6. Brodie

brODIE

B rodie moved the plain cardboard box from the front passenger seat of his truck to the floor in the rear. It wasn't the only reason he wanted to see Peyton, and he didn't want it to be the first thing they talked about.

After a night of tossing and turning, he'd gotten up this morning knowing that, if he wanted to sleep tonight, he had to see her today. He didn't have a plan other than spending time getting to know her. Then he'd force himself to give her the box and close that chapter of Kade's life.

When he pulled up to the same parking spot on Moonstone Beach Road as yesterday, Peyton's car was already there, but she wasn't in it.

He got out, walked to the edge of the boardwalk, and spotted her down the beach, near where Santa Rosa Creek spilled into the Pacific Ocean. She was walking away from him, but turned around and waved. He did too. Rather than wait, Brodie ran down the path and caught up with her.

"Wanna keep going?" she asked.

"If you do, then absolutely."

They continued walking until they reached the edge of the state preserve, where Peyton stopped.

"It gets rocky through here. Maybe we should…"

"Should what?"

"Turn around?"

"You're not just being nice, are you? Have you heard my stomach loudly reminding me I haven't eaten breakfast?"

Peyton smiled, and her cheeks turned pink. "Neither have I."

Brodie looked at his watch. "What time do you have to be at work?"

"We're closed today."

"That's great! I mean, that you don't have to hurry in to work, but I don't want to keep you if there's something else you need to do."

"Nope, not a thing. I've got all day and nothing on my calendar. Except picking up the boys."

"What time is that?"

"Not until five. They're both in basketball after school."

Since Peyton hadn't taken advantage of a single out he'd offered, he stopped. "How about breakfast, then?"

"I'd love it."

As they walked, they discussed the business of wine-making, a subject they were both passionate about, and Brodie told her he was impressed with the work she'd done since taking over Stave. She gave most of the credit to Alex, but he knew better.

"Where should we go?" Brodie asked when they arrived in the parking lot where her car and his truck were parked.

"Do you mind a drive?"

"Not at all," he said, but how far away was she thinking? And did he have a protein bar buried in his truck, somewhere?

He looked over at her vehicle. "How fast does this little number go?"

"Zero to sixty in four seconds. Wanna take it for a spin?"

"Your car? You're kidding!"

"I get to drive it every day." Peyton tossed him the key fob. "The Coupe is faster than the Gran Coupe, but only by about a tenth of a second, and a four-door is much better for the boys," she added once they were inside.

"I can't believe you have two boys and your vehicle stays this immaculate."

"Yeah, well, they aren't typical boys, I guess."

"Where to?" he asked when they pulled onto the main highway.

"Mind going down to Big Sky?"

"Love that place. I never think of it."

Peyton leaned against the seat and closed her eyes. "I miss it. I never make time to drive down to San Luis Obispo, and when I am there, I always have somewhere else I have to be."

"What's your favorite thing to have for breakfast?"

"In general, or at Big Sky?"

"Both."

"In general, yogurt and fruit, sometimes with granola."

"Ugh, too healthy!"

"You forget how much food I have to taste all day."

"Is alcohol considered a food group these days?" he asked.

"No, but the chefs who put on our events don't make wine ; they prepare food . The dinners are a big part of what we do at Stave."

Brodie glanced over at her. She had been smiling, but it quickly disappeared.

"I met Kade at the first wine dinner Stave hosted. In the years that followed, he came to several."

There was the elephant in the car with them. Brodie had wondered how long they could go without one of them referencing his brother. "I remember him mentioning them."

"You've never been."

It wasn't a question, and she was right. He hadn't been, and as much as he'd wanted to, after Kade died, he hadn't gone out of respect for Peyton. "I've heard they're spectacular."

"Maybe you could join us sometime."

Brodie glanced over again. Instead of in his direction, she was looking out the window.

"About breakfast. What's your favorite thing at Big Sky?"

"Hmm. If I could only eat there one more time, I'd order poached eggs and crab cakes. Or maybe the lemon ricotta pancakes with blueberry compote, or the?—"

Brodie reached over and touched her hand. "Please, no more. I'm so hungry I could…" He stopped himself when, instead of food, he thought of nibbling on her beautiful, long neck. The way she arched it when she looked out the window made him want to run his tongue from the spot under her ear down to her collarbone. He stifled his groan. It was a toss-up which he was hungrier for: food or Peyton.

"I'm hungry too." She laughed.

Probably not in the same way he was.

Over breakfast, Brodie asked her about Cal Poly and told her Naughton had gone there.

"Kade mentioned that a couple of times. I knew him, but not really, you know what I mean?"

"I do."

"Where did you go to school?" she asked. "I'm sure Kade told me at some point, but I don't remember."

"Davis, like Mad did. I started out in enology, but my heart isn't in wine-making the way his is. I've worked on the business side of wine in Napa for a few years."

"For a while, I thought I'd work up there too, but I'm more comfortable sticking around home."

Now that Kade was gone, Brodie did too, not that it made any sense.

"I dated my husband all through college, and once we graduated, he was anxious to get married. It seemed as though I graduated, got married, and had kids before I even figured out what I wanted to do with my life. It all felt too fast, which it obviously was, since it didn't work out."

He remembered his brother saying the guy was a douche. Or maybe he'd just thought it, listening to him. "Naughton might have known him."

"I doubt they were friends. Lang would've been too…uh… much for Naughton."

Brodie laughed. "You got that right. I'm too much for him. I think everyone is."

"I don't know him or anyone else in your family very well. Kade and I had so little time together that, when we did, we wanted it to be us and the boys. Not anyone else. Selfish, I guess."

"Not selfish. In love. You probably would've spent more time with us after you were married."

Peyton's forehead scrunched, and she turned her head away.

"Sorry, does it make you uncomfortable to speak about him?"

"No, I like having someone to talk to who knew him. Does it bother you?" she asked.

"I feel the same way you do. I can talk to my family about him, but you knew him in a different way than we did. I wish we could've seen more of that side of him."

"See? Selfish."

Brodie reached across the table and rested his hand on hers. "No, Peyton, not selfish. No one thinks that. No one would ever think that. Everyone understands. It took Kade a long time to find someone he wanted to be with as much as he wanted to be with you. We were happy for him."

"I loved him."

It made no sense that those three words felt like a knife in his heart. He'd change the subject, but she'd just told him she liked having someone to talk to who knew him.

"How about you, Brodie? Am I keeping you from something you're supposed to be doing today?"

"Nope. Like you, I have nothing on my schedule. I don't even have to pick anyone up after basketball practice." He glanced at his watch. It was only noon, which meant she wouldn't have to return to Cambria for another four hours. "So, what would you like to do now?"

"Feel like driving some more?"

"If you're asking me if I want to drive your car again, baby, I could do that all day and night."