Finding Grace: A Novel (19 page)

A loud snort of disgust was the reply. “He’s
a rat, and that’s all there is to it. And I never did like no
rats.”

“
He did give you a gift.
That was a nice gesture, wasn’t it?”

“
It was not,” Grace replied.
“He probably did it so he wouldn’t feel so guilty. And he gave me
that instead of saying he was sorry. An apology was what I wanted.
Not some silly book.”

Alice shrugged. “Well, I still think it was
nice of him. And I still think he likes you. But if you don’t agree
with me, then I won’t push my opinion on you. You have a right to
feel however you want to.”

“
I do,” Grace replied. “And
even if I did feel different, it wouldn’t matter. The last thing in
the world I want is to chase after someone else’s man. And I won’t
give Victoria a reason to worry about that. That’s all I’ve got to
say.”

She now considered the matter closed, and
Alice seemed to sense it. She did, however, have one more thing to
say.

“
I know you won’t like to
hear this. But Henry and Victoria will be around tonight, when we
have the block party. If you want to stay in the house, I can think
up some excuse to give to Jack.”

Grace thought about it, and for one brief
moment, she actually considered taking the easy way out. But then,
in a flash, her mind was made up.

“
I’m no coward. I’m not
going to hide in here like some scared rabbit. You’ll be there,
won’t you? And Jack will be there. I think between the two of you,
I’ll have plenty of protection.”

Alice smiled. “If that’s what you want,
that’s what you’ll get. I promise.” She gave her a pat on the
shoulder, turning towards the door. “Well, I have to run into town
to pick up some fruit for my pies. Jack should be back from his
game in a little while.”

Grace nodded and smiled, watching as Alice
left.

She sat back in her chair, letting out a
little sigh. She looked over at the book, again…and thought about
it.

Maybe I should give in and read it. What
harm ever came from reading a book? And what is wrong with
accepting a present? Taking his gift doesn’t mean I’ve given in to
him.

She started to get up and go
to it. But then she stopped herself.
No
, she said to herself.
I’m stronger than that. I can fight
temptation.

She turned to her work, diving into it with
fierce determination.

* * * * *

By early afternoon, she nearly had another
dress finished. But by now, she was growing weary of the constant
sound of the sewing machine. Her back and legs were beginning to
tingle from sitting in one place for so long. She stood up,
stretching. A moment later there came a knock on the front door.
She started down the stairs to answer it, but as she neared the
front door, a sense of trepidation came over her.

Who would be knocking on
their door in the middle of the day?
Maybe
it’s a salesman or something
, she thought.
But who knew what odd people lurked about? And being alone in the
house for the first time, she was reluctant to answer it at
all.

I will look
first
, she thought.
Better safe than sorry.

She peeked through the curtains…and saw that
it was Henry standing there on the stoop. She let out a loud groan
of frustration.

All week long she’d been avoiding him. But
suddenly she didn’t feel like hiding anymore. She paused to take a
breath, to gather her courage…and opened the door. She didn’t give
him the chance to speak before she demanded of him…

“
What do you
want?”

He raised an eyebrow at her, giving her one
of his devilish looks.

“
Well now, that’s no way to
treat a neighbor. You could at least begin with 'good afternoon',
or something like that.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Good afternoon. Now
what do you want?”

He clucked his tongue, shaking his head.
“That’s cold, Grace Langdon. I just came by to borrow a cup of
sugar. My housekeeper needs it to bake a cake, and we’re fresh
out.”

She flashed a skeptical look. “That’s a
whopper of a tale. If that’s what you needed, how come didn’t you
just send her over to get it? Or your girlfriend?”

“
Oh…them,” he answered.
“Well, the little woman is out shopping, and my housekeeper is up
to her elbows in work. So I thought I’d save her the
trouble.”

Her first impulse was to deny his words. But
she couldn’t be for certain that he lied. And if he was telling the
truth, she didn’t want to make trouble for a hard working woman. So
she sighed in defeat.

“
Wait here and I’ll get
it.”

She went to the kitchen, finding the cup of
sugar. When she came back, he was standing inside the foyer,
looking around…and it felt like a total invasion of her personal
space. To have him actually standing inside the house…it was too
much. She upset with him than ever, she approached him with an
angry stride.

"I didn't say you could come in.” She thrust
the cup into his hand. "There. You have your sugar, now get on out
of here."

His expression lost some of its amusement.
"You know something little girl, you can be as pissy with me as you
want. I don’t give a damn. Because I know I was right and you were
wrong. You didn't belong around that back stage. And you got just
what you deserved."

His arrogance was sickening…and not just
because he was partly right. He seemed to take pleasure in
reprimanding her…treating her like a child. She had the urge to
slap his face. Instead, she ordered him away.

"Go on home and take your preaching with
you. I don't need it."

"You need something," he said, turning to
go. But then he turned back. "You know what? A little while ago, I
thought about stealing a kiss from you. But now that I think about
it, you might be better off if I put you across my knee."

Her eyes widened slightly…but an answer came
to her fast. "One would be as bad as the other.”

He leaned a hand on the doorframe, looking
down at her.

“
Why don’t you just come at
me with a rusty razor blade and some lemon juice?”

She stepped forward and pushed him back from
the doorway. "If I had some lemons, maybe I would.” She slammed the
door on him.

Marching back to her room,
she threw the door closed behind her. She looked at the clothing on
the machine, but decided she'd had enough of that for one day. Her
mind was too full now to think of work. Falling back on the bed,
she threw one arm over her eyes, sighing.
Animal
, she thought.
Threatening to beat me like I'm a child. I'd like
to see him try.

