Chapter 20
Grant
“Alright, I’ll get in contact with the local office in Parker Heights, and we will bring Scott in for questioning. But if he isn’t there, like you said, it could get tricky trying to locate him.” Callum’s friend, Detective Barron, tells Rosalie.
We arranged for him to come speak to us at Iron Oaks today, wanting to get started immediately on reporting his abuse. After everything she told us last night, I’m surprised at how well she’s handling it all right now.
Barron has asked for specific details, and I held her to my side as she recited the worst of it. Asher paced back and forth behind us, his hands clenching in and out of fists.
“Once I’ve spoken to them and they confirm they can’t get a hold of Scott, I can put an APB out for him, so the local officers will know to watch out for him in town.”
“Thank you,” she says, her right hand reaching up to grip mine hanging over her shoulder.
“Here’s my card. Reach out if you have any questions or if he comes into contact with you again.” She takes the card but I feel her body tense up.
Leo walks him out and I pull her into a full hug. “You did great, Rosie.”
I kiss the top of her head as she mumbles, “Thanks,” against my chest.
“I know that couldn’t have been easy.”
“You helped.”
I squeeze her tighter and kiss her head again. “I’m glad.”
She pushes back and wipes under her eyes as she clears her throat and straightens her Iron Oaks t-shirt. “Okay, let’s get back to work, I need to focus on something else right now.”
“Is everything ready for the Christmas Open House? That’s coming up fast now.”
She nods as she brushes her fingers through her long, brown hair. She’s wearing it loose today, and it makes her look even more beautiful.
“Yeah, we just need to get the word out more.”
“Well, how about you and I go pass out some flyers around town?”
“Could we do that tomorrow? After yesterday, I kind of want to stay here today.”
“Of course.” I hate that she’s scared to go out in public, the sooner the police could find Scott, the better.
She looks around the gym, and I follow her gaze. There’s over a dozen people in here today, all her hard work is definitely paying off. The place looks great; the customers look happy and we’re actually starting to bring in some money.
“I have some more Christmas lights to hang up, do you want to help me?”
I smile down at her. “Of course.”
I follow her to the back and notice Asher punching away at one of the hanging bags. He looks pissed. I know that hearing how Scott touched her set him off. None of us like to hear that shit, but he really has a hard time with domestic violence since his dad used to beat his mother.
From past experience, I know it’s best just to let him work his anger out on the bag; he’ll calm down in an hour.
We take the rest of the afternoon to set up the lights, and when we finish, it’s closing time.
“We really should stay open late. Lots of people want to work out after dinner in the evening,” Rosalie says as we lock the door and climb into Leo’s truck.
“But we need time off, too. It’s not healthy to be there for fifteen hours. We’re already pushing it,” I tell her.
"Well you are, you open at six, you should leave early.”
I shrug. “What am I going to do without you three? I’d be bored.”
“We should hire someone for the evening shift, then we could end earlier, too,” Leo suggests.
“Maybe we should wait until we’re in the green,” Rosalie suggests.
“We will be by next month at the rate we’re going. And I have a feeling the Open House will give us a bunch of new signups, too,” I tell her before turning to Leo. “Let’s make it happen. Can you post something online tonight?”
“Sure, but isn’t that normally something you like to do?” he asks in confusion.
“Normally I would be, but I have plans tonight.”
“You do?” They ask in unison.
I pull out my phone and start typing away as I reply, “Yep,” letting the p pop.
“Doing what?” Asher asks from the backseat beside Rosalie.
“I have a date.”
Everyone is silent as I press send, then I glance over my shoulder to see her hurt and confused expression. Her phone pings, and she lifts it up to read my message. She instantly relaxes as a smile covers her face. She quickly types back, and my phone pings.
I glance down at our conversation.
Me: Would you like to go on a date with me tonight?
Rosalie: That was mean! But I’d love to.
Me: I’ll have to make it up to you then.
Rosalie: Yes, you will
“What are you two texting about?” Leo asks with a hint of amusement in his voice.
“Rosie and I are going out on a date tonight. You two will have to keep yourselves busy for the evening.”
“Asher, do you want to play Halo? I haven’t beaten you for a while.”
Asher snorts in amusement before he replies, “You’re on.”
An hour later, it’s just Rosie and me in my charger as I drive us to the next town over.
“It is really called Whispering Pines?” she asked with amusement.
“Yep.”
