Falling for Grace (Four Winds)

by Anne Conley

  She gulped, "Two eggs, over-medium, crispy bacon, and wheat toast."

  Nodding to himself, he handed the waitress the menus and leaned back in the booth, crossing his arms over his chest. "Let me talk for a little while, tell my story. I need to get it out before you start asking questions, okay? I promise I'll answer anything, but I've been keeping this all to myself for so long, I just need to say it all."

  Grace nodded and reached for the sugar and creamer for her coffee to keep herself busy.

  "I am the archangel Raphael," he began. Grace nodded, she got this part already. "I am the one who heals. Since the beginning of time, I've been answering prayers to heal the sick. I've done it a variety of ways, but usually I get inside their head, and I put ideas there, or I use their body. Sometimes I visit dreams and give healing answers. I heal all kinds of things: physical, mental, and spiritual maladies." He paused, as he took a small sip of coffee, then grimaced and took a larger sip.

  "I have guided surgeons' hands, come to midwives in divine dreams, and…" His voice dropped, as his gaze softened, "visited lifeguards with words of encouragement." The waitress arrived with their food, and Rafe watched eagerly as she set everything down on the table. He shoveled some eggs into his mouth before continuing, talking around a mouthful of food.

  "I'm sorry. I've never been hungry before." He swallowed and took another large bite. "As angels, we don't get hungry. I'm rarely in human form as it is…" Another bite. "But with all of this 'falling' business, I'm turning human, and now I get hungry, tired, sick, and…other things." He took another bite of eggs and a bite of toast chewing them together. "Uri told me what signs to look for."

  Grace took a break from watching him wolf down his food and started eating her own breakfast, cutting her eggs up and scooping the yolky mixture on top of her toast. She hoped everything would make sense soon.

  "So, for millennia, I've been listening to people offer up anything, sacrifice everything for the ones that they love to get well, be healed. I began to wonder what was this powerful emotion that the humans felt that would make them want to sacrifice their own lives for someone else, just because they loved them? So, I asked the Boss to let me feel it."

  "The Boss?"

  "God. You know. But He said no. That was for the humans, only them. Nothing else could experience that particular emotion. He asked if I would like to try joy instead." Rafe rolled his eyes at the thought. "Humans are so greedy, it was hard to imagine a feeling that could trump the greed and menace inherent in their world. I've been petitioning God for centuries now to let me feel it."

  He ate another few bites, and Grace continued watching him, eating her own breakfast in silence.

  "I gave up on Him granting my request and started trying to find it other ways. I knew that sex was somehow connected, so I started having sex with various women, hoping that could make me fall in love."

  Grace choked on her bacon, coughing loudly before a hunk of the breakfast meat came flying out at Rafe's chest.

  "Sorry about that," she mumbled.

  He grinned at her, as he wiped his shirt. "It's okay. The sex thing didn't work. It was fun, but I never fell in love with any of the women."

  "What did God think of that? Isn't that fornication?"

  Rafe waved his hand, dismissively. "He found it amusing. Most of what you humans do is amusing to Him." He drank more coffee. "Anyway, when you lost Alex, I heard your cries."

  Grace stared at him, unable to eat anything.

  "I saw your nightmares. I started to spend more time with you, watching you, being with you, helping you."

  "Are you the green?"

  He nodded. "That's my color." He stopped eating for a minute and reached across the table to hold Grace's hand. "I've been with you since Alex."

  Grace remembered her cries to Heaven after losing Alex. She'd been so angry. Angry that he'd lost his life, that she hadn't found him, that he was gone. The futility of all of it had killed her, and she'd railed at God for not helping her. For not helping Alex.

  "So, why did you come down to move in with us? What was that all about?"

  "He told me I could try it. He gave me the go-ahead to fall in love with you, Grace. I'd been with you, and He chose you for me."

  She was stunned. What did that mean?

