The Runaway

by Jennifer Bernard

  He smoothed a hand across Mellow’s fur and heard his purring escalate. “You’re a good kitty,” he said out loud. “Looking out for me, were you?”

  The warm bundle of cat stirred under his stroking.

  “Thanks for the company. I owe you, Mellow. I actually feel…okay. Not as bad as I thought I would, considering I just lost everything.” Gingerly, he sat up, trying not to dislodge the cat. Even so, Mellow wound up in his lap.

  He reached into his pocket for his phone to check the time and saw that many voice mails had come in while he’d been sleeping. Apparently, his ringer had gotten turned off. He scanned through them. Insurance agent. Investigator with the fire department. Dwayne. A contractor friend of his, offering his help. Uncle Stu calling from Texas.

  Nothing from Gracie. Why would there be? He’d told her to go away.

  “I screwed up, Mellow.”

  The cat opened one eye, clearly irritated by the fact that Mark was still talking.

  “I drove her away. That’s what I do, one way or another. No surprise there, huh, cat?”

  Why should anything be different? He was the same person he’d always been. Just because he’d fallen—

  The truth rushed over him like an ocean wave.

  He’d fallen in love with Gracie. He loved Gracie. This was love.

  He hadn’t recognized it because he’d never felt it before, not like this. As if nothing in the world, not his marina, not his boat, not his business, nothing meant as much as Gracie.

  His phone buzzed. Another insurance agent. He let it go to voice mail. He wasn’t quite ready to swing into action yet. Dealing with the aftermath of this fire was going to be a bear. He had two kinds of insurance, business and marine. Good Lord, the paperwork was going to be insane. And he couldn’t put it off too long because people were depending on him. His workers, the fishermen. The stray cats.

  “Got my work cut out for me, Mellow.” He brushed sand off his shirt and stared out at the ocean. Beyond the breakwater, boats bobbed up and down—evacuees from last night. “The hardest part might be figuring out what to say to Gracie. Think she’ll forgive me?”

  Thoroughly awake now, Mellow jumped off his lap and stalked away, toward the boardwalk.

  “Well, that’s not a good sign.”

  Still a bit stiff, Mark slowly got to his feet. He squinted at the water and the boats, something familiar catching his eye. A swell came through, boats rising and falling…

  And there she was—the Buttercup.

  She hadn’t burned down after all. Some kind soul had taken her out of the harbor. Saved her. His boat was alive.

  And so was he. So was he.

  Time to start acting like it.

  31

  Two weeks later

  * * *

  “Sorry, you know I can’t do dishes tonight,” Gracie told Kai. “I’m the daughter of a movie star. You’ll have to get your people to ask my people about the dishes.”

  Kai chucked her under the chin, an annoying gesture if ever there was one. “I’m going along with this only because it’s your last night in Rocky Peak, and I’m a good big brother. And because Laine Thibodeau played a paramedic in one of her movies, and I should have noticed the resemblance then.” He snapped on a yellow rubber glove. “Now stand aside and let the doctor operate.”

  “Isn’t that my line?” Isabelle appeared with a pile of dirty plates, which she plopped onto the counter next to the old enamel sink.

  “You want to take over, go for it.” Kai threw up both his hands. “I’ve got men’s work to do, after all.”

  “What, does Nicole need you to rub her feet?” Gracie teased.

  “You guessed it.”

  Griffin sauntered into the kitchen, hands in his pockets, then started to back up when he saw the pile of dishes. Too late—Kai tossed a rubber glove at him. It bounced against his chest and dropped to the floor.

  “Where’s that pro-athlete reaction time, huh?”

  “I’m retired, remember?” He picked up the glove with the tip of his boot and flicked it through the air back at Kai. “Oh right, there it is.”

  Gracie laughed, a warm glow filling her heart—except for that permanent hole left by Mark Castellani. Nothing was going to fix that. But hanging out with her family definitely helped, which was why she’d indulged herself in two solid weeks of it.

