The Complete Arms of Grace Series

by Eleanor Chance

  “I’ve tried not to think of it, but we won’t stand in his way if he does. He has a right to know his biological father.”

  “Speaking of, have you heard from that jerk lately?"

  Grace shook her head. "Not since his daughter was born three years ago. I've heard from Craig exactly five times since the day he relinquished his parental rights to Johnny. First, when Kristen left him, then when he married Melanie, and when Samuel, Charlie, and Laurel were born."

  Alec crossed her arms and huffed. "What do you notice about those events? All about him. He never calls to find out how Johnny’s doing?"

  "Never, but he’s doing me a favor. The less I have to think about Craig Stuart, the better, especially now."

  "Then let's shift gears, be grateful for our amazing lives, and plan our Thanksgiving dinner." When Grace smiled, Alec said, "See what I did there?"

  "I get it. Funny. Now, tell me again what you're fixing. I didn't hear a word you said."

  4

  Grace walked into Johnny's room after clearing up the Thanksgiving dinner and frowned at the mess on his floor. Jeans, sweatshirts and even underwear were strewn in every direction, and she could guess from the wrappers and dishes the contents of every meal that he'd eaten for the past week.

  "How can you even maneuver in here on your crutches? It's a miracle you haven't broken your neck."

  Johnny was lying on his bed in a stained t-shirt watching something on his tablet. "I'll clean it tomorrow before I leave," he said, without taking his eyes off the screen.

  "You said that two days ago. Do you need help?"

  "I'll manage."

  Grace knew that meant he had no intention of cleaning his room. Ryan had convinced her to stop doing it for him, but it made her teeth itch to let it go. The room smelled like the inside of a garbage can in a locker room and made her eyes water. She didn't know how he could stand it. She motioned for him to scoot over and sat next to him on the bed.

  "I wanted to thank you for staying tonight after dinner and not leaving to hang out with your friends. It meant a lot to me and everyone else."

  "It's cool. I had fun, and I'm kind of tired. I kind of have a headache." Grace reached over to feel his forehead, but it was cool. Johnny moved his head to the side. "Don't freak out, Mom. I'm not sick. It's just a tiny headache."

  The smallest symptom could turn into a major ordeal with Johnny, so Grace was always on her guard. Aside from the cerebral palsy from his head injury as a baby, he suffered lung and heart damage from going without oxygen when he almost drowned after being thrown out of a capsized boat in the James River. The slightest cold could send him to the hospital.

  "Probably too many video games." Johnny lowered his tablet and rolled his eyes at her. "Besides cleaning your room, what are your plans for tomorrow?"

  Johnny sat up and looked her in the eye. "Can we do my DNA test in the morning? You said I could have one."

  Grace had been so relieved when he'd let the matter drop that his question caught her off guard. A DNA test would be pointless once they had their talk with Johnny on Sunday night.

  "I completely forgot, but tomorrow is Black Friday. I'm not leaving this house."

  "You always have an excuse." He crossed his arms and looked at the wall.

  "It may be an excuse, but it's a legitimate one. We won't be able to do anything about it until Monday. I know a geneticist I trust. I’ll call her and find out the best way to go about this."

  "You'll conveniently forget by then."

  Grace pulled a sheet of paper from a notepad on his desk and wrote a promise to call her friend on Monday. She added her signature with a flourish and taped the note to his mirror. "Satisfied?"

  "That's a binding legal contract." He smiled and swung his feet to the floor. "I'll hold you to it." He picked up his crutches and stood, towering over her. She wondered if he'd keep growing until she wouldn't be able to see his face anymore. "What are you smiling at?" he asked.

  She tipped her head to get a good look at him. "Remember how much you loved Jack and the Beanstalk when you were little? You used to ask us to read it over and over. I always thought of you as Jack, not the giant in the story."

  "I'll let you know if I start craving man-flesh."

  “Good to know,” Grace said and laughed. It was the most pleasant moment they'd shared in as long as Grace could remember. He seemed like the old Johnny. Not wanting to spoil it, she chose not to pester him about the state of his room. The mess would be there tomorrow. "So, what are your plans?"

