Divine Grace (21 page)

* * * *

Jack parked the SUV in front of Grace’s house, finished the phone conversation with one of his sub-contractors, and climbed out. No sooner had he put the phone in his pocket than it rang again.

“Hi, it’s Grace. I’m at the store right now. Is there anything you need before I join a checkout line?”

“No, I’m good, darlin’.”

“I’m going to fix you a steak dinner. I’m sorry for snapping at you earlier,” she said apologetically.

“There’s nothin’ for you to be sorry for, darlin’. You just got your house back to yourself, and you don’t want to lose that. We can talk about it when you get home.”

“I love you, Jack.”

“I love you, darlin’.”

“Bye.”

He pulled his key out and went inside her house. He opened the back door and put charcoal in the grill and started it up, then went inside. He set the table and had a thought. He pulled out his phone.

“Yeah!”

“Hey, Adam, how’s the last service appointment going?”

Adam whispered into the phone, “Like a bitch. I’m in an attic. This is not going to be an easy fix.”

“We’re grilling steaks for supper. You want us to grill one for you?”

More muffled, juicy cursing. “Probably not. I’m going to be a while, and I’m filthy and covered in insulation.” This was not Adam’s day. “Looks to me like you’ve got our girl to yourself tonight. Lucky bastard. I’ve got to get this fixed tonight for Mrs. King. She’s got two little ones, expecting another, and the AC quit on her. After I get this up and running for her, I’m gonna take a nice long shower, drink an ice cold beer, and eat. Tell Grace I love her. And thanks, man, for thinking of me. It means a lot.”

178

“No problem. I’ll tell her.”

“Hey. I meant what I said earlier, about tonight. It’s okay with me, you know. If something happens between you tonight. She’s…hard to resist.”

“Thanks, man. Regardless, tonight she’s sleeping safe. Something is bound to happen soon with that investigation.”

Jack turned on her stereo and looked in the refrigerator for fixings for a salad. He was slicing a tomato up when she walked in the door, laden with bags. He went running, taking them from her.

* * * *

She’d loaded up like a pack animal to save herself trips out of habit, but she’d forgotten that this man was eager to help with the heavy lifting.

“Thank you, Jack,” she said, and gave him a kiss as he took them from her.

“I didn’t hear you pull up, otherwise I would have helped you. I’ll get the rest,” he said, as he put the bags on the counter.

She began to put the groceries away, and then she noticed he’d set the table and had sliced a tomato for salad. His thoughtfulness in helping with the prep work was such a change from what she was accustomed to. In contrast, she remembered the last time she had hauled groceries up those front steps. Owen had belched by way of greeting, eating straight from a half gallon of ice cream. She’d promised herself that after she’d kicked him out she was going to deal with the carton and spoon he’d thrown back in the freezer but had forgotten all about it. She opened the freezer and there it was, still sitting there with the spoon frozen into the contents, jutting out of the half closed lid. She pulled the spoon out, ran it under hot water, and tossed the entire container of ice cream in the trash. Gross. She shuddered, remembering what came next, her hands becoming fists at her sides.

Strong arms slid around her, and that memory, so powerful for a moment, slipped away. She felt his lips on the back of her neck as he said,

“It’s just us now, darlin’. He’s nothin’ more than a bad memory. No one’s going to mistreat you anymore.”

She turned in his arms as the tension slipped away and put her head on his shoulder. “I was having a moment.”

179

“I could tell.” And that was all he said. “I started the grill for you. Do you want to marinate the steaks or just season them?”

“Let’s just season them and get them on the grill when it’s hot enough.

I’ll go change into something more comfortable. Be right back.”

She changed into some soft knit capris and a T-shirt and returned barefoot. The steaks were on a plate in the kitchen, ready for the grill. Jack sat on the couch, and when he patted his lap, she didn’t even hesitate. She cuddled into his lap and allowed him to draw her close for a long, slow kiss.

“Will you stay with us until we know you’re safe from Owen?”

Grace sighed and rested her head on Jack’s shoulder. “It’s not that I don’t want to. I just wanted for the first time I spent the night at your house to be under different circumstances. I wanted to keep that kind of sacred, you know?”

“Of course, and I feel the same way. But our desire to keep you safe comes first for us. We promise that we would behave ourselves—”

“But that’s just it. I don’t want you to
behave yourselves
when I come to spend the night with you.” That shut him up right quick, for a few seconds, anyway. “Why don’t you stay here with me?”