  She’d told Jake everything that had happened with Laine and Diego and the arson at the marina. Now that she’d found her birth mother, she was done with that journey. She didn’t want to know any more. The whole thing was way over her head, and she wanted nothing to do with it. Not after what Mark had suffered on her account. So she’d passed the torch to Jake and his own personal private investigator.

  “You’re sure about this?” Jake had pressed her after she’d unloaded everything on him. “Maybe you just need a break.”

  “No, I’m sure. All I wanted was to know who I really was. Chasing after a movie star who wants nothing to do with me isn’t going to tell me that.”

  “So you’re satisfied?”

  She’d thought about that for a while before answering. “I am. I mean, I wish certain things hadn’t happened. I wish Laine wasn’t so squirrelly. I wish Mark’s marina hadn’t gotten burned down. I feel terrible about all that. But I’m satisfied because I found out who my mother is. That’s all I really wanted.”

  “Fair enough.”

  Jake had hugged her tightly and told her he was proud of her.

  Which seemed strange, but whatever.

  She’d found her answer, but in the process, she’d hurt Mark, someone who’d done nothing but save her, over and over again. Someone she still loved so much it felt as if a ragged hole gaped where her heart used to be.

  In a lot of ways, she was a different Gracie now, with a different question on her mind. What’s out there, and how can I help?

  In other words, it was time for her to go. Time to travel, to expand her world.

  And her family knew it; she could see it on their faces. Even Max, who stumped in with his cane just then.

  He held a bubble mailer in one hand. “Package came for you, Gracie.”

  “Ooh, who from?” Her heart raced. Was it something from Mark? She hadn’t heard a peep from him since she’d left Ocean Shores, but she’d thought about him constantly. The return address revealed only that it had been mailed from a general delivery address near Los Angeles.

  Eagerly, thinking of Mark, she ripped it open. A folded packet of silvery tissue paper fell into her palm, along with a note. Gently, she lifted one corner of the tissue. Nested inside was an earring.

  A white feather with a rose quartz crystal embedded in delicate wirework.

  Heart thumping, she scanned the note.

  You should have this. I was wearing them both when I saw you last, so many years ago. Seeing my missing earring on you was joy beyond measure. Thank you for finding me. For many reasons I can’t contact you again, but know that I will hold you in my heart. Love, LT.

  With tears swimming in her eyes, she inserted the earring into her right ear. In the left, she was already wearing its feathery mate.

  With one earring from each mother, she felt surrounded on all sides by love.

  “Amanda loved that earring,” Max said gruffly. “Looks like the other one did, too.”

  Gracie stroked each feather, soft as angels.

  He went on, his expression one of something she rarely saw from him—uncertainty. “Something I want to say, Gracie, in case you want to find your father, too—”

  “No. I’m done finding parents,” she said firmly. “No more parents. You’re my father. Enough said.”

  “You sure?”

  “Absolutely sure, Dad. I don’t have a single speck of doubt. I love you.”

  He opened his arms and folded her into one of his rare hugs, growling the words “love you too” into her ear. Gracie savored the moment, inhaling the familiar aroma of cigar smoke and spicy soap.

 
Then, as if he had to prove he wasn’t going soft, Max grumbled something about Rogue getting into his cigars and stomped away.

  Gracie looked around at her siblings. “Did someone get a photo of that? Mad Max going in for the hug?”

  Kai waved his iPhone in the air. “You know it.”

  “I got another angle,” said Griffin with a grin, flashing his phone.

  “I was too stunned, I couldn’t get to my phone in time.” Isabelle leaned against the counter and folded her arms over her chest. “Are you really sure about traveling alone, Gracie? You could come with me and Lyle to Albania and meet his mother. He’d love some company while I’m on assignment in Turkey.”

  “Could I watch you work?” Gracie asked. “I’ve imagined it so many times.”

  “I’ll see if I can arrange it,” Isabelle said eagerly. “Will you come?”

  “Someday, but not this time.” This trip was for herself, no one else.

  “I still don’t know why you want to leave,” said Griffin. “I could use your help with Reach Your Peak. Kids always love you. I could even pay you a salary.”

