All Night Long

earlier out of the refrigerator and set it on the counter. “We’ve been busy. Haven’t had a lot of time for casual conversation.”
    “Yeah, I guess that’s true, all right.” Jason studied the bottle of wine she was opening. “But I think it’s more likely he doesn’t want to talk about the family business these days because the Old Man and his partner are putting a lot of pressure on him to come into it. Ever heard of Elena Creek Vineyards?”
    “Well, sure. Anyone who lives in and around wine country has heard of Elena Creek Vineyards. Very classy upscale wines. They win lots of awards.”
    “We certainly like to think so,” Jason said.
    She took another look at the label on the bottle of white. “I’m getting a bad feeling about this.”
    “Don’t worry about the white. Luke and I sure won’t.”
    “Your family owns Elena Creek Vineyards?”
    “My dad and his partner, Gordon Foote, founded it about forty years ago. The Old Man was the business brains of the outfit. Gordon was the winemaker. They had a dream and they made it come true. Now they want to pass that dream down to the next generation.”
    “How does the next generation feel about that?”
    Jason smiled wryly. “My brother Hackett and I are on board. So is Katy, Gordon’s daughter. In fact, I don’t think you could keep the three of us out of the wine business. It’s in our blood.”
    “But not in Luke’s?”
    “That’s what he claims, but the general consensus in the family is that Luke doesn’t know what he wants. See, Luke has never really settled into anything for long. Take college, for instance.”
    “He dropped out?”
    “He was doing great. Got his B.A. and got accepted into grad school. We all thought he was on track to enter the academic world.”
    “What did he study?”
    “You’ll never believe it.” Jason chuckled. “Classical philosophy.”

    She was momentarily dumbstruck. Then she started to laugh. “You’re kidding. It does sort of boggle the mind.”
    “Don’t let that laid-back former-Marine routine fool you. Luke can shoot the academic bull with the best of them. As I was saying, it seemed like he was headed for the ivory-tower world, but the next thing we know, he tells us he’s enlisted. It was a real shocker. He was sent off to some sort of new strategy and warfare training program. He actually managed to finish up his Ph.D. in the Corps. But he got deployed. A lot.”
    “A lot?”
    “Things have been busy for the Marines in the past few years.”
    She chilled. “Yes, I know.”
    “Anyhow, six months ago he got out. He let the Old Man and Gordon talk him into going to work at the winery.”
    “I take it that was not a successful career move.”
    “It was what you might call an unmitigated disaster. Like I said, he also got engaged about the same time and that fell apart, too.” Jason swept out a hand. “Now, here he is in Dunsley operating a tumbledow ld fishing lodge.”
    “Let me take a wild guess. The family is deeply concerned.”
    “There is outright panic in some quarters,” Jason admitted. “Personally, I think Luke is just one of those people who take a while to find their thing in life, you know? But the others are afraid he’s in a bad downward spiral.”
    She considered that briefly and shook her head. “I don’t think that’s it. Just the opposite, I’d say. Luke may be taking a different route, but I think he knows where he’s going.”
    “I’m with you.” Jason hesitated. His face grew somber for the first time. “But you can’t blame the family for worrying. Luke probably hasn’t told you this, but he saw some very rough duty during the last few years.”
    She thought about what she had glimpsed once or twice behind the iron-clad self-control in Luke’s eyes. “I had more or less assumed as much.”
    “He was very good at what he did. There are some serious medals tucked away somewhere in a drawer. But that kind of thing exacts a price.”
    “I know,” she said gently.
    The tension in Jason’s face eased. “Had a hunch you’d probably figured it out. Like I said, the two o ou seem to communicate pretty well. Which is a little weird because Luke’s not what anyone woul all a great communicator.” He paused to peer through the window. “Not unless he’s giving orders,
    that is. He’s real good at communicating orders.”
    The door opened abruptly. Luke walked into the kitchen. He came to a halt, looking first at Jason and then at