“That I could do, but with some limitations that we need to agree on,”

he replied, caressing her hip.

“Okay? What kind of limitations did you have in mind?” she asked. She already had a good idea, but decided it would be best to get all of that out in the open, up front. His fingertips caressing her through the soft knit capris were doing magical things for her. The spot one of his fingers was currently stroking made her back arch and her abdominal muscles tighten involuntarily and she had to hold back a little squeal. After all, he was trying to be serious.

“No lovemaking tonight. Ethan and Adam told me they understood if it happened, but I want to start out on the right foot. I think it would be unfair to them.”

“I can understand that. You are a good and decent friend to them. You know they’d do the same for you, right?” The dynamic between them would never work if they were into serving themselves if it went against the best interests of the group. She already knew none of them would violate that ideal. That didn’t mean she wasn’t going to at least try to
give back
tonight.

180

“Without a doubt. So let’s eat supper, watch a movie, and try to behave.

If you want to fool around a little, that would be okay. Torture for me, but if you need it, I’ll be happy to oblige.” His words reawakened the needy ache in her pelvis as she imagined them all together in bed, warmed up and ready to take their relationship to a deeper level.

“Only if you let me give you a blow job.”

“Let’s just wait and see on that, all right?”

“I can work with that.” She smiled because he had not given her a definite no.

He patted her ass and then squeezed her thigh and said, “Why don’t I fix you a glass of wine, and we can sit out on the back porch while the steaks cook?”

“That sounds wonderful, honey.” She hopped up. “It’s nice now that there is shade on the back porch. I know Ethan is working tonight. What is Adam up to?”

“He is unfortunately still on a service call. He has a soft spot for damsels in distress, in this case an expectant mother with two toddlers. Her husband is currently serving in Iraq, and her AC is on the fritz.”

“Poor baby!” she said sympathetically, taking the glass of wine he offered her.

“Which one?” he asked with a chuckle as he picked up the plate the steaks were on and held the door open for her.

“Are you kidding?
All
of them. I miss him, but I know how they feel without AC. To be pregnant with no relief from this heat? I’m glad he’s so soft-hearted. We damsels in distress need guys like him,” she said, sitting down in a lawn chair.

As the steaks cooked, he lifted her bare feet into his lap and gave her a foot rub while they talked. He shared Dr. Guthrie’s take on his squeamishness over his prostate exam when compared with her yearly exam, much to her amusement.

“Having to submit to an exam and Pap smear is nothing compared to what I’ll go through someday if I have a baby.” She giggled, making bulging eyes and motioning over an imaginary pregnant belly with her hands.

“Is that something you want some day?” he asked, grinning at her.

181

“Absolutely, with the right man—or men, that is.” She rested her hands over her abdomen.

“Speaking of babies, you need to come out to the ranch sometime real soon and see the new foals we have scampering around. There are two of them, born just a few days ago. Cute as they can be.”

“I’d love to. But—”

“What, honey?”

“If I go out there, to the back, I mean, around the horse barns…Doesn’t Patricia live back there? Do you really think it’s a good idea, especially if I encounter Angel? If she finds out I know Angel, she’s going to go apeshit on him, on me, on everybody.”

“Darlin’, you have more rights out there than she does. She is there by our good graces alone. She doesn’t work out there or anywhere as far as I can tell. She is Angel’s woman for as long as he tolerates her attitude and habits, coming and going like a cat in heat. If you want to see the babies, just let us know, and we’ll take you out to see them, then there would be no risk of a confrontation.”

“I’m not afraid of a confrontation with her. I’m worried about the trouble she will make for Angel and y’all. I don’t want to be the cause of bad feelings between y’all.”

“Don’t worry. Angel can handle her. He’s no dummy. He knows how she is. I wish he’d find someone decent that he could settle down with.”

“I know someone who thinks Angel is the most irresistible man on the face of the earth,” She giggled when he tickled the bottom of her foot, before continuing to rub them.

“Who?” Jack asked curiously.

“I work with her at Stigall’s. She was helping me in menswear one day when he came in to buy new blue jeans. She stuttered and blushed for ten minutes after he left before she finally told me. I’m used to his flirtatious ways, but she was completely smitten with him.”

“Maybe you and I have some matchmaking to do, darlin’. Is she pretty?

What’s she like?” Jack asked enthusiastically.

“Her name is Teresa Palacios. She’s my age, maybe a couple of years older. She lives here in town, and she works there full-time. She normally works in the jewelry department. She’s petite and very pretty. As I recall, your mom liked her a lot, too.”

