by Susan Stoker
Grace nodded. “I don’t think he’s that bad. He’s actually pretty nice. But I’m not attracted to him. At all.”
“And let me guess, your mother invited him and told you she couldn’t serve a simple dinner without your help?”
Grace nodded again and could see her friend’s mind racing.
“That’s not good. You know she’s just manipulating you to get you to be there and to shove Bradford down your throat.”
“I’ll see what I can do about Saturday.” Grace didn’t bother responding to the not good or the rest of her comment. Grace was well aware of her mother’s manipulation . . . even if she couldn’t seem to let it stop affecting her.
“Let me know if you need a ride. I know your folks are going to somehow get you to stay over there this weekend.”
Just because she got sucked into spending the night at their house instead of her apartment didn’t mean that Felicity would let her off the hook. She and Felicity had worked out a system in which Grace would sneak out of the house after her parents had gone to bed and meet up at the end of the street. Luckily her bedroom was on the opposite side of the monstrous mansion from her parents’ suite, and they had never caught her.
“I will. Thanks, Leese. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
They were done with their meal, and both stood up. Felicity leaned over and engulfed Grace into her embrace. She then pulled back and looked at her friend seriously, holding her shoulders in a strong grip. “I love you, Grace. You’re one of the most pure and honest people I’ve ever met in my life. I hate that you live like you do, under their thumb. I hate that you have to spend a minute longer in that house when you should be enjoying your freedom and living how you want. And I most especially hate that no one, other than me and Cole, knows the hell you go through every day of your life.”
“It’s okay.”
“It’s not. But I’m telling you, Grace. If you need me, all you need to do is call. Or text. Or email. And I’m there. Got it? No matter when. No matter what.”
“Thanks. I . . . That means a lot.”
“It means shit unless you agree.”
Grace smiled at the fierceness of her best friend’s words. “I will.”
“Promise,” Felicity ordered.
“I promise.” Grace was lying, but if it made Felicity feel better to hear her promise, she would.
“Thank you. Now, come on. You have 4.2 minutes to get back to work before the spies report back that you’re late.”
Grace smiled, even though Felicity wasn’t wrong. Sometimes it was worth being late. Sometimes.
Chapter Three
“I don’t know why you’re bothering to look for anything in that house,” Logan told Blake as he walked into the office.
Blake was the brother who thrived on solving mysteries, on digging and digging and digging until he found answers. Even though the business had been open for only a couple of months, Blake had single-handedly found the information needed to wrap up several cases already, gaining Ace Security the respect of both local detectives and the Feds.
In one such case, a woman down in Colorado Springs had been harassing her ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend for months. She’d started with small irritants, such as letting the air out of his tires, but had escalated to showing up in their house in the middle of the night, screaming obscenities at the couple until they’d been scared for their lives. Blake had actually established a link between the crazy ex and a case out in Washington, where a woman had broken into an ex-boyfriend’s house and killed his new girlfriend. That woman had disappeared, but Blake discovered enough coincidences to alert the Colorado Springs Police Department and the FBI. The woman was now in custody and being extradited back to Washington to face murder charges.
Given his tenacity, the fact that Blake was riffling through the years and years of crap their parents had kept in their house wasn’t too surprising. But Logan didn’t give a shit. He’d spent the last ten years trying to forget his childhood and had no desire to delve back into it. Not even for his brother.
“Do you really think you’re gonna find anything that will explain why Mom was such an abusive asshole?” Logan asked his brother.
“Don’t know. But I won’t find anything if I don’t look,” Blake responded.
“We got other shit to do,” Logan told him in a hard voice. “We got two new cases yesterday.”
“I know, and I’m on them. But aren’t you just a little bit curious as to why Mom was the way she was?”
“No.”
“Come on, Logan, you—”
“I said no.”
“Fine. But I’m not going to stop.”
“Whatever. Just don’t bring it to work, okay?”
“No problem.”
“You really want to live in that shit hole?” Logan asked the other thing that had been on his mind. When the three brothers had moved back to Castle Rock, Logan had rented an apartment, Nathan had bought a small house, but Blake had wanted to move into and remodel the house that had been left to them after the death of their parents.
“Yeah. It’s a good house. And the area isn’t as bad as it used to be when we were living there. I can fix it up and turn it into a great house.”
“The memories don’t bother you?” Logan asked, curious.
“Not really.” Blake shook his head. “Mom was the hardest on you. I’m not saying she didn’t knock me and Nathan around, but you were the one who got the worst of it. Maybe because you were always protecting us.”
Logan refused to delve into it. He didn’t want to be reminded about the hell of his childhood. Besides, he would’ve done anything to protect his brothers. The black ball of guilt about the times that he couldn’t protect them threatened to explode out of his gut, but he held it back and tried to shrug nonchalantly. “Whatever. Just don’t expect me and Nathan to hang out much over there.”
“I wouldn’t ask you to.”
Needing the change in subject, Logan asked, “You going to Cole’s party this weekend?”
Blake shrugged. “Hadn’t thought about it much. Maybe. You?”
“Yeah. Might be a good place to hand out business cards.”
