Betting on Grace (29 page)

Saturday evening

“This place looks amazing,” Trinity said when Grace
made her way across the wooden dance floor that had been set up in the main
arena. Trin, Mercy, Faith, and Hope were all huddled in one area, looking like
teenage girls on prom night, waiting for someone to ask them to dance.

“It’s pretty impressive, huh?” Grace hadn’t seen the
arena look quite like this before. Each time they put on a dance, which had
been almost once a month for the last two years, the amount of décor seemed to increase.
Grace could still remember the first dance they’d put on. It had been held in
the rec room of the main house with an iPod hooked up to a set of speakers, and
they’d learned instantly that the place wasn’t nearly big enough for the sheer
volume of people who attended, most of whom were actual employees of Dead Heat
Ranch and their significant others.

Hope had been the one to suggest using the arena, and
then some skilled cowboys had come up with the idea of designing a wood floor
that could be placed over the soft dirt that covered the arena floor. From
there, additional things had been added, including an upgraded sound system,
then a DJ, a disco ball, additional hanging lanterns… The list went on and on,
and now, the place looked like a dance hall, and from what Grace could tell,
all of the guests were present and accounted for.

“Oh, good Lord, hide me, please,” Mercy whispered as
she ducked behind Grace and Trinity.

“Who’re you hidin’ from?” Trin asked, trying to move
away only to be pulled back by Mercy, who had wrapped her arms around her.

“The booby triplets,” Mercy said in a hushed tone.
“They are drivin’ me absolutely batshit crazy.”

Grace searched the room for the booby triplets, as
Mercy had referred to them, and it didn’t take long for her to find them. Sure
enough, there were three women, all decked out in their fanciest rhinestone-crusted
halter tops and skin-tight jeans. Their boots had heels, and Grace was tempted
to laugh, but she managed to refrain. They were guests at the ranch, after all.

But, in Mercy’s defense, her description wasn’t too
far off. There were three of them, of course. A blond, brunette, and what
appeared to be a fake redhead who did look … uh … surgically enhanced. Anyway …
the three women were prancing around the edge of the bleachers, chatting it up
with a handful of wranglers who were standing around chugging beer like it was
water. Free beer always tasted that much better, in Grace’s personal opinion.

And, yes, as was usual for pretty women who came to
the ranch, these three had certainly garnered the attention of a few of the
single men.

“What’s wrong with them?” Hope asked as she stepped up
to Grace’s side. “They don’t look all that scary to me.”

“Oh, please. You haven’t had to cater to their every
whim for the last two days.”

“How hard could that possibly be?” Faith interjected.
“From what I saw, they’ve spent their days in the pool. So, what? You had to
bring them suntan lotion?”

“No, uh-uh. That’s not in my job description,” Mercy
murmured. “Anyway, they had plenty of help in that area. Shit, Hal and Cal were
more than willing to ensure they weren’t in any danger of gettin’ burned.”

Hal and Cal were two of the tenured wranglers. To this
day, Grace still had no idea what their full names were. What she knew was that
they were fraternal twins, both in their early forties, who’d been a part of
the ranch for roughly twenty-five years. They were two of the few wranglers
who’d actually been on the ranch long enough to remember Grace’s mother.

“So why’re you hidin’?” Hope asked. “They don’t look
interested in you or what you’re doin’.”

“Just wait. Someone” — Mercy glared at the back of
Trin’s head — “gave them the impression that I’m their freakin’ servant.”

Grace laughed right along with her sisters, offering
Trin a knuckle-bump for her good work. They had to get back at Mercy somehow,
and Grace would be the first to admit they pulled out all the stops whenever
possible.

“Where’re your guests?” Mercy asked, still bobbing and
weaving behind them.

“Ben and Maddie?” Grace asked, glancing over at Hope.
“Don’t know. Have you seen them?”

Hope had the audacity to glare at Grace as though she
hadn’t been spending a little extra time with Ben in recent days. Maybe Grace
wasn’t up to speed on everything that went on at the ranch at all times the way
Mercy was, but she definitely knew when her guests were being given a personal
tour by one of her sisters.

“He said he’d be here later,” Hope admitted, pulling
her gaze from Grace’s.

“Well, I’m guestless this week,” Faith told them.

“Lucky you. Want to take on the big boob trio? They’re
yours if you want ’em. Last night, they asked me to shine their freakin’
boots.”

Grace glanced down at her own boots and smiled. They
weren’t the ones she wore to work, but they certainly weren’t fancy. With the
chiffon sundress she’d chosen, they actually looked nice, or so she thought.
She laughed, thinking about what it would look like if she shined her boots.

“Nope, they’re yours. It’s your punishment,” Trin
inserted. “For everything you’ve done to us, you get to handle the big boob
trio all by your lonesome.”

Mercy grumbled something, but Grace couldn’t make out
what it was.

“Hey, is that…”

Grace peered over her shoulder at Trin to see which
direction she was looking. Following her gaze, she saw… “Yep. That looks like
Zach and Jenn. And they’re dancin’.”

A loud whistle pierced the air — Mercy, no doubt.

“They make a cute couple,” Hope added, surprising them
all with her assessment.

They did make a cute couple, actually.

But her attention was snagged from the dancers
instantly, and the sound of her sisters chattering around her became background
noise. She was having a hard time hearing over the sudden roar of blood in her
veins. As she watched Grant approach from across the arena, her heart kicked
into overdrive. He looked so handsome with his starched white shirt, the
sleeves rolled up to show off his thick, tan forearms. He was wearing his nice
straw Stetson, and although she preferred the black one, she knew it was too
hot for that.

“Care to dance?” he asked when he made his way to her.

