Chapter 29 Gracie Mae
Gracie Mae
“Do you really think the FBI has enough evidence to charge Oak with homicide?” I ask to all the Old Ladies.
We’re currently in a bridal shop for Alice.
She has just come out in a stunning mermaid style wedding dress that has a long tail and a lace bodice.
Although it does amazingly at accentuating her body we all agreed it’s not the one.
Alice steps down from the platform expertly in the high heels they have paired with this particular dress. “I think if they had the evidence he would be behind bars right now. Isn’t that why they asked you for a confession?”
Before the men had entered Church I had told all of them of how the FBI offered me custody of Connor in exchange for a confession from Oak stating he killed Chris Townsend.
And as much as I love Connor, will lay down my life for him, do anything for him, I can’t do this.
I can’t convict the man that I love. I won’t.
“If you’re worried about him turning himself in Reed will most likely knock him out cold before he can leave the doors,” Alice lets us know with a small smile on her face. There’s teasing in her tone but in her eyes we all know she’s telling the truth.
Snake would rather find a way to shift the blame on him rather than seeing his best friend in handcuffs.
Alice raises a brow. “Shall I try on the next dress?”
“Yes,” we all say in unison.
As we all wait for Alice to try on her next dress we all talk meaninglessly to keep our minds from drifting to the murky waters.
My phone vibrates in my pocket, since I have it on silent to not be rude, and I pull it out while giving an apologetic look to the ladies.
Giving a quick glance at the number I take notice of how the area code is for Hollows Point.
Releasing a quick breath that does nothing to quell the anxiousness I answer the call. “Hello?”
“Hello, is this Gracie Mae Vale?” The woman with a monotone voice greets me back and I just know.
“Yes, this is she. May I ask who is calling?” I try to keep the anxiousness out of my voice but I fail. My voice falters and Nora who sits next to me notices.
Offering the same gesture I had just earlier her hand lays gently on top of mine. I give her a smile that I don’t quite feel and she only tightens her fingers around my hand.
“This is June, from Hollows Point Memorial Hospital, and we are calling in regard to your mother, Vivian Vale, as she has you placed as her emergency contact.”
Dread hits the pit of stomach like an anchor in the middle of the sea. It unfurls, spreading vast and wide until it swallows my entire being. I swallow but the motion is rough. My mouth has gone dry and forcing the little bits of saliva I have is painful.
I breathe, though it’s strained. “Is she okay?”
“I am sorry to inform you with the unfortunate news but your mother suffered a respiratory arrest from an overdose and is now placed in a coma.”
I feel the blood drain from my face as my heart stops beating.
My hand clutches around my phone in a death grip as if it’s the life raft keeping me from drowning. But it feels as if my head is barely grazing the surface of the rough waters. And I’m afraid that all it will take is one more tidal wave to pull me under.
A coma?
The air expels from my lungs and as I go to draw another breath I can’t. My chest constricts and my lungs burn like an inferno.
“Gracie Mae?” The woman on the phone calls my name but I can’t speak. The words I want to say die on my tongue before I can get them out.
A coma.
What does this mean for mom? Will she come out of it? Will she die because of her overdose?
But what has me more concerned than my own mother’s death is what will happen to Connor.
I won’t allow anyone to take him away from me.
No, I won’t let that fucking happen.
I hear concerned voices from the ladies surrounding me but to my ears it only comes through as static noise.
Nora’s hand on mine grows stronger and before I know it Alice is kneeling in front of me with her dress not securely on.
She pries my fingers away from the phone and hands it over to one of the ladies. Who, I don’t know because all I can focus on is that my mom is in a coma.
“Grace, breathe,” Alice instructs in a calm voice.
She then takes a deep breath and releases it, wanting me to do the same.
“Breathe, Grace. Look at me and breathe.” She takes another deep breath and this time I do.
I inhale despite the burn that flares in my chest and exhale when she does.
We do this again and again until I feel the beat of my heart return to somewhat normal.
