When Alana returned to the ranch, a cluster of staffers stood talking in the parking lot in front of the frantoio. She could tell from their body language that something had disturbed the calm she’d left that morning.
She jumped out of the Jeep, happy with her progress at Zav’s.
Peg rushed out of the office and met her before she reached the staffers.
“Hartman’s on board for the windmill,” Alana announced with triumph. “He’s calling in some favors with the outlying ranches. We should be golden.”
“That’s great,” Peg said in a tone that didn’t sound very cheery.
“What’s up?”
“The real estate agent came to appraise the ranch while you were over at Mr. Hartman’s.” Peg’s cheeks flushed. “I’m afraid he mistook me for you at first.” She stepped toward Alana. “He said to tell you he saw nothing to keep a sale from going through smoothly and that no reappraisal would be necessary.” She crossed her arms and eyed Alana. “Are you selling?”
Alana had forgotten that she’d called her dad’s friend to have a look at the ranch. Her dad was so sure she’d need to unload the ranch, so sure that Nana’s bequeathing the property and business to her had been a whimsical mistake, that he’d paid the guy himself.
“I’m just making sure everything is in order,” she said. “I assure you that I’d let everyone know if I decided to sell.”
Peg nodded. The sort of nod that Alana hated. A gentle gesture on the surface, but one simmering with underlying fear and distrust.
“I mean it, Peg. I’d let you know.”
“Yeah,” Peg said as she turned to go back into the office. “Of course.”
Alana watched the door of the office swing shut. That she still wasn’t sure whether she wanted to sell or not made her feel crawling, creeping guilt.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket. A text from Marcel said he’d be arriving in three days; he had business to tend to in Napa. For the first time in ages she wasn’t looking forward to seeing him.
That night she tossed for hours before falling into an agitated sleep. Matt visited her dreams, but not in the role of sensual lover. Instead, the dreams that haunted her when she woke were of love lost before it had ever had a chance to put down roots. More disturbing, she remembered falling into a gaping darkness, clawing at the sides of a slippery tunnel, and no effort she made kept her from being sucked deeper into a place with no light. She threw back the covers and met another day with a heavy heart.