“I didn’t think they had houses like this in L.A.,” she says, eyes still wide. “I expected huge sprawling Hollywood mansions.”
Ian laughs and shifts the car into park, then bends to look at the house out of the passenger window. The scent of his cologne wafts into her nose, and comforts her.
“It does look like a mansion,” he says, smiling.
“You know what I mean, like the ones you see on shows about celebrities.”
“It’s a bit run down, but the rent is super cheap and you’re going to dig Jaden.”
“I think it’s amazing!”
The home is situated in the middle of a large piece of land. Off to the side of the home is an old, rusty truck surrounded by yellow-gold weeds. The longer Grace spends gazing at the property the more she realizes almost the entire lot is covered with weeds. The gray and blue paint may be flaking off, but she thinks it is a beautiful home. From what Grace can see, the dilapidated front porch wraps around the entire structure. From the front door, a skinny guy Ian’s age, comes running out and down the stairs. His shoulder length, dark brown hair falls over his face as he makes his way to the car and he casually brushes it aside. Ian gets out of the car and runs to hug him. That must be Jaden. Grace laughs at their affection. After giving them a moment alone to greet each other, Grace opens the car door and steps out.
“Jaden, this is my Gracie,” says Ian, as he gestures toward her.
“Hey, Grace,” Jaden says, in a very raspy, slow, and controlled voice. “Welcome to L.A.”
Jaden looks like something straight out of the nineteen seventies. He is dressed in a light blue rayon floral shirt and bright, green jeans. Grace chuckles about the vibrant color of them. He has dark brown eyes, so dark that at first she thinks they are black. His face is slender like the rest of him, and his nose is slightly large. A small portion of it is raised just near the center adding character to his defined face. He has dark circles around his large shadowy eyes and she instantaneously recognizes that he is stoned. His shoeless feet are dirty and in between his long, slender fingers, burns a cigarette. He looks like a rock star. Without noticing, her tongue grazes her bottom lip as she bites down on it with her teeth. Wow! Jaden is hot! Right away, she feels guilty for lusting after Ian’s best friend, with Ian standing right there next to them, but she can’t seem to keep her eyes off of Jaden.
“Well, shit man, let me help you with your bags,” Jaden says, as he turns his lanky body to the car and slinks toward it.
Entering the grand Victorian, Grace smells the mildew straightaway. Wallpaper peels off the walls, and the smoke is suffocating.
“Welcome to Grandpa Joe’s,” Jaden says, waving his hand around like a game show host.
Grace smiles at him, feeling overwhelmingly shy.
“Where is ol’ Grandpa Joe?” asks Ian.
Jaden gets a serious look on his face. “The old guy spends most of his time in his bed. He’s pretty sick.”
Ian gives Jaden a comforting pat on the shoulder and then Jaden shows them up to Grandpa Joe’s room. With each step that they take up the stairs Grace hears a creak. Some of the stairs feel unsteady under her feet and it makes her stomach drop.
Standing in the doorway, Grace is unsure if she should enter Grandpa Joe’s room, so she stands there quietly with her hands folded in front of her.
“Now, who is this pretty little thing at my door?” says a slightly burly man peeking around Jaden’s slim body.
“Gramps, this is my fiancée, Grace,” Ian says, with a massive grin spreading across his face.
“No way, man!” Jaden yells.
“Yes way! She said yes!”
Grace can tell that Ian and Jaden have discussed his proposal to her, as she watches them high five each other.
She takes her eyes off the boys and turns to inspect Grandpa Joe. His kind eyes are the first thing she notices about him. They seem to emanate happiness. He has oxygen tubes in his nose and he is propped up by four pillows. Most of his body is covered by a hand-knitted, vintage blanket. He smiles at her and his eyes twinkle. His long white hair is pulled back into a tiny ponytail that is barely visible and Grace notices that the hair that covers his face is a few shades darker than on his head.
