Saving Grace

by H. P. Munro

  “Looks like it. I’ve got a list of breeders back at the office. We can start with them once Ruth gets the photo.” Erin glanced in her direction. “Do you want to come with me?”

  “Let’s do this! Rat breeders here we come,” Charlotte said, following Erin out of the classroom.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “So how we going to do this?” Charlotte browsed Erin’s office while she waited for her to find the list of breeders.

  Hitting print, Erin sat back in her chair and watched Charlotte as she studied her certifications mounted on the wall. The blonde highlights were more evident in her auburn hair than Erin’s memory recalled, but her green eyes and sensual mouth were just as she remembered. The most recent memory of those lips pressed against hers had Erin calling upon every ounce of resolve she possessed not to grab Charlotte and continue where they’d left off the night before.

  “I guess we just take it slow and get reacquainted.” She tugged absently on her earlobe as her eyes traveled over Charlotte’s profile.

  Charlotte turned her head and grinned. “I was talking about the rat breeders.”

  Flustered, Erin ran her hands through her hair and stood up to collect the list from the printer.

  “But,” Charlotte continued, “I like that you were thinking about us, and it’s not just me preoccupied with thoughts of us.”

  Smiling, Erin looked at the paper in her hand. “We have four to check off that are in a two-hundred-mile radius of town. You up for a road trip?” she asked Charlotte, who had resumed investigating. She was now assessing the shelf where Erin kept her display of vintage veterinary instruments. Erin watched in amusement as Charlotte picked up one made of thick glass, in the shape of a horn. She pressed on the thick rubber bulbous end and made a honking noise. Taking the instrument from Charlotte, Erin stifled a chuckle.

  “Not really what it was designed for.” She placed it carefully back on the shelf.

  Charlotte stuck out her bottom lip. “Shoulda been.”

  “Yeah, it was used more as an enema pump than a horn.” Erin waited for the inevitable reaction from Charlotte.

  A shudder went through Charlotte’s body. “Okay not going to touch anything else in here, ever.”

  Moving into her personal space, Erin cocked her head to the side. “Really?”

  “Is this what you had in mind when you said reacquainted?”

  Reluctantly Erin stepped back. “A large part of me, well the brain part, wants to go slow. My more southern parts want to reacquaint now.”

  Charlotte moved forward so they were breathing the same air. “I get it. If I’m honest, I’m not ready. I don’t want to mess this up. I want to take it slow. We have time.”

  “Yeah, you being so close when saying that doesn’t help. It sorta makes me want you more.” Erin grazed her bottom lip with her teeth.

  Charlotte’s green eyes darkened as her gaze moved between Erin’s eyes and her lips.

  Erin leaned forward. She hesitated when her lips were seconds away from capturing Charlotte’s. Smiling as she spoke she could feel her breath caressing Charlotte’s lips. “You know if you deny yourself something you’ll only crave it more. So I’m doing this for the good of both of us. One kiss and then we get on with the whole slow reacquainting thing.”

  She brought her hands up to the back of Charlotte’s neck, her fingers trailing into the soft hair at the nape. With the slightest of pressure, she brought their lips together. The soft tender kiss grew quickly as both women desperately took what they needed from the brief moment.

  Charlotte placed her hands on Erin’s hips and tugged her towards her, her greedy mouth seeking out Erin again and again. Neither was sure who moaned at the point their tongues touched and neither cared. They simply lost themselves in the familiarity of each other.

  A vibration from Erin’s pocket was enough to bring them back from the brink. They pulled apart half-heartedly both breathing heavily, their lips swollen.

  “Good plan,” Charlotte said breathlessly.

  Erin tilted her head and placed a chaste kiss on Charlotte’s lips before pulling away entirely and pulling her cell from her pocket. She rolled her shoulders as if the action could somehow relieve the tension in her body.

  “You think, ’cause I’m not so sure it was my brightest idea.” She checked the screen of her phone. “We’ve got a photo. Looks like we’re hitting the road.”