  "The movies, remember? I did ask."

  "That's right. You're brave to venture out. The theater will be packed."

  "We have tickets with assigned seats. It's all good." He leaned on one crutch and bent down to pick up some trash, which he tossed in the overflowing trash can. "Three points," he said and did a fist pump.

  She was glad to see him making an effort. "Do you and your friends need a ride? There won't be anywhere to park."

  "Jason's taking us. We're going an hour early. Could you drive me to Ty's?”

  " I just need to be back before four. We’re having friends over for a game night."

  "I want to leave at one, so that'll work."

  "Good." She stood on a stack of his textbooks and kissed his cheek. "It was a nice day. I have much to be thankful for."

  Johnny waited until his mom was down the hallway before grabbing his backpack. He ignored his growing guilt for lying to her while he dug out clean clothes from one of the piles on his floor and shoved them in his bag before dropping onto the bed to think about what he was about to do. Johnny recognized that his mom was making an effort to get along with him. It felt good to laugh with her instead of arguing and reminiscing about Jack and the Beanstalk had struck a chord, but he and his friends had made their plans weeks earlier. He refused to back out so close to launch. He'd be home before his parents knew he'd left Richmond.

  He dumped the meds he needed for the weekend, and a few extras just in case, into a baggie and added them into the pack. His game controllers went in last. He’d grab his toothbrush and toiletries after he showered in the morning. When he was done, he laid down to finish his video and do his best to shove thoughts of his mom out of his throbbing head.

  Grace was glad Alec and Adam stayed behind when the other guests left after their game night, but she hoped they wouldn’t stay too long. Grace was relaxed and looking forward to some alone time with Ryan. Johnny had called earlier to ask if he could spend the night at Ty's, and she hadn’t hesitated before saying yes. Grace and Ryan needed time to rekindle their relationship without Johnny distracting them.

  When the Emersons started making moves to leave, Alec took a wrapped package out of her tote bag and handed it to Grace. "An early Christmas gift. You may not speak to me again after you read it, but I was driven to write it. My agent and publisher went crazy for the idea. It's an advanced copy, but the book comes out next week."

  Grace studied the package. It was much too heavy to be a children's book. Alec hadn't mentioned that she was working on anything else. Grace slowly tore the paper away to see a picture of herself staring back at her. It was one Alec had taken at a park years earlier. Off to the side, there was a blurred-out image of a baby. The title read "Baby Joe Doe."

  Grace's hands started to shake. "What is this, Alec?" Before Alec could answer, Grace caught Adam and Ryan giving each other a conspiring look. She glared at Ryan. "Did you know about this?"

  Alec stepped between them. "I made him promise not to tell you. Adam urged me to tell you, but I knew you'd try to talk me out if it."

  Grace gritted her teeth. "What is it?" she hissed.

  "A biography of Johnny and you that I've been working on for years. I hadn't planned to publish it, but I mentioned it to my agent one day when I was behind on my deadline for another book, and she told me to write up a proposal for the publisher. They ate it up. I've been so worried that you'd find out. The publisher has been putting out advanced p
ublicity, and I've already mentioned it in a few interviews."

  Grace lowered herself into a chair and tried to fight her rising terror. She had secrets that only Alec and Ryan shared. She knew the truth about her disastrous affair with Jay Morgan. Worse, she knew about the attempted suicide. Had she laid her deepest secrets bare for the entire world to see?

  "How could you do this to me? You’re the last person I thought could betray my trust." She let the book fall to the floor. "You were right, I don't ever want to speak to you again. Get out of my house and leave your key."

  Adam kneeled in front of her and put his hand on her arm. "Read it before you throw away a fifteen-year friendship. It's brilliant, and most of the facts are already public. Alec just added more depth and detail. There's nothing intimate or too personal that only we would know. She did include the truth about Jay Morgan and what happened to him, but not your relationship with him."

