favorite. Bacon.”

  The chef standing before them nodded with a pleased grin.

  “Hey, Zack, I didn’t want to interrupt but we are leaving and I wanted to say goodbye and t
hanks again for the tour.” Claire put her hand on his arm, “We had a great time.”

  “Glad you enjoyed your visit. I’m happy to have met you,” Zack nodded deeper than the chef had.

  Leiko leaned out of Claire’s shadow, “Now we’re off to more of the wine trail tour – Whoo hoo!”

  Claire said, “Fortunate we stopped here first.”

  Rutger added, “Come back and see us any time!” He shook hands with Claire and her two friends. After they walked away, Rutger said, “Well Zack, I have to see Martin. He had some questions on international wine club shipments to England and he thinks I could help. I’ll catch up with you. She was certainly pretty.”

  “Yes.” Zack watched Claire and her friends cross the wine tasting room and depart through the glittery gift shop doors to the parking area.

  Samantha stood shoulder to shoulder with Zack and tipped her head close, “I can’t say I blame her but she liked you Zack, like a schoolyard crush.”

  “Yeah, I also saw something. Too bad I’m not single where I could pursue that knowledge.”

  Samantha raised her glass to her lips, but just before she took a sip and walked away she said, “You never know what life will bring you.”

  Part One

  Chapter 1

  “Women seem wicked, when you’re unwanted.”

  -Jim Morrison, The Doors

  ZACK SAT IN HIS basement Detroit office staring at his computer screen; a microphone headset tethered him to his computer. The neat stair steps of a Gantt chart walked across his monitor and pushed too far into the future, “We’re going to miss the launch timing if we have to redo that testing.”

  Sunlight leaked through the narrow glass block windows set up high in the two exterior walls and scattered broken fragments of light across the low dry-walled ceiling. His desk was a salvaged hollow-core door flipped across two saw horses at one end of his solitary confinement chamber. Underneath the desk wheezed the cavernous case of an aging computer. A pile of bills scattered at the end of the desk and one showed passed due.