A Long Goodbye (26 page)

She winked at Ashton. “My coffee and I are taking a long, long walk on the beach.” She bent down, whispered in Ashton’s ear, and then sauntered toward the staircase. “See you two later,” she shouted.

I placed my cup on the side table, pulled Grace into my chest, and rested my chin on her shoulder. “What plan was she talking about?”

Grace laughed. “Lu wanted me to come home, and get you drunk and have sex with you.”

“Baby, I thought girls talked about this shit. You never told her?”

She shook her head. “No, Dane, you don’t get it. She wanted me to try and trap you by getting pregnant.”

Shocked, I pulled back and asked. “Would you have done that to me?”

She turned her head to look at me. “Of course not. I told her no.” She grabbed my arms, tightened them around her waist, and settled in closer.

“How about we get to know each other for a little while before we start talking babies.”

“But, Woody, I want babies. I do.”

“Darlin’, I want to marry you, and love you for a good bit of time before I even think of sharing you.”

“But…”

I kissed her neck, cutting her off. “Don’t worry that pretty head of yours, all right? I want kids, lots of ‘em, Grace. I want the farm to be full of little girls that look just like you.”

Grace got real quiet, and I could tell she was thinking. “My daddy would never, ever turn away his grandchild. It might be the only way he’ll give us his blessing,” she admitted and I could the tension in her voice as she tried not to get emotional.

“Do you really need his approval, baby?”

She turned until she was sitting up on her knees. “I really want him to walk me down the aisle, Dane. I’ve always pictured him giving me away, you know?”

I nodded.

“But, Woody if he says no I’m prepared to walk away because I love you so much, and I want to be with you out in the open, not hiding from him or anyone else. I want to be your wife so badly I can’t even breathe when I think it might not happen.” She buried her head into my chest, sobbing.

I smoothed her hair down with a few gentle strokes trying to calm her down. “Look at me, baby,” I asked, but she just shook her head again. I lifted her chin up, waiting for her to gather herself. “I’ll get him to walk you down that aisle if that’s what you want. And baby, I promise it’ll be me waiting at the other end, okay?”

She nodded as tears spilled down her face.

“Grace, I promise you this will all work out.”

My plan had to work. I knew Jason was going to get the dirt on Winslow since we had a lead, and as much as I hated to use it against him, I was prepared to fight to the death if it meant keeping Grace.

Part of me wanted to tell her and part of me didn’t, but the last thing I wanted was to keep secrets from her that could hurt me in the end. I just hoped she was strong enough to hear everything on Monday morning in Jason’s office.

“I want you to come home with me on Sunday night. We’ll stay at my place, and then I need you to come with me to work on Monday.”

“Okay, but why?”

I swallowed hard, sending a quick prayer to the big man upstairs that she wouldn’t fly off the handle. “I might have something on your father that’ll get him to hand over the deed and hand you over to me.”

A suspicious expression crossed her face. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t want to say anything’s firm yet, but Jason found out your father is having an affair with an aid in his office.”

It was as if a light bulb went off after I said it. “Oh my God, that explains it.”

“Explains what?”

“The night I found out about everything. I went to confront him and he wasn’t home and it was really late. I was wondering if he was seeing someone.” She paused, tapping her chin with her finger. “What’s the big deal about that?”

“Baby, that big deal is only twenty years old. She’s legal, but well, it doesn’t bode well for someone who wants to climb that political ladder.”

“So, you’re saying you want to blackmail him to marry me?”

“Only if you want me to. You just say the word and I won’t. We’ll figure something else out.” I cupped her face and pulled her mouth down on mine. I kissed her softly trying to stop her from thinking too much about what I just told her.

She pulled back. “I’ll go with you and I’ll even go to work with you on Monday to find out about him, but I want to take care of everything else, okay?”

I grimaced. “Are you sure?”

“It’s my father. I’ll deal with him.”

“But, baby what about the wedding? What if he says no?”

“Well, then I’ll have one of your brother’s do the honor. But make no mistake, when we get back my first stop after visiting Jason, is to Trevor to give him his ring back, and then to my Daddy.”

“I’m going with you to Trevor’s,” I demanded.

She tilted her head, studying me. “Fine, but only Trevor. I’m visiting Daddy on my own.”

