by Bliss Carter
“Well?” Boomer asked, still waiting on Grace to talk. “Come on Grace, I can see you thinking, I can see your face scrunched up and that you’re trying to come up with the best answer. Which won’t be entirely truthful since it’s taking you so long . Just spit it out.”
Grace sighed, knowing it was futile. “I’m not okay, okay? You’re such a pain in my ass Walker. Where’s the nice, friendly cop who would come around and chat for 30 minutes or so at the office, shooting the shit with me, and then be on his merry way to his other stops? Huh? He was easy to deal with. Not this new bossy, macho man that comes around now. I don’t get what’s changed in the past week. Did I do something to make you this intense?”
“Intense? I wouldn’t say I’m intense. I’ll say I’m focused. Before when having conversations with you, it was controlled and pleasant. Now I’ve reassessed and things change sometimes. I haven’t changed. You’re just seeing a new facet to my personality when it comes to you. It’s my ‘focused on Grace and making sure she has what she needs at all times because she’s important enough to me to give a damn’ facet. So, deal with it.” Walker didn’t turn his eyes away as he spoke to Grace, looking at her seriously. He watched her as he told her the truth. He was into her, big time. So into her. He’d been into her for the past two or more years. And had let it be a friendship up until now because he could tell that was all she could handle or thought she wanted. But that was now over. Null and void. She and Jaxson were a set that he valued a hell of a lot and he was done not reaching out to secure them in his life. Her blue eyes were half closed as she considered what he had just said. Boomer knew that she could blast him on Facetime just as well as she could in person and Grace was good at it. Really good. Scorching good. Her tongue and sarcastic nature could bring a lesser man to his knees. Thank goodness Boomer wasn’t less of a man.
Grace sighed and rubbed a hand over her face. It was Saturday and she should be sleeping in today. But nightmares claimed her sleep and her sanity. But also, she would have been getting up early any way to meet Kresley, Cade, Francie, Gertie and Birdie at Whimsy Events at 9 AM. They were clearing out Kresley’s old apartment that sat on the second floor and moving in equipment for Birdie’s photography studio. Grace decided to leave Jaxson at home today so he wouldn’t be under foot. Sara would be babysitting him until she got home.
“I’m so tired Walker. I’m not getting sleep. I’m running on fumes at this point.”
“How much sleep did you get last night?”
“Two hours maybe? Two solid hours, plus 4 more of tossing and turning. But the nightmares, those nasty suckers are the thing that’s keeping me from a deep sleep.”
“Grace, you can’t keep going like this, sweetheart. It’s not good for you and it’s definitely not good for Jaxson. I know we don’t have much time this morning to talk about it, but we will later. And I mean it. We will talk about this again. I’m going to help you figure out how for you to get a full night’s sleep. I promise. So what time are you going to be at Whimsy this morning? Cade wants me there at 8:30 AM,” Boomer stated, trying to read Grace’s face closely. He didn’t see any panic so he took that as a good sign.
“It’ll be 9 o’clock for me. I’m hoping it won’t take too long to get things set up like Birdie wants them, if she can keep her mouth shut long enough to let us all work without wanting to kill her. If Killian is there it’s a sure-fire way to keep her quiet. The girl doesn’t seem to want to talk in front of him for some reason,” Grace chuckled warmly as she stated this. Birdie was notorious for being the most sarcastic out of all the women. She had no filter and said what she thought. Cade was definitely correct in calling her a brat. It hadn’t taken him long to become a big brother for Birdie to pick on. And she loved it.
“As far as I know, none of the Station 5 guys will be there today. They’re all on duty. You know, the 72 hours on, 48 hours off. They’re in the middle of a shift. I had talked with Braxton yesterday for a bit. Is Jaxson coming? I can pick him up some donuts, the special kind he likes with the fruity pebbles on top.”
Grace’s heart melted at that thoughtful gesture from Walker. “No, he’s staying home today with Sara. I’d rather not have him under foot if I can help it. He can play here, just relax and play. I don’t like doing things all the time so he feels like he is constantly on the go. He’s a homebody for the most part, thank goodness. Thanks for thinking of him though with those donuts. They are his favorite, for sure.” Grace smiled at Walker through the phone and was rewarded with a heart stopping, dangerous smile from him, his eyes lighting up and when he winked at her, she could feel her insides melting.
