“No!” he roared, glaring up at the heavens. “I don’t know where you are, Lorenzo, but you couldn’t make me care before and you can’t make me care now. I’m not staying. This isn’t where I belong. I’ve never belonged here. I don’t blame you for this-it’s simply the truth. Not here.”

His words drifted into the night. There was no response, and he felt a little foolish after his outburst. Yelling at ghosts wasn’t going to accomplish anything.

He turned to walk back to the house, only to pause. There was something…

He inhaled deeply and realized what it was.

Smoke.

20

Darcy woke to a loud shrieking sound she couldn’t place. Joe wasn’t in her bed and there was no way the alarm signaled good news.

She’d barely thrown back the covers when Mia burst into her room.

“It’s a fire,” Mia yelled. “There’s a fire in the vineyards.”

Fire? How could that happen? Sure it had been dry, but what on earth could start a fire in the middle of grapevines?

Rather than consider an answer, she grabbed clothes and pulled them on. Lauren ran into her room.

“What’s going on?” her sister asked.

“A fire in the vineyard. Get dressed. We’ll go downstairs and see if we can help.”

In a matter of a couple of minutes, everyone had assembled in the kitchen. The emergency siren had been turned off, but there was still a sense of urgency.

Grandma Tessa was already making coffee. Joe paced back and forth, talking to Marco in a low voice and making notes on a pad of paper. Marco left the kitchen and Joe glanced at everyone else.

“There’s a fire in the east field. I can’t tell how big it is, but it’s spreading fast. Everything is just dry enough to burn. The fire department is on its way. They’re sending three companies, and at dawn we’ll get air support.”

“What about Brenna?” Darcy asked. “She’ll want to know.”

Joe nodded. “I’ve already spoken with Nic, and they’re on their way.”

“A fire,” Ian said. “Wow. Do you know how it started? There hasn’t been any lightning, has there? I didn’t think you got a lot of lightning in this part of the country. Maybe some homeless guy smoking or something. Could a match have started the fire? Or a downed electrical wire. Only why would it be down. There are-”

Joe, Colleen, Marco, and Mia all turned to Ian.

“Shut up,” they said together.

Ian took a step back. “Sorry. I was just trying to help.”

“Help silently,” Joe said.

The back door opened and Alex and Paige raced inside. “You know about the fire, right?” Alex asked.

Joe nodded. Marco returned. He had several rolled sheets of paper in his hands.

“Maps,” Joe said. “We need to help the fire department find the best places to fight the fire.”

Marco spread out the large maps on the kitchen table, anchoring the edges with salt and pepper shakers and a bowl of sugar.

“Here’s the house,” the elder Marcelli said. “Here’s the east field.”

Everyone gathered around the table.

“There’s a service road,” Joe said, tracing a dark line on the map. “Where are the water connections?”

Marco pointed to several triangular icons. “These show them. The trucks can hook up directly to our main water supply.”

Joe straightened and counted heads. “We’ll split up into teams and take maps with us. Tessa, I’ll tell you where to send Nic when he arrives. You’ll stay here with Brenna, Lauren, and Darcy.”

“I’m not staying,” Darcy told him. “And before you start arguing, I’ve spent the last five weeks walking all over this vineyard. I know it better than you do. I know what the water stations look like. I’m going to help.”

His dark gaze locked with hers, then he nodded once. “Alex, you’re with Darcy. Mia and Ian, as well. I want this fire stopped, but even more than that, I want Darcy kept safe.”

“That goes for everyone,” he added, before she could wonder if his concern was about her, Darcy, the woman he shared a bed with, or her, Darcy, the president’s daughter.

“I know the vineyard is important, but it’s just grapes. They can be replanted, but none of you can be. Stay safe and think before you do anything rash. Agreed?”

Everyone nodded.

Sirens could be heard in the distance. A car pulled up and squealed to a stop.

“Let’s get ready,” Joe said.