Blake laughed. “You ever not work?”
“Nope.”
“Then good luck. And if I don’t show up, say hey to Cole for me.”
“I will. Think there’s any chance I can get Nathan to come with me?”
“Not a chance in hell. You know he hates that kind of thing.”
“What, dancing?” Logan asked.
“Dancing. Talking with strangers. Crowds . . . you name it,” Blake confirmed.
“It might be good for him.”
“Maybe, but good luck getting him to agree.”
Logan grumbled under his breath. If he didn’t know for a fact Nathan was his brother, he might’ve thought the man was adopted. He was the exact opposite of him and Blake. He was introspective, soft-spoken, and rarely spoke up for himself . . . a lot like their father had been. But he wasn’t a pushover. Logan had witnessed Nathan beating the hell out of a man who’d dared smack his kid in public. He had no problem sticking up for someone weaker, but didn’t seem to give one shit if he himself was made fun of.
“Maybe he’ll say yes this time,” Logan countered, smirking.
“You’re not gonna stop asking him to step outside his comfort zone, are you?”
“Nope.”
“Good. He needs someone to shake him up. He spends too much time with his beloved numbers anyway,” Blake commented.
“You’ll let me know what you find out on the new cases?” Logan asked.
“Of course. You headed up to Denver?”
“Yeah. I have an interview with a potential client. His daughter is harassing him, contesting her mother’s will, saying she was left out and the father owes her.”
“How old is the father?”
“Eighty-three.”
“Damn,” Blake breathed. “Go. I’ll hold dow
n the fort here.”
“Will do. See you later.”
“Bye, Logan.”
Logan left the office of Ace Security and headed for his motorcycle. He didn’t drive it often, but it was a beautiful day and he needed the ride.
He saw Grace and Felicity eating lunch at the sub shop before he’d gone into the office. Grace had been laughing at something her friend had said. Her head was back and she looked more carefree than he’d seen her since he’d been back in town.
Logan thought back to the Grace he used to know. She had been friendly, happy, and would drop everything to talk to him when he needed her. She’d listened to him bitch about his mother for hours. When she noticed he had a black eye, she’d brought him a bag of ice from the nurse’s office, with no questions asked.
He knew about her dreams of working in marketing for a big firm and how she wanted to travel. They’d discussed what the ocean would look like, and how the sand would feel under their feet more than once. Back then, Logan could see her hopes and dreams in her eyes and had no doubts she’d accomplish each and every one.
He’d been flummoxed when he’d moved back to Castle Rock a few months ago and had run into her for the first time. They’d been in the grocery store and he’d run his cart right into hers as he’d gone around the corner of an aisle. She’d looked up at him as if she wanted to say something, but after seeing it was him, merely bit her lip and turned in the other direction.
It wasn’t the direct snub that had concerned Logan; it had been the look in her eyes. The Grace he’d known in high school was gone. There were no stars in her eyes anymore. No dreams. It was as if he’d run into a robot. There was no welcoming smile on her lips, only a blank stare. Logan had opened his mouth to say something, he wasn’t sure what, but Grace disappeared down another aisle.
Every morning he watched as she came out of the coffee shop across from Rock Hard Gym and headed to work. As a security expert, he hated that her routine never varied, but as a man who’d once thought they might end up together, he loathed the fact that it seemed as if she wasn’t living her life, was merely going through the motions.
And while she might be able to fool those around her, she couldn’t fool him. Even though she’d ripped his heart out, he still cared about her. Way too much. He’d thought he was over her, but the second he’d seen her, the attraction came back with a vengeance.
Grace was as put together as she always had been in high school. Her shirts looked tailored and professional, she wore small heels that showcased the muscles in her calves that were exposed in the knee-length skirts she always wore. Her light brown hair was pulled back into its customary bun at the back of her neck, which made Logan want to unravel it and wrap it around his hand as he kissed her. She’d always been curvy, but she’d grown into her body over the years, her hips full, her ass swaying as she walked down the street.
But it wasn’t only her looks that interested Logan. He’d been watching her from a distance for the few months he’d been back. She was considerate to just about everyone she met, stopping to talk to an old homeless man who was sitting outside the coffee shop one morning, even giving him her coffee. One morning, Grace even entertained a stressed-out woman’s toddler while the woman searched her purse for her wallet.
Grace was reserved and quiet, but just as he remembered from spending so much time with her in high school, she genuinely cared about those around her. It was that trait that still tugged at him today.
He might’ve been able to blow her off if it wasn’t for the fact that Felicity and Cole thought the world of her. Logan knew they were both hard to impress. Cole hadn’t stopped trying to pry into what had happened between them, and Felicity wasn’t much better.
But seeing Grace smiling and laughing with Felicity was a blow. Apparently she wasn’t as dead inside as he’d thought. But it wasn’t Logan who brought that joy out in her anymore. That hurt. More than he was willing to admit.
Logan mentally shrugged and grabbed the helmet off the handlebars of his Harley. He knew he would have it out with Grace at some point. He had to. If he wanted to move on with his life, or if they were even going to live in the same town together, he needed answers. But he wouldn’t rush it. Eventually they’d get their chance. Until then, he had a job to do.
