3. Peyton

PEYTON

S tave had officially opened fifteen minutes ago, but no one would be in to taste wine this early. Peyton usually arrived around ten and rarely saw customers until one, especially on Mondays. Most tourists left town Sunday night, but she and Alex agreed it was best to stay open on Mondays in case there were stragglers who wanted to order wine before going home. Instead, Stave was closed Tuesday and Wednesday.

When her father had asked her to manage their family's tasting room shortly after Peyton graduated from college, she expected it to amount to a summer job. Thirteen years later, it had become her life, along with her two boys, Jamison, who was ten, and Finn, who'd celebrated his eighth birthday a week ago.

After graduating from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a degree in Agribusiness, Peyton had received several job offers from wineries in Napa Valley, but she preferred the slower pace of the Paso Robles wine region.

Her original plan was to work at the vineyard, but running the adjunct tasting room held more appeal.

After a few months, Peyton had approached her dad with ideas for expansion. Rather than offering wines solely from their family winery, she encouraged him to open it up to all the members of Paso Robles' Westside Winery Collaborative. The tasting room sales had skyrocketed, as had their profits. When a restaurant in the west end of the village closed its doors and the space became available for lease, Peyton approached her father again, only this time, Alex came with her.

Her dad had raised his hands in surrender after Alex told him the collaborative's board had also asked her to serve as their marketing manager.

"This is your baby, Peyton. Make sure it thrives. You too, Alex."

Peyton and Alex renamed what had first been the Wolf Family Vintners Tasting Room, then the Westside Collaborative Tasting Room, to Stave, for the thin, narrow, shaped pieces of wood forming the sides of a cask or barrel. An average barrel had thirty-one staves, the same number of wineries in the collaborative.

Between Alex's and Peyton's efforts, the westside wineries' sales far outpaced those of the other sub-regions.

"You're here." Alex stood near the tasting bar with her arms crossed.

"I'm sorry, Alex."

"Forget it. And forget Brodie and Kade's bullshit. We have a wine dinner scheduled in a couple of weeks we need to plan. Okay?"

There was a dinner club that met at Stave once a month on a Monday night. It was a locals-only group, many of whom owned restaurants or retail shops in town or one of its neighboring seaside villages. It gave the wineries in the collaborative an opportunity to introduce new wines for the restaurants to consider adding to their lists.

The dinner was prepared by a guest chef in Stave's kitchen. Each one took a great deal of work, but the commission Stave made on wine sales was worth the effort. Planning started four weeks out and began with a chefs meeting.

"Who's coming in today, Peyton?"

"Peter Wells from Lark. I'm surprised you forgot."

"Right. Peter. Damn, that man is hot."

"Speaking of which, whatever happened with you two?"

Alex sighed. "Not much. The ingredients were spicy but looked better than the entrée turned out."

"You're mixing metaphors."

She shrugged. "It wasn't there, ya know?"

"I know." Peyton sighed like Alex had.

"He's had a thing for you since college. I think he found me lacking as a substitute."

"Not interested."

"You're kidding? Not interested?"

"Stop it, Alex."

"All right, all right. What's he makin'?"

Peyton pulled out the folder for the April dinner. "Pasilla chile stuffed with shrimp and provolone as the starter."

"Oh, gawd, I just realized how hungry I am."

"I'm thinking of pairing it with the Charbono."

"Whose?"

"Harrington's."

"Mmm, yummy."

Although she found herself thinking more about Brodie than Kade, getting lost in wine and food pairings was exactly what Peyton needed to take her mind off both Butler brothers.

One of the first dinners they'd held featured wines made by Maddox Butler from Butler Ranch Winery. Peyton had met Kade the night of the dinner, when he came as Maddox's guest. From then on, he'd made a point of visiting Stave whenever he was home on leave, and soon he and Peyton became friends.

Kade asked her more questions than he answered, although Peyton didn't think of many. She knew he served in the military, in special operations, but no other details. He was often gone for several weeks, then home for an equal amount of time. It wasn't long before she started paying enough attention to know when he was leaving and when he expected to return.

After a particularly long Friday night, when a group of tourists decided to hang out past closing time, Peyton received an email from Kade. He told her he'd be gone two weeks longer than originally anticipated but hoped to see her the night he returned. She responded jokingly, asking if he was suggesting they go out on a date. A few minutes later, he replied he was. Peyton panicked and didn't respond. With two young sons and a heart that still hadn't mended from her divorce, she hadn't given dating any thought and didn't plan to.

The next time Peyton saw Kade, she wasn't sure what to expect, but when he arrived at Stave his first night in town, their conversation felt the same as those they'd had before the awkward email exchange.

The night he'd told her he was flying out again, Peyton said him she'd miss him.

"How much?" he'd asked.

"A lot," she'd confessed.

"Then, go out with me when I get home."

"Yoo-hoo, Peyton." Alex nudged her.

"Sorry, uh…" She caught the look that passed between Alex and Peter. "I think we should start with something lighter."

"Uh-huh." Alex smirked.

Peter looked lost, but offered to serve his signature oak-grilled artichoke instead.

"Perfect. We'll pair it with the Falanghina."

When everything was set, Alex walked Peter to his car, then returned to the tasting room.

"I thought you were leaving too."

Monday was Alex's day off. She only came in if there was a wine dinner scheduled or they had pairings to put together.

"I asked him to return next week for another planning session."

"Why? We're fine. He doesn't need to trek all the way up here again. We can handle the remaining details without him."

Alex stood with her arms crossed.

"Oh, wait. Sorry. You want him to return so you can hang out. I get it."

Alex shook her head. "Nope."

"Then, why?"

"Because, Peyton. It's time."

"No."

"Why not?"

There were so many reasons. First and foremost, her boys. It had taken months before she was comfortable enough to invite Kade to spend time with them. They weren't ready for her to bring another man into their family mix. Neither was she.

Jamison had been three, and Finn one when Lang Becker told her that having kids really wasn't his "thing," after all, and he was leaving her for another woman who didn't have any. He'd dropped out of their sons' lives then, and never returned.

And Kade, well, their relationship had been complicated, and now that he was gone, she didn't have it in her to try again only to have the next guy leave her and her boys behind.

Plus, Peter lived in Santa Barbara, a two-hour drive without traffic, and there usually was. They'd rarely see each other. Why start something that had nowhere to go? She had two other fellas in her life whose company she enjoyed immensely, and she didn't have enough time with Jamison and Finn as it was.

"I told you before I wasn't interested," she said when she realized Alex was waiting for a response.

"Peyton, come on."

"No. If there ever comes a time when I'm ready to date, you'll be the first to know. Until then, subject closed."

"At least we'll get another meal out of him."

"I'll concede Peter is a great chef. That doesn't mean I want to go out with him."

While Alex nodded, Peyton doubted her friend intended to let the subject drop. The woman was like a metaphorical dog with a bone.