  ***

  “You honestly think he drove two-hundred miles to get some rats?” Charlotte climbed into the driver’s seat of her rental.

  Erin paused before cautiously entering the vehicle. Her ribs still ached from her accident. “I don’t know, but I do know if we don’t check them out, Teddy will have something to say about it.”

  Charlotte laughed as she started the engine. “And we’re not just calling them, why?”

  “Something about seeing the whites of their eyes. If you don’t tell Teddy, I won’t, ’cause we’re gonna skip one. I can call the one breeder who’s north. I know her. She has kin in the area. That way we can focus on the other three in the south without doubling back on ourselves.”

  “Okay, so point me in the right direction.” Charlotte put the car into drive and pulled out of the parking lot at the office.

  “East of Livingston is our first stop. Which means we have a whole hour and a half for reacquainting purposes.”

  Grinning, Charlotte shook her head. “Not while I’m driving! That’s only gonna end in a crash.”

  “I meant the other kind of reacquainting.” Erin gave Charlotte’s thigh a playful slap.

  “So where do you wanna start?”

  “The relationship you mentioned at the cemetery.”

  Charlotte blew out a breath and settled in her seat for the drive and the explanation. “While I had one relationship that lasted six years, she had several in the same time period.” Charlotte smiled sadly. “It wasn’t the healthiest of relationships. We used each other. She wanted a nice lifestyle, and I guess I wanted a relationship where there was little chance that I would cause any emotional hurt. I knew she was sleeping around but chose to ignore it.”

  “She the reason you said you had nothing back in Manhattan?”

  “No, that’s all down to me. I have an apartment in Chelsea and the grand total of three friends.” She glanced over at Erin before continuing. “Not exactly the greatest list I’ll admit. It wasn’t until all this stuff about home came up that I realized even my friends didn’t really know anything about me. I never told them anything about home. It was all too painful. So it was easy to hide in work until that wasn’t fun anymore.”

  “Okay, we’re going to take these in order of appearance. Tell me about your friends.”

  Smiling as she thought about them, Charlotte navigated the roads leading them away from Grace Falls. “Well there’s Molly. I’ve known her longest, almost fifteen years. God that makes me feel old,” she snorted. “Molly used to come into the gym where I worked. She was fresh out of law school and climbing the corporate ladder. When the owner agreed to sell the gym to me, it was Molly that acted as guarantor for the bank loan, and did all the legal work for free.

  “Then there’s Joanne. She’s Molly’s sister. Her bark is worse than her bite and she and Molly seem to have this thing where they’re never happy unless they’re pushing each other’s buttons. And Ellie. Ellie’s the peacekeeper. She and Joanne are getting married soon. She’s got this real gentle nature, and you can’t help but be calm when she’s around.”

  “Ah, ‘Karma Molly,’ was she the one that refused to be treated by me?”

  Laughing, Charlotte nodded. “The one and same.”

  “What about work? You sold your gym?”

  “Gyms, plural,” Charlotte corrected. “What’s the one thing you love about your job?”

  “Helping animals and their owners,” Erin replied without hesitation.

  “Okay, now imagine your practice got so big, you only got to do that thing you l
ove two percent of the time.”

  Erin shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “That would suck.”

  “Yeah, it did. So I sold up and since then I’ve been waiting for something that gets me excited again. I don’t want to jinx it, but I think I may have found it.”

  “An opportunity in Manhattan?”

  Charlotte could hear Erin’s trepidation as she asked the question. She chewed on her lip unsure of how much to share. She really didn’t like counting her chickens, and there was absolutely no guarantee the offer Molly was pulling together would be accepted by her mother. However, she also wanted Erin to know she was serious about wanting more. In the end, she opted for a cautious reply.

  “The opportunity would be much closer to Grace Falls.”

  Releasing her breath in a whoosh, Erin nodded. “Well, that’s a relief.”

  “Is it?” Charlotte asked, risking a look across to Erin. She was still nervous Erin wasn’t on the same page, and she could be turning her life upside down, only to lose the one woman she’d ever really loved.

