Chapter 23
Sid pulled up to Grace”s little house and she heaved out a deep breath. ”I need to go in and sweep. Can you keep Chiefy out here until I have the glass picked up?”
He chuckled. ”Honey, I”ll go in with you. Chiefy is fine out here for a few minutes. We”ll get the glass picked up and then I”ll head over to my place and make sure everything is fine.”
She turned her head slowly and looked into his eyes. ”I”m so sorry. I didn”t even think of that this morning. I apologize I”ve been so focused on myself and my house.”
He reached over and ran the backs of his fingers across her cheek. ”Honey, it”s fine. You”ve been dealing with a lot and I”m the one who’s sorry for all of this. If it wasn”t for the bikers seeing you at the Garage with me, they wouldn”t be focused on you.”
”You couldn”t have known what they”d do.”
”No. That”s a fact. But, I”m sorry just the same.”
Her eyes grew glassy and she blinked. ”Thank you.”
He slightly shook her shoulder. ”That bastard never apologized to you either?”
She chuckled once, then shook her head. ”No.” She sniffed lightly. ”I don”t know why I get emotional when you treat me so nicely. It”s just all these emotions keep barraging me and making me realize how much I”ve missed in life. How much I”ve wanted someone...” She looked into his eyes. ”Like you.”
It was his turn to have a catch in his throat. His breathing became choppy. ”I”ve missed so much in my life too and I didn”t know that until I met you.”
Silence fell around them as they looked into each other’s eyes. Except for Chiefy”s heavy breathing. Then she moved forward and licked Sid on the cheek. He laughed. So did Grace and their serious moment was once again broken by the pup.
He opened his door and hustled around the front of the truck to open Grace”s door. The instant he opened it, her smile warmed him like standing in the sun did. She was incredible.
Reaching in, he waited for her to take his hand and help her down. He noticed her cheeks were an adorable shade of pink, and she smelled like citrus.
She pulled her keys from the little shoulder bag she carried and stepped up onto the porch. She stopped cold in front of him and he chuckled. ”We”ve got to stop doing this.”
She pointed to the porch floor. ”Boot prints. Do you think the police would be able to get a good print from those?”
Sid bent to get a better view, then stood and gently pulled Grace back to him. ”I don”t know that they”ll get a good print, but the concern here is the boot print is wet. From the wet grass. That had to have happened recently. So, let”s go get in the truck and not disturb anything.”
”Okay.” Her voice shook and he was sorry for it. But, what if someone was lying in wait here?
Grace started back to the truck then stopped. ”Aren”t you coming too?”
”I”m going to check around the back of the house first.”
”It could be dangerous.”
”Honey, please get in the truck. I”m only stepping around the side of the house to make sure no one is waiting around for you to come back alone. If you hear anything terrible, call the police.”
”But...”
”Babe...”
She nodded. ”Okay.”
He waited for her to open the door of the truck and climb in. Then, he moved stealthily around the side of the house, between Grace’s two bungalows. He watched the ground for footprints or pressed grass. It seemed clear.
He heard rustling and looked up to see the back of one of the bikers running along the footpath he”d taken to get to Main Street. He pulled his phone up and called Jace.
”Yeah.”
”One of the bikers is running across your driveway right about now.”
He heard rustling then a huff. ”Yep. I”ve got him on camera. I”ll pull it down for the police. Did he do anything at Grace”s or your place?”
”Not that I”ve found. We saw a footprint on the deck which is what alerted me to the fact someone was here.”
”Okay. Let me know if you find signs of entry or damage.”
”Will do.”
He hung up and continued to search around the house. Birds flew from their hiding spots in shrubs. He was as startled as they were. He swallowed and continued around the house. When he came back to the truck, Grace let out a long breath. He grinned.
”Everything okay?”
”Yes. I did chase one of the bikers away from the house. He ran down the footpath and Jace saw him on camera. He”ll forward that footage to the police. We may be able to get police to watch your place closer now. But, I didn”t find any damage to the house.”
”Okay.” Grace opened the door to get out and he held his hand out to assist her. Not that she needed it, but he wanted to touch her. He wanted to help her, too. He liked being around her.
He closed the truck door and they walked together to the house. Grace dropped her keys and he bent to pick them up. He saw her fingers shaking. ”Are you scared?”
She smiled but it didn”t reach her eyes. ”I ...” She nodded. ”Yeah. I guess hearing they were right here on my property scares me. It”s one thing to toss a brick or two, that sucks. But, he came right up here on my property.”
Sid found the key on her keyring, there were only three and one looked like a padlock key. The other was for the trunk of her car, which left her house key. He unlocked the door and handed her keys back. ”Do you want me to go in first?”
”No. We can go in together.”
He stepped in first to make sure there weren”t any surprises in store for them, then held the door for Grace. She stepped through the door and her jaw was tight. ”I”ll stay here with you until Quinn”s guys get here.”
”Really. If you need to get to the Garage I”m sure we”ll be fine. I”ll lock the doors and call the police if something happens.”
”Grace. I don”t work at the Garage, remember? I”m just fixing the old Knucklehead and I help Coop out if he needs it. I can come and go as I like.”
She chuckled. ”I guess it feels like you work there, and I forgot about you just being there.”
He kissed her lips quickly, grabbed the broom from the corner where he”d put it last night and started sweeping.