Chapter Thirteen
AFTER THE MORNING chase, Grace’s sisters left for work, and Grace changed into a pair of the sexy cutoffs Reed loved, and then they went to work on the porch. She worked through the morning like she’d been building porches her whole life. She was as meticulous as Reed was, and he got a kick out of her refusing to let him carry the planks or do much of anything for her. With her, however, was another story. Reed taught her how to use the chop saw and nail gun, gave her a lesson in leveling and shaping, and she listened so intently, he knew she didn’t miss a word. Together they measured, cut, and hammered. He had a field day making sexy comments about her screwing the boards, which earned a few blushes and a lot of laughter.
“You’re going to owe me a full-body massage after this,” Grace said as they lined up a plank.
“If you think that’s a threat, you’re sorely mistaken.” He swept her into his arms and kissed her, with an accompanying “Mwah!” earning another heart-melting laugh.
“It looks like you two make a great team,” Cade said as he came around the side of the house with Dolly and two glasses. He handed them each a drink. “I thought you could use some iced tea. With Axsel gone, it’s nice to have a man around again. I’m a bit outnumbered in the estrogen castle.”
Reed laughed. “You are a bit outnumbered.” He took a drink and knelt to love up Dolly.
“I don’t know, Dad,” Grace said as Dolly wound around her legs. “Sable’s kind of like a guy sometimes.”
“Sable’s a tough cookie,” Cade agreed. “But beneath that tough exterior, she’s a real sweetheart. She’s got a softer side. Always has. She just needs a man who’s strong enough, and patient enough, to find it.”
“Good luck with that.” Grace tipped her face up to the sun, eyes closed, looking like a goddess despite the sweat she’d earned and the dirt she’d acquired. How many women would spend hours doing manual labor in the hot sun when they could be doing any number of other things? Not to mention doing it with a sense of humor. But Grace had never been afraid of hard work.
Reed had always thought she was more afraid of not standing out as her own person than of the work it might take to get there. He didn’t know for sure, but he thought that might have something to do with having grown up with so many siblings. The reason didn’t matter. He loved Grace for her determination and her insecurities. She was as real as a woman could be, and he knew he was one hell of a lucky man.
“You raised strong daughters,” Reed said. “Sable’s no stronger than Grace. They just show it in different ways.”
“I’d agree with you there,” Cade said.
Marilynn and Reba came out of the barn, and the minute Reba saw them, she bounded across the grass and joined Dolly. The two pups smothered Reed with kisses. Grace took Reed’s glass and set it on the deck beside hers, then sank down to the grass with them. Reba immediately crawled up her body and licked her cheek.
“This is their playtime,” Marilynn said as she came to Cade’s side. “But I can call them off with one command if you’d like.”
“I love dogs.” Reed grabbed Reba’s head and pressed a kiss to the end of her snout. “Won’t you be sad when you’ve trained them and you have to give them up?”
Marilynn and Cade exchanged a knowing smile.
“We miss them all, but if we kept them we’d have to buy a bigger house,” Marilynn explained.
“It’s hard to let them go, no doubt. But we raise them to be independent and to make a difference in other people’s lives, just like our children,” Cade said as Grace pushed to her feet beside him. He put his arm around her, love brimming in his eyes. “It’s nice to see you doing something other than working, darlin’. I made lunch for you and Reed. It’s in the fridge.”
“You didn’t have to go to all that trouble,” Reed said as he rose to his feet.
“No trouble at all. I threw together a few sandwiches and cut up some fruit. No great shakes. It’s the least I can do, considering you’ve got my girl sticking around without her nose in a script.”
“Dad.” Grace rolled her eyes. “What would you have me do? Be barefoot and pregnant?”
“Now we’re talking!” Marilynn said with a smile. “I could use a grandbaby or two.”
“Stop!” Grace said.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’m taking your mama out for a trail ride.” Cade reached for Marilynn’s hand. “She won’t be able to marry you off this afternoon.”
“Reed, why don’t you ask your aunt and uncle to join us for the barbecue next Friday evening,” Marilynn suggested.
Reed glanced at Grace. “Barbecue?”
“Oh, shoot! I was supposed to tell you about it,” Grace said. “I got a little sidetracked with—” She glanced at his shirtless body. “All the work we’re doing.”
He chuckled.
“Work? Is that what they’re calling it these days?” Marilynn teased.
“Mom! Dad, take her away. Please.”
As Cade led Marilynn toward the barn, her mother said, “Please ask Roy and Ella if they’d like to come next Friday evening. We’re celebrating the completion of the porch, and Sable moving out.”
“I’m sure Sable will be happy to know you’re celebrating her leaving,” Grace teased.
Her mom spun around as if to say something, and Cade hauled her against him, silencing her with a kiss.
“I really like your parents,” Reed said as he gathered Grace in his arms.
“Yeah, they’re pretty cool, aren’t they?” She pushed her fingers into the waist of his jeans. “Are you hungry?”
“I could eat.”
