In Search of Grace (21 page)

             
“Alexandra?”

             
“Greg
!”
 

             
Alex walked over to Greg
,
and they hugged each other
with affection
.
 
At 62,
Greg was as close to a father that Alex felt she would ever h
ave since
losing
Hank.  Taking a step back,
smiling
up at him
,
she took in
his smart tailored suit
.  H
is
graying
hair cut to just above his ears
; n
ot one
piece
would
dare
be out of place
. H
e tucked her
hand into the crook of h
is
elbow keeping his pressed onto hers with his
perfectly manicured on
e
.  

             
“Come on in
,
and let’s talk ab
out this group you
’
r
e
speaking to after you fill me in on the new events in your life.
”

             
Walking into his office
,
Alex smiled
.  One whole wall was filled with
volumes o
f books and manuscripts
neatly arranged on the shelves
.  All looked
incredibly
organized and uncluttered
,
and if
she were to guess,
each one would be listed alphabetically by
author
.
 
Greg
had to be the
neatest
,
most organized person
she
ever met.

             
Greg sat in his chair and looked at Alex.  She looked different
to him somehow
. 
His eyes bored into hers
,
noting
a glow about her that he had been waiting a long time to see.

             
“How have you been
,
my dear?”

             
“Great
,
Greg!”

             
“I can see that.  Is there something or someone maybe that brings that smile to your face so
quickly?
”

             
Alex blushed.

             
“Hmmm, I thought as much.  Are you ready to talk about
him?
”

             
“It is still new
,
Greg.  I like him very much though.”

             
“And he you?”

             
He immediately regretted the question at seeing the smile fade on her face
as a
look of uncertainty replac
ed
it.

             
“He is very kind to me.” The smile returned.  “Yeah, I think he does.”

             
“Good.  Treasure him my dear.  Life goes by so fast.”

             
After their meeting
,
she headed back to her hotel to change
b
efore heading
to the spa.

             
Only when
she was
stretched
out
onto the massage table, feeling the hot rocks placed gently
and strategically on her body,
did
she finally let her mind float
again
to Seth. 
Wondering if he even noticed she was gone, s
he was overwhelmed at her feelings for him, knowing that she hardly knew him
,
yet
wanting to know every
thing about
him.
Feeling her face heat at the memory of their
intimate times together
, she was surprised at her own inhibitions.  She was never one
to
give herself
easily to a man, especially after her
assault
.  W
ith
Seth
, there was a different level of trust that she
felt
. 
He made her feel
incredibly safe
.
He gave her comfort in her reality and in her dreams.
Maybe it had to do with
his
being a State Trooper, protector of the masses.

             
Shifting slightly on the table, the masseuse came over
,
gently lifting the rocks off her body.

             
“How do you feel?”

             
“That was wonderful!” Alex meant it. 
Easing
up from the
table,
she went for her manicure and pedicure.  She never used to treat herself this
indulgently
,
but after her divorce realized that life was too short to miss out on these simple pleasures in life
,
and
if
nothing else
,
the simple fact that her ex husband thought it was a waste of money
made her enjoy it all the more.

             
An hour and a half
later,
she walked into her hotel room, refreshed and relaxed. 
Changing into a
new
set of clothes, Alex contemplated calling Seth
,
but glancing at the clock on the nightstand
,
realized that she would not have time to have any
kind of
normal conversation.  Swearing under her breath, she quickly put on makeup and headed to the auditorium for her first of three lecture
s.

             
It was after midnight
before she
finally
headed back to her hotel room
,
physically and
mentally drained.
Tossing
her card key on the
nightstand,
she heard her
cell phone r
inging
.
 
Frowning, she picked
it
up
to
see
Seth’s name on the caller id
.  Alex
f
elt a quick rush of nervousness, wishing that she had told him that she was gone.
“Get a hold of yourself,
Alex
,
” she muttered under her breath.  Good grief, she felt like a
schoolgirl
coming in after curfew
.
  Pressing the button, she didn’t even bother pretending she didn’t know who it was.

             
“Hi
.
”

             
“
Where the hell are you?
”
  He sounded angrier tha
n
she thought he would be.  Her defenses started to build back up.

             
“Excuse me?”

             
“Where
. A
re
.
Y
ou?” 
This
time he enunciated each word.

