Chapter 3 #3
"That's right." He'd been so distracted by his CO's sudden appearance in the barracks and the orders he barked that he hadn't internalized his mom's words. "I bet it's been quiet around here since she moved out."
Aunt Faith was a talker. She was also generous and selfless, constantly serving and helping others.
No one expected her to stay with Charity as long as she did, but without Uncle Blake, she wasn't interested in returning to the ranch.
Then when her son Jake took over the ranch and got married, Aunt Faith decided to stay in town indefinitely.
"That's an understatement. It's only been a week since she moved out, so I'm still getting used to the quiet.
At least I have you here for the next two weeks while I adjust." Mom set a steaming plate of meatloaf, mashed potatoes and broccoli on the table.
"Speaking of which, I'd like your help with some projects while you're here. Just some painting and stuff."
"Sure, no problem." Damon sat at the table. "This looks and smells amazing." His salivary glands kicked into high gear, and he had to swallow to keep from drooling. "I'm starving."
He'd grabbed a hamburger at the airport during his layover in Denver, but that was almost nine hours ago. All he'd had since then was a couple pieces of licorice and chocolate courtesy of Grace.
Grace.
He couldn't wait to see her again. The first thing he planned to do tomorrow after giving Paige a hug was to ask for Grace's phone number.
"It must have been horrible being stuck in that elevator." Mom set a glass of milk on the table then took the seat across from him.
Damon grinned after swallowing his mouthful of meatloaf. "It wasn't all bad."
"Ugh." She shuddered. "I don't see how any part of being trapped without lights and air conditioning could be good."
"Well, for starters, I wasn't alone."
Mom's right brow arched. "You didn't mention that on the phone."
"Must have slipped my mind." Damon smiled again after sticking a forkful of garlicky mashed potatoes into his mouth.
"There was a woman in the elevator with you, wasn't there?" she said knowingly. "I can tell by your grin. Tell me about her."
"It's possible you've met her. Her brother is Paige's fiancé."
"You were stuck in the elevator with Grace?" Her voice rose in pitch.
Damon nodded. "What do you know about her?"
"She's a lovely girl. Very devoted to her mother.
She and Paige have become close friends.
" Mom fiddled with a napkin as she talked, folding it one way then another.
She always had to be doing something with her hands.
"We had a big moving party last weekend.
The whole family turned out to help move Faith down the street, then we all showed up at Grace and Gabe's new duplex when their moving truck arrived.
Marisol, Grace's mother, was moved to tears.
Grace shed a few too. She was so appreciative of the help, so she could focus on making her mother comfortable. "
Her mother.
Damon recalled Paige's dramatic phone call a few months ago. She was engaged to her physical therapist but couldn’t tell anyone.
It was supposed to be fake—to appease his mother who had stage four pancreatic cancer.
When they fell in love for real, they couldn't announce it, because he wasn't supposed to date patients.
Grace's mother is dying.
A pang pricked his chest, so sharp he had to stop eating. No wonder she hesitated when he encouraged her to start her bucket list. Planning a future of fun and adventure was impossible when facing that kind of loss.
"Is there something wrong with your food?" Twin creases furrowed Mom's brow.
"No, it's great." Damon forced himself to take another bite. "I just figured I'd better slow down or I'll give myself indigestion." He looked around the kitchen searching for the cinnamon rolls. He spotted a big baking sheet on the far counter.
Mom's gaze followed his. "Of course I made my big ol' cinnamon rolls, but you need to finish your dinner first." She wagged a finger at him before she got to her feet and pulled another plate from the cupboard.
Damon waited until he'd finished his food and Mom had joined him again after placing a gooey six-inch cinnamon roll in front of him to ask the question that ate at him. "I know Grace's mom has cancer, but how sick is she?"
"She has multiple tumors in her pancreas, lung, stomach, and lymph nodes.
It's inoperable, and she refuses to do chemotherapy, so they are focusing on slowing the growth of the cancer cells and keeping her comfortable.
" Mom's face grew pensive. "She's weak and frail, but she's hardly an invalid yet. "
"Do they know how much longer she's expected to..." Damon's throat closed off at the thought of Grace losing her mother.
"I'm not sure they know. It didn't feel appropriate to ask."
"Yeah."
"I think Marisol will be around for a while yet but losing her is going to be hard on Gabe and Grace. They don't have any other family."
Another pang pierced Damon's chest. He couldn't imagine having only one brother to call family. He had two older half-brothers who were both married with kids, but he grew up so close to his cousins on his mom's side of the family that they were like siblings to him.
"You seem very interested in Grace and her mother." Mom's brow arched again as she studied his face.
"I am." There was no point in trying to hide it. He liked Grace and he wanted to get to know her and her family better.
"What exactly happened in that elevator?"
"Grace happened," he said with a sigh.
A puzzled expression filled her face as she laughed. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Damon chewed a bite of the delicious cinnamon roll as he searched for the words to explain what he experienced in the elevator with Grace.
It felt as though someone stepped into the room and flipped on a light, illuminating his life in a whole new way.
He hadn't realized how dim the room had become, but now, he felt like something was missing in his life.
He almost burst out laughing at how crazy the thoughts in his head sounded.
Finally, he shrugged. "I don't know. We were trapped for an hour, but it felt like only a few minutes.
She's claustrophobic, so she was kind of anxious.
I drew her into conversation to help her stay calm, and we just hit off.
" He laughed as he put another bite in his mouth and chewed before continuing.
"She's smart and kind of sassy. But she's also selfless and brave. "
"Wow, she made quite an impact on you." A twinkle lit his mom's eyes as the corners of her mouth turned up. "But Damon, tread lightly where she's concerned. She's going through too much right now for you to toy with her emotions. Especially since you'll be leaving in a couple weeks."
"I know." A sinking sensation hit his stomach, stealing what was left of his appetite even though he'd barely touched his cinnamon roll.
He'd thought about that a lot during the drive home. He wanted to get to know Grace, but he was deploying soon, and he wasn't the type to love 'em and leave em', like Romero. But for the first time ever, he could picture himself settling down and building a life with a woman.
A woman like Grace.
It sounded ridiculous since he'd only just met her, but there was something about her that wouldn't let him walk away without seeing if there was a future for them.