“Well alright, man, alright,” says Jaden tearing Grace away from scanning Grandpa Joe, with his smooth, sultry voice.
Grandpa Joe smiles at Grace and motions for her to come into the room.
“Welcome to my home,” he says, sincerely while reaching his hand which is covered in age spots out to take hers. “I hope you feel comfortable here. We sure could use a woman’s touch around this old place. It hasn’t been the same since my Hattie passed away five years ago. I just can’t keep the old place up like she used to,” he says, taking Grace’s hand into his and placing his other hand gently on top of hers. “I hope our mess won’t scare you away, little lady.”
“Well, I’ll see what I can do about helping you with the house,” she says, smiling.
She does not know how or why, but she fell in love with Grandpa Joe the moment he took her hands. She hopes he will be like the grandfather she never had.
Jaden takes them on a tour of the old rundown home. Boxes that look as if they have been sitting for years are piled along the walls making it hard to walk. The mass amount of dust tickles at Grace's nose and disguises the little knick knacks that are buried beneath. The smell of the house reminds her of a thrift store that thick, musty, discarded smell engulfed in cigarette smoke. Grandpa Joe was not kidding when he said this place needed a woman’s touch, she thinks, as she slides her finger across a bookshelf and then rubs the dust off onto her jeans.
“Babe?” Ian pulls Grace to the side of the hallway. “I wasn’t sure if you wanted your own room, so I had Jaden set us up with two,” he says, with question in his eyes.
“You’re silly, Ian, of course I’ll be sharing a room with you. I mean I’m your fiancée, where else would I want to sleep?” she asks, with a sweet smile.
That night as he sits Indian style on his bed, Jaden rolls a joint between his fingers. He brings the rolling paper to his mouth and licks the edge, then presses it down. He finds that his mind keeps drifting to thoughts of Grace. Although Ian had raved about her looks over the phone several times, he was not prepared for her to be as gorgeous as she is. The moment he saw her he knew she was going to be trouble for him. He recalls the way his heartbeat quickened when she smiled and hopes that he did a good job of covering up his attraction to her. What the hell am I doing?
He lights the joint and then eases himself onto the mound of pillows he has on his bed. Closing his eyes he allows the smoke to fill his lungs. Her face pushes its way into his mind again. Those eyes…I’ve never seen eyes so green. He fantasizes about grabbing Grace by the back of her head and drawing her into a passionate kiss, then laughs at himself. He takes another puff and tries to direct his thoughts to something besides his best friend’s fiancée.
Thinking about the bass player and drummer he met earlier that day, only briefly distracts him. Unwillingly his thoughts drift back to Grace. He thinks about how she was with Grandpa Joe. From the start she showed so much compassion for him. Jaden knows that she is going to cheer Grandpa Joe up. There is just something about her aura that he finds soothing. It is not only her beauty he is attracted to, but so far her personality seems to outweigh her other traits. He finds her to be on the shy side and yearns for her to come out of her shell quickly.
Without really thinking about it he picks up his guitar and strums the chords, his thoughts still with Grace. With the joint still burning and pinched between his lips he hums a melody. He reaches into the drawer of the nightstand next to him and pulls out a pen and paper. In a hurry he scribbles words onto the paper, then plucks the guitar again. In his gut, he knows he should not think of Grace as anything but a roommate or friend, but in his heart he knows she will become much more.
The porch on the Victorian is just as grand, if not grander t
han the one at her own home, her parents’ home, where she sat with James and Michelle almost nightly watching the sunset or the pouring rain. Now her nights are spent sitting on the porch with Ian and Jaden, listening to them play guitar, sing, and write songs.
Grace spent her first day in their house turning their room into a comfortable and inviting space. She put up various photographs in frames on the dresser and put her favorite patchwork quilt on the bed. After that was in order, she turned her attention to the rest of the house while Ian settled into his new job as a mechanic for a local auto shop. Now that she almost has the house cleaned up and looking more like a home, Grace is getting restless.
