Every Step She Takes (Who's Watching Now Book 2)

by Jannine Gallant

  Travis eyed Grace’s troubled expression. Reaching out, he took her hand and squeezed. “No wonder he turned into a head case. I’d feel sorry for the guy if he hadn’t been shooting at us. Last known residence?”

  “An apartment in Los Angeles. He’s been invisible since he graduated from college.”

  “Friends?”

  “He was pretty much a loner. Very bright. His standardized test scores are off the chart.”

  “That bites. They’re a lot easier to catch when they’re stupid.”

  “He may be so cocky he’ll make a mistake. I’ll let you know if I learn anything else.”

  “Thanks, Fritz.” Travis stuffed the phone in his pocket.

  “Your side of the conversation sounded somewhat grim. Want to fill me in?”

  He picked up his pace but didn’t release Grace’s hand as they headed back toward the car. “The shooter’s real name is Mason Rogers.”

  Her step faltered.

  He gave her a questioning look. “What?”

  “Nothing.”

  “His parents are both dead. The father was a drunken wife-abuser who fell and hit his head in a questionable accident when Mason was a boy. He was in the house when it happened.”

  “God, that’s awful. The poor kid.”

  “The poor kid is a hired assassin, so save your sympathy.”

  “I suppose. He obviously needed help and never got it.”

  He stopped beside the car and unlocked it. “Maybe a tough life is the reason for what he became, but it isn’t an excuse. Plenty of people experience tragedy in their lives and don’t kill for a living.”

  “True. We all make our own choices and our own mistakes.” She slid into the car. After he walked around and got in, she continued, “I’ve certainly made my share, but they don’t include shooting people.”

  Once the dog was settled on her lap, he started the engine and pulled out onto the street. “That’s my point. Shit happens, and you deal with it.” He forced a smile. “Let’s forget about Mason Rogers for the weekend. Deal?”

  “Sounds like a plan to me. Maybe by Sunday night they’ll have caught him.”

  “We can only hope.”

  * * * *

  The car bumped along the long dirt drive winding through rows of grapes. When Travis parked near the garage, Grace opened the door to free Wylie. The dog jumped out and set off to sniff his new surroundings.

  The door of the big, white farmhouse opened, and her mother hurried out, arms stretched in welcome. Grace met her halfway to be enfolded in a comforting embrace. Then got her cheek kissed with a loud smack.

  “Look at you, skinny as a rail.” She pulled back and cast a curious glance toward Travis. “Introduce me to your friend.”

  “Mom, this is Travis Barnett. He’s visiting from Seattle. Travis, my mom, Audrey Hanover.”

  “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Hanover.” He stepped forward and held out his hand.

  Ignoring it, she hugged him. “Call me Audrey. We don’t stand on formality around here. Welcome, Travis.” She turned toward Grace. “Your father is out somewhere with Will. It’ll just be the three of us for lunch.”

  “Fine by me. I’m starving.”

  “That’s what I like to hear.” She stopped and planted her fists on rounded hips. One brow rose as she stared at Wylie. “That is one ugly dog.”

  “Agreed, but he’s sweet. Come here, baby.”

  The dog trotted over, and her mother stuck out a hand. Wylie sniffed then gave it a lick that made her chuckle.

  “He seems like a nice little fellow. What possessed you to adopt a dog?”

  “Wylie was a stray, and we just sort of bonded. Is lunch ready?”

  “It is. Nothing fancy since you didn’t give me a lot of notice.”

  “We’ll probably survive without fancy.”

  “We’ll have to.” Her mother led the way into the house. Their feet echoed on the broad plank flooring. “Rachel said she’ll be over in an hour or so. She was going to bring Lark, but your niece had other plans.”

  “My niece, not your granddaughter?”

  “That young lady has been giving her mother fits. She’s just like you were at the same age.”

  “Gee, thanks.”

  Her mother glanced back at Travis and smiled. “Our Gracie was a wild one when she was a teenager. Lucky for us, she grew up to have sense.”

  “Probably because you raised her right.”

  The grin stretched wider. “I like this one. He’s a keeper.”

