Saving Grace (28 page)

“She better come back.” CoCo stabbed a finger in his direction. “You need to apologize.”

“What do you mean she better come back?” Cart’s face crumbled, and it looked like his whole world was about to come crashing down.

Clementine wandered in and tried to wedge his entire body under Chord’s desk. It was tight, but once Chord inched his legs out of the way, Clementine almost managed it, but his giant head stuck out.

“Grace is gone?” HW stepped inside the office. “Who’s going to make dinner?”

“Dad made Grace cry, and all you’re worried about is dinner? You’re such a butt-head.” CoCo rolled her eyes.

“Am not.” HW’s eyes turned narrowed to argumentative slits and he pushed his sleeves up.

Chord sprang up and stepped between them.

“Don’t call your brother a butt-head.” He shot Coco a look that said apologize-now.

“Fine.” She blew out an exasperated sigh. “You’re not a butt-head.”

He needed to get to Grace. He had to make this right.

“Y’all get your stuff, we’re going to get Grace. She went to see her uncle. I think it’s time we met him.” Chord didn’t care they weren’t invited. He’d created this bad situation, and he couldn’t stand she was hurting.

He loved Grace, and it was high time he told her.

The desk shook as Clementine unfurled his huge body and nodded his agreement to the plan.

“Road trip.” Cart said and then high-fived HW.

“Want me to get the black bags like before?” HW shuffled from foot to foot excitedly.

“This isn’t going to end well.” CoCo rolled off the chair. “Let me get my phone.”

They all ran to the suburban except for Clementine who never ran anywhere. When he finally made it to the car, Chord opened the back door of the suburban.

“Load up.” He pointed to the back.

Clementine shot him a ‘yeah right’ look and moseyed to the passenger’s side door, and scratched.

CoCo leaned out the window and glared. “Really?”

She mumbled something under her breath and climbed into the backseat.

Chord opened the door, and Clementine climbed up.

An hour later they finally found Shady Oakes Assisted Living. They trolled the parking lot looking for Grace’s car, but it wasn’t there.

Panic—irrational and strong coursed through him. She was gone. He couldn’t find her. He’d done this. With shaking hands, he pulled into the closest parking space and for the tenth time dialed her cell. It rang and rang, and then her voice mail came on. He hit end. “CoCo, can you call Grace?”

Clearly she wasn’t ready to talk to him.

“What do you think I’ve been doing? She isn’t answering.” CoCo’s voice had lost some of its bitchiness in favor of panic.

Clementine raised his head and licked her face. Apparently Clementine didn’t like the panic in CoCo’s voice either.

“I’m sure everything is okay.” He opened the car door. “Let’s go meet Uncle Vernon. I bet Grace will be here any minute.”

He glanced at the passenger’s seat. “Clementine, you stay here, and guard the car.”

The dog yawned extravagantly, rested his head on the dash, and closed his eyes. Clearly man’s best friend wasn’t worried about a thing.

What if she’d been in an accident? He didn’t want to call the police in front of the kids, because they would freak out. As they walked across the parking lot to the front walk, he pulled up a local TV news website and searched for car accidents. Nothing recent came up.

Where was Grace?

Chord smiled at the woman in scrubs working the reception desk. “We’re here to see Vernon…” He searched his memory for a last name, but Grace had always called him Uncle Vernon. He really knew so little about her. “We’re friends of Grace Kelley. We’re here to see her uncle.”

He hoped there wasn’t a confidentiality issue where the lady couldn’t tell him where Uncle Vernon lived.

She blinked and then pursed her lips. “Um…let me call someone.”

She picked up the phone, pushed several buttons, and said, “Edgar, there are some people here to see Vernon Casey.”

Casey…her uncle’s last name was Casey.

She hung up the phone and nodded. “Edgar will be right here.”

A short, Hispanic man raced out of the open doorway and spoke into the walky-talky in his hand. “I’m trying to locate the next of kin now. As soon as I do, I’ll send her to the hospital.”

“You’re the Robbins’s.” The man looked harried. “Where’s Grace?”

The panic that had been brewing bubbled to the surface.

“She’s supposed to be here.” Chord could barely get the words out. “She should be here.”