Alice gives me an encouraging smile yet her honey brown eyes are drowning in concern. “What’s going on, Grace?” She asks me softly.
Tears burn at the back of my eyes but I refuse to let them fall.
I have to be strong for Connor.
My eyes cut over to the ladies who have come to surround me. It’s as if they are my shield, protecting me from outsiders eyes and judgment.
It's then that I see Rosa has my phone in her hand down by her side. She must've finished the call for me.
I take another deep breath as the tears threaten to fall.
How is it that people I have known for such a short time in the span of my life provide me with more care and tenderness than my own mother?
“I have to go,” I announce to them, my voice strangled with overwhelming emotion.
Alice takes my hand gently in hers and the tenderness from her touch reaches my heart. “To Hollows Point?”
I nod my head. My tongue still feels heavy in my mouth. “My mom. . .” I trail off. Alice squeezes my hand encouragingly. “She’s in a coma, Alice. I have to go.”
I see the pain in her eyes first, and then I see it mix with sorrow. “You’re not going alone.”
I shake my head. “You’re supposed to be finding your wedding dress-”
“Fuck the dress. My sister needs me. And she’s far more important than a wedding dress,” she finishes, leaving no room for argument.
“She’s right, honey,” Rosa says softly. “You’re not alone. We’re here for you. And so are our men.”
Haven nods her head in solidarity. “Which is why they will all be here very soon.”
“I don’t know what to say,” I mumble.
“You don’t have to say anything, least of all thank you,” Stella tells me.
Nora initiates body contact by wrapping her arm around me. “You’re family, Grace.”
“And family weathers the bad storms together and celebrate the victories together,” Rosa says firmly, her voice unwavering.
The sound of the door chime goes off at the entrance of the bridal shop. I hear the gasps from the other guests and as I peek through the ladies I see the men of Vipers MC dominating the bridal shop.
“Grace.” The deep voice of Oak powerfully calls out to me and it causes me to move without realizing it.
A tear falls from my eye as I choke out his name. “Oak.”
I see the flash of pain flicker through his eyes before he can conceal it. Then not even a second later they’re filled with desperation.
Desperate to be closer. Desperate to hold me in his arms. Desperate to protect me, to fight for me.
His voice strikes out in an authoritative tone that’s both urgent and harsh. “Move.”
The ladies break the shield, parting for him with no hesitation and no question.
It only takes two powerful strides until he closes the distance between us. And when he does he immediately wraps me in his arms and lifts me off the ground. My body weeps from the contact and I bury my face in the crook of his neck as tears trail down my face.
His large roughened hand cradles the back of my head as his lips press soft kisses right above my ear on the side of my head.
I breathe in his scent, the hints of motor oil and musk filling my nostrils and let it calm me.
With each inhale my body begins to relax. The high strung tension that was stringing my muscles tight loosening until I’m lax against him.
His fingers tangle in my hair before he tilts my head back.
The action forces my eyes to meet his. And in the icy blue depths of them I see the love that he’s so afraid to voice.
I see the will to fight another battle even if we lose.
And I see the strength of a man who will never give up on his woman.
My voice is small and afraid as I admit to him on a whisper only he can hear, “I don’t know what to do, Oak.”
Determination sets in his eyes as they look deeply into mine. “We’re going to do what we always do, Grace. We’re going to fight because it’s what you and I do best.”
My vision blurs with unshed tears. Swallowing I then say weakly, “And what if I’m not strong enough?”
His fingers that are tangled in my hair tighten their grip and I can feel the sting in my scalp.
“You, Grace, you are one of the strongest people I fucking know. You’ve fought for your brother since he was born.
You’ve fought for yourself. You fight for everyone you love and care about.
And you’ve fought for me when I didn’t have much fight in me left.
” His voice chokes up near the end. He swallows, his Adam’s apple bobbling from the action.
Then, he leans his forehead to rest down on mine.
The contact awakens everything inside me.
“Let me fight beside you. Let me be the sword to your shield. Let me fight for you like you’ve been fighting for me. ”