“Me too,” she said in a voice as smooth and intoxicating as a shot of whiskey. She began walking backward toward the doors that led to her bedroom, tugging him with her by her grip on his jeans.
“Grace, what about your parents?”
“We figured out years ago that ‘trail ride’ was code for Mom and Dad needing make-out time.” She yanked open the door and pulled him into her bedroom. After closing and locking the porch door, she drew the curtains, and then she shut and locked the door to the hall. With a fierce, sexy look in her eyes, she worked his belt buckle and button free and said, “This is your lucky day,” as she unzipped his jeans. “I happen to be famished, but not for lunch.”
He was already hard, but when she pushed her hand into his briefs, her strong grip on his cock pulled a groan from his lungs.
“My lucky day was the morning you walked out of this bedroom in those slinky little pajamas and back into my life.”
“We’ll see if you still feel that way in ten minutes.” She yanked his pants down in one swift tug, and then her lips touched the tip of his cock. “Hello, big guy. I’ve missed you.”
She lowered her mouth over the head, teasing him with her tongue in a slow, mind-numbing rhythm. When she cradled his balls and took him to the back of her throat, he moaned and tangled his hands in her hair, but allowed her to set their pace. She sucked and licked, her hand sliding along the length of him in perfect, tight tugs. Her hair brushed over his thighs, and she moaned around his cock. The illicit sound vibrated through him, and when she quickened her pace and grabbed his ass, using him for leverage so she could take him deeper, he just about lost it.
“Gracie,” he said through clenched teeth. “You’re going to make me come.”
She drew back, still working him with her hand, and there was no mistaking the desire in her eyes as she said, “I should hope so.”
She dragged her tongue from base to tip and then worked her magic. The world sped by as her glorious, hot mouth sent him soaring. She stayed with him through the very last pulse of his release, and then she rose to her feet, and he gathered her in his arms, pouring all of his love into passionate kisses.
“We were both wrong, baby,” he said into her ear. “Every day we’re together is luckier than the last.”
LATER THAT AFTERNOON, Grace went to see Brindle at her drama club rehearsal. What was it about elementary schools that made her want to either stand up straight or run down the hallway? She’d never run down the hallway as a kid and couldn’t imagine why that even popped into her head as she made her way toward the all-purpose room. While half of her siblings’ rebellions were wild and crazy, short of lying about seeing Reed when she was in high school, Grace’s rebellious acts had been few and far between. She’d once faked being sick and had gone to the nurse’s office. They’d called her mother, who had come to pick her up early from school. On the way to the car, Grace broke down in tears and told her mother she wasn’t really sick. She’d then marched herself directly into the principal’s office, despite her mother trying to convince her that taking half a mental health day wasn’t such a bad idea. Grace had pleaded her guilt to the stunned principal and assigned herself detention. That was the first and last elementary school prank she’d ever pulled.
As she entered the all-purpose room, the children’s voices brought memories of her drama-club days. She’d sat in this same room beside Sophie, reading lines for plays and giggling with their friends. This was where her enjoyment of theater first began, fed by the support of teachers and classmates. She leaned against the wall, observing Brindle sitting in a circle with the children and what looked like a few high-school-aged helpers, as the kids recited their lines. She rarely got to see Brindle teach and took a moment to watch her. Brindle’s blond hair cascaded over the shoulders of her pretty sheer blouse, which she wore over a simple white camisole. Even sitting cross-legged in jeans and sandals, like the kids, Brindle looked elegant, professional, and nothing like the girl who just a few hours ago had been racing around their parents’ yard.
Brindle listened carefully, offering suggestions when the children missed a line and complimenting each one as they finished. It was interesting seeing her flirtatious, risk-loving sister acting so serious, interjecting information about what the kids can expect when they went onstage.
One of the children glanced at Grace. Brindle’s gaze followed, and a smile lifted her lips.
“Kids, this is my sister Grace. She’s going to help me make the play a little shorter,” Brindle said, and all the kids cheered.
“Thank you!” shouted a towheaded boy.
“Not too much shorter,” pleaded an adorable girl with braids.
“Nat, can you please take over?” Brindle asked one of the teenagers.
“Sure,” Nat said. She was a studious-looking brunette with dark-framed glasses and stick-straight posture, and she reminded Grace of herself at that age.
“Thanks for coming. Let’s sit down.” Brindle pointed to the bleachers, eyeing Grace with a curious expression. As they walked across the room, she said, “I guess Oak Falls really is good for the soul, like Mom says. You look amazing, like you’re…I don’t know. Refreshed? Happy?”
“That probably has more to do with Reed than Oak Falls,” Grace said as they sat down. “I helped him with the porch this morning.” She felt her cheeks burn with the memory of what else she’d helped him with.
Brindle gasped, her eyes filling with amusement. She leaned closer and whispered, “Grace! Did you have a nooner? At Mom and Dad’s?”
Grace laughed softly and admitted, “Mom and Dad went for a trail ride.” She’d never shared her sex life with Brindle and had no idea why she was now, except that she was so happy with Reed she wanted the world to know—about her happiness, not their intimacy. That had just slipped out.