  "It means that I'm becoming human, Grace. I used to never know hunger, now look at me." He had finished three plates of food: eggs, bacon, toast, biscuits, pancakes, and fruit. "I used to not get tired. I've never had to go to the bathroom before. I used to never feel pain, get hurt." She remembered the shard of metal impaled in his leg during the storm.

  "The storm? You loved me then? You'd only just met me."

  "Ah, but remember. I've known you for three years, Grace. I've watched you risk your life for total strangers, in the name of duty. I've seen the nightmares that you have about the one you couldn't save. I've been inside your head. I know what makes you tick. I've been falling for you for awhile."

  "So, who's Damien?"

  "He's the Deceiver."

  "I've heard you call him that, but I don't know what it means."

  "He's the one most everybody knows as Satan. Long ago, he was one of us. The Boss sent him down to test humans, to deceive them into going against His will, to test their faith. But he got carried away, derived too much pleasure out of it. So the Boss cast him down, to be in charge of the damned. He's jealous of the other brothers because he thinks we've always gotten preferential treatment. He wants what we've been promised."

  "I see." And she did. She had always felt that Damien was bad, somehow. "But, his job was to deceive. Why did he get punished for it?"

  "He didn't just deceive people to see who was unworthy. He played upon the human weaknesses, created evil where it wasn't initially. He wreaked a lot of havoc. You're familiar with the garden of Eden, yes?"

  "Yes, but wasn't he already cast down then?"

  "In the retelling of the story, yes, but when it actually happened? Not the case."

  Grace digested this information, a new paradigm for her to think about. Her belief system was changing, in a major way. She'd always believed in God, in a "something had to have created everything" sort of way. She called herself Christian, but only because it was too scary not to, if she thought about it hard enough. The alternative was horrifying. To make it through this short life, and then not have anything, not be anything, unaware of anything around you? That scared her more than Hell.

  "So, I'm it? I'm what makes you human?"

  "God chose you for me to fall for. To fall in love with. To fall from my angelic perch. I've been watching you, helping you, wanting to take care of you. It makes perfect sense to me."

  "Not to me. Why me? Surely there are people out there with more faith than me to choose for you."

  "You're the one, Grace. You're perfect for me. There's nobody else."

  Grace struggled to transform her jumbled thoughts into coherent words. “But to fall in love with me, you have to give up…everything. Your celestial powers? You won’t be able to heal anymore? How is love worth that?

  He shrugged. “I know, I can’t really explain it.” When his eyes met hers, the intense green seeped into her spirit, boosting it. “I know that the Boss has a plan, and if it includes me losing my ability to heal in exchange for your love, then I’m all in.” He must have seen the doubt in his eyes. “It wasn’t an easy conclusion to come to, which was part of my visit to Uri, but in the end, I realized that He really does know best.”

  It was all so overwhelming. Even the peace she felt around Rafe couldn’t calm her insides. She was a roiling mess. "I don't want to lose myself, Rafe."

  "You've said that before, but it still doesn't make sense to me. We're good together. I can wait for you to decide, but just know, that I only have this life to live. It's a done deal for me." His gaze locked with hers, stealing her breath. "I love you. Let me be your fairy tale."

  Rafe paid the bill, and they walked back to the hot
el in silence. His hand grasped hers gently, filling her with a sense of serenity, and calm. She treasured the sensation of his warm hand wrapped around hers, and he squeezed gently. She squeezed back, contented with right now. With Rafe, the future was an unknown entity.

  When they entered the hotel lobby, Grace noticed a couple sitting on a couch, apparently waiting. The woman had porcelain skin and dark hair that fell in a silky cascade past her shoulders. She was reading a book, while the man watched the door. He was tanned, with a shock of blond hair that fell over his forehead.

  They stood when Rafe and Grace walked in, and they walked over to them with excited purpose.

  "Hey, Uri! I'm surprised to see you here." Rafe hugged the man, and they clapped each other's backs in the universal man hug. Then he stooped and kissed the woman's cheek. "Heather. You look lovely as always."

  "You just left so fast, we wanted to make sure everything was okay. See if you guys needed help with anything," the man responded, his gaze traveling to Grace.

