Free Tasting Notes by Cate Ashwood Page A

catch you if you pass out on me.”
    “You offering that is certainly a change. I would have thought you’d let me fall on the floor.”
    “It wasn’t an offer, and I didn’t say I wouldn’t.”
    West nodded.
    “Get dressed. We have shit to do,” Rush grumbled.
     
     
    WEST SHOWERED and dressed quickly, not wanting to make Rush wait longer than he needed to. The rebellious twelve-year-old boy that resided in his head tempted him to dawdle, to push Rush’s buttons to see how he would react. A small part of West thought he’d like very much to see Rush ruffled. He didn’t think it was something that happened often. Rush seemed like the unflappable type, a challenge that perked West right up.
    But for now, he resigned himself to behaving. Rush was there to help him, after all.
    When he was ready, he walked back down the hall to find Rush on the floor with his dog. Casper was jumping over him, side to side, and Rush was rolling back and forth, pretending to try to catch him. It was endearing, actually, to see him like that. West didn’t understand the pang that hit him in the gut, but it wasn’t an altogether unpleasant feeling.
    He cleared his throat. “Ready.”
    “About goddamn time,” Rush said, jumping up from the floor and grabbing his jacket. “What were you doing in there? This isn’t a modeling shoot I’m taking you on.”
    “I’m going to take that to mean you think I look good. So thank you,” West said.
    Rush growled something under his breath and wrenched the door open. West’s mind conjured an image of a giant smashing his way through a tiny village. There was nothing graceful or subtle about the way Rush moved through life, barreling forward, pulling everything down in his wake. West was in awe of the raw power that seemed to seep from him.
    Rush ushered him out, Casper bringing up the rear as he led him along a path down the side of the house.
    “We start first with the basics. I’m assuming you didn’t do any sort of research into how to run a vineyard before you decided you just had to have one,” Rush said, the last few words uttered in a mocking tone.
    “Not exactly.”
    “Did my parents give you a tour of the property before you signed the papers?”
    “They gave me a tour of the house… and part of the winery, but not of the grounds, no.”
    “Okay, then we start at the top and work our way down. Then you’re probably going to want to change your clothes, because there’s work to do, and you’re going to get your fancy pants dirty.”
    West looked down at what he was wearing. A pair of jeans and a navy blue Henley didn’t seem all that fancy to him. In fact, Rush was wearing something similar. He opened his mouth to make a smartass remark but thought better of it.
    “I’m okay in this,” he said. He didn’t want to mention what he had on was the most casual thing he owned. He could keep his mouth shut. He was sure of it. He needed the help, and more than that, he wanted to learn. Why he wanted to learn from Rush, a man who got under his skin like no one ever had, was beyond him.
    Rush set off, walking along the path that led up the hill behind the house. They walked along the rows and rows of grapevines, and West was caught up in the beauty of it. They weren’t far from civilization. In fact, if he looked closely, he could almost make out the red Dairy Queen sign in the distance. Almost. But he felt like they had slipped away into their own little world. The vineyard backed onto the forest, and between the wild vegetation and the cultivated vines, West felt more at peace than he had in a long time.
    Rush showed him the irrigation lines and where the end of the property was. From the top of the hill, he felt powerful. The view was breathtaking. The vines spread out in front of him, fanning across the landscape and leading down to the main buildings that were clustered together like their own little hamlet. Despite the fact that they were only on the cusp of spring,