Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
ANGELO
I just get into the pub and start talking to my foreman when my phone squeals from my pocket. I don't recognize the sound as something I have ever heard come from my phone. "Give me a minute," I tell my foreman as I walk away and pull it out of my pocket.
The two words flashing across the screen stop my heart from beating for a second.
Silent Alarm.
"Shit!" I scream, and then take off at a dead run, completely ignoring my foreman's concerned questions behind me.
I had forgotten all about the app Lex put on my phone that's connected to the security system at the house. One of the features is a silent alarm. As soon as the button is pressed inside the house, anyone who is connected to the system is alerted.
I knew I should've stayed home. The bad feeling I had only got worse the farther away I got from the house, until it was screaming at me when I entered the pub.
I pray I can make it home in time.
Jumping into my SUV, I peel out of the parking spot and race down Main Street doing a solid fifty miles an hour, heading back the way I just came. I pull up just in time to see the sheriff wrestling on the ground with a man I can only assume is Jeremy.
Before I can hop out of the vehicle, I catch Owen out of the corner of my eye, charging into the fray. I get out right as they’re slapping the cuffs on the guy and hauling him to his feet.
"Is this Jeremy?" I ask once I'm close enough.
"Sure is," Owen growls. "Go in and let my sister know everything is okay."
I don't comment on the way he barks the order because it's what I planned to do anyway. Heading back to the SUV first to grab my keys, I glare at Jeremy so violently, if looks could kill, I would have incinerated him on the spot. It still doesn’t seem enough, so I walk over and punch Jeremy in his face.
Shaking my hand out—damn that felt good—I head back up the sidewalk and unlock the door to my home. As soon as I'm inside, I turn off the silent alarm and yell for Gracie.
"We're up here," she hollers back.
Taking the steps two at a time, I follow her voice to the master bedroom. I quickly use the hidden key to unlock the door and find her hiding on the side of the bed.
"Where's Everly?" Concern for my little girl consumes me when I don't see her sitting with Gracie like I would expect.
"Ready or not, I come," my youngest's sweet voice says from the master bathroom, and it only takes me a second to recognize what Gracie did. She turned the situation into a game to keep my daughter hidden. "Daddy!" All focus on the game is lost when Everly sees me.
My daughter runs straight for me and I scoop her up into my arms and hold her tight, thinking about all the things that could've happened if Jeremy had made it through the front door.
"Found you," Every squeals when she sees Gracie stand up.
Gracie, being the good sport she is, smiles at my daughter. "Yes, you did, sweetie. You're such a good seeker."
My three-year-old baby beams at the praise, and in that moment, I know everything is going to be okay.
"We should probably get downstairs. Your brother is here."
I'm not sure if it's good or bad when Gracie sighs, but she doesn't argue, so I take that as a good thing.
Both Gracie and I wait until we have Everly set up with her snack before we go in search of Owen. We find him standing on the front porch speaking to the sheriff.
"So he's being extradited back to Chicago?" Owen asks.
"Yup," Sheriff Brasen responds. "Since we were never able to serve the PFA documents, we can't charge him with trespassing. But it doesn't matter. The embezzlement charges will put him away for a while."
I feel Gracie physically relax in my arms, and it makes me feel like a million bucks knowing she’s that comfortable with me.
That evening, as I'm fixing dinner with Gracie and the girls are busy watching a movie in the living room, I bring up something I've wanted to talk to her about since the situation earlier that day.
"Hey, sweetheart." I clear my throat to get her attention.
Gracie stops shredding the block of cheese for the enchiladas and looks at me expectantly. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah, why?"
She laughs. "Because you look constipated. Or like maybe you ate something sour. I'm not sure which, but your face is pinched in a weird expression."
I put down the wooden spatula and turn off the burner where the beef is done browning so I can look at Gracie without burning the food. Or burning the house down, now that I think about it.
"Seriously?" I shake my head at her. "You think I look constipated?"
Gracie lets out a very unladylike snort. "Or like you ate something sour. Don't forget, that was an option too."
I can't help but laugh with her at how this conversation has already taken a turn, and nothing like the serious one I was hoping to have.
"I'm not constipated and I didn't eat anything sour," I'm quick to clarify.
"Then why the look?"
"Because I wanted to talk to you about something."
"Ohhh." I can see the wheels turning and the concern in her eyes. I want to slap myself upside the head for how that sounded.
"No, it's not a bad thing," I reassure her.
"Maybe you can tell me what it is and I can judge for myself."
Just great. Now I have her on the defensive, and that's not where I want her at all. I grab her hands and pull her so her body is flush with mine, her head tipped up toward me. This is normally when I would kiss her delectable lips, but I need to smooth things over first.
"I want to tell the kids about us."
"I know you said soon, but right now?" There is so much hope in her eyes that I can't believe I didn't think to do it this morning.
"Well, not right this second,” I laugh. “I know Livy already knows what's going on, but I think it's only fair to tell Zoey. I'm not sure Everly will understand, but she deserves to know as well."
"When do you want to tell them?"
"How about tonight while we’re all sitting around playing games?"
"Okay." Gracie sniffles, and I hope it's because she's as happy as I am.
Of course dinner takes forever, and the girls mess around more than usual while getting their baths and showers. By the time we’re sitting in the living room getting ready to play a kid version of Monopoly, I'm itching from not being able to blurt out my feelings.
"Zoey, Livy, Everly.” I steady my voice before continuing. “Daddy and Gracie would like to talk to you about something."
My eldest doesn't look the least bit surprised when I take Gracie's hand while I'm talking. And she shouldn't, she already knows. But I am surprised when Zoey doesn't say anything at the gesture. This must be the first time she’s not taken the opportunity to state the obvious.
"Would you be okay if Gracie and I were boyfriend and girlfriend?" I try to put it in terms I think my younger girls will understand, but I'm not sure if I'm making sense to them until Zoey speaks up.
"Does that mean you will kiss her like you used to kiss Mommy?"
The mention of my late wife brings tears to my eyes.
I waited a full three years before I even considered looking at another woman.
I didn't go out looking for someone new, and I would never consider what I have with Gracie as replacing my late wife.
Instead, I like to think that my heart is big enough to love both of them as their own unique selves.
"Yeah, sweetie. That's exactly what it means. Would you be okay with that?"
"Will Gracie be our new mommy?"
The words get stuck in my throat as Zoey echoes the same question Livy asked not long ago. And thankfully, once again, Gracie is here to help me when I need it the most.
"Your mommy will always be your mommy. That's never going to change, and I'm not here to replace her. Just to be an addition to your family. Does that make sense?"
Zoey nods her head yes while Livy looks back and forth, just listening to what’s going on. Everly, on the other hand, is too busy playing with the Monopoly money to care about the conversation we’re having.
"Can we play Monopoly now?" Zoey asks, and both Gracie and I laugh at how quickly she bounces back.
"Yeah, baby girl. We can play Monopoly."
And just like that, all the nerves of having to talk to the girls about our relationship disappear, and we’re one happy family.