“Whispering Pines and Silent Pines? Really?”
“What? I didn’t name them.”
She chuckles and shakes her head. “What are we doing there?”
“First, we’re going to the mall.”
“The mall?” she asks in confusion.
I reach over and grab her hand, threading my fingers through hers and resting them on the console between us.
“I know you love Christmas traditions, and I have one I do every year. I thought you might like to do it with me?”
She perks up at my words as she asks, “Of course! What is it?”
I reach into my pocket and pull out a few folded sheets of paper and pass them to her. “We’re going shopping.”
I glance at her as she unfolds the paper and frowns at it for a few seconds before her eyebrows raise in surprise. “These are families in need, aren’t they?”
I nod. “Yes, the local church in Silent Pines organizes it. I always sponsor two families. These are the lists of the ages and things they suggest, although we don’t have to stick to it.”
“Grant… this is amazing. You do this every year?”
I do, thankful that she understands the importance of giving someone a Christmas they can’t afford.
“Yes, my parents always sponsored a family, and when they passed, I took on the tradition. Since I didn’t have to buy them gifts anymore, I decided I could afford to sponsor two families.”
She’s quiet for a minute, and I glance over at her. She’s studying the list as she bites her lip, but I can see the smile on her face. “Oh! I have an idea for this fourteen-year-old girl, we could get her headphones. Oh and this younger mother, she needs a baby monitor.”
I smile at her excitement for shopping for someone else.
Not everyone enjoyed that. There wasn’t anything wrong with wanting to receive gifts, but my last girlfriend hadn’t wanted to help me with the shopping.
She said it was boring buying for people she didn’t know.
I didn’t really begrudge her of it at the time but now, seeing how excited Rosie is, it heightens my own enjoyment.
She doesn’t just make Christmas better, she makes my whole life better.
We spend a couple of hours running around the mall, getting everything we need to give the two families a great Christmas. When we’re done, and my trunk is packed tight, we climb in the car and I head for a restaurant nearby.
“Do you like Italian food?” I ask her as I pull into the parking lot.
“I love it! This place isn’t too fancy is it? I’m not exactly dressed for fine dining,” she says , looking down at her jeans and sweater.
“Nope, just casual dining. I thought we’d feel more relaxed here.”
She smiles as she waits for me to round the car and help her out. I had told her at the mall that I preferred to do that. It was a little old-fashioned but with Scott out here, I also felt the need to be next to her all the time.
She places her hand in mine, and I help her out and close the door, locking the car behind us as we head inside.
The hostess seats us in a booth in the corner that’s probably the closest thing to romantic in here. After we place our order I reach across the table and she gives me her hands.
“You looked like you had fun today.”
“I did! It gave me an idea, actually.”
“Oh yeah?”
“We should add a toy drive to our Open House. I’ve already handed out some flyers, but we could add it to the ones we’re going to put around town and we can collect the day after the event, too.”
I smile, amazed at the kind heart she has. “That’s a great idea.” I can’t believe her ex treated her the way he did. She’s the kindest, sweetest, most thoughtful person I’ve ever met. I imagine she’s an amazing girlfriend, too. She probably baked him cookies and made his bed every day.
“What are you thinking about right now?” she asks with a tilt of her head.
“Do you bake cookies?”
She lets out a laugh as she asks. “Really? That’s what you’re thinking about?”
“Yeah, I was thinking how kind and thoughtful you are. I was thinking you’re the kind of girl who bakes surprise cookies for your boyfriend or surprises him with a home-cooked meal when he gets home from work, even when you’re working full time yourself.”
She shrugs and smiles sheepishly.
“I knew it.” Our server comes over with our drinks, and we both take a sip before I ask, “Did you always want to be in marketing?”
“No, at first I wanted to be an artist, but I wasn’t that good.
I dabbled in graphic design, and that’s what led me to marketing.
I still like designing stuff, like the flyers, but I find I enjoy the bigger picture stuff now.
That’s why I got my business degree. It lets me look at a business like Iron Oaks, and figure out how to make it better. ”
“You like what you’re doing for Iron Oaks?”
“I love it.”
“Once it’s successful and doing well… will you still like it?” I ask worriedly. “Or will you want to move onto a new project?”
She frowns as she looks down at our hands. “I hadn’t really thought about it. When I started, it was always with the intention of saving some money so I could start over in a new town, once things with Scott had died down.”