Falling Into Grace (19 page)

Grant and I stay in the emergency room’s waiting area. I sit next to him and feel bad, that somehow this is my fault. If I hadn’t been running around with her son, I would have caught this sooner. I hope everything will be OK. I feel Grant slip his hand into mine and watch as he brings it to his lips, giving me a gentle kiss. I look over at him.

“This isn’t your fault,” he says softly, as if he is reading my mind.

“Yes, it is. I should have stayed home with her,” I snap back. The guilt weighs heavy on me. It’s like an elephant sitting on my chest.

“Don’t think like that, Hannah.” He takes a deep breath and releases my hand to run his hands through his hair.

“Even if you were home, she wouldn’t have said anything.” He is trying to convince me it’s not my fault, but I think he is making me feel worse. I can feel tears leave my eyes.

“Did you call your brothers?” I ask.

“No, not yet.” He lets out a long sigh. “I figured I would wait for some tests to come back before I worry them again.” I let my mind think about all the things it could be. I’m going to drive myself crazy. I get up and pace the floor. Grant watches me. After a few minutes he gets up and stops me.

“Hannah, stop, you’re making me crazy.” He wraps his arms around me and I let him hug me. I nestle into his chest and breathe in his scent. He smells so good, like fresh air mixed with his own earthy scent. I get lost in his smell and his body. He kisses the top of my head and rubs slow circles across my back. I should be comforting him. I look up at him, and he leans down and kisses me. I let him in, and let go. His hands cup my face and it is an open-hearted kiss on both our parts. Our kiss lets out all of our worries and passion for each other. I feel more tears fall down my face; the kiss is so good, it makes me cry. I think I am falling for him. I want to run from it, but in his arms, I don’t want to leave. I don’t think I want to be anywhere but here.

We stop when we hear the door open, but we don’t move. We just stand there in each other’s arms staring into each other’s eyes. He needs me right now. I have to be strong; this isn’t about me and my baggage. This is about him and his fear of losing his mother. I realize
that no one walked into the room. I look up at him, and his eyes are wild with fear and something else. I wonder what it is.

“She is going to be fine. I know she is,” I tell him, trying to believe it myself. We sit back down, and Grant leans his elbows on his knees and puts his hands on his face. I rub his back, trying to soothe him. I feel his back muscles relax a bit. He sits back and places his arm around my shoulders, and his thumb moves back and forth in a rhythmic motion on my shoulder. We wait for what seems like forever.

When the doctor walks in, we both jump up.

“She is doing fine. We are waiting on one more test to come back, but I believe she pulled a muscle in her chest. This is fairly common. I gave her some pain medication, and she is resting. I want to keep her overnight to observe her, but I believe we will release her in the morning.”

“I want to see her,” Grant says.

“That’s fine, but only family can go in,” the doctor says, looking at me. My heart sinks, but I understand. I have said the same thing to too many people in my day.

“This is my wife. She is family,” Grant replies without missing a beat, and he slips his hand into mine.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Grace, I didn’t realize. You both can go up.” He smiles at us and walks out. Grant follows him, practically dragging me. The doctor tells us where to go, and we head to the elevators. The doors open and we step in. I look at Grant and shake my head.

“Mr. Grace, it’s not nice to lie,” I tease him.

“Mrs. Grace, I don’t know what you are talking about. I do believe you are wearing a wedding band.” He steps closer and kisses me. I start to melt.

“Mrs. Grace, I like the sound of that,” he whispers close to my lips. I roll my eyes and give him a playful slap on the chest. Once the doors open, we head into her room. Mrs. Grace is sitting up in bed and she looks much better. The pain medicine must be working.

“Mom, you had us worried. You have to stop doing this,” Grant says as he gently hugs her. I walk over to her and take her hand, but she
reaches out for a hug as well. I bend down and hug her and whisper in her ear.

“You had me so scared,” I say. She releases me.

“Hannah, I should have told you before, but I thought it was nothing. They think it’s just a pulled muscle. I should have taken it easy.”

“It’s all my fault,” I say. I feel the tears in the back of my eyes.

“No, it’s not your fault. I think it was the fault of Rose, the night nurse. When I got out of bed last night, she almost dropped me. I think that did me in.”

