Chapter 19
It took more than an hour, but they each spoke to officers and told them what happened. The officers now waited in their squad car for Grace to pack up a few things and them to leave for Jace”s.
Sid watched Grace”s face as she glanced around at the mess. ”Don”t think about it tonight. Walk around the glass. We”ll come back tomorrow and sweep it up and cover the windows until we can get them fixed.”
”But, there will be bugs in here tomorrow.”
He nodded. ”Right. How about this? Do you have plastic wrap? Get me that and some tape. I”ll cover the windows so bugs can”t get in. It won”t be great, but it”ll do better than nothing. Then we”ll head over to Jace”s.”
”Okay.” Grace stepped carefully around the glass on the floor. Sid noticed a broom propped in the corner and swept some of the glass away from the windows into small piles. Grace came back with plastic wrap and tape and he worked on closing up the windows that had been broken while Grace packed.
He finished as she came out of the bedroom with a backpack, filled to bursting. He chuckled. ”We”re only staying one night.”
She shrugged. ”But, I didn”t plan on staying at your place last night and I”m not sure what will happen tonight, so I”m trying to be prepared. Plus, I thought a suitcase was a bit much.”
He laughed and moved closer to her. He bent and kissed her lips. ”You”re awesome.”
”Because I can pack?”
”Because you make me happy.”
She cocked her head to the right and a small smile lifted her lips. ”You make me happy too.”
His heart pounded in his chest. He hadn”t heard those words in so long from someone else. He”d never thought about it all these years, but hearing them now made him realize how important it was to hear someone you cared about say them.
”Thank you,” he whispered. He kissed the top of her head and sucked in a deep breath.
Grace glanced at the windows. ”Thank you for closing up the windows. I appreciate it.”
”You”re welcome. Let”s try to get some sleep now.”
”Okay.” She stepped toward the door, then stopped. ”I have to get Chiefy”s food.”
Grace hurried into the kitchen and Sid bent and picked up Chiefy”s bowls and rinsed them out. He looked around, ”Does she have toys?”
Grace laughed. ”Any stick outside, anything she pulls from the water, and occasionally I buy her pig ears.”
”Okay. Do you have any pig ears here for her? It might make her more comfortable.”
”You”re sweet on Chiefy,” she chided. Opening a cupboard, she pulled out a bag that held one lone pig ear.
He chuckled and picked up Chiefy”s food and dishes. They walked side by side to the front door. Outside, Chiefy patiently waited for them in the truck, and he chuckled when he saw his windows.
”She”s been panting a lot in there, my windows are all steamed up.”
Grace laughed. ”She does that.”
He opened the back door and set her food and dishes on the floor. Chiefy began sniffing wildly, her tail smacking the back of the seats.
Grace opened the passenger back door and set her backpack on the floor on the other side. Chiefy turned and licked Grace”s cheek a couple of times. Grace giggled and petted her pup, and he couldn”t stop watching them. Watching them together was a joy.
He walked around the truck quickly and opened the passenger door for Grace. She smiled and looked into his eyes and he made the mental note to do that all the time so he would be the recipient of one of her smiles.
He waited for her to step up into his truck, then closed the door. As he walked around behind the truck, he waved at the police officers watching over them.
He pulled from her driveway and turned the truck right on Sunset Beach Road. Then he turned right on Main Street. Looking at the Garage as he drove past, he noted all looked well, which he was both grateful for and thought was weird. Why focus on Grace? Except, she was likely considered his Achilles heel. And that wasn”t far from the truth. He was growing incredibly fond of her. He looked forward to spending time with her.
He swallowed the lump that grew in his throat and turned right onto Classified Drive. He should have known something was up with Classified Drive. All the other streets here had simple names. First Street. The alley between Main Street and Classified Drive was named Alley. Nothing here was overly complicated, which was one of the things he enjoyed so much about this town.
He turned right again as Classified Drive swept to the right and there it was. A huge house at the end of the street. He”d never looked before because it was largely concealed by palm trees. But, now that he”d driven past those, the large white house stood out as a masterpiece on a canvas.
Grace sat forward. ”Holy cow.”
”That”s what I was thinking.”
”You didn”t know he had this huge house?”
”Nope.”
He stopped at the base of the steps leading up to the front doors. Massive double doors painted white to match the house were adorned with brass knockers.
He swallowed, not sure he knew what to think with this revelation. He”d always known Jace to be down-to-earth and carefree. This place must take an enormous amount of effort to keep up.
Shutting the truck off, he jumped down and walked around the front of the truck to open Grace”s door. As soon as she stepped down, she turned to stare once more at the house, then moved to let Chiefy out.
He opened Chiefy”s door for her, Grace grabbed Chiefy”s leash, and as soon as Chiefy jumped down, she sniffed around looking for a place to pee.
Sid shook his head and chuckled. This didn”t look like a place that anyone would pee, but then again, Chiefy was really quite special, and a dog.
One of the front doors opened and Jace stepped out. He held his arms wide. ”Welcome, friends. Welcome.”
Chiefy barked and Grace bent to pet her and soothe her. ”It”s okay, girl.”
Sid pulled Grace”s backpack out of the truck along with Chiefy”s food. The three of them walked up to Jace, both in awe and grateful for a place this nice to sleep in.
Jace laughed. ”Welcome to my place.”
Jace stepped aside and waited for them to walk in, then he stepped in and closed the door.
”This is incredible, Jace.”
”Thank you. This used to be the home of a former governor, who lived here before he went to Tallahassee to govern. He was wealthy and he had grand taste. He never came back to live here after he stopped governing. Instead, he moved out of state, to places unknown. There was a bit of a scandal here before he left that he was having an affair with one of the daughters of one of his big-time donors. So, he was afraid to come back. At least, that”s the rumor people love to tell. But, it sat empty for a number of years by the time I got here. It needed a ton of work, but I liked the location and the story behind it, so I bought it. To this day the townspeople call it the Governor”s Mansion.”