**
Wildfire: Charlie the terrier
Tara felt panic tightening her chest.
She leaned forward, hand on the desk. “I do know something
“Please, call me Alan.”
“I know you’ve won a number of awards
over the years. Gold medals, prix d’honneur, more. Yours is one of the smaller
wineries in the Sonoma Valley with one of the best reputations. And from what
I’ve read, there are several competitors who are jealous of the piece of land
you have for the grapevines. They say it’s the most ideal location for a
terroir in California—with the best soil, best drainage, the perfect situation
to the sun.”
Alan was nodding, a smile playing at
the corners of his mouth. He twirled the pencil again. “Do go on.”
Tara swallowed. “But apparently,
you’ve been struggling to keep up with demand for your product. There have been
some accidents in the ... oh, I forget the technical term ...” Damn it, Tara, pull yourself together. This
is no time for memory lapses. “In the production area. Damage to some of
your larger tanks and bottling lines. They set you back and cost you a lot of
money.”
Alan continued to nod, but he no
longer smiled. “That’s true. We had a string of unexplained accidents last
year.”
Oh,
no, now he’s not happy anymore. Way to blow the first job interview you’ve had
in California, Tara.
Bring
it back to the positive. “But you’ve also had some good news
in the past two years. Your restaurant got a Michelin star, and nothing but
great ratings in all the reviews.”
A faint smile touched Alan’s mouth
again. “That’s right. The restaurant has done—is doing—very well. Making money.
That’s mostly due to my wife. She found our new chef, and managed to convince
him to come way out here to work. And she managed to get some big-name
restaurant reviewers to make the drive up from San Francisco, too.” He looked
out the window, too, and the smile vanished. “I still don’t really know how she
managed to do that.” He took a deep breath and turned his hazel eyes to Tara
again. “All right, your résumé proves you’re smart and ambitious, and Sophia
said you were a hard worker. What did you do for her?”
Tara shrugged. “Nothing much. We just
sort of met by accident. I needed a place to stay. She needed some help around
the house and the diner she owns. I helped her and stayed in her guest bedroom
for a few days. I said I was looking for some steadier work, and she mentioned
you.”
“So, you’ve worked in Sophia’s
restaurant?”
“Yes, just helping with some of the
food prep.”
“Did you study food service?”
“No, but I worked in a restaurant in
the summers between college terms. I love to cook.” Talk yourself up, Tara. “And I’m good at it. Very good.”
DaSilva nodded. “Anything else I
should know about you?”
“I have a black belt in karate. I got
that when I was in high school.”
“Wow. A dangerous woman. Remind me
never to get into a fight with you. I don’t know whether we can use you in the
winery, but we do need some help in the kitchen.”
The dog came to her and pressed its
nose between Tara’s knees. “Charlie, down,” Alan said. The dog looked at Alan
and whined. Alan pointed at the floor where the dog had been sleeping.
“Charlie,” he repeated.
The dog whined again but sat down
where it had been, its eyes fixed on Tara.
“What kind of dog is Charlie?” Tara
asked.
“A terrier mix.” Alan leaned over and
patted its head, and the tail swished back and forth across the floor. “Not the
smartest dog in the world, but he does know good people. Everyone who works
here has had to pass the Charlie test.”
“What’s the Charlie test?”
“Charlie has to make friends with you.
Well, one person isn’t Charlie’s friend. But … never mind.” Alan sat back in
his chair and fixed an intent look on Tara’s eyes. “We’ve had a lot of turnover
in the last few months. Chef Donald is great, but he’s not exactly the easiest
guy in the world to work for. If you’ve got a thick skin, I can put you to work
in the kitchen. The pay’s not great, but it’s steady, and it comes with room
and board. You can start tonight, if that works for you.”
“Tonight?”
Alan smiled again and stood up. “Like
I said, Chef’s not easy to work for. We had a line cook quit last night.” He
reached a hand across the desk and Charlie got up again, his tail wagging fast.
“So, you ready to work?”
Tara looked into Alan’s hazel eyes.
She noticed the very middle of the iris, a narrow rim around the deep black
pupil, was like a ring of green fire.
Wildfire
Wildfires swept across California wine country in
2017, destroying thousands of homes and businesses, and killing dozens of
people. Law school grad and single mother Tara Rezeck finds herself in the
middle of the catastrophe. When she returns to her job at the most
award-winning vineyard in Sonoma County, she finds her employer’s body in the
ashes.
The question that challenges her brains and her
legal training is: was it an accident? Or was his body burned to hide evidence
of murder?
Now available for pre-order on on Amazon (for Kindle e-readers) and Smashwords (for Kobo, Nook and other e-readers).
About the author
After a 30-year career as a journalist and editor,
Scott Bury turned to writing fiction with a children’s story, Sam, the Strawb
Part, and a story that bridged the genres of paranormal occult fiction and
espionage thriller: Dark Clouds. Since then, he has published 12 novels and
novellas without regard to staying in any one genre.
In 2012, he published his first novel, the
historical magic realism bestseller The
Bones of the Earth. His next book, One
Shade of Red, was a satire of a bestseller with a similar title.
From 2014 to 2017, he published the Eastern Front
Trilogy, the true story of a Canadian drafted into the Soviet Red Army in 1941,
and how he survived the Second World War: Army
of Worn Soles, Under the Nazi Heel
and Walking Out of War.
Scott was invited to write for three Kindle Worlds,
where authors base novellas on the fictional worlds of bestselling series. For
Toby Neal’s Lei Crime Kindle World, he wrote Torn Roots, Palm Trees & Snowflakes, Dead Man Lying and Echoes.
For Russell Blake’s Jet Kindle World, he
contributed Jet: Stealth, featuring
the explosive duo of Van and LeBrun.
And for Emily Kimelman’s Sydney Rye Kindle World,
he brought Van and LeBrun back for The
Wife Line and The Three-Way.
Now, he is beginning a new mystery series with Wildfire, featuring the smart and
passionate Tara Rezeck. Wildfire is currently available for pre-order on Amazon (for Kindle e-readers) and Smashwords (for Kobo, Nook and other e-readers).
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