by Radclyffe
“I’m not all that happy to hear that, but he earned it.” Flann injected some local around the wound edges. “This won’t take long. Then you’re off call for thirty-six. And don’t even try arguing.”
“You’ll make sure Blaise gets out of here when you finish?” Grady said softly. “She’s more shook than she lets on.”
Flann regarded her contemplatively. “So it’s that way, is it?”
Grady blanked her features. “I just thought she ought to be with Taylor tonight.”
“What about you?”
“Just get me stitched up. I’ll be fine.”
“Sure you will,” Flann said, and set to work.
Chapter Twenty-six
Abby followed Blaise into the locker room. “How you doing?”
Blaise yanked open her locker, grabbed her backpack, and slammed the door. “I am furious. I want to strangle that boy.”
Abby leaned against the lockers and folded her arms. “Don’t blame you.”
Blaise’s anger suddenly drained away, leaving her shaky. She plopped down on the bench. “I keep thinking what might have happened if he’d gotten inside the house.”
“He didn’t.”
Blaise rubbed her face. “It’s one of many nightmares that I try not to have, every time she’s out of my sight.”
“I know exactly what you mean. But you have raised a smart child.” Abby huffed. “Not a child anymore—none of them. She did exactly the right thing. From what little bits I heard her telling Margie and Blake, Grady stopped Billy from getting into the house. Taylor didn’t hesitate when Grady told her to close the door and call the police.”
“What if Grady hadn’t been there?” Blaise said quietly.
“Then Taylor would’ve heard Billy before he got inside, and called the police. But he didn’t get inside, and she’s fine.”
“I’m glad she went to your place. I’m going over there now.” Blaise sighed. “I probably need the company more than Taylor right now.”
“Don’t you believe it. Now, how are you, really?”
Blaise shuddered. “I’m…terrible. I’m over being frightened about Taylor, but I’m not over Grady.”
“No,” Abby said quietly, “I don’t imagine you are. What are you going to do about it?”
“I’m not sure.” Blaise looked up at Abby. “But I don’t know if I can stand to lose her.”
“Go be with your daughter,” Abby said. “You’ll figure this out. Listen to what your heart tells you, about Taylor and about Grady.”
Blaise grabbed her backpack. “What if my heart can’t choose?”
Abby hugged her. “Then that’s your answer.”
“You’re asking me to take a leap of faith,” Blaise said.
“Isn’t that what love is all about?”
Look before you leap, her mother often admonished. Another warning that life was not to be trusted. No one was. Disappointment was inevitable.
A leap of faith. Not blind, but believing.
Blaise thought about trust and love and faith all the way to Abby’s. She’d lost her trust and abandoned her dreams in the last seventeen years, but having Taylor had kept love alive in her life. And in her heart. Maybe Abby was right. Maybe she just needed to listen.
When she got to Abby’s, Taylor opened the door before she had a chance to knock, as if she’d been waiting for her.
“Hey.” Taylor held the door wide and Blaise followed her in. Blake, Margie, Tim, and Dave lounged around in front of the TV surrounded by the remains of sodas, chips, and cookies.
“Hi,” Blaise said. “What are we watching?”
“Sex Education,” Blake said.
“At three o’clock in the morning?”
“Mom,” Taylor said with her verbal eye roll, “it’s a TV show, not a documentary.”
“Oh. Right. Can parents watch?”
“Sure,” a couple of the kids answered simultaneously.
“Great. I’ll be back after I grab a shower.” She hefted her backpack and headed toward the downstairs bathroom. Taylor followed her to the door.
Blaise took her into her arms and hugged her. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
Taylor stepped back, an unusually serious expression on her face. “So, Mom…”
Blaise dropped her backpack on the counter. “What is it?”
“Do we need to talk about Grady?”
Blaise’s heart pounded, and she squelched the automatic denial. Taylor regarded her steadily. “Let’s go make some coffee. I think we do.”
