Chapter Twenty-TwoGrace
Chapter Twenty-Two
Grace
T he door of my hospital room burst open. A tall and curvy teenage girl with a nose ring, winged eyeliner, a black dress, and platform shoes sauntered in. “Fuck of the morning, bitches.”
“Hi, Ri, I wasn’t expecting you.” Wes zipped up the bag.
Me neither, but I was excited to meet Evan’s littlest sister.
“Spence had an outdoor business meeting, and Bren and Jett are busy doing married-people things, so you fuckers get to hang with me.” She grinned and held out her light brown hands in a pose. Her nails had tiny bats on them.
“Bren and Jett are on a bike ride,” Evan corrected, coming in. “Spence is golfing. Sorry we’re late. Mrs. Beekman showed up bright and early and threw everything off.”
“Did we pass?” I asked. Evan had mentioned that she might visit to make sure their house was acceptable.
“She loved the way I decorated your room,” Riley told me. She looked me up and down. “You’re Grace? Fucking shit, Wes.”
I’d put on actual clothes today. I’d been wearing Wes’ shirts and yoga pants most of the time. But today I had on a green shirtdress and slip-ons with peaches on them. The dress was so soft and flowy with no tags. It wasn’t itchy and had pockets .
Wes grinned and waggled his eyebrows at me. “I know, right?”
I couldn’t help but giggle. “You must be Evan’s little sister?”
“What if I’m not?” She gave me a sly look.
“We could pretend. Or leave them and get iced coffees?” I offered.
“Boys are stupid.” She nodded.
“Peaches.” Evan gave me a kiss and a bear hug.
“Evan.” I buried my face in his shirt.
“Get a room, ew,” Riley said.
Was the appropriate response to apologize or kiss him harder? Evan tipped up my face and kissed me. Riley scratched her nose with her middle finger.
“Got you.” Wes scooped me in his arms and planted a kiss on my forehead. “Let’s go home.”
Evan took my things from me, and Wes carried me out the door and down the hall.
I leaned into him. “Shouldn’t I be in a wheelchair?”
“Why, when you have a perfectly good alpha to carry you?” Wes grinned.
“You’re impossible.” I felt ridiculous . The nurses grinned and waved as we left.
“You know you love it,” Evan replied.
I sort of did. After years of caring for others, or trying to be on my own, it felt nice to have someone take care of me.
“Front,” Riley called as we got to a black 4x4.
She climbed into the front with Evan. Wes and I got in the back. We drove, and I leaned into Wes.
“Um, where are we going?” Riley’s face pressed against the window.
“Nunya.” Evan grinned at her.
Riley flipped him off. “Fine, be an asshole, you doofus.”
The car stopped, and we got out. Rather, Wes scooped me up and carried me. The four of us walked across the grass and a play area came into view.
“Cute, but you don’t need to take me to the park to play,” Riley snorted, looking around.
It had snowed a bit this past week, and there was snow on the ground, and in the trees, but the sun was out, and I wore a jacket.
“It’s the park, it’s real.” Tears pricked my eyes as he carried me to the swing set, the weather a little cool but pleasant. “A little different, but it’s real.”
I was here. This was our park. My chest shuddered.
“They redid it a few years back, but here it is.” Wes got on the swing, me on his lap, and held me, soothing me with his touch. “Yes, this is our park.”
“It’s for them. This is where they first met,” Evan said. “But I’ll push you on the swings.”
“If it’ll make you happy.” With a huff, she sat on the swing, and Evan pushed her.
Riley turned to us. “You met at the park? When?”
“I was ten.” I closed my eyes and felt a little hum in my chest that hadn’t been there in a long time.
“My dad’s house isn’t far from here. I used to come here all the time to sketch or play rugby with my friends,” Wes explained. “I was actually sketching on that bench when I saw her on the swing. She was wearing a ruffly pink dress.” He kissed the tip of my nose.
I sat on his lap as we swung, kids playing around us. In our dreams, we were always alone.
Evan and Riley went climbing on one of the structures. We went back to the car a different way, passing some benches and a lamppost that we didn’t pass by the first time.
My heart jumped. “Wes, walk backward.”
He did.
“Stop.” My breath caught in my throat as I could see myself stumbling in the park through the trees in the dark, then crawling onto the bench.
“This is where they found me. I… I didn’t realize that it was our park. I came to our park.” My heart sped a little, and I recalled something from our dreams.
“ What if I can’t find you?” I asked Wes as we gazed up at the stars. “Sometimes you’re not where I am, and it’s scary.”
“Go to the park and wait for me on the bench. I’ll always find you at the park.”
