Twice in a Blue Moon (20 page)

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

A
WEEK
LATER
, Indigo watched the sun go down through the sweep of windows as her class filed into the yoga studio.

“Barney, poor baby!” Jesse dropped her gym bag and crouched at the dog bed where Barney lay, tail thumping, anticipating adoration. “Does the vet say he's going to be okay?”

“After a really scary night, he woke up fine. The vet kept him for two days but said he'll make a full recovery, thank God. He's almost back to his old self.”

Priss walked in, dropped her bag and bent over the basket. “Oh, hey, you okay, dude?”

Indigo's phone rang, and when she read Silversafe Bank on the screen, she nearly dropped it. “Ladies, sorry, but I've got to take this. I'll be right back.”

She left Barney in the center of a crowd of spandex-clad women, rolled on his back in bliss, receiving tummy rubs as if they were his due. Stepping around the screen to her massage area, she answered in her winery-owner voice. “This is Indigo. Can I help you?”

“Ms. Blue, this is Craig Zimmer at Silversafe Bank.”

“Hello, Mr. Zimmer.” She swallowed, not sure which she dreaded more: approval or rejection.

“I'm calling to inform you that the board has approved your loan request. I'll have the loan docs prepared and ready later in the morning for you to sign.”

“Oh.” She cleared surprise from her throat. “Yes. Um. Thanks for letting me know. I'll be in touch soon.” She hit End before she could say anything stupid.
What the heck are you going to do now, Blue?

She pushed down her shoulders and pulled up her virtual big-girl panties.
You're going to calm down and go teach yoga. That's what you're going to do.

Walking around the screen, she clapped her hands. “Okay, let's limber up with some Cat-Cow stretches, shall we?” She clicked on the speakers and took her place at the front of the room. The sound of soothing piano music to an accompaniment of ocean waves poured over her. Maybe an hour of this would quiet her jangled nerves. The women assumed the position on their hands and knees. “Don't forget your focused breathing, ladies.”

She'd pushed the loan to the back of her mind since it was out of her control. Sure, she knew on some level that approval was a possibility, but the shock that reverberated through her was proof that she'd believed the answer would be no. And the queasiness in her stomach told her she'd been hoping for a no. She didn't want to be the ultimate decision-maker.

“Olivia, don't go too far into the Cow—remember your hip, dear.”

But now it was on
her
. She had a decision to make. And no idea of how to make it.

“Okay, let's transition to Pigeon Pose...”

An hour later, class was over.

“Hey, Carley, are we still on for this weekend?” Priss asked.

“Of course we are. Olivia, are you coming to Hearst Castle with us?”

“Sure, providing you're not driving that boat of a convertible. It messes my hair.”

Sam closed the flap to her backpack, and lifted her motorcycle helmet from the floor. “Hey, Jesse, how about throwing an end-of-summer party in September?”

“Only if you're buying a new dress for it, sweetie.”

“Oh, come on. Nobody cares if I come in jeans.”

Jesse batted her eyelashes. “Maybe not, but you're not getting through my front door in them, Pinelli.”

Indigo forced the words out with a huff of breath. “Jesse, can you stay back a minute? I need to ask you about something.”

“Sure, doll.” She rounded back to her friend. “I mean it, Sam. I'm sure your husband would appreciate seeing you in more than those danged overalls you've pulled on over your yoga pants. You'll thank me later. You know you will.” She waggled her fingers at her grumbling friend as Sam walked out the door.

Indigo switched off the music and waited for the last stragglers to leave.

“What is it, sweetie? You look worrieder than a bunny at a wolf conference.”

Indigo chewed her lip and tried to think of how to word this. “How did you make the decision to quit that once-in-a-lifetime math scholarship at Princeton to come home and propose to Carl?”

Jesse leaned a hip against the table. “You know, I thought I'd have to make good on my threat to throw myself off the Pismo Beach Pier before he agreed.”

“How did you make a huge decision like that?”

