Chapter Thirteen
Grace sat at the counter and watched Spider work. He had a couple of baristas back there with him, and everything operated smoothly. He had this place figured out. He not only had it under control, but he was growing and expanding the place. Not just the place, but himself. His business was growing, which meant he was able to do more for the center. She, on the other hand, had blown it all. She’d thought Oscar was going to help. She curled her lip—had she really thought he’d be the savior? The knight in shining armor who rode in to save the day. Maybe she had. Maybe she’d gotten carried away. She’d kept telling herself that it wouldn’t go anywhere between them, but maybe she’d seen him as her savior, too. As if. She knew better than that, and since she’d apparently needed a little reminder, life had kicked her ass, yet again. Hopes? Dashed. She should know better than to have any.
She’d royally screwed up. She had no way to save the center. In a couple of weeks, she’d be out of a job, but what hurt the most was that she’d managed to misjudge Oscar so badly.
“Chin up, Gracie. We’ll figure something out.”
“I know, but I think you should take the lead.”
Spider made a face. “Yeah, right. You’re just feeling sorry for yourself. You’re the brains. I’m just backup.”
“I’m serious, Spider. You’re the one who has it figured out. I was just watching you. You run this place so well. You run your life well. You don’t charge into things head first, and you don’t spread yourself too thin. You’re the slow and steady wins the race guy. I’ve blown it. You should be the one at the helm.”
“You haven’t blown anything. You brought Oscar in as a possibility. That possibility didn’t pan out. That’s all.” He shook his head. “I still think you should call him and ask him what happened.”
“I don’t think so. He could have explained if he wanted to.”
“I think he owes you an explanation, and I’m still not convinced it’ll be as bad as it looks. I think he’s a good guy.”
“Ha. I thought that, too.”
Spider looked over her shoulder. “Give him a chance.”
“He had his chance. He walked out on it.” She wasn’t about to tell Spider, but he’d also walked out on his chance with her. She was supposed to go to Six with him tonight. They were supposed to spend tomorrow together—she’d thought that was finally going to be their time. But he’d walked out on all of that, on the center, and on her.
“No, I mean, you should give him a chance to explain. Let him talk.”
She rolled her eyes. “Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t because he walked out and …”
Spider gave her a warning look. “What I’m saying is he just walked in, and you should.”
Grace almost fell off her stool she spun around so fast. There he was. He stood in the doorway and met her gaze. That was no arrogant prick, and he sure as hell didn’t look like a worthless piece of shit either. He looked like he’d been through the wringer. What she didn’t understand was why.
“Go on,” urged Spider. “Go see what he has to say.”
“No. Let him come tell us. He owes this to you as much as to me.”
“Maybe some of it.”
Grace looked at him.
“He’s not just here for the center, Gracie; he’s here for you.”
Grace swallowed and looked back at Oscar who was now making his way to them. He still moved like a big cat, but now he seemed more wary than stealthy.
“Grace.”
“Oscar.”
“Did you get my messages?”
She shook her head.
“Did you have your ringer on?” asked Spider.
Oh, shit! She had a bad habit of turning the ringer off and forgetting to turn it back on. Still, this was about what he’d done, not about her. She shrugged and tried to look cool, but she wasn’t sure she was pulling it off. Her heart was pounding; she could feel the pull to him. He looked so stressed she wanted to go to him and hold him, hug him like they’d hugged last night. She got a grip. “What did you want?”
“To explain. To tell you I’m sorry for the way I ran out of there.”
“You don’t need to explain. Your actions spoke for themselves.”
A flash of irritation sparked in his eyes. “My actions gave you the wrong idea.” He looked at Spider who nodded and started to move away as if this was something personal Oscar had to say to her alone.
“Stay.” She didn’t mean to bark it out like that, but she didn’t see why Spider should make it any easier on him.
Oscar looked at him. “She’s right. I owe you this as well. I walked out of there, because I was disgusted with myself. Hearing everything Terry had to say was like hearing everything I’ve been doing wrong with my life. He gave me a moment of truth. He held up the mirror for me, and I didn’t like what I saw.” He blew out a sigh. “Even walking out the way I did shows you the kind of person I’ve been. All I could see was what was important to me, and it didn’t even occur to me how it would affect you. I didn’t walk out because I didn’t want to help. I did it because, in that moment, I was so mad at myself I had to get out of there. I had to be alone and come to terms with who I’ve been and with everything Terry said.” He met Grace’s gaze. “I’m sorry.”
She didn’t speak. She didn’t know what to say.
“Wow.” Spider broke the silence. “That’s some apology, dude. Thank you.”
