by Addison Cole
“And Reed’s buying the theater?” she asked.
“I am. And before you tell me what I have to do with it, don’t worry; I got an earful last night. Seems everyone in town wants outdoor movies as badly as they want an indoor theater.”
Winona nodded. “Heck yes, we do. Nobody wants to drive for thirty minutes to go to a cinema complex that they need a map to navigate. Now, I just have one more thing that needs clearin’ up before I take your orders and leave you be.” She set a serious gaze on Reed and said, “Tami told me about you moping in the diner after you two ended that secret thing we’re not speaking of. Going weeks without eating.” She waved her pencil at Grace. “Teenage heartbreak is the worst.” She pointed to the graffiti wall in the back of the café. “You know nearly every kid who ever lived in Oak Falls has worked here for some period of time, and our Let It Out wall is full of Joanie loves Chachis and all sorts of matters of the heart. That’s one thing, but I don’t want any moping around here. If you two decide to part ways, there will be no sitting alone in a booth staring into a chocolate shake, ya hear?”
Reed chuckled. “Loud and clear, Winona.” He pressed a kiss to the back of Grace’s hand and said, “But we’re not kids on our way to college anymore.”
“No, you’re ten times more complicated,” Winona said. “Your hearts are so intertwined you couldn’t help but find each other again, but your lives are now worlds apart.”
“Haven’t you ever heard when there’s a will there’s a way?” Reed asked.
“Sure I have,” Winona said with a smirk. “That’s how I ended up raising Shayla on my own. My man had the will, and his good-for-nothing trollop found a way.” She pointed her pencil at Reed and said, “You do that to her, and I’ll hunt you down myself. Now,” she smiled brightly, “what can I get y’all for breakfast?”
THEY HEADED OUT to look for a bedframe after breakfast and meandered through the furniture store by the mall. “I don’t think I’ve ever shopped for furniture like this,” Grace said, looking around at the nearly empty store.
“You mean arm in arm with a guy who keeps grabbing your butt?” Reed tugged her against him.
“That and shopping in a physical store. When I went to college, the dorms were furnished, and when I got an apartment I bought furniture online. I’m surprised stores like this can stay open when people can shop from home. Everything is so…”
“Boring?”
“Yes, totally. You worked so hard to make your house stand out, and it’s too pretty for this. This furniture would bring it down. At least the boutique where we bought the couches and dining room set had unique pieces. But nothing here feels special.”
“You’re absolutely right. This isn’t us, Grace. Let’s get out of here.” He took her hand and headed for the exit. “There’s only one place to look for a bedroom set worthy of my girls. The Barn.”
She stopped cold. “Whoa. Girls? Plural?”
“Well, yeah. You and my Painted Lady. She’s my other girl.” He crushed her to him and said, “You’d better read up on Victorians, babe. Or you’re going to need that morning run just from misunderstandings.”
“I think we need to stop at the library.”
They drove out to Jeb Jericho’s place. He owned a few acres just far enough off the main drag to be private, but close enough to be found by consumers. Jeb ran the Barn, his appropriately named furniture shop, out of a big, blue, renovated barn, with his showroom on the first floor and his living quarters on the second. His workshop was in a separate stone building, which was once an old church.
“I can’t believe we didn’t think of coming here first,” Grace said as they headed up the wide walkway.
“It must have been all that mind-blowing sex, followed by a full belly.” He hauled her in for another delicious kiss. “You’ve made me dumb, sweetheart.”
“That’s weird. You’ve made me happy.”
She snuggled into him as they climbed the granite steps. There was a note on the barn door that read IN THE WORKSHOP and had an arrow pointing toward the old church building.
The shop was built of stone, floor to ceiling, with the exception of a few stained-glass windows on either side and near the peak of the back wall, where the altar must have once been. There were several large workstations with furniture in various stages of assembly littering the tops. Metal shelving units holding tools lined the walls, and some sort of fireplace or kiln was built into the rear wall, near a set of enormous double doors. They found Jeb in full protective garb, welding two large pieces of metal together. When he spotted them, he turned off his welding gun and took off his mask.