“Her uncle fell and hit his head. We’re transporting him to Round Rock Hospital right now. He’s unconscious.” The Hispanic man’s eyes misted with tears. “Find Grace. She needs to get here soon.”

“What’s going on?” Grace’s voice materialized from behind him. Chord turned around. Her eyes were red and worried.

“He fell and hit his head.” The Hispanic man ran to Grace. “They just loaded him in to the ambulance.”

A siren screamed from the parking lot out back and Chord caught the flash of blue and red lights as it peeled out of the parking lot.

“He’s on his way to Round Rock Hospital. Go. Now.” The man gave her a hug.

Grace nodded and ran for the door.

Chord and the kids ran after her.

“I’ll drive.” Chord grabbed her hand and gently guided her to the suburban.

Grace looked so lost and vulnerable. He wanted to pull her into his lap and kiss her until the pain in her eyes went away.

“Clementine, get in the back.” He dusted the dog hair off the seat.

The dog took one look at Grace, licked her cheek, and then hopped to the back of the suburban.

Chord loaded her into the passenger’s seat, buckled her in, and closed the door. Chord ran around to the driver’s side, glanced in back to make sure all the kids were buckled in, and jumped into his seat. They tore out of the parking space and raced out of the lot. It took all of ten endless and silent minutes to get to Round Rock Hospital. They followed the signs to the emergency room entrance.

As soon as he pulled into the bay, Grace jumped out of the car. She was inside the electronic doors before he pulled away from the curb.

“Is Uncle Vernon going to die?” HW asked casually from the backseat.

“I don’t know.” Chord double-parked in a doctor’s lot. “Let’s go find Grace. Sorry Clementine, you’ll have to stay here.”

Clementine barked once and then laid down.

CoCo took a hand of each of her brothers. “You need to be nice to Grace. She’s upset. This is serious.”

When had CoCo become the adult? He shook his head. Always.

Chord stepped on the front mat and the electronic door swished open. CoCo followed with the boys.

“We’ll stay here.” CoCo led the boys to a row of empty chairs in the waiting room. “Go find Grace.”

Chord ran to the front window. “I’m looking for Vernon Casey. They just brought him in.”

“He’s in the crash room. First door on your left. I’ll buzz you through.” The woman behind the desk hit a red button.

It took years for the door to open, and then he saw her.

Grace clutched her purse like a life preserver as her wilted body sat on a blue plastic chair outside the room. She sat perfectly still and stared at some point in front of her. Nothing but silence came from the other side of the closed door she sat beside.

Chord squatted in front of her and hugged her to him.

“They told me they lost him on the way here.” She shook her head. Her voice was monotone and mechanical. “I almost asked them if they were planning on finding him before I realized they meant he’d died.”

“I’m so sorry, love.” He was sorry for lots of things. His heart ached for her. “What can I do for you?”

He had to do something to make her feel better because the heartbreak on her face was tearing him up.

“Nothing.” She shook her head. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do now.” She swallowed hard. “He was the only family I had left…well, almost. I’m pregnant.”

Her voice was flat and distant.

It took a second for the words to sink in. “What?”

Pregnant? Grace was having a baby. He felt his whole body smile.

“I’m pregnant.” She stared straight ahead. “That’s why I can’t stay. I don’t want anything from you, but it’s the honorable thing to let you know.”

Leaving? She was leaving? Fear banked his happiness. Grace wasn’t leaving…he wouldn’t let her.

“Of course you don’t want anything from me, you’ve never wanted anything from me.” He combed his fingers through his hair and did his best to tamp down his temper. Now was not the time to have this conversation.

She sure as hell wasn’t leaving him.

“Don’t worry. I don’t expect to get married. I just thought you should know.” Emotionally, she was so far away. He wanted to shake her until she came back to him.

“What if I want to marry you?” He loved her, and he’d been thinking about it. Why not? Their life together would be so full of love and happiness. His chest swelled at the thought.

“I can’t marry you. I won’t.” She shook her head.

She’d said no. The blow made his hands shake. How could he make this right? If he didn’t make this right, it felt like he’d lose her forever.

“I want to marry for love…like my aunt and uncle. They loved each other—no qualifier. Life wasn’t always easy, but they always loved each other. I want that…I deserve that.”