  Rafe turned to Grace. "Grace, this is one of my brothers, Uriel. I've told you about him, I think. And his wife, Heather."

  She held out her hand, sure she looked confused. "A little, it's a pleasure to meet you." He had said he had brothers, other archangels, but married?

  "The hotel room's a little small for company, but we can go up there if you'd like."

  Uri spoke first, "It's been ages since I've seen a beach. Can we go there?"

  "Do you have a car?"

  "You know it."

  Rafe chuckled under his breath, and they followed Uri out to a Mercedes convertible with the top already down. Rafe bent to speak in Grace's ear, "He's always had a thing for moving fast."

  "Yeah, but this is safer than the Wright brothers' contraption." Uri responded with a laugh.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  When they reached the beach, Uri opened the trunk of the car and grabbed a huge duffel bag, while Rafe leaned over and grabbed a small cooler. The men led the way to a flat part of the sand with a volleyball net set up, while Heather and Grace followed.

  Heather spoke first. "I know this may seem weird for you, it certainly was for me. Just enjoy our visit, and let me answer any questions you have. Okay?" Her smile was open and friendly, and Grace couldn't help by smile back.

  "Have you lived here long? In Galveston?" Heather continued, apparently trying to gain Grace's confidence.

  "Um, about six years. Since I graduated high school."

  "Are you going to school or anything?"

  Grace nodded, "During the off season, I take classes at one of the universities here. What do you do?"

  "I teach ballet to little girls in the city," she said.

  "You dance? I love to dance, no ballet, though. I just love to dance."

  "Yeah, me too. Are there any clubs you like around here?"

  The girls talked about clubs and music, while the boys set out all of the stuff. When they started shedding clothes, talk stopped, and four hungry eyes watched as they began to bounce the ball back and forth over the net in a warm up.

  Grace's mouth went dry as she watched the men, wearing nothing but shorts, bump the ball easily over the net to each other.

  Both of them were perfect examples of male specimens, muscles rippling, as they ran back and forth toward the net, easily getting underneath the ball to bump it over. When they started getting serious about the play, Grace watched Rafe's back muscles bunch as he lifted his arm over his head to spike it down on top of Uri, who gracefully dove under to dig it up into the air. Without a partner on his team, he struggled to get upright enough to bounce it back over the net, but he managed with a grunt.

  Grace was impressed. Still, it looked like they might need a little help to make the game fair, so she looked over at Heather with a question in her eyes. "Do you play?"

  "I haven't in a while, but they will have a large female audience we'll have to fight off if we don't get our butts up there, don't you think?" The laughter in her eyes was evident.

  The girls stood, and Heather stripped down to a bathing suit, while Grace rolled up her tee shirt sleeves, and rolled the hem up, tucking the extra fabric under her bra. Her shorts were a little tight for free movement, but she would have to manage. She had been on the winning lifeguard volleyball team for the past three years, so she knew she didn't suck, but she'd never played with supernatural beings before.

  She jogged over to Rafe's side of the net, and got into a crouch of readiness as he served a powerful lobby over to the other side of the net. Heather dove to get the ball before it hit the sand, then stood quickly to spike the set that Uri provided her. Rafe easily dug the spike up before it hit the sand, and Grace set it easily for his spike. Uri blocked it, jumping easily, arms up over the net, and Grace dove for the recover, getting it up into the air enough for Rafe to set it for her. She spiked it into an unoccupied corner of their court and they got the point. Rafe held up a hand for a high-five for the point, his eyes gleaming mischievously.

  "We work well together, don't you think?"

  "We'd better. I don't like to lose." She winked at him, trying to ignore the warm tingle from his touch.

  They continued the game, Rafe and Grace working easily together. It was obvious that Uri and Rafe were the superior players here, but Grace was good, and Heather may not have had the experience on the volleyball court, but her dancing gave her a natural athleticism and a grace that was unparalleled. If Grace hadn't been playing, she would have enjoyed just watching her movements. They were beautiful.

