She was silent for the remainder of the trip but gave the dogs a little extra love when they arrived at the house. Deciding that she needed to cook a big lunch, just to give herself something to do, she left Dash in the kitchen and went into the office to look up some egg-based recipes online. Shed dropped off dozens of eggs to Dashs mom the day before but had many more just from that morning. Scanning the office for her computer, she frowned. She was pretty sure shed left it on the desk but it was nowhere to be seen. Acknowledging that she could have brought it upstairs, she turned to head to the bedroom but was stopped by an eruption of barking.

When she and Dash got to the door, they discovered an older man standing beside a white van in the driveway petting the dogs. He was tall and robust but the hunch of his shoulders and the slowness of his movement spoke of his age.

Straightening, he came toward them. "Im Casper Collins, I heard about Brad this morning and I wanted to come give my condolences. You must be Matty?" he said, coming toward her, hand outstretched.

She took it in hers, nodded, and introduced him to Dash; she wasnt sure what to make of a friend of Brads knowing about her.

"He told me about you-just a little, mind you," Casper said, returning to the rear of his truck. "He was proud of what youve done with your life, the writing and all," he continued, his voice muffled as he reached into the rear of his van. Coming out with a big box, he ambled back to stand in front of her.

"He said he didnt think he would have survived what you had, let alone succeeded at the level you have. Anyway," Casper said with a vague gesture of his shoulders. "He was a good man and I wanted to bring you some of this," he added, lifting the box just a little.

"What is that?" she asked.

"Wine. My wine, or wine from the family winery," Casper answered. Dash must have realized how much weight the man was bearing at the same time she did and he stepped forward to relieve Casper of the box.

"Wine?" Matty asked.

"Hmm," Casper nodded. "It was a favorite of Brads, its actually how we met him all those years ago."

Matty thought about the situation for all of two seconds before making a decision. "Come in for a drink, Mr. Collins. Its a bit early for wine, but I do have some iced tea and, well, to be honest, I didnt know Brad all that well and wouldnt mind hearing a little bit more about his life from one of his friends. That is if you have the time?"

Casper nodded his head in agreement and the three of them made their way into the cool of the house. Dash set the wine down on the table and they headed to the kitchen island. Casper and Dash pulled up stools as she poured the tea.

"I know you and he werent close," Casper said as she handed him a glass. "Brad regretted it. Understood your hesitance, but regretted it."

"So, tell me about him," she prompted, not wanting to wade into the mess of her familial relationships. "Tell me how you met."

Caspers expression changed and a faraway look, a look tinged with sadness, stole across his face before he spoke. "He came into the winery one day, said hed had some of our wine at one of the local farm-to-table restaurants. Hard to say why, but he struck up a conversation with my son-its my son who really runs the place-and next thing I know, Brad is back the next week, and then the next, just helping out with odd chores, things like that. I dont think he wanted to be in the business, but I think he liked the physical work he did for us; it was a lot different than the banking he did to make his money. It also came at a good time. My sons wife had just died and left us with a hole that couldnt be filled. My grandson, Robby, was twelve at the time and he and Brad spent a lot of time just walking around talking about the winery. I think it did Robby good to be able to teach an adult something. Maybe Brad knew that, maybe he didnt, but after that first summer and the next fall, he was kind of a regular fixture at the winery, and often at our dinner table, too."

Matty stroked her fingers along the condensation of her glass. She hadnt known any of this about Brad, and while that didnt surprise her, the sadness creeping into her mind, the sadness she hadnt felt since finding the body, did.

"How old is your grandson now?" she asked.

Casper smiled. "Hes twenty, just getting ready to enter his junior year at the University of California in Davis. Brad helped with that, too."

"Thats a long way away," Dash commented.

Casper inclined his head. "It is that, but given the schools location next to wine country and the viticulture program they have, Robby didnt want to go anywhere else. He loves the business and didnt want to go to college at all, but when he figured out that wasnt an option, he picked Davis."

"And Brad?"

"Brad helped him get a scholarship. My son, Steve, was called up from the reserves and deployed to Afghanistan last year. Hes proud to serve his country, were all proud of him, but his absence meant hiring yet another person to help out at the winery. With both Robby and my son gone, weve had to bring on more than two extra people, since no one works like family does. Anyway, we were able to afford the out-of-state tuition at first, but then with Steve gone, it was going to be tough to find the money for housing, books, a stipend, travel-all those extra things that college costs."

"It doesnt sound like Robby was averse to working, though?" Matty said.

