Betting on Grace

by Nicole Edwards

  Lane also knew that Rusty’s mom and dad lived in one of the neighboring towns, and he went to see them every time he had a day off. Whether that was just because they were close or because something was wrong, Lane wasn’t sure. He didn’t ask, either.

  “I told her this would be better coming from her.” Grant’s voice echoed in the large, open space, pulling Lane from his thoughts.

  “Get on with it,” Rusty barked.

  Lane would’ve given his right arm to see Rusty’s face. Based on that remark, he wasn’t at all happy with Grant. Not that Lane could blame the guy. He was as in the dark as Rusty when it came to where this conversation was going, but he was ready to give Grant a shake just to get him to move along.

  “She doesn’t want you askin’ her out anymore.”

  Well, shit. Lane wouldn’t have been surprised if Rusty had cold-cocked Grant. Had Lane been in Rusty’s boots, he would’ve delivered a nice knuckle sandwich right to Grant’s mouth. As much as he would like to be in Grant’s corner at all times, Lane wouldn’t support any man interfering the way Grant just had.

  “And that’s your business, why?” Rusty retorted.

  Exactly, Lane thought.

  “Exactly!” Grant exclaimed. “It’s not, and I tried to tell her that. So, to honor my promise to her, here I am. But in all honesty, I’m not here to warn you away from her.”

  There was silence for long seconds, and Lane was tempted to make his presence known, just in case these two needed a referee. Grant had overstepped, Lane would agree there.

  “That’s good,” Rusty said softly, his tone lethal, “because now I won’t have to hit you upside the head.”

  “The only thing I’m gonna say is that you treat her right.”

  What? Lane couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Grant was giving relationship advice now?

  “Keep goin’ and I still might belt you one, Kingsley,” Rusty grumbled.

  “Originally, I’d intended to tell you to back off even though it’s none of my business,” Grant added defensively. “I’ve come to my senses since then.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  Yeah, what the fuck was Grant talking about?

  “Sometimes I’m clueless,” Grant explained. “That’s all I’ve got to say. Just be good to her. If you know what’s best for you.”

  “Whatever, man,” Rusty snapped. “I don’t have time for this shit.”

  “I’m serious,” Grant said, sounding … well, serious.

  The silence was deafening, nothing but the soft yapping from the pups and their little feet scuffling on the concrete floor. Lane was just about to get up, to let Grant know he was there, when he heard another voice. This one wasn’t one he’d been expecting. At least not that early in the morning.

  ■□■□■□■□

  Crap.

  “Grant,” Jerry greeted as he stepped into the stable. “Hey, Ashmore. Mind if I talk to him alone for a minute?”

  Grant was tempted to turn and run, but he knew better. It wasn’t often that Jerry sought him out unless it had to do with work, and this was one of those times Grant prayed his boss wanted to scold him for not doing his job. Maybe he’d do that and then move on. Because anything else he wanted to chat about … well … Grant wasn’t sure he would be allowed to stick around to hear it.

  Surely, the guy didn’t know Grant had spent the night with Gracie last night. Right?

  “Have at it, boss. I don’t know what his deal is this mornin’,” Rusty bit out.

  Grant watched Rusty walk off, the younger man shaking his head as he did.

  Yeah, Grant knew he looked like a big fucking asshole, interfering when he should’ve kept his mouth shut. He couldn’t help it. Faith had asked him to talk to Rusty. Now he could honestly say he had.

  Even though he hadn’t warned Rusty away from Faith — because after what he’d learned from Gracie, he knew there was no way Jerry had done what he’d originally thought. How the hell he hadn’t heard the story about Garrett, Grant would probably never know. Sure, he knew the wranglers had their own conversations, and most of the time they excluded Grant because he was the foreman, but shit, that was some big news for him to have never heard.

  “Miller! Out here, now!”

  Grant wrenched his head around in time to see Lane’s giant form standing up from behind one of the stall walls. What the hell?

