Holly left that same day for Napa Valley after promising daily reports to Gilly. She had spread a map on the passenger seat of her car, on which she had put a big red circle around Ariana winery. The weather was fine as she sped along the coast on Highway 1, so she rolled down the windows to enjoy the fragrant ocean breeze. Before departing, she had optimistically estimated that she would reach her destination in the early evening.

That was without taking California's heavy traffic into account.

When she finally reached the valley, feeling sticky and tired, the sun had already set. She stopped at a gas station and went inside to buy a large coffee while the clerk filled the car tank. Her mind drifted to Roger while she waited. She had decided before leaving that she would not tell him about her conversation with Amanda. If he had wanted her to know about his divorce, he would have told her. No, she would simply track him down and find out what he had been up to in the last few months, and why he was adamant that she stay away from Richard. And then what? She shook her head, reluctant to pursue this train of thoughts. She would crossed that bridge if she came to it.

The clerk came back in and she paid for her purchases. Once outside, she heard a distant roll of thunder and looked up nervously. Dark clouds were gathering in the north, but they were still a long way off. Maybe if she drove fast enough, she thought, she would reach the winery before the weather turned.

But fate was not on Holly's side that day, and before long, it started pouring. She was on a country road now, one which she was almost certain led to the winery. Presently, the rain grew so heavy and the wind blew so fiercely that she had to slow down to a snail pace.

She grunted while trying to see the road through the sheets of rain banging on the windshield. "Sunny California, my eye!" she said through clenched teeth. After a couple more miles, she resigned herself to stop her car by the side of the road until the storm relented. She cautiously steered her car on the right and yelped in surprise when she felt it sink on one side.

"What the hell?" she cried. She got out and made her way around her car, only to discover that the road side, made of dirt, was softened by the outpour. She tried pushing the car from behind, but it would not budge. She was soon soaking wet and she hurried back inside, cursing and wiping her hair away from her face. She was stuck.


"Why would I even hope to get phone reception in this hole?" she said out loud a few minutes later to her steering wheel, which remained silent. She threw her phone on the back seat and rubbed her forearms. She was shivering and becoming vaguely afraid that she would have to spend the night on that forsaken road.

Then a few minutes later, a light in her rearview mirror caught her eye. There was a car coming! Gathering her courage, she got out of her car once again and waved at the approaching vehicle. The rain was so dense that she could make out the face of the driver until he was just a few feet away. "Roger!" she cried in surprise.

Roger, who had been notified that Holly was in the area, had been looking for her for the past hour. He sighed inwardly with relief while plastering an astonished look on his face. "Holly! What on earth are you doing here?"

"Looking for you!"

"What?"

"I'll explain later, can you please let me into your car? Mine won't go anywhere."

Roger unlocked the door and she let herself in. She rang the water out her hair and tried in vain to unstick her blouse from her chest.

"Here, take this," Roger said, and he gave her his jacket. He started to drive as fast as was safely possible. "I'll take you to my place and you can change into something dry."

Holly sneezed loudly but made no reply.


His "place" turned out to be a majestic winery, complete with tanks farms, cellars, gardens, fields and, of course, a gorgeous house in the hacienda style. The windows were casting a warm yellow light and promised of heat and comfort.

Roger and Holly were greeted by a house maid, who led Holly to one of the upstairs room so that she could shower and change into dry clothes. Meanwhile, Roger gave orders to his cook to prepare dinner for the both of them. He was waiting in the library, sipping on a whisky, when she came down to join him.

He smiled as she entered the room. She was wearing a pale linen dress which brought out her light tan and the glow of her cheeks.

"You look lovely, as always," he said. "Would you care for some wine? I made it myself," he added with a twinkle in his eyes. Holly smirked back and nodded. She examined the room while he poured her a glass. There was a huge fireplace at one end of the vast room, fully stacked with a roaring fire. The ceiling was high and vaulted and the white walls were almost entirely covered with rows and rows of books. Leather and wooden furniture as well as colorful rugs added warmth and life to the room. It was a cheery and comfortable place, and Holly could easily imagine Roger spending hours buried in his books.

She then turned her attention to her ex-husband, who was giving instructions for the meal to be served in the library, on a small round table near the fireplace. He was wearing grey pants and a navy silk shirt. Holly noticed that his hair was grayer than she remembered. It suited him.

"I thought we might be more comfortable dining here instead of in the formal dining room," he said, forcing her out of her reverie.

"It's fine by me," she replied.

They both tacitly decided to wait for the servants to set up the table and bring the first course to dive into the subject of Holly's visit.

"So," Roger said once they were finally alone, "what brings you here?"

"I came to find out what you were up to. I will dig the truth out of you if I have to," Holly replied, staring him straight in the eyes.

Roger smiled and opened his arms as if to embrace the whole estate. "Isn't it obvious? I decided to become a winemaker in my old age. If you must know everything, I also started a little import-export business on the side."

Holly crossed her arms and leaned back in her armchair. "How come you didn't tell anyone that you left Spaulding?"

"That's not true. I didn't advertise it, but I didn't hide the fact either. Blake knew."

"You told her almost a year after the fact!"

"I was a bit touchy about the whole thing, alright? I was afraid that people with see me as a failure. Isn't that normal?"

"Certainly, except that I know you, and I know that there is something that you're not telling me."

Roger took a sip of wine and looked at her thoughtfully. It had been hard enough to lie to her that day on the beach, and she was making it even harder now by refusing to let go of the matter. He was still astonished by the fact that she had succeeded in tracking him down.

"You think that I'm still up to my old dirty tricks, aren't you?"

"I'm hoping that you're not. That's what I came to find out."

"Why is it so important for you to know? After all, we're not involved anymore. What I do can't hurt you."

Holly felt herself slowly turning red. "You're still the father of my child. I want to protect her. Also, I didn't appreciate you trying to decide which man I am allowed to see."

Roger's gaze turned somber. "So this is about Richard. I didn't know that he meant that much to you."

Holly sighed loudly and got up. "I just wish that you would explain why you don't want me to see him."

Roger threw his arms in the air. "Maybe I'm just jealous!"

Holly made a face. "Nice try, but I don't buy it. First of all, you would never admit to that because you're so damn stubborn. Second of all, you're afraid of something, I just know it. If you think that this Richard is a dangerous character, then why don't you help me to protect myself by telling me the truth?"

Roger got up and joined her by the fireplace. "And why can't you just take my word for it for once in your life? Why can't you simply trust me?"

They exchanged a long glance, both going over the milestones of their life as a couple.

"Alright," Roger finally added, "maybe I haven't giving you a lot of reasons to trust me in the past, but this is not a stupid ploy to keep you away from a lover, Hol, I swear."

"Then what IS it?" she demanded impatiently.

"I already told you, I can't tell you."

Holly turned away from him and stared at the fire. Now that she was in his element, her gut feeling told her that whatever he was involved with was somehow not of his own doing. He would not go back to his old ways. No, if he chose to leave Spaulding, it was for something bigger, something more important. But what could be more important than running multinational business?

Her eyes opened wide as a new idea crossed her mind. She turned to her ex-husband, who had been awaiting her next move with apprehension.

"Roger…Are you back with the CIA? Is that what you've been up to?"