“I’ll always find you at the park,” Wes whispered, pulling me to him.
How had I come to our park when I didn’t know how I got here? When I hadn’t thought Wes was real?
“What’s happening?” My chest shook. If only I could remember everything.
“Lexi didn’t say it was our park you were found at. Just that you were at the Eastside station. Hey, you’re here with me, now. That’s all that matters.” His breath was warm on my ear. “Let’s go home.”
I was here with him–and I’d come to our park.
We returned to the car. Evan drove us through a fancy, forested subdivision with large lots and came to their massive three-story house. He pulled into the garage, which had several motorcycles, and we got out, Wes continuing to carry me.
“Shoes off.” Evan tugged off my slip-ons and put them on a large wooden shelf that had a bunch of shoes on it. Everyone else did the same.
“You can put me down,” I told Wes as we crossed the kitchen.
“I will, in my bed.” He grinned as we walked up the backstairs.
“We have to show her to her room, you asshole.” Riley made a face, following us.
We went up to the third floor and stopped at the sunken sitting area I vaguely remembered.
“This is my chair.” She pointed to a low chair with a pillow that said fuck off. “And yours.” It was an overstuffed chair with a pillow with a peach on it. “I got all your favorite video games for us to play together.”
“Thank you.” I didn’t know much about video games.
“I made you a room.” Riley tugged on my hand. “Evan and Jett put shit together, but I made it pretty. Okay, Spence helped, too.”
We stopped in front of double glass doors that had an intricate vine design on the glass.
“How beautiful,” I breathed.
“Ri, did you paint this? It’s fantastic,” Wes said.
“Better than curtains.” Riley preened as she opened the door. “I know you’ll probably sleep with them. Fuck, that sounds wrong. I know you’ll probably spend your nights with the human pillows, but this is where you can escape from them and keep your shit. Doors even lock.”
“It’s amazing.” The room was long, like the length of two rooms, but the width of one generous one.
There was a giant bay window with a seat the size of my childhood bed.
It was covered with pillows and cushions.
A beautiful potted plant stood in one corner.
There was a wooden wardrobe and a dresser with a mirror on top.
On one side was a canopy daybed, also festooned with pillows.
Everything was done in greens, with hints of peach and mauve.
It was very soothing and garden-princess like.
“The bench in the window opens, and there are more blankets in it,” Riley told me.
“It’s beautiful. Thank you. This wasn’t your room, right? I don’t want to turn anyone out,” I said as Wes gently set me in the window seat like a delicate doll.
“Fuck no.” She rolled her eyes. “But I’ll show you mine later. It’s cute. It would be cuter if I could stay in the guesthouse out back.”
“Nope.” Evan shook his head. “Not my rules.”
“Laws suck ass.” She made a face.
I tugged Evan to me. “Thank you.”
They made me a room. My insides went squishy. I’d never had a room so pretty, that had been made for me with such care.
“I’m glad you like it, Peaches. The only downside is that you’ll have to use Wes’ bathroom.” Evan kissed me, and I unabashedly kissed him back, even though Riley was there with us.
I noticed that there were no doors other than the glass one Riley had painted.
“I need help with my homework before we go to the movies.” Riley grabbed Evan’s hand and pulled him out of the room.
“You like it? They worked hard to make it nice.” Wes pulled me to him.
“This is amazing. I love this window seat.” I wanted to curl up and read here.
“Do you need anything? Food? Shower? Nap?” He trailed kisses down my neck, each one sending shivers down my spine. His eyebrows waggled. “Something else.”
I laughed, going gooey inside.
He scooped me up and went down the hall to his rooms. Rooms. Wes had an entire suite of rooms all to himself. Such a luxury. As was my big, beautiful room, which was so much larger than my tiny apartment.
Wes kicked the bedroom door closed, and we flopped onto his gigantic bed. For a moment we lay there among the soft covers that smelled of him and Evan. Pressing my face against his chest, I let all the comforting scents wash over me.
He stroked up and down my back in a languid but maddening rhythm as he pressed light and soft butterfly kisses on my face, which made my nipples pebble.
“Evan… Evan won’t mind, right? Like really and truly?” I murmured as his kisses trailed down my neck. While the thought of both of them made me hot and bothered, I wanted to start with Wes. Reacquaint myself with his body, with being loved.
Then I’d be ready for more.
“He won’t mind at all. Evan can join us tonight–or tomorrow when Ri goes back to school.” Wes kissed my collarbone, making my body tingle with anticipation.
Maybe I’d only had Wes in my dreams, but my body still remembered what it felt like. I wanted him. I’d wanted him for days. Would it be as good in real life as it had been in my dreams?