“Deal! Now kiss me,” I said, smiling.

CHAPTER 47

ASHTON

Lu and I had followed Dane back since he refused to let me ride on the bike with him since he didn’t have an extra helmet. I didn’t complain because he looked good straddling that thing the whole way home.

The best part about that two-hour ride was Charlie calling Lu on her cell and making plans to go on a date when we got back. I was losing one of my favorite sweaters in the process, but I didn’t care about losing the bet. I’d give her every sweater in my closet if she would settle down with one good man for a stretch of time.

Dane’s farmhouse smelled like a warm day of sunshine when we stepped inside. His mama was cooking dinner on the stove and the aroma of garlic and Sunday sauce filtered through the air.

She turned and saw me, and a big smile spread across her face. “Ashton it is so wonderful to see you here again.” She pulled me into a gentle hug that squeezed at my heartstrings.

“Mama, Grace will be staying with me tonight. I hope you don’t mind.”

She turned from my embrace and looked between the both of us. “Nonsense, I’ll go throw fresh sheets on the bed in the spare room.”

She started to hurry away and Dane just stood there shaking his head, smiling. “Mama, stop!” He yelled out before she hit the staircase.

“Mama, Grace is not sleeping here. She’s sleeping in the barn with me.”

Mrs. Woods shook her head. “Honey, I know why you want her to, trust me. I’m not stupid, but it wouldn’t be proper.”

Woody came to me and pulled me to his side. “I asked her to marry me and she said yes, and let’s not forget the fact that I’m twenty-eight damn years old. So, proper or not, Grace is sleeping in my bed with me tonight. Conversation over.”

Mrs. Woods gasped so loud that it made me nervous. She was in front of us in less time than I thought possible. “Let me see your ring,” she said to me, but then turned to Dane. “You did get her a ring?”

I gulped as Dane shook his head. “I didn’t have time. We’ll go get one tomorrow when the stores open.”

An hour later, Jason, Amy, Jonah, and Josh had joined us for Sunday dinner. We were just finishing up eating and talking about our wedding when Mrs. Woods approached the side of my chair. “Honey, if you’d like you could wear my engagement ring from Dane’s daddy until you find one of your own.” She placed a small black box in front of me, tears falling down her face. “I’d love nothing more if you’d wear it for now.”

Dane kissed her cheek. “Mama, that’s a beautiful gesture. Are you sure you want to part with it?”

She waved him off. “Oh, hush! It’s not forever. You take your time and get the ring you want, honey,” she kissed my cheek, just as Woody took out the small band with a little diamond in the center.

“It’s beautiful, Mrs. Woods. I promise I’ll give it back to you, but it would be a good thing to have when I face Daddy tomorrow.”

Woody turned to me. “Grace, I don’t have a lot of money to buy you a fancy ring, I put most of what I had in Lauren’s trust fund.”

I reached out and ran my hand down his face. “I don’t need a fancy ring, Dane.” I turned to Mrs. Woods. “Could I keep this for a little while, until we figure something out?”

“Of course, honey. It’s all yours.”

I smiled, happily looking down as Dane slipped it on my finger. I was going to be Mrs. Dane Woods and nothing was going to bring me down tonight.

The next morning, the sound of a rooster letting us know the sun had risen, woke me. I smiled into my pillow, loving how cozy and warm, and how comfortable I felt here. Dane had his arm draped over my back and his leg twisted around mine. I nudged him with my elbow. “Dane, are you awake?”

“Nope,” he answered.

I rolled over until I was on top of him. “You awake now?” I grinned.

He growled low in his throat, his eye still closed. I leaned down, letting my hair cascade all around him, and pressed my mouth to his. A second later, he flipped me on my back and pinned my hands behind my head. “You sure you don’t want to get a mint first or something?”

“If you’re going to marry me, well then, you better get used to my morning breath,” I fired back knowing he was teasing me.

He kissed me hard, his tongue demanding immediate entrance. He moaned into the kiss as I wrapped my legs around him. He broke away. “Just for the record, I love your morning breath. You can wake me up anytime you want, especially if every morning starts like this.”

I cupped his face. “We have a big day today, but I think I might have a few minutes to spare to make love to you.”

