Meridio's Daughter Part 8

"Why do we use Greek olive oil instead of Italiana?" Andreas Meridio walked along the concrete pavement of the olive mill and past the large wooden vats with Casey trying to keep up with his longer strides. Tessa followed along silently.

"Because Greek oil is better quality," Casey said, and Tessa silently applauded Casey.

"Why?" Meridio asked.

"Because we have hotter, drier summers, and that causes lower acid levels in the fruit."

They stopped at a table, and Meridio motioned to a young man to bring out a large platter. Tessa watched Meridio drill Casey just as she had predicted. There were at least a dozen varieties of olives on the tray, and Casey hadn't made a mistake yet. Meridio seemed to take this seriously, and Tessa wondered if he wanted Casey to at least be able to run his legitimate business ventures should anything happen to him.

Meridio held a fruit up, and Casey was expected to know its name or uses.

"Elitses," Casey wavered as her father held up the small dark fruit. "Um...Oh, that's no fair, Pappa. Those are from Crete."

Andreas laughed for the first time that afternoon. "Yes, but you did well in knowing what the compet.i.tion produces." He held up another and so it went on for some time.

"Tsakistes...uh, picked young and cracked before curing in brine. Kalamata, the most famous Greek olive. Always almond- shaped and cured in red wine vinegar." Casey popped one in her mouth, then gave Tessa a wink when her father bent down to retrieve another olive.

"Thasos, salt-cured, strong flavor, and goes well with cheese."

"Excellent, Mahtia Mou, someday you will be a formidable opponent to the farmers on Crete," Meridio said proudly.

Tessa saw something then in the man's eyes, something she hadn't seen before. Meridio praised Casey, but not with the love and affection of a father to a daughter. Rather, the man *commended her as one might do with a prized stallion or another bit of valuable property. As if she were not a treasured piece of his heart, but something he owned, something he trained and invested precious time and money on.

The thought disturbed Tessa as she stood watching the interaction between Meridio and Casey. In her memory, she always registered his att.i.tude toward his only child differently.

She wondered where this new look came from. Was Meridio simply placating Casey until the time he could groom a man for her to take as a husband? According to Greek law, all Casey's wealth would then belong to her husband. It would be a miserable existence for someone such as Casey.

Much to Tessa's, as well as Casey's, chagrin, Meridio dismissed Tessa, telling her to take the rest of the day off. He said he would keep Peter with them, but he wanted to visit a couple of their distilleries in Plomari. Tessa couldn't very well beg to go along with them, even though a trip to the Ouzo distillery would dearly hit the spot. So Tessa left with a slight nod to Casey, leaving her in her father's care.

"Pappa, I feel bad making Tessa go off on her own," Casey said. Truth be known, she couldn't have been more miserable at the notion of spending the rest of the afternoon without Tessa around.

Andreas Meridio laughed aloud at Casey's worried expression, placing an arm around her shoulder and pulling her in the direction of the car.

"Not to worry, she's probably headed toward the local brothel as we speak!" He laughed again.

The remark did nothing to ease Casey's sadness. If nothing else, it increased her fears, making her wonder if the beautiful Kare was indeed on her way to experience a little rest and relaxation.

Driving back down the hillside, Tessa decided to make a side trip to Mantamados. Their pottery was renowned throughout the Greek Isles, and Tessa needed something new to burn incense in.

Driving along the coastal road, where there was very little besides land and small villages, Tessa thought again of the reasoning behind Meridio's new att.i.tude toward Casey.

*Perhaps Meridio was finally realizing that Casey would never accept his true business. Even if Casey could, Meridio's partners would never take orders from her. Tessa herself had a hard enough time dealing with them, and her reputation scared the h.e.l.l out of most grown men. But these were not Greeks, not even Turks or Albanians. These men came from across the Mediterranean Sea, from Libya. No, Tessa didn't picture Casey as the kind of a woman who would take part in the family business.

Tessa's main problem now would be to find a way to encourage Casey to stay in her archaeology business, go back to America, anything so she wouldn't be around when Tessa's plan neared completion. Tessa's heart tightened in her chest at that last thought. Not having Casey around was just about the last thing she wanted right now.

Tessa took the steps two at a time up to the floor where her suite was situated, directly across from Casey's. Checking to see that she had no messages, Tessa changed into something less formal. She knew she would probably do no more than listen to some music or catch up on reading. It was late when she got in, and she was told that Andreas Meridio already retired. After having donned a pair of cotton slacks and a short-sleeved polo shirt, Tessa picked up one of the small sacks she carried in with her and decided to see if Casey was still awake.

