Chapter 34
Grace finished dressing for the party. She wore a long flowy white skirt with a soft blue sleeveless blouse. Checking the mirror once more she took a deep breath and left the bedroom. Truth be told, she was tired. Sid was too. He”d fallen asleep on top of the bed while she was in the shower. When she came out of the shower and found him sleeping peacefully, she wanted to climb up next to him and sleep too. Instead, she sadly kissed his temple and rubbed his back. ”You have to get ready for the party, sweetheart.” She crooned.
His eyes opened slowly, a grin spread his lips and he reached out and pulled her tightly to him. ”Sleep with me.”
She giggled. ”I”d love nothing more. But, I promised Jace we”d be there early to set up.”
He sighed heavily. Kissing her ear softly he groaned. ”I”m getting old Grace. Today damned near took its toll.”
She giggled. ”I can feel it too. Moving is not for the faint of heart. And, we had hardly anything to move. Until your things arrive from home.”
”Yep. And, between now and then, we have a ton of things to do. First order of business, run the bikers out of town.”
She laughed. ”It sounds so easy when you say it like that.”
Lying close together, his chuckle vibrated through her body. His lips kissed the back of her neck, then he sighed. ”Okay. I”m jumping in the shower. I meant to join you in yours, but...”
She laughed. ”I was hoping you would. We could christen the shower.”
He rolled off the bed. ”I love the way you think. We”ll absolutely do that.”
She watched her tired man slog his way to the shower. If they had more time, she”d absolutely join him.
On a deep breath, she rose and padded out to the kitchen. She pulled Chiefy”s travel bowl from her little cupboard, and a little baggy of dog food in case she needed a snack. Chiefy laid on her bed in the kitchen, but she watched everything going on. She was a smart girl, she knew Grace was packing up for a little foray. Her tail thumped a couple of times.
Grace rummaged in the bedroom closet, promising herself she”d finish unpacking things tomorrow. Then they were going down to get Sid”s things from his bungalow and get him moved into this house.
The shower shut off and she glanced at the clock on the stove. They had about thirty minutes to get down there. Her stomach quelled and she pressed her hand to her belly. Hopefully this would work. Hopefully, the bikers would get wind of what was happening and just leave town without issues. They had made themselves unwanted here. They likely did that everywhere they went.
Sid strutted down the hall toward her, a sexy smile on his face. He wore khaki shorts and a white button-down Hawaiian shirt. He looked handsome as ever, but tropical and warm too. She turned to face him as he reached her. She kissed his lips. ”Hmm, you smell good.”
He chuckled. ”So do you. Should we skip tonight? I”ve gotten my second wind.”
She laughed. ”Oh, I think you”d get that wind knocked out of you by Jace if we skipped. After all he”s done for us.”
Sid groaned. ”You”re right.” He kissed her again. This time it was soft and slow and sexy. Their tongues danced together, their bodies pressed tightly to each other. She loved the way they felt together. They fit together like puzzle pieces.
He squeezed her to him for the warmest hug she”d ever felt in her life. He meant it. She hugged him right back. His lips opened to say something, but he halted, swallowed, then nodded once. The realization that he was so touched he couldn”t say anything floored her. It also made her eyes water. She inhaled deeply and sniffed lightly as her nose tingled.
She stepped back again, and let out the breath she”d taken in a whoosh. ”Okay. That was deep.”
He nodded. ”I love you, Grace.”
She stared into his eyes. This time it was more than the beautiful color that had her staring. She wanted to see his sincerity. It was there for her. He never looked away from her. He wasn”t hiding as if he”d just said something he didn”t mean.
”I love you too, Sid. I think from the first day.”
He nodded. ”The first day.”
A chime sounded from their security cameras. Sid kissed her softly. He then sighed heavily and looked at his phone. When his eyes lifted to hers, his jaw tightened. ”The bikers are at the bottom of the driveway.”
She nodded. ”Okay.”
Sid nodded slowly as he looked at his phone. He heaved out a heavy sigh. ”So, if they do something to the house after we leave, we”ll have it on camera and they”ll go to jail. That”s one way to get them out of town. And, though we”ve both fallen in love with the house, the main thing is we”ll all be out of the house if they get so bold.”
She swallowed the huge lump that instantly formed in her throat. ”Yeah.”
”Grace. Nothing matters more than the safety of the three of us.”
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her tightly to his side. ”Just the three of us.” He restated.
”I know you”re right. And, honestly that is all that matters. But, to think they may be so bold as to come up here and harm this gorgeous home, makes me incredibly sad.”
He kissed her temple and squeezed once more. ”Just as a precaution, do you have anything here you want to take with you? A special ring or memento from a parent or grandparent? Anything you want to keep close?”
Was it sad that she didn”t have anything like that? It was sort of sad. ”No. I don”t have anything like that.”
”Okay. So, the three of us will leave here together. We”ll go down to the party and collect as many signatures as we can. And, if these assholes are bold enough to come up here, we”ll have it on camera, and I”ll call the police the instant they break the plane of the camera.”
”Okay.” She stood tall, inhaled and exhaled to bolster her confidence, and get rid of the sadness that had crept in. Sid was right. It was all about the three of them.
She twisted and pulled the beach bag she”d filled with Chiefy”s bowls and food, along with her petitions, a clipboard, and a handful of pens. She slung it over her shoulder and nodded at Sid. ”Ready.”
He nodded, but she saw him take a look around at the house as they left , and her heart hurt for him. For both of them. It was his dream too. They found this little dream that was beginning to come true and those assholes were trying to take it away from them. She was going to talk up that petition tonight and make those jerks leave this town.