  “Oh really, a salary? I’ll have my people call your people, and they can start negotiations.”

  “Here we go again,” grumbled Kai. “Lording it over us with your movie star roots. And here I thought you might want to stick around for the baby,” he added, totally guilt-tripping her.

  “I’ll be back for the baby, don’t you worry. I even have the perfect present for him.” She crouched down and reached under the long wooden table, where she’d stashed the bassinet. Amanda had carefully preserved it, and Gracie wanted the first Rockwell baby to have it next.

  Swallowing hard, bracing herself for another flashback like the one with Mark, she took hold of the handle.

  But instead of Mark, she saw someone else this time.

  Her mother. Amanda.

  She and Amanda were skiing past the meadow where the tall grass grew, except it was winter and a sparkling blanket of snow covered the clumps of grass. She was little, only about six, all bundled up in a snowsuit.

  Someone else appeared on the trail ahead of them. A boy. Well, not a boy, but a young man, like the skiers who came in the winter.

  Mom waved at him cheerfully, and they paused so he could pass. But he didn’t pass. Instead, he stopped and stared at Gracie as if he’d seen a ghost.

  He knew her, Gracie knew, the way she often knew things.

  No…he knew someone who looked like her, and he was very surprised to see her. As if she wasn’t supposed to exist.

  She felt Amanda’s hand tighten around hers, and they glided forward on their skis, past the boy. A rush of love and concern poured over her from her mother. Amanda, she knew, would do anything to shield her and keep her safe. Amanda loved her with an almost painful completeness. She could feel it.

  I love you too, Mom.

  Gracie snapped out of the vision, back to the present moment—crouched under the kitchen table with the bassinet. She exhaled a long breath.

  Wow. She and Amanda had run into someone in the woods who had recognized her. That encounter must have taken place not long before the accident. Was he one of the frat boys?

  She had to tell Jake, right away. She had no idea what it meant, but maybe he and Olivia, the investigator, could figure it out.

  Crawling from under the table, she rose to her feet so quickly that her head bumped against the table. She fell backward onto her butt with an “ow.”

  And then someone was there, lifting her to her feet with strong arms—and her favorite scent in the world surrounded her.

  Mark’s.

  As soon as she was on her feet, she spun around and—yes, it was him! His dark eyes shone into hers with such an expression of light and love that it made her dizzy.

  “What are you doing here?” she managed.

  “I came to tell you something.”

  “About the marina? Is it okay? I mean, other than being burned…never mind. Is it about the arsonist? Did you find him? What about Mellow? Is he okay?”

  “Mellow’s fine. He wanted to come, but cats aren’t good travelers. Besides, he really likes living at the firehouse.”

  She looked around the kitchen, but everyone else had left. “Where’d everyone go?”

  “They went to do very important but vague things. They could tell I needed to talk to you.”

  She passed her hand over her forehead. “I remembered something. I guess I was completely lost in my thoughts, I didn’t even hear you come in. I…I thought you hated me.”

  It was painful to see him, and yet at the same time so incredibly wonderful. She soaked in every detail—his hair had grown just a tiny bit longer around the ears, and he’d nicked his jaw while shaving. He was utterly beautiful to her. And he was looking at her as if she were a queen, or a star come to life.

  “I love you, Gracie. That’s what I came to say. That I love you. That I belong to you. My heart belongs to you. My soul. Everything does.” He opened his hands, indicating his whole self. “If you want me.”

  “But you said—”

  “I said stupid shit. I was upset about the fire. I know it’s no excuse, but it’s all I’ve got. I mean, there’s more. There’s lack of trust, wariness. Fear of another catastrophe. I’m still working on all that.”

  “That last one came true,” she pointed out. “There was a catastrophe.”

  “No, there wasn’t. Not unless you can’t forgive me.” He dropped to his knees on the linoleum. “Gracie, you are my life. The other stuff, the marina, all of that…it’s nothing. Not compared to you.” He lifted her hand and kissed it as if she were a princess. “Gracie Rockwell, you’re the only catastrophe I want. You’re the one I can’t live without.”

