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He blinked in shock and jerked upright. “Yes! We should, actually. Absolutely. I insist.”
Laughing, she pulled him out of the office and down the hall. “You should probably call Easy first. Tell him to pack his bags for Mexico. My poor aunt will be so disappointed.”
“I think Easy can wait awhile,” he murmured, thinking of exactly what he had planned when they got home. And what he had planned for the rest of his future.
* * *
GRACE FELT GIDDY. True joy coursed through her. Happiness for Cole, separate from anything she wanted for herself. It was a strange sensation. Something she wasn’t used to. But she soaked it up, hoping that she could keep a little part of it tucked away forever.
Cole was going to be fine. Thank God.
He drove home quickly, his mouth occasionally revealing his happiness in a smile. She wasn’t sure if he was happy about the prognosis or just anticipating what would happen when they got home, but it didn’t matter. Either way, she was about to have her hands on him. His body made her feel safe, somehow. Even when nothing else could.
But right now, she had every reason to feel safe. She had come back to Jackson, and much to her surprise, her new friends had seemed relieved. Even Rayleen had hugged her, though she’d then proceeded to bitch about her apartment building being contaminated with estrogen. Admittedly, Grace had tried to avoid Jenny, at first, and even Eve. But Eve was hard to avoid when she’d immediately hired Grace back at the studio.
Things were okay. And now they were better.
She spread her fingers over Cole’s thigh, loving the way his muscles flexed as he braked and accelerated. When he moved her hand away, she laughed. “Hey!”
“I’m too excited already,” he growled.
Within seconds, he was pulling into the driveway of the Stud Farm, and Grace was grinning in anticipation. But when she hopped out of the truck, Cole grabbed her hand and led her toward the saloon.
“Hey! I thought we were going to celebrate.”
“Oh, we will. But I thought I saw Easy’s truck in the parking lot.”
“Right. Okay. I’ll be patient, then.”
He grinned like a little boy. “You need to be patient, huh? It’s hard to wait?”
“Shut up,” she grumbled, embarrassed by how much she needed him. All the time. Every day. But it wasn’t a scary need, somehow. It wasn’t weakness. She couldn’t understand it, but she was trying not to be afraid.
Just as they reached the saloon porch, Cole stopped. He turned to her, and Grace felt a sudden jolt of alarm at the serious set of his mouth.
“Cole…” she started. But then he smiled.
“Happy birthday, Grace.”
“What?” she whispered.
“Happy birthday. I thought we’d need this to cheer us up. But I guess it’ll just be something better.”
“What?” she repeated, watching as his hand reached for the door. “How did you know it was my birthday?” She hadn’t told him. No one even knew her birthday except…
“Merry told me,” he said. And then he opened the door, and there she was. Merry.
And Eve and Jenny and everyone else, all of them yelling, “Happy birthday!” as she stared in shock.
“Merry?” she said, not believing her eyes. How could Merry be here, when…
“Happy birthday,” Cole whispered into her ear. And then Merry was running toward her, arms spread, and Grace couldn’t take it all in. There were a dozen people around her. Maybe more. Rayleen and Easy and Shane and Cole and…Merry.
Tears sprang to her eyes, and there was nothing she could do to stop them.
“What are you doing here?” she whispered.
Merry squeezed her tighter. “Cole flew me up to surprise you. Happy birthday, Grace.”
