Chapter Sixteen
Grace looked up as the bell attached to the shop door jingled. Mysti and another woman walked in, a beautiful brunette pushing a baby stroller. Damn, she doesn’t give up. Mysti had been after Grace for a week to get together with her, her sister Ravyn, and her sister-in-law.
Each time, Grace had come up with an excuse. She hated that she had to do that. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Mysti. She did. A lot. But since Beau had— She mentally shoved the thought away. She was doing everything she could not to think about Beau.
“Hi, Grace.” Mysti walked up to the counter and gestured to the woman with her. “This is my sister-in-law, Sabine. She’s Logan’s wife.”
“Nice to meet you.” Grace gave the beautiful brunette a smile and looked across the counter at the stroller. One look at the beautiful child inside it and she was in motion. She rounded the corner and stooped down by the stroller.
“Oh, look at you, you beautiful…girl?” She looked up at Sabine.
“Yes, and it’s such a pleasure, Grace. And oh my, what a divine place.” Sabine looked around. “All the wonderful smells. Are you the apothecary?”
“Oh, no. No, that was my father. And my mother. I just help out. What’s your baby’s name?”
“Lilyann.”
“How pretty. She’d just adorable. Is this your first?”
“It is. I almost threatened to make it my last after fourteen hours of labor.”
Grace forgot to be wary; Sabine was so pleasant and the baby was so cute. “I know exactly what you mean. But in time you forget and one day you see someone with a baby and you start missing that feeling of holding a child in your arms and— Oh my goodness, listen to me going on. I’m sorry.”
“No, don’t apologize. It is the most wonderful feeling to hold your baby in your arms. I never knew anything could make me feel so complete.”
“It sure does. So, you married Logan.”
“I did indeed.”
Grace smiled as she remembered back to her childhood, growing up in Legacy. “I’m glad he found someone to settle down with and have a family.”
“So, I am.”
“Since it’s almost closing time, how about having dinner with us?” Mysti asked. “We’re all getting together at Ily’s house out at the new wildlife center. Have you seen it? Your children would love it.”
“Oh, I should probably get on home.” Grace stopped short of telling a lie and left it at that. Tonight was her mother’s weekly dinner with Beau and he was taking her and the kids to the local steak house. The kids were both as excited as Ida was.
Grace had planned on getting some takeout and spending the evening going through more of her father’s notes.
“Oh, come on, Grace.”
“No, really, I can’t. The kids are going out with my mother, but I want to be there when they get home.”
“Well, okay, then let’s do it at your house. I’ll call Ily and Ravyn and tell them to meet us there. We can get takeout from the barbecue place. You still eat barbecue, right?”
Grace saw that she wasn’t getting off the hook this time. Maybe that wasn’t a bad thing. Well, unless Mysti or Ravyn turned into a wolf or something and if that happened, Grace was leaving town. Immediately.
“Okay, sure.”
“Great, we’ll meet you there. What time?”
“Seven? That’ll give me time to close up here and get the kids ready to go out with Mama.”
“Perfect. See you then.”
After Mysti and Sabine left, Grace tidied up and headed home. She was barely aware of the passing scenery she was so caught up in thinking about her company. She had been purposely avoiding Mysti. She didn’t know how to bring up the subject of Beau being able to turn into an animal.
Dear God, did I just think that? It was too unbelievable and too terrifying. Did Mysti know? Was she like that too?
Grace both wanted to know and didn’t. She’d told herself a hundred times that if Beau was some kind of Shifter then he’d always been that and it didn’t make him any less kind or honorable or, God knows, any less sexy.
But men weren’t supposed to turn into tigers.
Grace shook her head as if that would dispel the thoughts. When she reached her mother’s house, the only car in the driveway was Ida’s. Grace pulled in behind Ida’s car and got out of the truck.
She hadn’t made it to the front door before Theo pushed the screen open, banging it against a chair sitting near the door. “Mama, Mama! We going to go out with my friend! Can I wear my Transformer shirt? I can’t find it. Mama, will you help me?”
