Too Close to the Sun by Diana Dempsey Page B

slinky
purple party dress or her hair piled up on her head or
something—but it immediately struck him that here was a woman who
was actually looking better with age. She'd stayed thin, she had a
good tan, and he'd forgotten how killer her hazel eyes were. Hadn't
his mother told him about a year ago that she'd become assistant
winemaker, helping her dad? The thought marched across Max's brain
that Gabby DeLuca just might become one of his favorite
employees.
    But she didn't even seem to notice him.
Instead she looked right at Henley. "Dr. Hearst says he's
stabilizing. The drug really seems to be working."
    "That is great news, Gabby." Henley smiled
and rubbed her arm. She looked like she might burst into tears at
any moment. "He'll get through this, you'll see."
    "I'm sure he will," Max said, and then Gabby
turned toward him.
    "You finally got here," she said, which
immediately ticked him off. Here he was—just off a transoceanic
flight, going out of his way to check on her father's condition—and
the first words out of her mouth were accusatory.
    He was about to deliver a pithy retort when
his mother cut him off by stepping in front of him and grabbing
both of Gabby's hands. "As I said before, Gabriella, please let me
know if there's anything at all I can do. I would be more than
willing to bring in a specialist from out of town, for
example."
    "Thank you, Mrs. Winsted. I really appreciate
that."
    "Your father is very dear to all of us at
Suncrest."
    Gabby nodded. Again she looked like she might
start crying. "I have to say that at this point I am pretty
satisfied with the quality of care here."
    Good , Max thought. In his opinion, his
mother had been too quick with that offer. He knew only too well
who would end up paying for any out-of-town cardiologists.
    "Please keep it in mind," his mother
insisted. Then she turned to Henley and took his hands. "You've
been extremely helpful, Will. I truly appreciate what you've done
tonight."
    He just nodded and looked heroic. Then
again , Max thought, who didn't in a tuxedo? He looked
down at his own T-shirt and wrinkled cargo pants, which he'd been
wearing for twenty-four hours plus, and shook his head, more eager
to leave by the second.
    "I'll call you in the morning to see how he's
doing," his mother told Gabby, "and don't you spend a minute
worrying about anything else." Then she nodded at Henley and that
was finally it. She turned and walked away, leaving Max to make his
own good-byes and trail after her like a pet dog.
    When they arrived at the elevators, he jabbed
the DOWN button. "So Mr. DeLuca will make it?"
    "It appears he will. Thank God." Her voice
was clipped.
    I hope they don't sue us , he thought.
The valley was full of hotshot lawyers who'd love nothing better
than to go after the Winsted family. An elevator opened up and he
and his mother got in. He decided to continue his PR campaign. "It
was really clever of you to offer to bring in a specialist."
    But his mother shook her head as if she were
disgusted. "I didn't do it to be clever. I did it because Cosimo
DeLuca has been a valuable employee for as long as you've been
alive."
    Man . She made it sound like she cared
more about DeLuca than she did about her own son. Max shook his
head. She could be cold .
    The elevator stopped and more people got in.
Max didn't speak again until he and his mother walked out on the
first floor. Then, "I suppose this means he could be out of
commission for a while."
    "I would imagine at least through midsummer.
I intend to ask Gabby to take over as lead winemaker while he
convalesces," his mother informed him, which stopped Max dead in
his tracks on the hospital's shiny green linoleum floor. Nearby at
reception, a woman giggled at a security guard leaning toward her
over the counter.
    "Don't you think that's my decision to
make? After all, I'm running Suncrest now."
    He found his mother right in front of his
nose almost before he saw her turn around. "What makes you think
that?" Her