Chapter 13 Grace
GRACE
Strawberry Springs Neighborhood Watch
Tammy Jane: @Henrietta Brown, y’all have gotta get your website updated. I need to request a book.
Comments:
Henrietta Brown: Just request it here for now.
Tammy Jane: Well, I was trying not to offend sensitive ears here . . . but here we go. It’s the romance book about the woman who gets lost on a spider planet.
Mollie Wilson: I—did I just read the last original sentence on the internet?
Wren Hackett: Wait, a romance book??? Who does the woman end up with??? Please say it’s another man who got lost too.
Jade Clark: Oh, I know that book! It’s so good. No, it’s not a human man.
Wren Hackett: But how does that even WORK?
Tammy Jane: It’s a popular genre, Wren. And after being married to a human man for far too long, I need a little fantasy in my life.
Marjorie Brown: I TOLD you to stock a monster romance section, Henrietta! Now look at what you’ve done.
Henrietta Brown: I’m gonna hire someone to update the website.
When I walked down the steps, not falling on my ass was the biggest shock of my life.
After safely making it to the ground, I saw that the loose wooden step had been screwed in, leaving it secure and stable.
My first thought was that Wren had to have done it, but she was with me most of the time. The only one who had disappeared was . . . Dean.
But that didn’t make sense.
I knew Dean’s type. He was emotionally insecure. The only time he’d been nice since finding out I was pregnant was when he’d fixed my heat in exchange for dinner. But he was getting something from that.
Had he seen the step and simply . . . fixed it?
If he did, then I had to do something in return. I couldn’t simply accept help and not return the favor.
I was early for the day, and I’d heard he was working on the apartment above Theo’s coffee shop, so I had time to get a hot drink and see if it had been his doing.
Coffee wasn’t enough, but it was a start.
Of course, when I got in line, I knew it was rude of me to get something for me and nothing for him. And I did really owe him.
“Morning,” I greeted Theo when I got to the front. “Good day today?”
“It’s been all right.”
Kelsey turned around. “Speak for yourself. My shirt’s been ruined and I think I permanently smell like peppermint.”
“I knew I should have taken that off the menu, but Kerry insisted,” Theo muttered.
“You did that to stay on her good side, right?” I asked with a laugh.
He shrugged. “You want the same thing you got last time?”
“Yes, and I’d also like . . .” I trailed off. What would Dean like? Did he even drink coffee?
“Are you ordering for someone else?” he asked.
“No. Why would you ask that?” My voice rose in pitch.
“Write down who.” He said it so lowly I almost couldn’t hear him. He stared at me, and then handed me a pen.
“What do you . . . oh. Good idea.”
Theo was the kind of guy who knew the town drama, but never added to it. If anyone would know I was buying a coffee for Dean, it could be him.
I passed the notebook back and Theo nodded.
“Coffee with cream and sugar,” he said.
“You knew it off the top of your head?”
“Coffee orders are easy to guess,” he said. “By the way, you should try the hazelnut cappuccino. I think you’d like it more.”
“But the—”
“Caffeine? It’s got about the same. It shouldn’t make you jittery.”
I blinked and then nodded. “You know what? I’ll do both. Thanks, Theo.”
I paid for my order and walked to the pickup counter.
“So, can I know who this is for?” Kelsey asked.
“Will you tell people?” I replied.
“Maybe if it’s interesting.”
“Then no.”
Her bottom lip poked out. “Rude, but fair.”
She started to make the two drinks, which still kept her near me, and my eyes drifted back to Theo. I wondered how long he would wind up staying out of the news or if he would find his way into it.
“Don’t even, girl.” Kelsey set my drinks down. “You’re barking up the wrong tree.”
“I wasn’t barking up any tree. He doesn’t date.”
“And thank God for that,” she said. “At least for me. It keeps people off my ass about working here. But I know a few people are bummed about it.”
“Why aren’t you?” I asked.
“He’s not my type. I like them nerdier.”
I laughed. “Are you sure you and Wren aren’t related?”
“We’re starting to question it,” she said with a shrug. “And anyway, it’s sorta nice having a boss who isn’t in my business like Mom was.”
“So, it’s working out?”
“I haven’t pissed anyone off.”
“Hugh still doesn’t come here.”
“Another gift from fate,” she said as she slid my drinks to me. “Have fun with whatever you’re getting into. Though, it’s you, so I doubt it’s anything too wild.”