  She gave a little hiccup of a sob. “But I hurt you. I didn’t mean to, but I did, and I felt so terrible. I can’t do that anymore.”

  “No, you didn’t hurt me. You saved me. You brought me back to life. I realized it when I woke up the morning after the fire and I felt okay about everything except you being gone. I had to get things squared away down there before I could come to you. I just hope it’s not too late.”

  Her heart turned over, and she wanted to cry and laugh and dance and cry again.

  “You said you loved me, Gracie. I heard you, that night in Malibu, before the fire. I heard you, but I didn’t say anything. Is it still true? Do you love me?”

  Tugging her lower lip between her teeth, she nodded. She couldn’t lie to him, not when he was on his knees before her, with those earnest dark eyes that made her knees go weak. “I do,” she whispered. “I love you.”

  “Then that’s all I need.”

  “But I’ve caused you so much trouble.”

  “And I hope you never stop.”

  She dropped to the floor and threw her arms around him. His warm. solid body felt like everything she’d ever need. “I missed you so much! I tried so hard to not love you anymore. But it was totally pointless. Complete fail.”

  With a grin, he cradled her head in his hands and angled it for his kiss. “Glad to hear it. Let’s keep it that way.”

  “Wait,” she said, stalling him with one hand before she lost all sense completely. “You should know that I’m about to go on a trip. I want to see some of the places I’ve—”

  “I know. Jake told me.”

  “So I can’t come with you to Ocean Shores. I really need to do this—”

  “I was hoping I could come with you.”

  Her mouth fell open. “Really? You want to travel with me?”

  “If you’re okay with it, hell yeah. The marina’s a mess. I have a construction crew working on it, and they don’t need me. Also, the payout was pretty damn good, so I’ve got some cash to burn.”

  Every moment of their road trip was still burned into her memory, and the thought of traveling with him again made her heart nearly burst with joy. “But it’s going to be a very spontaneous kind of trip. I don’t want to have a lot of
plans.”

  “Hmm. Not sure that’s going to work for me. I already bought maps of the entire USA and I’ve been plotting out the best routes and daily mileage and best hotels.” At her look of rebellion, he burst out laughing. “I’m kidding. I’m all about spontaneity now. This is the new Mark. The post-Gracie Mark. You dug me out of that sand, and I’m not going back.” He spread his arms wide. “Will you let me be your road trip sidekick?”

  She threw herself back into his arms and tilted her head for that kiss she’d interrupted. “Of course I will. It sounds like pure heaven.”

  He grinned and lowered his head again.

  One more time, she stopped him. “It’s kind of funny that we met in a car, isn’t it? And now…”

  He laughed. “And now…there’s this handy thing called rest stops. No more PoopyPants.”

  She giggled. “Maybe now that we’re adults, you can come up with another nickname for me.”

  “Can I work on it after we kiss? I’m dying here. The kiss seals the deal, everyone knows that.”

  Smiling, she brushed her lips against his. Deal sealed. With a shiver along her skin, her intuition told her it was the first of an infinity of kisses that would fill their lives like a cloud of happy butterflies. “You could work on it after the super-fun stuff that comes after the kiss.”

  “Sounds like trouble to me. You’re on.”

  Epilogue

  Jake

  Of course Olivia James would make him cool his heels in the waiting room. Jake would expect nothing less from the dynamo private investigator who’d figured out on day one how to throw him off his game.

  Or thought she had.

  He grinned to himself as he stretched out his legs and interlaced his hands behind his head. He didn’t mind waiting. Some things were worth the wait. Olivia James definitely fit into that category—professionally speaking, of course. He was here on business. Only business.

  She’d made that clear a couple months ago during his first appointment here at James Investigations. Olivia James hadn’t shown one glimmer of flirtatiousness as she took notes about his mother’s accident and the frat boys who were involved. She’d submitted her report with exquisite efficiency, delivering the names and addresses of each of the men.