  Grace snorted. “He’s not a fish, Mom.”

  She pulled a platter of sandwiches and a bowl of fruit salad from the refrigerator. “I thought we’d sit out on the patio. It’s a beautiful day.”

  “Should I bring out plates?”

  “I already set it up, dear. Come along, Travis. I can’t wait to hear more about you.”

  “That means she’s going to grill you like the fish we were talking about.” Grace used a not-so-quiet stage whisper.

  “I heard that.”

  “You were supposed to.”

  They ate their lunch and enjoyed the view of endless rows of green grape vines. Sitting back in her chair, Grace let her mom do all the talking. By the time they’d finished the meal, she’d learned some interesting facts about the man she was growing to care for far too much. She was even a little disappointed when her mother pushed back from the table.

  “I’ll go get our dessert.”

  Grace waited until they were alone to lean toward Travis. “You never mentioned golf was your sport in high school. I would have guessed you played football or baseball.”

  “Nope, I never had the locker room mentality.”

  “Your favorite color is peach? Kind of girly, don’t cha think.”

  “I’m not afraid to embrace my feminine side.”

  She let out another snort and choked on her iced tea. Travis patted her back a little harder than necessary.

  When her mother returned with a plate full of cookies, she glanced between the two of them. “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing.” Grace wiped her watering eyes. “Yum, chocolate chip, my favorite.” She bit into a cookie and savored the rich flavor.

  “Did I hear chocolate chip?”

  Grace glanced up and smiled at her sister. Rachel smiled back. As the two youngest siblings in the Hanover clan, they’d always shared a special bond. Rachel’s beautiful auburn hair swung around her shoulders, and green eyes, the same shade as Grace’s, sparkled. Most importantly, she looked truly happy. When she was married to Bryce, she’d been constantly tense and stressed with perpetual lines of worry marring her brow. Warmth filled Grace, knowing her sister was now with a man who put a smile on her face.

  She wasn’t jealous. Not very, anyway.

  “Travis, this is my sister, Rachel Lafferty. Rachel, Travis Barnett.”

  Travis stood and shook the hand Rachel extended. “Grace has told me all about you. It’s a pleasure.”

  “Funny, she’s said almost nothing about you.” Speculative eyes studied him. “I intend to remedy the situation. Nice to meet you, Travis.”

  “Is it any wonder I don’t bring men home more often?”

  Rachel laughed. “Don’t be a spoilsport. In fact, why don’t you go away so I can talk to Travis without interruption? Lark is out front petting a very odd looking dog, and I know she’d love to see her favorite aunt.”

  Her mother’s hand stilled over the plate of cookies. “I thought she had plans.”

  “Her plans changed.”

  Grace stood. “Good, I’d love to chat with my niece.” She squeezed Travis’s arm as she passed. “Don’t scare him away, Sis.”

  “Now why would I do that?”

  Grinning, she left Travis to her sister. He was a big boy and could handle himself. Squaring her shoulders, she headed around the house, wondering what Lark had done now. Whatever it was, Grace was willing to bet it wouldn’t come close to the crap she’d pulled. She paused a moment and
closed her eyes, praying it never would.

  Chapter 17

  “A mutt doesn’t seem like your style, Aunt Grace.”

  She dropped down onto a patch of grass beside her niece and stretched out her legs. “I’m not the purebred sort. Too high maintenance.”

  Lark stroked Wylie’s ears before glancing over at her. “You drive a Porsche.”

  “I like to go fast.”

  The girl grinned. “I got my license.”

  “So your mom mentioned.”

  “Not that she ever lets me drive. She won’t let me have a car either, even though I’d pay for it with my own money.”

  “You mean with your trust fund.”

  She hunched forward, blond hair hanging across the shoulder tattooed with a little bird on a leafy branch. Even Grace hadn’t had the balls to get a tattoo when she’d been a teenager. Part of her had to admire her niece’s audacity.

  “Same thing. My dad left me that money.”

  “I don’t think it’s about the money. I think your mother is worried about your safety.”

