Page 23 of A Little Bit Whiskey
“Water under the bridge.” Noir leaned back, taking another big slurp. “I’m just glad the unnatural umbilical cord between the two of us has finally been severed.”
“That’s one way to look at it,” Zinny said. “But still, it leaves you doing triple duty.”
“About that.” He tapped his fingers on the pile of papers. “I’ve been meaning to ask why he gets more time selling, and I’m stuck in here, but have been too afraid to broach the subject with Merlot and Mom.”
“I can answer that.” Zinny climbed up on the desk, swinging her legs back and forth. She had more energy than anyone in the family. It could be because she was the youngest, but Zinny had their mom’s personality more than anyone else, minus being super manipulative.
“I’m all ears.”
“It’s simple. If Merlot or I aren’t here to run things, we’d prefer you over Nebbiolo.” She tilted her head, curving her lips sideways in this all-knowing look, as if he should have been able to piece that all together. “You’re more responsible. Have more interest in knowing the ins and outs of the way we’re doing things. Changing things. Nebbiolo is still acting like we should run the sale of our wines like we all did when we worked for a major distributor. It doesn’t work that way.”
“That’s not entirely true, and you know it. He has good ideas and we should be incorporating some of them.”
“Come on, Noir. We are. When there’s something you think we should be doing, you speak up, loud and clear. When you’re wishy-washy or don’t agree, you shut down. Or like the last meeting we had, you argued with Nebbiolo. That man is more stubborn than any of us put together. I might look like Mom and act like Mom most days, but he’s bullheaded, just like her, and can sometimes be underhanded.”
Noir laughed. “You’re right on all counts.”
“I’m always right, something my husband is finally accepting.” She winked.
“Toby’s such a great guy. I’m so happy for you.” He squeezed his baby sister’s knee. “You’ve become an amazing woman. Mother to your own little girl and to TJ. I’m sometimes in awe of you.”
“Aww, aren’t you sweet.” She smiled. “How are things with Tamsyn?”
“They’re good.” He nodded. “I really appreciate everyone in this family being so accepting of her—and our relationship.”
“You thought we wouldn’t?”
He laughed. “Because of the rumors, I considered the possibility.”
“Dad put those to bed when we were small children. He made it very clear to us what was true and wasn’t. We might have been young, especially me, but I got it and I tried to be nice to Tamsyn, only she didn’t want much to do with any of us.”
“It wasn’t that.” Nebbiolo was the only person who knew anything about his ongoing friendship with Tamsyn. He’d never shared it with anyone, except his father, but even his dad hadn’t known the extent of it. “She was raised in an environment of contradictions. She had a mom whom no one valued. Elizabeth was treated far worse than our mother ever was, and she never could stick up for herself. Then Tamsyn went to live with Fred and Anna. Fred caves to whatever Anna wants and Anna hates our family.”
“Well, she hates Mom, and she tolerates the rest of us.” Zinny put the straw between her lips, sucking down the last drop.
“In middle school, I started chatting with Tamsyn. We kept it all secret because of all the insanity. But we’ve been friends forever. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to be friends with any of us, but she felt as though she couldn’t have any friends in this town. That she couldn’t trust anyone. She almost didn’t stick around. She had applied for positions at five other police departments, but she wanted to be feel close to her mom and have access to local files.”
“I heard it had all been about finding clues to what happened to her mom.” Zinny arched a brow.
“That played a big part in her decision,” Noir said. “And I’m glad she stayed.”
“You make for a cute couple. I’m happy for you. I hope this town isn’t too hard on you.”
“Noir? Are you back here?” their mother’s voice cut through the air, landing on his ears like scalding hot water.
He locked gazes with his sister. “That tone doesn’t sound good,” he whispered. “I’m in my office.”
“Didn’t she have a meeting with the Holiday Showcase committee today, which includes Anna?”
Noir nodded just as his mother stepped into the office he shared with Nebbiolo. “Hey, Mom. What’s up?”
“If it wasn’t only three in the afternoon, I’d start drinking.” With her usual dramatic flair, she flung herself on the chair in the corner and scooted in toward the desk. “That woman is going to bring out a side of me that I promised your father would remain in the vault.”
Zinny laughed. “Are we referring to Mrs. Cummings or someone else?”
“She was actually tame, compared to Anna today, but Mrs. Cummings agreed and nodded with everything that Anna said.” His mom let out a long breath. “Noir, can I speak freely in front of Zinny?”
“Of course. I want no more secrets in this family.” The irony that he’d kept his relationship locked up tight for the last month hadn’t been lost on him, but moving forward, everything needed to be out in the open if they had any chance of making a real go at it.
