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agreed to deed him half the vineyard, his portion of the sale would get him out of hot water.”
    â€œWell, why in the world would he think you would ever agree to a stupid idea like deeding him half the vineyard?” Abigail asked. “Even his own brother knew the folly of that . No, that man had his chance when you proposed a partnership early on, Laura, and if memory serves, he thumbed his nose at the offer.”
    â€œYeah, so why go back to that now?” Elise asked, unable to put the thought of losing her hybrids out of her mind.
    â€œSomehow he found out about our upcoming loan payment and thought to capitalize on that information,” Ross said, then snorted. “In his twisted way of thinking, he assumed we would jump at the chance to pay off the loan—even at the expense of losing half the vineyard.”
    â€œAnd giving away a lion’s share of my research and development to the buyer in the process,” Elise snapped.
    It was all so sordid and disappointing. How could Edmond even think about doing this to them? And there she’d been, defending him at every turn, because he was her uncle. What a fool she’d been. Well, no more. Ross was right, the man had made his choices and now he’d have to live with the consequences.
    â€œAs much as I hate the thought of barring a family member from the property, I say we implement the restraining order for now. Then see how it goes from there,” Elise said at length.
    Laura ran a hand through her short, dark crop of curls. “Then I want a show of hands. If you disagree, now’s the time to speak up. Is everyone on board with this first step?”
    Elise looked around the table at her family members as each in turn raised a hand.
    â€œThen it’s settled,” Laura said with a quick nod. “Ross will call Jackson and have him come out first thing in the morning. I’d like everyone on site for that, so we all hear it at once and are on the same page. Now, if there’s no other business to discuss …”
    Stuart’s offer popped into Elise’s head. A life change of that magnitude was something she would normally discuss with those closest to her before making any decision, but now was definitely not the time. With the vineyard facing these new issues, Stuart would just have to wait for his answer. No way was she going to add to her mother’s stress level by suggesting she might be jumping ship.
    When nobody spoke up with any new business, Laura blew out a breath. “Then we’re done. I have a mountain of paperwork to tackle, so I’d better get to it. Ross, when you have some time, I need help with that new accounting program you installed on my laptop.”
    â€œSure, Mom.” Ross shot a glance at Elise before turning back to his mother. “Uh, I need to run down to the shop for a few minutes, but hopefully it won’t take long. I’ll help you with that as soon as I’m finished there.”
    Elise watched him go as the wheels turned in her head. She thought perhaps a trip out to the Pit Barbeque for a late lunch and a chat with Pam Dawson might be enlightening. If she could run down her uncle in the process, even better.
    The rest of the family would probably think she was crazy—heck, she probably was—but before she completely wrote off her uncle, she wanted to hear his betrayal from his own lips.

    My timing is impeccable , Elise thought as she drove into the parking lot at Pam’s restaurant just after one o’clock. A pulled pork sandwich would be the perfect excuse to surprise her uncle’s girlfriend and have that friendly chat.
    But it seemed that the surprise was on her. When Elise went inside to order, she found Pam was sitting at a booth in the corner having what looked to be a very chummy conversation with Henry Kohler. Henry owned the Kohler Winery, and though his vineyard was smaller than River Bend, he was one of their biggest