Chapter Twenty-Eight
GRACE THREW HER clothes into her suitcase, not bothering to fold them. She was shaking too much to even try. “I can’t believe this!” She threw a pair of jeans so hard the suitcase jiggled. “We were supposed to have another week!” She gunned a shirt at the suitcase. “Stupid!” Throw. “Self-absorbed.” Throw. “Actors!”
She went to the closet and yanked her dresses off the hangers. Once she arrived in the city she’d have to go straight to the meeting, so she stripped off her jeans and put on her expensive black slacks and silk blouse. As she shoved her feet into her heels, she heard her sisters’ voices telling her she wore city clothes and Phoenix saying no one would ever think Grace was from Oak Falls.
Great. Now she was pissed about having to dress for a meeting in the city. She bit back a stream of curses, thinking of all the loose ends she was leaving behind.
“Please tell Frank I really wanted to meet him. I have to call Nana and the girls and let them know they’re on their own for the rest of the auditions, and I promised Nat I’d go over her final draft one last time. I’ll call her and do it over Skype. And Sophie. Oh God. I have to call Sophie. She’s going to be so upset.”
Tears filled her eyes again. She picked up a pair of high-heeled boots and threw them toward the suitcase. They bounced off the bed, landing on the floor with a clunk.
“I’ve got them.” Reed bent to retrieve the boots, and she plopped down onto the edge of the bed.
“I’m sorry. I just hate this.”
“It’s going to be okay, Grace.” He put her boots in the suitcase. “I’ll call Frank and tell him I can’t make it. I’ll go with you.”
“No! That poor man is leaving Monday. He came all this way from…wherever he lives. He needs you more than I do.”
Reed sat down and lifted her onto his lap. “We’ll get through this. Don’t worry.”
He was so calm and understanding, it made her angrier. “Why aren’t you mad? This ruins everything. We were supposed to have more time together. And I wanted to meet Frank and go to Sophie’s shower and spend more time with my family…”
For once in her life, she didn’t want everyone to understand or tell her it was okay. She wanted to stay, and for someone else to handle the issues and investors. That was the attitude of a weak person, not a professional producer, and that upset her even more. Was she not allowed to feel what a normal person would feel? She was so confused, had kept her life and feelings in check for so long, she didn’t even know what was right anymore. But she knew one thing for sure. Pissing and moaning wouldn’t handle the situation any faster. And she needed to handle it quickly—for the sake of the play, and to return home to Reed and spend whatever time they had left of next week together.
She forced herself to sit up a little taller and pull her shit together, but one look at Reed, and that weak girl inside her crumbled again.
“Come here.” He embraced her again and said, “Why aren’t I angrier? Because this is your job, and I’m not a kid who doesn’t get it. We both have lives, roots, commitments. This is a bump in the road, babe. Yeah, it fucking sucks, but you know what?” He lifted her left hand and kissed her fingers. “You’re going to be my wife, and I’m going to be your husband, and there’s nothing we can’t get through.”
He pushed his hands into her hair the way she loved and held her gaze. Oh, how her heart softened and her sadness eased with his touch.
“We’re going to be fine,” he said confidently. “I promise.”
He lowered his lips to hers, filling her with love and pushing away those other awful feelings. He took the kiss deeper, made it sweeter, then rough and demanding, and then easing once again, claiming all of her attention.
Their lips parted with a series of tender kisses. She felt a hundred times lighter, wishing she could stay within the warm safety of his embrace, lost in him, instead of giving in to the clock ticking away in her head.
“Okay?” he asked softly.
She nodded, hating the way thoughts of her long drive ahead pressed in on her. Any traffic would make her late to the meeting, and she still had to figure out the best way to handle the situation with Keagen.
Reed’s lips tipped up in a sexy smile. “I see the gears of your brain churning. I’ll pack your stuff, since you clearly want to break something in the process,” he said teasingly. “You can get started on that list of yours.”
