"Yes," Charlene replied. "Where''s Minnie?"


    "She''s downstairs ying," Thorne said, getting to his feet. "Since you''re up, shall we go make that wine?"


    The fermentation process was long andplicated. If they were a normal family, making wine together would be a meaningful and fun activity. But for her and Thorne...


    She was about to say they should skip it, but he spoke first. "Minnie''s waiting for us. We shouldn''t keep her waiting too long. Let''s head down."


    Charlene stopped protesting and followed him.


    Downstairs, Jasmine spotted them and ran over, throwing her arms around Charlene''s waist. "Mommy, you''re finally awake! I learned the whole process for making wine. Let''s start now!"


    Charlene had no choice but to agree.


    They had already picked the grapes that afternoon. After being washed, the grapes had to air-drypletely before they could be used. They had picked arge quantity, and the estate manager asked which size jars they wanted to use for fermentation. There wererge ones and small ones.


    Thorne looked at Charlene, deferring to her.


    "Let''s use two separate jars," she said. That way, they could each take one hometer.


    Thorne smiled. "Two jars it is."


    While Charlene had been sleeping, Jasmine had already gone to pick corn and dig up peanuts. Since the grapes still needed time to dry, she dragged Thorne and Charlene out to the fields to show off her harvesting skiffs.


    Though the three of them were together, the conversation was almost exclusively between Charlene and Jasmine, or Thorne and Jasmine. Charlene and Thorne themselves barely spoke.


    Jasmine was sweating from all the activity, so Thorne took her for some freshly squeezed juice. As they were finishing up, nning to bring some back for Charlene, someone nearby spotted them.


    Thorne noticed the gaze and turned, a slight smile forming on his lips when he recognized the person. "Well, if it isn''t Mr. Ramirez. When did you get here?"


    Dalton hadn''t been particrly interested in visiting the estate, but with nothing better to do, he had


    s pleasant


    surprised to run into Thorne and his


    group. Assuming Vesta must.be


    there as well, his mood lifted


    considerably. "We just arrived. And


    you, Mr. Henderson?"


    "We''ve been here since lunch." Thorne smiled and gently patted Jasmine''s head as


    she looked curiously at the neer. "Say hello to Mr. Ramirez."


    "Hello, Mr. Ramirez," Jasmine said politely.


    Dalton had met Jasmine before and knew she was Thorne''s daughter. Seeing the strong resemnce between them, he gave her a faint smile. "Hello."


    Thorne kept the conversation brief. "We should get back, but perhaps we can have a drinkter?"


    Dalton wanted to ask if Vesta was with them, to go over and say hello. But he was well aware of his feelings for another man''s girlfriend and knew he


    d to keep them in check. "Of course," he managed to say.


    Thorne said nothing more, turning to lead Jasmine back to Charlene.


    Dalton watched them go. Just as he was about to look away, he saw Jasmine run toward a slender figure in the distance. He froze, his eyes fixed on the woman''s back.