  He didn’t get a chance to question Lane before the other man was shrugging his shoulders and walking toward them. Grant did notice the frown that creased Lane’s handsome face.

  That was just great. Now Lane had heard Grant’s finest moment of the day.

  The only thing he could hope for at this point was that Jerry wasn’t coming to rip him a new one. As much as wanted to believe otherwise, there was still the off chance that Darrell had gone to Jerry first thing that morning. Grant didn’t think Darrell had — mainly because Grant’s head was still on his body — but since he hadn’t forked over any money just yet, Grant figured anything was possible. The only thing that might’ve saved his ass was if his father realized by opening his big mouth he would never see a dime.

  “Did you need somethin’?” Grant asked Jerry, unable to stand the silence as the older man moved across the stable toward the stall where Astro Boy was being kept for the time being.

  “I wanna talk to you boys,” Jerry explained as he stopped in front of the stall. “You know that Gracie adores this horse?”

  Grant looked at Lane, wondering whether or not either of them should actually answer that question. When Jerry didn’t continue, Grant said, “Yes, sir. He’s her pride and joy.”

  “Did you know that Gracie started out barrel racin’ when she was five? She was good, too. So damn good. But she refused to do it anymore after her mother passed away when she was twelve.”

  Grant did know that. He also knew that she was still going strong, although she didn’t want anyone to know.

  “I tried to get her to jump back on the horse again, but she refused. Flat-out refused to do the one thing she loved so much. She’s a stubborn one, my Gracie.”

  Stubborn? Yeah, Grant would certainly agree with that assessment.

  “And when I say stubborn, I mean her head’s as hard as a brick wall. When she believes in somethin’, she doesn’t back down.”

  Grant was beginning to worry just where this conversation was going. From the confused expression on Lane’s face, he was feeling pretty much the same.

  “Sir, if this is about yesterday in your office—”

  “Son, this is about a lot more than you huggin’ my daughter in my office.”

  Shit.

  “Come on, let’s walk.” Jerry didn’t wait for Grant or Lane to catch up as he headed outside, a surprisingly cool breeze kicking up the dirt and filling Grant’s nose with the scent of hay and fresh-cut grass. It was rather reassuring, for some strange reason. And he hoped like hell it disguised the putrid aroma of fear he was likely putting off right about then.

  “Gracie came to see me this mornin’,” Jerry said casually, the words making Grant’s throat swell to the point he wasn’t sure he’d be able to swallow around the knot of trepidation that was growing at a rapid pace.

  “Do you know what she told me?” Jerry asked, shooting a glance at Grant and Lane over his shoulder.

  Grant could do nothing more than shake his head. He had no idea, and he wasn’t quite sure he wanted to know.

  “She told me that she loves you. Both of you.”

  Grant’s feet stopped moving, as did Lane’s.

  They just stopped and stared at Jerry as though the man had lost his mind. Maybe Grant was dreaming. Maybe in a few seconds he was going to wake up drenched in sweat, and the fear would dissipate…

  “It took a lot of guts for her to tell me that.”

  Grant nodded this time.

  “Sir, I can explain,” Lane interrupted, but Jerry shot him a glare, effectively silencing him.

  “I
don’t need your explanation, Miller. She was pretty thorough.” Jerry paused, staring back at them both and making it hard for Grant to keep from fidgeting. “You know what else she told me?”

  While Lane answered with a firm no, Grant just shook his head again. Yep, Jerry’s little conversation had effectively rendered Grant mute, and he had no idea whether his voice was going to make a reappearance anytime in the near future.

  “She told me that she’s in a relationship.” Jerry didn’t continue, but Grant knew what was coming.

  The sound of Gracie’s words from last night resounded in Grant’s head. And don’t worry, we’ll get through this. I’ll make sure of that.

  Yep, Gracie had done what Grant didn’t have the balls to do. She had gone to her father and told him the truth. He should’ve been happy about that.