They finished packing, and Grace called Nana, who promised to call the girls. She decided to call Sophie from the road, since she’d need her comfort anyway.
They packed her car, and she stood beside it clinging to Reed, their hearts pounding furiously against each other.
She buried her face in his chest and said, “I want to be five years old again just for ten minutes.”
He tipped her face up, his sad eyes cutting straight to her heart. “Why?”
“Because then I could throw a tantrum and get my way so I can stay.”
“Aw, baby.” He crushed her to him. “I love you, and we’ll see each other soon. Don’t worry about us. We’re solid, babe. We’ll always be together. You just concentrate on handling the things you need to.”
“Tell Frank I’m sorry?” Her entire body ached with sadness.
“Of course.”
She pushed up on her toes, and he met her halfway in another soul-drenching kiss. She clung to his back, soaking in his strength as their union turned fierce and hungry.
“Wish I could stay,” she said between frantic kisses.
“Me too. Love you.” Kiss, kiss, nip, kiss. “Call me the second you get there.” Kiss, kiss, grope, kiss. “And at any rest stops.” Kisssssssss.
By the time they finally parted, she felt flushed.
“Better go,” she managed. “I can’t be late.”
He opened her car door, and she sank down to the seat, then popped back up, tugging him down by his shirt for another passionate kiss. Frustratingly aware of the minutes ticking by and the urgency of her trip, she reluctantly pressed her hand to his chest, the dreadful weight of their separation looming between them.
Neither of them spoke as she settled in behind the wheel. He hooked her seat belt, gazing into her eyes, his big body taking up the space between her and the steering wheel.
He pressed his lips to hers one more time and whispered, “Go get ’em, Gracie.”
Fighting against tears as he climbed from the car and closed the door, she started the engine and feigned a smile. Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry.
He blew her a kiss, and she pretended to catch it and press it to her lips.
She watched him in the rearview mirror as she drove away. He followed her into the street, his hands in his pockets, broad shoulders rounded in sadness. Frank was due there in ten minutes. She hoped her leaving wouldn’t affect their visit. With one last glance in the rearview, she turned the corner as tears slid down her cheeks.
REED STOOD IN the middle of the road feeling like he had years ago, when he’d told Grace she was doing the right thing by going away to college but he’d wanted to beg her to stay. He wasn’t that fucking kid anymore. Why the hell was his mind doing this to him? He had commitments, had to work out the subcontractors for the Majestic, order supplies so they’d arrive right after settlement, and most importantly, he had only a couple days to spend with Frank. It wasn’t like he could up and leave.
Frank was leaving Monday. Maybe Reed could postpone his other meetings and drive up then. Monday felt a lifetime away.
Frank’s car ambled down the street, and Reed stepped to the curb. Frank had enough on his plate; he didn’t need to see Reed’s distress. Forcing a smile and a wave, Reed vowed not to make the man’s life any more difficult than it already was.
“How’s it going?” Reed asked as Frank stepped from the car, looking a little less disheveled than he had the last time he’d seen him. He had about a day’s worth of scruff and his clothes were wrinkled, but there was a renewed spark in his eyes.
“Not as well as it is for you.” He reached into the car and grabbed a bouquet of orchids and handed them to Reed. “Congratulations again. These are for you and Grace.”
Another pang of longing stroked through him with the sight of the orchids. Reed didn’t quite have it in him to tell Frank she wouldn’t be joining them. Instead, he said, “Thank you. These are her favorites.”
“They were your mother’s, too.” Frank said as they headed for the house.
Reed’s legs stopped working. “They were?”
Frank nodded. “That’s how she chose our apartment. There were orchids in the rental office, and she took it as a sign.”
If Reed hadn’t believed in signs before, he sure did now. It was as if his mother was thanking him for sticking around to see Frank. “Want to go inside?”
“Actually, I spend a lot of time indoors. Would you mind if we sat on the steps for a bit?” Frank glanced at the house. “You are definitely your mother’s son. She would have loved a house like this.”