  Grace brushed Adam's hand away. "Don't defend her. You all knew what this would do to me, and you've backed me into a corner, making me tell Johnny about his past on your timetable."

  "You told me three weeks ago that you're telling him this weekend. I put it in my phone, remember?"

  "But you're forcing my hand. What would you have done if I wasn't ready? Or would that matter to you? We’re just the little people in the way of Alec Emerson’s quest for fame and fortune."

  Alec leaned over with her face inches from Grace's. "How dare you say that after all I’ve done for you? I wrote it because I want the world to know the incredible person I've treasured like a sister all these years. I want women to see how you succeed against insurmountable odds and believe it’s possible for them to do the same. What you did was remarkable. No, more than that, it was miraculous."

  "You should have told me. You could have waited until Johnny knew the truth. You're forcing me into telling him because that's what you’ve wanted all along."

  "It's what I want, too," Ryan said. "The rest of the world knows the story. It's a miracle Johnny hasn't found out yet."

  "You all seem to know what's best for my son and me."

  "Our son," Ryan said.

  "We'll tell Johnny as planned on Sunday." She pointed to the book on the floor, "But I'm not reading that."

  Grace stroked the cold sheets on Ryan’s side of the bed when she woke the next morning. She'd made Ryan sleep in his man-cave, which made her angrier at everyone. Not only had Alec betrayed her, but she'd ruined her first night alone with Ryan in longer than Grace could remember. They'd had a rare argument. Ryan said now she knew how it felt to have secrets kept from her like she was doing to Johnny. She'd thrown a pillow at him and sent him to the basement. What made her angriest was knowing that he was right.

  She tossed in bed for hours before getting up to apologize for overreacting. They'd never gone to bed mad. Alec should have told her about the book, but it was true that the story was already out there. She had no right to take it out on Ryan. He was up getting the boxes of Christmas decorations out when she found him.

  "It's the Saturday after Thanksgiving," Ryan said. "Time to decorate for Christmas."

  “You still want to do that with me after the way I treated you?” She took the box he held and set it on the couch before pulling him into her arms. "Forgive me for last night. I felt betrayed, but you weren’t the cause. That said, I don't like that you kept secrets from me. As much as I've kept from Johnny, I have nothing to hide from you. You’re not hiding anything else, are you?”

  "How can you ask that? You know how I feel about secrets. It's been killing me to hide it from you."

  She gave him a tender kiss. "I am sorry. Is it too late to make up for lost time? The decorations can wait."

  Ryan led her to the sofa and pulled her onto his lap. "I've always wanted to make love to you in my man-cave but never dared with Johnny and his friends always coming and going. Would you mind?"

  In answer, she laced her fingers in his hair and gave him a deep, lingering kiss. "Does that answer your question?"

  5

  Grace and Ryan showered and took a nap after making love. She woke more rested than she'd felt in days. They ate a leisurely lunch of Thanksgiving leftovers, then went back to the Christmas decorations.

  They'd used an artificial tree for the past few years, but Grace had pressed Ryan to get a live one. He agreed but wanted to get it at a lot in town. Grace insisted on going to a tree farm in the country where they could cut one down. They drove to a farm just west of Richmond and found the perfect tree. Ryan wasn't thrilled at all the work it took to get it home and into the house, but once it was set up, he agreed it was worth it. He strung the lights, but Grace said she wanted to wait for Johnny to decorate it.

  Grace's phone rang as she was getting the leftovers out of the fridge for a second round. It was Darnell's mom, Jayda.

  "Happy Thanksgiving," Grace said. "How was your holiday? We missed you at our game night."

  "As much as I wish I could make my own Thanksgiving, it's worth it to go to Jordan's mom's, so we don't have to go for Christmas. It wasn't too terrible. Better than usual. I bet yours was amazing with Alec cooking."

  "Indescribable. I had to put on my stretchy pants. What are you and Jordan doing tonight? Did you know we’re supposed to get snow?"

