Chapter 18
Nathan left his window open a few inches before exiting the truck, stepping out into bright sunshine that seemed to have drawn shoppers out early for the weekend. His eyes searched a small crowd of people walking over to the flower shop. Then further down the street toward Ruby’s. He didn’t see Lewis hovering in any of his usual spots.
Maybe Lewis wouldn’t show up. Maybe he had finally decided to leave Serenity Falls and Grace’s life forever.
If that were the case, how would Grace feel? Did she want a father figure in her life or had she had grown content with her situation and wanted to keep it that way?
Grace and Kara pulled up behind him. He checked his watch. It was still early yet. Nathan removed his sunglasses and took a long look at Grace when she stepped out of the car.
He noticed immediately she’d removed the brace she was supposed to be wearing and replaced it with a simpler bandage, a smaller one.
She caught his gaze and pressed her lips together. “Don’t say anything,” she warned.
He put his glasses back on, concealing his eyes. “Is that a suggestion or a threat?”
“I already yelled at her.” Kara walked up the steps in front of Serendipity and reached for the handle on the door. “Not that she listens to me.”
She disappeared inside, and he looked back at Grace. She leaned against the car.
“It feels better,” she explained. He propped his hand on the car next to her, felt the heat of it on his palm. “It’s easier to walk this way. Because I can wear my shoe.”
He only nodded. The last thing they needed right now was an argument.
“A matching shoe,” she pointed out when he didn’t respond.
He looked down at her, appealed to her. “Be careful, then. Don’t hurt yourself worse.”
To his surprise, she only nodded. “I will. I promise.”
He reached out, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “This isn’t working very well for me.”
“What’s that?”
“Avoiding each other.” Which wasn’t really the case. She’d been avoiding him. But again, the last thing they needed right now was an argument.
Her mouth opened, closed, then opened again. “It’s not really working for me either.”
His fingers twitched, aching to pull her close, to kiss her. It cost him, but he kept his distance. “I think I’m ready for my piano lesson.”
“Oh yeah?”
He gave in and clasped her fingers in his. “It’ll make me feel better staying here for now. In case he shows up.”
“What if he doesn’t come? What if…”
“What?” Nathan followed her gaze and caught sight of Lewis walking up the street.
Nathan stayed close to Grace, keeping an eye on Lewis as he passed the gift shop next door. When he saw them waiting for him, he stopped on the sidewalk, stuffing his hands in his pockets in a non-threatening gesture.
“Grace.”
Nathan watched Grace push away from the car and face Lewis with her chin up. “Lewis.”
“Can we talk?”
She nodded.
“Inside,” Nathan suggested, gesturing to the café.
Lewis glanced to the coffee shop, giving a nod.
Nathan kept hold of Grace and she didn’t protest. Riley pulled up just as they reached the door. Nathan nodded his head inside and saw Riley park quickly to join them.
Inside, the smell of freshly brewed coffee and cinnamon tinged the air. He caught Elliot’s attention as they passed.
Grace paused at the edge of the coffee shop while Lewis lingered next to the table closest to the French doors. She turned to Nathan, tilting her head to meet his eyes. “It’s okay. We’ll just sit over here and talk.”
“But–”
“Really.” She gave him a confident smile. She looked to the door when Riley came in. “We’ll just sit over here, talk and you’ll know if something is wrong. Besides, Riley’s here.”
Nathan exhaled. Seeing Riley there did help. And it made sense to give Grace some privacy with this man who could very well be her father. He nodded and turned back to the bookstore, trying but failing to quell the need to go back in and be there for Grace.
~ ~ ~
Grace sat at the same time Riley did, choosing the chair closest to him and letting him begin the conversation.
“I’m Riley,” he offered.
Lewis fidgeted with the sleeve of his shirt. “Grace probably already told you why I’m here.”
“I’d rather hear it coming from you.”
“I spoke with your mother. She called to ask for money. She’s done that a lot in the past.” Lewis shrugged, keeping his eyes averted. “I told her I didn’t have anything to give her and she got upset. I think…maybe she owes someone money. I don’t know. Anyway, she got angry with me and said I owed her for all those years I never helped take care of our child.”
He raised anxious eyes. When neither she nor Riley said anything, he lowered his gaze once more and continued. “I’ve never heard her so upset. I thought maybe she was joking, but she told me your name and how old you are. And well, it sounded about right, considering the time your mother and I were together. And I—I remember you, Riley, because you and your mother stayed with me for about three months when I lived here.”
Riley’s expression didn’t change.
“I didn’t know before I talked to Marlene,” Lewis appealed to Grace. “I swear. We got in a fight one night and she stole all the money in my sock drawer…” His voice trailed off and he cleared his throat, eyes wandering to the bookstore. “She never told me we had a little girl or else I would have come back sooner.”
“If this is what you needed to tell Grace,” Riley said, keeping his voice cool, “why didn’t you wait for a better time? Why did you come in here and harass people and follow Grace around town?”
“Because I was supposed to get back to my job two days ago and I wanted to talk to her–you”–he switched his gaze to Grace again–“before I left.”
“So you lost your job so you could talk to me?”
He shrugged and ran his fingers through his light-colored hair. “I guess so. But I also had to stay to tell you about your mother. She said she might be coming to pay you a visit. And she said it when she was really angry. I don’t know the kind of relationship you have with her but she sort of used to have a gambling problem. Being that she called me for money, I’d say she still does. And if she owes money and figured she’d come pay you a visit…” He lifted a shoulder in another shrug. “I thought maybe I’d give you a heads up.”
