Charity's Secrets Read Online Free PDF Page B

favorite places back home. There are more trees and lakes up here than
I had imagined; small, quiet towns nestled into the hills, and the old wooden
structures and the hand dug cellar the Brotherhood Winery is still using are
beautiful. Justin insisted we take the tour so I could hear how it is one of
the oldest in the country, surviving prohibition by making sacramental wine for
the churches.
    It is
easy to see why he likes the place so much. I fell in love with it myself
within minutes, and that's before a flight of reds.
    We are
driving to a second place now, listening to Macklemore & Ryan Lewis sing
"Thrift Shop" while we tip a bottle of Carpe Diem from Brotherhood.
Justin suddenly begins to belt out the hook of the song, "I'm gonna pop
some tags—"
    I
didn't even hear the rest of his rapping behind my laughter. He is so
unexpected sometimes. At the office, he's a wall of no emotion that commands
absolute respect. With his team, he strikes domination and fear into anyone
that opposes him. With our friends, he is a sexy, normal guy. And finally,
there is the loving man with me now that would do almost anything for my smile.
The privacy screen is up, so Tony cannot hear a thing happening back here. I'm
sure that if he did, the confusion would give him a heart attack.
    Justin
pours each of us another glass, proud at the damage we've done to the bottle so
quickly, when his attention is stolen by a turn Tony steered us into. There is
nothing out of the ordinary with it to me, but in an instant, Justin is gone
and JP is here.
    At first
he does nothing, just watches through the back window. Tony takes a second
right, then a third.
    He's
circling around. Justin knew the directions well and knew that something was up
the second we turned where we shouldn't have.
    We came
back to the main road. Tony stopped for the sign, but held us there, waiting.
    Justin
hit the call button. "What is it?" he demands.
    Tony
seems to stutter nervously. I don't know if it's because I'm here, or if he's
just scared shitless of Justin.
    Justin
turns and looks at me. His face does not change at all, but somehow his eyes
reassure me.
    "It's
okay," he barks at Tony. "She can handle it."
    "It’s
probably nothing Sir, but we had a tail. They came in right after us at
Brotherhood, left at the same time, and they were taking the same path we were
on—keeping themselves back in the distance."
    Justin
doesn't say a word, his mind working on the information and the possibilities. Once
again, I find myself wondering how the hell I got into this.
    "They're
not there now Sir. A lot of people travel between Warwick and Brotherhood. I've
done it myself, Sir, every time I've come up here. They're both nice places,
not too far apart, and this is the best route between them."
    Justin
was calm and quiet a moment longer. "So you think it was nothing?"
    "Yes,
Sir. I just didn't want to take any chances."
    His
face is firm, teeth clenched. "Do we still go?"
    "I
believe its safe, Sir. I wouldn't let my paranoia ruin your day."
    I see
in Justin's eyes that he wasn't asking Tony. He's waiting for me to call it. I
don't know if it was Tony's words, or my own warrior defiance at not
wanting to stop such a perfect day, but I hear myself answer, "We go. Even
if it was a tail, it was over the second they saw us going around the
block."
    Do I
even believe this myself?
    Justin
relaxes. "You heard that?" he asks Tony.
    "Yes
sir."
    The car
lurches forward just after Justin releases the call button, tilting us to the
left as Tony makes a right back onto the main road. The road is quiet and
friendly now, there's no one else around at the moment.
    Fifteen
minutes later, we are leaning on the copper bar top at the Warwick Winery and
waiting for our glasses. The length of the bar is elbow-to-elbow busy with
voices loud and cheerful with the hosts trying to shout over everyone. Tin dumping
buckets line up with about every four people, and everyone has a copy of the
selection list and a