aint scent of ripening fruit and dew. She dressed quickly, tugging on the work boots she'd

of espresso, just the way Nonno used to make

She stepped into it, every sound sharper in the quiet: the cr

ette framed by rows of vines stretching towa

y," he said,

lways late,"

oked smile. "Tod

grapes hung heavy on the vines,

har

n," he confirmed. "And the

s throat. She nodded a

e confidently than she had days before. Her cuts were cleaner, her ste

-

shb

ad been soft then, unaccustomed to thorns or soil. Gio

life through pl

ff. Her palms had bl

-

orkers from the village arrived with songs and shouts, filling the v

place, her grandfather's dream, wasn't dying. It was

elonged here, comfortable among vines and peop

eir? The savior? Or just an interloper playing farm

-

vats gleamed under skylights. The scent of fer

" Étienne said, handing her a cli

n eyebrow. "W

"Tradition, n

he delicate balance of sugar, yeast, and

the de-stemmer, then the press.

r and tasted it. Ta

be good?"

he said. "On the

im, the double

en light. Workers sang traditional harvest songs in Italian, voice

e of the long-time harvesters-taught Lexi a simple folk dance,

e an American,

t from her brow

to the earth. "Your feet are on Tusc

-

the stars peeked through the velv

a Vecchia - in her hands. She hadn't ope

me Étienne's voice from behind her. H

it would be wr

s head. "I think he

Red wax. Giovanni's i

gently back

t y

erent bottle-a young red

lence, leaning against oppos

y. "Before he died. He said, 'Lexi will never choose half

en emotion. "And what if

by accident," he said.

-

shb

ach a bird's nest. Giovanni had shouted, and she slipped. But instead

heart pounding beneath her cheek

-

vineyard was quiet again, res

ave France?" sh

glass. "That is anothe

oked tired, but not from

ay," s

quiet nod.

-

ut barefoot and found a boy, maybe twelve, helping load crates of

e her. "His family has worked here since yo

at the boy.

"Ciao, Sign

me had shifted from stranger to

vineyard knows when a

-

o, an older man with hands like tree bark. She sat through soil testing with Valeria, the young agric

tienne said later, watching he

ne now. I need to ea

owly. "You a

t for a second. The

-

of the vineyard. The sky burned gold and crimson. She opened h

I never asked Nonno. The words we never said. But somehow, I felt him here

esn't need saving

t's what I

keep expecting to find flaws in it-something that makes wal

nning to love this land. Maybe e

ho won't tell me

n the far row. A surprise, they said.

told me why he never

-

t wasn't just a

a beg

inally stepped into the

-

exi stood, brushed dust from her je

re would be m

. And for the first time in