  "They were just calling for a dusting. Whenever the weatherman says that we get two feet. We're just staying in and getting out the decorations. I was calling to tell Darnell we're going to pick him up before the roads get too bad. He's not answering his phone. Would you mind asking him to call?"

  "Darnell's not here. I think he's at Ty's with Johnny."

  The line went quiet. "The boys aren’t at Ty's. I was just talking to Ashley. They haven't been there. She said the kids were at your house, and Darnell told me he was spending the night with you."

  Grace's gut twisted into a knot. "Hang on," she said and muted the phone. "Have you talked to Johnny today?" she asked Ryan.

  He shook his head. "What's wrong?"

  She unmuted the phone without answering him. "I'll hunt them down and call you right back. Don't worry. They're probably at Damien's."

  She hung up and told Ryan what was going on. She opened the app and waited for the results to appear. It showed him in Charlottesville.

  "What's he doing there?" Ryan asked.

  "Call him," she said.

  Ryan tried but Johnny didn't answer. "Maybe they're at Sonya's."

  Grace hadn't thought of that. Darnell's older sister went to the University of Virginia. She hoped the boys had driven up there to spend the day with her.

  "I need to call Jayda, but how do I explain that I know where Johnny is without telling her about the tracker? She'll think I'm nuts."

  "Tell her the truth. We need to know what's going on and quick. If we have five inches of snow here, there must be twice that in Charlottesville."

  Grace dialed Jayda. She explained about the tracker, and said, "Is Sonya still home for the break or did she go back today?"

  When Jayda didn’t respond, Grace had her answer.

  "She's still here. She's going back in the morning if the roads are clear.” Grace heard Sonya and Jordan in the background, asking what was happening. After Jayda explained, she said, "Sonya didn't know anything about the boys going to Charlottesville. She thought Darnell was at your house. Jordan wants to know if he can ride up there with Ryan in your 4X4."

  Grace had put the phone on speaker, so Ryan said, "Tell him I'll be there in five minutes."

  "Thanks so much. Don't worry, Grace. I'm sure they're fine. They probably went to the game and got stuck. They'll be home safe in a few hours. I'll let Ashley know."

  Grace thanked her and sank into a chair after hanging up. Just when she thought things were back to normal with Johnny, he pulled this stunt. “Keep me posted,” she said as Ryan rushed past on his way to the garage. She covered up with an afghan and settled in for the long night ahead

  Grace checked her watch while she pa
ced the living room. Only two minutes since the last time she checked. Alec had offered to sit with her, but Grace told her to stay home. She didn't need to be worrying about Alec out in the storm along with everyone else. Ryan had called two hours earlier to say they were on their way back. The trip normally took less than an hour, and Grace had imagined all kinds of terrible scenarios.

  Grace had tried to watch a favorite Christmas movie and read a book she'd bought the week before, but she couldn't focus. Only pacing helped. Just when she thought she'd go out of her mind, the garage door opened. She ran to the kitchen to greet her men, not sure if she wanted to hug Johnny or shake him.

  They went into the living room to talk after Johnny dumped his belongings in the bedroom. Grace had tried to plan what she would say, but all she knew was that she had to control her temper. Advice from the child-psychology books she’d read over the years flooded into her mind but none of it seemed to apply to her situation. In her opinion, the books would be most effective for thumping him over the head.

  She was about to lecture him when he said, "I'm so sorry, Mom. What I did was stupid and selfish. I put myself and other people in danger, including Dad. I deserve whatever punishment you give me."

  She was shocked into silence until she realized that Ryan had probably practiced that speech with him on the way home. Rather than question it, she said, "I appreciate the apology, but sometimes a simple sorry isn't enough. Help me understand why you did it? Why were you there?"

  Johnny stared at the carpet and said, "Jason has a friend at UVA. He had extra tickets to the game, and I've always wanted to see them play. Jason drove us up last night, and we stayed in his friend's dorm. It was an early game, so we were going to watch it and be back before our parents knew we were gone. We didn't know it was going to snow."

  "Whose brilliant idea was this?" Ryan asked.