Seven Days Grace (A Grace Rose Novel Book 1) (42 page)

39

‘
Nic
k
,
do
you want the story or not? I have no problem calling Henry
,’
Grace said.

‘
Now you have me dangling over the dam wall.
’

‘
That
’
s clever coming from you
,’
she said dryly. She covered the phone with her hand so Nick couldn
’
t hear.
‘
He thinks I have him dangling over the dam wall
,’
she said to Kate and Joy who were sitting in her living room. Then she said to Nick
,
‘
If that
’
s the way you want to look at it then I guess so. It
’
s a simple yes or no. This is not personal
,
Nick. Even after firing me
,
I
’
m still offering you the story because I
’
d rather see it on the front page of
The Star
and online tonight than in
The Times
. This is a business decision and a win-win. I don
’
t know why you
’
d hesitate. You need to decide as this will go viral as soon as it
’
s online. I
’
ll even do a variation
,
then there
’
s a different story on the front page for you for Sunday
’
s paper. It
’
s going to make you look good
,
what
’
s to think about?
’

Kate and Joy admired her resourcefulness and her ability to excuse Nick
’
s behaviour for winning The Biggest Tool of the Week Award after firing his best news journalist. The girls
,
and even Shadow
,
stared at her with baited breath while she waited on an answer from Nick who was on the other end of the line.

‘
Email it through. I
’
ll upload it immediately.
’

She closed her fist and pulled her arm down in triumph. The girls congratulated her.
‘
It
’
s a big story
,
Nick
,
and I
’
m freelance now
,
it
’
ll cost you. I
’
ll text you my price for each story. Deal?
’

‘
There
’
s the barrel
,’
Kate laughed.

Grace heard Nick sigh his acceptance of her proposal.

‘
Done
,’
Grace said as she hung up from her ex-employer.
‘
It feels good to be free.
’

‘
So
,
what
’
s happening with Jake?
’
Joy asked.
‘
You haven
’
t said a word about him.
’

The three girls sat around Grace
’
s coffee table in her living room with Shadow pressed up against his human
’
s good leg
,
purring into a sleep. They were all helping her to rest and recuperate. The strong coffee hit the spot and the girls lifted her spirits. However
,
she stared out the window at Joy
’
s question.

‘
Gracie
,
isn
’
t it time you let up on him? He was the one who took control this afternoon and saved your life
,
not me. I basically followed instructions in between the sobs
,’
Kate said.

‘
Grace
,
he
’
s the catch of a lifetime. That
’
s what Kate tells me
,’
she nudged Kate.

‘
Now is not a good time for me to be starting a relationship.
’

Kate piped up.
‘
Things happen when they happen. At least you could think about being friends.
’

‘
Yeah
,
men love that line.
‘
Hey
,
let
’
s be friends?
’
I don
’
t think so.
’

‘
When he calls
,
hear him out. I know he
’
s itching to talk to you. Christian said he can barely concentrate on the paperwork they have to do after the case has all come to an end. He said Jake told him his guts were in knots over you. What guy says such things
,
Grace? He
’
s distraught. He wants to be with you.
’

‘
I
’
ll think about it.
’

Kate looked at Joy for support.

‘
What can I say? The girl has a mind of her own and I
’
ve never been one to change it.
’

There was a knock on the door.

‘
I wonder who that could be
,’
Kate said as she sprang to the door to open it. She allowed the visitor in and stood in the living room with him.

‘
Hi girls
,’
Jake said.
‘
Sorry to interrupt.
’

‘
We were leaving anyway
,
weren
’
t we
,
Joy?
’
Kate winked.

‘
Ah
,
yes
,
we sure were. See ya
,
Grace
,’
Joy called as she shut the front door.

40

‘
Sorry I
didn
’
t call
,
I lost a lot of numbers when my phone had a dip in the water yesterday. Yours was one of them.
’
He stood in her living room.

‘
Please
,
take a seat
,
relax.
’
Why do I feel awkward?
Grace didn
’
t get up from the couch. She followed doctor
’
s orders and kept her freshly plastered leg elevated.

‘
How is it?
’
he asked.

‘
I
’
m not going to let the painkillers wear off yet.
’

‘
Good idea.
’

‘
You?
’

‘
I was lucky. No internal damage. Those doctors with their magic hands sealed numerous blood vessels and then stitched me up. Good as new.
’

‘
Shouldn
’
t you be recuperating in hospital?
’
she asked.

‘
Shouldn
’
t you?
’

‘
I hate hospitals.
’

‘
Ditto.
’

‘
Jake
,
please sit down. You
’
re making me nervous.
’

He sat on the chair across from the couch she was lying on with the coffee table between them.
‘
It smells like cinnamon in here.
’

‘
It
’
s the candle. Nice
,
huh?
’

‘
Yeah
,
it
’
s relaxing. Um
,
how are you?
’

‘
Oh
,
as good as one can be who has a broken leg and almost died from being thrown down a dam spillway
,’
Grace said as she wriggled around and made herself more comfortable on the large cushions the girls had positioned behind her back and neck.

‘
Hey
,
that
’
s my line
,’
he half smiled.
‘
Still
,
I wanted to get to you sooner. Especially after I said nothing would happen to you.
’

‘
Before we launch into the
‘
It
’
s my fault
’
talk
,
it wasn
’
t your fault
,
Jake. Who knew The Voice would turn out to be a psychopath? A clinical psychologist would have a great task analysing his mind. He was right in front of my face all week and I didn
’
t see it. If it
’
s anyone
’
s fault it
’
s my own for falling for his lies.
’

‘
As experienced as we are at what we do
,
it happens to the best of us. Mostly it comes out in the end. You
’
re not allowed to blame yourself either
,
’
he said.

