Saving Grapes - Madeline Kirby Page 0,62
his.
“I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the future. My future, our future, the future of the vineyard.”
Thom froze. He tried to pull his hand away, but Ben’s grip was too tight. Was this Ben’s way of letting him down easy? Use sex to get him blissed out and then drop the boom? Ben looked at him, eyebrows drawn together over the bridge of his nose. “Tell me what you’re thinking right now. No bullshit.”
“Are you trying to tell me you’re leaving?” Thom felt too raw to skirt the truth.
“What the hell? No. Of course not.”
“It sounded like, maybe—”
“No. Just listen.”
Thom nodded.
“I’ve been talking with Steve about what needs to be done, what can be done, with the north section. We can replant it, but it will be several years before production is back up to current levels, right?” Thom nodded again.
“So I was talking to Uncle Chuck and Al, at Bent Brewing, and I’ve got this idea for the upper field. They both think it’ll work, and Steve says I should go for it.”
Thom was silent, waiting for Ben’s big reveal.
“Hops.”
“Hops? You mean, growing hops?”
“Yeah. Al can get me rhizomes, including some rare hybrids. We can test them in the coming year, and go full scale the year after that. They’d be up to speed faster than the grapes, and we’d have that crop bringing in money while the north section rebuilds.”
Thom considered it. He trusted Chuck and Granddad – if they thought it was a good idea it probably was, and that field wasn’t producing now as it was. “Okay. It can’t hurt to try.”
“There’s more, though. Although, a lot of this part is about me. But it’s also about us.”
“Now I’m confused.”
“I want to get certified as a craft brewer.”
Thom studied Ben’s face. It wasn’t that simple, and he knew it. “What does that entail? For you and for us?”
“Long-term, if you agree, I want to start a microbrewery, right here on site, just like the winery. Adjacent, with a shared tasting room. And we can use our own hops that we’ve grown ourselves. If anyone else is doing this, I haven’t found them yet.”
“And short-term?”
“I have to get the training. Most of it will be online, here. But there will be an apprenticeship requirement. If I can’t find a local brewery to take me on, I’ll have to go away for a few weeks. But that won’t be for a few months.”
Thom studied Ben’s face. “This is what you really want?” He asked. “The hops and the brewing?”
“It is. But it’s going to be a lot of work for me. Studying and apprenticing and getting the hop field going and the north section replanted. And if we do it, it’ll start soon and happen fast.”
“I’ll be able to help by spring.”
“Yeah, but you can’t study for me, and I may have to go away for a little while. I’m not going to do this if you’re not on board.”
Thom looked at Ben’s beautiful, hopeful face, and was suddenly exhausted – this conversation was requiring more brain power than he was used to expending after sex.
He knew what this was – and this was huge. This was Ben not just saying he was staying, but actually doing it. Making plans and talking about more than just being part of Thom’s dream, but pursuing a dream of his own. Here.
He opened his mouth to tell Ben he could have anything he wanted. That if doing this would mean building a future together and Ben wasn’t leaving, that he could plant as many hops as he wanted and do three apprenticeships. All of this was on the tip of his tongue as he opened his mouth, but he was asleep before he could get the words out.
Ben adjusted the covers, then leaned over to kiss Thom’s forehead.
“I love you, Thom Caldwell,” he whispered against the other man’s skin. “Whether you like it or not.”
He wandered onto the front porch.
“Hey, Ben,” Jon looked up from the crossword puzzle he was working. “How is he?”
“Asleep.”
“Did you have a chance to talk?”
“Yeah. I told him what we talked about. About the hops, and the north section, and the craft brewer training.”
“What did he say?”
“He fell asleep.”
“Well, he’s had a pretty big day. Did he seem receptive to the idea? Before he fell asleep?”
“I think so. I think if he’d been opposed he would have forced himself to stay awake and argue. He looked like maybe he was okay with all of it.”
“So