“Hey, guys. How’s it going?” he said as he pulled off his gloves and stripped out of his protective jumpsuit. “I hear you might need some stonework done on the old theater.”
He strode toward them in a pair of faded jeans and a blue T-shirt with COWS WON’T MILK THEMSELVES written on a round label with a picture of a cow at the top. Ever the farm boy, Jeb had always been proud of his roots. He snagged a baseball cap from a table and pulled it on. He had smallish, studious eyes that Grace had always felt saw far more than people wanted him to. Those watchful eyes took in the two of them. A hair over thirty, Jeb was a big man, known around town for his artistic talent and overprotective nature. Poor Trixie had a heck of a time trying to date with Jeb and her other brothers watching over her.
“Absolutely,” Reed said. “I just got the word yesterday that the offer was accepted. I’m still processing it.”
“It’s a heck of a building. I’d have bought it if I’d had the money, but it’s too rich for my blood. I’d love to be part of the project, though.”
“You’ve got it,” Reed said. “We’ll set up a time to go out there and look around. We thought you could help us with a bedframe.”
Jeb smiled, softening his sharp jawline. “Sure. I’m glad to see the rumors are true about you two. What’d you have in mind?”
The devilish look in Reed’s eyes when he said, “Something sturdy,” told Grace exactly where the conversation was headed. She yanked on his hand, and he pulled her closer and laughed.
“I’m kidding,” Reed said. “Well, not really, but you know…”
After too many innuendos and an equal dose of laughter, they left with a contract in hand for a custom-designed wood and iron bedframe, spent some time meandering around the shop and picked out two unique nightstands before heading into town to shop for Sophie’s baby gift.
“I can’t believe Sophie’s married and having a baby,” Reed said as they looked through baby toys. “Do you like her husband?”
“Brett’s great, and he’s madly in love with Soph. He’s from New York City. The fact that he built her a house here and he’s staying here for her maternity leave, which is, like, three months, I think, says it all.”
“I’m glad she found a nice guy.” Reed picked up a box and read the side. “Check this out. It’s an activity gym, and it says it not only helps develop the baby’s fine and gross motor skills, but this musical mobile will help enhance the baby’s problem-solving skills and turn your baby into a little Einstein. What the…?” He showed her the box. “Who’s thinking about enhancing their infant’s problem-solving skills?”
Grace read the boxes of several other toys. “They all say things like that. Every toy is supposed to make your baby smarter. And here I was looking for something soft and cuddly.”
“Oh no, you can’t go soft and cuddly when there’s this.” He picked up a musical toy and read the box. “This one ‘invites your little maestro-in-the-making to tune in to classical music.’” He set the box down and picked up another. “This one teaches cause and effect.” He scanned another box. “And this one helps with identifying animals.”
“All baby toys help babies learn.” Grace picked up a stuffed puppy and brushed the silky ear over her cheek. “Feel this.” She rubbed it on his arm. “This one teaches them about the importance of snuggling.”
“We nee
d sheets made of that.” He waggled his brows. “Seriously, though, Gracie. We had sticks and rocks, and we turned out just fine.”
“I remember making things out of paper cups and using my mom’s pots and wooden spoons to make music with my brother and sisters.”
“I need to call Ella. She obviously raised me wrong. I could have been as skilled as Mozart or as brilliant as Galileo if only I’d had these toys.”
“When they’re toddlers, it doesn’t matter what toys you give them,” she said. “They always like the box best.”
“All infants need is love. To be held and talked to, to know they’re wanted.”
Grace’s heart squeezed. Was he thinking about his father? Or was he thinking about having never been held by his mother? She wanted to ask, but just in case he wasn’t thinking about those things, she didn’t want to bring him down, so she kept those thoughts to herself.