“When do I go look for a job? Grace asks one night while sitting on the porch with Ian. “We’ve been here for over a week.”
“You don’t,” he says. “Jaden said the high school is just around that block there.” He points to the block to the right of them. “He said it’s only about a ten minute walk. You should go enroll tomorrow.”
Grace cannot believe what she is hearing. She thought for sure that she would have to get a job and even then she expected that they would barely get by.
“Did you think I was going to let you work and not graduate?”
“Well, I—”
He stops her. “That’s not going to happen. Rent here is cheap. We can do this. I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you finish school, even if I have to work two jobs. You need to fulfill your dreams too, baby. You need to finish high school and go to college to study art. That’s your goal. I’ll be dammed if you don’t get a chance to do all you’ve worked so hard for. Your dreams are just as important to me as they are to you.”
Unable to come up with the right words to respond to him, she only sits with her hand over her heart, her mouth slightly open. She is completely dumfounded and relieved that he is willing to work harder so that she can finish school.
The conversation ends at that. Not only does she want to finish high school, but also she can tell by Ian’s manner of speaking that there will be no arguing with him on this matter.
Chapter 9
Sierra Vista High School is vastly different from Lincoln High School. Not only is the campus enormous and daunting, but the faculty and student body are made up of many different cultures, economic classes, and social standings. Grace has been attending Sierra Vista for two weeks, and she already feels more at home here than she ever did at Lincoln. She has already made friends with a group of girls who she likes so much more than the passing acquaintances she had back in Ocean View. These girls share her interests in art, music, and modeling, making school so much more fun. Every day after school she finishes her homework, cleans up a little more of the old home, and then cooks dinner for the boys. She spends time reading to Grandpa Joe before she tucks him into bed at night.
Ian constantly tells her how much he admires her for all she has become in just a few short weeks and calls her his “little woman,” a pet name she has grown to love. Grace has taken over both the role of caretaker to Grandpa Joe and homemaker, and seamlessly blends her responsibilities with her homework, much as she did in Ocean View.
Ian works long hours at the garage. He leaves at six in the morning and does not get home until seven at night, spending at least an hour of this time in rush hour traffic. Ian and Jaden spend a lot of their free time rehearsing with their new band. Grace is not used to seeing him so little, but she understands he is working toward his goals. She appreciates the long hours he puts in at work and commuting so that she can finish high school.
Grace often laughs at the irony of the whole situation. James once told her that she was too young to be a housewife, and now she is nothing short of a paper saying that she is. They are happy and thriving in their new environment. Grace grows closer to Grandpa Joe and Jaden with every passing day and has no doubt as to why Ian always spoke so highly of them both. Although she misses her brother and sister, the love that Ian, Jaden, and Grandpa Joe show her is immense enough to fill in some of the void in her soul. Her presence in the house seems to have lifted Grandpa Joe’s spirits, and he occasionally makes his way downstairs just so he can sit and enjoy meals with them.
With Ian working late almost every night, it gives Grace plenty of time to do her homework as well as housework. It reminds her so much of her schedule back in Ocean View, minus having her family with her. She misses Ian greatly while he is gone for work, but their busy schedules do not allow them many moments alone when they are not exhausted.
Grace waits for Ian to come home from work while sitting in a chair across from a canvas that sits on the new easel Ian gifted her a few days before. A breeze blows through her bedroom window and cools her skin. She stares at the bright white, her lips scrunched to the side as she tries to decide which of the images in her mind she will paint.
By the time she hears Ian’s footsteps on the stairs she has part of the ocean waves started.
“Hey,” he says. He belly flops down on the bed and kicks his boots off.
Grace gets up from her chair and crawls onto the bed next to Ian and rests her head on the small of his back.
“You’re home so late,” she says, with a heavy sigh.
“I had to cover for Roger. He called in sick.”
“I missed you today.”
“Me too. I’m exhausted, baby,” he says, exhaling. Leaning up he pulls his shirt off and then proceeds to unzip his pants. “Ahh, that’s much better.”