Grace
felt
like a teenage girl at prom,
suddenly shocked that one of the popular boys actually wanted to dance with
her.

Before she could answer, she was firmly nudged from
behind, followed by, “Get out there,” from Mercy, no less.

“I’d love to,” she said when she finally found her
voice.

Grant’s answering smile stole her breath, and if it
hadn’t been for the fact he was leading her out to the center of the arena, she
figured she would’ve been a puddle of goo on the floor for all the strength she
had in her limbs.

A slow song came on right then, almost as though Grant
had planned it, and Grace looked up into his face, trying to see if he was
smiling. There was a smile there, definitely, but it didn’t appear mischievous
at all. No, this was one of those sweet smiles, one that made it all the way to
his eyes.

“Hi.”

“Hi back,” she said, lacing her fingers with his while
sliding one hand around behind him. She felt the tense muscles there, and she
did her best not to feel him up in front of all these people. “We’ve never
danced before,” she added suddenly.

“No, we haven’t.”

Grace had spent the better part of the day wanting to
talk to Lane and Grant, to let them know that she had gone to her father and
spilled the beans, but too many things had happened, and she’d lost the chance.
And then Grant had invited her to dinner, which she’d had to decline because
Trin and Faith had needed her for adding the last touches to tonight’s event.
But now, here they were, two-stepping around the dance floor with several other
couples, and Grant was looking at her as though she was the most important person
in the world to him.

“What’s on your mind?” she asked, feeling antsy under
his penetrating gaze.

“I’m just thinkin’ about a conversation I had with
your father this mornin’.”

Grace stumbled, but Grant caught her, never breaking
his stride as they continued their path around the floor.

“You talked to my dad?”

“Yeah. He mentioned that some little sassy cowgirl
came to him to let him know she was in love with
two
cowboys.”

“Oh, crap.”

“No, darlin’,” Grant whispered. “It was a good chat.
He made me realize a few things.”

“Like?”

“Like how much I’ve screwed up lately.”

“You haven’t screwed up,” she said resolutely.
“Things’ve been crazy. I’m just glad your mom’s all right.”

“Yeah, me, too. I talked to her earlier. She said
she’s not comin’ back till my dad gets some help. Apparently, his gamblin’ has
finally gotten to her. That and the physical abuse started up again.”

Grace’s eyes went wide as she stared up at Grant. “He hit
her?”

“It seems so. She didn’t want him to pawn the TVs, but
he insisted. They got into a fight. My dad hit her, and for the first time, she
didn’t hit him back.”

“I’m so sorry, Grant.”

“Don’t be,” he replied easily, pulling her closer.
“They’ve got to figure this out on their own. But that’s not my problem
tonight.”

The smile he sent her way was filled with so much
promise.

“Tonight I just wanna spend some time with my two
favorite people,” Grant added. “Speakin’ of…” Grant glanced around the arena.
“Have you seen Lane?”

“Not since I left the dinin’ hall,” she said easily,
sliding her hand up and down his back gently. “I’m sure he’s around here
somewhere.”

Grant’s gaze returned to hers, a smile on his lips.
She couldn’t help but remember how he’d told her that he loved her last night.

“You look so pretty tonight,” he added. “If there
weren’t a hundred pairs of eyes on us right now, I’d kiss you.”

Grace wouldn’t mind in the least. “One of these days,
you won’t care who’s watchin’,” she told him.

“You’re right, I won’t.” Grant’s hand tightened on her
waist, pulling her closer, their feet shuffling slowly across the sawdust on
the floor.

“What do you say, when this thing’s over, we—”

A commotion started, and Grant stopped midsentence, as
they both turned to look toward the ruckus.

“Sonuvabitch,” Grant growled, suddenly releasing Grace
and heading to the other side of the arena where she could see…

Oh, shit. That was Lane and Cody and…

“Oh, my God,” Grace said softly, unable to move from
where Grant had left her.

“Who is that?” Faith asked, out of breath because she
had run over from the opposite corner. Not far behind her were Hope, Trinity,
and Mercy.

“What the fuck is he doin’ here?” Mercy exclaimed as
she started walking away.

Grace managed to grab Mercy’s arm in time to pull her
back, which earned her a tongue-lashing from Mercy, most of which Grace
ignored.

“That’s Grant’s father,” Grace said, watching in
complete shock as Cody had to hold the man back, while three wranglers
attempted to keep Lane at bay. “We have to stop them.”

“
We?
I was tryin’ to go over there and you
stopped me, remember?” Mercy grumbled.

Grace knew she needed to try to calm everyone down,
but she couldn’t get her legs to move. What happened when Darrell Kingsley
announced to everyone just what he’d walked in on last night?

Oh, crap.

She didn’t want to think about the horror she’d see on
people’s faces when they heard it coming from Darrell.

Even with her fear, for the life of her, Grace didn’t
know any way to stop it.

■□■□■□■□

It wasn’t easy controlling the urge to go get up in
that man’s face and give him a piece of her mind, but Mercy managed to stay
with Grace. Why, she didn’t know. Maybe because she figured her sister needed
her support more than the wranglers needed her getting in the middle of the …
whatever the hell was going on over there.

From where she stood, it looked like they were trying
to keep Lane from killing the man. They should just let him go, teach the old
bastard a lesson.

Tearing her eyes from the craziness, Mercy searched
the room, trying to find her father. There were probably close to a hundred and
fifty people in attendance tonight, so it took her a minute, but then she
located him. He was talking to a pretty blond woman, dividing his attention
between her and keeping an eye on Lane. When the shouting rose to a dull roar,
he backed away from the woman but not before…

Oh, God.

Her father just kissed that woman.

It hadn’t been a long kiss, or even that intimate, but
it had been a kiss nonetheless.