by KaLyn Cooper
Griffin had thought he’d make himself useful and cooked breakfast. They had the standard coffee machine in one corner and he found the filters and ground coffee in the cupboard right above. He liked his on the strong side, and knew Grace did also, so he hoped her brother and sister-in-law would, too.
Scrounging in the refrigerator he found eggs, turkey bacon—a new choice for Griffin, but he’d fly with it— and whole grain, whole wheat bread next to the toaster. He could handle this.
Jere yawned and stretched as he stepped into the kitchen in sleep pants and an extremely faded Iowa State University T-shirt. “If that’s coffee, I give you permission to marry my sister.” He reached into the cupboard above the pot and pulled down two cups, filling one while the other sat under the dripping water, then topped off the other.
“We like it strong,” Griffin warned as Jere lifted the cup to his lips.
“Whoa,” Jere exclaimed, his eyes going round, a second after he swallowed. “I may have to limit myself to three this morning. This will get the blood pumping. Thanks.” He stuck his head down the hall and yelled, “Are you boys getting dressed?”
Griffin heard mumbles that kind of sounded like yes.
When Jere reached for the children’s marshmallow cereal in the pantry, Griffin pointed to the food. “I’ve got breakfast here ready to roll. Total cooking time, four minutes. You ready to eat?”
Jere stared at Griffin, glanced at his preparations, then stared at Griffin again. “You cook?”
Griffin smiled. “It was either learn to cook or starve at my house. My mother knew how to make one thing, reservations. I spent a lot of time at my grandparents’ home. Grams cooked three square meals every day. I paid attention.” One side of his mouth kicked up. “That may be why Gramps had a heart attack when he was in his fifties.”
“My dad is fifty-six,” Jere noted staring into his coffee.
Denise rounded the corner dressed in blue jeans and a green shirt with a tree in the name of a local nursery on the pocket. “And that’s exactly why we eat turkey bacon, organically grown vegetables, low-fat milk, and why I insist you get in your ten thousand steps every day.”
Jere grabbed her as she walked by and pulled her in for a kiss. “And that’s why I love you.”
She kissed him again. “I want to keep you around. I couldn’t raise these two kids by myself.” She escaped from his grasp and disappeared down the hall urging the boys to finish dressing.
Grace appeared fully dressed and ready for the day. “What can I do to help?” She looked at her brother nursing his first cup of coffee, then to Griffin who stood in front of the stove heating the pan for eggs and popping bread into the toaster.
“Superman over there seems to have it handled,” Jere proclaimed and held his coffee cup in toast.
Griffin looked over his shoulder at Grace. “I guess if I can’t be Batman, will Superman be good enough?” He loved the way she got embarrassed.
“I don’t know, Bruce Wayne looks darn good in a tuxedo, and I haven’t seen you in one of those yet.”
He almost begged to differ with her then thought through every one of their encounters. Although he’d worn a tuxedo quite often, he’d never worn one with her. Next time they went out, he’d be sure they had to dress formally. He wondered if there were any formal charity event invitations waiting for him on his desk back in Miami. “A tux isn’t that different from a suit, and you’ve seen me plenty of times in a suit.” Griffin stirred the eggs and laid the warm toast on a plate. “Sweetheart, will you come butter the toast, please?”
“There you go again, calling me sweetheart,” Jere joked. “I don’t know about you southern boys.”
“What?” Grace looked between Griffin and her brother before just shaking her head. “I don’t want to know.” She took over the toast operation completely as he concentrated on flipping bacon and stirring eggs.
Breakfast moved along as smoothly as a mess hall. With the boys and Denise out the door, Griffin looked at the kitchen and decided mess hall was named for the disaster that was left.
“I’ve got these.” Grace hip checked him, bumping Griffin away from the kitchen sink. Jere had retreated to the master bedroom to get ready for work.