"Oh, hi" was Casey's cool response when she opened the door to her suite, even though the woman standing in front of her was very nearly making her drool all over herself.

Tessa didn't know what the trouble was, but she felt the icy temperature of the room immediately.

"Have a good time in Plomari?" Tessa asked.

"Simply lovely," Casey said sarcastically. "Did you have a good time...wherever you ended up?"

Tessa tried to gauge Casey's tone, but for the life of her, she couldn't understand what was going on.

"Where is it that you think I ended up?"

"Well...I-I, well, it's really none of my business." Casey turned away quickly.

*"No, I really want to know." Tessa grabbed Casey's elbow, turning her to face her. "Where is it that you think I've gone?"

Casey knew she was caught but good . Why did I say anything in the first place? Now it's going to look like I'm jealous. There was nothing to do but voice her displeasure, so Casey dove in, head first.

"My father said you were...that you were probably on your way to the local brothel." Casey said the words but didn't dare look up to meet the blue gaze that suddenly sparkled with understanding.

Jealousy? Over me?

"I see, and the fact that I would be with a woman and not a man...that would bother you?" Tessa decided to have a little fun at Casey's expense.

"No, of course not," Casey said quickly.

"Oh, so it's not because I prefer a woman in my bed, it's because I prefer another woman," Tessa said as if she were trying to get the situation clear in her head.

"Yes," Casey said. "I mean, no. I mean. .what do you mean?"

Tessa leaned her head back, laughing long and loud. She had never come across a more endearing woman, and her senses were being completely seduced by Casey.

Casey turned about as scarlet as a human could, and when she realized there was nothing left to do, she laughed at herself. Tessa found that an absolutely charming quality.

"I'm sorry, I had no right-"

Tessa placed her index finger over Casey's lips, interrupting her thought.

"You had every right," Tessa found herself saying. Yet she didn't believe it was her mouth that said it. Quickly trying to recover, Tessa held out the sack. "I thought you might like this, I went to Mantamados today."

"You went to Mantamados without me...shopping?"

"Trust me, I don't shop like you or Olympia. If I see something I want," Tessa said in a low voice while leaning closer, "I take it.

If I don't like it, I leave it be."

"Oh" seemed to be the only response Casey was capable of.

*"Are you going to open it?" Tessa asked, her blue gaze sparkling in a combination of amus.e.m.e.nt and desire.

"Huh?"

"Your gift. Are you going to open it?" Tessa said slowly.

"Oh, yeah."

Tessa enjoyed the blush and the dazed expression on Casey's face. "Oh, it's beautiful." Casey remembered a similar, intricately designed, ceramic incense burner when she visited the guesthouse where Tessa lived.

Not knowing what else to say, Casey hugged the woman in front of her and placed an innocent kiss on Tessa's cheek. Tessa stood rooted in place, completely shocked by Casey's guileless gesture. Now it was Tessa who blushed. She could feel the heat creeping up her neck and tried to quickly change the subject.

"So are you going to be a good hostess and offer me a drink or do I have to scrounge the downstairs bar?"

Casey laughed, as much from Tessa's remark as from her embarra.s.sment.

"I have retsina and some white wine. What's your pleasure?"

Casey asked with a mischievous sparkle in her eyes and put an emphasis on the last word.

Tessa caught the double entendre and smiled wickedly.

"Well, let's start with the retsina and see where that takes us."Seated on the balcony outside of Casey's suite, both women watched the lights along the beaches of Vareia, sipped retsina, and listened to the breeze rustle the trees below.

"Tell me more about where you live in America," Tessa said.

She was interested, true, but more than anything, Tessa loved listening to Casey speak. The lilting tones of Casey's voice were absolutely captivating, and Tessa closed her eyes, enjoying the sound.

"I would sit on the beach on Long Island, that's where I grew up. On cold days, when there was no one else around, I would sit there, and all you could hear were the waves crashing in and the gulls over the water. I would close my eyes and think I was 0.

*on Mkonos. Of course, I used to think the same thing when I was here in Greece. When I was here, I used to want to be there.

When I was there...Well, you know what I mean." Casey sipped her wine and watched Tessa . Her eyes were closed, a slight smile curling at her lips.

"I know I was very small and I don't remember much that happened when I lived here all the time, but I feel it sometimes, like perhaps I'm remembering a dream. There used to be so much to do here in Greece when I was small. I used to love the holidays, so different from the ones in America. Of course, most of the holidays we celebrate here are religious, but I missed that when we moved away. I only remember being here for one Easter, but I can't even remember that very well. I remember a feeling of it, though," Casey said with a faltering tone as if she were trying at that moment to pull something from her mind but was unable to.

