“Juliet, Juliet, wake up.”
I felt someone shaking my shoulder.
“She’s coming to.”
I tried to force my eyes open, but it felt like my eyelids were glued shut.
“Juliet, are you with us?”
I blinked hard and squinted. My arms felt heavy.
“She’s okay. She’s okay.” Lance’s fuzzy figure stood over me. I could make out a crowd of worried onlookers nearby. “Back up, people. Give us a little space, and someone go get her husband, Carlos, inside.”
I tried to move my head forward, but it felt like it was floating above my body. “What happened?”
“You fainted. Don’t move too fast. Just take a minute to get your bearings, and keep breathing slowly.” Lance immediately controlled the situation. His flippant attitude vanished in crisis. “You look like you’re getting a bit more color in your cheeks.”
I pressed a hand to my cheek, more than anything in hopes of feeling real. This was like a bad dream. I wanted to pinch myself.
“Carlos is coming,” Lance said in a calm and even tone. “Oh, and here’s Thomas with water.”
Thomas ran over with a half-full glass of water. His cheeks were flushed with worry, and his eyes narrowed in concern. “Have you eaten anything today, Jules?” He handed me the glass and put two fingers on my wrist to check my pulse.
I nodded. “Yeah, earlier. I had some bread and butter and grapes.”
“Kerry’s getting you a cookie. You might have had a blood sugar drop or heatstroke, although it’s not that hot.” He put his hand to my forehead. “Are you cold, chills, shaking?”
“No.” I held a steady hand out to prove my point.
“You mentioned dizziness to Kerry. Should we call an ambulance?” Thomas knelt on both knees and held up his index finger. “Follow my finger with your eyes.” He proceeded to assess my entire body.
“Please, no. I’m fine. I swear.” I rotated my shoulders and held my head high.
“Julieta, what is it?” Carlos was breathless. His face was etched with worry as he sank to his knees and reached for my hand.
“I’m better, I swear.” I made an X over my heart. “Just a little dizzy spell.”
“I think you should take her home,” Thomas suggested, getting up and placing a hand on Carlos’s shoulder. “She should get out of the sun. I would recommend a dark room, a wet washcloth on the forehead, and some electrolytes.”
“Sí, I will take her home now.” Carlos moved to help me up.
“There’s no need for that,” I protested. “I can take a sun break in the tasting room. There’s so much to do—the boxes for tonight, the tasting room.”
“No. This is not up for debate.” Carlos shook his head. “Sit for a minute. I will go direct the volunteers, and then we’ll go home.”
I could tell that I wasn’t going to win the argument, and quite honestly, everything felt off-center, like I had been on the ship for months and was trying to find my footing on solid ground. The vineyard appeared to have wavy lines running through it in a mesmerizing pattern like the grapes were dancing and swaying. The leaves and tendrils on the vines curled and rippled as if caught in an invisible current of water.
“Carlos is right.” Lance sat next to me and patted my knee. “You’re overdoing it, Jules, and you’re going to burn yourself out. I need your clever brain to help figure out whodunit. Remember we’re on the case, and we need those gray cells firing on all cylinders. Go home, take a long nap, and come tomorrow, you’ll be back on your feet and ready to scour Ashland’s mean streets for criminal activity.”
“Mean streets, excuse me?” Thomas stared at Lance like he was speaking a foreign language. Then he tapped the shiny badge on his chest. “I take great pride in keeping Ashland’s streets safe and friendly.”
“Metaphorically speaking, of course.” Lance gave him an apologetic nod. “I’m trying to give her a pep talk and motivation to get herself well.”
“Leave the mean streets to the professionals,” Thomas said with a twinkle in his eyes. Then he paused. “But, before you go, I do have one question for you.”
“Yeah, anything.” The lines in my vision gave an undulating quality to everything I could see. It almost looked like the vineyard was morphing into a breathing canvas.
“You mentioned you spent time with Olive earlier, correct?” Thomas asked.
“That’s right.” I didn’t trust myself to nod. If I kept my line of sight focused on Mount A in the distance, things seemed less blurry.
“And during that time, did you notice any strange behavior?” Thomas scrolled through his iPad.
“Like what?”
He found the page he was looking for, reviewed his notes, and then studied me. “You began feeling unwell shortly afterward, correct?”
“Yeah, I guess, but I’ve been having little dizzy episodes for a while now,” I admitted. “You heard me talking to Kerry. I’ve been wondering if we both have the same touch of the flu.”
“But you haven’t passed out until now, and would you consider this worse?”
“That’s true.”
Thomas hesitated.
Lance jumped in. “What he’s hinting at is, did you notice Olive trying to lace your food or drink with something?”
I blinked again. “What?”
Thomas tilted his head to one side. “I’m not hinting at anything. I’m asking if you saw any odd behavior.”
“No.” I shook my head.
Bad idea.
The movement sent another wave of dizziness through my body. I willed everything to stop spinning and dug my heels into the ground.
I felt like I might pass out again at any minute.
Could Olive have slipped me something? Panic bubbled in my stomach and spread to my limbs. My fingers felt numb and tingly. I scrunched my hands into fists and let them go to try to bring the feeling back. But no. We had spoken in the kitchen, but I didn’t eat or drink anything. She couldn’t have drugged me.
Kerry showed up with a cookie, which I nibbled on, mainly to appease everyone. Carlos returned shortly with the keys to the van and instructions for Lance.
“Sterling is on his way. He’ll take over food service for this evening. The volunteers will stay until a few more of our staff finish up at Torte.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Lance assured him. “I have my OLCC card. I will happily pour if need be. Take care of our Juliet.” He planted a soft kiss on the top of my head. “Rest up, darling. You’re going to be just fine in no time, but for tonight you will let your devilishly handsome husband wait on you hand and foot—understood?”