Alone, he stepped behind her as her hands were busy rinsing dishes and bending slightly to put them in the dishwasher. He nuzzled into her neck, so he could get close to her ear just in case her brother magically appeared. Rocking into her luscious butt, Griffin asked, “Have you ever done it this way?”
“I don’t like the idea of you…there. It just doesn’t seem right to me.” She shook her head.
She didn’t understand. She was really more naïve than he’d thought. “No, sweetheart. I wasn’t talking about anal. I’m talking doggy style.”
Shaking her head again, she admitted, “No. I’ve never done it that way.” Grace put the remaining dishes in the dishwasher then filled the sink with warm water.
With every shift of her body, every half step she took, her butt rubbed across his cock. Now that she was standing still in front of him, he reached around to fondle her breasts. As though they knew his touch, her nipples instantly hardened. “Your brother will be leaving for work soon.” Griffin rocked his hardened erection into her backside. “Want to try something new?”
The door to the master bedroom had a slight squeak and was the only warning that Jere was headed their way. Griffin grabbed his nearly empty coffee cup and slid into a chair at the table so as not to embarrass himself.
“Gracie, Mom called to see if you could swing by the hospital for a couple hours this afternoon? I guess they’re running more tests on Dad today and she doesn’t want to be there alone. Unfortunately, I have got to meet a couple farmers at the store so they can test-drive the new equipment so I’m going to be there almost all day. To be honest with you, I don’t think she wants Rebecca there very long and Maggie texted to say she’d rather go this morning.”
Grace walked over and hugged her brother. “I got this. No worries. Griffin is going to finish installing your property line sensors this morning so our afternoon is free. Do you have something you’d like me to take out for supper? I’m pretty good at crockpot cooking.”
“Feel free to scrounge.” Her brother slipped into a light jacket. “This family will eat almost anything you put in front of us.”
“See you for supper,” Grace called to her brother’s back. As soon as the door closed, Grace slowly sauntered toward him. “We have several hours before we have to leave for the hospital, and if I help you install the new sensors, it’ll go twice as fast.” She bent down and kissed him. “Now, tell me more about doggy style.”
He stood up in front of her. “I think this is more of a hands-on lesson.”
She took his hands and placed them on her breasts. “Like this?”
“Not exactly.” He spun her around so her back was to his chest. “More like this. I feel the need for another shower.”
She wiggled that sexy little butt of hers against his crotch. “Me, too. Race you.” She took off sprinting down the hallway shedding clothes with every step.
The hairs on the back of Griffin’s neck prickled as he walked into the large hospital in Des Moines. It had taken them nearly forty minutes from her brother’s house to the parking garage, although it was pretty much a straight shot right down an interstate. They had debated dropping Grace off at the front door while he waited for her to enter then he’d parked car, but finally decided randomly parking and entering the hospital through the garage was a better solution. More cover. Cars and concrete resisted bullets really well.
Hand in hand, they immediately went to the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit waiting room where they found her mom. The resemblance was striking. Her mother was still pretty in her mid-fifties. If her mother was any indication, Grace would maintain her beauty throughout her life. She would always be beautiful to him.
“Mom, this is my boyfriend, Griffin.” At Grace’s words, the small woman looked
up at him before she glanced at Grace.
“Gracie, he’s no boy. That one is all man.”
Grace blushed as her mother returned her gaze to him as he held out his hand.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Hall.” He was sure to gently hold her small hand and give it a light shake.
“He’s a gentle giant,” the older woman noted. “Thank you so much for bringing my Gracie home.”
“Well, ma’am, I’m not responsible for bringing Grace home.” He glanced over at her. “She came all by herself.”
“In that case, thank you for joining her here so I could meet you.” Mrs. Hall glanced toward the rooms down the hall. “I hope my husband wakes up so he can meet you, too.”
“Mom, Jeremiah said that they were going to be doing more tests today. Have the doctors said anything about those results?” Whether Grace did it on purpose or not, Griffin appreciated the change in subject.
