Hearts & Minds | WATTY Winner

Chapter 24 | The Winery | Part 2

Carlo looked over Alexis's car. "Miata. Decent little roadster. My father had a Porsche he nearly wrapped around a tree the night he chased Theo."

Nora wasn't sure she'd heard him correctly. "Chased Theo?"

"Sorry." He shrugged, indifferent. "I thought he said he told you."

"He did. But...I didn't know your father was involved."

"Hm. Then he didn't tell you everything."

"Tell me everything about what?"

"Just about how he got that fetching scar on his chin," Carlo said smoothly. His eyes behind his mirrored sunglasses were unreadable. "Growing up, our father was definitely as doting as he could be when it came to my sister and me. But there's something about Theo that really—it really sets off his temper. He has a really shitty temper."

Nora didn't know what to say. In all this time, she'd assumed Theo had been driving fast that night because he was young and dumb. The hubris of youth.

A silence stretched on between them, awkward and full.

Carlo began to walk back to the building. "So long, cousin," he said over his shoulder.

Nora trudged back to Alexis's car, trying to focus on not stumbling, on putting one foot in front of the other. Somehow, she found a reserve of energy, and the walk back didn't take too long. In fact, her head cleared up prodigiously now that she was alone. The car was just ahead, its black paint a clear if dust-covered beacon.

"Hey, you forgot something." Someone lurked in the shadow of the winery building. Sun-dazzled, Nora looked around before spotting Caprice. She was lounging against the wall, a cigarette smoldering between the fingers of one hand. In the other, she held a shopping bag with the Harvey-Furlan logo on it. Nora's bottle of Syrah. She peeked into it. Caprice had included a bottle of chilled water.

"Thank you." Nora stood by the driver's side of Alexis's car, unsure.

"Carlo's right." Caprice flicked the ash. "Except the real truth is our dad beat down on Theo every chance he got, drunk or sober. He used to hit our mom too. But never us. Never me and Carlo."

Again, Nora felt helpless to say the right thing. "God, I'm—I'm so sorry."

Caprice shrugged, but her eyes brimmed with something flashing and dangerous. "We've all been a part of hiding it, keeping it a secret. Our family. The town. Everyone knows he's a grand master asshole. But he's got everyone in his pocket. Everyone."

Nora recalled her experience with Gene Furlan, his air of controlled menace. She hoped to never be in a position to have to cross him. She could do it, but she would not relish the fight he'd likely put up. "That's awful. Can't anything be done?"

Caprice took a long drag off her cigarette before dropping it, stamping it out, and picking up the butt. She threw it in a nearby trashcan.

"I'm doing something right now by speaking the truth to you. If Theo trusts you, I trust you."
He must have told his siblings that Nora knew about the accident. But he hadn't told her everything. She should have asked him the reason why. Why he had been driving so fast. He had been running away. He had been a child himself, alone and terrified of the person who should have been his protector.

"Besides, it hasn't happened in years, not since Theo got big, like when he was sixteen. He could fight back then. At least, in some ways."

Nora thought she understood. "Where is he?"

Caprice shrugs. "Carlo told him you guys were probably going to stop by and he took off. He does that a lot."

"I've noticed."

"We deal how we deal."

Nora nodded. "Tell him—can you ask him to call or text me next time you talk to him?" Even if he belonged to Alexis, Nora could still be his friend.

Caprice put her hands in her pockets. Completely louche. "Sweetheart, you can do that yourself."

Nora flushed. "I'm not sure I can."

Caprice raised her eyebrows ever so slightly. "And we speak our truth." She pulled out another cigarette from behind her ear and produced a lighter from her pocket.

Nora gave up. Got in the car. Fortunately, she knew how to drive stick. Even better, she managed not to stall out. She took this as a huge victory considering Caprice was watching her the entire time.

When she was off the gravel drive and on the road, Nora realized she was holding her breath. It came out in shaky, ragged bursts. With the wind in her hair, she allowed herself to form coherent thoughts, and the first one was—Oh, Theo. Oh, beautiful man, sweet and good, and yes, with demons. Poor boy with the abusive father, the clinging mother, the detached siblings. She swallowed back the urge to cry—it would be dangerous while driving, plus, she found crying a waste of time. To focus, she concentrated on the fact that Carlo and Caprice knew she knew about the Accident. Did that mean Theo had told them about taking her out to dinner? What else did they know about? Alexis and the promise ring? All the way back to the spa, Nora's thoughts raced.

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I hope everyone is staying healthy! x, Olivia