“Good girl. Stay.”
“Aw, what a cute dog,” a voice behind me said.
I turned and saw a small red headed woman with a baby in her arms. The baby made a noise that sounded a lot like the word “doggy” and reached its hand in the direction of Junebug.
“Thanks,” I said. “I just got her.”
She shifted the baby to her other hip. “What’s her name?”
“Junebug. That’s what the shelter was calling her anyway.”
“I like it,” she smiled.
“Thanks. I’ll probably keep it.” I studied her face for a second, finding something about her oddly familiar. “Have we met before?”
She pursed her lips and studied me. “I don’t know… I don’t think so.”
“Hm. Maybe I’ve just seen you around.”
“Yeah.” She smiled again. “Do you work around here?”
“Kind of. I live near downtown, but I run a food pantry on the edge of town.”
Something like shock flashed across her face. “Oh.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Junebug step into the driver’s seat. Her nose nudged my shoulder, and I stepped in front of her. She seemed friendly enough, but I wasn’t entirely sure how she did with small children so it was probably best to keep her back.
When the woman spoke again, her words were slow. “Are you Luke Anderson?”
“Yeah. I am. So, we have met. I’m sorry. I usually have a good memory when it comes to names and faces.”
She shook her head. “We’ve never met in person.”
“We haven’t?”
“No. We’ve, uh, talked on the phone. I came into your pantry looking for help.”
“Ah.” I shut my mouth, feeling stupid. I should have guessed upon labeling her as familiar but unknown, that we’d crossed paths at the pantry. It was tacky of me to have let the conversation go so far that she had to point that out. Receiving aid was a sore topic, one people generally weren’t eager to talk about.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I’m still a little confused. You said that we’ve only met over the phone. How did you recognize me?”
She bit her lip shyly. “I know Grace Wells.”
An iron hand grabbed at my heart. “Oh,” I meekly said. “I see.”
So Grace had described me to her friends? I hadn’t even known she’d had any friends in Crystal Brook.
“I’m Tracey,” she further explained.
And then I got it. “Tracey,” I breathed. “Right. God. I’m sorry. I’ve been working a lot, and I’m kind of tired right now.”
“It’s all right.”
Her smile dampened slightly. I was at a loss for words.
“Have you talked to Grace?” I asked even though I knew I really shouldn’t. I was supposed to be working on forgetting Grace, not playing detective to figure out just where she was and what she was up to.
Tracey looked confused. “Yeah.”
I swallowed hard and nodded. “I assume she’s back in L.A., right?”
“What?” Her nose wrinkled. “No. Why would you think that?”
“Oh. Because… well…”
Because she didn’t get the billionaire husband she was hoping for.
Tracey reached into the open window of her truck and pulled out a floppy hat before tying it on her baby. “She’s here. She hasn’t left.”
I choked on my breath. “She’s still in Crystal Brook?”
“Yeah,” she said, looking at me like I was stupid.
“What’s she doing here?” I licked my lips and came up with a more tactful way to ask the question. “I mean, what is she up to? How is she?”
“She just started school at the community college. Other than that, just dog walking. We’ve got a lot of clients now. We’re both pretty much full-time.”
“That’s great,” I said, meaning it.
“Yeah. She’s talking about transferring somewhere next year and getting a business degree.”
“Wow.”
Tracey peered at me. “You look really surprised.”
Junebug nudged me again, and I wrapped my arm around her neck to comfort her and keep her still. “I am. I haven’t seen her in weeks.”
“I know.”
Heat rose up the back of my neck. What else did this woman I’d never even really met before know about me?
“Does she…?” I paused to clear my throat. “Does she ever mention me?”
“No.”
“Oh.”
So she’d found somebody else. It was probably for the better anyway. The foundations that Grace and I had built our short relationship on had turned out to be fake. Even if I wanted to go back to seeing her again, there would be nothing solid there; no reason to trust her.
“Does she seem happy at least?” I quietly asked.
Tracey twisted her lips. “I don’t know. She’s really thrown herself into school and work. Plus, she’s just moved into this new place… it’s hard to tell.”
“Right,” I murmured.
Tracey held her hand out for Junebug to smell and scratched the dog behind the ear. Junebug’s tail banged happily against the seat.
“She’d like this dog,” Tracey said, gazing at the German Shepard. “She’s getting really good with dogs, you know.”
“Really?”
“Mm-hmm.” She looked back at me. “She’s been learning a lot about training them. We’re even going to take a course next month so we can get certified in animal CPR.” She laughed. “It seems kind of funny I guess, but we figure we can raise our rates a little if we’re trained for emergencies.”
“It sounds like a great idea.”
She readjusted her purse strap. “Well, I need to get shopping so I can go get my other kids.”
“Right. Sorry to keep you.”
“It’s good. I’m glad I ran into you.” She looked thoughtfully at the ground for a second. “Your pantry was really helpful, you know.”
“Not enough,” I said. “Grace told me Community First couldn’t do enough—”
“But Grace did,” she interrupted, looking steadily at me. “And I met her there… she did a lot for me, and I don’t just mean with a bag of food. She helped me get some confidence back. If it wasn’t for her, I’d still be at that shitty fast food job I worked a month ago.” The corners of her mouth turned up. “She’s a really special person, Luke.”
