He felt the tightness in his chest again as he recalled his meeting with the accountant. They needed to quit some debt quickly. With the loss of the chardonnay crop and…Theo prodded at his breastbone to try to dispel the ache. He still couldn’t believe he had wiped out half of the new semillon vines. He ran his fingers through his hair. No one else was to blame but himself. It was a personal blow and a financial one.

“Pappou, are you feeling okay?” Kat touched his arm.

He smiled at her frowning face. “Of course. Do you need a break?”

“No, the next shift will be here soon and we can stop for a bite to eat. There are some customers who would like to meet you.”

He looked past her to the stylish group sampling his reds at the bar. “Always happy to talk to the customers.” He rolled his shoulders to ease the ache then tapped his granddaughter under the chin. “Come on, Katerina, smile. I don’t want you scaring off potential buyers.”

* * *

Flynn grinned as another group of satisfied customers walked out with bottles of his Scarecrow Dry White in the green Levallier Dell bags. It was selling very well. He glanced across at Euan, who was propped against a barrel in the corner talking earnestly to an older couple who were interested in his sauvignon blanc. It was late afternoon and the customers had been coming steadily since eleven.

Euan was in full swing, explaining the process of his wine from vine to glass. Flynn could do that, too, if the customer wanted to know – but he was just as happy to share his wine with those who weren’t so knowledgeable when it came to the process. All kinds of people bought wine for all kinds of reasons. If they liked his wine and wanted to buy it, he wasn’t going to bore them with the details.

He bent down to collect a tray of glasses to wash. Maggie and Keely had been kept busy with the food but they’d stopped serving a couple of hours earlier, apart from a few groups who’d asked for the Margaret River taste plate.

“I’ll take those inside.”

He straightened. Maggie was on the other side of the bar.

“Are you sure?” he asked. “It’s gone quiet out here now. Time to shut the doors soon.”

“I’ll wash them, then I’m going to put my feet up for a while before dinner.”

“Are you feeling okay?” Flynn had to remind himself, as he got older, that she did too. Maggie always seemed young to him.

“I’m perfectly fine. I want to rest my legs before dinner, that’s all. Everything ran like clockwork in the kitchen. Keely is such a clever girl, don’t you think?”

“She’s great.”