Saving Grapes - Madeline Kirby Page 0,10
use it for much other than a bit of storage and a few wine racks along one wall. “Sure. Take whatever space you need, just leave a few feet free in front of the wine racks.”
“Great! We can make several batches, experiment with different styles. I’ve never tried lagering – maybe I can find an old ‘fridge and give that a go.”
“We?”
“Well, yeah. Remember, I told you I’d teach you about homebrewing?”
Thom had forgotten, but Ben’s enthusiasm was irresistible, so Thom found himself agreeing. “Okay, but will we have time?”
“Sure. We shouldn’t have any problem working around the vineyard schedule. It’s like, well, it’s like cooking, I guess. And then there’s a lot of waiting. It’s all a matter of timing, but since we’re pretty much always here, there shouldn’t be any problem.”
“What kind of timing?”
“Well, very basically, after you make the wort, it has to sit. And if you’re doing two-stage fermentation you have to transfer the wort to another container at a certain point. And then you have to bottle it at another point. You just have to plan ahead to make sure you have the right time windows to get it done. But like I said, we shouldn’t have a problem. We just need to make sure we’re not too busy with harvest or something else.”
“Harvest can be hard to predict sometimes – it all depends on the weather.” Thom said. Ben nodded. “But, we can probably manage. I just might not be there for all the steps all the time.”
“Not a problem. This is going to be fun! If you enjoy this,” Ben lifted his bottle and swirled it a little, “you are going to love making your own.”
“Okay, you’ve sold me.” Thom settled back in his chair and closed his eyes. He had been feeling more comfortable with Ben lately. Rather than feeling more awkward, as he had feared, coming out to Ben had allowed him to relax and be himself. Now the only secret he had was his growing attraction to the younger man. But he was an adult – he’d had plenty of crushes over the years that had gone nowhere and had done just fine. Of course, he’d never had to work closely with any of those other men – let alone live with them. There was just one thing he wanted to know. He’d been thinking about it since they met, and for some reason introducing Ben to Ross had brought the question back to the front of his mind.
After a few minutes he opened his eyes, turning to see Ben gazing over the fields with a little smile – not big enough to bring out the dimple in his cheek, but Thom could tell he must be thinking happy thoughts. “Ben…” he started.
“Yeah?” Ben turned to face Thom, still smiling and his eyes doing that squinty thing they did when he was thinking hard about something.
Thom decided his question could wait. They’d had a moment, and Thom didn’t want to bring the other man down, because what he wanted to know really was none of his business. No matter how well he felt he had come to know Ben, he had no idea how Bed would react to his prying.
“Sorry, forgot what I was going to say.” Ben smiled – with the dimple this time – and turned back to his study of the vineyard beyond the porch rail. Thom sighed and closed his eyes again so he wouldn’t stare at Ben’s profile, burnished gold by the setting sun.
Thom finally got his courage up a couple of days later over breakfast. “Can I ask you a personal question?” He asked as he chased the last bit of egg around his plate with his fork.
Ben looked up from the toast he was buttering. “I guess, as long as I don’t have to answer.”
“Fair enough,” Thom nodded. “I was just wondering, have been wondering, about your dad.”
“My dad?”
“I was just. Well, I know you’ve fallen out with your mother, so I just wondered about your dad.”
“Oh, well. I don’t know, to be honest.”
“I’m sorry, I know I’m prying. I just thought, maybe if he was around,” Thom shrugged, “maybe he’d be okay with you. Support you or…”
“Yeah, I get it. It’s okay – it’s no big deal. I just never knew him. After he left, I guess my mom was really bitter. She went back to her maiden name and had my name changed too. I was still pretty little,