“If it will get me on your good side, tell me what your favorite donut is, Grace, and I’ll make sure to have it when you get there.” Walker smirked sexily.
“Favorite donut? Wow, that’s a hard one. I’d have to say the bacon Nutella walnut crunch. Two of those and I may just kiss you.” Grace stopped with eyes wide, looking at Walker after saying that. It had just popped out without thought.
Walker inhaled loudly and Grace saw his mouth harden and nostrils flare a bit. “Oh, Grace, you’re promising things that I will definitely cash in on sooner rather than later. I’ll have your donuts sweetheart. Don’t you worry. Okay, I’m going to let you get to what you need to do before leaving the house. I’ll see you at Whimsy at 9 AM. I’ll be the one wearing a baseball cap over my bed head. Later sweetness.”
“Bye Walker. Thanks for wanting to check on me.”
“Any time Grace. Any time. And I mean that. Morning, noon or night. When you need me, just call. I’ll get to you no matter where you are.”
And at the end of that statement, Walker hung up with Grace and her phone dinged with the familiar noise of a video chat ending. Grace blew out a breath and sat in her bed, meditating for a few minutes to get her head on straight. Then she was off to the shower and to get ready to face not only Walker, but the Anderson sisters and Cade “Big Sexy” Grantham. It was going to be a full day, with little sleep to help.
Chapter Two
Listen, I don’t care what you think, I’m telling you Grace is at the end of her rope. Unless she has on tons of makeup when she gets here and tries to hide them, the dark circles under her eyes tell the story of her sleep this week. She is NOT handling things well. She can say she is until the cows come home, but she’s lying,” Boomer stated to the group of women huddled around the kitchen counter. He had taken off his baseball cap to run his fingers through his hair in frustration. He put it back on in an abrupt move that said he was done with this conversation. “Birdie, you better not touch those two donuts. Those are for Gracie. You’ve already had yours. Don’t make me smack your hand.”
“That’s not really a deterrent Officer Collins. Maybe I need a good smack,” Birdie devilishly said in a sing song voice. Kresley took the opportunity and walked around Birdie and smacked her on the back of her head. Hard enough to make sure she felt it.
“Hey! I was kidding. Geez people. Remember this is my day today. It’s my party and I can flirt if I want to.”
Cade snorted at that, coming up behind Kresley and putting both massive arms around her torso. He leaned down and kissed her gently on her neck before looking at his sister-in-law. “Brat, we know this is all your show today. We’re not getting in the way, but don’t abuse the help. It’s not like I could get Killian here today to keep your sassiness restrained to a minimum.” He ignored Birdie’s drop-dead look.
“Oh no you didn’t. Oh my, your stock just rose a little higher, Big Sexy,” Francie stated with a laugh, giving Cade a high five in appreciation.
“I don’t care that Killian isn’t here. Makes no difference to me. That man is a grunting, pain in my ass. He sucks as a neighbor. I can’t even borrow a cup of sugar from him without grunts and bitching. I told him the other day that I think he’d do well in a monastery. You know, vow of silence, becoming a monk, that kind of thing. He didn’t like that at all. He hasn’t spoken a word to me since
. And good riddance,” Birdie stated with fervor.
Gertie walked past her towards the bedroom, drawling in a heavy southern accent quietly, but where everyone could hear her, “Liar, liar pants on fire.”
Birdie pushed Gertie’s shoulder, which made her stumble forward and squawk at almost falling. “Whatever Miss Delusional Diva. Call me a liar and then pretend that you don’t think about Braxton standing with flames at his back, his uniform on with no shirt. Yeah, I read your journal entry, sis. Need to lock that stuff up with company over. I’d probably break the lock though. Tell me again what you wrote about the fire hose?”
Gertie choked on her own spit, launched at her sister, and took Birdie to the floor. Head locks began, no hair pulling though. A little shrieking turned into laughter as Birdie called a truce, but Gertie held on tight. Cade and Boomer stepped in to pull them apart, Cade holding Birdie with one massive arm, his hand over her mouth. Boomer had put Gertie back on her feet and said into the room, “Where’s the mud pit when you need it?”