  Blue eyes flashed. “She’s worried I’ll do something stupid like get pregnant if I have more freedom. I’m not an idiot.”

  Grace plucked a blade of grass and shredded it, choosing her words carefully. “You’re smart, but you don’t have a whole lot of life experience. Has it occurred to you she’s concerned for your emotional wellbeing as well as your physical safety?”

  “She doesn’t like my boyfriend.”

  “Why not?”

  The shoulder hunched again. “She never likes any guy I date.”

  “I don’t think that’s true. She liked Kevin.”

  “He didn’t even go to my school, and I hardly ever saw him. She hated Gavin.”

  “Wasn’t he the one who drove you into the city to get the tattoo?”

  “So?”

  “Come on, Lark. The kid was a punk. What doesn’t she like about your current boyfriend?”

  Her niece let out a long sigh. “Mom thought he was okay in the beginning, but now she’s a mental case because she thinks we’re going to have sex.”

  Grace smile. “You sure don’t mince words, do you?”

  “What’s the point? We’re both adults.”

  “Now there’s where the problem lies. You aren’t an adult. You’re still a child.”

  Lark rolled her eyes. “I thought you were cool.”

  “I am.”

  “A cool aunt would just ask me if I needed help getting birth control.”

  “Do you?”

  Tears ran down her niece’s cheeks. “I don’t know. I really, really like Web. He says he loves me and if I loved him back, I’d do it with him.”

  Grace’s fists clenched. “How do you feel about that?”

  “Confused.”

  She took a deep breath. “Want to hear a story?”

  “Oh, my God, this isn’t going to be some fable to make me see the error of my ways, is it?”

  Grace smiled. “No, it’s a story about me when I was sixteen.”

  “This should be good. I’ve heard Grandma and Mom talking when they thought I wasn’t listening. They’re afraid I’m going to turn into you.” She brushed the tears off her cheeks. “Were you really that bad?”

  “Yes.” She pushed a hand through her hair. “I had a boyfriend my sophomore year in high school, and I adored him. We ran track together, and he was good—almost as good as me. He was two years older, a senior, and he got a full-ride scholarship to college.”

  “He left you to go to school?”

  She swallowed hard. “He asked me to the prom, and I was thrilled. Afterward, he wanted to take me to a motel. He expected me to go.”

  Lark stared at her with wide eyes. “Did you?”

  “I told him to drop dead. No boy was going to tell me what to do.”

  “What happened?”

  “He dumped me at my house and took off. Then he went out and got drunk with his friends. Sometime early the next morning, he crashed his car into a big rig on the highway and died.”

  Lark covered her mouth with her hand. “I’m sorry.”

  “Yeah, so was I.” Grace let out a long breath. “I was heartbroken. Worse, I felt guilty.”

  “It wasn’t your fault.”

  “Of course not, but I didn’t believe it then. I never told Grandma and Grandpa what happened that night. They just thought I was upset because he died, but your mom knew. She was away at college by then, but I called her. She tried so hard to make me see I wasn’t to blame. I saw a therapist—actually a few therapists.”

  Lark reached over and picked up her hand. She squeezed hard.

  “After that, when I liked a boy and he wanted to sleep with me, I said yes. I was so vulnerable and stupid not to value myself more. All I cared about was them. I didn’t want anything bad to happen to any of them. I quit track. I hung out with the wrong sort of friends. It took me years to get my act together. Sometimes I’m still not sure…” She bit her lip.

  Lark leaned against her shoulder and let out a shaky breath.

  Grace closed her eyes to hold back an avalanche of emotion. A few stray tears trickled out. “Don’t ever, ever let yourself be pressured into doing something you aren’t ready to do. No one gets to make those decisions for you.”

  She nodded. “I won’t. I’m sorry, Aunt Grace.”

  “Nothing for you to be sorry about. I love you, and I don’t want you to have to live with the same mistakes I made. Believe me, no boy is worth it. You’ll know when you’re ready.”

  “I am worth it, aren’t I? I’ll talk to Web.” She lifted her chin. “If he dumps me, he dumps me.”

  “If he dumps you, he’s a moron and not worthy of your time, anyway.”

