Chapter Twenty-Three
“In my experience, good things happen just before stuff really hits the fan.” - Miss Know-It-All’s Gossip Column.
On Tuesday morning, Gracie sat at the second table near the entrance of Starbucks, anxiously watching the door. She cupped her tall peppermint mocha in her hands, hoping the warmth would soak into her chilled skin. She knew it was nerves more than the air that was turning her skin to ice. She was tired and anxious and already knew she looked like hell. That was what happened when you panicked over nothing.
Gracie had stayed at her place Saturday night and hadn’t been back to Eric’s since. He’d seemed a little puzzled by her sudden desire to suffer the stiff lumps of her living room couch, but when she’d mentioned she had to be up at four thirty every morning while Tanya was on vacation this week and that she wanted to spend a little more time with her parents, he’d just accepted it. No questions, no asking if everything was all right. He’d just kissed her on the forehead after the tree had been trimmed and told her he’d talk to her the next day.
And he had texted her, had invited her over on Monday night for family dinner again, but she’d declined. He’d come in a couple of times for coffee, and they’d texted and talked on the phone, but she kept making excuses for why she was so busy. She was being an insane coward, she knew that, but it was almost as if she was possessed by the need to run from him and her feelings.
A woman who appeared in her late sixties came up the sidewalk, her dark hair striped with silver and her tan skin wrinkled. She stepped through the glass door, and her gaze immediately landed on Gracie.
Gracie stood as the woman approached her. “Margaret?”
The woman held out her hand to Gracie. “Yes, and you must be Miss McAllister.”
“Gracie, please. Can I get you a coffee?”
“No, that’s all right, honey. I already had some.” Margaret took off her coat and draped it over the back of the chair. “I just thought this would be a quiet place for us to talk.”
“Yes, of course.” Gracie sat down across from her, anxious for any news about Pip. “How is Jocelyn?”
“Oh, she’s doing all right. Quiet, like I said.” Margaret hesitated, then cleared her throat. “I think she misses you.”
Gracie wasn’t sure how to respond at first, so she just went for honestly. “I miss her too.”
“I don’t want you to think me heartless, not bringing her with me today, but I wanted to meet you myself and get a feel for you as a person.”
“Believe me, I understand. She’s your family.”
Margaret grimaced at the word, and Gracie wondered what she’d said wrong.
“Well, I’m a little thin on relatives willing to step up and help me with her, even her own grandmother, my eldest daughter.”
Gracie’s jaw tightened. She couldn’t imagine not being there for her family, especially if they needed her.
“I’m so sorry to hear that,” Gracie said. “I was a little surprised to find out you were her great-grandmother.”
“Well, I had my daughter when I was barely twenty, and my daughter had my granddaughter when she was just sixteen. I guess you could say I was the only one who ever had my life together; Lord knows all of my children seem to have struggled through life and their children, well…” Margaret shook her head. “I was ashamed when I heard what my granddaughter did to Jocelyn, leaving her with that woman. Makes me so mad and sad at the same time.” Margaret seemed to get a hold of herself. “But I don’t mean to burden you with all my family drama.”
“I don’t mind. I was curious about you all, but I am sorry that your children aren’t stepping up to help you.”
Margaret shrugged. “There’s nothing I can do about it now. I thought I raised them better, but apparently, I failed.”
The older woman’s voice was so dejected that Gracie reached out for her hand to squeeze. “You know, sometimes kids are just screwed up through no fault of their parents’.”
“Well, I wish that were true, honey.” Margaret used her free hand to wipe at her wet eyes. “You’re a good soul, you know that? I could tell over the phone I was going to like you right off.”
“Thank you, I appreciate that.”
“Which is why I want you to adopt Jocelyn.”
Gracie jumped in surprise. “But…why? Don’t you want her?”
“Of course I do. She is the sweetest thing, but I… The week before Jocelyn came to live with me, I had some tests run. Turns out I won’t be around to raise Jocelyn like I’d hoped.”
Gracie’s chest ached for her, and she put her other hand over their clasped ones.
“And I’ve been asking the rest of my family if anyone would take her in, but they just…they’re just selfish.”
“Do they know what’s going on with you?” Gracie asked.
“Yes, but…they have children of their own, lives of their own, and the rest I wouldn’t give a dog I didn’t like.”
