Chapter 9
Michael
“Y ou’re screwed.”
I ignored Rycker’s comment for the moment as I stared towards Mercy’s car as it pulled up, distracted by the woman I knew was inside.
Not Mercy, even though she was my favorite – and only – female cousin. It was her passenger who had me tied in knots.
“What’s that?” I threw back at him.
“I said you’re screwed. She’s not even out of the car yet and you can’t keep your eyes off her.”
He wasn’t wrong. Still, I forced myself to focus on him instead of Grace, just for a second.
“Tell me something I don’t already know.” There was no point denying it. Ry might not say much, but he saw everything.
Not that I was trying to hide my fascination with Grace. Not from him, anyway. I was trying to keep it under wraps when Grace was around, so I didn’t overwhelm her or freak her out.
It wasn’t easy, but she wasn’t anywhere near ready for me to come on as strong as I wanted to. Eventually I wanted to be completely transparent with her, but jumping the gun would do more harm than good.
The sound of car doors opening had my head swinging back in the other direction as Ry chuckled.
“Wait until it’s your turn,” I warned him as we started toward Mercy and Grace. “I’ll give you every bit of shit you’re giving me back with interest.”
Ry laughed again. “You’re not gonna want to hold your breath on that one,” he warned me in return. “I’d hate to watch you suffocate.”
Ry didn’t date much – only slightly more than Levi, who pulled up next to Mercy’s car as we got closer, his truck covered in a light layer of construction dust as it almost always was. Levi didn’t date at all, while Ace, the third of their three musketeers trio, dated more than all of us, including Mercy, combined, and always had.
Still, I had to believe that someday, Ry would meet his match and I wouldn’t hesitate to rub it in.
I ignored Ry and smiled at Grace and Mercy as we drew even.
“Good morning, ladies. Everything check out with the apartment?”
Grace’s eyes met mine and I felt a little jolt as always. “It did. It’s gorgeous.”
Like you then? I wanted to say but resisted the urge as Grace went on.
“I told Mercy I feel a little guilty staying there...” she trailed off as she looked at Mercy standing next to her.
Mercy looped an arm around Grace’s shoulders and gave her a light squeeze. “And I told Grace that she’s doing us a favor by staying there.”
“You really are,” Levi agreed as he joined us, holding out his hand to Grace. “I’m Levi, by the way. I know we met briefly in the kitchen at the diner, but we weren’t introduced.”
My face heated at the reminder of the way I’d cornered Grace in the diner’s kitchen weeks earlier, but I ignored it.
As Levi and Grace shook hands, I pointed to Ry. “And this is Ry.”
He held out his hand to Grace like Levi had. “Jason Rycker. Most people call me Rycker or Ry. It’s good to meet you, Grace.”
Grace gave Ry the same small smile she’d given Levi. She seemed a little nervous, but I couldn’t blame her.
“It’s good to meet both of you, too.”
“Where’s Ace?” Mercy asked Levi. “I thought he was riding with you.”
“He was.” Levi let out a long breath as he pushed a hand through his hair, something he often did when frustrated. “He had to deal with a problem at the job site. One of the subs is half-assing things and needs to get back out there and redo some work.” He shrugged it off. “Nothing new. He’ll catch up with us if he can.”
With that we headed into the warehouse to the walled-off section where Mercy kept the furniture and other items she often used for staging residential and commercial spaces when they were up for leasing. Over the years, she’d amassed quite the collection. When she’d learned that Grace had no furniture, Mercy had suggested that we raid her stash.
“Holy cow,” Grace said as she stepped through the door into the space, and as I followed her, I had to agree.
It looked like a small furniture store, with everything you could possibly need to outfit almost any type of space.
“I’m never sure exactly what I’m going to need, or what style I’m going to want to go with.” Mercy looked over the collection, assessing. “I try to only purchase things I’ll use again and again and rent anything else, but it still adds up to a lot.”
“So, this is where all the profit goes,” Levi joked.