Brindle let out a tempered squeal and hugged her. “I’m so proud of you!”
“Stop!” She pushed her sister away with a smile. “We’re not talking about this,” she said firmly.
“Well, you’re not, but oh my gosh, Gracie!”
“No, Brindle,” she said with a glare. “You are not speaking about it either. I don’t want to hear about this from Morgyn or Sable or anyone else.”
Brindle sighed. “Fine! You are no fun at all.” A smile lit up her eyes as she leaned closer and whispered, “But you totally are fun! This is so good! I’m happy you’re not an ice queen.”
“Ugh! Can we work please?”
Brindle’s expression softened. “I didn’t think you were an ice queen. That was Sable. I’m just glad you proved her wrong, because, you know. You’re always so proper around us, and I’d be sad if you missed out on taking advantage of our parents’ make-out session.”
A laugh slipped out before Grace could stop it. “Thank you. I think.”
Brindle gazed out at the kids with a look of admiration. “These kids are so smart, Gracie. They’ve got the whole play darn near perfectly memorized, and we’re still a few weeks out.”
“Then what’s the issue?”
“These are my third and fourth graders, but we have kids from first and second grade in the play, too. They’re rehearsing in one of the classrooms with two of the high school volunteers. The play’s an hour long, and it’s too much for them. They get restless, and I want this to be fun for all the kids. I think the only way to find a happy medium is to cut it back to thirty or, at the most, forty minutes. But I tried, and it’s like I’m married to every word of the story.”
She handed Grace the script, and Grace skimmed over it. “I’ve never heard of Beans, Buttons, and Bullies.”
“Nat wrote it. She’s in my English class at the high school, and she’s so creative. I remembered the story you wrote for the elementary schoolers when you were in high school. You said Ms. D really inspired you to take your creative writing seriously. I thought I’d borrow that tactic.” She did her signature Brindle-happy shrug, wrinkling her nose and smiling, and said, “I think it’s really working. She’s already writing another play. She wanted to take your class, but it interfered with our rehearsals.”
Grace was impressed and strangely touched by her sister’s interest in helping her students succeed. She had worried about Brindle going into teaching, as teaching was a challenge for anyone and Brindle had never been a particularly focused student. Even in college Brindle was a wild child, and Grace had told her there was no place for wild in a teacher’s professional life. Brindle had sworn that teaching was her calling because she felt she could relate to kids of all ages—and she’d proven herself many times over. Her students loved her because she was down-to-earth, but she was also firm enough to demand respect. Grace was happy to see that attitude had carried over to the drama club.
“Maybe I can find a way to mentor Nat long-distance,” Grace offered. “In fact, I’d like that.”
“Really? She’d be thrilled. Thank you. I’ll introduce you after we’re done. Do you think you can rewrite the script?”
Grace watched Nat, who obviously patterned her behavior with the students after Brindle, as she was every bit as supportive toward them. “This is Nat’s script. I think you should discuss rewrites with her.”
“I did, but she said she didn’t know where to start.”
“Looks like the mentoring can start today. Can you spare her for an hour?”
“Absolutely! Let me go get her.” Brindle jumped to her feet and hugged Grace. “I can’t thank you enough. It’s so hard to find kids who look beyond partying, and Nat’s really excited about this project.”
Grace had to laugh. “Says the girl who never met a party she didn’t like.”
Brindle held her finger over her lips. “Shh. They don’t need to know that.”
“You do realize this town’s got ears in the ground, right?”
“Yes! But they know better than to comment on it, and I’ve gotten really good at being discreet with my personal life.”
Grace arched a brow.
“Okay, more discreet,” Brindle said softly. “Besides, there’s only been Trace on and off for a while now. But don’t tell him that. The man’s ego is bigger than his…” She glanced at her students and said, “Heart.”
As shocked as Grace was to learn Brindle had only been with Trace, she knew better than to hope her wild sister might tame her ways while she was in Paris for six weeks this summer.
Brindle put another teenager in charge of the class while she introduced Nat to Grace.
“I’m so excited to meet you,” Nat gushed. “I really wanted to take your class, but I also wanted to be here for the kids, and my mom said it was more important to see this play through than to work on another project.”
Nat spoke fast, fidgeting first with her glasses, then the hem of her shirt, then her glasses again. Grace found her nervousness endearing and her excitement inspiring.
“I know she’s right,” Nat said, “but I wish I could have done both.”
“I admire you sticking with the play. Your mom was definitely right about that. In the arts, seeing your dream become a reality is a tricky and exciting process. The more control you have, the better.”
As they made their way down the hall to the classroom Brindle suggested they use, Grace realized that achieving her dreams had also been tricky for other reasons. She’d lost a lot of the joys of life in the process. She wondered if there was a way to slow down, and if so, what ramifications it would have on her career.
If I don’t, what will it mean for me and Reed?
Why did it seem like everything good in life required a painful choice?