Casper gave a strong shake of his head. "Not at all. In fact he convinced his department to create a job for him and that was enough to cover his housing costs. He wanted to get a weekend job but we decided he should focus on his studies. He reluctantly agreed with us, though I wouldnt put it past him to be out there working with one of the other wineries on the weekends."

Matty smiled at the tone of bemused pride in Caspers voice. He was proud of Robby, and from what she heard, he had every right to be.

"But the scholarship?" she asked.

"Brad knew someone from his college days who runs a huge winery, one of the ones thats ten times the size we are. The family is loaded-not from the winery, but from other investments. Turns out they have a foundation to support people in the study of viticulture. I dont think its really one of those things that a lot of kids go into so a lot of their "scholars" are probably people entering a second career; but Brad talked to them about Robby and, next thing we knew, his tuition was covered. Of course, Brad wouldnt let us thank him or anything, but that was just Brad. He just did things for people."

"And, with housing and tuition covered . . ." Matty said.

"Picking up the rest of the costs, including the costs for us to go visit him, was something we could manage."

Matty looked down and drew her finger through a bead of water on the counter. The story Casper had just told her about Brad had touched her in a way she hadnt expected. The way her half brother had reached out to help, in his own quiet way, was, well, it was sweet. It was what those in a community should do for one another when they have the chance. Not that everyone in a community could do what Brad had done for Robby, but it just seemed like hed done what hed done for the right reasons-not because he wanted his name on a brick or a building. Not the way his mother would have done it.

It also reminded her of the story Dash had told her about the young girl, Meghan, who owned the ice cream shop in town. After listening to Casper, shed wager that Brad had made a hefty contribution to the fund to help Meghan. She was planning on doing the same but hadnt gotten around to asking Dash about it yet. She was definitely going to do so now, in Brads name.

"How is your son?" she asked Casper.

He smiled. "Better now that hes coming back. Hes in Germany right now, left Afghanistan two weeks ago. He has some leadership things he has to turn over and finish up, but he should be back in time for the harvest."

She smiled at the good news then jumped when the dogs, once again, went into a frenzy of barking madness. She looked at Dash, who rose from his seat and opened the kitchen door. With a look back at her, he shrugged. "I dont know who it is," he said.

He stayed standing at the door until two women bearing baskets came into view. They were older, Matty would place them in their early seventies, and stylishly dressed. Both had white-gray shoulder-length hair, but one was several inches taller than the other.

"Im Candy Rose and this is my sister, Autumn," the taller of the two women said. "We heard about Brad this morning. He was a good friend to us so we wanted to drop by."

Matty slid from her stool and beckoned the women inside as she introduced herself and Dash. "Please do come in. This is Casper Collins, also a friend of Brads. He brought by some of Brads favorite wine that maybe we can use for the memorial reception, if you think that would be appropriate?" she added, turning to Casper to ask for his consent.

"I think Brad would like that," he answered. Matty didnt miss the catch in his voice.

"He was also telling us how he met Brad," she continued, turning back to Autumn and Candy. "Im not sure if you know, but Brad and I werent close. In fact, I barely knew more about him than his name, Im embarrassed to say."

"Yes, we know all about that," Candy said, handing her basket to Matty while Autumn handed hers to Dash. They shook hands with Casper and then, without asking, pulled out two chairs from the table. Matty smiled as she and Dash set the baskets down on the counter. She wasnt sure what was in them but she could smell cinnamon and chocolate.

"Brad always regretted what happened to you and your mom," Autumn said.

That brought Matty up. "He told you about that?" Dash came to her side.

Candy nodded. "Of course he did. Brad wasnt one to dust things under the rug, so to speak. We were visiting him the day after he got back from your grandmothers funeral."

"And the reading of the will," Autumn interjected.

"And the reading of the will," Candy repeated. "He was on the phone to his mom, who wasnt happy. Anyway, it all came out then."

"I dont think he was very happy about it either," Matty said.

Candy shrugged. "Actually, he didnt seem to care one way or the other. He was sad for his dad because it was so obvious from the will what his mother, your grandmother, thought of him. But Brads mothers self-righteousness bothered him."

"A lot," Autumn added and Candy nodded. "But, it was Brooks family money and money from your grandmothers family, so as far as Brad was concerned, his grandmother could do whatever she wanted with it."

"That was very generous of him," Matty said, not quite believing what they were saying. Her memories of the months after her grandmothers death werent so blase. But then again, in the fleeting moment she thought about it, she hadnt heard much from Brad, just from Sandra and the attorney Sandra and Douglas had hired.