“Whatever.” Mercy waved him away, unconcerned. “You know very well that staging reduces downtime on our leasing significantly.”
She wandered over to a couch and chair combo. “What do you think of these for the main space, Grace?”
––––––––
T WO HOURS LATER, THE couch, chair, coffee table, queen-size bedframe, two nightstands, a small desk and matching chair, four bar stools, several area rugs, and various lamps were loaded in the delivery truck Ry and I had driven, along with the items Grace had brought from her last apartment.
As we walked out to the vehicles, Levi waved Mercy and Ry his way.
“Why don’t you two ride with me and I’ll fill you in on the info Ace texted me.” Levi’s phone had buzzed with texts repeatedly throughout the time we’d been at the warehouse. “Mercy, I’ll bring you back to get your car when we’re done.”
Ry and Mercy veered his way as Levi looked over at Grace. “You okay to ride with Michael, Grace?”
“Sure,” she shrugged nonchalantly as I silently thanked Levi for the time alone with her. Not that he’d done it for that purpose, but I’d take whatever I could get.
Once Grace and I were settled in the truck, I reached behind the driver’s seat and fished a cold bottle of water from the cooler I’d stashed there. I handed it off to Grace, grabbed another one for myself, then started the truck up and pulled out of the lot.
“How are you holding up?” I glanced over at Grace where she sat, quiet, with her head leaning back against the headrest.
She laughed softly, then took a sip of her water before answering. “I’m embarrassed to say it, but I’m actually a little wiped out.”
“Why is that embarrassing? You’ve made some big changes over the past couple of days. This time yesterday we were still on our way back to Lark.”
It was hard to believe that just yesterday morning I’d picked Grace up to bring her back, and now here we were moving her into an apartment.
I hadn’t liked leaving her alone in a hotel for even one night – and would have been more than happy to join her, which was of course nowhere near being an option.
“I know,” Grace conceded, bringing my attention back to our conversation. “But all I’ve done today is get out of bed, shower, get dressed, look at an amazing apartment, and point at things for you guys to carry to the truck. It’s not like it’s taken a lot of energy.”
“Physical energy, maybe not, but mental energy, definitely.” I glanced over at her again, letting myself feel the satisfaction of having her close to me. “Go easy on yourself. Give yourself the same break you’d give anyone else.”
“You’re right.” Grace aimed a smile my way. “I’m not good at that.”
“Practice,” I told her. “You’ll get better.”
“Yes, sir,” she responded, her eyes bright with teasing humor, and I had to look away.
I liked the sound of those words from her mouth just a little too much.
Focus , I reminded myself. You need to focus .
“After we get everything unloaded and set up, I thought we could swing by the pub to say hi to Jamey. He’s anxious to see you.”
Grace twisted her fingers in her lap like she did when she was battling nerves.
“If you’re too tired, we can skip it. I thought we could grab an early dinner while we’re there but if you’re not up for it...”
“No, it’s okay. I might as well get it over with.” Grace closed her eyes and shook her head. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.” She opened her eyes and looked at me, her expression serious. “I know you said Jamey’s not mad, and I believe you, but I’m still nervous to see him.”
I wanted to take her hand in mine, reassure her, but I didn’t. Instead, I did the best I could with my words.
“I get it. All I can tell you is it’s going to be fine. It’s up to you. See how you feel later, and we’ll do whatever you want to.”
I pulled up in front of the apartment building, Levi pulled up behind me, and we unloaded. Within a couple hours, we had everything put away and set up. Even the stubborn bedframe, which had taken three of us to put together, sat waiting in the loft for the delivery of Grace’s mattress the next day.
“It’s starting to come together.” Mercy stood, hands on her hips, as she surveyed the space. “I wasn’t sure how that little Windsor desk would fit with the modern loft feel of the apartment, but I like it.”
“I do, too.” Grace stood looking at it, her head tilted a little in a way I found damn adorable. “It’s a little quirky in this space, and I like that.”
“Perfect, then.”
Grace turned to face us all. “Thank you is utterly inadequate but,” she shrugged with a little smile, “thank you nonetheless.”
