All Night Long

gets to ignition point.”
    “Okay, so we all know that Luke had that little problem six months ago,” Jason said.
    “I got the distinct impression it’s not worrying him much now.”
    Hackett’s jaw tightened. He glanced at Katy and then looked away again very quickly. “He’s not likel o talk about that kind of problem to anyone.”

    “It’s a medical issue,” Katy said firmly. “He should discuss it with a doctor.”
    Jason spread his hands. “What everyone in this family can’t seem to grasp is that Luke is a little different.”
    Katy and Hackett exchanged glances again. This time they did a little eye-rolling.
    What was it with these two? Jason wondered. On occasion they seemed to be able to communicate telepathically. But most of the time these days they danced around each other like a couple of bad-tempered cats. It wasn’t unusual to see them go from shared laughter to edgy irritation in the spac f a couple of heartbeats. They argued over everything from the plans to remodel the old tasting room to the design of the new label for the zins.
    It hadn’t been like that in the old days when they were all growing up together, he recalled. Katy and Hackett had been best friends since forever. It was Hackett who had taken Katy to the senior pro hen her date dumped her at the last minute. And it was Katy who had consoled Hackett when his college girlfriend ditched him in favor of his roommate. They’d always had a lot in common. They enjoyed going to the opera together in San Francisco, and they loved sampling new restaurants and the competition’s wines.
    But something about their relationship had changed dramatically about six months ago. It was almos s if Katy’s short engagement to Luke had done something weird to both of them.
    “Okay, so we all do grasp the concept of Luke being different,” Jason conceded.
    “But what I’m trying to say is that he’s different from the rest of us because he doesn’t feel the way we do about the business.” He motioned toward the jungle of large vats that surrounded them. “The Old Man and Gordon have got to give up the idea of bringing him into the company. It’s not going to happen.”
    Katy looked thoughtful. “I think they could deal with his refusal to come into the business if they felt assured that he had found something stable and secure for himself. It’s the fact that he’s so unsettle hat’s bothering them. They’ve got visions of him winding up on a street corner in San Francisco, panhandling for spare change.”
    “For what it’s worth, I honestly don’t think he’s on the edge of flipping out or anything,” Jason said.
    “He’ll be at the birthday party. You can see for yourself.”
    “It isn’t us he has to convince,” Hackett muttered. “It’s Mom and Gordon and the Old Man.”
    “Okay, that could be a problem,” Jason said.

Twenty-Two
    The sound of Luke’s SUV in the drive interrupted Irene just as she was preparing to come up into ull teaser position. Two sharp, demanding knocks a short time later told her that the driver was no n a great mood.
    “Come in,” she said, holding the V-shaped pose, her legs and arms in the air, toes pointed, balance n her sitting bones.
    Luke opened the door and looked at her. “What the hell are you doing?”
    “Pilates exercises.” She came out of the movement and rolled to her feet. “I took it up a couple of years ago. It’s all about core strength. A lot of dancers use it. It didn’t replace leaving the lights on all night long. But it did take the place of needing to check the kitchen sink half a dozen times to make sure the water was turned off every time I left my apartment. That was getting bad.”
    “Replace one obsessive little habit with another? Yeah, I know all about that theory.”
    He closed th oor. “But do us both a favor. Don’t let any of the locals see you practice your Pilates, okay? We don’t need to add any more layers of weird-ness to your image.”
    Definitely not a good mood.
    “I find the exercises helpful when I’m trying to clarify my thoughts.”
    “Getting away from Dunsley for a while would help me clarify mine.” He walked into the kitchenette. “What do you say we take a drive?”
    She watched him open the refrigerator, acting like he owned the place. She reminded herself that he did own it.

    “All right,” she said, oddly cautious.
    He took out a bottle of water and snapped off the top. “Figured we could have dinner in