Letting go of Grace (19 page)

“Hannah, it’s Stacey. Aiden is asking for you.” I glance up at the clock and notice I still have twenty minutes till I have to start rounds. I stroll out of my office and down to Aiden’s room. I walk into his room to find Ella and Hunter on Aiden’s bed with him and Grant and Shane are sitting in the chairs next to the bed.

“Mommy!” they shout jumping off his bed. I see pain come to Aiden’s face and I look down at the kids.

“Hey guys, you have to be careful with Aiden, OK? He still has boo-boos.” The kids stop when they reach me and look over at Aiden with concern.

He clears his face of any pain and says, “It’s OK guys, I’m fine.” I hug both of them tightly and peer over at Grant and Shane with a “what the fuck” look.

“Your mom gave us their booster seats. They wanted to come visit Aiden and see you. How could I say no to them?” Grant says, holding his hands up in defense. I know I have trouble saying no to them myself. I hid the happy feeling inside of me that Grant wanted to bring them out to surprise me.

“Mommy did you see my cannonball?” Hunter asks.

“Yes I did, it was awesome buddy” I reply, picking him up and hugging him tightly. I never get tired of hugging them. I could do it for hours.

“Grant taught me. Aiden when you go home do you want to have a contest to see who can make the biggest splash?” Hunter asks.

“No buddy, Aiden can’t do that yet. He has to wait a few weeks before he can jump in the pool.”

“I can do it. I think swimming would be a great way for me to stretch a bit. It’s on, Hunter, but I have to tell you I’m really good at it.”

“Well Shane said he always wins and I beat him this morning,” I hear Hunter challenge Aiden and I laugh out loud. A six year old challenging a thirty-two year old is hilarious.

“It’s on,” Aiden reassures with a smile.

“So what are you guys planning on doing for the rest of the day?” I place my hand on my hip looking at Grant.

“We are going to McDonald’s after this, at the request of Ella, and then we are going back to the house to jump and swim,” Grant replies with a smug face on.

“Well you guys have fun, I have to go back to work.” I kiss the kids heads and Grant gets up from his seat.

“You guys stay here, I want to talk to your mom for a minute.” The kids hop back on Aiden’s bed and turn up the volume to the TV. I notice he let them turn on cartoons and they all start watching. We look like one big happy family. Grant’s hand finds its way to my lower back and he pushes me out the door. He keeps walking with me and stops in front of the door for the stairs. He opens it, with look on his face that makes me enter the stairwell faster than needed. I turn around and Grant pushes me against the wall. His lips find mine and he kisses me till my knees grow weak. After a few minutes he takes a step back, breathing heavy.

“I have been waiting to do that all morning,” he groans.

“I’m happy you finally did,” I add, and steal one more kiss.

“I have to go do rounds. I’ll see you later at home.” I hurry and start to run up the stairs before he can sidetrack me again. I hear him chuckle, then the door closes behind him.

The rest of the day dragged at a slow pace. I just want to get home to my family. I say family because Grant is there and I think we are starting to feel like a family. Shane and Annie being there only makes it better, but once Aiden gets to my house I will be happy that we can all be together.

When I pull into my driveway I see my dad made his way over for dinner as well. My mom must be cooking up a storm. I bet she is in her glory to have this many people to cook for. I walk into the house and get hit with the most wonderful smells of dinner.

“Hello,” I yell as I kick off my shoes. I look up to see Grant rushing over to me. He picks me up and spins me around while giving me a kiss that makes me want to drag him up to my room and not leave for hours. I push away from him when I realize I don’t know where the kids are.

“It’s fine, they’re in the pool,” he informs me when I pull away. With that said I go back to kissing him. He lowers me back down to my feet. His one hand rests on my lower back pulling me in closer to him while the other roams up to my neck and into my hair. I fall for him harder. I wish I could come home to this every day. I hear someone clear their throat and jerk away from him. A grin is across my face and I look over Grant’s shoulder to see my mom smiling at us.