As if on cue, Junebug sighed.
Had I just been missing it? Did everyone else see what I had overlooked?
Maybe I’d had the opposite of rose-colored glasses on. Maybe, because of my upbringing, I continued to see Grace in the way I’d expected her to be instead of standing back and letting her evolve.
She’d made mistakes. Of course.
And so had I. Ten years ago I was very much like the Grace Wells who’d showed up in Crystal Brook, silver spoon in mouth, palm outstretched.
Mark’s words in the rest home came back to me. What was it he had said? Something about not hating on Grace because she was on the same path as me but just not as far up the road.
“Well, I should really go,” Tracey said, interrupting my rapid thought-stream.
I nodded. “It was nice seeing you.”
She took a few steps but then stopped and turned around. “Hey, Luke?”
“Yes?”
“Would you like her address?”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Grace
“So which corner is the seduction corner?”
I raised my eyebrow at Kieran. “What?”
Taking the hair tie from her wrist, she pulled her long auburn hair up into a loose bun. We were standing in the middle of my brand new house — well, new to me — trying to decide exactly where to put the furniture the movers had just dumped down.
“You know, seduction corner,” she grinned. “The spot where you’ll invite the men who come over to sit so you can then proceed with seducing them? It’s also known as the dick sucking spot, but I thought seduction cor
ner sounded nicer.”
I laughed. “It does make it sound less like a brothel, for sure.”
Kieran giggled and plopped down on the gray couch that had been a moving in present from my aunt and uncle. Aunt Ginger had been right about the whole friends situation after all. I hadn’t even been in Crystal Brook for a whole season and yet I already had two good friends — one, a shy, brightly colored red head, and the other, a flamboyant, auburn red head.
Once I’d started going to the coffee shop on a semi-regular basis, Kieran and I began making a habit of having lengthy conversations each time. Usually until the customers behind me cleared their throats in annoyance or Kieran spilled the hot milk from my latte on her hand from laughing so hard over a joke.
Kieran had never left the east coast and was enamored with my stories about L.A. Though we were the same age, she seemed to see me as mature and worldly. It was a weird feeling, but at least I had friends. Tracey and Kieran’s companionship kept me from going insane, kept me from thinking about the man who lived no more than a few blocks away.
Somehow I still hadn’t run into him. I didn’t know quite how that made me feel. Some days I felt like I would have done anything just to catch a glimpse of him. Other days I knew I was lucky. Crystal Brook was small, so the time would eventually come when we would cross paths. That meeting was likely to cut to the bone.
“You know, my boss used to live on this block,” Kieran said.
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. All the houses here are super cute. Now she lives with her hunky fiancé in this big mansion.”
“Sounds awful,” I murmured, going to the boxes stacked up along the wall. There weren’t many of them. Lulu had finally shipped the rest of my clothes from L.A., so about ninety percent of my belongings basically consisted of my wardrobe. Other than that there were a few essential kitchen supplies, sheets, pillows, and blankets — all donated by Aunt Ginger.
Kieran spoke up again, her voice echoing in the nearly empty space. “We can go to the thrift store this weekend and see if we can find any pictures to hang up in here.”
“Okay,” I agreed, opening up the box labeled Pillows. I pulled out the red throw and tossed it at Kieran’s face. She caught it and set it on the couch next to her.
“I guess this has to be the seduction corner,” she said. “Since there’s not really anywhere else to sit.”
I snorted. “That’s fine. I won’t be bringing any men home anyway.”
“Uh, no. You don’t get to talk like that.”
“What do you mean?”
“Grace, you’re, like, the most beautiful girl in this town. Once all the men find out where you’re living, you’re gonna have to get a second deadbolt.”
“Was that a rape joke?” I asked, settling onto the hardwood floor to stretch out my legs.
She wrinkled her nose. “Maybe. I didn’t mean for it to be. But my point is that you can’t sell yourself short. You’ll find someone.”
“I’m not looking,” I said, wrapping my arms around my knees.
She sighed. Kieran knew all about what happened with Luke. I’d told her most of the story over the course of several mornings while she made my lattes. After we started hanging out outside of Freddy’s, I filled her in on all of the details. Kieran had become single around the same time, which now meant we spent a lot of time together.
“Do you see me sitting around moping over What’s-His-Name?” she asked.
“What is his name?”
Kieran had told me weeks ago that she had a policy about ex-boyfriends. Once a man had done her wrong she never, ever, let his name pass across her lips again.
“You know I’m not telling you that.”
I stopped stretching and stared out the window at the giant magnolia tree next door. “That’s good that you feel so over him.”
“I suppress a lot of feelings,” she matter-of-factly replied.
“It’s probably Luke,” I joked. “It’s Luke, isn’t it?”
“If it were him, I’d make an exception.” Her eyes went wide. “I googled him. Hello. He could come over to my dick sucking spot anytime.”
My stomach twisted, and I looked at the floor, her comment bringing up a memory that should have been wonderful and sweet but was just plain agonizing.