* * *
Blaise left a note asking Abby to text her if Taylor needed anything and slipped out Abby’s front door just as the sun came up. The kids were all asleep and Abby wouldn’t be off shift for another hour or so. Flann was either doing a case or had decided to catch some sleep in an on-call room before morning rounds. Just as well. She didn’t really want to be there when they got home. She loved Abby dearly, but the only person she wanted to talk to was Grady.
She hurried through town, dimly aware of the traffic, mostly pickup trucks heading to the café or the corner convenience store for coffee and pastries before work, but every ounce of her energy focused on getting to Grady’s apartment. She hadn’t even stopped to have coffee, but her nerves jangled with something similar to a caffeine high all the same. Her body barreled ahead while her mind was blank. She had no idea what she was going to say, but she knew something must be said. The pressure in her chest, the ache around her heart, and the distant thrill of excitement fueled her steps. She hadn’t texted or called. Grady might not even be home. Like Flann, she could be asleep in one of the on-call rooms. If Grady wasn’t there, she’d simply have to find her.
She had to.
She rapped on the door, holding her breath. An interminably long minute passed before Grady filled the doorway, her hair tousled and damp as if she’d just finished a shower, looking casually gorgeous in a T-shirt with a hole just below the neck and faded navy blue sweatpants. And barefoot. Blaise’s throat went dry. How had she never noticed how sexy a barefoot woman just out of the shower could be?
“I’m sorry, I know it’s early, but—”
Grady reached out, grabbed her hand, and pulled her inside.
“Is Taylor—” Grady began.
“I had to talk to you,” Blaise finished.
“I wanted to talk to you too.” Grady smiled, the ghost of her usual confident, sexy one. This one was a little sad, and Blaise couldn’t bear it.
“Taylor is fine,” Blaise said hurriedly. “I’m the one who’s a mess.”
Grady’s brows drew down. “What do you mean? What happened?”
Blaise cupped Grady’s cheek and brushed her thumb over her mouth. “You happened. You happened to me.”
“That’s what I wanted to tell you. I can’t walk away, Blaise. I want…” Grady grimaced and ran a hand through her wet hair. “I’ll wait. Until Taylor goes to school, until she’s ready to hear about Gavin. But I’m not giving up on us. I know you feel it. We’ve got something, Blaise. Something that matters.”
“I know.” Blaise kissed her. Just a brush of lips, just enough to ease the terror of almost losing her. “But I don’t want to wait. I want you, Grady. God. So much.”
Grady’s eyes widened and something dark and hungry passed through them. “Blaise,” she murmured, “I want you. I’ve been going crazy trying to stay away from you. But I don’t think I can do casual with you.”
“That’s very good,” Blaise said, moving closer still. Her breasts brushed Grady’s and flame burst deep inside. “Because I don’t want casual.”
“Then what do you wan—”
“You. I want you.” Blaise kissed her again and poured every bit of her longing into it. She needed to feel her, to taste her, before she could think. Before she could put her heart into words, before she could take another breath.
Grady’s arms came around her, and she groaned, backing Blaise gently against the front door as she answered Blaise
’s kiss with one of her own, a deep, demanding sweep of fierce need and desire. Grady was everywhere, pressed to Blaise’s body, one leg between hers, her hand sweeping up Blaise’s side to the curve of her breast. When Grady cupped her breast through the thin cotton of her shirt, Blaise closed her eyes and arched her neck—offering, inviting, demanding. Grady kissed along the line of her jaw and down her throat until she buried her face in the hollow at the base of Blaise’s neck.
“I’ve missed you,” Grady sighed.
Blaise stroked her fingers through Grady’s hair and caressed the back of her neck. “Endlessly. I’ve missed you endlessly.”
Grady slowly straightened. “What are we doing, Blaise?”
“I hope we’re beginning because, Grady, I’m in love with you.”
“What about Taylor?” Grady refused to give in to the elation welling in her chest. She might have the strength to wait, but she didn’t have the strength to be disappointed, to be so close and have everything she wanted snatched away. “I can’t go halfway with you. I need you too much.”