“I appreciate that.” She looked to Riley and gave a slow nod. Simple. And probably nothing to do with the star. That relieved her at the same time it worried her. If he had nothing to do with the star, what did? What would help her find it?
“I think that’s it,” Lewis said. “But I needed to tell you.”
“Are you heading home now?” Riley asked.
“Uh…well, I lived here until about ten years ago. And since I don’t have a job anymore, I thought I might stick around here for a while…” He held up a reassuring hand when his words were met by silence. “I won’t bother you or anything. I mean, I understand if you don’t want anything to do with me. I’ll try to stay out of your way. But I used to fix cars at the shop down the road. I thought I’d see if they’d take me back.”
Anxiety swirled in her stomach. Did she want to get to know her father if Lewis truly was who he said he was? Would it be better if he left?
He pushed back in his chair and stood. “I’m just…” He gestured to the door. “I’ll head on out now.” He paused and then reached into his pocket to retrieve a small piece of paper. He set it on the table. “This is my number. I’m staying at a friend’s house. Just in case. You know…if you need anything or…you know, whatever.” He bobbed his head in a nod. “Okay. Goodbye.”
Grace stared down at the scrap of paper. She reached for it and slowly slid it to the edge. “What do you think?” she asked Riley, keeping her eyes on the scribbled numbers.
“I don’t know.”
She looked up and saw troubled eyes once again. “What’s wrong?”
“Mom.”
“Yeah…” Grace sighed. She stuffed the paper into her pocket. “Do you really think she’d come back?”
“I don’t know,” he said again.
“Do you feel better?”
He smiled. “Same answer. Are you okay?”
“Shit.” She sighed. “I don’t know either. This is—should be—a good thing, right? I mean, he seemed sincere.”
Riley didn’t answer.
“I don’t think I want Mom to come back,” she told him honestly.
Riley immediately scooted out of his seat and pulled her tight against him in a hug. “I don’t know if she will, Grace.”
“But what if she does?”
He brushed a hand down her hair. “Then we’ll all be here, too.” She heard a smile in his voice. “I’ll protect you.”
Grace chuckled. “Seems like you might have some competition.”
Riley glanced toward the bookstore and saw the rest of their group hovering on the fringe. “You’re right about that.” He let her go and grinned. “Do you need some protection from Nathan, too?”
“That’s not funny.”
His expression went serious. “Do you?”
Grace folded her hands in her lap. “Riley.”
“You can talk to me, Grace.”
“Not here,” she said.
He set both hands on either side of her chair. “Anywhere.”
“I don’t–uh…” Her words caught in her throat. The conflicted part of her wanted his reassurance. For him to tell her that Nathan was one of the good guys, that she should go for it. Problem was, she already knew that. “Riley…
He stood straighter and gave a decisive nod. “We’ll talk. Later.”
She slid off the chair. “You should get back to work.”
“I know. Don’t go home alone, okay?”
“Nathan wants a piano lesson. I’ll go to his house.”
“Good.”
Riley made for the bookstore, so Grace followed. Maddy and Kara came for her first and she gave a reluctant smile.
“Is everything okay?” Maddy asked.
Kara spoke at the same time. “Is he really your father?”
“I don’t know.”
“He said our mom might come back to Serenity Falls.” Riley slid an arm around Maddy and brushed his lips across her forehead before continuing. “He seemed worried about it, too.”
“Why would that worry him?” Nathan asked.
“She’s not exactly the most even-tempered person. And it seems like she might owe money to someone and doesn’t know how to come up with it.”
“So why would she come back to Serenity Falls?” Kara asked, shooting Grace a confused glance before looking back to Riley.
“Maybe she won’t. Maybe she was just tossing things out there. She didn’t always follow through with most of what she said she was going to do. And if she does come here…”
Nathan crossed his arms. “We’ll take care of it.”
Grace looked to him, offered a smile. He returned it.
“Customers,” Maddy chimed in, glancing toward the door.
“Do you want to go home?” Kara asked her, hooking her arm through Grace’s. “We could go make coffee and you could help me with ideas for my new book.”
Grace gestured to Nathan. “I promised Nathan a piano lesson.”
She didn’t miss the slow curve of Kara’s lips or the lift of her eyebrows when Nathan gave her a mild look. But she only waved and left the bookstore.
Nathan held the door for her and Grace stepped out into the sunshine, halfway expecting Lewis to be lingering across the street or on the corner. But she didn’t see him. She felt Nathan’s hand light on her back.
“Ready?”
She took the steps slowly, careful with her injured foot. Nathan’s fingers were warm through her shirt, giving her goose bumps.
“You sure you still want piano lessons?” she asked when they reached the sidewalk.
He paused to look down at her with a smile. “Are you thinking about backing out?”
With the sun in his eyes, the green sparkled, stalling Grace’s words. Why did he have to smile like that? Why couldn’t he make it harder for her to like him?
“Actually…I was thinking you might want to back out.”
“Why’s that?”
Grace lowered her gaze, noting her eyes only came to the second button on his shirt. “Well, I think you asked for the lessons because it was a good bargaining tool.” She looked up and flashed a grin. “That you knew I wouldn’t accept your help on the website unless you got something in return.”
Nathan chuckled. “You’re right, it was a good bargaining tool.” When she shook her head, he caught her hand, disarming her. “But it means I get to spend more time with you. Come on, Grace, come home with me.”
The suggestive look in his gaze sparked need deep in her belly. She couldn’t keep avoiding him. And, she realized, she didn’t want to anymore.