“I thought I was on twenty-four hours a day when I took this job. I would have stayed with you.” If I was with her, maybe I wouldn’t have been making mistakes with Aiden last night.“Hannah, you are human. You need sleep too. I am grateful for you even being here.” She rubs my hand with hers.

“Mom, is there anything you need or want?” Grant asks, looking somewhat relieved that she will be fine.

“I would like some sleep. It’s almost nine. Take Hannah back to the house. I will be fine. I need to rest. They will release me first thing in the morning.” She looks at him with a face that tells him not to argue with her.

“I’ll stay with you, Tori,” I say.

“Hannah, that is nice of you, but they won’t let you take me out of bed or help me. You don’t work here.” The pain medicine is starting to kick in, because her eyes are getting heavy and her speech is becoming slurred.

“Go, leave me alone, please. I just want to sleep.” Just as the last word slips off her tongue, she falls asleep.

“What do you want to do?” I ask Grant.

“I think we should go home. She never wants us to stay over. She let me stay once last week, only because I fought her on it.” He holds out his hand for me to take, and we walk out. The doctor is in the hallway.

“She is fast asleep,” Grant says.

“Mr. Grace,” he says, then looks at me.

“Mrs. Grace.” I smile and look at Grant, who winks at me while squeezing my hand.

“Your mother is fine. Everything came back perfect. Her heart is healing wonderfully, and we think she pulled a muscle.”

“That is great to hear, Doctor. What time can we expect her to be released in the morning?” Grant is all business now.

“By ten, I would say.” The doctor looks down at the chart.

“I will be back here at eight tomorrow morning. Please let the staff know I will be here so I don’t have to fight them in the morning.” He gives the doctor a stern look, and the doctor nods at him.

“Of course, Mr. Grace. Have a good evening.” Grant leads me back to the elevators.

Once we are in, I can feel Grant staring at me.

“What is it with you and elevators? Every time you’re in one, you misbehave,” I scold playfully as I look over at him, and he slams me into the wall. It takes me by surprise and almost knocks the wind out of me, but that feeling is quickly distracted by his kiss. He is like fire all around me. His hands can’t move fast enough, and he picks me up and wraps my legs around him. I follow his every move. We are getting into it when the elevator comes to a stop. He puts me down before the doors open, but we stand there, eyes still locked, when the doors open. An older man is waiting to get in. I am the first to move out of the way. Grant takes my hand and follows me.

“To be in love again,” the older man says, smiling at us.

“I’m a lucky man,” Grant tells the man. I turn the brightest shade of red. As we walk outside, I take my ticket out and notice Grant’s car is still parked out front. I look over at him.

“What, do you own the hospital?”

“I told you, Hannah, no one drives this car but me, and apparently you,” he says, taking my hand and kissing it.

“Leave the SUV here. We can get it tomorrow when we come back. I don’t want you to have to drive around at night.”

“What, are you afraid the boogie man might get me?” I tease him.

“Sarcasm isn’t sexy, Hannah.” He shoots me a serious look, and I roll my eyes at him. “You don’t know your way around here, and I want you to come with me.”

“That’s all you had to say.” I roll my eyes again at him.

“Come here,” he says, opening up his arms, but I don’t move. “Suit yourself,” he says, then picks me up and tells the valet he will be back tomorrow for the SUV. I just balance over his shoulder, not making a sound, but my hands start exploring. I slip my hands into his jeans and skim over his very firm, very perfect butt, and he almost drops me.

“Shit, Hannah,” he says.

“I guess I can beat you at the back-down game,” I say as he sets me into the car.

“No, you took me by surprise. I wasn’t expecting you to fondle me in front of the valet attendant.”

“I wasn’t expecting you to carry me over your shoulder.” I put my seat belt on and lean back in the seat with my arms crossed.

“Oh, Mrs. Grace, you are a difficult one.” He starts the car. We drive for a while before he talks again.

“What’s your favorite song?” he asks.

“Depends on my mood.”

“Well, if you had to pick a theme song for yourself, what would it be?”

“Right now I would have to say…” I pause and think, biting my lip.

“Far Away,” I say. I can feel his eyes on me.

“Hannah, you always seem to surprise me.”

“You know the song?”