"Bah," Autumn waved a hand in the air dismissing her. "It wasnt generous, it was just the way he was."

"And I think he felt a little guilty for what his mom and dad had done to you and your mom," Candy added.

"Yeah, there was that," Dash muttered beside her.

"Maybe we should open one of these bottles of wine now?" Matty suggested, turning to Casper, who immediately pulled a wine opener from his pocket and made for the box of bottles. "Im glad Im meeting all of you, but I wont say its not strange to meet people who know so much about me when I know nothing of you or even much about the person who connects us, Brad."

Dash and Casper filled wineglasses and when everyone had one in hand, Matty raised hers. "To Brad. While I didnt know him well in life, Im glad to at least begin to know him now, through his friends-whom Im happy to have here with me today."

And it didnt end there. Matty learned that Brad had met Autumn and Candy while doing volunteer work with the catholic church in town. And then Pamela stopped by, a friend of Brads from the animal shelter hed donated time and money to. After Pamela, Matty met a woman who finally enlightened her as to why Brad had decided to keep rabbits. She should have guessed; they were rescues from an illegal fur farm. When Elise noticed the cars making their way up the shared road, she decided to come back over with some pictures she had of her and Brad. The photos were taken over a period of several months during which she and Brad had worked together to get his beautiful garden in place. And then Tommy stopped by, the local lead for one of the big international disaster relief agencies-one that Brad had worked through several times, including on his trips to Haiti and New Orleans.

While Matty made a mental note of Tommys information, now was not the time to bring up her questions for him, questions about Brads activities in those regions. No, even as more people arrived-and Candy and Autumns baked goods were spread over the kitchen island and more of Caspers wine was popped open-now was the time to listen and learn and celebrate the person Brad had been. A person she was just now realizing she would have really liked and, even more, respected.

CHAPTER 16.

"GET OUT! ALL OF YOU! All of you-just get out!" a voice screeched at the door.

Matty, who had been laughing at a story Elise was telling, turned at the sudden invasion into what was turning out to be an impromptu wake. With so many people, over twenty now, the dogs had ceased barking at every new arrival, so shed been unaware of the entrance of Sandra and Douglas Brooks until she heard the shrill voice and laid eyes on them standing just inside the kitchen doorway.

Sandra looked livid; her white hair in its harsh bob and her fair skin flushed red added to her sharp look. For a second, Matty could see her point; it did look like they were having a party in the aftermath of Brads death. On the other hand, if shed taken even ten seconds to look around, Sandra would have known what they were doing. Pictures of Brad were laid across the table and kitchen island; people were standing around, holding photos up and talking, laughing, and, yes, some were crying. It was so obviously a celebration of his life that any sympathy Matty might have felt toward the woman vanished.

And her father, well, he did what he usually did when it came to Sandra. Nothing. Tall and well dressed with sun-streaked, brown hair that was remarkably free of gray, he stood behind his wife saying nothing. But as Matty watched his eyes, eyes the same blue as Brads, take in the room and register what was going on, she also noted the redness there and the dark circles underneath.

His gaze landed on her and she took a deep breath. These people had just lost their son, she reminded herself; there was probably very little in life worse than that.

"Sandra, Douglas," she said, stepping forward. She felt Dash come up beside her in a silent show of support. "This is Casper Collins, a friend of Brads." As she introduced Casper, he came forward but didnt hold out a hand. "And this is Tommy and Candy and Autumn . . ." Matty continued until shed introduced Brads parents to everyone in the room. "They were kind enough to come and share their condolences, as well as their stories of Brad," she explained.

Sandras eyes glistened in fury-an anger Matty knew was born of sadness, but there was so much history between the two of them that it was hard to grant her that sentiment. It didnt help when Sandra straightened her shoulders and took a moment to glance at each person in the room, stopping only when her gaze focused on Matty.

"In that case, I just want you out."

Matty had thought that Sandra could no longer shock her, but she had. And judging by the uncomfortable shuffling in the room, she wasnt the only one shaken by Sandras words.

"Sandra," Douglas said, putting a hand on his wifes shoulder. A small conciliatory gesture that was too little too late by Mattys standards.

"Stop it, Douglas," Sandra shot back, shaking off his hand. "I want her out. If she thinks she can just move into Brads house, use Brads things, and, and . . ." Sandras voice faltered but Matty knew what was coming next, an accusation that she would be gunning to inherit even more of the Brooks family fortune.