“I would never ask you to. I couldn’t bear it if I didn’t have all of you.” Blaise linked her hands behind Grady’s neck. “Taylor knows who you are.”
“You told her?” Grady’s eyes widened. “But—”
“She asked.” Blaise laughed. “To be precise, she wanted to know if you and I were a thing. I said it was complicated and she gave me her look, the one that says I’m being dense.”
“Your daughter is scarily like you, in all the good ways,” Grady whispered, hope welling at last.
“She was waiting for me to trust her—I could see it in her eyes. Like I’ve been asking her to trust me since she was a little girl.” Blaise shook her head. “I said her birth father was your brother.”
Grady framed Blaise’s face in both hands. “You took a chance for me.”
“No, I trust you.” Blaise kissed her. She couldn’t stop, would never stop. “I couldn’t tell her that I was falling in love with you and not tell her who you were. And Taylor deserves to know who you are. A wonderful, strong, caring, selfless woman. And the one I want in my life.”
“You forgot sexy.”
Blaise laughed. “I didn’t forget for a second, but my daughter doesn’t need to be thinking about that in reference to anyone.”
“You also forgot the only one you want,” Grady murmured.
“Oh no,” Blaise said softly. “I didn’t. I never will.”
“I want to be yours,” Grady whispered. “I want you to be mine.”
“I am.”
“Tell me that again when we’re in bed.” Grady laced her fingers through Blaise’s and led her down the hallway, stopping just outside her bedroom door. “Do you need to be anywhere this morning? The rest of the day? Once I touch you, I may never stop.”
Blaise grasped the hem of her shirt, drew it up over her head, and dropped it on the floor. She was naked beneath, and Grady forgot to breathe. Blaise laughed, a slightly wild edge to her voice. “Take as long as you like. Take whatever you want.”
Grady gripped her shoulders, spun her a quarter turn, and kissed her backward into her bedroom and over to the bed. On the way, Blaise grasped Grady’s T-shirt and tugged it up. When her hands found Grady’s breasts, Grady groaned.
“I love your body,” Blaise whispered, bending her head as she lifted Grady’s breast to her mouth.
Grady staggered, her thighs turned to jelly. “Blaise. Bed. Now.”
Laughing, Blaise tugged on the tie to Grady’s sweatpants. And then Grady was naked and fumbling with Blaise’s pants.
“I’ll get them.” Blaise shed the rest of her clothes as Grady pushed the covers aside and tugged Blaise down.
“I need you,” Grady said, “so much.”
Blaise gripped her hand, brought it to her breast. “I’m here. Right here.”
Leaning above her, Grady kissed her while she explored the slope of her breast, the curve of her abdomen, the wings of her hips. When she stroked between her thighs, Blaise arched with a purr that became a growl and gripped her wrist, guiding her hand between her legs.
“Inside,” Blaise gasped. “I need you inside.”
Eyes closed, Grady rested her forehead against Blaise’s shoulder and filled her, breathless with wonder and aching with the need to claim her, to find her way home. As much as she needed that with every beat of her heart, she needed to go slow. To show Blaise with every deep thrust how much she needed her, how much she wanted her. How much she loved her.
“Deeper, Grady. I need you everywhere.” Blaise canted her hips, urging Grady to the pace she wanted. Grady followed every lift and fall, forgetting to breathe, forgetting everything except Blaise. When Blaise gripped her shoulders and rose to meet her, a beautiful arch of grace and power, Grady’s soul soared. Then Blaise was coming, her cry of release sealing Grady’s fate.
“God,” Grady whispered, “Blaise. You’re so beautiful.”
Blaise’s arms came around her, and she tugged Grady down full-length against her.
“You make me feel more than beautiful. You make me feel, Grady, so much.”
“I love you,” Grady said.
“Everything is going to be all right.” Blaise fisted a hand in Grady’s hair and pulled her head back until their eyes met. “I have never been surer of anything in my life. As long as you love me, we will all be all right.”
“Always,” Grady said. “I swear.”
