Hour of Need (Scarlet Falls)

by Leigh, Melinda

  Joy swelled in Ellie’s chest. Her eyes filled with tears. “I was all ready to say good-bye.”

  Grant wiped a drop from her cheek with a thumb. “So it’s OK with you that I’m staying?”

  His words finally sank in. He wasn’t going to Afghanistan or Texas or anywhere else. Ellie flung her arms around his neck.

  “I’ll take that as a yes.” He kissed her. “Tell me there’s still something to demolish in there.”

  “No worries.” She laughed. “It takes me a long time when I have to do it all myself. It’ll be a lot easier with some muscle.”

  “That’s me. The muscle.” Grant flexed an impressive bicep. “The next two days will be hard. I don’t know how Carson will do at the funeral. He says he wants to go, but who knows how he’ll react? Kate’s parents are upset with me for not letting them have the kids and for scaling this funeral back to the bare minimum.”

  “What can I do to help?”

  “Put me to work?” He turned her and guided her back toward her front door. “I could use some sledgehammer therapy.”

  Remembering the last time they’d worked in her kitchen together, warmth rushed into Ellie’s cheeks. She wrapped an arm around his waist and leaned into him, savoring the solid and real feel of his body against hers. “You can demolish my kitchen any day.”

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Four months later

  “What do you think?” Grant wrapped an arm around Ellie’s shoulders. “You’re the expert.”

  Side by side, they squinted through the setting sun at the old farmhouse. July heat waned as the sun dipped below the trees. It was traditionally designed, with two stories and a wraparound porch that called for a swing.

  Behind them, the real estate agent had stepped away to stand patiently by his car and let them talk. Again.

  “It has good bones.” Ellie flipped through a home inspector’s report. “Structurally sound. No lead paint, termites, or radon.”

  “Five bedrooms and a mother-in-law suite would give us plenty of room to spread out.” Grant nudged Ellie’s arm. This was their sixth trip to view the house.

  “And the kitchen is enormous.” Ellie could already see the kids doing homework while Nan cooked.

  Carson and AnnaBelle raced past. Mud encased the dog’s paws and the boy’s sneakers.

  “What do you think, Carson?” Grant yelled.

  The boy slid to a stop in a patch of dandelions and threw a stick for the dog. “There’s a creek out back! We almost caught a frog.”

  The creek was barely six inches deep. If Grant listened, he could hear the faint tumble of water over rocks.

  “Carson’s a yes.” Ellie laughed. “You realize the entire house needs to be gutted? And we’ll never be able to keep either one of them out of the mud.”

  “I do.” With lots of babysitting help from Julia and Nan, after her ankle healed, Grant had done the majority of the kitchen renovation in Ellie’s old house and loved every minute of hard labor. Working with his hands became his therapy, and in the same way that Faith’s crawling had eliminated her nighttime screaming, daily physical exertion improved his sleep. Though he suspected sleeping with Ellie would work even better. Another reason he wanted to buy this house. Plus, Mac was due back from South America soon. The cabin was cramped enough with just Grant and the kids.

  “Nan? Julia? You two want to vote?” Ellie called.

  Julia carried Faith on her hip. The baby squirmed. Now crawling, she wanted no part of being carried. Grant held out his arms, and Julia handed her over. He pretended to drop her, and she squealed in delight.

  “I love it.” Nan crossed her arms and scanned the yard. “You could put a gazebo right there. It would make a lovely spot for a wedding.”

  “Nan,” Ellie sighed.

  Her grandmother feigned innocence. “Just saying.”

  Grant tucked Faith under his arm, football style, and kissed Ellie on the lips. “I like the idea.”

  They’d talked about getting married. They weren’t rushing things, but buying the house together was a step in the right direction. They already spent as much time as possible together. For now, Grant would be satisfied having her in his bed at night.

  “Did I tell you what happened at work today?” Ellie asked. “Roger fired Frank.”

  “Really?” Grant wasn’t surprised. Frank was slime.

  “He’d gotten himself into some debt in his quest for partnership and decided some fraudulent checks were his only way out.” She shook her head. “If he could have held on another month or two, he would have gotten the partnership.”

  “Some people never get enough.” But Grant had plenty. Faith complained and pumped her fists in the air. “OK. We have to make a decision. The boss is getting impatient.” No doubt she wanted to stick every one of those dandelions in her mouth. “What’s it going to be?”

  “Please.” Julia pressed her palms together.

  “Let’s do it,” Nan encouraged.

  “It’s a big project,” Ellie warned. She scanned their faces. “All right. We’ll buy it.”

  Grant passed Faith back to Julia and wrapped his arms around Ellie. He planted a kiss on her mouth. “I love you.”

  “I love you too, Ellie.” Carson hugged their thighs.

  Ellie ruffled Carson’s hair and kissed Grant back. “I love you both.”

  Grant leaned away and shouted to the real estate agent, “We’ll take it. How soon can we close?”

  The latest chapter in his life had started out in the worst possible way, but Grant had finally found the life he wanted. He wasn’t going to waste one more second.

  Acknowledgments

  Publishing a book is a group project. As usual, thanks go to my fabulous agent, Jill Marsal, for her indispensable help with this book and her guidance with almost every aspect of my career. Additional thanks to developmental editor Shannon Godwin, and to the entire team at Montlake Publishing, especially editor JoVon Sotak.

  Shout out to my morning sprint buddies Kendra Elliot, KM Fawcett, Rayna Vause, and Chris Redding. The daily cyberflogging helped me power through the tough spots on this book. Special thanks to Rayna for techie help, to KA Mitchell for plot ideas, and to Kendra, whose offhand comment about the sharpness of skate blades put the big finale scene in my head.

  A final thank you goes to Michael Parnell for his help with military terms.

  About the Author

  Photo © 2014 Marti Corn Photography

  Melinda Leigh abandoned her career in banking to raise her kids and never looked back. She started writing as a hobby and became addicted to creating characters and stories. Since then, she has won numerous writing awards for her paranormal romance and romantic-suspense fiction.

  Her debut novel, She Can Run, was a number one bestseller in Kindle Romantic Suspense, a 2011 Best Book Finalist (The Romance Reviews), and a nominee for the 2012 International Thriller Award for Best First Book. Midnight Exposure was a 2013 Daphne du Maurier Award finalist. When she isn’t writing, Melinda is an avid martial artist: she holds a second-degree black belt in Kenpo karate and teaches women’s self-defense. She lives in a messy house with her husband, two teenagers, a couple of dogs, and two rescue cats.