I fought back tears.
Why was I suddenly emotional?
It was just a touch of dizziness, but I appreciated how kind and concerned Carlos, Lance, Thomas, and Kerry were. While it was embarrassing to pass out, the experience reconfirmed how lucky I was to have such wonderful family and friends. I was humbled that everyone was looking out for me.
Carlos followed Thomas’s instructions to the letter. He took me straight home, had me change into comfy pj’s, and tucked me in bed with a cool washcloth and a glass of Gatorade.
“I’ll be downstairs if you need anything. Call for me, and I’ll come to you.” He pressed his lips to mine. “Get some sleep, mi querida.”
I didn’t think I would be able to sleep in the middle of the afternoon, but my dark bedroom and the cold washcloth did the trick. It didn’t take long to drift off into a deep, dreamless sleep.
When I woke, the light outside the window was dusky.
I looked at the clock and realized I’d been out for nearly five hours.
I sat up and stretched, noticing the aroma of sautéed onions and garlic coming from the kitchen. I got up slowly, expecting to be overcome with dizziness, but I felt fine.
The nap had done me good.
I went downstairs to find Carlos and Ramiro dancing to the Gipsy Kings and stirring something on the stove that smelled so delicious I wanted to devour it immediately. “What smells so good?”
Carlos turned with a wooden spoon in one hand. “You look like yourself again. You have color in your cheeks, and your eyes are bright. Are you feeling better?”
“Much.” I sat at the kitchen table. Fading evening light filtered through the large bay window above the sink, illuminating pots of fresh herbs—mint, parsley, cilantro, basil, and lemongrass—that I had seeded over the winter. “I can’t believe I slept for that long.”
Ramiro wiped his hands on a dish towel and wrapped me in a giant hug. “I’m so sorry you’re not feeling well. We have been cooking all afternoon. This sauce is the best medicine. It’s our family secret.”
I hugged him back. “It smells incredible.”
Carlos stirred his sauce. “Sleep and our secret sauce is what the doctor ordered.”
“What’s the secret?” I tried to get a peek of the bubbly mixture on the stove, but Carlos shooed me away.
“It’s a ragu with veggies and herbed chicken sausage. We’ll serve it with cavatappi pasta, some Romano cheese, a salad, and bread. We can curl up and watch a movie. Ramiro is going to get you set up in the living room. We can eat out there together, sí?”
“That sounds lovely.” I smiled at both of them, grateful to have such wonderful men in my life.
“Why don’t you go get comfortable on the couch? I’ll bring you a sparkling water,” Ramiro said, already opening a can of fizzy strawberry lime water.
“I’m not an invalid,” I teased.
“Sí, but I have been tasked with taking care of you. You must not let me fail at this important responsibility.” He caught Carlos’s eye.
Carlos ruffled the top of his son’s head. “You are already a pro.”
“There’s a book on the table for you, and I’ll light the fire,” Ramiro said with a hint of pride. “Would you prefer a tea?”
“A sparkling water sounds great.” I pressed my hand to my chest. “You both are too sweet.”
Ramiro followed me to the living room with the water. He got me set up on the couch and started a fire. “It’s still cool at night so we thought this might help. Do you need anything else?”
“No. I’m all set.” I lifted the flavored water to my lips, getting an immediate hit of strawberry. “Thank you.”
“It is my pleasure. You’ve done so much for me this year.” Ramiro’s voice cracked slightly. “You’ve made this my home, and I don’t like seeing you unwell.”
Tears spilled. There was no hope of containing them.
Ramiro’s face blanched. “Oh no. I didn’t mean to make you cry.”
“These are happy/sad tears,” I managed to say through my sniffles. “I’m going to miss you so much when you leave in a few weeks. This has been the best year of my life. I don’t know what we’re going to do without you.”
He scrunched his lips together, unable to hold in his emotions either. His face still held a hint of the young boy he had been, but it was morphing into adulthood with the same angular jawline as his father’s. “It will be hard to leave.”
Carlos swept in, carrying a plate of pasta, salad, and homemade bread. “Why the sad faces?” He set the plate on the coffee table in front of me.
“We’re talking about what a wonderful year it’s been with Ramiro here,” I said, wiping away tears.
Carlos pulled me to my feet and drew Ramiro closer. “Family hug.”
We held each other tight as the fire began to crack and pop and tears continued to flow. I was enveloped by the aroma of the woodsmoke and their strong, steady embrace. We had carved our own little family this past year, and whether Ramiro was in Ashland or Spain, that bond would remain.
After we were all a blubbery mess, Carlos finally broke apart. “Okay, now it is time for some pasta and a movie and cuddling on the couch, my loves.”
“You’re going to make all of my single friends jealous,” I teased. “Men who openly cry and cook, that’s the dream.”
“This is why you married a Spaniard.” His eyes twinkled with flirtation.
I followed his advice and tucked myself onto the couch, feeling grateful for Carlos, Ramiro, and the fact that the room wasn’t spinning.
It was probably time for me to go back to the doctor. I wanted to get to the root cause of my dizziness. It wasn’t very functional to have a head chef in danger of passing out in the kitchen. But I couldn’t stop thinking about Thomas’s question regarding Olive. Could she have snuck something into my water glass when I wasn’t looking?
Odds were good that since I’d already been suffering from dizzy spells, this wasn’t anything new, but then again, Jimmy had been killed last night, and Olive was on the suspect list. I couldn’t be too careful.