Saving Grace (20 page)

Quietly, she stepped out to the lanai to catch a glimpse of the early rays peeking over the horizon.  She reached for her towel, from last night’s escapade in the water, only to find the spot where they’d hung them -empty.  

I wonder if Burke took them inside.
  She turned back inside to check the laundry room, only a few feet away from where he lay.

As more light slowly filled the room, she could make out the edges of his face, as it set in the crook of his arm.  She smiled at the sight of such a strong man, sleeping like a child.

More than anything she wanted to curl up next to his long body, but stopped short.  Instead, she stood there taking every inch of him in, with admiration.  She felt this was when he was most vulnerable and loved seeing his gentle nature, which he mostly tried to hide. 

It was the only time she saw the edges of his face soften and the stress from his shoulders fall away.  Now that she knew his story, she understood the burdens he’d carried inside. 

“You gonna stand there all day, or join me?”  He groaned, and lifted one eye-lid.

She twisted her mouth into a smirk, and raised her eyebrow.  “I thought you were asleep.”

Burke rolled to his side, making room on the pullout and stretched as he shook the cobwebs of sleep from his mind.

Grace sat down next to him and gazed into his eyes.  He breathed in and slid his arm up the side of her leg, only to grab her by the waist and pull her closer.

“Woman, you’re going to be the end of me,” he said gruffly, and brought her down next to him.

“Why don’t you just sleep in your own room already?”  She giggled, enjoying the scruff of his face as he rubbed it into her neck. 

Grace wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him lightly on the lips.  “Good morning.”

“Good morning.”  He propped up on one elbow and stared into her eyes.  “This is why I’ve not slept in my own bed yet.”

“What?”  Grace laughed.

“You.”  Burke got serious.  “I don’t want to do anything until the timing is right … especially since...”

She groaned and buried her head in his pillow.  She rolled onto her stomach and lifted her head. 

He nodded and lifted her chin to meet his stare.  He wanted her more than anything, but wouldn’t mess this up with any regrets.

“We can sleep in the same bed without,” she started.

“Really?”  This time he laughed.  “You’re kidding yourself.  Because I can barely keep my hands off you now.”  He stroked her back gently.

Just the thought of the two of them gave him a physical reaction, which he had to adjust to hide. 

“The thought of that on its own is enough for me to keep my distance, let alone sleep the night through without having you.  Heck, its hard enough sleeping in this room, knowing you’re in my bed on the other side of my door.”

“Really?”  Her eyes lit up.

“Grace, come on.  I’m serious.”
“I am too!  I’m not teasing.  I already told you that I

think I’m ready.”

              He gently kissed her forehead before lifting himself from the pullout couch.  He straightened the covers and held a hand out to Grace.  “Come on.”

              “To your room?”  She nodded.

              “No, we’re going to take a walk on the beach and watch the sun rise.  Isn’t that what you were doing before sneaking back inside?  What stopped you?”

              “You were awake?”  She asked, astounded.  She took his hand and allowed him to help her up.  “Okay, but the towels were gone from last night.  I thought you may have put them in the by the dryer, which is why I came back in.  Then I saw you and couldn’t resist watching you sleep.” She smiled and kissed his cheek.

He turned his head to get a good view, through the living room window, which was between him and his lanai.

“Hmmm,” he murmured, seeing the towels were gone.  “Nope, I didn’t bring them in.  And we didn’t come in till almost midnight.”

He saw Grace’s face scrunch up with worry and smiled reassuringly. 

“Does that kind of thing happen often?”

“Well, not that I can ever remember, but they were outside for anyone to walk by and take.”  He brushed it off.

“But who would be outside that late in this neighborhood?” 

“Relax,” he said, sliding a pair of shorts over his boxers.  “It’s just a couple of towels.  It was probably just kids.  It’ll be okay.  I have more.”  He reached for her hand.  “Come on, let’s go for a walk.”

She laced her fingers with his, and put on a smile as they exited to the lanai.  She wanted to believe him, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.  Burke may not mind that the towels were missing, but she did.

As they opened the gate for the beach, Grace glanced back to where they’d left the towels last night.  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw two cigarette buts lying just outside the fence.

She yanked his arm and pointed.  “See?  Someone didn’t just take our towels – they stayed for a while.  Do you think they were watching us?” 

Grace’s skin crawled at the thought.

The fact that someone was lurking at them didn’t sit well with him either, but he didn’t want to upset Grace any more than she was. 

“I’m sure everything’s fine.  Don’t worry so much.” 

He squeezed her hand, leading her through the groundcover to the sandy shore.  At that very moment, brilliant colors began bouncing in all directions from the ocean, taking away any uneasy feelings and replacing them with awe for their surroundings.

“Now this is my favorite time of day.”  She sighed, leaning her head on his shoulder. 

Burke brought his arm around her small waist, and kissed the top of her head.

And that’s where they stood for the next few minutes … in solitude, taking in their piece of heaven; unaware of anything else other than themselves and the emotions they felt for one another. 

Burke’s mind raced to the future, and realized he couldn’t see one without Grace in it.  Grace’s mind spun with the possibilities she never imagined could come true … until she met Burke. 

And Zach, who sat unnoticed, around the corner, could only think about how vulnerable they’d become.  But this wasn’t the moment he’d get his revenge. 