The next fifteen minutes passed in a blur. Brenna was helped inside where Grandma Tessa did her best to keep her calm. The various teams went out to join the firefighters, which was how Darcy found herself seated in a large truck, staring at a map by flashlight and calling out when she thought they were close to a water connection.

“It’s here,” she said, looking up and pointing.

The truck stopped on the service road. She waited for the firefighters to scramble out, then she eased to the ground and got her first good look at the fire.

It stretched across what looked like miles. Bright, hot flames consumed the vines much more quickly than she could have imagined. Every now and then a column rose to salute the sky, as if in victory.

“No, you don’t,” Darcy murmured, even as she inhaled the sharp scent of scorched grapes and burned leaves.

The firefighters went to work with their hoses. Darcy circled around the back of the truck and found Mia.

“We have to go locate the next water station,” Darcy said. “For the next truck. It shouldn’t be that far.”

“Lead on,” Mia told her. “Alex, we’re going up to find the next water connection.”

He nodded and joined them. In the distance Darcy saw another truck pull up. Several people climbed out. She thought she saw Joe, but in the swirling smoke, it was hard to be sure. Still, her heart jumped a little, as if it recognized its one true love.

And then she knew she had to tell him the truth. She couldn’t leave without admitting she loved him. To do so would be to dishonor the connection she felt with him.

But first, there was a fire to fight and a vineyard to save.

For a Navy SEAL, water was a safe haven. Joe didn’t like this new enemy that consumed without conscience. The flames grew and stretched and took. It didn’t seem to matter how much water they sprayed, the fire lived on.

He stayed close to the fire chief, giving information when he could and helping with hoses. As he worked, he eyed the sky. How long until dawn? How long until the air support could join them?

Time seemed to stand still until the world was simply heat and flames and water. He sweated and coughed from the smoke and hoped everyone was staying safe.

Too many civilians, he thought. Too many people who didn’t have the training. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. The winery was supposed to be easy. Not on my watch, he thought. Not on my watch.

Frustration became anger. Lorenzo had left him the winery so he would stay. The old man had wanted him to care. Now, with the fire destroying all that four generations of Marcellis had built, Joe found himself cursing his own worry and concern.

“Good news,” the fire chief said as he handed Joe a bottle of water. “The fog’s coming in.”

Joe unscrewed the top of the bottle and swallowed half the contents in one long drink. Then he turned to the west and saw the stars had disappeared behind a bank of heavy fog. The air was less dry, the flying ash and cinders less hot.

“Will this make a difference?” he asked.

“It’ll help,” the chief told him. “A heavy fog bank will combine with the smoke and make it a bitch to see, but there isn’t any wind. If we can get the humidity high enough, we’ll get a handle on this son of a bitch.”

Joe finished the water. “I want to know how it started.”

“You and me, both,” the chief told him. “I have a feeling you’re not going to like what we find.”

“Arson?”

“Could be. You have cultivated vineyards up here. No power lines, no lightning strikes. The ground is dry, but not parched, and the heavy fruit doesn’t burn easily.”

Joe couldn’t think of anyone who would want to burn down Marcelli Wines. They were successful, but not a major holding. Not like Wild Sea.

He reminded himself this wasn’t the time or the way to find answers. Instead he went back to work on the fire. When the firefighters came and asked him to help pull up several rows of grapes to widen a fire break, he reached for a shovel and dug in.

Time passed. The moments were measured in sweat and sparks and smoke. The fog continued to roll in until some of it reached behind the fire, creating an eerie backdrop for the dancing flames.

He heard a horn honk and turned to look. Paige and Lauren drove up on a golf cart.

“We have food and water,” Lauren yelled. “Take a break.”

He joined the other men as the women handed out thick sandwiches and chilly bottles of water.

“How’s it going?” he asked.

“Good.” Paige tucked a bottle of water into his jeans pocket. “The other teams are making progress, too. The fog’s helping. We’re hoping for rain.”

“I’m going to go check on them,” he told the chief.