Chapter Two
“Apparently, Gemma and Travis Bowers’s baby shower was the place to be on Saturday. Amid the adorable owl decorations, there was drama…drama…and oh, yes…MORE DRAMA!” - Miss Know-It-All’s Gossip Column.
Gracie sat on the couch with a pad of paper and a pen, writing down all the baby gifts and the giver’s name for thank-you notes. It was a little embarrassing that Eric had been spot-on about all the excitement over the teeny-tiny baby items. Normally, Gracie would have been doing the same thing, except she was very much aware of Eric leaning against the wall off to her side. She’d caught him smirking at her a few times, and she was determined to show him that not all women were simpering simpletons when it came to baby items.
Also, she was trying not to look at him anyway. Just a few weeks ago, she’d almost convinced herself that she might have feelings for the bearded oaf. And after their history too.
It was no secret that the two of them had been fighting since Eric kicked her out of Buck’s at eighteen for using a fake ID. She’d had the biggest crush on him and wanted the chance to get close to him. He thought she was only flirting with him to stay for Travis’s gig. Either way, the two of them had been fighting ever since.
And kissing. There’d definitely been some hot and heavy moments over the last few years, and when they’d finally called a truce, things had been good. Really good.
Then at the Halloween Ball, they’d been talking and he’d been acting so sweet. And for a split second, she’d thought, maybe.
But he’d gone home with Kirsten Winters that night and she’d met Darrin. So, she’d pushed the maybe back down and it had just seemed easier to keep him at arm’s length.
Still, she had to admit to herself, even if she never said it out loud, that she liked the beard. With his shaved head and snapping dark eyes, he reminded her of a sexy mountain man, all muscly and waiting to carry her off to his cabin in the woods, where he would hold her captive and do all kinds of naughty things to her body…
She was so distracted by her fantasy, she let her guard down.
And then, Gemma lifted two identical onesies, soft white with autumn leaves and adorable gray owls with big eyes.
“Awww!” Gracie clapped her hand over her mouth, but it was too late. She’d been foiled by adorableness.
When she glanced over at Eric, he was chuckling. She stuck her tongue out at him.
“Thank you, Katie,” Gemma said, giving Katie Trepasso a soft smile.
Gracie saw that the other woman was rubbing her own swollen abdomen. “You’re welcome.”
Gracie wrote down the gift, ignoring the voice in her head that reminded her that all her friends were either married or in serious, committed relationships. She was the last single girl in her circle of friends, and now that several of them were having kids, she was starting to get this sense of urgency. She’d be thirty-two next year, and although she knew that was young, society was constantly bombarding her with statistics and facts to make her aware that her biological clock was ticking like her grandmother’s cuckoo clock.
Yes, women nowadays were having kids later, but Gracie didn’t want to be raising kids into her sixties, and she definitely wanted more than one child. Growing up by herself had been pretty lonely.
Plus, if she turned out exactly like her mother, having multiple children might make them less neurotic, because she’d spread her focus across all of them and not just a single offspring on which to pin her hopes and dreams.
Travis opened the next package from Mrs. Andrews. Gracie was actually surprised the old bat had come, as she tended to hold most of the citizens of Rock Canyon in disdain. For some reason, though, Mrs. Andrews had a soft spot for Gemma.
Travis pulled out his pocket knife to slice open the shipping box beneath the silver wrapping paper.
“Now, don’t you cut too deep, Travis, or I’ll be mighty put out,” Mrs. Andrews said from across the room.
Travis’s blue eyes narrowed slightly, but Gemma’s hand on his arm seemed to soothe him somewhat. Gracie wondered briefly what it was like to know someone so well that a simple, silent touch could calm them.
When he managed to get the top open, he pulled back the flaps. Travis’s jaw dropped and Gemma leaned over, stretching her neck to see. Curiosity was eating Gracie alive until Travis finally lifted two beautiful handmade quilts out of the box.
The whole room gasped. Mrs. Andrews’s quilts were award-winning, and she only made them for family.
Gracie watched her best friend take one of the quilts, intricate shapes of purple, blue, and green, and run her hand lovingly over the pattern. When Gemma met Mrs. Andrews’s gaze, something passed between them Gracie didn’t understand.
“These are amazing, Mrs. Andrews. Thank you so much.”
Fat tears rolled down Gemma’s cheeks, and Mrs. Andrews wiped at her own eyes beneath her glasses frames. “You just make sure you use them to keep those babies warm.”
