Moonlight and Roses

Moonlight and Roses
Jackie Braun

Buying the Monroe family winery gave Zack Holland the fresh start he needed. But the business came with one determined woman, and he could see she wasn't going to hand over the reins easily. Jaye Monroe knew they had to work together to make the winery a success. But she couldn't bear to give up everything her family had worked for–to an outsider.Yet the attraction sizzled and, what's more, the mood was set with the heady mix of moonlight and the scent of roses! Soon Jaye started to wonder whether they could develop the perfect relationship–business and personal….

Jackie Braun

Moonlight and Roses

For my good friend, Tina Haas, who didn’t complain one

bit when I asked her to help me research a winery in

Leelanau County. And to the staff at Black Star Farms,

who made our stay there an incredible experience. Any

errors I made or liberties I took in writing this book bear

no reflection on their winemaking knowledge and skill.

CONTENTS

PROLOGUE

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

EPILOGUE

PROLOGUE

JAYE MONROE didn’t consider herself the sort of woman to swoon, but as she sat with her stepmother in the stuffy office, listening to the lawyer read the contents of Frank Monroe’s will, she definitely felt light-headed.

Not only was her beloved father gone, but he’d left their Leelanau County vineyard, along with its winery and tasting room, in the sole possession of his second wife of seven years rather the daughter who had toiled by his side for the past nine to help make the Medallion label an up-and-coming success.

Upon hearing this, Margaret sent Jaye a spiteful grin, but the older woman’s glee didn’t last long.

The lawyer was saying, “As for the house, the collection of original eighteenth-century artwork and all of the antique furnishings with the exception of those found in the master bedroom suite, Frank wanted you to have those, Jaye.”

“What?” both women shouted simultaneously.

Jaye straightened in her seat. Her stepmother slumped sideways.

“Mrs. Monroe?” the lawyer said, rising partway from his chair. “Are you all right?”

Jaye knew Margaret wasn’t the sort to swoon, either, but the older woman certainly enjoyed attention and had a flair for the dramatic.

“Water,” Margaret murmured, her heavily made-up eyelids flickering. “I need water.”

“What about you, Miss Monroe?” the lawyer asked. “Can I get you anything?”

Jaye considered requesting a shot of something potent to numb the pain and outrage she was experiencing, but she shook her head.

When he returned, she said in as steady a voice as she could manage, “This can’t be right, Mr. Danielson. You must have read that part backward. Dad wouldn’t leave the vineyard to Margaret. She doesn’t want it any more than I want a house filled with old paintings and gaudy antiques.”

“I paid good money for those old paintings and gaudy antiques,” Margaret snapped, apparently having recovered from her near collapse.

“Yes, you enjoyed spending my father’s money on anything that caught your eye.”

“He was my husband, so it was my money to spend,” the older woman retorted. Then she slumped back in her seat again. “I loved that man. What will I do without him?”

“Ladies, please.” Jonas Danielson raised a bony hand to silence them. “I’m sorry, Miss Monroe, Mrs. Monroe. I know this must come as a shock to both of you, but this is what Frank stipulated in the will he had drawn up just prior to his death last month.”

“It doesn’t make any sense,” Jaye persisted. “I have my own house, my own furniture.” All of which leaned toward the contemporary. “Dad and I built Medallion together. He can’t have intended to pull the rug out from under me this way.”

Mr. Danielson retrieved a couple of papers from a folder and handed one to Jaye and one to Margaret. “Perhaps this will help clarify the matter for you.”

It was the photocopy of a letter. Jaye recognized her father’s scratchy cursive immediately, and her heart began to race. The letter began: “Dear Margaret and Juliet.”

Juliet. Her father only used Jaye’s given name when she was in trouble, and boy was she ever, she realized, as she continued to read the words he’d penned.

I know that the two of you have never been close, which is a pity since neither of you really has anyone else. I want the two women I love the most in this world to look after each other and to work together after I’m gone. I think this is a good way to ensure that you will.

Juliet, Margaret will need help with Medallion’s daily operations. Margaret, I know you’ve never taken an interest in the vineyard, but you are a bright and capable woman. I think you will be an asset. In the meantime, I’m sure Juliet will allow you to reside in the house as always, and I ask that you allow Juliet to continue as head vintner at the winery. There’s no one I trust more to ensure the label’s quality and success.

I love you both and it saddens me to leave you. My only comfort is in knowing that you will have each other to lean on. Please, be good to each other.

Jaye traced his signature at the bottom of the page and then glanced over at Margaret, who was still busy reading, if the movement of her lips was any indication.

Be good to each other.

Jaye bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. He might as well have asked them to flap their arms and fly. The two women had never been friends. Oh, they could manage to be cordial when the circumstances required it. On holidays, for instance, they sat together at the dinner table and exchanged polite small talk. But when it came right down to it, Jaye found the older woman vacuous and self-centered. Margaret was no fonder of Jaye, whom she’d often labeled as outspoken and a tomboy.