by J. M. Hill
“I don’t want to go to sleep,” I said quietly. “I’ll be fine.”
Garrett climbed onto my bed and patted the spot next to him, waggling his eyebrows, making me smile. He held his arms open with a dimpled grin on his face. I climbed next to him, resting my head on his chest and he wrapped his arms around me.
Kate pulled the covers over me and kissed my cheek before leaving the room. I could hear Garrett’s heart beating and it comforted me.
“Are you going to stay until I fall asleep?” I asked.
“I’m staying until you wake up.”
I tried to look up at him so I could argue, but he tightened his hold on me making it impossible to move.
“Garrett, you can’t do that. You won’t get any sleep.”
He didn’t say anything, and then he snored. I nudged him in the ribs and he shook with quiet laughter. “Don’t worry about me.” He patted my head. “You sleep.”
It was quiet for a moment except for the lull of the nocturne coming from my stereo.
“I like this music,” he said. “What is this?”
“It’s Chopin’s ‘Nocturne five in F-Sharp’.”
He sighed loudly, and I giggled. What I said made no sense to him.
“I gave you this same CD for Christmas,” I reminded him. “Haven’t you listened to it yet?”
When he didn’t answer I nudged him again, making him laugh.
“Sorry, Gracie.”
“Mom and Aunt Beth used to play his music for Kate and me when we couldn’t sleep, it always helps me relax.”
He sighed. “It’s nice. I guess I need to listen to that CD.”
I nodded, and again it was quiet for a moment.
“Garrett?”
“Hm?”
“I love you.”
He kissed the top of my head. “I love you too. Now go to sleep, Gracie-Beth.”
When I opened my eyes I still had my head on Garrett’s chest, and I sat up slowly, feeling stiff and sore. Garrett rubbed his face with his hands and then stretched. The side of my face stung and I winced.
Garrett put his hand under my chin and studied the left side of my face.
“Ooh,” he shook his head disdainfully, “Michael’s not going to be happy with me when he sees this.”
“It’s not your fault. I’m the one who did it not you.”
“It happened on my watch,” he said matter-of-factly.
I frowned. “He’d better not blame you.”
“I’m more afraid of you than I am of my little brother.”
I rolled my eyes at him and he grinned.
“Thanks, Garrett,” I said. “Thanks for staying with me.”
“No problem, Gracie.” He yawned loudly.
Kate came in the room, passing Garrett on his way out.
“Morning.” She smiled at him, and he patted her head. “Breakfast?”
“Excellent.” He scratched his head as he disappeared down the hall. “I’ll be back in about twenty minutes.”
I noticed she wasn’t dressed in her usual work-attire. “Aren’t you going to work?”
She shrugged. “No. I’m staying with you and Garrett today.”
I started to argue, but she held up her hand to stop me from saying anything.
“I’m not leaving,” she said stubbornly. “So just get over it. Besides, the boys are coming home today, and I wouldn’t be able to focus on work anyway.”
I nodded in agreement as she on the edge of my bed and gently touched the scratches on my face.
“Michael’s going to think I’m crazy,” I told her.
“You’re not crazy.” She pushed herself off my bed. “I’m going to make us some breakfast.” She sighed. “I can’t wait to see Miles.”
Her sparkly-Kate-smile appeared on her face as she disappeared into the hallway. I went into the bathroom and stared at my reflection in the mirror and shook my head. It looked like I’d been dragged across asphalt by my face, which I suppose wasn’t too far from what truly happened.
Shallow scrapes ran from the hairline of my temple to the middle of my left cheek, and my left eye was badly bruised underneath. A ragged cut on the corner of my mouth explained why I’d tasted blood last night. I washed my face gingerly, and brushed my teeth and hair before going into the kitchen.
Kate and I made pancakes, and we sat with Garrett eating our breakfast, making small talk. I was glad no one brought up last night because I knew when Michael saw the self-inflicted damage on my face, I’d be talking about it plenty.