“You’re very welcome.” Levi pushed away from the kitchen island where we’d all been leaning, and Ry and I followed. “We’re glad you’re here, Grace. I mean that.”
Grace thanked him again, then he, Mercy, and Ry filed out. When she turned back to me, I walked over to join her near the door.
“What do you say?” I asked her. “Do you feel up to going to the pub tonight or do you want to skip it? It’s entirely up to you.”
“Let’s go,” Grace responded with no hesitation. “I’m not going to stop being nervous until I do it, and I don’t want Jamey to think I’m avoiding him. If you’re sure you don’t mind taking the time, I’d like to go.”
“I don’t mind at all.” The opposite, in fact. “Want to grab some food while we’re there?”
“Sure, we might as well.” Grace grinned as she swung her bag up on her shoulder. “I hear it’s pretty good.”
I waited for Grace to lock her door, then followed her down the stairs. “Just keep in mind that their best chef isn’t on tonight, so don’t be disappointed if it’s not as amazing as it could be.”
Grace laughed, her eyes sparkling as I held the door for her to climb up into the truck. I could get addicted to that sound.
“I’m telling Jamey you said that.”
It was my turn to laugh. “Go for it. He knows it’s true.”
It wasn’t. I was good, but Jamey’s skills in the kitchen put mine to shame.
We dropped the delivery truck at the rental place, picked up my SUV, then headed to the pub. When we got there, I pulled into my usual spot around back in the small employee lot, then walked around to hold Grace’s door for her.
She chewed on the corner of her lip as she eyed the staff entrance. “You’re sure nobody will mind if I use this door?”
“I’m sure.”
I couldn’t resist this time. I held my hand out to her, and my heart thumped hard when she reached out and took it. I threaded my fingers through hers like it was the most natural thing in the world, loving the feel of her hand in mind as we crossed the small lot.
I opened the door, followed her through still holding her hand, then led her down the hallway to the office. I saw her glance to the left where the kitchen was, and wondered what memories of her time here were going through her mind.
We reached the open door of the office and I saw Jamey sitting at the desk, looking at something on the computer monitor. I pulled Grace in front of me gently and felt her still as she saw Jamey and Jamey saw her. They looked at each other in silence for a few seconds, then Jamey pushed back from the desk and came toward us.
Grace squeezed my hand, then let it go as Jamey stopped in front of her.
“Is it okay if I hug you?” Jamey asked Grace quietly. She nodded, and he pulled her close gently, wrapping his arms around her shoulders while hers went around his waist. He held her for a few seconds, leaning his head against hers, then said, “Welcome home, Grace. Don’t you ever fucking scare us like that again, okay? I’m too old for that kind of stress.”
Grace stepped back with a small smile. “I won’t. Michael already made me promise.”
“Good man.” Jamey finally acknowledged my presence with a chin lift. “Hey, Michael.”
“Jamey,” I returned with a smirk.
Hey, I got it. Grace was the focus of my attention when she walked into a room, too. Jamey didn’t feel the same way about her that I did – he reserved all that for his girlfriend, Meg – but he’d been worried sick about Grace, too, far more I thought than he’d let on at the time. I couldn’t blame him for being relieved and happy to see her and know she was back where she belonged – safe and sound, in Lark, with us.
“You two going to stay awhile, maybe get something to eat?” Jamey looked from Grace to me and back.
“We talked about it...” Grace looked at me for confirmation and I nodded.
“Good. Give me a few minutes to finish fixing this damn inventory and I’ll join you. We can talk and catch up, okay?”
“Sounds good,” Grace agreed as I nodded again, and Jamey walked back around the desk.
“See you in few,” I said, stepping out into the hallway, then paused as Grace stopped and turned back to Jamey.
“Jamey.” She waited until his eyes met hers. “I’m sorry for the way I left.”
“You’re forgiven.”
Grace slipped past me into the hallway. Jamey and I shared a look, then I turned and followed her down the hallway and out into the main dining room.
