Fallen from Grace (33 page)

“Don’t get into any trouble while we’re gone,” she said to Charlie. He meowed and yawned.

Grace placed the remainder of her clothes in the suitcase and zipped it. She carried it to the front door, then grabbed a glass of water from the kitchen.

Judas was so deep in thought he hadn’t even budged an inch. Walking over to the couch, she sat next to him and saw a grin curve his delicious lips. “I’m almost done, I promise,” he said, still typing. “Are you finished packing?” She nodded.

He stopped writing and closed his computer, then sat it on the coffee table and pulled her onto his lap. She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck as he intertwined his fingers in her hair and kissed her lips. His tongue slid into her mouth. Grace loved him more than anything, and she didn’t want to lose him.

She pulled away. “We should get on the road.”

Judas cupped her cheek. “Okay.”

Climbing off his lap, she grabbed her jacket out of the closet and pulled it on, then handed Judas his. After he put it on, he picked up her luggage, then slipped his duffel bag onto his shoulder and waited for her to grab her purse and open the door. She stepped across the hall as he closed it behind them and knocked on Mrs. Henderson’s door.

The familiar sound of her yappy dog permeated through the thick wood. She answered the door and gave Grace a warm smile. “We’re heading out of town now,” Grace said, handing the key to her apartment over. “Thank you so much for taking care of Charlie. You have my phone number if anything happens.”

“He’ll be just fine, dear. He’s a cat, not a child.”

Grace’s stomach tensed. “Of course.”

Mrs. Henderson waved at her and Judas. “Have a safe trip.”

They headed to the freeway and started the seven hour drive to Canton, Ohio. They could have flown and been there in less than an hour, but Judas was adamant about driving.

“Let’s listen to some music.” The silence was killing Grace. She knew there was only so many times a person could ask what was wrong before it started to drive a wedge between them, but she was truly scared and nervous about…

She couldn’t even form the words in her mind, so how was she supposed to tell him?

“Why don’t we talk?” he asked.

“Okay,” she murmured hesitantly as she glanced out the window. It was going to be a long seven hours.

“Are you worried about leaving your patients?”

“No, I know they are going to be in good hands.”

Judas nodded as he rested his elbow against the bottom of his window and his hand on his mouth while the other gripped the steering wheel. He was anxious, and Grace hated herself for causing the emotion. She desperately wanted to tell him the truth, but she was scared—scared he might leave her, and scared he’d hate her for ruining his dreams.

The hours passed slowly, and as they neared Canton, she felt his anxiety grow. His jaw was tight, his gaze was focused on the road, and she could see the worry in his eyes. It was bad enough she was being distant, but he was about to see his mother’s family—a family Jack had kept him and his mother from. Grace was supposed to be Judas’s rock; she was supposed to give him strength. Instead, she was making him weak and insecure.

They took the exit that led to his grandparent’s farm and headed south, then took a gravel road that seemed to go on forever. Finally, Judas pulled into a driveway and stopped in front of a three story, white house with a wraparound porch.

“What a beautiful house,” Grace said.

“It really is, isn’t it? It’s just like I remember.”

She laid her hand on his and he looked over at her, then gave her a tight smile. A big brown dog was suddenly barking in front of the car, and the noise brought people onto the front porch of the house. Grace saw an elderly man and woman. The man draped his arm over the woman’s shoulder as she clutched her hands to her mouth, then waved.

Grace looked at Judas. “You can do this, I’m here for you.”

He turned to her. “I just wish you would tell me what’s going on with you.” When she attempted to deny it, he held his hand up. “Don’t, Grace. I love you more than anything in this world, but I can’t take one more
I’m
fine
from your lips. I know something is wrong.”

She removed her hand from his and laid it in her lap. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, just promise you’ll be honest with me, and I’ll
promise
I won’t be mad. I just want the truth.”

She nodded. “Okay, I promise. I’ll tell you later.”

Judas looked relieved. He leaned over and kissed her, then opened his door and stepped out. Grace climbed out of the car, and shut the door before walking to the front of the car where Judas was standing. She intertwined their fingers together and walked with him up the porch steps.

His grandfather pulled Judas into a hug, and when his grandmother took her turn, he grabbed Grace and hugged her too. Children came running from the house, and a young couple followed behind them.

“It’s so great to see you again, Judas,” his grandfather said. “This is your cousin Claire, her husband Bryan, and their children.”

The kids ran into the yard and fought over a snow covered tire swing as the adults went inside and had iced tea and lunch. Grace instantly felt at home. His grandparents were sweet and kind, and the brown dog seemed to love Judas and instantly came to sit next to him when he ran inside.

“Is this Curtis?” Judas asked.

His grandfather shook his head. “No, that’s Lexi, but she is one of his offspring. He died several years ago.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Judas said.