“But when they’re older, they’ll get a spinning top,” he said with a smirk. “Those things hardly ever spin, and when they do, they stop before you can get anyone to look over and see it. That’s a lesson in frustration and self-control right there. I remember wanting to bean those things across the room.”
“I remember wanting to bean my siblings across the room,” she said jokingly.
“Yeah, but you love them. It’s written all over your face.”
“You think you can read my face?” She forced a serious expression. “What am I thinking right now?”
He grabbed her butt. “You dirty girl. We can’t do that here.”
“Such a man.”
“I’m your man, and the quicker we buy a gift, the faster we can get to all those dirty things going through your mind. What will Sophie’s kid need help with? She was pretty smart, right? Is Brett smart? Creative?”
“He’s wicked smart, and as far as his creativity goes, all I know is that Sophie is always satisfied and never bored.” She ran her finger down the center of his chest and said, “So maybe we need to get her baby something to keep it occupied for more than a few minutes at a time so she can enjoy Brett’s creativity.”
“I like how you think.” He waved at the display. “We’ll scour the shelves until we find a box that says the toy will occupy the baby for hours so Mommy and Daddy can enjoy their own playtime.”
They left the store with two bags full of gifts, still laughing about how creative and smart Sophie’s baby would be and how she and Reed missed out by not being given expensive toys that promised to make them brilliant.
“With these time-consuming, brain-sharpening gifts”—he lifted the bags—“Sophie will be on baby number two before you know it.”
While he put the bags behind the front seat of the truck, Grace took the gift she’d secretly purchased while he was busy talking to a salesperson out of her purse. “I got you a little something. I want all your dreams to come true, too.” She handed him the toy piano. “Now you can learn to be as musical as Mozart.”
He drew her into his arms with an awestruck expression. His lips brushed over hers like the wind, time and time again, until she was barely breathing in anticipation of the real thing.
“Thank you,” he said softly.
His hand was warm on her neck as he caressed her lips with his own, teasing and tantalizing masterfully. He knew just how to make her body crave him and her mind surrender to him. He backed her up against the side of the truck, taunting her with whispered promises against her lips. Her heart pounded erratically. She was this close to begging for a real kiss when his mouth finally covered hers, demanding and possessive. Desire seared through her as she shoved her hands into his back pockets, keeping his powerful body against hers as she gave herself over to their passion. Her knees went weak, and he eased his efforts.
“Love you, Gracie,” he said tenderly, and trailed kisses along her cheek. He glanced down at the piano still in his hand and said, “You’re going to make a great mom someday.”
Someday…
A flicker of worry breezed through her. Their lives really were hundreds of miles apart. This time together was a gift. Sure, she was growing tired of dealing with arrogant actors and the headaches of producing, and she wanted more time to write, but she wasn’t ready to put it all aside. She knew Reed well enough to realize he wanted kids one day. He had so much love to give. He always had. How would that work if they were commuting back and forth?
She was getting way ahead of herself, and when he brushed a loose strand of hair from where it had fallen over her eyes and flashed a boyish grin, she pushed those worries aside, vowing again not to let future worries steal a second of the time they had left.
“Do you want kids, Gracie? Or is your life too full for them?”
“Someday,” she answered honestly.
“Someday,” he whispered. Then louder, “Someday sounds good to me.”
Chapter Seventeen
REED FOUND WHAT he was looking for in the attic Sunday morning and took a moment to gaze out the window at Grace’s car in the driveway. Their lives had fallen seamlessly into sync. They’d played Frisbee at the park last night, and then they’d walked into town, where they’d run into Sable and Amber, who were on their way into the pizzeria, and they’d joined them for dinner. Grace had laughed so much with her sisters, she seemed like a different person from the woman he’d seen standing with them at the party that first night. After coming home, they’d thrown a blanket down in the backyard and stargazed, kissing and talking until they were both too tired to think, and then they’d finally gone upstairs to bed. His house had felt like something was missing for all these months, and now he knew exactly what it was. Grace. They’d loved this house all those years ago, and just like he’d never forgotten her, he’d only buried those memories. They were as much a part of him as the blood that ran through his veins.