As soon as we cleared the door into the dining room Grace stopped, looking around her.
“It looks different.” She took in the big sliding barn doors that lined the far wall. “Those are new. Even the back hallway isn’t quite the same.” She trailed off, her eyes questioning as she looked at me.
“You’re right, there are a lot of changes.” I led the way to an open table, waiting until we were seated to continue. “The not-so-great reason is that there was a fire.” Grace’s eyes widened in dismay, and I cut to the chase. “It was a messed-up situation and Kendrick’s girlfriend, Jo, got caught up in it, but she’s fine now. The great reason for the changes is that we added a live music venue and event space next door. It connects through those doors. Cal, Kendrick’s twin, mostly handles that space.”
“Wow.” Grace shook her head as she looked at the barn doors again. “On one hand it feels like I’ve been gone no time at all and on the other it feels like a lifetime ago. So much has changed.”
“Some things, yeah.” I acknowledged the server who signaled she’d be right with us. “But a lot is the same. It won’t take long for you to get your balance.”
“Thanks for saying that.” Grace drew in a breath. “Some days it feels like it will never happen. I’m not even sure I remember what having my balance feels like.”
“You’ll get there,” I reassured her as the server arrived at our table. “Hey, Tish, how’s it going? You remember Grace?”
Tish was one of our long-time servers and had an uncanny memory for names and faces.
“Of course, I do. Good to see you, Grace. You coming back?”
“Hi, Tish. Good to see you, too. I moved back to the area, but I’m not coming back to the pub, at least right now.”
Grace glanced at me, and I elaborated for Tish. “She’s doing me and my cousins a huge favor and helping them out with their business for a while.”
“Got it. Well, it’s nice you’re back in Lark, anyway. Do you two need menus? If you do, no problem, but I figure you know what we serve better than anyone.”
Grace and I declined the offer of menus and gave our orders, then silence fell as Tish stepped away.
I watched as Grace traced her finger across the tabletop. She seemed nervous again. Was it me making her feel that way or was it being at the pub?
“Is this weird for you? Being here?” Being here with me?
“No.” She shook her head, then tilted it, considering. “Well...yes. Not anything bad, just kind of surreal. I’m glad we came, though. I’ve never eaten in the front of the house here before. It’s nice to see how it all comes together.”
“I’ve been here a few times to meet people for dinner or drinks and been to a couple of events in the new venue. I agree that it’s a totally different perspective. It actually makes me appreciate this place even more.”
“It’s special,” Grace agreed.
We paused, thanking Tish as she set our drinks on the table, then Grace turned the conversation back to me.
“How long have you worked here? It feels a little strange that I don’t know, but it’s not like we chatted a lot when I was here before.”
We hadn’t. Grace had kept to herself for the most part. We hadn’t been friends, just co-workers with potential for something more. At least in my mind, and hopefully Grace’s, too.
I skimmed over that, answered Grace’s question - a little more than five years - and talked about some of the changes to the pub that Kendrick and Cal, along with Jamey as head chef, had made over the years. Grace shared a couple stories from places she’d worked, both of us laughing over the drama that went hand-in-hand with working in the restaurant business, typically due to the customers, but almost as often due to the staff.
Jamey joined us for a little bit, then left when he needed to pick up Meg somewhere, and before I knew it a couple of hours had gone by. When we asked for the check, Tish shared that Jamey had comped our meals as a ‘welcome home’ to Grace. Jamey also texted me to say there was a box waiting in the kitchen for us to pick up on our way out.
A box full of large to-go containers of soup, pasta, roasted chicken, and rolls for Grace, much to her surprise.
“Who’s supposed to eat all this?”
“You.” My hands were full with the box, so I nodded for her to go ahead of me out the door. “He says it’s in case you haven’t had a chance to stock up on ‘good food’ yet.”
“I do need to hit a grocery store, or maybe not. This would feed me for a week.”
“You know Jamey. He loves to feed people.” I did, too. Especially people I cared about, so I understood the instinct.