  “Of course it is. The whole reacquainting thing works better if we’re in the same state. Plus, Sam will love a local gym.”

  Charlotte smiled, leaving Erin in the belief that the opportunity was related to her previous business experience.

  ***

  Several hours and two rat breeders down, they were driving towards Mobile. Their conversation ranged from the serious to the nonsensical and despite so far drawing a blank on their quest, neither felt the time wasted.

  “Last one.” Erin typed the directions to the breeder into the car’s GPS system. “You still okay to drive?”

  “Yup. Although I am regretting not using the facilities at that last gas station.” Charlotte squirmed in her seat. “I’ve had a thought. Do you have any reason to get back tonight?”

  Erin moved slowly in her seat so she could face Charlotte. “Just Cooper, he’s with Cindy. I’m sure I can ask her to keep him overnight. What do you have in mind?”

  Charlotte shrugged. “Just that it’s a long drive back, and it might be better if we do it tomorrow.”

  “Uhhuh.” Erin smirked and raised an eyebrow.

  “Honest. Gulf Shores is only another hour or so away. So maybe once we’ve seen the last guy we could get somewhere for the night.”

  “Separate rooms?”

  Charlotte made a cross over her heart. “I promise.”

  Their final call turned out to be the jackpot. The breeder identified Ford immediately from the photo and was annoyed when he heard what his rats had been used for. As Erin called Sully to give him the news, Charlotte used her phone to find them somewhere to stay. She dug her credit card out of her back pocket when she found the ideal accommodation, and smiled as she tapped the numbers into the screen.

  “Please don’t do anything stupid, Matt. Call Harvey and let him know what’s been going on, and let him deal with it,” Erin pleaded with her enraged friend. “It won’t do anyone any good if you end up in jail.”

  Charlotte tried to listen in to Matt’s response, but it appeared to be a whole lot of expletives and not much else. Waiting for Erin to finish, she opened her email and saw a summary of the offer Molly was proposing for the lumberyard. In her heart of hearts Charlotte knew she was less interested in paying a fair price for the business. She just wanted to own it.

  Left to her own devices, the offer would have been a ridiculous one her mother would not refuse. She knew though Molly would have taken the time to research and the price offered would be a realistic one. Replying back with the details of her mother’s lawyer, her excitement increased again.

  “If you don’t promise me you’ll call Harvey, I’m gonna hang this phone up and call Mack. And then you can deal with both the sheriff and her,” Erin yelled.

  The threat seemed to have the desired effect as Erin nodded and spoke at a normal volume. “Let me know how you get on.” She ended the call and looked at Charlotte. “Phewwweee, he’s madder than a wet hen in a tote.”

  Charlotte started the engine. “You blame him?”

  “Not a bit.” She tossed her phone into the side pocket of the door. “So what were you up to while I was trying to keep Sully outta trouble?”

  “I found us somewhere to stay.”

  ***

  “What the hell, Charlie?” Erin ignored the pain in her side as she sat forward to get a better view of the large property. Similar to all the houses in the area, it was raised on stilts. Its pristine white trim stood out in sharp contrast to its cool gray siding. “This is where we’re staying?”

  Charlotte drove into the carport beneath the house and put the car into park. “It is. You like?”

  “I love.” Erin took off her seatbelt and moved from the car as if in a trance. She practically ran up the white wooden staircase that led to the main door. Her sneakers shedding traces of sand on each step. Waiting impatiently at the top for Charlotte to catch up she used her toes to slip off her shoes. Letting her feet luxuriate on the sun-warmed wood, she huffed as Charlotte finally put a foot onto the top step.

  “What took you so long?”

  “Had to get these from the security box.” Charlotte grinned, holding up a set of keys. “Thought you might want to get into the property. But if you want to sleep out here at the front door, we can do that too.”

  Grabbing the keys, Erin quickly unlocked the door and entered the property and gasped. Ignoring the living areas, she walked straight through to the windows which made up the entire back wall. Pushing open the doors she stepped onto the balcony that lined the whole rear of the house. The increased height meant the views out across the beach and water were more spectacular than Erin had ever experienced before.