Shaking her head, she smiled again. "The more I try, the more it eludes me."

"Why can't you remember, do you think?" Tessa's voice came as a surprise. Casey almost thought she was alone in her reminiscing.

"I don't know. I used to ask my mother that same question all the time. It seems odd that all the best memories of my life would suddenly disappear like that."

"What did she say?" Tessa asked with a curious expression.

"She said it must have been because that was the year we left Greece to come to America. The childhood trauma of it all."

"Sounds reasonable," Tessa mused, half-wondering if that was the truth.

Tessa knew what a life-altering experience that day had been for her, but for the first time, she saw that perhaps what Casey went through might have been enough to traumatize a sensitive five-year-old. Like the roots of a tree, pain had a way of spreading itself around, reaching its tendrils into so many lives.

"I was in therapy for it," Casey said. "I know, you already think I'm nuts, right?" Casey smiled and Tessa chuckled.

"When I was small, I would have these dreams. I never once remembered what I dreamt about, but the feelings were so *intense that I would wake up crying. My mother tried to help, but all I could tell her was that I would start out feeling absolutely wonderful, like I could do anything, then everything went wrong and I would wake up with a pain so real that my chest would ache." Casey took a sip of wine and looked to see if Tessa thought she was a flake. Tessa sat watching her, listening intently.

"The dreams finally lessened. Sometimes it would be years between the time I would have one again. It was when I had my first serious love affair. The very first night we slept together, the dreams came back. I had them every single night until I was taking sleeping pills just to get a few hours of rest at night. Needless to say, it effectively ended that relationship.

"I started seeing a doctor, but after eighteen months, all she could say was that it was some kind of childhood trauma. Duh, I could have told her that. It had a lovely effect on my love life.

It's rather strange, though, the dreams only resurface when I fall in love." Casey gave an ironic, painful laugh. "Tends to keep me single."

Tessa looked at Casey with a mixture of worry and concern, hoping that someday the dreams that plagued her would disappear altogether. That someday she would be able to recognize only the good moments of that day when she was five.

The dream started out as usual, but then it took an unexpected turn. She'd never been down this road before. Casey could hear someone screaming, but she couldn't see who it was. Suddenly, she realized the voice belonged to Tessa. She had to get to where Tessa was, but they wouldn't let her reach her friend. There were no faces visible, but strong arms held her as she desperately tried to pull away.

"No!" Casey screamed, pulling herself to sit up in bed.

It took all of three seconds before Tessa was bursting through the door to the suite, wearing only a robe and carrying a gun in one hand, followed by footsteps running up the stairs to the second floor. Tessa's posture changed immediately when she opened the bedroom door, seeing Casey and realizing the danger was in her dreams and nothing more. Tessa wanted nothing more than to *scoop Casey up in her arms and hold on to her tightly, but those thoughts became dreams as Andreas Meridio pushed his way into the room.

"It's all right, just a nightmare," Tessa said as Meridio strode past her.

Tessa hustled the rest of the staff who were awakened by Casey's screams back to their rooms, returning within seconds to Casey's suite.

"It's all right, Pappa, really. It was just a nightmare," Casey said shortly, caught between embarra.s.sment and anger.

"Do you still have those?" Meridio asked.

"Hardly ever," Casey lied. "I'm all right, really." She gave a half smile to her father who looked more concerned than he was willing to admit.

"Tessa will stay with you for a little while then," he said, looking back at Tessa .

"Of course," Tessa said. "I'll be back in a moment."

Casey didn't feel like arguing. So when Tessa returned, dressed in jeans and a faded blue T-shirt, carrying a small brown bottle, Casey gave in. Her father kissed her and said to call him if he was needed, but Tessa knew he would prefer not to be needed.

Nightmares were considered a weakness, and no Greek man wanted to be around a woman's weakness for long.

"Don't tell me, it's more of your magic medicine." Casey watched as Tessa poured two gla.s.ses of amber liquid.

"Conyak." Tessa handed Casey a gla.s.s of the brandy.

"How come I don't have brandy in my room?" Casey tried to put on a smile.

"Because you didn't ask for it," Tessa said matter-of-factly.

Tessa took a sip of the liquor and set her gla.s.s on the bedside table, seating herself on the edge of the bed. Casey took one sip and looked up into blue eyes that seemed filled with their own distress. Tessa very lightly brought her fingers up and touched Casey's cheek.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Sure," Casey said, unsure of her own unsteady voice.

The green eyes filled with tears. Tessa watched as Casey's *head shook, indicating that she most certainly wasn't all right.

Tessa took the gla.s.s from Casey's hand and set it with her own.