“I will. I promise.”
And then, to the utter shock of Gracie and everyone in the room, Gemma got up slowly and waddled over to give Mrs. Andrews a hug.
Now I’ve seen everything.
Mrs. Andrews stood up and returned the hug. The whole room seemed to be holding their breath, shocked silent to see the Dragon of Rock Canyon behaving like a human being.
The, Mrs. Andrews pulled away with a huff. “Now, none of that. You need to stay off your feet, and you still have a mountain of presents to get through.”
Gemma laughed. “I’m not sure I have feet anymore, just cankles.”
The women in the room tittered, even Gracie. When the last present was finally opened, Gracie got up to grab a bottle of water from the ice chest in the kitchen and set the pad and pen down on the counter. When she turned, Eric was standing right in front of her, so close she could smell his woodsy cologne.
“You know, it is really creepy to lurk behind people.”
“Just coming in to grab a drink.” He leaned over to snatch a beer and popped the top without looking away from her. “So, where’s the boyfriend?”
How did he know Darrin was supposed to come? Oh, Mike and his big mouth.
“Darrin had something come up, so we’re going to meet up later.”
Eric’s grin widened. “Got cold feet about meeting your friends, huh?”
Gracie was pretty sure that was exactly what had happened, but there was no way she’d admit it to Eric. “No, he’s very busy with lawyerly stuff.”
“Right.” Eric reached up and wrapped a blonde strand of her hair around his finger, making her heart skip several beats. “I gotta say, Gracie Lou, I do like your hair long.”
“I didn’t grow it for you.” Damn it, why did her voice have to sound so breathless?
“I know. I still like it, though.” He tugged on the length playfully. “You could say thank you when someone pays you a compliment.”
Regaining some of her sense, she said, “You didn’t. You told me you liked it, which isn’t really a compliment, it’s a fact. A compliment would be if you told me my hair was pretty.”
She didn’t get to hear his response before Gemma and Travis’s twelve-year-old son, Charlie, popped up at her side and wrapped his arms around her waist.
“Aunt Gracie, can I have a piece of cake now?”
Big blue eyes with dark lashes stared into hers pitifully, and she knew exactly what he was doing. The kid had learned how to work her at an early age. Besides, she loved kids, especially this one.
She ruffled his brown curls, noticing that she had to reach up instead of down to do so. Pretty soon, he was going to be taller than her.
“No, but I can sneak you the first piece when we cut it.”
“Fine,” Charlie grumbled, and started to walk away.
Eric snatched him by the back of the collar so fast, Gracie gasped. He wrapped his arm around Charlie’s neck and gave him a noogie. “What the heck, man? No hi for me?”
Charlie struggled, laughing. “Sorry, Eric, I didn’t recognize you with the rat on your face.”
Gracie covered her mouth, trying to stifle her giggles.
“Why you little shit, I’ll teach you some manners! Travis! I’m going to beat your son!”
Gracie looked around Eric and Charlie to find Travis still on the couch, looking unconcerned for his son’s safety.
“Don’t mess with his face! We got family pictures later,” Gemma joked.
“Mom!” Eric’s other hand found Charlie’s ribs, and, despite the kid’s advanced age, Gracie knew how ticklish Charlie was.
He screamed and squealed desperately crying between breathless laughter, “Aunt Gracie! Help!”
The fun was contagious, and Gracie shrugged out of her jean jacket. “All right, that’s it. You unhand my godson, or I’m going to pluck all the hairs from your chinny chin chin.”
Eric’s dark eyes twinkled at her. “Bring it on, Blondie—ow!”
Gracie had grasped his beard in her hand and gave it a gentle tug. He quickly released Charlie, but before Gracie could escape, she found herself caught in Eric’s steely arms, pressed against his tall, hard body.
Her fingers fell away from his beard and rested against his chest. The air around them turned up to a hundred and three, and despite the heat, Gracie shivered.
“Caught you. Now you’re going to pay.”
* * *
Eric was breathing hard, aware of Gracie’s small, round breasts against the front of his body. Despite the fifteen inches that separated her five foot two to his six foot five, it seemed as though their mouths were much closer.
Eric realized he was bending over, about ready to lay one on Gracie in a room full of people, just as Charlie decided to launch himself onto his back. Charlie wrapped his arms and legs around Eric like a spider monkey and yelled in his ear, “Run, Aunt Gracie! I got him!”