“Sorry,” she whispered. “I’ll stop talking about him.”
“Thanks,” I said to the floorboards.
The couch creaked as she got up. “I gotta get to my shift. I can come by tomorrow and help sort if you like.”
I looked up at her. “Okay. Thanks. I’m out of class at eleven.”
“I’ll come over at eleven-thirty.”
“Oh. Wait. I have a dog to walk at eleven… and then one at eleven-thirty… but I should be back a little after noon.”
“Okay, Ms. Busy Bee.” She grabbed her purse and waved. “Bye!”
“See you. Thanks.”
The front door closed behind her, and I was all alone, sitting on the floor in the living room of my very first place.
The feeling wasn’t as freeing as I’d thought it would be. When I first peeked in through the windows of the cottage, I’d imagined not only myself in there, but Luke as well. The house’s rooms were supposed to be full of laughter and chatter.
“No,” I fiercely told myself. I was not going to wallow.
And I certainly wasn’t going to sit around waiting for the slight chance of Luke and I getting back together to develop. When it had come down to decision making time, I’d decided to stay in Crystal Brook solely for myself. Not for him.
There were things I missed about Los Angeles, but none of those things were worth moving back to a whole city for. They were boutique clothing stores. Taco spots. Spas that made for the perfect weekend getaway.
Nothing I missed was an actual person. Other than my dad, of course. And he was staying in New York and starting a whole new pet store, building it from scratch. He was coming to Crystal Brook for Thanksgiving, so I didn’t have to wait long to see him.
But as far as Rainy, Eli, and all of my other old friends… they were in the past. I’d never even responded to Rainy’s threat to tell everyone about the lies I’d woven. If she had spilled the beans, I didn’t know about it. No one had contacted me to ask what was up.
So in L.A. there were no reasons, but in Crystal Brook, I had plenty: my aunt and uncle, my new friends, my new business, and even school, which was proving to be not as painful as I’d thought it would be.
So no, Luke was not the main reason I stayed in Crystal Brook, but it was a small, tiny one, tucked secretly away in my heart. And if we never ended up getting back together, I would go to the grave with the hope that we could make amends in the afterlife.
I went to the pile of boxes and lifted the one marked Kitchen and carried it into said room. The table in there was a small wooden one Kieran and I had found at the dump. It seated three people, which was good enough for the time being. One day I would know enough people in Crystal Brook to throw a party, and when that day came, I would run out and buy more chairs.
Setting the box on the table, I opened it and fished out a glass. I hadn’t gotten around to turning on the air conditioning, so I reached up and yanked the ceiling fan chain and walked to the sink to fill my glass.
I gulped down all of the water, hoping it would do something to soothe and relax me. My muscles ached from getting up early and moving, and I was about ready for a little cat nap. With a sigh, I turned the sink back on to fill the glass a second time.
My hand froze on the handle as the water kept spewing out. It flowed over the glass’ rim and onto my hand, but I didn’t make a move to turn the faucet off. I couldn’t make a move.
Right in front of my new house, parked on the street, was a very familiar looking car. I held my breath, staring at it, not wanting to get my hopes up.
A car door slammed, and someone walked around the back of the SUV.
It was him. It was Luke.
And
he was heading across my front yard.
Frantic, I dropped the glass in the sink and then rushed down the hallway and into the bathroom. Flicking the light on, I took a good look in the mirror.
A horrific look was more like it. Thinking that nothing would be happening in my life that day but moving, I’d dressed in a cotton tank top and cut-off jeans. The straps of my bra were visible underneath the top, and a big line of dust was streaked across my shorts.
But the worst part was the situation on my head. I’d braided my hair in an effort to keep it in check, but it had gotten frizzy nonetheless. Not having time that morning to do my usual beauty routine, I’d skipped makeup entirely. I didn’t have so much as a drop of mascara or a swipe of tinted lip balm on.
And Luke was knocking at my door.
“Fuck me,” I whispered to my reflection.
He knocked again. Wetting my hands, I ran my palms across the top of my head in an attempt to lessen the frizz. It barely worked.
There was nothing to be done. Clearly Luke was just going to have to see me as I was.
My hands shook as I walked into the hallway. I didn’t even want to wonder what he was doing there. Just asking that question would be straying into dangerous territory.
But still… he was there. He’d made an effort to find out where I lived, and he’d shown up. After six weeks of no contact. So the reason for his appearance had to be pretty big.
I took another deep breath and walked into the living room.
One step…
Two steps…
Three steps…
Four…
One more…
And I was there.
I opened the door.
He looked even better than I remembered and surely I’d been glamorizing my memories of him. The only thing that was different was the giant German Shepard sitting at his feet.
I stared at the dog. Had the animal walked up the hill with him? Did I really have tunnel vision so bad that I hadn’t even noticed the hulking dog walking next to the man of my dreams?
“Grace,” Luke said. “Hi.”
Slowly, I lifted my eyes up to him. “Hi,” I whispered. “How did you find out where I live?”
“I ran into Tracey.”
“Oh.”
Wrecked (Crystal Book Billionaires) Page 22