Cade paused for a second and lost it, laughing so hard he lost his grip on Birdie and she slid away from him. The other girls looked on with big eyes, looking at Boomer as if he had said something scandalous.
Boomer chuckled and said, “What, you think we don’t know about your mud wrestling at Gertie’s?”
Gertie’s eyebrows went down into a deep V and she stated with little heat, “I’m going to kill Braxton. Sexy next-door neighbor can’t keep his mouth shut.” She grumbled as she walked off.
“Yeah, well you just refereed the whole thing Gert. I was the one digging mud out of my ears for days.” Kresley grinned up at Cade as she said that, then gave him a heated look. “Maybe I’ll show you my mud wrestling moves when we get home.” She smiled bigger as Cade growled at her and winked.
Birdie snorted. “I bet Big Sexy is mighty familiar with most of them by now Kres. Just don’t jump high off the ropes. You may make him into a eunuch.”
Grace walked in while everyone was in the midst of a good laugh. “So how much of the party have I missed so far?” Grace asked as she put her things down on the counter. She looked around at the faces of the people who supported her the most and saw varying degrees of concern. She avoided Walker’s eyes since she was still feeling confused and vulnerable from their talk this morning. That kiss was sitting in the front part of her mind and she couldn’t shake it.
“Hey Gracie. How are you feeling?” Kresley glided over to her best friend and gave her a long, tight hug. “You look like something a dog’s eaten and barfed back up.”
“Gee, don’t hold back Kresley. You’re using the kid gloves too much,” Birdie stated, rolling her eyes. “Grace, you look tired. Really tired. Do you want me to come over and spend the night? I can if it will help.”
“No, I can handle it myself. No worries everyone. It’s just been a rough week after what happened at the wedding. I’m fine. I don’t need anyone to coddle me. Now, back to regularly scheduled programming.” Grace tried to give her usual carefree smile and laugh, but she could tell by their faces that it was dead in the water. “Really guys, can we just drop it for now? It’s already been a shitty day and its only 9 AM.”
“I don’t count our FaceTime this morning at 5 AM as shitty, Grace,” Boomer stated smugly, grinning at her, daring her to deny it in front of her friends.
Wow. If looks could kill, Cade would be overseeing a crime scene right now. She was so ticked with him and Boomer felt no remorse whatsoever. He needed to press her and call her bluff about what’s happening between them. She had been more vulnerable with him this morning on video chat, but now was closed off and pretending they weren’t anything more than simply friends. Screw that. He could see how beaten down she felt. Her face was fragile. Dark circles announced that she was exhausted and near tears. The hard set of her mouth said she would deny it with her last breath and she wasn’t asking for help. Walker was done with the charade.
Grace ignored the bug-eyed looks from the women and the snicker from Cade and began walking towards the bedroom to see what she could do to help in there. She was choosing to just not respond to Walker’s taunt. She should have known he wouldn’t drop it, though.
“Hold it Grace. One more thing before you go,” Walker stated in a commanding tone that sent shivers down her spine. Her sassy side was telling her to completely ignore him and keep walking. She didn’t play the dominant submissive game with any man. Not anymore. But she couldn’t discount the voice he used and the way those shivers made her feel. She sighed and turned. Traitor, she told her body.
“Yes?” She had intentionally turned around slowly to face him. Her arms were crossed over her ample breasts and her facial expression was cool and blank, with one eye brow lifted in defiance.
“I’m letting you know I’m done.” Boomer waited for Grace to react before proceeding to enlighten her. He saw the beginnings of confusion in her blue eyes.
“You’re done?”, Grace repeated like a parrot. Panic was setting in at his words. What was Walker talking about? “What do you mean?”