“It’s alright. He was old, and it was his time. I’m surprised you remember him.”

“He was the only pet I ever had.”

Judas’s grandfather’s
 face fell. No one mentioned Jack, but even in his absence his presence was apparent.

Judas talked with his family and told them about how great his mother was. Hearing the sadness and despair in his voice, Grace knew she needed to tell him the truth. Lying to him was no longer an option.

After they finished lunch, Judas grabbed her hand in the kitchen while she was helping out with dishes and asked her to come with him.

“Go ahead,” his cousin Claire urged.

Grace handed the dish she was drying over and put her jacket on before following Judas out the back door and down a path. Snow and ice covered the tree branches and the sky was white. He held her hand and led her to a clearing where there was a frozen pond.

“It’s beautiful, Judas.”

“This is where my mom brought me when I was a little boy. It’s one of my fondest memories of her. She was so carefree and happy.” He turned to face Grace and lifted her hands to his mouth. He laid a delicate kiss against her knuckles.

“I know I’ve been distant lately. But I do love you, Judas.”

“I love you too, Grace.”

She shook her head. “I want you to be able to write and travel the world. You’re smart and talented, and you deserve to be able to follow your dreams.”

“What are you talking about? I’m
living
my dream. I’m with you. You’re my soul mate, Grace. You’re my other half. My future, my dreams, means nothing without you.”

She felt her eyes fill with tears and spill down her face. “I’m scared you’re going to hate me.”

“I could never hate you, Grace,” Judas murmured, pulling her against his chest. “Just tell me the truth. Whatever it is, we’ll get through it.”

Wiping the tears away from her cheeks, Grace took a step back and looked at the snow-covered ground. “I’m…I’m pregnant, Judas.”

He didn’t make a sound, and Grace was scared to look at him. She reluctantly shifted her gaze to his and saw tears in his eyes.

“Really? You’re really pregnant?” he asked excitedly.

The smile that spread across her face was from his genuine reaction. She felt the butterflies fill her stomach, and she laughed when he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her into the air, spinning her in a circle. Lowering her to the ground, he leaned down and kissed her.

“I’m going to be a father!” he shouted. His smiled beamed ear to ear. “How long have you known?”

She glanced away. “A few days.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I thought you might be disappointed. You’re finally rid of your father, and I don’t want you to feel tied down or obligated to stay in the city. We’ve only really been together for three months, and I wanted us to have more time together. I want you to be able to write and travel, like you’ve always wanted to do.”

He shook his head and forced her gaze to his with the tip of his finger beneath her chin. “I would never feel
tied
down with you or obligated. You’re my future, Grace. I want to be with you the rest of my life. I’ve been struggling with the right time to ask you this, but this is absolutely, without a doubt, the perfect time and place to do this. I love you, Doc.” She smiled and laughed at his endearment. “I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Judas got down on one knee and pulled a small, square box from his pocket. “I promise to be faithful to you, Grace Winters. To love you for the rest of my life and to make sure
your
dreams come true, for mine already have. Almost. Will you marry me?”

Grace dropped to her knees, on the snow, and wrapped her arms around him. “I love you so much. Yes…”
Kiss.
“Yes…”
Kiss.
“Yes.” She looked into his eyes. “My dreams have already come true too.”

She covered her mouth as he took the ring out of the box and slipped the sparkling diamond on her finger. Grace hugged him, and he fell backwards. Judas laughed, and he smoothed her hair away from her face. “I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you,” he murmured, then took her breath away with a passionate kiss.

The
End
Beginning

Thank you, to my mother for putting up with my ranting and crazy, eccentric writing mentality. And for watching my children when I needed to get things out of my head and onto paper.

For my husband, thank you for letting me follow my dream. You’re my soul mate and best friend. I love you more than life itself.

To my children, I hope you don’t hate me one day for all those times I said, “Just one more minute.” And I promise we will eventually get that puppy.

I want to give a special thanks to my editor, Jennifer Roberts-Hall. You’ve believed in me for years and I can never fully express my gratitude. I’m so thankful, we came across one another in the cyber world and love our chats together. I can’t wait to meet you one day, and I hope this is just the beginning of our writing relationship.

L.B Simmons. You rock my socks off. You’ve taught me everything I know about the Indie World. If it wasn’t for you, I would have been lost. I love you, woman.

To my wonderful beta readers, thank you so much for reading my work early and for believing in me. Tracie, Sara, Brett and Susan; I love you guys.

For every blogger out there that read this book. Thank you, for taking your valuable time to read and review my book.

And for anyone else I forgot to mention. I’m currently typing this acknowledgement quickly so my book can be formatted. If you’re a reader, friend, blogger or family member, thank you for your support. It’s your support that helped me have the confidence to finish and publish this book.