Saving Grace (23 page)

As the two love birds pulled back from their embrace, he could see the glow that radiated from her face, and it made him sick. 

As they crossed the room to sit on the couch with their coffee, Zach strained, desperate to hear any glimmer of their conversation from inside but the wind and waves made it almost impossible.

The only audible sounds through the open window were a few mumbles, which he couldn’t quite make out.

Zach spun on his heel, with the torches in hand, and left the lanai, cutting through the property between the two houses, in which Burke and Chet lived in.  Even though he couldn’t hear what was being discussed, he got enough of a view to know Grace had been nervous about something.  And that was enough to make him smile.

As he rounded the corner, he was startled to see movement in the front lawn of the neighboring home. The couple that was previously in Burke’s house was now hauling golf gear into their truck, on their way out for the morning.

The morning sky was bright enough that if he didn’t find somewhere to hide, he’d be spotted in an instant. His eyes darted around the house, looking for a place to hide.

Zach quickly jumped behind a hibiscus bush, bringing the torches down to lie along the home’s foundation, hoping they didn’t see the sudden movement. 

He pushed a small limb aside and peered between the bushes at the couple, as they got in the truck.

“Do you think they’ll go today?”  Natalie asked her husband, as she opened her door, and climbed up into the truck.  “Do we have to go to this stupid golf tournament?”

“Yes, honey.  I’m the main sponsor and we have to be there.  And, yes ... I think Burke’s taking Grace later this morning.”

“Oh. I can’t wait to hear what happens,” she squealed, slamming her door shut.

Where is he taking her?
His eyes narrowed at the look of excitement the woman held for wherever Grace was destined to go.

Zach watched until the truck pulled out of sight, and then ran to his car, which was parked down the road. 

He tossed the tiki torches into his back seat, angling them to fit lengthwise, and then slid into the driver’s seat.

This time he would wait for Grace, and follow them.  And if he had to sit here all day he’d wait to find out what the excitement was all about.

Chapter 28

As he drove down the long private drive to the set of Broadcast Affair, Grace began to twist internally.  Her gut was screaming at her to stay out of the limelight … but she knew it was necessary to find Anne.

The second they pulled through the gate, the security guard radioed their arrival to whomever was inside.  It was naive to think a high profile television show would let her arrival go unnoticed.  As they approached the home, a camera crew came running to pan their car, waiting for them to stop.

Here it comes … the media circus.
  She groaned. 

“You okay?”  He asked, seeing how white her knuckles were from balling up her fists.

“Yeah,” she said, almost inaudibly.  “I’m used to this kind of thing.”

“You sure?”  He slowed to a stop.

Grace nodded and started to open her door, but Burke gave her a glaring look, which told her to wait.  He deftly rounded the car and offered his hand to help her out.

As she took her first step toward onto the pavement, she realized they were on the receiving end of some curious looks from three of the show’s contestants.  It was then that she saw Chad Chambers in his jeep with an expectant look, like he was looking for someone.  In seeing her exit the car, his face quickly fell.

Burke pulled her close and shut the car door behind them as a few of the girls approached the car in anticipation.

“Hi!”  Treana, one of the contestants ran over, anxious to see what brought Grace Aundine on-set with her bodyguard. Treana temporarily gave their beat up car the once over, but quickly gave her attention where it was due.  She was within a foot of Grace Aundine.

“Hi,” Grace responded in kind, but immediately walked up to Chad, and said, “Can we talk?”

She saw Chad’s face twist in confusion, but gave way to acceptance as he extended his arm to Grace.  She assumed there were no introductions necessary as she’d seen Chad in social circles before.

“Sure.  Girls, excuse us?”  Chad smiled warmly to his cast members, and extended his arm to Grace. 

Grace started to step forward, but Burke quickly stepped in taking her arm to lead the way.

Treana glanced to Brandi, another contestant, with a smile and said, “I guess he’s not the body guard.” 

Burke heard it, and frowned toward the girls. 

“Oooh.  He bites.”  Brooklyn, the third co-star, giggled.  “I wonder how much he works out.”

Grace wanted to give the three a dirty look, but dealing with girl drama was not why she was here.  She wanted to be taken to Anne.

Grace watched expectantly as Chad led them around the back of the home, to sit by the pool.

“Here, please …” He smiled, pulling out a lounge chair for Grace.  “I’m Chad.”

“I know,” Grace said quietly, and looked to Burke.

Chad looked at the look exchanged between the two, and waited.

Burke leaned in and spoke for her.  “This is going to be a surprise, but Grace … is Anne’s sister, and we’re looking for her.”

Chad sat back, dumbfounded. 

“W-what?  So you’re the sister, who went missing?  The one she left to find?” 

Grace’s heart lodged in her throat, not sure what he meant. 

“Sh-She’s gone?” Grace stammered.

Chad quietly nodded.  She could see the pain he held in his eyes.  It was obvious how much he cared for her sister.

“You’re kidding?  She what?  She left … to find me?”  Grace grabbed Chad’s hand, and squeezed it tight. 

Before Chad answered, he needed some clarification on how the two really were related.

“Now, wait a minute.”  Chad slowly pulled his hand away from Grace’s grasp.  “Anne’s last name is LaSal.  You’re an Aundine,” Chad said, desperately.  “How is this possible?”

