Saving Grace
Page 24
“I know I’ve been away a long time, and you have no reason to trust me. But I want to reassure you my mother’s actions have been in all of your best interests.”
The rumblings were quieter in response this time.
“It is true my mother sold all Grace businesses to a company from New York. She negotiated the following terms with them. There will be no job losses and the lumber business must remain in Grace Falls for a minimum of ten years. Effective immediately, Brett Ford is no longer an employee. Anyone who believes that this decision is wrong is welcome to resign. However, you should know he has mismanaged the yard’s finances, stolen from the company, and gained the job under false pretenses.”
There was muttering from the crowd as they digested the information. “Ruth Campbell will be appointed manager, should she accept the job.” Charlotte smiled at Ruth, whose eyes were wide as saucers.
Charlotte allowed them a moment to process while she composed herself for her next announcement. She looked down to Erin and tried with every ounce of her being to transmit an apology to her. “There is one more matter. While those terms were agreed to, I know some of you are probably concerned about the new owner and whether they’ll stick to them.” Her heart thumped in her chest. “I want you to know all terms will be met.”
A voice to Charlotte’s right yelled. “How can you be so sure?”
Charlotte glanced in the direction the query came from then turned her attention back to Erin. Her eyes locked on Erin. “I’m one hundred percent positive, because I’m the new owner.”
***
Erin saw the uncertainty in Charlotte’s eyes as she made her announcement. She knew Charlotte was worried that keeping something so big from her had damaged them as a couple.
She did the only thing she could think of to let her know they were okay.
Lifting her hands, she looped her fingers together.
***
“I can’t believe we missed it all,” Alex grumbled, only slightly mollified by the hug she received from Maddie.
The friends sat around a table in the now much quieter bar, finally enjoying the celebration they set out to have.
“It was amazing.” Ruth’s words slurred thanks to the celebratory drinks she’d consumed.
“You’re only saying that ’cause she’s your boss. Suck-up,” Sam said, taking a swig from his beer.
Peter prodded Sam in the arm, causing him to spill beer down his T shirt. “Maybe you could learn a thing or two on sucking up to your boss.”
“So you bought the businesses, and then your mother gave you the money back?” Maddie asked, still trying to catch up.
Ruth frowned. “How’d you buy them in the first place? Your gym went bust.”
Charlotte shook her head. “I never said that. You did that all by yourself.”
Maddie sat forward. “So you didn’t lose your gym?”
“Nah, I sold them.”
“Them?” Ruth halted her husband’s movement as he attempted to remove the drink in front of her.
“In 2012, Elliot Enterprises sold its interests in LifeFit’s thirty gyms, ten health clubs, and two tennis centers, situated throughout the Eastern Seaboard. For sixty-five million dollars.”
The adults all turned towards Jessica, who was sitting reading from her father’s cell phone screen.
“What?” Jessica shrugged, waving the phone “It was just sitting there unlocked.”
Alex reached over and removed the phone from her daughter’s hands.
“LifeFit,” Maddie said, impressed. “I was a member in Atlanta.” She held up a finger. “Sully, I swear if you make one comment about me in lycra I will throat punch you.” She paused to see if her threat was enough. Seemingly satisfied, she continued. “I joined in January, went until February and then kept paying until I could get out of the contract. I kept the towel though.”
“You’re not alone.” Charlotte laughed. “Many did that and I thank you for it.”
“So basically you’re richer than God,” Sam joked.
“Not quite, but I did okay.” Charlotte bit her lip. She wasn’t uncomfortable with her wealth. She’d worked damned hard to create her business, but she knew sometimes it changed how others were with her. Erin squeezed her thigh in support. “That gonna cause an issue with anyone?”
Sam shrugged. “Nope, you’re still you. Money don’t make no difference. You still squat to shit like the rest of us.”
Jessica spun around to face her mother. “How come that’s okay but I can’t talk medical stuff at the table.”
Alex glared at Sam. “It’s not okay.”
“So, Charlotte what exactly did you say to Ford to make him scuttle off the stage?” Teddy interrupted to save Sam, while signaling another round was required.
“I told him if he left quietly that Virginia wouldn’t pursue charges for theft.”
Sully sat back and placed his arm around Lou. “I can’t believe you let him off so easily.”