  “Yeah, this was the view that made me choose this one,” Charlotte said, coming out to join Erin.

  “It’s gorgeous. It must be costing you a fortune. Let me pay half.”

  Charlotte shook her head. “Nope, this is my treat. Next time we come down, it’s your choice, and you pay. Deal?” She held out her hand.

  “Deal.” Erin took Charlotte’s hand and instead of shaking it, she stepped closer and pulled her closer, wrapping Charlotte’s arm around her.

  Charlotte rested her chin on Erin’s shoulder. “I can’t quite believe we’re here.”

  “Me neither. I’d ask you to pinch me, but if I am dreaming, then I don’t want to wake up.”

  Smiling, Charlotte started to pepper Erin’s neck with kisses. “I could bite you instead?” she said against Erin’s skin.

  “Now that’s an offer.” Erin laughed. “But you should stop that.”

  Charlotte moved to pull away, but Erin held on.

  “I didn’t mean stop everything.” She turned and enclosed her arms around Charlotte’s waist. “Sun will be setting soon. We should get something to eat.”

  “I thought maybe I could order in a pizza for tonight. There should be some sort of welcome basket in the kitchen for anything else.”

  “You’ve thought of everything.”

  Charlotte pulled her closer. “Aside from a change of clothes, we’re good.”

  Later, they sat watching the sunset. Pulling slices of pizza directly from the box and sipping the white wine left in their basket, neither could think of a more perfect end to a day.

  ***

  “So what room do you want?” Charlotte leaned lazily on the doorframe of the master bedroom.

  Erin lay spread-eagle on the king-size bed. “Oh, I was thinking maybe this one.” She grinned, propping herself up on her elbows.

  Charlotte stuck out her bottom lip and nodded. “Good to know, ’cause I wasn’t sure.”

  “That okay?”

  “Of course it is! Anything you want. I’m gonna go grab a shower.” She hiked a thumb over her shoulder towards the second bedroom.

  Erin smiled. “Yeah me too. I spotted fluffy robes. I may be in heaven.”

  Charlotte pulled the door closed. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
/>
  Erin’s reply was muffled by the door Charlotte now leaned against. She willed her feet to move and take her to her room and away from Erin.

  ***

  Waves crashed gently against the sand. The moon bathed the room with soft light and despite how relaxing the surroundings were and the exhaustion of the long drive, Charlotte felt too pent-up to sleep.

  She lay on the bed, almost in the same manner as Erin had jokingly lain on her own earlier. With still damp hair, she opened her robe and allowed the breeze coming through the open window to dry her.

  Erin was under the same roof as her.

  Across the hall.

  Fresh from the shower.

  Rising up, Charlotte wrapped her robe around her, opened the door of her bedroom and crossed the hall.

  ***

  Erin stood in her bathrobe watching the perpetual motion of the ocean. Its movement was the only thing keeping her from going to Charlotte. She thought she’d imagined the soft knock on her bedroom door until she heard the door open. Keeping her focus on the moon reflecting off the water, she took deep breaths to slow her now rapid heartbeat.

  “It’s perfect here,” Erin murmured as the heat from Charlotte pressing her body against her back did nothing to slow her heart rate.

  Charlotte wrapped her arms around her. “You’re perfect,” she whispered into her ear. “I know we said we would wait, but I’ve waited for you for so long. If you want me to stop, you only need to say and I’ll go.”

  Erin made no sound.

  Tugging gently on the belt of Erin’s robe, Charlotte loosened the knot allowing the garment to fall open.

  Erin’s breath quickened as Charlotte’s lips caressed her neck. Her hands glided beneath the fabric of the robe. The sensuality of her touch was entrancing. She stood motionless as Charlotte slipped the robe from her shoulders, revealing her nakedness.

  The gown pooled in a heap between them and Charlotte stepped onto it. Using the height gain to her advantage, she continued placing soft kisses on Erin’s skin as she caressed her shoulders, allowing Erin to become accustomed to her touch.