“You look beat, my love. Anything I can do for you?”
“Well, as a matter of fact, I’ve had something on my mind. But first, I need a shower. I’m filthy.”
“You smell like a car,” she says, as she turns her nose up and pinches it. “Get your stinky butt in the shower and I’ll go warm up your dinner,” she says, patting him on his butt as he makes his way off the bed.
Before she heads downstairs, she peers into Grandpa Joe’s room. White lights from the television set flash across his walls and the sound on the set is up full blast, the hissing sound of the oxygen tank still winning the competition for loudest noise in the room.
Grace tiptoes in, unsure if he is awake.
“Hey, sweetheart, what are you doin?” he asks, his blue eyes tiny and tired.
“I just wanted to check on you before I went downstairs. Do you need anything? Are you hungry?”
Grandpa Joe pats the bed and Grace takes a seat by his feet. “I’m just fine. I’m still full from that spaghetti you made. That was darn good.”
She bows her head and pink creeps into her cheeks. “I’m glad you liked it. There’s plenty of leftovers for lunches or we could even have it for dinner again.”
He pats her leg and smiles, the picture on the television reflecting in his glasses.
He seems abnormally quiet tonight and it fills her with concern. “Are you feeling okay tonight, Gramps?”
A warm smile reaches his eyes. “I’m just tired, kiddo. Just a tired old man, but thank you for asking.”
“Are you sure I can’t get you anything?”
He raises his hand and points to his cheek. “How about a smooch? It’s been a long time since I’ve had lips on my cheek.”
Grace leans in and places a tender, loving kiss on his cheek.
“It sure has been wonderful having you around, Grace. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all the work you’ve done on the house and the home cooked meals. To tell you the God’s honest truth, I was getting tired of all that fast food crap Jaden kept force feeding me.” He chuckles and it sends him into a violent coughing fit. Grace holds a glass of water up to his lips and he sips it slowly, still breathing deeply.
“You’re a blessing,” Grandpa Joe says, as he puts his hand on hers.
“I think you’re the blessing, Gramps. Do you want me to turn your T.V. off or are you still watching it?”
“I think I’ll retire. It’s been a long day. Thanks for reading to me earlier. Did you like the book?”
“It was
a little hard to get into at first, but you’re right, it’s really a beautiful story. We’ll have to read more of it tomorrow.” Grace rises from the bed and secures the blanket around his feet, and legs, then bends down and kisses his forehead. “Nighty night.”
“Night darlin’.”
Stepping out of the room she closes the door, doing her best to be quiet. When she turns, Jaden is standing at the top of the stairs, leaning up against the wall, one of his feet pressed flat against it and his arms folded across his chest. He has an eyebrow raised and his mouth is turned up into a smile.
“What?” she asks, as she tucks her hair behind her ear and looks down at the floor.
“You’re just hell bent on making us all fall madly in love with you, aren’t you?”
She laughs. “Oh shut up.”
“Thank you,” he says, as he pushes off the wall and walks to her.
He pulls her into an uncomfortable embrace and she wiggles away. “I need to go warm up Ian’s dinner.”
Jaden smiles and then turns to walk down the stairs without another word.
When she returns to her bedroom with a steaming plate piled high with spaghetti noodles and a thick meat sauce, her mouth drops open when she sees Ian lying on their bed entirely naked. He smiles with a devious, scheming grin.
“I thought you were hungry,” she says, giggling.
“I am,” he says, with a laugh. His eyebrows shoot up. “For you, that is.”
She loves the way his eyes twinkle when he laughs. Relishing in this, she stands there with a smile on her face, adoring him. “Uhh, Ian, I just went all the way down there to fix your plate,” she says, snickering.
“I can heat it up later. Now put it down and come here,” he demands.
She sets the plate on the dresser and slowly walks over to him, feeling timid and nervous.
The Falling of Love (The Falling Series Book 1) Page 12