Grace caught him as he ran up to her and swung him up into her arms. “Hey there little buddy. So, you’re going out with your friend tonight, huh?”
“Yeah. Mr. Beau. Him my friend. Him taking me and Gran and Sherri to eat and get ice cream. I needa wear my Transformer shirt.”
“Well, let’s see if we can find it.” Grace entered the house with Theo on her hip to find Ida in the kitchen.
“You sure you don’t want to join us?” Ida asked.
“No, but thanks.” Grace set Theo down. “Okay, buddy, you go look one more time in your drawers for that shirt and I’ll check the laundry room, all right?”
“Okay, Mommy!” Theo took off and a second later, she heard the sound of his feet pounding up the stairs.
“So what’s up with you and Beau?” Ida asked.
“Nothing.”
“Exactly.”
Grace cut a look at her mother as she headed for the laundry room, which was off the kitchen. “So? I am married, Mama.”
“Bull. You know you and Tad will never get back together, just like you know you’ve always loved Beau. And I think it’s probably the same for him, so what’s holding you back?”
“Nothing.” Grace made herself busy looking for Theo’s t-shirt, which kept her from facing her mother. “But I just got separated, Mama. What’s it going to look like if—“
“I call BS.” Ida walked over to the door and leaned against the frame. “And since when do we live our lives based on what someone else thinks, Grace Summerfield?”
Grace knew her mother was right, but Ida didn’t understand and Grace couldn’t tell her.
“Well, I guess I’m just not ready, mama. I mean, it’s not like Beau wasn’t part of the reason I ended up with Tad. He cheated on me too, if you remember. I’m not sure I want to put myself back in the position of letting him hurt me that way again.”
That did it. Ida let it go. “So what are you going to do this evening?”
“Actually, I’m having some people over—if you won’t mind. I ran into Mysti and her sister-in-law Sabine and they were getting together with Ravyn and the lady John Luke is engaged to, Ily, and asked me to join. I suggested they come here. We’re getting takeout, but I’m going to fix up a salad and maybe a dessert. I need to make a run to the store.”
“Well, that sounds good, sugar, and I’m glad you’re reconnecting with people. You need friends. What time will they be here?”
“At seven, so I think I have time to scoot to the store and get the kids ready when I get back.”
Ida opened the refrigerator. “We have plenty for salad makings, but you might want to make up a salad dressing or buy some. As for dessert, I don’t have a clue.”
“I’ll pick something up. Oh, here it is!” She pulled the shirt from the dryer. “I forgot to fold the clothes this morning. I’ll do that in a bit. Right now, would you mind if I ran on to the store?”
“That’s fine. Oh, pick me up some sweet cream for morning tea, would you, honey?”
“I will. I’ll be back soon. Oh, here’s Theo’s shirt.” She handed the shirt to her mother, picked her purse up from the counter, and headed back out. If she timed things just right, she could get the salad and dessert prepared and be getting into the shower about the time Beau arrived to pick up her mother and the kids.
Grace went outside and got into her truck, backed out of the driveway and headed for the store.
Yes, she was doing her best to avoid him, but if she was truly honest with herself, it wasn’t entirely because of his Shifter thing. It was also because of shame.
“You can trust me, Beau.”
“Can I?”
“Yes. Always.”
“We’ll see.
Grace felt the heat of disgrace every time those words came back to her. Always, she’d promised.
Or until he told her something she didn’t want to hear or showed her something she didn’t want to believe. Then it was a different story.
Holy shit. The realization had her putting on brakes in the middle of the road. If she was so afraid of Beau, then why was she letting him around her children or her mother?
Grace pulled out her phone, intent upon calling Ida and telling her not to go to dinner with Beau, or at the least, don’t take the kids. But even as her finger hovered over the phone, she knew she wouldn’t place the call.
Because despite what she’d seen and what he’d told her, her fear of Beau wasn’t so much that he was different, but that he had the power to hurt her in a way no one else did.
And she was more terrified of that than anything.