“Sorry to interrupt, keep going, don’t mind me,” my mom says over her shoulder as she walks back into the kitchen. Grant grabs me and kisses me again, but I show some restraint and pull away, playfully slapping his shoulder.

“Why don’t you go and get your bathing suit on and take a swim with us?” I look over at Grant and notice he’s wearing his board shorts with a white shirt. I smile at him and run upstairs, I would do anything to see him take that shirt off and get all wet. I quickly change and run back downstairs. I pass my mom in the kitchen and catch a glimpse of Grant by the pool.

“You look nice in that swim suit,” she compliments.

“Thanks Mom,” I answer cheerfully as I walk out the back door and down to the pool. I start to run and yell, “Cannonball,” right before I jump into the pool. When I reach the surface Hunter and Ella are swimming towards me at a speed I have never witnessed before without them wearing Swimmies. I tread water pleasantly surprised when I see Hunter duck under the water to swim to me. A few hours in the pool with Grant and Shane and my kids have transformed into great swimmers.

“Look at you guys” I cheer grabbing both of them when they reach me. I hold them and tread water for the three of us.

“Mommy you have to see me do a cannonball,” Hunter says pulling away from me. I let him go and Ella leaves me as well to show off all the new things they have learned. I swim over to the side of the pool and Grant bends down next to the pool’s edge.

“Hey, you have to see this.” Grant says looking over at the kids, but I see Shane sneak up behind him and I know what he is going to do. Grant still has his shirt on as he observes the kids. One small push and I watch Grant fall straight into the pool right in front of me, but the real kicker is my dad was behind Shane and he pushed him in right after he pushed Grant in. I laugh as both of them return to the surface.

“Thanks, Gary,” Shane shouts over to my dad. My dad just waves to him as he walks back up to the house to be with my mom.

“Mommy, Grant, Shane, watch us,” the kids shout and we all turn to face them. Grant comes up behind me and wraps an arm around my waist. I back up into him and push my butt into him. We watch the kid’s do cannonballs, then we all cheer for them when they swim over to us. Shane challenges them to a race, and they all take off into the shallow end. Grant’s hand slides down my body and reaches in between my legs. I turn and kiss him quickly pushing myself into his hand. I give him a gentle squeeze then swim away. He is about to chase after me when we hear my mom yell that dinner is ready. She set all the food out on the patio so I don’t have to worry about all of us walking into the house wet. We all make our way out of the pool and Shane throws towels to everyone. Such a gentleman.

Dinner is quiet except for the kids’ chatter. My parents leave shortly after helping clean up. It’s just us again in the house and I start getting the kids ready for bath time. Grant strolls into the bathroom while I bathe the kids. The kids are covered in bubbles up to their shoulders. It’s quite the comical sight. He stands at the door and chats with the kids. Hunter said something funny and we all laugh and I just soak it all in. When it’s time to tuck everyone in, Grant follows along with me. I watch as Ella gives him a giant hug and kisses his cheek. Grant chuckles and pulls her blankets up high then kisses her forehead and brushes some hair from her face. My heart speeds up a bit as I watch them.
Is this moving too fast? Should he be staying here?
I lean in the doorway, my head spinning with a million thoughts. Then Grant shakes me out of it as he walks past me to go to Hunters room next.

“Coming?” he asks.

“Give me a minute, and I’ll be right there.” I take a few steps over to Ella’s bed and sit next to her.

“Hey sweet pea. Time to close your eyes and go to sleep.” I kiss her cheek and tuck her in the rest of the way.

“Good night, Mommy.”

“Good night, baby girl. I love you.” I turn her light off and close her door. I can hear Hunter giggling in his room along with Grant’s deep laugh. I sneak over to his door and listen to their silly banter.

“Hey bud, you need to go to sleep now,” I say walking into his room.

“Night, buddy,” Grant says rubbing the top of Hunters head.

“Sleep tight,” he adds while jokingly pulling Hunter’s blankets up over his head.

“I don’t want to go to sleep. I want to keep swimming,” Hunter murmurs from under his sheets.

“Tomorrow, buddy. I promise we will swim in the morning. I don’t have to go into the office till lunchtime.” Grant steps back from the bed and I walk over.