A soft bell rang and Mrs. Hall stuffed her knitting into a bag and rose. “We can go see your father now. Keep in mind we only have ten minutes.”
“While you’re visiting, would you like me to go down to the cafeteria and get you something to eat or drink?” Griffin had no desire to sit around that small waiting area. Although this whole experience was new to him, he didn’t like it.
“Griffin, why don’t you go get Mom and I a soda?” As they started down the hall, Grace asked, “Mom, did you have lunch?”
“No, but I’m just not hungry anymore.”
Grace looked over her shoulder at him. “Could you please grab Mom a grilled ham and cheese sandwich on white bread, also?”
“Be happy to.” Griffin was just happy for something constructive to do. When he returned with a sandwich fifteen minutes later, Grace and her mom were talking with the doctor. He didn’t want to interrupt so he took the food and drinks to where they had been seated.
Over the next four hours, he made two more trips to the cafeteria for drinks and snacks. His greatest realization of the day was that his phone had become his link to sanity. Grace and her mother had chatted on and on about people in the church, kids she’d gone to school with, and even Olympic hopefuls from the Iowa State University wrestling team. Not a single topic had interested him so he checked his email, called his office, and even talked with Alex for over thirty minutes confirming that all the Ladies of Black Swan were currently safe with no immediate apparent threat.
“I’d like you to take Griffin with you this time,” Mrs. Hall requested.
At the mention of his name, Griffin looked up.
“Mom, I’m sure Dad would be embarrassed if the first time he’d ever met Griffin was when he was attached to tubes and machines, far from his best,” Grace protested.
“Take him in,” the older woman insisted. “The doctor said he’ll wake up when he’s ready. His fever has come down to normal, all his vital signs are looking good, he just needs to decide to wake up.”
“So what you’re telling me, is that the shock of me bringing a man home is going to make Dad decide to come out of a coma.” The information in Grace’s sentence explained a lot to Griffin.
“You two get a move on.” Mrs. Hall gestured toward the door. “We only get ten minutes every hour. Don’t be wasting it.”
Grace turned to him then. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”
He glanced at her mother then back to the woman he would die for. Ten minutes out of a lifetime was nothing for him. “It’s important to her. Let’s do this.” Griffin took Grace by the hand and walked to the door. “You need to lead the way.”
Griffin wasn’t prepared for what he saw. A man with red tinges in his silver hair lay slightly elevated. Several machines beeped and clicked. Pumps filled tubes around his calves followed by a slow hiss of air. Grace ignored them all and walked straight to her father’s hand which lay atop layers of sheets.
“Hi Dad, I brought a friend in with me this time.” Grace was talking to the man who was either asleep or unconscious. She turned to Griffin and whispered, “The nurses say we should talk to him as if he were awake. Think of it like battle shock,” she suggested.
Now that was a reference Griffin could completely understand. “Mr. Hall, I’m Griffin Mitchell, a friend of your daughter Grace. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Griffin swore he saw the man’s hand move so he took it as though to shake. He noticed the beeping increased slightly. He hoped he hadn’t upset the man. “Sir, I hope you get to feeling better soon.”
The small chime indicating the time was up dinged.
When they returned to the waiting room, Maggie was waiting with her mother. “I’ve got this. Why don’t you two head home and have supper with Jere?”
Griffin mentally thrust a fist into the air. “Is there anything I can get you before we leave?”
“I think we’re good,” Maggie confirmed. “I’ll be around tomorrow but have to head back the next day. Hopefully I’ll get to see you again before I leave.”
Grace hugged Maggie, then her mother, promising to see both of them the next day. When they got to the elevators to the garage parking, there was a laminated sign on the door announcing elevator repair.
“I don’t like this,” Griffin announced. “Tell you what, I’m going to walk you back upstairs where I want you to stay with your sister and mother. I’m going to go get the car and bring it around to the front of the building.”
“Let’s take the stairs,” Grace suggested.