Gracie slipped slowly from his arms, the moment obliterated by a cock-blocking twelve-year-old.
Eric might beat the kid after all.
But I thought you were done with her?
Eric wrestled with Charlie for a minute, and by the time he had the upper hand, Gracie had disappeared from the house.
“Geez, kid, don’t you know I’m too old to play with you? I think you strained my back.” Eric hunched over, pretending to be in extreme pain and the boy actually appeared contrite.
“Sorry, but nobody messes with Aunt Gracie.”
Eric knew that Charlie loved Gracie. He remembered when Gemma had given birth to Charlie, a nineteen-year-old kid herself and scared to death. Gracie had been there for everything and defended her best friend like a rabid raccoon. It was one of her most admirable qualities; her deep, abiding loyalty to those she loved.
And I’m not one of those shiny special people, so I need to just get over it and get out of here.
Alarmed cries echoed through the living room, and Eric turned his head just in time to watch Gemma crumple to the floor.
Chaos ensued as Travis pushed his way across the room to his wife. “Gem. Gem, baby!”
Gemma’s mother and sister cried out and crowded next to Travis on the ground, kneeling beside Gemma.
Eric pulled out his cell phone just as Travis hollered, “Someone call 911.”
Charlie saw his mom, started running, shoving into people. Mike caught him and held him against his chest. Eric had no idea what Charlie’s godfather said to him, but the boy stopped trying to pull away and sobbed hard.
The operator came on the line, and Eric calmly relayed what he knew, realizing his voice was shaking.
“Just stay calm, sir. Is she breathing?”
“Travis, is she breathing?” Eric called.
“Yes! Yes, she’s just out cold.”
“Yeah, she’s breathing, but she’s not waking up.”
“Okay, sir, we’ve dispatched emergency personnel from Rock Canyon Fire Department. It should only be a few minutes. Please stay on the line. Don’t move her if you can help it.”
“Travis, the dispatcher says not to move her.”
Travis’s expression, a raw mixture of fury and anguish, twisted Eric’s guts up. These people were his friends, as close as family. Gemma was a sweet woman, and after all the years she and Travis had spent apart, they deserved their happiness.
Suddenly, Mrs. Andrews was next to him, reaching for the phone. “Eric, I’ll talk to them. You go get Gracie. She needs to be here.”
Eric nodded, handing off his cell to the older woman, who seemed as shaken as the rest of them.
He headed out the back door, yelling for Gracie. “Gracie! Gracie!” She didn’t answer, and he took the steps down to the garage two at a time. “Gracie, fucking answer me!”
She came around the garage with her cell to her ear. “What the hell is the matter with you? I was just—”
“Something’s wrong with Gemma. She passed out and an ambulance is on the way.”
Gracie’s skin turned sheet white, and she dropped her phone. She ran past him up the steps, and he followed on her heels as she burst inside.
“Gemma!” Gracie pushed ahead of him through the crowd and stopped. Eric saw that Gemma was awake but dazed.
“What…” Gemma whispered.
Through the big bay windows, Eric saw the ambulance pull up. Everyone moved into the backyard to make room for the paramedics and the gurney, except for immediate family and Gracie, Mike, and Eric. The EMT’s took Gemma’s vitals and then lifted her onto the gurney gently.
Travis went to his son and hugged him. “I’m going to ride with Mom, and Uncle Mike’s going to drive you, Grandma, and Aunt Dawn to the hospital, okay?”
Charlie nodded, and Travis followed behind the gurney, closing the door behind them.
Eric could tell Gracie was trembling before him. He squeezed Gracie’s shoulders, and when she turned toward him, the tear-filled green eyes were like a sucker punch to the gut.
“She’s going to be okay.” He pulled her against him, squeezing her tight as she cried. “She’ll be fine, I promise.”
“Eric, can you give Gracie a ride?” Mike asked.
Eric nodded at him, and Mike led the rest of Gemma’s family out the front door. When it was just the two of them, Eric bent down and kissed Gracie’s forehead.
“Go on out to my car. I’m just going to let everyone know what’s happening, and I’ll meet you out there.”
Gracie sniffled and wiped at her face as she pulled away. “I can drive myself.”
“I know, but humor me, okay?”
Eric was actually surprised she didn’t argue. “Okay.”