Oscar nodded. “Thank you.”
Grace continued to stare at him. She wasn’t sure she understood and was even less sure that she wanted to turn it all around again so quickly. He couldn’t just snatch everything away like that and then come back a couple of hours later and make it okay. Could he? Apparently, he had done. “I don’t understand.”
He gave her a rueful smile. “I’m saying I’m sorry. When Terry pointed out to me that I’m a selfish prick, the realization made me act like a selfish prick, but I’m over it now. And I plan to change. I’m here to tell you I’m sorry and to ask what I can do.”
Grace cocked her head to one side.
“What Terry said made me realize that all the meaning I’ve been looking for in life can’t be found in what I’ve been doing. It’ll never be found in a nightclub, that’s for sure. You’ve offered me the chance to do something meaningful, and I’m all in if you still want me.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Spider move away. Oscar stepped closer and held his hand out to her. She slid down from the stool. “You still want to help?”
He nodded. “I do. And I’d still like to keep our deal. If you want to?”
Their deal? It took her a moment to understand. Their deal had been that she’d go out with him tonight—and spend the day with him tomorrow. Part of her wanted to stay mad at him, but it was only a small part. The rest of her was happy and relieved. She took hold of his hand and looked back at Spider who was smiling.
“I’m all in,” Oscar told him. “Let’s set up a meeting?”
Spider nodded. “Okay. On Monday. For now, you kids get out of here.”
~ ~ ~
They spent the afternoon at Oscar’s place. Grace said she understood his reaction, but she was different—warier of him than she’d been before. He understood. He couldn’t imagine how he would have felt in her shoes. It’d been a bump in the road, for sure, but they could move past it. He was excited to get to work. He knew turning the center around would be much more enjoyable and rewarding than building a new nightclub would have been. He’d wanted to talk about their plans, but Grace had avoided it so far, saying they’d be better to wait until Monday when they could meet with Spider and Terry and some of the others. She was keeping him at arm’s length, and he didn’t like it, but he knew it’d take time for her to trust him again.
He looked over at her. They were sitting outside on the terrace, and she was staring out into the distance. “What are you thinking?”
“Honestly? I was thinking about Terry.”
“I like him. What’s his story?”
“He’s a Vietnam vet. He was on the streets for years. He’s got himself a little studio apartment now.”
“No family?”
“None that I know of. He doesn’t talk about anything personal.”
Oscar wondered what his life must have been like. He was obviously an intelligent man. What led a person onto the streets? And more importantly … “How did he get off the streets?”
Grace smiled. “The center. He was sleeping in there in the winter. We got to know him and helped him figure out a plan. Do you know how hard it is to get anything done if you don’t have an address?”
Oscar hadn’t even thought about that.
Grace nodded. “It’s tough, to say the least. I don’t think Terry would ever have bothered trying to find a place to live if it weren’t for the center. He meant it when he said the most important thing it’s given him is community. He realized that once he had an address, he could let the other guys use it, too. It’s a first step to getting back into society.
Oscar nodded. He knew so little. He took hold of Grace’s hand, wondering how she knew so much. “How did you get involved?”
She smiled. “That place has been a part of my life since I was nine.”
He lifted his eyebrows.
“I told you about my parents and how Child Services took us. I became a part of the system. When I was nine, I was placed in the same home as Spider for a little while. It was a bad situation. One of my teachers told me about the center, and Spider and I started going there after school.”
“Like a homework club?”
She laughed, but there was no humor in it. “I suppose, but more than homework, it was about having somewhere to go and getting something to eat.”
“I thought that was what foster homes were for?”
She laughed that same laugh. “That’s how it works in theory, but there are a lot of foster parents who are only in it for the monthly payment. The less of that they spend on the kids, the more they have left for themselves.”
“Damn. I guess I’m just naïve. I always picture foster parents as being warm, loving people who help out of the goodness of their hearts.”
“Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty like that. There are people who genuinely want to help. But the system tends to screw them over, too.”
“How?”
“They tend to get the troubled kids. Kids who are already using, who’ve been in trouble with the law, who have major issues—they get placed with the kind-hearted families who want to help. In reality, they can’t help. They’re not given the support, and they just get a whole load of trouble imported into their lives. It’s a lose-lose situation. The kids who don’t cause much trouble, who don’t have issues, get placed with the sketchier foster parents. They get neglected at best, abused at worst, and tend to go out on their own as soon as possible.”
“How soon is as soon as possible?”
“You age out of the system at eighteen.”
“And what happens then?”
“Then, you’re on your own. It’s tough to figure out how to survive by yourself. I ended up on the streets within a few months.”