Grinning, Charlotte tweaked Sully’s nose. “Who said I did? I just wanted him off the stage. Virginia might not charge him, I, on the other hand, had Douglas waiting outside to arrest his ass.”
Disentangling himself from Lou, Sully grabbed Charlotte’s cheeks and planted a sloppy kiss on her lips.
“Hey big guy, wind it down.” Erin playfully reached around Charlotte to swat Sully on the back of the head.
“Before I forget.” Charlotte picked up her now replenished drink. “There is one more announcement. The Grace Falls Foundation and Elliot Enterprises are sponsoring Sam Hunter to allow him to train in Norway.”
“What?” Erin spun around to look at her younger brother. “What is this and why am I only hearing about this now?”
Both Charlotte and Sam muttered ‘shit’ in unison.
“You, little brother, I will deal with later.” She turned back to Charlotte. “You’re just full of surprises today.”
“Fifty bucks he breaks something in the first month,” Teddy yelled, capturing Erin’s attention away from a sheepish looking Charlotte.
Sully slapped his hand onto the table. “I’m in. I’ll take two months.”
“Guys, I’m right here,” Sam whined.
Erin leaned over, her breath on Charlotte’s neck causing a delicious tingle up and down Charlotte’s spine. “You have a lot of explaining to do.”
“I promise I’ll make it up to you when we get home.”
She felt rather than saw the smile on Erin’s lips as she replied. “Home?”
“Home.”
Epilogue
A year later
With a sigh, Erin rested her forehead on the reception desk. “Please tell me we’re done.”
Cindy tapped the back of Erin’s head lightly with her pen. “We’re done. You’re free to go.”
Straightening up, Erin grinned. “Thanks, boss.”
“Don’t you forget it,” Cindy replied without looking up from her screen. “While it’s your name on the door, we both know who’s really in charge here.”
Erin was already on her way back to her office, shrugging out of her white coat as she went. She tossed it into the laundry hamper and pulled her cell from the back pocket of her jeans. She smiled as she read the text from Charlotte.
‘Meet me after work at our usual place.’
She typed back she was on her way before switching off the light in her office and heading back to the reception area.
“Don’t stay too late.” Erin paused beside Cindy on her way out.
“I’m just about done.”
Erin waved a goodbye as she slipped out of the air-conditioned office and into the warmth of the evening. Driving her car through town, she smiled as flags were hung outside Sully’s to celebrate the town’s one hundred and fifty-first birthday.
It was hard to believe a year had passed since Charlotte returned for the previous event. Sam was still in Norway training and would miss the party. The bet on his breaking something had been won eventuall
y by Maddie when he dislocated his thumb six months in.
Sully and Lou were now married and to everyone’s surprise, Teddy and Douglas followed suit shortly afterward. Maddie and Alex were, unbeknown to most of the group, attempting to become pregnant.
Charlotte was firmly embedded back into life in Grace Falls. However, every couple of months they would take a trip north to allow Charlotte and Molly to have their friends fix. Erin also accompanied Charlotte to Joanne and Ellie’s wedding, throwing the seating plans into disarray.
Charlotte and her mother were attempting to forge some sort of relationship. It wasn’t proving to be the easiest of tasks as Virginia could be just as ornery as ever. But some progress had been made.
She parked her car and stepped out onto the trail that led to their rock. It was a warm summer evening, and honeyed rays of sun glinted through the trees as she walked the short distance to where she knew Charlotte would be waiting. Approaching their spot, she wasn’t disappointed. Charlotte lay spread out on the rock. Her red hoodie was bunched under her head as a makeshift pillow.
Erin approached as quietly as possible, smiling as she almost reached Charlotte before green eyes sprang open.
“Hey you.” Charlotte quickly sat up and propelled herself from the rock to capture Erin in a hug.
“You’ve got sawdust in your hair again.” Erin picked small particles of wood from Charlotte’s auburn hair. “If you’ve been ‘helping’ in the saw room again Molly will have a fit about your liability insurance.”
Charlotte snuggled her face further into Erin’s neck. “What she doesn’t know won’t cost me anything.”
“So how come we’re meeting here?”
Charlotte pulled back and placed a gentle kiss on Erin’s lips. The tenderness quickly developed into something more passionate as she clutched Erin’s ass and brought their lower halves closer together.
Before things went too far, Charlotte started to take the heat out of their kisses until eventually Erin’s heart rate was back somewhere normal.