“So,” Kate smiled, “I think we need to have a special dinner tonight. What do you think?” She was asking me but Garrett answered.
“Sounds great to me. What are we…I mean what are you going to make?”
“I was thinking about—”
“Steak.” Garrett interrupted her. “You were thinking about steak and homemade bread. Right?” Kate slapped her hand down on the table with a big grin. “How did you know, Garrett?” She said sardonically. “That’s exactly what I was thinking!”
“Really?” he asked, surprised.
“No,” Kate said flatly. “But that’s what we’ll be having tonight anyway.”
Garrett laughed loudly and shook his head, and I just watched both of them, loving them to death.
After breakfast, I showered and got dressed in jeans and a pink cable-knit sweater. Michael liked me in pink, and I hoped the pink sweater might distract from the ugliness of my face. I didn’t even attempt make-up, it was hopeless.
I went into the living room and sat next to Garrett as he watched TV. He draped his arm over my shoulder, and I leaned into his side.
“How you feelin’, Gracie?”
“Fine. What about you?” I asked. “Are you tired?”
“No, not really,” he said. “But I think you should know, you snore.”
I frowned at him. “I do not.”
“Okay. You don’t.” He cocked an eyebrow at me, and I elbowed him in the ribs making him laugh.
Kate returned from the store with steaks, and everything needed for dinner. I’d asked her to buy the ingredients for my coconut cake. I’d never made that for Michael before.
There were only a couple of hours until Michael and Miles would be home. The steaks were marinating in the fridge, I had the cake done, and the bread dough was rising. I decided to go lay down because, including last night with Garrett, I’d had less than six hours of sleep all week, and my face was evidence of that fact. The dark circles had taken permanent residence beneath my eyes, and said eyes were a regular shade of blood-shot as well. Not to mention the cuts and partial black eye. All in all, I’d have to say I was looking pretty rough. I realized a nap would not help this, but it definitely couldn’t hurt.
“Go rest,” Kate told me. “Miles is supposed to call when they land, and I’ll wake you up.”
I nodded and went to my room, turning on my music and climbed onto my bed. My phone buzzed with a message from Michael.
I’m counting the minutes now.
I smiled as I sent my reply:
You’re just now counting minutes? I’ve been doing that since last night.
I closed my eyes while I waited for his response.
“It’s one of the scariest things I’ve ever seen, aside from seeing her that day at the shop.”
Garrett talked quietly outside my door.
“She was outside, lying in the middle of the drive in the cold, asleep. She really thought I was dead. I’ve never seen her like that.” I could hear the sadness in Garrett’s voice. “It scared me to death, and I couldn’t do anything.”
His voice shook with emotion and I felt terrible for putting him through that.
“It was awful.” Kate was talking now. “The side of her face is all scraped up, and she’s completely exhausted from lack of sleep.”
“What did she see?” Miles asked, and Garrett recounted what I’d told him and Kate.
I didn’t want to hear anymore. I pushed myself to the edg
e of the bed, rubbing my eyes.
When I turned around, Michael was standing at my bedroom door holding a bouquet of pink roses. He was trying to smile, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes as he watched me. My stomach knotted, and without thinking I ran and jumped into him. I heard the flowers fall to the floor as I buried my face in his neck.
“Oh I missed you,” he murmured and tightened his arms around me.
I kept my face nuzzled in the crook of his neck, smelling his wonderful smell. His arms made me made me feel safe again, but he couldn’t hold me tight enough, or close enough.
Without breaking our embrace, he sat on the edge of my bed and pulled me onto his lap. He tried to loosen my arms from his neck, but I didn’t want him to see my face. I was embarrassed about what had happened.
“Sweetheart, look at me,” he said.
I let go, but didn’t make eye-contact.
“Oh, Grace,” he whispered, and gently touched the scrapes along my face. “What did you do to yourself?”