182

“Now there’s a resounding endorsement. Mom liked her, too, huh?

Well, maybe I need to run some errands in town with Angel one day and conveniently remember that you hinted around about something you liked at the Stigall’s jewelry counter.”

“There’s just one catch, Jack. She’s a single mom. She has a little boy.

He’s two years old and sweet like his mommy.”

“Angel is a great guy, grew up in a big family. I don’t think that would put him off too much. We may get in trouble for matchmaking. Are you up for it?” She lifted her feet from his lap when it was time to check the steaks.

“I think she’d go out with him if he approached her right. She feels very shy around him because he is so direct. If he could just get her to open up to him, it’d be fine, I think. You’re really anxious to get rid of Patricia, aren’t you?”

“Aren’t you?” he asked

“Only in a
huge
way,” she quipped.

He removed the steaks from the grill, and they went back inside.

They ate their supper at the kitchen table, talking and laughing, and then watched their movie. She got up to take her shower after the movie was over. After she finished, she came out of the bathroom with her robe on over her pajamas. She decided to show Jack a little mercy by not parading around in revealing night clothes. She came to him and sat in his lap again on the couch.

“Where are you sleeping tonight?” she asked him, sitting carefully as she noted the erection that pressed against her hip.

“I think on the couch might be best, Grace.” Jack sounded resigned, almost reluctant. “Quite frankly, I want you so much it’s painful right now.”

“All right,” she said softly, neutrally, “I’ll get you a pillow and a blanket. You should keep pajamas here or something.”

“I’m hoping you and I get to a point real soon where pajamas become unnecessary.” He smiled when she blushed, allowing her to get up from his lap.

She felt bad, thinking of him being aroused to the point of pain, and though she wasn’t ready for the night to end, she felt like she needed to leave him alone so he could get some rest. She retrieved what he needed from her linen closet.

183

“There is an extra towel hanging in the bathroom if you want a shower.

It might help you relax.”

She was coming out of the bedroom with a glass when he emerged from the steamy bathroom in his knit boxer shorts.

“I was just getting some water,” she said softly. She’d already removed her robe.

“I hope you don’t mind. I mean, that I’m in my boxers.”

She smiled and wanted to say more, but only replied, “Not at all.”

He unfolded his blanket and got his makeshift bed ready. The unfulfilled sexual tension between them was thick, and rather than draw it out to see what would happen, she went to him and softly said, “I love you, Jack.

Sleep well.”

She hugged him, careful not to rub him or to overtly take notice of the erection standing proudly and reaching the waistband of his snug knit boxers.
Sweet merciful heavens.
She wanted him so much. Going to bed like this just wasn’t right. Neither one of them would get any rest. She tilted her head and looked up at him. His fingertip held her chin in place, and he gave her a sweet tender kiss that melted her knees and had her stomach doing flip-flops.

“It won’t always be like this, darlin’. We can do this, just for now, until we know you’re safe. I love you, Grace. Good night.” And that was her signal that he needed her to help him out by going on to bed.

“Good night,” she whispered and walked to her bedroom, glancing back to see him reclining on the couch, his arm flung over his head on the armrest, arranging the blanket so he was covered decently. His tanned chest was bare, and she could just make out the tops of his hips above the edge of the blanket. He was like a jungle cat stretched out, looking languid, but the trained eye could see the coiled tension in each muscle, ready for action with a second’s notice. He was beautiful to her in that moment. She stepped into her room, and in a daring move, she stripped to her bare skin and climbed into bed naked. Sleep wasn’t going to come easily to either one of them.

Grace felt adrift in her bed. When she moved, the cotton of her sheets slid across her thighs and her abdomen, teasing her nipples into erect peaks.

Every once in a while she heard Jack’s soft sigh or the sound of him shifting like he couldn’t get comfortable. She hadn’t touched herself, but she was
184

drenched with need for him. She wished he was pushing that big cock into her that very second.

Her hand drifted to her hot, wet slit, and a shuddering breath escaped her. She was afraid for a second that he might have heard her and then chastised herself. This was silly. Climbing from the bed, she padded naked down the hall. He lay there in the dark except for a faint glimmer that shined across his chest from the light outside. He heard her in the doorway and turned to look at her. She didn’t care that she stood there naked, but she did care about his pained expression.

She wanted to honor his request, and she planned to, but she knew in her heart that what she wanted from Jack would be okay with Ethan and Adam.