No, it wasn’t time yet.  He knew he had to wait until Grace was completely alone.

Chapter 25

For almost a full week, he watched their every move.  Every smile she sent this other man … every gentle touch she gave him … burned him to his inner core. 

She never smiled at me like that,
Zach thought, as he scrunched his eyes through his binoculars.

He let his gaze fall down into his backpack, which held the beach towels he stole from Grace and her new friend.  He reached inside to touch them once more, only to bunch the top towel up with anger.

From his vantage point, he had easy access to view them through their back window, across the lanai.  He sat crunched behind the neighboring garden, which gave him cover until the people, who owned the neighboring home, came home from work.

Zach kept a detailed log of their comings and goings, hoping to get Grace alone on the beach.  But, for the last four days her new boyfriend never left her side.  It was infuriating. 

Just what does he do for a living that allows him to spend so much time without going to a job?
 

Zach glanced down to his watch, recognizing that he only had about half an hour left before the neighbors came home.  He’d then have to move across the street to sit in his car, where he didn’t have clear access to their movements. 

So far, he’d kept his car hidden near a home that was for rent, which he’d hoped wouldn’t send up any red flags.

As he turned his attention toward Grace, he noticed the couple had settled into a large papasan chair on the lanai.  Zach’s eyes narrowed as he watched her cuddle within Burke’s arms. 

Inside, he seethed wondering if she knew how flaunting their relationship fed the fire inside him.  Just how long did she think this giant of a man could protect her? 

He promised himself as soon as he could get Grace alone, she would be sorry for tossing him aside like a joke only to shack up with the next man she came in contact with.

As he was planning her demise, he watched as she laughed at whatever her companion told her. Seeing the joy that spread across her face in laughter, he promised himself to make her face twist with pain as soon as he could get her alone.   

It’s like she’s laughing in your face,
he told himself.

              From behind him, he heard a car door slam shut in the neighboring driveway.  The neighbors had come home early, so he quickly pushed his binoculars and notes into his backpack to stand.  Zach shoved on his sunglasses and started to stroll down the beach, like any other tourist would. 

After seeing her brazen attempt to get under his skin, he wanted to see her a little more closely before heading to his car, and just hoped his ball cap and glasses would give him enough of a disguise that she wouldn’t recognize him … net yet.

              Zach went further up the shoreline and glanced at them from out of the corner of his eye, hoping he’d see some flicker of recognition.  He wasn’t ready to reveal himself, but part of him wanted her to wonder.  Before he took her, he wanted her to second-guess his identity.

Any attempt at goading her failed, as she was too busy paying attention to her new love to even notice.

              “Disgusting,” he mumbled, and continued talking to himself.  “Really, Grace?  You don’t have any more class than to throw yourself at him?” 

He turned and focused on the ocean in efforts to keep from walking over and throttling her on sight.

              “You never laughed like that for me,” he growled and narrowed his eyes.  It was then that heard his father’s voice once more within his head. 

             
You were never good enough…

             
“What makes this guy so special?  Huh?” He asked softly, out toward the sea.  “He looks like just another member of the working class.  He’s nothing.”

              He balled his fists wanting to scream, but stayed silent.  Gritting his teeth, he turned back toward Grace and her companion, who didn’t even register he was within walking distance.  Taking a step closer to the lanai, he was sure they’d look up from their cozy position on the couch.  When they didn’t, he clamped a cigarette between his lips and searched his pockets for a lighter.  As he released a deep breathe out the side of his mouth, he brought the flame up towards his cigarette mentally challenging her to take note of him.

After a long drag, he took inventory of his patience.  For the last three days, he watched in anticipation.  He knew one of her favorite things was to watch sit on the shore watching the waves in the early morning hours.

Originally, he assumed he could sneak up and take her unaware.  Fully prepared, he had a bottle of chloroform in his bag with a rag.  He was familiar with her body enough to know she would be easy to toss over his shoulder and carry off toward his car. 

However, each morning, her giant of a boyfriend was on the beach with her.  It was like he was her personal protector or something.  If it were anyone else, he’d have taken care of him already, but Zach knew better than to wrestle with someone twice his size. 

The only way he could make this work was to get this man out of the picture.  Only to do that - meant learning more about who her boyfriend was and what made him tick.

Zach took another drag from his cigarette and looked over his shoulder, giving him a peripheral view of Grace.

Grace outstretched her legs and wound them with Burke’s, enjoying every second of her time.  This couldn’t be more perfect.  The more time she spent with Burke, the more he revealed himself to her.  And the more he revealed, the more she found him to be someone she couldn’t get enough of. 

Surprisingly enough, after she got through his gruff exterior, she found he had a wicked sense of humor.  The fact that he made her laugh was like the final piece of the puzzle that fell into place for her.

Grace sighed.  This was something she could see herself doing for a very long time, spending time like this with Burke.  After an active afternoon, they finally hit a quiet moment, which gave her pause to reflect how much they truly had in common.

She leaned her head back on his shoulder to watch the surf roll in, and count the ways they made sense.  It was then she noticed there was someone standing out on their beach, blocking her view.  She’d been so caught up with Burke; she’d never even seen anyone walk by.