“As do I. And now,” she said, pushing on Grady’s shoulder until Grady obediently rolled over onto her back, “let me show you.”
Blaise kissed her until she lost her breath again, and before she could catch a full breath, Blaise kissed her way down the center of her chest, to the inside of her thigh, and in between, until sight and sound disappeared and all that remained was pleasure. And Blaise.
Chapter Twenty-seven
At seven p.m., Grady climbed the front steps to Blaise’s porch. The splintered railing hadn’t been repaired yet, but someone had swept away the bits and pieces. Though it wasn’t yet dark, it would be by the time the football game ended around ten, and the overhead porch light was already on to mark the way home. Grady knocked on the door, anticipation and uncharacteristic uncertainty rippling through her. Tonight was her first outing with Blaise in public—the first time she’d seen Taylor since she’d found out about Gavin, and that Grady was related. Life looked very different than it had before Blaise had appeared at her door and reset all her dreams and desires with a kiss and a promise. The bleak emptiness that cloaked her future when she’d thought she’d lost Blaise disappeared. She loved, and was loved.
The inside door opened, and for a fleeting instant she couldn’t help seeing Billy Riley looming in the dark, but tonight the light—inside and out—chased the shadows from the night.
Taylor stood framed in the door. “Hi. My mom isn’t ready yet.”
“Okay, I can wait out here.”
Taylor came out and closed the door. Grady sat on one end of the porch swing, and Taylor took the end opposite her.
Taylor toed it into motion. As it gently swung, she said, “So, you know my mom told me, right?”
“Yes.”
Taylor drew one leg up onto the seat, keeping the easy rocking going with her other foot. The night was forecast to get cold later, and she’d dressed for it in jeans, a pale green cardigan, and white tennis shoes. Her hair was down, and she looked an awful lot how Grady imagined a young Blaise must’ve looked.
Taylor added, “Do you care that I’m not interested in knowing anything about your brother?”
“No,” Grady said instantly. “If you ever do, and there’s something I can tell you, I’ll try.”
“Do you think it’s weird that we’re related?”
Grady grinned. “I think it’s kind of cool. I figure you’ll want to get to know me a little better before, you know, you decide how you feel about it.”
Taylor tipped her head and rested her chin on he
r knee, studying Grady. “I think we have the same chin.”
Grady took a long breath. “So do I.”
“That is really weird.”
“It is kinda. You have a good eye.”
“I really love math.”
Grady laughed. “Okay.”
“I also like to sketch.”
“That’s probably why you have a good eye,” Grady said.
“I’ve been considering astrophysics or maybe aeronautics.”
“That works for the math.”
“I was also thinking plastic surgery might be cool.”
“Surgery?” Grady said.
“He’s a doctor too, isn’t he?”
“Yes. Pretty much everybody in my family.”
“That’s not why.”
Grady nodded. “I was thinking it was more because of your mom.”
“You know she’s amazing, right?”
Just a hint of heat there. Grady liked her all the more for it. “I know that. I think she’s the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.”
Eye roll. Grady grinned.
“She says it’s serious,” Taylor said.
“Between her and me? Yes. It is.” Grady wanted to ask Taylor how she felt about it, but this was Taylor’s conversation, so she waited.
“I’m planning on calling you Grady, no matter what.”
“Well, that works, because I was planning on calling you Taylor.”
Taylor grinned at her. “Okay. We understand each other.”
“We do. And if your mother didn’t tell you, then I will. No one will know about you from me. Someday if you want me to make introductions, you can tell me.”
Taylor shrugged. “I don’t really see why I’d want to.”
Grady didn’t either, but things could change, and the only person’s opinion that mattered was Taylor’s. “Well, just so you know.”
Taylor stood. “Okay. So we’re all good.”
“We are.” Grady looked past Taylor as the front door opened and Blaise came out, the most beautiful smile breaking over her face when she glanced at the two of them. “It is all definitely good.”
“Ready for the game?” Blaise crossed the porch and kissed Grady quickly.