  Jerry turned to face Grant, his mouth a firm, thin line, his eyebrows downturned, making him look just a little bit evil. “She told me she was in a relationship with you and Lane.”

  Oh. Fuck.

  “Either of you care to enlighten me on that one?”

  Ummm … no. No, he certainly did not.

  And this time, Lane was smart enough not to say a word, either.

  ■□■□■□■□

  Jerry was pretty sure he deserved a giant pat on the back.

  He’d come into the stable with the intention of addressing Grant and Lane about the discussion he’d just had with Gracie. And here he was having a civil conversation when he wanted nothing more than to grab Grant and Lane by their shirts and yank them both off their feet, demanding that they explain just what Gracie meant when she had told him that she loved Grant and Lane.

  At first, Jerry had thought he was hearing things.

  He still wasn’t so sure that what had just happened wasn’t some elaborate prank being played on him. He might’ve believed that was the case as he had stomped across the yard to the stable, but the look on Grant’s face right then told Jerry no one was going to jump out of the shadows and inform him that he’d been punked.

  While he waited for one of them to find their tongue, Jerry thought back to the conversation he’d had with Gracie just a short while ago.

  “Dad, I need to talk to you,” Gracie said when Jerry walked into the kitchen. Once again, his daughter had been there before him, which probably had her a little suspicious as to why he wasn’t up with the chickens these days.

  Unlike the last time he’d dragged his ass out of bed, this time he couldn’t thank a night of incredible sex to be the reason. Well … unless phone sex counted.

  Good Lord. He needed to get his mind out of the gutter because seriously … he was standing here with his daughter, and he certainly shouldn’t be thinking about Jan and her sassy words spoken in that sexy whisper…

  “Dad!”

  “Huh?” Jerry jerked around to face her, nearly pouring coffee on his hand.

  “Are you not gettin’ enough sleep or somethin’?” Gracie asked.

  Or somethin’, Jerry thought to himself.

  For the first time since he’d walked in the room, Jerry looked at Gracie. Really looked at her.

  She looked tired. Like she hadn’t slept at all last night. Her eyes were red, like she’d been crying.

  Sonuvabitch. He was going to hurt someone, he could feel it.

  “Could you sit down and stop glarin’ at me?” Gracie kicked the chair with her foot, causing it to squeal on the wood floor.

  Trying not to think of worst-case scenarios, Jerry lowered himself into the chair across from her, keeping his eyes glued to her face. He had to admit, Gracie was fairly good at hiding her emotions. Usually. Today, everything she was feeling was written across her face.

  “I’m sittin’,” he said, wanting her to ease some of the suspense that was making his stomach twist into a knot.

  “There’s somethin’ I want to say to you. And I don’t want you sayin’ a word till I’m finished. Can you do that, please?”

  Probably not. “Yes.”

  “Okay, good.”

  Jerry watched as Gracie squeezed her coffee mug until the tips of her fingers turned white. She was staring at the damn thing as if it had the answers to the universe’s questions — whatever those might be.

  “I’ve kinda been dating someone,” she began, her gaze coming up to meet his.

  Right before his eyes, Gracie morphed from the beautiful young woman who sat in front of him to the little girl he remembered so fondly. The little girl who wasn’t quite so independent or hard-headed. The expression on her face changed almost instantly, as did her body language.

  “Okay, that’s a lie,” she continued, and Jerry leaned back in his chair, continuing to watch her. “When I tell you this, you’re probably gonna get mad. Just remember you agreed to hear me out.”

  Jerry nodded, unable to say a word.

  “I’ve been datin’ someone. But not just one someone. Two someones. You’ve probably already figured out that Grant and I… Well … I’ve been seein’ him for a few months now. But he’s not the only one.”

  Jerry continued to watch her, trying to keep up, but the roaring in his ears was growing louder and louder with every word she spoke.

  “I’ve also been seein’ Lane. I’ve been seein’ both of them at the same time. I love them, Daddy.”