“But, I love you.” It was all he could think of. His hands were shaking so much they fairly vibrated. She wouldn’t marry him because she didn’t believe that he loved her.

“I love you.” He pronounced every syllable.

Tears gathered in her eyes, and her eyes finally met his.

“Don’t say that.” Her voice was hard, angry. “Don’t you ever say that.”

“Why? It’s true.” He took her hands and kissed the ring finger of her left hand. “I love y—”

“Don’t say that. You don’t get to say it, now. I know you. You only brought up those three little words because I told you I’m pregnant.” She swiped at the tears running down her cheeks. “That’s why I didn’t tell you. You would do the noble thing and insist on marriage.”

She tried to shake off his hands, but he held tight.

“I’m not that nice of a guy.” He temper was flaring. “I love you, God damn it. And we will be married, and we will live happily ever after if it kills me. I swore to myself I would only marry again for love, and that’s what I’m trying to do.”

“I want to believe you, but you don’t trust me.” Her tears were coming faster, and she started rocking back and forth. “Trust is the basis for love.”

“I’m an ass. You’ve told me so before. I made a mistake. I do trust you. I love you. I’ve handed over my children to you—that is the ultimate trust. I’m sorry about earlier. I screwed things up, but I’m going to fix them.” Tears stung his eyes. “You’re my life…my everything. You’re the other half of my soul. You can’t leave us.”

He was desperate, and the urge to offer to buy her something to sooth her was strong. Because she wasn’t like the other women who’d paraded through his life, some flashy trinket wouldn’t work. He couldn’t buy her love, because it was genuine, and she’d offered it freely. He could see her side of things. He’d only offered his love in return, after he’d hurt her. It physically hurt him he’d caused her so much pain.

“Stay…not because of the baby, but because you love me. Let’s skip the marriage thing because it seems to be an issue. I don’t need a piece of paper to tell the world I love you, because it shows on my face every time you walk into the room. When I leave you, I count the minutes until I get to see you again. I love you, and there’s nothing you can do about it. There is nothing you can say that will change my mind. You’re my other half—the best part of me. I don’t need marriage to prove to you or myself, because I already know you’re the person I’ve waited a lifetime for.”

“I want so badly to believe you, but—”

“Now who has the trust issues?” His heart was beating a mile a minute. Everything in his life can come down to this moment. She had to stay.

Horror dawned in her pretty brown eyes. “Crap, I do.”

She sat back hard in the chair. “Is that why I can’t stand asking for help?”

Chord took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He was winning, or at least, he wasn’t losing. He slid into the chair next to hers and gathered her in his arms.

“Let me help you with Uncle Vernon. I’ll make all of the arrangements. Let me do this for you.” He needed to be her savior…he needed to be her saving grace for a change.

She nodded. “We’ll do it together. I should have introduced you to Uncle Vernon weeks ago. I wish I had.”

She swiped at the remains of the tear tracks on her cheeks. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the baby until now. I just wanted you to love me for me, and not the baby human I’m growing.”

“I do love you and the baby human. Speaking of baby humans, our other three are in the waiting room.” His heart rate was slowing to normal—ish.

“Our kids are in the waiting room?” Her smile was eager. It occurred to him that she wanted to belong to them and not because she loved him, but because she loved each and every one of them. She was their mother, biology be damned.

“Things turned nasty when they thought you weren’t coming back. I’ll have to sleep with one eye open for the rest of my life, if you don’t come back. In fact,” he nodded slowly, “if you’ll go ahead and agree to marry me, I’m pretty sure we can get them to keep their rooms clean for an entire week.”

“What about the dirty dishes? If you throw in a month’s worth of loading and unloading the dishwasher, you have a deal.” She mashed her lips together to keep from smiling.

She was going to say yes. Tears leaked from his eyes, and he swiped them out of the way. It was humbling to know the woman he loved and wanted to spend his life with, felt the same. Every year on this day, he would send her flowers as a thank you for saying yes.

“Wow, you’re really going for the brass ring.” He mopped his face with his sleeve and dared another tear to roll down his cheek.

“Go big or go home.” She shrugged a shoulder. “It’s how I roll.”

“I love that about you.” He kissed the top of her head and savored the feel of her in his arms. “So what do you say, Nipple Lady, will you marry me?”