  The two teams fell into an easy rhythm, bump, set, spike, digs, and blocks, all executed with almost choreographed ease. Each point that Rafe and Grace won was rewarded with a tingly high five. Uri and Heather celebrated each point with a kiss, or a pat on the backside. Grace was afraid to celebrate with more than the high-five. She needed to keep her wits about her, and any kisses or other touching would distract her too much.

  She was aware of a growing audience. People had lined the perimeter of the court and had picked favorites, cheering them on.

  Rafe and Grace won the game, seventeen to fifteen, and they switched sides. Rafe held the net up for Grace to walk under, and when she did, his arm snaked out around her waist, and pulled her against him.

  Her breath left her body at the contact with his. Sweat made sand cling to his body, and at the sensations of his hard chest against hers, Grace let out a whooshing breath of air.

  "Congratulations." He was breathing hard, looking into her eyes. "Winning team, feels good, don't you think?"

  "What are you doing, Rafe?" She wasn't sure if he meant to kiss her here, in front of everybody, and she didn't know if she wanted him to or not. Part of her did want it, but part of her wanted to be able to concentrate on the game, and she knew if he kissed her, she wouldn't be able to.

  "I'm feeling a little possessive, with all of these men watching you. I want them to know that you're with me."

  Her heart was pounding in her chest, and her stomach was doing flip flops at her proximity to this man who did so many things to her with just a look. And here he was touching her, holding her body next to his. He was possessing her, and she was loving it.

  "Am I?"

  "Aren't you?" The adrenaline of the sport must have given him the confidence he needed, because his mouth covered hers in a domineering kiss. Unable to control herself, she opened up to him, and his tongue entered her mouth, teasing and tasting her. With a growl deep in his throat, he pulled her even closer so that her body was flush up against his. His hands went down to her backside, pressing her against his hips, and she could feel his arousal through their shorts. She let out a tiny whimper of need before breaking the kiss.

  "Stop it. You're distracting me." Grace's voice was shaky, ragged with desire. She could barely hear herself over the hoots and catcalls of the audience. She wasn't sure what she wanted, right now. She wanted to win, as always that was paramount, but she also wanted to drag Rafe down onto the sand,
and watchers be damned, rip his shorts off and lick every grain of sand off his body. As the thought crossed her mind, Rafe's pupils dilated, and a chuckle rose from his throat.

  He let her go, with a mischievous grin on his face and picked up the volleyball to toss it to her to serve.

  Despite her best efforts to clear her mind of the kiss, she didn't make the ball over the net, and the serve was passed to Uri and Heather, who were laughing good-naturedly at them.

  The game continued on, Heather and Uri winning this time. Grace attributed it to the mind-blowing kiss that Rafe had doled out before the match. She just couldn't concentrate on anything besides the desire that he'd sparked in her. It was unlike anything she'd ever felt before. And it terrified her.

  They were switching sides again, when a cry from the crowd distracted them all.

  "Boys against girls!" The chant was quickly taken up in the crowd, and as the audience chanted their desires, Uri and Rafe looked at each other and shrugged. Uri turned to Heather.

  She shrugged. "I think I just have one more game left in me, I'm getting tired."

  Grace agreed, "Me too."

  Switching partners, Heather and Grace made a good team, but were no match against the celestial men on the other side of the net. They were all over the court, beating them easily. Fifteen to nine. Grace was confident that the nine points they'd scored were given to them, in an effort to not make the girls look bad. Or to not make the men look too good.

  After their loss, the girls bowed out gracefully, going back to the sidelines to watch the men continue to play.

  "So, you know?" Heather broke the silence, and Grace was glad. Watching Rafe's muscles bunch in so many interesting combinations, as he played the game, was making her mind drift toward thoughts that made her body react in ways she couldn't control. She couldn't seem to keep her thoughts to herself either. Rafe kept sneaking knowing glances her way, and she could see desire plainly written on his face.

  She sighed. "Yeah."