Chapter 7
As Grace tossed the salad, Sean poured two bottles of beer into a pair of pilsner glasses from her kitchen cabinet.
He’d already set the table, and they were waiting for the potatoes to finish cooking in the microwave.
They both agreed it wasn’t the best way to cook potatoes, but since everything else was ready, faster was better in this situation.
She checked the timer on the potatoes and then opened the bottom broiler of the oven to see if the garlic bread was ready.
“This is a great kitchen,” Sean stated from behind her, taking a moment to enjoy the view of her shapely ass as she bent over.
“There’s plenty of room for two people to work without tripping over each other.
” He didn’t mention how comfortable he felt with her as they moved about the room preparing their meal.
They worked well together as if they had been doing it for years.
After sliding the toasted bread out onto a cutting board, she closed the broiler door and stood. “That’s one of the reasons I picked this place. All the rooms are a nice size, there’s plenty of closet space, and it’s an end unit, so I have extra windows.”
Sean sipped his beer and peeked through the kitchen doorway into the living room. “I see you haven’t done much decorating yet unless cardboard boxes are the ‘in’ thing now.”
Grace giggled as she set the salad bowl on the kitchen table. “Not that I know of, but if it is, then I’m good. I just haven’t had much time to unpack yet. I want Pro-Care up and running first, then I can work on this place.”
“Good. And when you’re done here, you can help me decorate my apartment. Everything is in storage while they paint and replace the old cabinetry and carpeting, but after I move in, my décor will be brown, cardboard boxes, too.”
Her laugh was infectious. “It’s nice to know we have the same decorating style. Have a seat—everything’s ready.”
Grabbing the plate with the potatoes from the microwave, he sat in the chair she’d indicated but waited until she joined him before putting food on his plate. “Nice to know we have the same culinary aptitude too.”
“Two peas in a pod.” She handed him a basket filled with slices of garlic bread and a bowl of cranberry jelly. Sitting down across the small table from him, she began to fill her own plate with food.
Putting a slab of butter on his potato, he grinned at the domesticity of their meal. “So, honey, how was your day at work? Anything exciting happen?”
Grace chuckled at his teasing. It did almost feel like they were a couple having a routine dinner together.
She played along. “Well, dear. I was very busy. I spent the morning doctor shopping, introducing myself, and trying to drum up some patient referrals. I hit as many as I could from the north end of Dare County. Over the next few days, I’ll do the south end and a few in Elizabeth City.
The physicians I saw today were happy to hear I was opening since there are so few PT clinics in the area outside of the hospitals. ”
“That’s good.” Sean finished preparing his plate and set it on the table before picking up his fork and knife. “Very little competition. What else did you do, Mrs. Cleaver?”
“Mrs. Cleaver, huh? Since when did you get old enough to have watched Leave It To Beaver?”
“Hey, at least you got the reference. Unless you’re older than fifty these days, that one goes over most people’s heads.”
She grinned. “Very true. Let’s see. I went to Staples to pick out a few filing cabinets, clipboards, pens, paper, folders, and everything else I’ll need in the office. It’s amazing how fast you can burn through a thousand dollars in that store.”
“Holy shit,” Sean retorted, almost choking on a piece of chicken. “No wonder the supply clerks are always bitching at work when I need office stuff.”
“Yup,” she replied. “Anyway, after that, I finished painting the silhouettes. Tomorrow I’m interviewing the PT applicants.
Then all I need is the furniture and equipment to be delivered, and I’ll be ready to open.
Oh, and I have to go to Best Buy and get a flat-screen TV for the patients to watch if they want.
There tends to be a lot of lying around when you’re in PT. ”
Sean had a brief mental picture of Brian lying on one of the PT tables as Grace gave him a back massage.
He quickly shook the image from his mind.
Only when hell froze over if he had anything to say about it.
It took a moment to realize Grace was talking again, and he tried to focus on what she was saying.
“…on the radio about the three women who were murdered. That’s the case you’re working on, isn’t it?”
He grimaced and nodded. “Yeah, what a mess, too.”
“Want to talk about it? I mean, what you can talk about.”
Sean shrugged. He could at least tell her what had already been released to the press, maybe a little bit more.