  “You’re right.”

  “Damn straight.” Grace stood and pulled Lark to her feet then grabbed onto her for a quick hug. “I should go rescue Travis. First your grandma grilled him. Now your mom is taking her best shot.”

  “Who’s Travis?”

  “A man I met in Alaska.” She poked her chest. “He may not be as cool as yours truly, but I think you’ll like him.”

  “Well, let’s go check him out. Can your dog come?”

  “Wylie pretty much does what he wants.”

  “Good for Wylie.” Her niece paused and touched her arm. “Aunt Grace?”

  “What?”

  “Thanks.”

  * * * *

  Grace looked—drained. Her eyes were shadowed and held a vulnerability in their depths that made him want to jump up and pull her into his arms. Travis was pretty certain she wouldn’t appreciate the gesture. Accompanying her was a pretty blond girl with damp eyes—her niece, he assumed. What had the two been talking about to elicit such a flood of emotion?

  Grace exchanged a long look with her sister and gave a short nod. Rachel’s shoulders sagged, and relief flashed across her face. Apparently, the two didn’t need words to communicate.

  “Travis, this is Lark. Lark, Travis.”

  The girl gave him a shy smile. “Hi.”

  He smiled back. “Hi, Lark. How are you?”

  “Good.”

  Grace picked up a cookie from the plate. “Want to take a walk through the vineyard? I need to burn off a few calories since I can’t stop eating these things.”

  “Sounds great.”

  As he turned, the girl gave her aunt a discreet thumbs-up.

  Grace grinned. “We’ll be back in a while.”

  “If you see your father out there, tell him not to be late for dinner.”

  “Sure thing, Mom.”

  Travis kept quiet until they’d left the yard with Wylie trailing along behind and entered the rows of grapes. Hard green balls hung from the vines. To his uneducated eye, the fruit had a lot of maturing to do before harvest.

  “You okay?”

  She glanced over at him. “Why do you ask?”

  “Your niece looked like she’d been crying, and you were…tense.”

>   “Girl talk. Lark’s going through a rough period. I hope I helped her.”

  “Is that why you came up here this weekend?”

  She nodded. “Rachel’s worried about her daughter, and she knew I could offer some personal experience that would make Lark think twice before she does anything really stupid.”

  He took her hand and threaded his fingers through hers. “Obviously, that talk cost you plenty.”

  “It brought back some old memories.”

  Stopping, he turned to face her. Pain dimmed the clarity of her eyes. With his free hand, he stroked her cheek with his thumb.

  “You, Grace Hanover, are a giving person.”

  “Lark reminds me of me.” She grimaced. “She reminds everyone of me. Anyway, I’m tough. I can take one for the team.”

  “You aren’t tough at all. You just act like you are.”

  “Not true. I had to be tough or curl up and die.” She stepped back and spread her arms wide. “See for yourself—still alive and kicking.”

  Tanned, toned skin exposed by shorts and a tank top grabbed his attention and held tight. But it was the heart and spirit inside that knocked the breath out of him. He was in serious danger of falling for this woman. His only choices were to run like hell while he still had the chance or convince her their fragile relationship could withstand eight hundred miles of separation.

  He squared his shoulders. He’d never been one to turn tail in the face of adversity. If Grace knocked him on his ass, he’d deal with it.

  “Cat got your tongue?”

  He smiled. “No, I was thinking.”

  “Hope you didn’t strain a muscle.”

  “Funny girl. Grace?”

  The amusement slipped from her face. “What?”

  “I’ve told you before, if you ever want to talk, I’ll listen.”

  “Thanks, but I’m pretty sure I’ve wallowed in enough emotion for one day.”

  “The offer stands.”

  She nodded, stepped forward and kissed him. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  Before he could deepen the kiss, she slid out of his arms.

  “I was going to show you around the vineyard. Let’s get moving.”

  She reminded him of Wylie back on the trail in Alaska—skittish and afraid his newfound friends would turn on him. Slowly the dog had learned to trust. He’d be patient with Grace, give her the time she needed. No matter how damn frustrated he was in the meantime.