             
“I had to go to
New York
for a speaking engagement.  It was very last minute
.
  How are you?  What are you doing?
”

             
The silence on the phone was electric.

             
“
I am fine, and I am at work.  I get off at 7:00 am.  Y
ou couldn’t tell me
you were leaving?
  I was worried
,
Alex
,
when I saw your car gone this morning
,
and you never came home”.

             
“I was going to tell you last night
,
Seth, but
I got a bit distracted.
”
 
Her attempt at making light of the situation did not flow to Seth.

             
“Dammit
,
Alex,
y
ou knew I had to go to work.
  You couldn’t call today to let me know what was going on?”

             
Alex’s head began to pound
,
and she wanted to go to bed. 
“
You are not my father
,
Seth;
I don’t need to report to anyone.”

             
Alex regretted her words the second she said them.  She
knew she had crossed the line with her comment.  Seth’s tone was clipped and icy.

             
“You know what
,
Alex,
you
’
r
e
right.  I am not your fathe
r
,
and I
do not
want to be
.  I was
sure
I made that clear with you
the other night
.
What I do want from you is
trust
.  The courtesy of a phone call is all that I am asking.  Have a good night
,
Alex.
”

             
Immediately the telephone shut off
,
and
Alex burst into tears. 
Why did she always screw things up with him? 
She
had not
meant
to
be so mean
or cold
to Seth.  She contemplated calling him back, then realized that she was to tired to
o
even hold a decent conversation.  No, this would have to wait until she returned to
Massachusetts
.
             

             
Finishing his shift
,
Seth grabbed the keys from his locker at the State Police Barracks and headed to his truck.  Even at 7:00 in the morning,
Revere
B
each
was starting to fill with people
,
joggers getting in an early run, and dog owners walking the beach.  Inhaling deeply of the ocean air, Seth tried to get Alex out of his head.  He was still
seething over
their early morning
conversation
.
He liked her. Too much he figured.  She got under his skin the second he pulled her over on the highway.
 
Those big eyes filled with pain of something she has hidden deep inside of her.  Seth knew the wall was high and was only beginning to realize
just
how
high
it was. 
Pulling into his driveway
, he was ready for some sleep.  Looking over at her house, he hated how much he missed her. 
Noticing
the large box
lying
on her
front
porch
,
he stepped out of the truck and walked over to the bundle. 
Looking around the
neighborhood,
he did not notice
anything
out of place. 
Hesitating for a fraction of a second, he u
nwrapp
ed
the ribbon
letting it fall at his feet.  O
pening the
box,
he viewed
the
biggest bunch of
white
lilies
.
 
His nose wrinkled in distaste.
He hated
lilies
.  To Seth
,
they were a symbol of death.  Their strong fragrance reminded him of every funeral he had been to, and he had been to too many to count. 
Rummaging
in the
box,
he found what he was looking for on the bottom. 
Sealed
shut
,
he
didn’t
hesitate
to open it.
Right then
Seth didn’
t give a damn if she got mad. 
Something was going on
,
and he wanted to
find the underlying cause
of it.
Alex did not
strike
him as the lily flower type. 
A surge of j
ealously
sprang up from deep within him
,
which he quickly pushed back down
as
he tore open the tiny envelope
.
  “Grace – I cannot wait to see you again.”  Frowning deeply
,
he wondered who Grace was and why the flowers kept coming to
Alex’s
address.
 
Seth contemplated leaving the box w
h
ere h
e
had
found
it
but knew that the hot day would destroy
the delicate petals
.  If they were from someone
special
,
and they were for Alex
,
he
could not
do that
to her.  No matter how angry he was at her behavior
.  Grudgingly
,
he turned t
o bring them to his house and p
ut them in water. 
Pausing,
his chest constricted as
he realized
that he wasn’t even sure when she would be back. 
Walking
to his front door
,
he
hesitated
a
s
the hair stood up on the back of his neck. 
Looking around
,
he tried
to figure out what it was that bothered him
.
Seth stood still
,
listening
.  Noises were coming from
Alex’s
back yard.  Dropping the flowers at his door, he quietly walked to the side of her house.  Easing the latch on the side gate
,
he stepped t
hrough
.  Someone was trying to
peer in
Alex’s kitchen window.
  His hand went to his gun,
cursing as he
remember
ed
that he had taken it off and placed it in the locker in his truck.