He went to the window on the opposite side of the room and looked out at the creek, thinking about the walk they’d taken earlier that morning, reminiscing about the past and dreaming about the future. They’d come home and showered together, and then they’d gone out to the veranda, where he’d worked on his plans for the theater and Grace had taken notes on scripts. He went there now and stood in the doorway, watching her. She looked relaxed in her cutoffs and T-shirt, writing in a notebook. It was the perfect start to a beautiful, sunny day, and Reed wanted more. More sexy nights and loving mornings, more of Grace relaxing and coming into her own. More days to hold her hand and more nights to fall even more madly, passionately in love.
Hiding his surprise behind his back, he joined her on the couch and tucked her beneath his arm. She tipped her face up with a sweet smile and set her notebook in her lap.
“I love writing here.” She dug her hand into a bag of M&M’s and popped a few into her mouth.
“Did you find a good script?”
“No. I stopped looking a while ago. When we were at the park playing Frisbee last night, I had an idea for a story. I thought I’d take some notes so I didn’t forget it, and look how much I’ve written.” She turned her notebook toward him and began flipping pages.
“That’s one benefit of playing Frisbee over going jogging.”
“I had more fun last night than I’ve had in a long time. It’s inspirational. This story has already taken on a life of its own, which proves that I really do need to get outside more often. Clearly, sunshine and Reed equals inspiration.” She sat up and snuggled closer.
“We spent so much time outdoors when we were younger, I can’t imagine you living your life any other way. I think that’s why the gym comment seemed strange to me. And I’ve got just the thing to help you get inspired to go outside when you’re in the city. Give me your shirt.”
She laughed. “You think sex will help me remember to go outside more?”
He shook his head as he lifted the hem of her shirt. “Close your eyes, and keep them closed.”
He took off her shirt, slipped his high school football jersey over her head, and guided her hands into
the sleeves. “Okay, babe. Open your eyes.”
She glanced down and squealed. “Your jersey!” She threw her arms around him. “I’m wearing this today, and I don’t care what we do or where we go. In fact, this might just have to be my Sunday outfit from now on. Can I keep it?”
“Of course, babe. It’s yours.”
“I can’t believe it’s mine after all these years.”
“Just like me.” His lips descended slowly upon hers, and he felt her smiling into the kiss.
“I have a great idea!”
“You’re going to put on your cheerleading outfit and let me go for a touchdown?”
She laughed and straddled his lap. “That wasn’t my idea, but…I bet my mom has that outfit in a box somewhere.”
“Have I told you lately how great your mother is?” He kissed her smiling lips.
“If we’re going to do the long-distance relationship thing, then let’s agree not to work on Sundays like my parents do. They’ve never worked on Sundays. I mean, they take care of the animals, but they don’t do any real work. It’s always been a family day for us.”
“I love that idea, but I thought you had to work some weekends with your productions.”
“I do, but that’s usually just at the beginning. Once the production is underway, I’m on to the next for selection and prep, but Sundays aren’t mandatory. That’s just been how my life has evolved, I guess.” She ran her finger along his jaw and said, “I’ve never had a reason not to work on Sundays, but now I do, and I don’t want to miss out on days like this.”
“That sounds perfect to me. There’s not a property in the world that I’d rather work on than spend time with you.”
“Speaking of properties, do you think we can see the inside of the theater before I go back? I can’t stop thinking about it.”
“Sure. I want to show it to you. I’ll make arrangements with Meggie Tipster, my real estate agent.”
“You’re working with Megaphone Meggie?” Her smile got even brighter. “I cheered with her. She could cheer louder than anyone on the team. I haven’t seen her in so long. Is she still as tiny as a waif?”