On the way home, I swung into a grocery store lot without asking and pulled into a spot. I was being presumptuous, but Grace had said she needed groceries, and she didn’t have a car.
“Ready?”
Grace looked like she wanted to refuse, but we were already here, and she was a practical woman.
She picked up some essentials, said she’d come back for everything else later, and headed for the checkout. I didn’t press her on it, just glad she’d gone along with the stop at all.
When we got to her apartment, I parked, and grabbed the box and one of the grocery bags while she got the others.
Once inside her apartment, we set the box and groceries on the island, and I looked around, knowing it was time to get out of Grace’s way and let her have some space to decompress. She looked tired – still beautiful, as always, just like she needed a chance to rest and relax.
She wouldn’t do that with me around – not yet – so it was time for me to go.
I had just one more thing to ask of her.
“I was thinking...” I started in, before I was momentarily distracted by the bare strip of skin revealed at Grace’s waist as she stretched her arms over her head... “uh...I was thinking it might be a good idea for me to be here when your bed is delivered tomorrow morning.”
Grace leaned back against the counter, a little wrinkle of thought between her brows. “If you want to. Do you think they’ll need help?”
“No, it’s not that.” I shifted my feet, knowing I was right about this, but not sure how Grace would react. “It’s a safety thing. It’ll be guys who deliver it, right?”
She shrugged. “Probably. I assume, anyway.”
“So, guys delivering a new bed to an apartment you’ve obviously just moved into. They can assume you don’t know your neighbors and probably don’t know the area. You may not know anyone in town. They’ll see the layout of not only the building but also your apartment. If you’re here alone when the bed is delivered, they may assume – correctly – that you live alone.
If I’m here, they won’t know if I live here or even if not, how often I might be here – either during the day or at night. They’re supposed to deliver the bed early from what you said. If I’m here early in the morning and you just moved in, it looks even more like I either live here with you or I’ll be around a lot.”
Which I hoped would be true, but that was beside the point right then.
Grace continued to look at me. She didn’t seem upset at my suggestion, but I could see the wheels turning.
“I’m wondering...” she narrowed her eyes... “do you spend a lot of time watching true crime documentaries?”
I huffed out a laugh as I realized she was teasing me. I relaxed a little, sliding my hands in my back pockets.
She hadn’t said yes, but at least she wasn’t telling me to go to hell.
“No more than the average person,” I responded. “And if the documentaries are true, that means that stuff happens. The delivery guys may be the nicest, most honest, best guys in the world, but why take the chance? It sucks, but just me being here will make it safer for you.”
“It does suck, and I hate it, but unfortunately that doesn’t mean you’re wrong.” Grace pushed away from the counter, and I caught a hint of her light scent as she took a step closer. “It’s probably best if you’re here. I appreciate it and appreciate you thinking of it.”
“Cool, then.” Cool? Did people even still say that?
I needed to go before Grace had the awkward task of kicking me out.
I headed toward the door, and she followed me, holding it open while I stepped out into the hallway.
“See you bright and early.”
Grace shook her head. “It’ll be early, but I make no promises about being ‘bright’.”
I remembered back to our conversation when I’d first found her again.
“Right. Not a morning person. I promise to keep my expectations low tomorrow and use as few words as possible until you’re ready to interact with the world.”
“That would be best. And thanks, again. Really. For everything.”
I shot her a mock frown as I forced myself to take a step back.
Man, this woman was tough to leave.
“I’m letting you get away with that this one last time because I know it’s important to you to say it. But it’s not necessary, believe me. We’re all more than happy – I’m more than happy – to do all of it.”
And much more, if she’d let me. Again, not the time to discuss it.
“Well, I appre-” She wrinkled her nose as she caught herself. She let out a breath, then gave me a small smile. “See you in the morning, Michael.”
I returned her smile and took another step back. “See you then.”
I turned and headed down the stairs to my truck. As I drove home, I felt something settle in me at the reality of having Grace back in my world. She was here, and safe, and happy, as far as I could tell.
In the future, I wanted more. For now, that was enough.