‘
Deal.
’

‘
Deal
,’
he agreed then shook his head.
‘
I cannot believe you can fall down a dam spillway and survive. It
’
s mind blowing.
’

‘
A miracle.
’

‘
No other way to describe it. Someone up there is looking after you.
’

The feeling between them was comfortable though underneath the ease the air was thick with apprehension.

Then he pulled something out of his pocket and threw it onto the coffee table. It was one of the memory sticks she had loaned him after The Voice had given it to her. He also gave her the letters he
’
d borrowed to trace fingerprints. At the time
,
they had produced no results.
‘
I thought I should return these to their rightful owner.
’

‘
Thank you.
’

‘
Grace
,
have you forgiven me yet?
’

He
’
s getting straight to the point.
‘
I
’
m not one to hold a grudge
,
yes
,
I
’
ve forgiven you.
’

She saw his face light up. He left the single seater he was sitting on and sat on the coffee table adjacent to the couch she was half sitting up on.

‘
Grace
,
words fail me. Thank you
,’
he said as he held her hands.

‘
Not forgiving you will hurt me in the long run. I have to let it go. I can even try to forget it
,
one day.
’

‘
Grace
,
I
’
m so happy you understand. I
’
ve missed you and I don
’
t know what I would have done if you didn
’
t pull through today. Probably curl up and die.
’

‘
That sounds a bit extreme especially as we kissed only a couple of times.
’
Now she was the one minimising and lying about the impact Jake had had on her life.
‘
You
’
re young enough to move on.
’

‘
Grace
,
when you know
,
you know.
’

‘
It can happen in an instant.
’

‘
It sure can
,’
Jake said.

She reached out and cupped his face with her hand. He knelt in front of her
,
leaned towards her and pulled her into his arms. She let him. Her breathing quickened and she felt him nuzzle into her neck. He pulled back and looked her deeply in the eyes and she half smiled. She ran her hands through his hair and then their lips met. This kiss wasn
’
t like the other ones. It was more a meeting of their hearts
,
a gentle though deep connection
,
a sense of right in their worlds.

To Grace
,
he smelt like the country after a thunderstorm. She felt whole yet there was something she still wasn
’
t sure about and she knew Jake sensed it first.

‘
What is it?
’
he asked.

‘
I can
’
t.
’

‘
What do you mean?
’

‘
I can
’
t do this
,
Jake. I
’
m not ready. I need some time. I don
’
t know what it is –
’

‘
Grace
,
I love you. I
’
m in love with you. I don
’
t want to live without you. Everything else fades into the background in comparison to being with you. It
’
s like there would be only half of me if we weren
’
t together
,
side by side
,
doing life.
’

When she looked into his face she saw nothing except pure honesty and commitment. It turned her inside out to say it yet she knew it was right for this time
,
for this place
,
for this season of her life.

‘
Jake
,’
she let out a deep breath
,
‘
I need some time. My life is a mess right now. I don
’
t have a job
,
I do have a broken leg
,
I don
’
t have any prospects. Like I said
,
I need time to sort my life out and I need to do it alone.
’

‘
Why can
’
t I be here
,
by your side
,
helping you? I have Australian citizenship so I
’
ll be staying here. I
’
m not going anywhere.
’

‘
I
’
m happy for you
,
I mean it.
’

‘
You
’
re telling me that kiss was like the last one
,
desires of the flesh as you called it
,
and that
’
s all it was?
’

‘
No
,
it was as if life paused for a fleeting moment and the earth was silent. It
’
s like when you watch one of those sunrises that you
’
ve waited up all night for and when it breaks on the horizon it
’
s all the colours of the rainbow in shards of light. You simply don
’
t have the words to explain the impact it has on you. You know it
’
s changed who you are as a person
,
possibly forever.
’

‘
Wow
,
no wonder you
’
re the wordsmith.
’

She sighed.
‘
I know this must sound pathetic to a logical
,
male mind and I am sorry. However
,
it is something I feel I need to do and I need time to do it now.
’

‘
There
’
s more to it
,
isn
’
t there?
’
he asked.

His nature changed and he appeared demanding.

‘
Jake
,
perhaps we
’
re not right for each other after all. Perhaps we are meant to be friends?
’

‘
Friends? To hell with your
‘
friends
’
theory. Grace
,
if you want time you can have it. However
,
I am not going to be your friend. I just can
’
t do it. I
’
ll give you time to think and to sort yourself out
,
although
,
this is way too unfair because I
’
ve done everything I know to do to prove to you I will not let you down
,
that I love you
,
that I care for you and I thought you felt the same way
,
despite our minor issue yesterday. If you can
’
t move on from what I
’
ve obviously not apologised enough for
,
even though you know I
’
ve taken oaths because of my work
,
then there
’
s nothing more I can say. I hope this makes you happy.
’

‘
Jake
,
I
’
m not doing this to upset you. If we can
’
t even talk about it then what type of relationship would we end up having? We can still be in contact. It
’
s the relationship of boyfriend girlfriend I can
’
t do right now. It
’
s stupid girl logic to you I
’
m sure
,
but please –
’