I swallowed hard as the nightmare flashed through my mind. “I didn’t mean to.”
He sighed and brushed his lips tenderly over the scrapes and scratches along the side of my face. I closed my eyes and he kissed the bruises on my eyelid.
“I’m so glad you’re home,” I told him.
He pressed his mouth to mine, holding my face with his hands. Our mouths moved together sweetly.
“Grace,” his voice was sad. “I’m so sorry.” He shook his head and kissed the scratches on my face again. “What are we going to do with you? You’re so tired.”
“These dreams…aren’t like dreams,” I tried to explain. “I think I’m awake. Everything I see…it’s not like a dream at all.” I closed my eyes as I thought about what I’d seen with Garrett. When I shuddered, Michael tightened his hold on me.
“What I see,” I whispered. “It’s real. And it’s more frightening than what happened with Nina, because she’s hurting the people I love.”
He pulled me to him, and I rested my head on his shoulder. After a long while, I stood from his lap and he reached for both of my hands, holding them tightly in his.
“Are you okay?”
“I am now,” I told him. “Next time you have to leave it may be necessary for me to stow away in one of your suitcases.”
“I’m not going anywhere for a while,” he assured me. “So don’t even worry about that.”
I picked up the roses from the floor and held them to my nose, inhaling their heavenly scent. “They’re so beautiful.” I smiled. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Thank you for my letters.”
“You liked them?”
He chuckled. “How could I not? They were from you and they helped me through the five days.”
“Well, I just wanted you to think of me while you were gone.”
His eyes burned into mine. “Trust me,” he traced along my bottom lip with his finger, “I didn’t need letters for that. I thought about you every minute.”
A shiver ran through me and he kissed me sweetly. I could smell the steaks broiling in the oven, and I looked up at him.
“Are you hungry?”
“For your cooking?” He grinned. “Always.”
He took my hand as I led him to the kitchen. Kate and I got dinner ready while Michael and Miles filled Garrett in on the business details of their trip to Florida. The clients loved Michael’s designs and it was likely he wouldn’t have to return. Garrett and Miles would be making quick turn-around trips while the hotels were being built, but construction wouldn’t be underway for several months.
After dinner, we sat on the sofa and watched basketball highlights on ESPN. The phone rang and Kate answered, talking quietly in the kitchen. When she hung up, she came into the into the living room with a worried expression on her face.
“What’s wrong?” Garrett’s voice was full of concern, and I knew what she was going to say.
“She’s here.”
TWENTY-FIVE
“That was the Denver P.D.” Kate looked at Miles while she spoke. “They received an anonymous tip that Nina may be here, in Fall Rivers. They wanted us to know.”
She sat beside me and took my hand in hers, but nobody spoke. After a moment, Garrett stood up angrily from his chair muttering profanities as he switched off the TV. Michael’s arm tightened around me and I closed my eyes trying to fight the nausea threatening to take over.
The silence screamed as I waited for somebody to say something. Anything. Finally, I stood and walked over to the window, staring into the darkness. I imagined Nina peering from behind a tree, watching from the shadows, and a shudder went through me.
“I think we should go somewhere,” Michael’s voice broke the silence. “Anywhere, maybe we could go to New York.”
The anger toward Nina stirred inside me. She wanted me to be afraid, and I wasn’t going to give her anything that she wanted.
I turned from the window to face Michael. “Run? No way am I giving her the satisfaction of running.”
Michael pushed himself from the couch and glared down at me. “Grace, I’m not going to argue with you about this.”
“No, Michael.” I glared right back. “You said she’d lost because I wasn’t dead. Do you really think she’s going to just give up?” He ran his hand through his hair, frustrated, but I didn’t back down. “If we run away, she’ll wait. She’s probably sitting out there right now waiting for a chance for me to be alone, or worse…” I tried not to choke on my words. “Waiting for one of you to be alone. Are you going to take everyone I love to New York?”