  Wait … what?

  Jerry was lost.

  “You—” He tried to speak, but Gracie quickly cut him off.

  “No. My turn. You can talk later. So,” Gracie continued, taking a deep breath, “I’ve been datin’ Lane and Grant. Both of them. And they’re datin’ each other. And I know this probably doesn’t make any sense to you, but I had to tell you. Last night, I was at Grant’s house, and his father came over. He barged in on us… Oh, God, I can’t do this.”

  Gracie jumped to her feet, but Jerry managed to find his voice just in time to stop her. “Wait. Sit down. There is no way you’re leavin’ here until you explain this. I’m not followin’. Or at least I hope I’m not, because what I just heard was that you’re in some sort of … love triangle.”

  “It’s not a triangle, Dad. It’s … complicated.”

  “I’ll say.”

  “I’m telling you this ’cause I think Grant’s gonna do somethin’ stupid like give his father money. The guy needs help. He barged in on us while we were … uh … you know. But then everything got crazy. I don’t want Grant to give his father money. Especially not if he’s doin’ it to protect me. I love him, Dad. I love him, and I love Lane. I haven’t told either of them, which I fully intend to rectify very, very soon. But, Dad,” Gracie said, a plea of understanding in her eyes, “I need you to know. And I need you to accept it. I’m gonna fix this because I’m not gonna let Grant screw this up.”

  Jerry couldn’t help it, he chuckled. Just like Gracie to want to make everything right. He had to admit, it took a tremendous amount of guts for her to come in there and address him directly. Hell, he hadn’t even had the guts to do the same with her. He had yet to inform any of the girls that he was bringing Jan, a woman he’d been dating for months, to the dance that night.

  “Please don’t be mad,” Gracie whispered, and Jerry realized she was waiting for him to say something.

  “I’m not mad,” he said, realizing that was the truth. He was confused, definitely. But at least he’d been right on one thing… There was definitely something going on between Lane and Grant.

  Jerry had hugged Gracie, assuring her that he wasn’t going to go ballistic and saw Grant’s nuts off. Or Lane’s. He hadn’t been quite so sure how honest that statement had been, but he’d said it nonetheless.

  And now he was standing in front of the men Gracie proclaimed to love.

  God, did that stuff really happen?

  “I fucked up,” Grant said, pulling Jerry fully back to the moment.

  “That’s what I heard.”

  “Last night, my father… He kinda barged in on a private moment,” Grant said, clearing his thro
at more than once just to get the sentence out.

  “And he’s gonna use that to blackmail you?” Jerry asked, glancing between the two men.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “And you’re gonna tell him that it won’t work, right?”

  “I… I wasn’t, no. I…” Grant’s back straightened, and his chin tipped up just a little as he stared back at Jerry. “I’ll do whatever it takes to protect Gracie and Lane. Whatever it takes. If that means I have to give in to my father, then so be it. They mean everything to me, sir.”

  “That’s stupid,” Lane interjected, sounding angry. “Givin’ him money ain’t gonna help.”

  Jerry agreed with Lane wholeheartedly.

  “If you’ll do whatever it takes, then prove it, son. Stand up and protect them,” Jerry barked, taking a step closer. “Givin’ your father money is enablin’ him. He needs help. If you want to protect those you love, you don’t give in. Why you believe that givin’ him money is the only way out, I have no idea—” Jerry didn’t get the sentence out before Grant interrupted.

  “Because if I have to choose between losing them or paying my father to leave us alone, I’ll choose the latter.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Okay, so Grant hadn’t expected to say that. The words had just come tumbling out of his mouth before he could stop them. And now Jerry was staring back at him like he wanted to rip Grant’s head from his body.

  Grant respected this man. Respected him as the owner of Dead Heat Ranch, the man who signed his paychecks every week, and as Gracie’s father. He hadn’t wanted it to come to this.

  “And you thought, what? Giving in to your father is gonna keep him quiet?”