In Search of Grace (9 page)

             
“
I am telling you, b
ake
our man c
ookies.”

             
Alex laugh
ed
.  “I am not baking
him
cookies.”

             
Charles feigned shock and disappointment
.
“
Y
ou’re
not being very neighborly. 
Y
ou know what
?
Forget I said anything.
I’ll bake him cookies.”  
W
ith
that,
Charles
hung up.

             
Continuing to smile, Alex carried her laptop out to the patio to write.  She liked days like today.  The sun shining brightly
, the air not too warm
, she was feeling good and motivated.   The lack of sleep did not seem to affect her at all.
  Even the sounds of hammering next door
did not
bother her
,
and eventually, she
did not
even hear the noises of construction as she re-entered her
fantasy
world.

             
It was several hours before she lifted her eyes from the pages on her screen. 
Stretching
her arms up over her head
to
rel
ie
ve
the tightness in her neck
while glancing
at the computer screen
,
she yawned
.  S
he was proud of the progress she made with her book
,
but i
t was time to take a break
.
  Realizing that the hammering had stopped, she thought of her conversation with Charles.  Maybe he was right.  Maybe she
was not
being very neighborly and should bring Seth a peace offering.  It had nothing to do of course with wanting to see him again. It was the neighborly thing to do. 
Before she lost her
courage,
she ran into the house
searching her cabinet for cookies
.  Arranging them
on a plate
before
covering it
in plastic wrap
,
she looked
down at her hastily made
gift
grimac
ing
. 
“You are pathetic Alex
, and Charles would definitely not approve
.
” Shrugging
,
she lifted the plate
,
and as an afterthought
,
grabbed a couple of cold water bottles f
ro
m the
refrigerator
.
Reaching
the
fence,
she
hesitated
as the
doubts invaded her mind
. 
Should she
knock or just walk in
?
 
Hesitating, she cursed as one of the water bottle slipped out of her hand. She bent down
just as Seth opened
the gate; t
he sound of wood hitting
her
head
reverberated
in the yard.

             
“Ouch!”  Alex dropped the
second bottle
of water and almost dropped the cookies as she
raised
a hand to rub at the bump
now forming on her head
.

             
“Oh my God!  Alex, are you ok?”

             
“I am fine….ask the gate
though…it might be knocked out
…”

             
“What?”  Seth was confused,
before
realizing
that she was attempting to make a joke
.  H
e started to laugh.

             
Watching her juggle the plate
,
he took it from her fingers.  Grabbing her arm, he pulled her into his yard and set her down on the porch step.

             
“Stay there and don’t move
.
” She heard him moving around in the house as her eyes took in the back yard
while her
eyes fill
ed
with tears
at seeing t
hat there was not
even
one of Betsy’s roses left.  Her heart broke
looking at the pieces of lumber strewn throughout the yard.  Where once lived an oasis of flowers, only dirt and small patches of grass remained.

             
When he came back
out
side
,
she sprang to her feet
ignoring
the pain in her head
…
s
taring at him accusingly
with tears
still
floating in her eyes
.

             
”
W
hat?”

             
“How could you? How could you destroy all of the flowers?”

             
“Alex
.”  Seth reached for her arm, but she moved it away before he could touch her.

             
“No.  Tell me.  How could you?”

             
Putting the ice down, he grabbed both of her shoulders
and shook her gently
.  “Alex, shut up for a minut
e and come here.
”

             
Still angry, she followed him to the side of his house and
gasped
.  There must have been over 50 white buckets filled with dirt and the missing
roses and
other
perennials
.

             
“You kept them.”

             
“Every one
,
Alex.”

             
“
Really
?
”

             
“
Yes
.
”

             
“I am sorry. Really
,
Seth
,
I am
.
”

             
Seth walked up to her and gently turned her body around so that she was facing him.  With his
hand,
he gently wiped the single tear that had slid slowly down her cheek.  That one gesture was so gentle, unexpected and heartfelt that it made Alex’s heart tighten in her chest
causing even
more tears
to begin
to
slide down her face
.  She
could not
catch the sob before it came out.  Cursing under his breath Seth’s arms went around her
press
ing
her head to his chest as she cried it out.

             
After a few minutes, she struggled to pull away
while g
estur
ing
to the plate on the porch
.
 
“I brought you cookies to welcome you to the neighborhood.”

             
“
Let’s
go have some of them then
,
after I put ice on that bump of yours.”

             
Alex walked
back to
the porch
,
and sitting side by side on the steps neither said anything for a few
minutes
.
  Seth looked at her liking the way she had put her hair up in a
ponytail
.  The
casual
look, with the hair, grey sweatpants and oversized tee shirt surprised
him,
as did her relaxed pose on his porch.
  She wore
no
makeup
,
giving
her an even more youthful look.  She
did
look tired to him
,
but
knowing she did not
have a lot of sleep last night
,
this did not surprise him.  What did surprise him was that she had even come over
,
w
ith a plate of cookies no less. 
H
e
had been racking his brain trying to think up an excuse to see her again
,
and it seems she had the same thought. 
Her approaching him was a great start. 
Tak
ing
another sip of the water she brought
,
he struggled for something to say
,
wanting to keep this positive momentum going.
 

             
“I am surprised that you haven’t asked what the plans were for the backyard yet.”

             
“I figured that maybe I should just wait and see…so far I have not been very good at judging what is going on.  I have taken my foot out of my mouth one too many times as it is with you
.
”

             
Seth smiled.  Leaning over he brushed a cookie crumb from the side of her mouth,
casually
, as if he had done it a hundred times before. 
The shape of her lips fascinated him
, the way they opened slightly in
surprise
at his touch.  He
wondered
what it would feel like to kiss her, taste her softness.   Alex’s face flushed as if she could read his thoughts.

             
“What is it about you that
fascinate
s
me so much?”

             
Embarrassed
,
Alex pulled away from his touch
, turning her head
.  “I have no idea.  I am sure that I am the least interesting thing
in this city.
”

             
“Oh, I doubt that very much.  You know what I do
;
what do you do for work?”

             
Surprised at the change in the direction of the conversation, Alex’s body relaxed.  “I am a writer
...”

             
“Really?”

             
“Does that surprise you?”  Alex
could feel her
irritation
rise
at the question…

             
“Yes, I guess it
does. What
do you write about?”

             
Alex’s face burned
.
She was always proud of her novels but wondered at what he would think.
 
Maybe she cared
a bit too much what he would
think.

             
“
Suspense
...”
she hesitated as his eyebrows arched up
waiting for her to continue
.

             
“
And
romance
.
” Looking
down at her feet
,
she waited for the
inevitable
laughter
. 
After a few seconds, she looked up to see him staring
at her
curiously
.

             
“Are you any good?”

             
Surprised
yet
grateful for his question,
Alex
smiled.
Seth felt his heart constrict
seeing her
completely
light up.
  Now
this side of her he wanted to see more.

             
“Well, as Alex
Tuttle
…no, probably not very good; as
G
.
A
. Darling I do ok.”

             
“
You
are
G
.
A
. Darling?”  Seth stared at her incredulous.  “My sister reads your books all of the time.  In fact she gets quite angry when you write a trilogy and the second and third installment is months away from publication.  I’ll be damned
.  Wait until she hears I am living right next door.
”