Saving Grapes - Madeline Kirby Page 0,52
questions. I just don’t want Thom to think I’ve overstepped.”
“Thom’s a results guy – just present him with a done deal and it’ll be fine.” Steve lowered himself into one of the extra chairs that had been brought into Thom’s room. “Let me tell you something about my grandson.”
Ben pulled another chair up near the old man and sat. “Please.”
“He was just a kid when his parents were killed. His mother didn’t have any family – she’d been a foster kid, and finally having a family of her own was a real big deal for her. Anyway, when they were gone, it was just me, raising a little boy on my own. Chuck and Lorraine helped out as much as they could, but they had kids of their own to take care of. Thom had to grow up real fast. It wasn’t a bad life, just a little lonely for a kid, maybe. He went off to college, and I think he had a pretty good time and made a lot of friends. He never talked about dating anybody though, and after a while I figured out that he didn’t talk about it because he didn’t want to tell me he was dating boys and not girls.”
“Was that okay? With you, I mean.”
“Well, I’m an old man, but I’m not closed-minded. I’ve seen a lot of things and known a lot of kinds of folks in my time. So it was okay whatever he did, as long as he was safe and happy. I don’t know if he was happy, though. I think he was still lonely. I think he’s been lonely so long that he doesn’t realize it and doesn’t know how to stop.”
“I’m not sure I know what you’re getting at.”
“Thom’s my grandson, and I love him more than anyone alive, but even I have to admit he can be pretty dense sometimes. He can be stubborn and blind, and set in his ways. Being lonely for him is like a bad habit, and he can’t break it on his own.”
“Aunt Lorraine told me once that if I was going to convince Thom that I wasn’t going anywhere that I just needed to stay.”
“Stay. Like just move in and not go anywhere?”
“Yep. Said sooner or later he’d get used to me being around and realize I belonged there. It’s kind of the same thing. Just show him, here I am, this is how it is, deal with it.”
Steve seemed to be mulling this over. “Seems reasonable to me. So you’re going to stay?”
“I am. Is that okay with you?”
“Oh, son, it has nothing to do with me anymore. It’s Thom’s home, and Thom’s life. I think he needs you in both. If you can convince him, I’ll support you all the way.”
It was already past lunchtime when Ben made it to the hospital the next day and Thom was asleep again.
“How did it go?” Steve asked as Ben sat down in the chair next to him.
“Fine. It was obvious what had happened. They pretty much took one look and confirmed it. The tricky part will be the adjustor figuring out the value of the damage. It’s not just the value of the plants that were destroyed, there’s the value of what they would have produced over the amount of time it will take to bring the land back to the same level of production. And it’s complicated by the plan to add the winery.”
Ben sighed and leaned his head back against the wall.
“Ben?”
Ben was on his feet and across the room at the sound of Thom’s voice. “Hey, you,” he leaned over and kissed Thom on the forehead where he hoped it wouldn’t hurt. “How do you feel?”
“Like hell. What happened at the vineyard?” Thom asked as he pushed the button to slowly raise the bed so he wasn’t looking at the ceiling.
“You heard?”
“I heard enough to know something’s wrong.”
Steve came over to join Ben at Thom’s side. Ben took a deep breath and decided to get it out and over with.
“The lightning strike – the one that threw you – it hit the north section.”
Thom closed his eyes. “I can just imagine. How bad is it?” He opened his eyes and pinned Ben with his gaze. “The truth – no matter how bad it is.”
“About two-thirds of the north section was destroyed.”
Thom closed his eyes again. “Shit.”
“Yeah. I’m so sorry, sweetheart.” Ben knew Thom had to be torn up if he was so distracted that