“Are you thinking about that Roman god of a manager of yours?” She tipped her head, and a sparkle came to her baby blues. “Should I start planning a reception?”

“What? No!” Blood pounded to flood Indigo's face. “Have you lost your mind?”

Jesse winked. “Hey, you two are all alone out here at night, with the moonlight and the grapevines... Pretty romantic setting. Stranger things have happened.”

“Why do you think everything is about a man? My God.” She fanned her face to cool it. “This is about the business.”

“Hon, you've been married, for cripes sakes. You've made big decisions before.”

Yeah, but that was easy. Harry chose me.

“You're serious, aren't you?” With a focused squint, Jesse watched Indigo fidget. “Darlin', you're a woman. You just have to trust your intuition. End of story.”

Indigo threw up her hands. “But I can't trust mine. That's the problem!”

“Why are you so afraid to make a mistake? Good lord, I've made a ton of those. Everyone does.”

“Yeah, but—” Indigo fumbled with the music remote and dropped it.

“You are a mess, aren't you, hon?” Jesse bent, picked up the remote and set it on the table. “Okay, here's what I do. First, I figure out what is the absolute worst that can happen. I'm talking downright Armageddon. And if I can live with that, then I'm good to go.” She spread her hands in a ta-da gesture. “See?”

What would she do if she lost the winery? She'd been so worried about the possibility, she'd never looked beyond it. “I'll try that. Thanks.”

Jesse lifted her gym bag from the desk. “Are you gonna tell me what this is all about?”

“I will, once I've made my decision. Promise.” Indigo followed Jesse to the door.

“Well, once you've made
that
one, you're going to have to decide what to do about that gorgeous manager of yours.” She speared Indigo with a look. “If you let that one get away, you'll regret it for the rest of your life.”

“Jesse—”

Jesse tapped a long nail to Indigo's lips. “Just think on it, that's all I'm saying.” She turned, and with a waggle of her fingers, sashayed out.

Armageddon.
Indigo looked around the room. Could she live with losing the winery? It was not only her livelihood—besides Barney, it was her last link to her happy days with Harry. She had fond memories of The Widow even before she'd come to live here. And now she couldn't imagine living somewhere that she didn't wake up with Uncle Bob's cabin wrapped around her. Watching the sun on the vines as she waited for the water to heat for her first cup of coffee. Seeing Danovan's eyes when he looked up from his desk...

Whoa. Wait a minute. When had Danovan become part of that picture? Part of her dream? She didn't know. But there he was, pointing out a lever on the tractor, squinting at the swirling blush in a glass, holding her hand at the vet's.

And here she'd thought a bank loan was her biggest problem.

She stooped to pet Barney's smooth head. “Is he getting to you, too, Barn? Is that why you followed him on the tractor?”

The dog's sad eyes tore something in her chest, opening a yawning hollow. She fell to her knees and hugged Barney, burying her face in the warm fur of his neck. “Are we traitors if we let go of Harry?”

Her mother's voice echoed from deep in her mind.
Go to a quiet place, put on some soothing music and open some lavender oil. Just trust. The answer is inside you.

She walked around the screen to the massage area. She might not have the answer yet, but at least she had the tools to dig for it.

* * *

I
T
WAS
DARK
by the time Danovan held the back door for his warehouse rat. “Thanks for staying and getting those orders out, Sean.”

“No worries, boss. I can use the money. I'm taking on an extra class in the fall.”

“I'll see you tomorrow afternoon, then.” He closed the door behind Sean and locked it. He'd been against the idea, but Indigo had been right to hire a part-time college student. Sean was cheap, flexible and smart, and he was doing a great job.

Flipping off the lights, he followed the beacon of his office light through the shadowed warehouse. The deskful of paperwork didn't hold the attraction it had earlier.

Where's Indigo?
He hadn't seen her since morning.

He turned off his office light and followed the next dot of brightness: the exit sign over the barrel room door. A security light was the only one in the tasting room full of shadows. Indigo had probably already left for the cabin.