As they sat down, Reed caught sight of Frank’s scars. In an effort to distract himself from thoughts of Grace, he asked, “If you don’t mind me asking, how did you get those scars?”
Frank ran his fingers over his mangled skin, and a small smile lifted his lips. “Protecting your mother. She loved children. One summer she volunteered at the refreshment stand at a local pool on the weekends. I went with her because, well, I didn’t want to miss out on the time with her.”
He tossed Reed a knowing smile, and hell if Reed’s mind didn’t sprint back to Grace, looking like a million bucks in her fancy clothes. How had she remained single for all these years? Were the men in New York blind and deaf? She was the most fascinating woman he’d ever known. And now his gut twisted with longing again.
“Your mother and I were behind the counter,” Frank explained, bringing Reed’s mind back to their conversation. “I was cooking burgers and hot dogs and she was handing out candy and chips. Somebody tossed a plastic ball over the counter, and she leaned back so it wouldn’t hit her face and lost her footing. She was going to fall right on the hot grill. I put my arm out”—he extended his arm to the side—“and caught her before she hit it.”
A chill ran through Reed, imagining Frank’s arm on a hot grill, his skin burning.
“I didn’t even feel it at first,” Frank said. “She’d fallen into my arms, and neither of us realized what had happened. I was too swept up in Lily’s smile. That woman mesmerized me.”
“But the pain.” Reed winced. “That must have been awful.”
“It was pretty horrible. But your mother learned to look after the burns. She took good care of me. And if I had to do it a hundred times over, I would to save her the pain. Even now, knowing about that other man, I’d still do anything for her. That’s what love is, but you know that.” Frank glanced at the house. “Where’s Grace? Did she change her mind about meeting me?” Sadness rose in his eyes. “It’s okay if she did. I understand.”
“No. She didn’t change her mind. She had to go back to New York to take care of a few things.”
“Back? She doesn’t live here?”
“It’s a bit complicated. She lives in New York City.” Reed explained their living situation to him.
“Lord knows I have no business advising anyone in the ways of love, but why are you still here?”
He’d asked himself that a hundred times over the last fifteen minutes, but he was afraid the truth might make Frank feel guilty, so he said, “I have commitments.”
“Commitments.” Frank shook his head. “Whatever commitments you have, and whoever they’re to, are they more important than the woman you love?”
“Hell no,” Reed said angrily, even though he knew his anger was misdirected, and the truth came out despite his efforts to hold it back. “And because I’ve only just found you and I want to get to know you. I don’t even know where you’re living. From what you’ve said, you don’t have anyone else, and…” You don’t have much time left. “I think it’s important to be here for you.”
“I truly appreciate that, Reed. It’s very honorable,” Frank said. “I live in New Jersey, and there’s not much else to tell. But you’ve given me what I needed, which was to make sure you knew the truth before I left this earth. But what you need is on her way to New York. Don’t let our past hinder your future.”
Reed’s pulse ratcheted up. “But you’re only here until Monday.”
Frank shrugged. “And then I’ll be in Jersey, a few hours away. I don’t claim to know much about you, but if that pinched expression and those fisted hands are any indication, you’ll likely kill someone before Monday if you let your gal get away.” He picked up the bouquet from between them and handed it to Reed. “Go, before she gets too far.”
Adrenaline sent Reed to his feet. “You don’t mind?”
“Hell no. Go.” Frank rose beside him, a wide smile in place.
They stood awkwardly looking at each other, and Reed could tell that like him, Frank wasn’t sure if they should shake hands or hug. They both leaned in, then pulled back. Reed thrust out his hand, and when Frank accepted it, Reed pulled him into an embrace.
“Thank you, Frank. Thank you for coming back to tell me the truth and for kicking my ass out of here.” As he ran to his truck, he hollered, “Leave your number for me at the hotel. I’ll be in touch.”
Reed sped out of the driveway, determined to be with his girl.