Gracie bit her lip to keep from laughing, which would have been very inappropriate. “Are you sure you want me? What if they change their mind?”
“They won’t. I guarantee it. Besides, as her legal guardian, I plan to relinquish my rights, and as long as no one contests it, you can file for guardianship, then adoption.”
Her heart wouldn’t stop drumming. “When?”
“I’d like to keep her through the holidays if it’s all right with you,” Margaret said. “And visitation.”
“Of course, that isn’t even a question.”
Margaret gave her a small smile. “According to the doctors, you shouldn’t have to deal with me long.”
“Stop, please.”
Margaret was quiet for several seconds, and Gracie broke the silence. “Can I see her? Soon, I mean.”
“Yes, I think that would be good. We can set it up and plan where to go from here.”
“Great. Oh, I brought Pip’s Christmas present with me. I left it in the car in case…well, in case this didn’t go well.”
Margaret smiled. “Why don’t you hang on to it and give it to her this weekend? We’ll make arrangements.”
“Thank you so much.” Gracie was so filled with warmth and excitement, she couldn’t wait to tell…
Eric.
She wanted to be able to call Eric and tell him all about it, but she’d been a shit. A lily-livered coward, and all over her own mixed feelings about what they were to each other. They were friends who occasionally fought, had sex, and confided in each other. There was nothing wrong with that. She just had to remember that was all this was.
* * *
Eric wasn’t an idiot. He knew that Gracie was avoiding him, but he’d be damned if he was going to let her know that it bothered him. He’d waited for her to call, to check in on him and see if he’d gotten a call from the shelter, but she hadn’t bothered. Just like he hadn’t checked in on her coffee date with Pip’s grandmother.
So, they were both stubborn idiots. At least his pride was intact.
As it turned out, he’d gotten the call that no one had claimed the dog and he was welcome to come pick him up. He was excited and nervous at the same time. The minute he’d met him, Eric had sensed a kinship with the shy, fuzzy dog, but hadn’t been sure until he’d touched him. If the owners had claimed him, Eric would have just chalked it up to sentimentality, but here he was, parked in front of the shelter. Things really did seem to happen for a reason.
Eric got out and went inside. The place was quiet compared to the bustle of last week, and the receptionist immediately smiled at him.
“You’re Eric, right?” she said.
He was a little surprised she’d remembered who he was, until he caught the look in her eye. The one that clearly said she was available and interested.
If only he was.
“Yeah, I’m here to pick up my dog.”
“I’ll have someone grab him for you.”
She called one of the volunteers over, who then went into the back. The woman leaned onto the counter, as close as she could get to him. “Do you know what you’re going to name him?”
“Not yet. I figured we’d get to know each other and something would come to mind.”
“I understand completely. I’ve been fostering a dog for three weeks, and I still haven’t come up with a name that really fits her. She’s all black and has mange, so I was kind of thinking Vada, for Darth Vader, but nothing sticks.”
Eric saw the guy holding his new dog’s leash, and a wide grin spread over his face. As if the dog recognized him, he started to trot faster, pulling on the leash. Eric found himself with his arms full of sixty pounds of soft fur and warm, wet kisses on his face.
“You’re sure he’s not yours?” the receptionist asked.
Eric hugged the dog to him. “He is now.”
He set the dog on his feet and held on to the leash as the volunteer handed him a packet full of his papers and his microchip and rabies tag. Since he had been neutered when they found him, they didn’t have to come back for surgery. The two of them headed outside without looking back, and when he opened the passenger door, the dog jumped in, turned twice on the seat, and sat down.
Eric closed the door with a laugh, and once he got in, he received several more enthusiastic kisses as he started the car.
“Hey, I like you too, buddy, but you are in serious need of a toothbrush.”
The dog snapped his mouth closed, as if his breath would scare Eric away. Eric headed out onto the road and back toward the main part of Twin. He figured they’d go to PetSmart, do a little shopping, and head to the McDonald’s drive-through for food.
By the time Eric and his new dog got home, it was well past three. He hadn’t even written his Small Town Scandals column yet, he’d been so busy.
He sat down at the kitchen table with his laptop, keeping an eye on the dog as he explored the place. Eric realized he didn’t even know if the dog was housebroken. Crap, he hoped he was.