“Definitely not. You know better than that,” he chastised. “There are far too many hiding places in a stairwell.”
“You really believe they are that organized and have followed me here?”
Griffin took her in his arms. “I’m just not willing to take any chances with your life.” When she nodded, he briefly touched his lips to hers. “Thank you. You are the most important thing in my life.”
They turned and walked back to the small waiting room, which was now even more crowded with evening visitation hours.
As Griffin exited the front doors, he immediately felt watched, but couldn’t see anyone. He didn’t even try to hide the fact he was looking three-hundred-sixty degrees and vertically. Before getting into the rental vehicle, he checked it over completely, scanning for bugs as well as bombs.
He drove around the building, zigzagging through parking lots just to make sure he wasn’t followed. Feeling relatively sure he pulled up to the front doors and called Grace. “I’m on my way up.”
Griffin looked at every single person who came within fifteen feet of Grace. He wondered if he was just being paranoid. Through the glass doors he saw no one, and opened it. Grace stepped out and headed toward the car.
“Grace? Is that you?” called a friendly male voice from twenty feet away.
“Keep moving,” Griffin demanded.
“Grace Hall?” The man called again, several steps closer.
Griffin had his hand on her back, practically pushing her toward the car.
“Grace, it’s me. Dan Holloman.” His sandy brown hair, blue eyes, and big smile easy to see from ten feet away.
“I think I know him.” There was enough doubt in Grace’s tone to keep her moving.
“I don’t care who he is, get your ass in the car. I want you in the backseat and lay down.” They were five steps from the car door.
“Grace, how have you been? I heard your dad had a heart attack.”
“I’m pretty sure I know him. I hate to be rude,” Grace said but continued toward the car. She glanced over her shoulder at the fast approaching man.
“It’s you, isn’t it? Grace Hall? Right?” The man’s smile looked genuine.
Griffin moved from her side to open the back car door.
“Dan Holloman, from high school. Here, let me show you a picture of me and my girlfriend at homecoming, the year you were queen.” Reaching behind him, he pulled out a gun rather than a photograph.
Griffin shifted his weight to give himself an oblique angle, then l
aunched his body at the assailant. He tried to knock the weapon out of his hand but failed.
The guy came up with a knife in his other hand. He was a strong fucker for such a little guy, and talented with that blade. He sliced open a gash on Griffin’s head near the hairline but Griffin was focused on the weapon.
They grappled for position, rolling over several times before Griffin ended up pinning the man’s shoulders to the concrete. He banged the man’s hand holding the gun against the sidewalk while the guy slashed his bicep several times.
Adrenaline and anger kept the pain at bay. He couldn’t let this man anywhere near Grace. The things they would do to her if they kidnapped her were unspeakable. He couldn’t let anything happen to his Grace, because she was his, and would be forever.
He’d never loved a woman before, but in that moment, he was not fighting for his life, but for hers. He would die for her. He preferred to live for her. For them.
Griffin felt a searing heat in his side and it was as though his body gave up, but his spirit didn’t. There was a loud pop next to his ear. He could no longer control the arm that had the gun hand pinned to the ground.
Then gun went off.
The world went black.
Grace couldn’t get a clean shot, but her hand was steady as she looked down the sites of her .45 caliber Smith & Wesson. Every time she was ready to pull the trigger, they would roll again placing Griffin square in her sights.
That fucker was trying to kill Griffin.
But she wouldn’t allow it.
As soon as the man had drawn his weapon, her training kicked in. She had her gun out and pointed at him, ready to take the shot.
Then Griffin had tackled him to the ground.
The assailant had produced a knife and proceeded to slash at Griffin's arms. From a few feet away she could see blood oozing from several long cuts on his biceps and forearms. In seconds, they were covered with slippery red blood.
She thought for instance that Griffin may have knocked the gun away, but when it went off, and he went limp, it took every ounce of her training not to drop her own weapon and run to him.