“It’s a long story, but to shorten it up … our parents were killed a long time ago.”

“That much she’s told me,” Chad interrupted, and conceded softly, “We’ve shared some things…”

Grace smiled softly. “Well, our grandparents took us in.  She changed her name back to LaSal after she left home.  She wanted a normal life,” Grace said sadly.

She watched as Chad’s eyes filled with empathy.  It was obvious that he cared very deeply for her sister, and wondered how much they’d shared.

“Well, if truth were to be told.  As you were pulling up … I was about to go find her.”

“Find her?  You don’t know where she is?”  Grace’s heart skipped a beat. 

Ned, the show’s executive producer, had slipped around the house unnoticed, and stood behind the plumeria tree, listening to what they were discussing not sure what was to come next. 

Although shocked of the family relation, as it was never uncovered in her initial application for the show, he was grateful for this fortuitous twist.  He stepped onto the back patio and offered a suggestion.

“If I might...” Ned cleared his throat and waited for the camera to pan in his direction.  “When Anne left yesterday – I had Janie, my assistant, take her to whichever hotel she chose.  I am sure if one of you asks her, she can point you in the right direction.”

Chad glared across the patio to Ned.  “Were you going to tell me that, or let me flounder my way through trying to find her?”

Ned smiled wanly.  “I hadn’t made up my mind yet.”

“Well, let’s go get her!”  Chad jumped up.

Grace’s heart leapt for joy but wasn’t sure about the show being a part of her reunion.  She laid her hand on Chad’s arm, hoping he’d listen to her.

“Please.  I’ve not seen my sister since I was young.  I know I have limited time before any of this airs, and the media catches wind of it all.  If I could have some privacy when I go see my sister?”  Grace pleaded.

There was nothing more that he wanted than to be with Anne today, but he knew this is what Anne needed … to be with her sister.

“Of course,” he conceded.  “But, will you call me later, so I can come see her?” 

Grace nodded, and took out her phone.  “What’s your number?”

Burke watched as the two finalized the details.  He was so happy for Grace.  She was about to find her sister, and he was proud that he was a part of something so monumental in her life.

Burke shook Chad’s hand, appreciative to this stranger, knowing how hard it would be to stay away from the woman he loved.

“Thanks, man,” he said, before letting go of Chad’s hand.  “It was stand up of you.”

“Think I can come over to her room later?” Chad asked.

“I’ll have Grace call you as soon as they work out whatever they have to.  It might take a while… it might be tomorrow.” 

Burke sent Chad a silent look of thanks and followed Grace, who’d already run around the side of the house to find Janie, hoping for a location on her sister.

Grace watched the girls congregate at the front door, hoping to catch another glimpse of her.  She was sure they’d been eavesdropping.

“Can you believe we had someone famous with us all along … I mean other than Chad,” Brandi said in awe. 

“Excuse me,” Grace interrupted.  “Where’s Janie?”

One of the girls pointed to a small red headed girl, in a staff t-shirt.  She had a headset on and was turned away from Grace.

Grace cautiously approached and tapped her on the shoulder.

“Um, hello.” 

Janie turned and giggled, “You’re Grace Aundine.”

“Yeah, I get that a lot.  Nice to meet you.”  She extended her hand to meet Janie’s.

“Ned said you could tell me where to find Anne … my sister?”

“Whoa.  Shocker.”

“Pardon me?”  Grace sounded confused.

“No, sorry.  I just heard the news.  Um, yes … if you’ll wait here – I’ll write down the address for you.”  Janie rushed inside to get a pen and paper.

After they got directions to the hotel, he drove a very unsure Grace from the property.  As he laid his hand on her leg, she gave him a faint smile.  Although her eyes were grateful, he could feel her anxiety.

Grace could feel her rapid heartbeat pulsate through her body, as they pulled away. It felt like she’d just finished a marathon.  She closed her eyes to calm down, when she felt the reassuring touch of Burke’s warm hand against her leg, made her thankful he was there to help her through this next step.  If not for him, she didn’t know how she would make it through.

As her mind spun with possible outcomes, her two biggest anxieties were what and how she would say anything to Anne … and if it would be received.  She opened her eyes and took some cleansing breaths.

Burke lightly squeezed her knee, and took his hand off to shift into second gear as they accelerated away from the property.  Because he was so focused on calming her nerves, he didn’t see the same car, which had been trailing them, pull in behind to follow them through the traffic.

Zach, intensely focused on following Grace, was also unaware of the chaos erupting around him, as a second car, with a camera crew, fell in line behind him.  He wasn’t the only one on the hunt for the pair, and had no idea the secret was out that Grace Aundine had been found.

Chapter 29

Unable to wait, Grace threw open her car door and dashed for the front door.  Burke had to do double-time to keep up with her furious pace. However, once inside the entryway, it was if her feet were glued to the tile flooring.

“It’s okay.  You can do this.”  He softly nudged her forward.

She nodded and softly told herself, “I can do this.”

She looked to those in the lobby, who were slowly making eye contact.  As it dawned on the small group who she was, a small murmur floated through the room.  She slowly smiled at a few of the patrons, who were staring as she strode up to the hotel desk, with Burke faithfully by her side.