Oscar was appalled, and his expression must have said so.
Grace shrugged. “Don’t look like that. I lasted for a while. A lot of kids hit the street the day they turn eighteen.”
“Jesus, Grace. My face wasn’t about your ability to stay off the streets. I just can’t believe that’s the way it works. There’s no support? No transition?”
“Not much. In California now, you can stay in foster care until you’re twenty-one if someone wants to be responsible for you. But most kids are like me. I hated the system, resented having my life dictated by social workers and so-called responsible adults. I couldn’t wait to reach independence—even though I had no clue how to deal with all the responsibility that came with it.”
“And this is a widespread problem?”
“Err, yeah. Like huge. Anyway. Can we change the subject?”
“Sure. I’m sorry. I had no idea.”
“Why would you? It’s not part of your world.”
It wasn’t. He didn’t know the first thing about the system or what happened to the kids who went into it—or came out of it.
Grace squeezed his hand and smiled. “Don’t look like that. It’s not your fault. It’s where I come from, and you asked about it. How about you tell me where you come from? Tell me about your family life growing up.”
Oscar pursed his lips. He’d led a very charmed life compared to hers. He wasn’t sure he wanted to tell her how good his childhood had been.
“Come on. I know it was great, tell me about it.”
“Okay. I grew up in Montana. It was my parents, my brothers, and me. They still have the house we grew up in.”
“Wow. I’ve always wanted to see Montana. It sounds so beautiful.”
“It is.”
“Did you have lots of friends?”
“Some. Hope grew up with us until her mom died, then her dad took her and moved away. We all homeschooled together, but we used to go over to Bozeman to meet up with other homeschool kids for social stuff.” He watched her face, wondering how all of that would sound to her.
She looked as though she was listening to a fairy tale. “Tell me more? Did you have ponies and go skiing and stuff?”
He nodded. He’d always said he knew he was lucky to be born a Davenport, but he knew now that he hadn’t appreciated just how lucky he was. “Yeah.” He hesitated. He didn’t like to tell her just how much he’d had as a kid, not when he knew how rough she’d had it, but she was so eager to hear all about it. Somehow telling her felt like he was sharing it with her. “We all had horses and skied and snowmobiled in the winter.”
“Snowmobiles? I bet that was awesome.”
“It was. We used to float the river in the summer, and sometimes Dad would take us up to the lake so we could water-ski. It was a great childhood.”
Grace sighed a happy sigh, as though she was sad to leave the happy picture he’d painted. “Did you live anywhere near Yellowstone? That’s a place on my bucket list.”
“It is? I grew up half an hour from the north entrance.”
“Oh wow. Have you ever seen the buffalo?”
He smiled. He wasn’t going to correct her. Buffalo, bison, what did the name matter? She was so thrilled at the idea. He didn’t like to tell her that they were so commonplace in the park that he’d never really thought of them as anything special. “Yeah. I have.”
“You’re so lucky! One day I’ll go see them.”
“Yeah.” One day she would. He’d make sure of it. One day very soon.
She looked at her watch. “What time do I need to be ready?”
“What for?”
A look of confusion crossed her face. “For tonight. I thought …”
Of course. The plan had been for her to come to the club with him tonight. It didn’t hold any appeal now though. At least, not for him. “You want to go to Six?”
“I thought that was the deal.”
“It was, but this isn’t just about a deal anymore. Not for me. Do you want to go there?”
She met his gaze. “I want to be with you, and that’s what you do on Saturday night.”
“Not anymore. That’s what I used to do on Saturday night. I’m a changed man, Grace Evans, and it’s all thanks to you.”
She smiled at him suspiciously. “I’m not expecting an overnight transformation, you know.”
“Well, you should. This is what I do. My last transformation was from banker boy in the three-piece suit to the sexy nightclub owner you’ve seen up to this point.”
“If you’re going do another transformation, could you at least keep the sexy nightclub owner look?”
“You like it?”
“I do.”
“Okay. I’ll keep the look, but I don’t think you want to go to Six tonight any more than I do.”
“Where would you rather go?”
He thought about it, then smiled as it hit him. “Do I still have you for the day tomorrow?”
“That’s the deal.”
“I told you, the deal’s off. Do you want to spend tomorrow with me?”
She nodded.
“Okay. Do you trust me enough to surprise you?”
She looked wary again. “Maybe.”
“Would anyone miss you if we left tonight and didn’t come back until tomorrow night?”
Her eyes widened. “Where are we going?”
“That’s the surprise.”
She nodded slowly. “I’d have to let Spider know.”
“Great. You can call him on the way.”
“To where?”
He winked at her. “Wait and see.”