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I made myself smile and concentrate on their conversation. They were discussing what kind of characters they liked best in books. There wasn’t much I could contribute to that, since the reading I did was limited to police briefings and reports.
We stayed in the tub until Tess’s fingers started shriveling up and then raced to the house so we could get dry before we froze. I did everything I could not to stare at the jiggling globes of Grace’s ass, but when a throat cleared and I looked up to see Mum’s raised eyebrow, I knew I’d been caught. My cheeks burned and I refused to meet her eyes again until after I’d returned from the bathroom, dry and clothed. Both Tess and Grace were still getting dressed, so I sat with Mum and Dad at the table. Duke lay nearby on an old couch cushion they must have given him to use as a bed.
“You three should stay for lunch,” Dad said. “We’ve got plenty to go around.”
“Oh yeah?” I had to admit, it would be nice not to have to go home and figure out what to cook for Tess. When I was alone, I tended to rely on sandwiches and protein bars more than I should.
“Unless Grace needs to be back to spend time with Ryan,” Mum added slyly.
I narrowed my eyes at her. “How do you know about him?”
She winked. “You think anything happens in this town that I don’t know about? I knew she had a male guest the morning after he arrived. It took a little longer to get his name, but give me some credit.”
I grunted and studied the wooden grain of the table rather than giving her the satisfaction of seeing my surprise.
“Is he handsome?” she asked.
I shot her a glare.
“Eden from the cafe heard from Alice that he’s gorgeous, and you know Alice has an eye for the handsome ones.”
“Did you, uh, know they were married?”
“What?” She sounded shocked. “Of course not. I had no idea Grace was married. When? Where?”
Her astonishment somehow made me feel better. At least I wasn’t the only one who’d been in the dark. I gave them a quick rundown of everything Grace had told me about their relationship.
“Wow,” Mum said when I finished. “She sure kept that quiet.” She paused, then added, “Do you think he wants to win her back?”
“Enough gossip, woman,” Dad groaned. “It doesn’t matter how gorgeous he is or how friendly he and Grace apparently are. They divorced for a reason, so don’t meddle.”
“He’s gone anyway,” I added.
“Oh.” She had the audacity to look disappointed. “What a shame. Grace deserves a good man in her life.”
I fought the urge to mutter that she didn’t need anyone else because she had me. That wasn’t what Mum had meant, and I knew it.
Voices in the hall caught our attention, and Grace and Tess entered the living area, wearing matching smiles. My heart gave a pang. Being here with them both felt familiar and new all at once. Their presence gave me a sense of being whole. As if we were a family. Except that we weren’t, and the big-hearted brunette with her arm around my daughter was more of an enigma than I’d ever imagined. I couldn’t let that stand. If Grace had more secrets, I was going to find out what they were.
12
NATE
At the endof my shift, I stripped off my work gear and changed into a T-shirt and a pair of track pants, then I stuffed everything into a duffel bag and slung it over my shoulder. I drove the short distance to Grace’s place and jogged up the path to her front door, leaving the bag in the car. We needed to talk, and now that Ryan was gone and Tess would be picked up from school by her mother, there was nothing to get in the way of that.
I tried the handle, and when it opened, I let myself in. I headed through the house on autopilot until I stood outside the office door. It was shut, so I raised my hand to knock, but then a delicate palm with surprisingly strong fingers clamped around my forearm, stopping me.
“Don’t you dare,” Alice muttered. “She’s finally got into the zone after trying and failing to hammer out words for hours. If you break her focus, there’ll be hell to pay. Not just from me and her, but from her readers too.” She scowled. “No one understands how difficult it can be to really get into a good flow state.”
“Okay.” I backed off, holding my hands up to show her I meant no harm. “I’ll leave her alone.” I glanced at my watch. “If I go to the gym and come back in an hour, will that be all right?”
She tilted her head to the side, considering. The gesture emphasized the sharpness of her chin, which was at times matched by the sharpness of her tongue. “Come back and we can see. If she’s still going at it, then you might just need to come back tomorrow.”
I sighed. “Fine.”
I wanted to see Grace as soon as I could, but I appreciated Alice looking out for her. Grace effectively ran two businesses: the cottage bed and breakfast and her writing career. She needed someone to help protect her valuable time, and Alice may look like the Disney princess version of that woman fromThe Queen’s Gambit,but she could be fierce when the need arose.
I strode back to the car and headed to the gym, which was housed in an old industrial building near the fire station. Since Destiny Falls was a small town, the gym was simple and operated on a key-based system. I let myself in and connected my phone to the music system via Bluetooth. I scanned the space, which was fairly stark with only a couple of treadmills, a selection of free weights, a stationary cycle, and a set of bars for bodyweight exercises.