He held up his index finger. “Just for the record again, I’m never adverse to a quickie in the morning.”

Then because I was head over heels in love, I gave him two quickies.

It was past ten a.m. by the time we got to his office. I had turned my cell off mute and noticed that Daddy and Trevor had flooded my phone with calls all weekend. Amy was at the front desk talking to Jason, so we said hello and walked on through until we sat in Dane’s office. Jason came in a few minutes later.

He dropped a folder on Dane’s desk. “It’s all there. You were right and Josh’s tip paid off.”

Dane opened it up and skimmed the photos. “What are you going to do with them? Jason asked Dane.

He stared at Jason for a few heartbeats and then shifted his gaze to me. “I’m going to let Grace decide,” he told Jason. He handed the envelope over to me after stuffing the pictures back inside. “The proof is there, baby, don’t look if you don’t want to.”

I chose not to, but I stuffed the envelope in my handbag. “I’d like to go see him now, and then I’ll call you after I’m finished, and then we’ll go see Trevor,” I said, and then took a deep breath.

He walked around his desk, and kissed my lips. “Okay, baby. I’ll meet up with you wherever, you just call me.”

I drove around for almost an hour trying to get the nerve to face him. Part of me wished I’d had Dane come with me, but I knew this was my battle, not his.

Before I even had my car in park, Daddy was flying down the porch steps. “Where the hell have you been, Ashton Grace Winslow? I thought you were lying dead in a street somewhere,” he yelled.

I took a few deep breaths, trying to not hyperventilate. I walked the few steps to meet him without looking at him, afraid of seeing his disappointment in me. “Sorry, Daddy. Lu and I went to the beach house for the weekend. I had some thinking to do.”

“I called the beach house and the neighbors. That’s where you’ve been? And let me guess, it was all LuLu’s bright idea?”

I shook my head in protest. “No, Daddy it was mine.”

“I have a very important meeting I need to get to. I’ll be back in a few hours and you better be here.”

“No!” I shouted.

“Excuse me?”

“I came here to tell you something, and you are going to listen to me now?”

He folded his arms across his chest. I looked into his eyes and then looked back down unable to say it while staring at him. “I’m not marrying Trevor.”

He stepped in front of me, lifting my chin. “If you don’t want to marry him, fine. We’ll find someone else. If that’s everything, I need to go.”

He started to walk away and I knew I had to say it now or I might chicken out. “I’m marrying Dane Woods.”

He stopped dead in his tracks without turning around. “What did you just say?”

“I know you heard me, but I’ll say it again. I’m marrying Dane with or without your blessing. I’d really like it, but I don’t need it.”

He turned, and a look of pain, hurt, and rage bubbled out of him. “Well, then you’ll be doing it without my blessing.”

I forced myself to hold back the tears I knew were waiting to come out. “And, I want you to give back the deed. I’ll be living at the Wood’s farm until further notice.”

He laughed, bitterly. “Already he’s changing you.”

I took the envelope from my bag, took out one picture, and held it up. “I’d hate to see these get out, Daddy, but if you don’t hand over the deed, I will make sure every newspaper from here to DC sees them as well.”

“You’re actually going to blackmail your own father? Where did Dane get those pictures?”

I swallowed, trying to hold steady. “I hired someone to get these, not Dane. I knew when I came home one night and you weren’t here. I did this; don’t blame anyone for this other than yourself.”

“God damn you, Ashton. How could you?”

I tsked him and I knew I was pushing it. “Daddy? I said with exasperation in my voice. “What would Reverend Lewis say if he heard you taking the Lord’s name in vain?”

He stood straight and proud all of a sudden, smoothing his suit coat down. “How do I know there are no other pictures?”

“I’ll give them all to you as soon as I see the deed handed over to Catherine.”

He shook his in defeat. “I’ll bring it by the farm tomorrow morning at nine. You better be there.”

“Oh, I will.”

Daddy turned on his heels, got his big old Cadillac, and drove off like a mad man. Once he was out of sight, I broke down, dropping to the ground on my knees finally letting the tears spring free.

CHAPTER 48

DANE

I stared at my phone for two hours making sure she didn’t leave her house. When my phone finally alerted me to her moving, I almost left and followed the signal. I stopped myself when I realized she was coming to me.