“Does Dominic know you’re quitting?”
“No. He’ll find out after the fact.”
Her mother got to her feet. “I can tell how much he means to you. If he feels the same way—and I suspect he does—he’s not going to stay away from you.?
??
“I know him. He’ll come to the vineyard tomorrow to get the truth out of me. But I won’t be employed there or living in the mobile home.”
“Which means he’ll come here.”
“I hope not, but I’ll have to face that moment if it happens. I’m going to go to bed now and get up extra early to take care of what I have to do. Get a good sleep, Maman.” She kissed her and hurried to the bedroom, but there’d be little sleep for Nathalie.
She got up at the crack of dawn after a restless night and drove straight to the vineyard, praying there’d be no sign of Dominic. She waited in her car until she saw Gregoire. No one else was there yet. He’d just arrived in his truck. She got out with the equipment she’d been given and ran up to him.
“Gregoire? Forgive me, but an emergency has happened at my home and I can’t work here any longer.”
He frowned. “I’m sorry.”
“So am I. Here are the things I was given to start work.” He took the items from her. “You’ve all been so nice to me. I can’t thank you enough for taking me on. I hope you find a replacement without too much trouble. Say goodbye to Paul. He was a great help.”
Gregoire gave her a perplexed nod before she ran back to her car and headed for the mobile home. She’d never cleaned things so fast in her life, hoping against hope that Dominic wasn’t around and wouldn’t see her car. When she’d finished, she drove over to the manager’s office and turned in her key.
Once back in her car, she left the vineyard. She’d cried so many tears last night in bed, she didn’t know she had any more in her. But she was wrong and could barely see her way home to La Gaude.
CHAPTER SEVEN
DOMINIC HAD BEEN struggling to get some work done in his office when Etienne unexpectedly walked in at lunchtime. He looked up. “Hey, bro. You’re looking better.”
Etienne frowned. “I wish I could say the same thing about you. From where I’m standing, I’d say you’ve come down with that wretched flu.”
“I’m afraid I’ve got something much worse.” He hadn’t slept all night trying to work out what was going on with Nathalie.
“Then you’re not going to like my news.”
“What do you mean?”
“I just received a message from Gregoire at the office and came over on the double to see you.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Mademoiselle Fournier showed up at the vineyard early this morning and told him there was an emergency at home. She said she couldn’t continue to work at the vineyard. After thanking him for everything and handing over her supplies, she drove off. I just called the manager of the mobile home park. He said she cleaned her home and dropped off the keys early. That was it.”
Dominic jumped to his feet, feeling as if he’d just received the final blow to the gut. He rubbed the back of his neck, incredulous that she would actually quit. But last night her panic had been real. He should have foreseen her flight.
“Thanks for telling me, Etienne.”
“I’m sorry to bring you this kind of news. It’s obvious this woman is important to you.”
“More than you know.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
“Thanks, but no. I appreciate everything you’ve done. I’ve got a decision to make.”
He nodded. “Call me if you need to talk.”
His brother walked out, leaving Dominic standing there stunned. He’d felt her fear on the cruiser and realized he couldn’t get anything out of her. It had propelled her to take flight this morning. Needing to channel his energy, he reached for his phone to call her, but all he got was her voice mail. No surprise there. He asked her to call him back, but knew she wouldn’t.