On the way to his apartment, just hoping, he pushed open the door to the yoga room. It was dark, but the cloth privacy screen at the end of the room glowed with flickering candlelight. He stepped into the scent of lavender that took his mind back to Indigo's massage. Took his body back, too. He shifted his thickening cock, then crossed the room to peek around the screen.

She sat, legs crossed, on the massage table, in yoga pants and a sports bra, eyes closed. The backs of her hands rested on her knees, palms open, fingers relaxed.

The candlelight played over her smooth, tawny skin. She looked like a Hindu goddess.

She looked like an angel.

A sound came from the corner. Barney lay, tail thumping on his dog bed, gazing at Danovan with adoration. He was beginning to see why people kept dogs. He'd almost killed Barney, but the animal bore no grudge. He wished humans were so forgiving.

Indigo's eyes opened, and her smile shot to his heart. “My thoughts must have conjured you. I was about to go find you in a few minutes.”

He stepped to the table, drawn by the open look of simple happiness on her face, reminding him how seldom it was free from worry. “You keep looking at me like that and you'll conjure something else.” He cupped her cheeks and lifted her face. “You're even more beautiful in candlelight.”

The day he'd come for an interview, he'd been in free fall—his life and his career heading for the rocks beneath the cliff he'd fallen from the day Esperanza died.

But instead of crashing, he'd found himself. He found the man he wanted to be, had always been, reflected in her eyes.

He didn't have to lean down. He tried to convey his gratitude with a soft, slow touching of lips. Before his body could force him to the next step, he backed away. The moment was too fragile to let passion tear it up.

She favored him with a beatific smile. “The banker called.”

The peaceful bubble burst. Not for the first time, he cursed the ambition that drove him. He took her hand and ran his thumb across its smooth back. “You know, there're worse things than spending the next five years growing the business together.”

“They approved the loan.”

His heart stuttered then sped on, a frantic snare drum in his chest. “We don't need—”

“I'm going to town tomorrow to sign papers.”

He tightened his core, trapping the eagerness before it could hijack the moment. “Maybe you shouldn't.”

Her brow compressed, and she tipped her head. “You're an alien, aren't you? What have you done with my vintner?” She waved a hand in front of his face. “This is your chance, Danovan. ‘DiCarlo Select Merlot,' remember?”

He couldn't say no while looking into the expectancy shining on her face. Wrenching himself away, he walked to Barney and squatted. The dog rolled on his back for a belly rub. “The wine will still be there when we can afford it. It's too much to risk.” He scratched and Barney whined with pleasure.

“Oh, I see. There's that arrogance again. You assume I'm doing this for you?”

He looked up. “You're not?”

She unfolded her legs, dropped them off the edge of the table. “I left Hollywood by my own choice, but most people thought I turned tail and ran.” She leaned her palms on the edge of the table. “Even here, I'm still living in the shadow of that damned town. I'm tired of people making assumptions. I'm sick of having to appear to be whatever people think Indigo Blue ought to be.” She lifted her hands, then slammed them onto the table's edge. “I'm ready to do what
I want
to do. And you know what? Tonight I realized that what I want to do is kick some butt.” She nodded as if agreeing with herself then turned to him. “So? What do you say, partner? Feel like kicking some butt with me?”

“Oh, lady, do I.” A chinook wind of ideas, plans and joy swept through him. With the two of them united, anything seemed possible.

He gave Barney a last pat, stood and took the two steps that separated them. “But first...” Stepping between her legs, he ran his hands down the bare skin of her back, reaching down to cup her buns. “I have different plans for this butt, if that's okay with you?”

* * *

T
HIS
WAS
RIGHT
. She
knew
it.

Harry had tried to tell her, but she hadn't been ready to listen. Tonight she listened and understood. Reaching for something else didn't mean she had to let him go. Harry would always be within her. Cherished, honored, remembered.

Her smile rose from joy in her chest. “I thought you'd never ask, DiCarlo.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a hold-nothing-back kiss.

It felt good to let herself go, to do what made
her
happy. And damn, this made her happy.