“Yeah, you know me.” I tried to sound convincing, but I wasn’t sure it landed when Kelsey tilted her head at me. “Anyway, gotta go!” I grabbed both drinks and nearly ran.
As I turned the corner, I saw Dean at his truck. He was balanced on one of the wheel wells, grabbing wiring out of the bed.
I got the pleasure of seeing his thick arm flex, and my body immediately responded. Suddenly, I was grateful for the cool air.
“Hey,” I said as I got close.
He saw me and did a double take. “Grace?”
“Yep. It’s me. I’m trying to solve a mystery this morning and I’m hoping you can help me.”
Dean hopped down and put the wiring on the ground. “What kind of mystery?”
“You see, I had this stair that was loose. And suddenly it’s not, and I’m trying to find the very kind fairy who did it.” I held up the extra cup. “Whoever did it gets free coffee.”
“Whoever did it doesn’t need a thank-you. It was just the right thing to do. You don’t need to be falling over.” He sounded so different. Instead of the emotionally stunted playboy I’d talked to just the day before, he seemed more real.
I handed over the cup. “I owe you one.”
“You’re not here to yell at me?”
“Do you want me to?”
“Usually when I help someone who insists on doing things herself, it doesn’t go well for me.”
“How many people do you help?” I asked. “I didn’t think you stuck around long enough to.”
He looked to the ground and then back at me. “Not many, admittedly. But my mom is one of them.”
“And she yells at you?”
“Sometimes. It’s usually when she gets money in the mail.” He looked at the coffee and then to me. “I wanted to try Theo’s shop, but I didn’t think I’d get the chance. What did you get me?”
“I actually let him guess.” Now I wondered if I shouldn’t have. “He said you’d like coffee with cream and sugar. Hopefully that’s not too boring.”
“That is my actual order,” he said slowly. “How the hell did he know?”
“He also gave me a recommendation,” I said, holding my own up. “Let’s see if he was right.” I took a sip and had to bite back a moan. “Dammit. He was.”
“Is it really that good?” he asked. “I’ve been to his sister shop, so I have high expectations.”
“Try it and you tell me.”
He lifted the cup to his mouth. The second he got a drink, his eyes rolled back. “Fuck, that’s good.”
And I was blushing again. I really couldn’t handle him saying anything like that around me. I also couldn’t handle him being nice either.
Clearing my throat, I smiled. “Glad you like it. And that I could pay you back for the step.”
“You don’t owe me anything for helping you out.”
“I thought I owed you dinner?” I asked.
“All right, you have me there. We should figure out the details of that.” He straightened and took a breath. “I was thinking the diner. Or maybe we go out of town to not raise suspicion yet?”
“Neither. Come to my house.”
Dean paused with the cup halfway to his mouth. “I’m sorry, what?”
“My house. Whenever you want to.”
“I . . . really meant dinner. We should probably talk about things.”
What was with this guy and thinking I was asking him out? I wasn’t a fool. I knew he didn’t date. “I really mean dinner too. I’m cooking.”
“You’re cooking?” he asked. “And I don’t mean this in a rude way, but do you know how?”
I crossed my arms. “Do I know how? Of course I do. Haven’t you heard—” I paused. “I forgot you’re not from here. Yes, I definitely know how. I’m second only to Tammy’s husband in my skills.”
“Thank God. I’ve had a lot of bad experiences with home cooking.”
“Your mom?” I asked.
“Yeah, she can burn water.” He shook his head.
I was so curious about his family. I was curious about a lot with him. Why didn’t he settle down? Did his mom have anything to do with it?
But that wasn’t for me to know. Even though we shared a kid, some rules were still in place.
“Hopefully I can turn that streak around,” I said. “Tomorrow? Are you free?”
“What else am I gonna do? Go get beat by Hugh at poker again?”
“That’s what you get for playing with him in the first place,” I said. “He does that to everyone.”
“I almost had him,” Dean said. “I’m not bad at poker, you know.”
I shook my head. “It’s your money, buddy.”
He laughed and took another sip from his cup. Then he stared at me.
“I really didn’t mean to be rude about . . . everything, by the way,” he said. “I feel like I owe you a lot of apologies.”
I blinked again. “I-I mean, it was a shock to both of us. But you seem . . . like you’ve accepted it now?”
“More than accepted it. I’m doing this right, Grace Day. And dinner is just the start of that.”
Oh. Oh. This was better than I imagined.
Were things finally looking up for once?
“I mean the father thing,” he quickly clarified. “Not . . .”
I rolled my eyes. “I know. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then.”