As Eric waited for the machine to boot up, his mind kept straying to Gracie and he grew irritated. They were supposed to be partners in this, and for some reason, he’d spooked her. Had she somehow sensed his feelings were deeper than he’d let on?
Whatever was going on with them, she’d agreed to a bargain with him and he’d kept his end. She needed to keep hers.
He opened up a Word document and tapped away, his fingers flying faster the more his annoyance took hold. By the time he finished, he had a full page written up and he sent it to Jim without second-guessing himself. If Gracie got pissed about his underhanded tactics, she’d just have to get off her butt and tell him herself.
When it was time for him to head into work, he locked the dog into the kennel he’d bought him. He hated leaving him on their first day together, but hopefully, he’d be back early.
To his surprise, his parents were at the bar when he got there, and Grant was nowhere to be seen.
“Hey, what are you guys doing here?”
“Your brother’s got the flu, and Jose had car trouble. So, we thought we’d come in and give you a hand.”
Eric was relieved he had the help. There was nothing worse than dealing with a bunch of drunks alone. “That sucks for Grant, but it’s good to see you two behind the bar. I forgot what that looks like.”
“Hey, we’ve been tending bar a long time, sonny, and we deserve to take it easy in our golden years,” his dad said.
The night went by fast for a Tuesday; the same guys who always came in to wind down after work and the same girls trolling. He went to the back storeroom to grab another case of beer and heard a sound behind him. He turned and watched his mom come over to grab another case. She lifted it up and looked at him straight on as she said, “I like Gracie.”
An involuntary smile spread across his face. “Me too.”
His mother seemed to have something on her mind, so he set the case down with a sigh. “All right, Mom, spit it out.”
She set her case down too and touched his arm. “Are you sure she’s right for you? She’s kind of a flibbertigibbet.”
He laughed at the term. “She’s got a bad track record, yeah, but she’s a nice woman. She makes me happy.”
“But does she love you? I won’t stand for her hurting my baby, no matter how good her coffee is.”
Eric turned and grabbed the case again, avoiding the whole talk of feelings with his mother. “And on that note, it’s none of your business. But I do appreciate the sentiment.”
She pinched his cheek as he walked by, and he cursed. He didn’t know why mothers felt like they could reduce their grown-ass sons to grumbling children, but Connie Henderson had it down to a science.
About an hour before close, Eric handed off a lemon drop to Kirsten, and she gave him a pout he was sure she meant to be sexy but it just rubbed him wrong. “You haven’t called me, Eric. I thought maybe after Halloween, we could have made this a more permanent thing.”
Eric almost grimaced thinking about the night of the Halloween Ball. He’d been mad at Gracie for having a date with that tool Darrin, and when Kirsten had come on to him, he’d gone with it. Kirsten was nice enough, but she didn’t stir anything up inside him.
Not the way Gracie did.
“Sorry about that, Kirsten, but I’m actually seeing someone.”
His blunt answer must have surprised her, because her cheeks turned rosy and her eyes widened. “Wow, for how long?”
He shrugged. “A couple of weeks. I wasn’t trying to lead you on that night, and I don’t mean to hurt your feelings now, but—”
She interrupted him, her tone nonchalant and casual. “I get it, Eric, no need to explain. It was just a one-time thing. Who’s the lucky girl, though?”
“Gracie McAllister.”
Kirsten’s frown intensified. “I thought that was just a rumor. I always figured her and Mike Stevens would end up together.”
Eric felt that jealous worm creep toward the surface. “No, she’s dating me.”
“Oh, well, good for you. I hope it works out for you both. You know how that girl likes to get around.”
The dig wasn’t lost on him, but he let it go. “Appreciate the well wishes, Kirsten, and catching up, but I need to get back to it. That will be six for the drink.”
She handed him a five and several ones. She leaned over the bar, pushing up her breasts and fluttering her lashes. “I’ll see you around, Eric. You can always give me a call if things don’t work out with Gracie.”
Eric backed away from the predatory gleam in her eye and felt a bit like a cornered antelope when a hunter had it in their sights. “Thanks for the offer, but we’re pretty solid.”
As Kirsten walked away, shaking her ass for his benefit, he wondered what in the hell was up with the women around him. It was as though they could sense he was attached, even fake attached, and it made them crazy.
It almost made him regret the column he sent in. But he suspected that Gracie’s reaction would be worth the discomfort.