He just couldn’t tell her about the pennies or carvings, not that he would bring those up at the dinner table anyway.
“Three women in three months—all between the ages of twenty-two and thirty-two. All taken from public areas after partying somewhere. Strangled then dumped in public places—although the last one was a little more concealed than the first two… you sure you want to hear this over dinner?”
Grace let out a small sigh. “It is kind of morbid table talk, isn’t it? So, what else have you been doing since you moved back?”
They finished dinner while discussing the changes they’d both noted around Whisper and several places from their youth that were now gone.
After they put their plates in the dishwasher, Sean poured them each another beer, and they moved to the living room.
Since the only thing not covered with boxes was the couch, they sat down at either end.
Sean wanted to move a little closer, so he could smell Grace’s perfume, which had been driving him crazy all evening with a whiff here and there, but he didn’t trust himself not to try and kiss her.
They sat and chatted for a long time about anything that came to mind before Grace let out a sudden yawn. “I’m sorry,” she apologized. “It’s not the company. It’s just been a long day.”
Sean glanced at his watch and found it was later than he thought. “Yeah. I’d better get going, or we’ll both be dragging our asses in the morning.”
Grace stood with him and walked him to the door.
“Thanks for dinner,” he said, turning back to her.
She giggled. “I’m glad you liked it after I slaved over a hot stove all day to make it.”
He chuckled and leaned forward to kiss her on the cheek, but Grace moved her head at the last moment, and their lips touched. He froze in shock for a second, then his body took over, and he deepened the kiss. She was so sweet, he didn’t think he would ever forget her taste. And he wanted more.
As her arms went around his neck, he put his hands on her waist and pulled her closer.
The moment her soft breasts touched his rock-hard chest, Grace jumped back as if struck by a jolt of electricity.
They were both breathless, staring at each other with expressions of desire mingled with confusion.
“Um… wow. I… um,” Sean stuttered, then cleared his throat. “I’d better get going before I do something crazy like take you to bed.”
“Yeah,” Grace agreed, swallowing hard as she tried to slow her breathing. “That would be crazy… just—”
“Crazy,” he finished for her, his voice low and husky as his eyes focused on her lush lips.
With tremendous difficulty, he managed to convince himself he had to leave.
As much as he did want to throw her onto a bed and fuck her silly, he knew it would be best to take things slowly.
Tracing a finger along her jawline, he whispered, “Goodnight, Grace.”
Satisfaction coursed through him when she shivered. “Goodnight, Sean.”
“... and the Sheriff’s Department is not releasing any more information about the homicides at this time, but we will continue to keep the public updated. This is Jessica Daly for the Channel Four evening news.”
George Wallace hummed a silly tune to himself as the screen returned to the male news anchor, who moved on to some inconsequential story.
So, he’d made the news. This was the first time, and he felt empowered and high about the publicity.
It was about time his work was acknowledged, and soon people would figure out it was for the best. He was ridding the world of worthless women.
Grinning, he went back to his dinner, thinking of future possibilities. Life was good—at least for him.
The next morning, Sean sat in the conference room trying to concentrate on the N-DEx program on his laptop, but his mind kept wandering to Grace and the kiss they’d shared—brief as it was.
He’d been so wound up when he got home that he took care of his hard-on in the shower before climbing into bed.
And yet his dreams of her had forced him to take a cold one several hours later when he awakened before sunrise.
It was obvious they’d both enjoyed the kiss—the flames in her eyes had told him she’d been as affected by it as he had.
But now, he couldn’t help but think taking things further might ruin a longtime friendship.
It had been years since he’d last seen Grace, but there was still a closeness between them.
Yet, what did he really know about her? Fourteen years and transitioning from child to adult made a big difference in a person.
And what would Bonnie and Uncle Dan say?
Would they be happy about a budding romance between the two, or would they discourage it?
He was so engrossed in his thoughts he never heard his brother and Rafe enter the room. Brian crept up behind him and flicked his left ear, causing Sean to jump from his chair and whirl around, ready to fight. “Fuck you, asshole. Haven’t you learned yet not to do that to someone carrying a gun?”