Boomer took off his ball cap and holding it by the rim, knocked it roughly against his massive, muscled thigh. “Yep, as of this moment, I’m freakin’ done with having you stand there and pretend that there isn’t more to us than friendship. I’m just done,” Boomer said loudly as he swept his eyes over the group. The Anderson women completely silent was a sight to behold. Cade looked at him with curiosity, but also had a look in his eye to say he would kick his ass if he hurt her. He paused to let his words to Grace make an impact. He could see it in her eyes – worry. Good. She needed to wake up to the reality around her.
Grace felt the panic rising up inside of her even more. Well, that’s just great. Lose a guy before you ever had him. Good going Gracie. You win the award for biggest schmuck.
“I see,” she stated, although she really didn’t. She turned yet again to head to the bedroom so she could be alone. She refused to cry though. Nope, not gonna happen. She’d wait until she left here, then go home and sob into her pillow so Jaxson couldn’t hear her. She wouldn’t show weakness again to any man. Even Walker.
Grace felt a large, rough hand latch itself onto her arm. Before she knew it, she had been spun around and straight into the massive arms and chest of the one guy who was hurting her so much right now. Grace braced her hands against Walker’s chest, feeling his heart beating fast. She thought about struggling out of his grip, but knew it would be futile. He was so much stronger physically than she was. His red t-shirt was soft under her hands and dipped in a slight V in front. She could see a little chest hair underneath and was glad when she refrained from groaning at that sexy sight. He wore black board shorts that went down to his knees and running shoes with ankle socks. His legs were amazing, calves and thighs huge and muscled. Soft black hairs covered his lower legs and made him look that much more gorgeous. She lifted her eyes to him reluctantly, not wanting to see what was there. His hazel eyes stared down at hers with enough heat to scorch her.
With one arm holding her tightly to his body, Walker took Grace by the chin and raised it so she had no choice but to look into his eyes. “Wait a minute baby. I don’t think you do see. Not at all. I’m done with pretending that I don’t notice every single thing about you. The color of your hair, how it has at least ten shades of blonde in it and how it curls tighter on rainy days, looking adorable. Or how you complain that it looks frizzy. How your lips turn up slightly and show that big dimple on the side of your mouth when you’re laughing at something Jaxson did. How much of an amazing mama you are to him, all of the time. How you smell like something sweet and spicy, like gingerbread and vanilla”. Walker watched Grace closely to see if she was getting it. He could see how his words were beginning to sink in to that thick head of hers. His thumb began stroking over her chin, again and again, in a sensual, gentle caress.
“How you drink your coffee from the same exact spot so your lipstick is only marked on one side of your
cup. How your blue eyes look almost lavender when you wear that purplish-blue shirt that wraps around your waist and ties with the bow on the side. Or how when you get to laughing, you do it with your whole body. Or the way your ears turn pink when you’re embarrassed. Like now. The way you look at me so intently when you think I’m not watching. How sarcastic you are and how you can hold your own, even with Birdie.” Walker heard Birdie snort.
“I’m done pretending that I don’t think about you constantly. How I dream of kissing you. How I’d love to take Jaxson for a guy’s day to Legoland or a movie. Or how when that bastard had you last weekend, I didn’t know how I was going to continue to exist if you weren’t here in my life anymore. I’m done with being only your friend.”
Walker took a deep breath after all that and looked deeply into Grace’s hypnotic eyes. “Do you know what all that means Grace?”
“I’m beginning to, but since I’m blonde, spell it out for me,” Grace stated with some of her usual sarcasm, as she felt happiness unfurl itself inside her chest. Walker tweaked the tip of her nose and continued.
“Smartass. Okay…it means you and me, we’re together. Dating. Going steady. Boyfriend and Girlfriend. Peanut butter and grape jelly. Whatever you want to call it, that’s what we are. So, are you good with that?” Walker held his breath and waited as Grace just stared at him. Did she have any idea that she held his future happiness in her hands right now?
Grace took a deep breath and looked around at the sisters and Cade. All were pretending to look elsewhere, but leaning in like they were listening for international secrets. Inwardly, she rolled her eyes, already looking forward to the conversation she’d have with the girls later. Grace leaned in to Walker and took his ball cap from his hand. She slipped it back on his head and adjusted it just right. Then she hit the front of it to knock it down into his eyes a little. She was trying to find her sassiness again. What better time to start than now?