Pulling apart, Charlotte smiled shyly. “I thought maybe we could go for a swim.”
Not letting Erin respond, she held onto her hand. Grabbing her hoodie as she passed, she started to walk them towards the Grace family property.
When they reached the boundary fence, Erin stopped. “What happens if we get caught?” she asked, echoing her teenage concerns.
“We’re not gonna get caught,” Charlotte replied, climbing over the fence.
Erin cast a glance up towards the large colonial style property. “You’re sure?”
“Positive.” Charlotte reached for Erin’s hand to help her over. “Look all the lights are off. There’s no one home.”
Erin quickly stripped off her clothes and dove seamlessly into the water, treading water until Charlotte joined her. A dog barking from the house broke the silence of the night.
“They’ve got a guard dog.” Erin looked towards the noise.
Charlotte swam closer and pulled her into an embrace. “I’m not sure Cooper can ever be classed as a guard dog.”
Erin smiled, wrapping her legs around Charlotte’s waist. “Don’t disparage our dog. He could save your life one day.”
“I would never disparage him,” Charlotte replied, reaching her hand around Erin’s neck to tug her into a kiss. “Besides, I don’t need saving. I’m already saved.”
About the Author
H.P. Munro lives in London with her wife and a wauzer named Boo. She started writing in 2010 when a new job took her away from home a lot and she found herself in airports, on flights and in hotel rooms with room service for one. The job didn't last but the love of writing did.
Her début novel Silver Wings won the Golden Crown Literary Society Historical Fiction award in 2014. Her novels Grace Falls and Stars Collide were published in 2014 and quickly became lesbian romance bestsellers, with Stars Collide selected as a finalist in the Goldies 2015 Traditional Contemporary Romance category.
You can connect with HP through:
Email: munrohp@gmail.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/munrohp
Twitter: @munrohp
Website: www.red-besom-books.com
Other Titles by Author
SILVER WINGS
WINNER - 2014 Golden Crown Literary Society – Historical Fiction
ISBN-13: 978-1482023572
ASIN: B00FXY3LTU
When in 1942, twenty-five-year-old Lily Rivera is widowed, she finally feels able to step out of the shadows of an unhappy marriage. Her love of flying leads her to join the Womens Airforce Service Pilots, determined to regain her passion and spread her wings, no suspecting that she would experience more than just flying.
Helen Richmond, a Hollywood stunt pilot, has never experienced a love that lifted her as high as the aircraft she flew…until she meets Lily. Both women join the W.A.S.P. program to serve their country and instead find that they are on a collision course towards each other, but can it last?
GRACE FALLS
Amazon Best Seller - #1 Lesbian Romance, #1 Lesbian Fiction
ISBN-13: 978-1495400544
ASIN: B00I5UVVN2
Dr Maddie Marinelli is looking for a fresh start; she's leaving behind the ghost of a failed relationship and looking forward to starting a new job and life in San Francisco...what she didn't count on was car trouble and the colorful residents of Grace Falls.
Alex Milne has spent most her adult life putting other people’s needs first. She is busy raising her daughter in her hometown while running her business and the last thing she expects is to be attracted to Grace Falls' newest, albeit reluctant, resident.
Sometimes you don't know what it is you're looking for, until it comes along and finds you.
STARS COLLIDE
FINALIST – 2015 Golden Crown Literary Society –
Traditional Contemporary Romance
Amazon Best Seller - #1 Lesbian Romance, #1 Lesbian Fiction
ISBN-13: 978-1499357776
ASIN: B00KHAEHTI
It’s tough growing up in the spotlight and Freya Easter has had to do just that, being part of the Conor family, who are Hollywood acting royalty, has meant that every aspect of her family’s life has been played out in the spotlight. Despite her own fame Freya has managed to keep one aspect of her life out of the public eye; however, a new job on hit show Front Line and a storyline that pairs her with the gorgeous Jordan Ellis, may mean that Freya’s secret is about to come out.
In a world of glitz and glamor, Jordan Ellis has come to the conclusion that all that glitters is not gold. She has become disillusioned with relationships and is longing for a deeper connection, and is surprised when it comes in the form of the most unexpected package.
Whilst their on screen counterparts begin a romantic journey, Freya and Jordan also find themselves on a pathway towards each other.