But then she thought of the other thing he'd
said…about wanting to steal a kiss from her. In the heated anger of
the moment, she hadn't even given those words a thought. But now,
his statement swirled around in her head. It terrified her to
imagine his kiss…and thrilled her all the same.

She thought back to that moment in the
doorway of the kitchen, when their eyes had met. Their figures had
been so close to one another, so near that she could feel the
warmth from his body. It threatened, even now, to erase any dislike
of him that she had in her mind.

How could one person have such power over
another? Was he a magician, the way he could reach out across time
and space to steal her senses? She sat up quickly, rising to her
feet to pace the room.

How could she escape his torment? He was
there, right across the way. There was no way to avoid him. She
couldn't hide all the time. Seeing him was inevitable, and there
was nothing that she could do about that. If only there was some
way to get him out of her head.

She sighed, folded her arms, and stood in
one spot for the longest time. Then her eye caught the book lying
on top of the dresser. For a moment she hesitated…then she went
over and snatched it up.

If he meant to give her this, as his way of
making her think of him, then she would just use it against
him.

I'll read his
book
, she thought.
And I won't think of him for a moment while I'm reading
it.

* * * * *

Jack and Alice came home at the same time
that afternoon. When they came in, they found Grace sitting in an
armchair in the living room, reading. And weeping. They hurried
over to her, their eyes filled with concern.

“
Sis, what’s wrong?” asked
Jack. “What’s happened?”

She never looked up at him. She just mumbled
through her tears. “It’s the saddest thing I’ve ever read.”

Jack looked down at the title. He gave her
an odd look, shrugging. “I suppose it’s sad, but I never cried over
it.” Then he looked at the cover. “Hey, that’s not my copy. Where
did you get this one?”

Grace just waved him away, trying to
concentrate on her book. Before he could question her further,
Alice stepped forward.

“
That was the package that
was left the other night. I had a bookseller drop it
off.”

Jack looked at her, curious. But she just
shrugged.

“
I wanted it to be a
surprise.”

He raised an eyebrow at her, suspicious.

“
Why didn’t you just tell me
that before?”

She gave him a teasing smile. “Because,
honey, there are lots of things I don’t tell you. That’s what makes
us a happy couple.”

Now he smiled, moving to take her in his
arms. He narrowed his eyes at her.

“
Evil woman.”

Then he whispered something in her ear that
made her giggle. But she pushed him back with one hand.

“
Not now, you big ox. I have
pies to make. Do you want to help?”

He pursed his lips in disgust. “No way. I’ll
leave you to your baking, and my sister to her crying. If anyone
needs me, I’ll be in the back yard.”

They both left the room, leaving Grace to
her book once again.

Chapter 10

“
A Summer
Night
”

Overwhelmed. It was the only word to
describe how she felt when she finished the book, less than three
hours after opening it. It wasn’t a long story for her. At just
over two-hundred pages, it was half the length of the books she
usually read. But it wasn’t the length that had sped her along.
With its heartbreaking depiction of a dog’s fight for survival…its
cold portrayal of human cruelty, it held her in its grip until the
very last page.

She finished reading just as the noise
outside the living room window started to grow. Merry voices could
be heard as people gathered in the streets outside. At last she
closed the book, setting it down on the coffee table with a
trembling hand. Then she reached for the handkerchief in her
pocket, dabbing her swollen eyes as she went to the kitchen to find
Alice. She found her standing at the kitchen counter, putting the
last touches on a lemon meringue pie. When she looked up and saw
Grace’s expression, she smiled.

“
Done with your story, are
you?”

Grace nodded. “I’m sorry I didn’t help you
with all of this. I guess I got so wrapped up I wasn’t minding the
time.”

Alice smiled. “Don’t worry about it. I
managed just fine on my own. I’ll give you a few minutes here to
get yourself together. And then if you wouldn’t mind, could you
carry those pies out for me?”

Grace nodded and smiled. Alice took two pies
and went out. Turning toward the sink, she ran some cool water and
bathed her face, trying her best to make herself more presentable.
It would not do to go out among strangers looking like a blubbering
fool. And when she saw Henry, which she knew she would too soon,
she planned on giving him a piece of her mind. His supposed gift
had made an absolute wreck of her, and losing control of herself
was not something she liked. Having collected herself, she picked
up the pies and headed for the front door.

Outside, it was a warm and soft summer
night. Food tables were set up in various yards, including theirs,
and she went over to put the pies down among the other food.
Looking around at the happy scene before her, she watched with a
smile as children ran up and down the street playing games. Some
were carrying sparklers…something she’d never seen before, and she
stopped one of the small boys to ask him about it. He seemed quite
happy to share his knowledge. Running over to a box on the stoop
next door, he came back with a handful and put them down on the
table. From the large candle in the center of the table he lit a
sparkler and handed it to her. She stared at it with child-like
wonder.

“
How pretty. But is that all
you do? Just look at it?”

The boy shook his head. “You have to move it
around. Watch me. I can do two at one time.”

He lit two sparklers, dancing around until
both sparks went out. Then he threw the used sticks in a bucket by
the steps. Picking up two more sparklers he lit them, and took off
down the street to catch up with the other kids.

Grace picked up a sparkler. Lighting it, she
watched as the white fire jumped and sparked before her eyes. As
the boy had told her to do, she moved the wand through the air,
delighting in the brief trail of fire that glowed from it. It
reminded her of shooting stars that she’d seen in the sky.

She was a bit disappointed when it quickly
went out, so she went back to get another, which she watched with
the same kind of wonder and fascination. When it went out as well,
and she picked up and lighted another, she was so engrossed that
she did not see the figure coming up behind her.