"Excuse me," Albert Redmond, an attorney in town who was also a friend of Brads, stepped forward. Albert and Brad had been playing chess together for nearly ten years. When talking to the man earlier, Matty had been drawn to his gentle voice and calming manner. With everything that Brad had done in his life, in his community, she suspected hed probably liked the same things about the lawyer.

"No, I wont excuse you," Sandra spat back with a sharp look at the man. "I want you out," she said, her eyes back on Matty.

For a moment, she wasnt sure what to do. She didnt want to make her guests, Brads friends, uncomfortable. But she also didnt want to miss the opportunity that had landed on her doorstep, a chance to know her half brother. What she really wanted to do was shake Sandra, get in her face, and remind her that she wasnt the only person whod lost Brad. But thankfully, Albert stepped in before shed contemplated that course of action any further.

"I was Brads friend, but I was also his attorney. Its really not the time or the place to discuss such things, but in this circumstance, I think it might behoove us all to go over the basics."

That brought Matty up short. Ian had said Brad would probably have a will, but she hadnt had a chance to look for it yet, and Albert hadnt mentioned anything so far. Why he would bring it up now, she couldnt fathom. Unless . . . Her stomach sank. She knew what Albert was going to say and if the color draining from Sandras face was any indication, she knew, too.

"No," Sandra said, shaking her head.

"Is there a private space we can talk?" Albert asked.

For the first time in her life, Matty looked to her father for direction about what she should do. She didnt want to have the conversation any more than Sandra did, but here they were. Her father gave her a small, sad nod.

"The formal sitting room," she said, gesturing to her left. It was on the other side of the house and could be closed off.

"Then, shall we?" Albert said, taking the lead.

Dash watched Matty, her father, and Sandra Brooks follow Albert out of the kitchen. He hadnt offered to go with her; whatever was going to go on behind those closed doors was a family affair. But he had given her a small hug of support just before shed left. He hoped it was enough for her to know he was here for her.

"Well, that explains a lot," Candy said, plopping herself down on a stool and taking a sip of wine.

Dash raised an eyebrow in question at her even as many of the others seemed to murmur their agreement. "What explains what?" he asked.

"Brad," she said. "He never really talked about his parents much."

"Oh, he was never disrespectful," Casper interjected.

Autumn nodded, "He just didnt talk about them often."

"Or when he did," Tony added, "He always seemed a little confused, a little sad."

"Like he wasnt sure what to do with them," Pamela chimed in. "I remember once, we were cleaning out one of the animal pens at the shelter and I made some offhand comment about how proud our mothers would be at our cleaning abilities. I was a complete slob as a kid," she said as an aside. "Brad laughed a little-not the funny kind of laugh-and said his mother would be horrified to see him on his hands and knees scrubbing a floor. I asked him what he meant and he just shook his head and said the only kind of cleaning his mother ever did was making sure the fork and knife lay properly across the plate when she was done with dinner."

As soon as Pamela finished her story a few others jumped in, rehashing pieces of conversations theyd had with Brad about his parents. Dash only half-listened as he kept his eyes on the hallway, waiting for Matty to return.

After about fifteen minutes, he heard the door to the sitting room open and shortly thereafter, Albert walked back into the kitchen. Dash excused himself and made his way toward the sitting room. He found her standing at the front door, the one that was never used but would have allowed Douglas and Sandra to leave without having to walk back through the kitchen. Her father stood in the doorway.

"I had no idea he was going to do that, Douglas," Matty was saying.

"I know, Matty. I know," he replied.

"I dont-" Dash heard her voice catch as he came beside her and took her hand. "You just lost your son, Douglas. I dont want to do anything that will make this harder. I know what Brads wishes were, but if there is anything, anything, you want or need or, well, just anything at all, please feel free."

"Thank you."

Douglas looked about to say something else, but Matty spoke again. "I can go stay with Dash. Ill need some time to pack up the animals and everything, and Ill have to come back every now and then to check on the cows until we figure out what to do with them, but Ill leave and you can come back and just be here. If you want," she added.

Douglas blinked and lifted a hand as if to pat her on the shoulder then let it drop back to his side. "Thank you, Matty. I think," his voice cracked and he cleared his throat. "I think for now, its better for us to stay in town, but maybe, maybe after a little while," his voice drifted off and she nodded at what was left unsaid-that after a while, when the shock had dulled, he would take her up on her offer.

"You know where to find me," she said.