As I said it, there was a part of me that actually liked the idea. I glanced at Kate and she was watching me nervously.
“Gracie,” she said quietly. “I think Michael’s right. We should go somewhere just for awhile. Give them a chance to find her.”
Michael hadn’t moved from in front of me.
“They know she’s here,” Kate continued. “They’re going to catch her.”
“Little brother,” Garrett said. “I agree with Gracie.”
Michael looked at Garrett with a shocked expression, and then Miles stood up beside Garrett.
“I think she’s right,” Miles agreed. “We shouldn’t run.”
“It’s not running,” Michael argued. “It’s keeping Grace safe. Like Kate said, giving the police a chance to catch Nina—” “And how long do we stay away, Michael?” I interrupted him. “A week, a month?”
He turned and paced angrily for a moment, stopping in front of me again
“Dammit, Grace,” Michael muttered. “This subject is not up for debate. We’re leaving.”
“No.” I argued. “You heard your brothers, they don’t think we should leave.”
“They don’t have as much to lose as I do either!”
I flinched away from him, and Garrett wrapped his arm around my shoulders, the muscles in his arms tense.
“Michael,” Miles said quietly, his voice sad. “How can you say that?”
Michael sighed and sat back down on the couch, holding his head in his hands.
“I’m so sorry,” he murmured. “I didn’t mean that.”
He kept his eyes down, and Kate rubbed his shoulders soothingly. After a moment, he pushed himself from the sofa, and walked over to where I stood with his brothers. His expression was full of remorse as he placed his hand on Garrett’s shoulder.
“I’m sorry,” he said to both of them. “I shouldn’t have said that. Please forgive me.”
Garrett heaved a sigh. “I know you’re worried, little brother. We all are.”
Michael nodded in agreement.
“Let’s at least wait to make any decisions until Mom and Dad come,” Miles said. “They’ll be here tomorrow and we can talk to them about this, okay?”
I stepped to Michael, winding my arms around his waist, and resting my head against his chest. His chin came down on my head as he sighed in defeat.
“Okay. But I do think w
e need to set some new ground rules,” he said.
I didn’t let go of him as he spoke.
“Kate, no going anywhere by yourself for a while. One of us will be with you when you’re at work.”
“He’s right,” Garrett agreed. “I also think one of us should sleep here at night. The girls shouldn’t be alone.”
As I listened to the conversation my hatred flared. The lives of everyone I loved was being disrupted because of Nina Sandler. Angry tears filled my eyes, but I kept my hold on Michael.
“Grace did you hear me?” Michael asked.
I looked up at him and shook my head. He put his hands on the sides of my face, and smiled softly. “I want to take you to see Dr. Murphy about getting something to help you sleep.”
I didn’t want to argue with him. It wouldn’t have done any good, and besides that, I really wanted to get some sleep.
He cocked an eyebrow. “No argument?”
I shook my head. “No argument.”
Michael turned to his brothers again and I started to sit down, but he kept a tight hold on my hand. He embraced Garrett tightly, then embraced Miles, all the while gripping my hand tightly. Garrett kissed the top of my head, before returning to his original position in the overstuffed chair.
“Don’t worry, Gracie,” he said with a grin. “Everything’s going to be fine.”
Michael led me to my room, closing the door behind us. He sat in the chair by the window and pulled me onto his lap. I wound my arms around his neck, burying my face in his neck.
“I owe you an apology,” he said. “I was angry, but I never should’ve spoken to you that way. I’m sorry.”
I just nodded, not saying anything. I held onto him, feeling an ache in my stomach as I thought about Nina skulking around in the darkness, waiting for someone I love to be alone so she could harm them in some way. I fought the tears trying to come and squeezed my eyes closed.
“Grace, please look at me.”
I loosened my hold on his neck. He tucked my hair behind my ears and ran his fingertips gently across the scratches on my face.
“I know how scared you are—”
“No,” I interrupted him. “You don’t know how scared I am.”