GRACE UNHOOKED THE gas pump and stuck it in the tank, cradling her phone against her shoulder. She and Sophie cursed blue streaks about her having to leave town early and miss Sophie’s baby shower. Realizing she was nearly out of gas had sent Grace into another hateful rant.
“I swear, Soph, I’m going to wring Keagen’s neck. He’ll never want to work on one of my productions again, and I don’t care. I don’t want to work on another production again!”
“You don’t mean that,” Sophie said. “You were having so much fun with the community play, and you’ll fix this thing up like you always do. Your investors will be happy, Keagen will obey your commands but always be a prick, and then you’ll come back to Reed.”
“And then what? Then I go back to the city again, and he’s here? And what if we want babies? What if we miss each other too much and…” She struggled to keep herself from crying again.
“Grace, you’ll figure it out.”
“What is it about everyone thinking we’ll figure things out? That doesn’t just happen. It takes planning, and you know plans never go well. What if I miss the birth of your baby? Brindle’s going to Paris in a few weeks, and I won’t be there to say goodbye.” Tears sprang from her eyes again. How had she left all those years ago? It felt like leaving the most important pieces of herself behind. She yanked the gas pump from the tank and spilled gasoline all over her clothes. “Goddamn it! I gotta go. I just…Ugh! Love you, Soph. I’m a mess. I’ll call you later.”
She ended the call and ran into the gas station to try to wash the stench from her clothes. In the bathroom, she scrubbed at the stains. “I should show up in cutoffs and boots.” She scrubbed harder, but the paper towels left residue on her shirt. She lifted the wet fabric to her nose and sniffed. She smelled awful.
“Fuck it.”
She stormed out to her car and threw it into drive. As she waited for cars to pass so she could pull out onto the road, she thought of Reed and her family. You’ve been in control of your life way too long. Tonight you’re one of us again, like it or not. We miss you, Gracie. Give us tonight. Please? Her sisters’ voices drew more tears. She gripped the steering wheel tighter, thinking about Nana and the girls and their excitement about the play. Her mind traveled to Reed and the night they’d watched the movie at the Majestic. This would never happen in the city.
She looked at her gorgeous ring, the exact design she’d fallen in love with years ago, and her heart felt full to near bursting. She thought of the prom and Reed’s perfectly romantic proposal, how the community welcomed her, and she knew what she wanted—what she had—to do.
“That would never happen in the city,” she said as she distractedly pulled out of the parking lot. She heard the sound of screeching brakes and screamed as a truck barreled toward the side of her car. She went for the gas, but hit the brake, and her body jerked forward against the steering wheel. She slammed her foot on the gas as the truck fishtailed, the back end nearly smacking into the rear of her car just as she sped across the road. She swerved onto the curb and slammed on the brakes, gripping the steering wheel so tight she wasn’t sure she could let go. Then her door opened and Reed was there, pulling her into his arms, fear blazing in his eyes as he ran his hands all over her, checking to make sure she was whole.
“Baby. Are you okay?”
“Yes,” she said, nearly frozen in shock. “No. I’m not okay. I can’t do this,” flew from her lungs. “Ten years was a long time. I don’t want to do it anymore. I don’t want to be apart. I’ll move back. I need to be with you.”
He clutched her to him as if he would never let her go. “No, Gracie. I’ll back out of the Majestic deal and go to New York. I can work anywhere, but you have a life there.”
“No! Keep the Majestic! I’ll invest in it. We can both put our talents to work and bring it back to life together. My life is here, Reed, with you and my family and Sophie and the girls and…” She gasped a breath. “Cowboy boots and ‘y’alls’—” Sobs burst from her lungs as she crumpled against him, and Reed was right there holding her up, her strength, her love, her forever.
She gazed into his midnight-blue eyes as tears slid down her cheeks, and she said, “So much for easy and doable.”
A crooked smile lifted his lips. “We’ve never been easy, but we’ve always been doable.”