“Good night, Grant,” Hunter shouts, still under the blankets. I smile at Grant as he walks out of the room.

“Hey Hunter, come on, let me tuck you in.” I pull the blankets down and he laughs a big belly laugh.

“It’s time to sleep,” I remind him as I fix his blankets.

“Mommy?” His voice is now soft.

“Yes, baby.”

“Is Grant going to be our daddy?” I gaze down at him and trying to hide my surprise.

“Honey, why do you think that?”

“He likes to play with us and spend time with us.”

“Well that doesn’t mean he is going to be your daddy.”

“But I heard him say he loves you.” I smile at Hunter’s innocence.

“Mommy, do you love him?”

“Well Hunter, I do love him,” I answer honestly.

“We can talk about this more another time. Grant isn’t going to be staying with us much longer, so let’s have fun while he is here OK?”

“I love you, Mommy,” he whispers while yawning.

“I love you, too, baby,” I say as I tuck him in. Then I turn off his light and close his door. When I get out in the hallway I see Grant leaning against the wall.

“So you love me?” he asks with a cheeky face. I smile at him as he pulls me in for a hug.

“That has never been the question, I fell for you that night in the Cape.” I look into those eyes and get lost like I always do.

“That was the night I fell in love with you, too,” he whispers in my ear. The fire starts once his warm breath blows gently against my ear and neck.

“How about we go downstairs,” I suggest, saying it more like a statement rather than a question.

“I would follow you anywhere,” he offers as he lets out a deep breath. The chase begins on the stairs. He picks me up midway down and throws me over his shoulder with ease. He makes me feel like I weigh nothing. When we get down the stairs he gives my bottom a nice hard slap that makes me yelp and laugh at the same time. I give his beautiful sculpted bottom a squeeze in return and I can hear him start to laugh.

“No babe, this is going to be about you tonight.” I freeze at his words and excitement starts to pulse through my body. Oh, the Grace treatment. You have to love a man who loves to please his woman thoroughly.

When we get into the office he closes the door with his foot then takes me off his shoulder leaving me pinned up against the door. I steal a glimpse of his face before his mouth crashes against mine. I see the pure hunger across his face. He conquers my mouth leaving my knees weak. I wrap my hands into his hair and hold on for dear life. When Grant attacks, all bets are off. He doesn’t always play fair in the bedroom, but I love every minute of it. As if he can sense my weakness for him, he puts his hands behind my thighs and pulls me up so my legs wrap around his waist. I’m rewarded with his hardness pushing into me just where I need it.

Hands start to move, and clothes start to pile up on the floor. I pull back from his kiss and start to kiss my way down, stopping to bite on his chin. This drives him crazy and after I’ve taken one small nibble, moaning against his mouth, he spins me around and tosses me onto the bed.

“Uh-uh, not going to happen. I told you this was about you tonight,” he teases with a feral voice. I watch in pleasure at his naked body before me. Then I study his sculpted flesh as he drops to his knees in front of the makeshift bed and starts to kiss my ankle. Slowly nibbling, licking, and sucking his way up my leg. When he gets close to my core I can’t help but push off the bed in hopes he will find my spot. Instead he teases me. He slowly blows on my hot center as he carefully kisses all the places around my aching need. He starts to kiss down my other leg making sure to not miss any spots. When he reaches my ankle, he places his hands around them and pulls me to the end of the bed where he kneels before me. I shiver at the sight of him. His hair looks sexy, like he ran his hands through it a million times today. Our eyes meet and I watch as he inches closer to my core. The animalistic look he wears so well on his face lets me know he is planning on eating me alive and I begin to pant, my chest heaving as I sit, waiting in delicious anticipation for it. I know how divine his mouth feels on me so I wait as he continues to tease me. I know he is waiting for me to beg, but not today. He told me it was all about me today. With the first flick of his tongue, my elbows, that I propped myself up on, give out. The Grace treatment is one thing I will never get tired of. As promised, it was all about me and in the end a little about him, too!