“I can play it for you when we get back to the house, if you would like,” he says gently and reaches for my hand. I wonder how he knows the song and how he can play it. The more time I spend with him, the more confused I get. I wish it could be like this afternoon again, fun and carefree. The scare with Mrs. Grace has drained me, and I’m starting to get really tired. I think I will sleep tonight.

“You never told me yours.”

“What I Got,” he says, not talking his eyes off the road. Sublime?
He is full of surprises too
, I think. I lean back in the seat and close my eyes.

When I open them, I see Grant at my door, which is open.

“I thought you were asleep.” He is taking my hands, helping me out of the car.

“The sound of the engine was putting me to sleep,” I say, yawning. I walk into the house with his arm around my waist.

“I’m starving. Do you want something to eat?”

“No, I think I’ll just go up to my room.” I don’t look up at him. I just head up the stairs.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

O
nce I get into my room, I peel my clothes off and put my pajamas on. They feel soft against my skin, and I climb into bed and turn on the TV. I flip through the channels before I find the Weather Channel. Tomorrow is going to be another nice day, and I get to go home. I realize I never talked to the kids today. I get out of bed and grab my phone. I have one missed call from Richard. It was from ten minutes ago, so I quickly call him back.

“Hey, how did it go?” I assure him everything is fine and update him.

“Are the kids still awake?” I miss them so much, my heart hurts.

“Yeah, we are just finishing a movie.” I hear him tell them I’m on the phone, and then I hear their angelic voices shouting my name. Tears prick at my eyes again.

“Mommy, I thought I was never going to talk to you again,” Ella says, all dramatic.

“I know, baby, I was so busy today taking care of my patient. I tried calling earlier, but there was no answer. Did you go out to breakfast?”

“Yes, we did. I had waffles. Grandma took me shopping today, and I got a new bathing suit and a new dress. It’s so pretty. I’m going to wear it tomorrow.”

“I can’t wait to see you in it, lovey. I miss you so much.” The tears are running down my face now.

“I can’t wait to hug you, Mommy. Grandma told me you will be home tomorrow. So all I have to do is go to sleep, and when I wake up, I will get to see you.” She sounds so happy.

“Yes, sweet pea, I will be home tomorrow. I can’t wait.”

“I love you, Mommy.”

“I love you more, baby.” I hear the phone being shuffled around before Hunter gets on the phone.

“Mommy, when are you coming home?” He sounds sad, and my heart breaks a bit. I wipe the tears from my cheeks.

“Oh, buddy, I come home tomorrow. I miss you.” I hear a knock at my door, and Grant walks in with a tray. I motion him to come in. He puts the tray on the nightstand and sits on the bed.

“Promise, Mommy? I want you to tuck me in. Grandma and Grandpa don’t know how to tuck me in.”

“Oh, honey, don’t say that. Grandma and Grandpa do know how to tuck you in. They tucked Daddy in when he was your age, so they have more experience than I do.”

“Really, they used to tuck Daddy into bed?”

“Of course, baby.”

“Mommy, can we have a date in my dreams again tonight? We had so much fun last night. Me, you, and Daddy were jumping on the trampoline. He was being so silly; he kept tickling us.” The words send my tears into overdrive. Grant looks at me and I put my hand up.

“I’m happy we had so much fun. I’ll meet you in your dreams in a little bit. Go and brush your teeth and go to bed. We will be waiting for you.”

“I love you, Mommy,” Hunter says, excited.

“I love you more,” I whisper as I wipe the tears off my face. I can taste them in my mouth. Hunter hangs up the phone. Grant shifts closer to me.

“Is everything all right? Do you need to get home?” He picks up his cell in anticipation of me saying yes. I shake my head no.

“What is it?” he asks as he scoots next to me in bed and takes me in his arms.

“Nothing, just something Hunter said set me off. I’m sorry. I’m just a hot mess sometimes.” He wipes the tears from my cheeks. I don’t feel embarrassed in the least for showing my emotions around him.

“Shhh, don’t apologize to me. What did he say?”

I take a deep breath and try not to cry again. He senses this and pulls me closer. I let him.

“He said he dreamed of me, him, and Chase, and we were having fun jumping on the trampoline. He said Daddy was being silly tickling us. It sounded so real when he said it. He wants to have another dream date tonight with the three of us.” I feel the hot tears again.