Logan revved the engine of the big motorcycle, loving the power of the machine under him. As he pulled onto Interstate 25 and headed north toward Denver, he forced his thoughts of Grace Mason to the back of his mind so he could concentrate on the upcoming interview.
Chapter Four
Grace sat ramrod straight in her chair at the dinner table that night listening to her mother and Bradford make small talk. She’d assisted in the kitchen, making sure the cook had Bradford’s favorite drink ready to go, as well as setting the table, vacuuming the dining room, and dusting before the guests had arrived. Even though her parents had servants, they always had last-minute things they “needed” Grace to do.
“What are you working on next, Bradford?”
“Well, Mrs. Mason, I’m finalizing the blueprints for a new apartment complex up in Denver. It’s a part of the beautification of the downtown area.”
“Wow, that’s impressive,” Margaret gushed.
Bradford shrugged. “I wish I could say I had a hand in it, but I’d be lying. Most of the groundwork for the project was done by one of our executive assistants. She was like a bulldog, never quitting even when doors shut in her face.”
“See, Grace? You need to be more like that,” her father scolded. “If you tried a bit harder, you could get out of that front office and move up in the ranks.”
Grace blushed but didn’t defend herself. There wasn’t a point; she’d learned that well over the years.
“Oh, I didn’t mean—” Bradford started to say, but Margaret interrupted him.
“It’s okay. Grace knows she has a ways to go before she’s executive-assistant caliber. But I think with the right man by her side, she wouldn’t have as many outside distractions.”
Grace thought she was going to die. It was bad enough listening to her parents disparage her in front of others, but to practically throw her in Bradford’s lap was a whole new kind of low.
“I’m sure she’ll be fine,” Bradford tried to soothe. “I’ve worked with her a few times and she’s always been nothing but wonderful.”
“Thanks,” Grace said in a small voice. Bradford wasn’t a bad person. He was pleasant and didn’t go along with her parents when they belittled her. He always tried to either change the subject or praise her. But she felt nothing with him. No spark. No desire to hold his hand. No chemistry whatsoever. The thought of actually sleeping with him was abhorrent. It would be like sleeping with a brother or something. Grace had no idea how Bradford felt about her, but she guessed it was much the same.
The few times they’d been thrown together and had some privacy, he hadn’t overstepped his bounds and or even tried to kiss her. They’d simply talked business and made small talk. They liked each other, and Grace considered Bradford a friend of sorts . . . even if they didn’t hang out. She was comfortable with him and didn’t really worry about him trying to kiss her or get in her pants. The fact that it was obvious her mother was trying to throw them together was becoming awkward for them both.
The rest of the dinner was painful, but finally the dessert had been eaten and Margaret pushed back from her chair.
“It’s been lovely seeing you again, Bradford. Please tell your parents that I’ll be calling them soon. It’s been too long since we’ve chatted.”
“I will, Mrs. Mason. Thank you for a lovely dinner.”
“Call me Margaret. It’s only appropriate, after all.” Not giving them time to ponder her comment, she continued, “I’m feeling a bit tired. We will leave you two to continue chatting. Grace can see you out after you’re done visiting.”
“Of course. Thank you.”
Walter held out his hand as he stood up. “Thanks for coming over
tonight, Bradford. It’s always nice to spend time with an ambitious young person such as yourself. Grace could learn a lot from you.”
Her father’s subtle digs didn’t even faze her anymore. Grace kept her spine straight and the smile on her face polite as her parents left the large dining room. She turned to Bradford. “I’m sorry about that. Seriously.”
“It’s fine, Grace. I don’t want to embarrass you, but I feel like I should say something here. I like your parents, look up to them as a matter of fact. They’ve built an amazing company and are extremely successful. I know my folks wouldn’t be where they are without their backing. I don’t know how to say this, so I’m just going to come right out with it—I’m not interested in dating you.”
“I know. And I like you too, but yeah, not like that,” Grace agreed immediately.
“Whew!” Bradford breathed out, pantomiming wiping sweat away from his brow. “For a second I thought they were going to bring a preacher out from behind a curtain and insist that we get married right here and now.”
Grace laughed weakly. “I feel like I have to warn you, Bradford, they aren’t going to give up the idea of us being together easily.”
“Please, call me Brad. Bradford sounds so stuffy. And I realize that. They wouldn’t own one of the most successful architectural companies in Colorado if they gave up easily. Don’t worry,” he patted Grace’s hand, “I’m sure they’ll come around eventually. Walk me out?”
He pushed his chair back, putting his napkin on the table and pulling out her chair. She stood gracefully and walked behind Brad to the ornate doors that led into the house. Brad’s Porsche was parked in the circle driveway and Grace followed him to the driver’s side.
“Don’t look so worried, Grace. Your parents are reasonable people. They’ll figure out that we’re nothing more than friends eventually.”
Grace didn’t respond, but merely nodded instead. She let Brad lean down and kiss her on the cheek briefly. She stood back and watched as he pulled away down their driveway, until he turned and she couldn’t see the sleek black car anymore.
