Free Ditched by Amity Hope Page B

He’d taken a full load of general classes while he tried to decide. “I started to feel attached the place,” he explained. “Since it is the family business and my grandparents want to keep it in the family…” He shrugged. “Lucky for me, at this point, my dad couldn’t care less and none of my aunts are interested, so it works out well for all of us.”
    “Tell me about the winery,” I requested.
    Max gave me a sheepish look. “Well, I don’t know nearly as much as I should .” He repeated what I already knew. He was planning to learn the ropes, so to speak, over the summer. He’d come to an agreement with his grandparents. He would start out working in the gift shop and move on from there. Someday, after he’d finished his degree, he would take over the winery and its vineyard. But first things first and his grandpa wanted him to learn the business from the bottom up. So this summer he was starting an unofficial internship of sorts.
    This fall, he’d be attending their local university and hopefully, if all went as planned, he’d be ready to take over once he graduated.
    “Right now, both of them are supposed to be retired. They probably should’ve sold everything years ago but they just can’t seem to let go of the place. They have someone managing it now. But as far as I know, they’re both there every single day so they’re not really retired at all,” he said with a smile.
    “Are you sure they’re going to be okay with this?” I asked. “I mean with me?”
    “I don’t see why not.”
    “Do they know I’m coming? I mean, it is their house we’re staying at, right?”
    “I called them the other night after I carried your luggage out. I talked to my grandma. She was fine with it. I think they’re just happy to have someone there. They bought the place thinking more family would visit. My dad has three sisters but they’re all so busy and scattered all over the country. My grandparents thought if they had a nice place to stay it would help, you know? But no one ever comes. The last few years they’ve been thinking about selling it. But now, they’ve decided to keep it. Letting me live there was part of the deal. So the place is mine. For now. And yours too,” he said with a grin.
    I was almost giddy with excitement. Max insisted that the beach house wasn’t anything fancy. But it was a beach house ! Right on the ocean, so fancy or not, I was anxious to get there.
    Apparently, so was Max. Instead of stopping for dinner, he asked if I’d mind driving straight through. It was late afternoon and we were close. So close that I was okay with just continuing on. We made one last pit stop for gas. I got out and stretched my legs before going inside to get a banana and a bottle of strawberry milk.
    When I came out, Max was leaning against his car, checking something on his phone. His brow was furrowed and he looked contemplative.
    “What are you looking at?” I asked.
    He gave me a mischievous smile and a noncommittal shrug. “Just checking to see how many hours of driving we have left.”
    “And?”
    “We made so many stops today we still have a little over two hours to go, so we really need to get moving,” he said as he opened up my door, hurrying me along.
     
    ***
     
    I gasped, pleasantly surprised as Max pulled up to the beach house. It was pale blue with white trim. The house itself was smallish and set against a hill. A white fence barricaded the view of the neighbors on the left but stopped a bit before the beach began. Max had parked on the backside and turned to me with a huge grin.
    “Come on!” he said.
    He leapt from the car and I followed. I was immediately wrapped in warm, salty, oceanic air. I could hear the waves dancing against the shore. Max was already at the front of the car holding his hand out to me.
    I was excited, too. But his enthusiasm amused me. He looked like he was almost bouncing in place with impatience.
    “I’m coming!” I said with a laugh. His