Chapter Five

Celeste

 

Walking into the kitchen area of the restaurant, there seemed to be a mini tasting going on. I loved those moments and was surprised I didn’t weigh at least twenty pounds more. Pretty much all of the food made at Saphyre was heavenly. Especially their lamb chops. They, literally, melted in your mouth. I reached up and wiped the side of my lips because they made me salivate just thinking of them.

They were sampling some new roast duck recipe that Owen and Andy put their head together to come up with something different. I was not much of a duck fan, but I had to admit that their rosemary-orange combination was so delicious. I was totally on board with the latest menu changes and couldn’t wait to tell our customers about them. And then I got a little lost in the conversation when I spotted a few opened bottles of Beauclaire wine.

With Veeta sick at home, I had missed the meeting with Skeet. I wasn’t happy that my baby girl was under the weather, there was nothing worse than her whimpering and sniffling. But, I was somewhat relieved to have missed out on Skeet’s presentation.

“Thinking about that wine rep?” James asked, making me blush.

“I don’t blame her if she is... He’s a real charmer,” Andy, the head chef who was married to James, batted her eyelashes at me and had me shaking my head. She and James were like Sienna and Owen; always so lovey-dovey and playful with each other. It made me wonder what was in the water or air of the restaurant.

They didn’t know that it had affected me too in the wine cellar.

“But sincere.” Sienna spoke up in Skeet’s defense. “Owen really liked him. Of course, he’s letting you decide about the wine.” She was so adorable and beamed when she spoke about her husband.

Owen, Andy and I always talked over the menu specialties and exclusive dishes for wine pairings. I loved that they respected my opinion and suggestions. Being such a young sommelier, wine patrons were often skeptical of my knowledge. I didn’t let them deter me. I knew that I had amazing schooling and training. Working in the winery and tasting a variety of culinary delights had contributed to honing my skills. I was a certified sommelier, not a master, and I wasn’t sure I would ever reach that level. I didn’t have time to put into school nor could I be away from Veeta to receive training that wasn’t offered close to home.

Veeta meant the world to me. She was my world.

The first time I held Veeta in my arms, I instantly fell in love with her. She was so squishy and smelled so good like baby mixed with powdery rose petals in the garden. It wasn’t a manufactured smell but a lovely fresh one. Pure heaven. She should’ve been named something flowery.

But then again, that would’ve only reminded me of her father with his big red rose tangled up in vines and thorns—a tattoo on his left bicep.

Amazing how that tattoo reflected my life, a tangled mess of pain. I was the rose—named after a Celeste rose. When he got it he said the thorns and vines were to keep me safe. To protect me. When he left me, I focused more on the thorns and the pain I felt.

Since Skeet had returned, it made me think about the tangle of lies that I needed to continue, ones that could possibly hurt him. I had to keep him at an arm’s distance and away from Veeta.

He was smart and could figure out the math and then I would have to answer so many questions that I wasn’t ready to address. To be honest, the timing wasn’t right and I couldn’t tell him what he needed to know. Even if I wanted to spill my guts, there were too many factors that could harm Veeta.

I couldn’t lose my baby girl and I would do anything to keep her.

“How is Veeta feeling now? Did she like my chicken noodle soup?” Owen joined us. “And what Sienna said was true. The wine cellar is yours. I trust you.” He rubbed my shoulder in a big brother way as I told him that Veeta was thrilled and better and then he and James left me with their women.

“Okay! Enough! The guys are gone...” Andy turned red like her ever-present red braid hanging down her back. She made me laugh. She was like a naughty girl ready to get in trouble. “Spill! Spill!”

Sienna was almost as bad. “What’s the dirt on that Skeet guy?”

What did I tell them? I started with the basics of how we had met and soon became inseparable. He came out to the farm as often as he could and we fished and he got in on the mushed-peach battles; running through the orchard and attacking each other. He was always on my team. We were the best of friends—something my girl best friend Martina found unacceptable—until we discovered raging hormones.

Puberty changed everything. Holding hands was no longer a friendly gesture but something that made my body do a little dance on the inside. Every inch of me fell in love with Skeet. Clancy still teased me about Skeet and Conrad became my chaperone until he took a liking to Miss Georgia. He should’ve stayed away from her or maybe I should’ve been his chaperone instead since he wound up with my nephew Cord.

Things took a turn for all of us once when we were all attending the same high school together since Skeet’s father used our address to get him away from kids in his own rough neighborhood. Clancy was a senior when I was a freshman and she wanted nothing to do with me or the boys at our school—she was all about older college-aged men. Conrad was working his ass off on the farm, going to school and learning to be a father. Skeet and I were just falling more in love, but we had been taught a good lesson about the birds and the bees and were careful.

After high school, we both agreed to go to community college and then find a college to go to together. We talked about when and where we would get married. How many kids we wanted and he liked my idea of living near the beach.

Everything was going along as planned. We were the perfect couple. Then one night changed everything and Skeet crushed me. I couldn’t believe that he would do something so horrible to me and I let him know that I could never trust him again. I never let him get a word in and he accepted my wishes.

He did the honorable thing. He left me alone.

I didn’t expect him to leave town.