Exit through Tortuga Bay, page 24
“For protection,” Gloria said. “You know, my mother always told me that when you’re having a bad day, all you need is a hug.”
Noah looked up at her. She seemed sincere enough. Not like those desperate women at the bar, looking for an excuse to touch him.
What he really wanted was a hug from Grace though. To feel her in his arms and know that everything was going to be all right between them. But for now he supposed he could settle with a hug from the tall nurse who assisted with putting eight stitches in his ass.
Gloria opened her arms for him, and he obliged, getting up from the bed. She wrapped her arms around him while he rested his head against her giant breasts with nowhere else to go. She smelled like hand sanitizer and vanilla and squeezed him tight. A small part of him did feel better, but the determination to win Grace over only strengthened.
Just as he released his arms around Gloria, he felt her body stiffen, her eyes fixed on something behind him. He turned.
Grace stood across the room, holding up the curtain, her eyes wide with hurt.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Grace gawked at Noah’s naked butt. One cheek was bandaged and the other barely covered by his gown. His head had been resting on an impressive chest attached to the tallest woman she had ever seen.
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Grace said. She turned to leave.
“Wait,” he cried. “Please don’t go.”
The nurse said something to him in Spanish and left through the curtain on the other side.
“You came,” he said.
Grace fought the tears that stung her eyes. “I wanted to see if you were okay.”
Noah stood motionless, a pained look on his face. “I’m fine. Are you?”
Grace clenched her jaw, internally assessing if she was. She had been at the police station for a couple of hours of questioning. The terror from the shoot-out had worn off, but her nerves were still frayed. “I’ll be all right.”
“Come here.” Noah reached his arms to her.
She gaped at him, at war with herself. Part of her wanted to be held by him while the other part didn’t trust herself. When it came to Noah, she clearly couldn’t think straight.
He had lied to her about why he was in town and what he was hiding from. He put her in danger. Not to mention the fact that he let her ride in the back of his van with all that cocaine like a fool.
Grace shook her head. “I’m sorry,” she said, quickly wiping away the rogue tear that spilled over.
Noah dropped his arms. Heartbreak was written all over his face.
“Are you mad about me hugging Gloria? She was just trying to help me feel better.”
Grace looked away. “I’m not mad about that.” Even if it’s just another reminder that women will always be opening their arms for him. “But how am I supposed to trust you, Noah? You lied about the cocaine. About seeing the drug cartel guys in Jaco when we were there.”
Noah’s eyes flared.
“Yeah. One of the officers let it slip. You told Clara you saw those men, and you didn’t do anything about it. Jesus, Noah, what were you thinking?”
“I didn’t want to ruin your last night in town. I was going to go to the police today, but I had to pick up my van first.”
“You had a responsibility. And you didn’t take it. If you think taking me on a romantic cruise instead of keeping us safe was some gallant Prince Charming maneuver, then you don’t know me at all. You weren’t thinking.”
“You’re right. I wasn’t thinking. But it’s because I was falling for you, Grace. Sometimes you have to live with your heart instead of your head.”
Grace pressed her lips together, her blood roiling within her. “I can’t live like that.” She stewed, shaking her head. “Living your life with your heart has a price, and it’s one I’m not willing to pay.”
“What are you saying?” Noah said. His hand rushed to his head. He leaned on the hospital bed as if to steady himself. His face turned an ashen gray.
“Are you okay?”
“I’ve just been a little light-headed, that’s all. I’m fine.” His eyes darkened. “Please tell me this isn’t over.”
Her heart wanted to reach for him. To kiss away his pain. But touching him was what got her into this mess in the first place.
“I just don’t think this can work out. A long-distance relationship needs to be built on trust, and we don’t have that.”
“Let me make it up to you. Let me show you that I’m trustworthy. Just give me a chance.”
His begging was breaking down her resolve. She needed a new tactic, or this would go on forever.
“You don’t even know what you want to do with your life yet, Noah. This isn’t the right time for us to be together. We should call this what it is. Just a fling.”
“It wasn’t just a fling to me.”
“I’m sorry,” Grace said. “I have responsibilities, Noah. And you do too. You need to focus on taking care of yourself first.”
Noah opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. His eyes dropped to his knees.
The nurse poked her head through the curtain. “Everything okay in here?”
Grace exchanged a glance with Noah, waiting for him to say something, but nothing came. The silence in the room felt like the slap in the face she needed to get the hell out of there.
“I was just leaving.”
“Grace,” he whispered. But he did not say stop. He did not beg her to stay. Instead, he hunched over, his sea-green eyes breaking away from her gaze in defeat.
“Goodbye, Noah,” Grace said, walking through the curtain that led to the main lobby. She held back her tears for several steps until she recognized the detective she had met at the station, standing by the front doors.
Grace stumbled toward her, tripping over her own feet. She fell into Clara’s arms, sobbing into the sleeve of the detective’s pantsuit.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Grace’s cab pulled down her quiet street, turning in to the driveway of her two-story brick home. She jumped out into the frigid air and took her carry-on roller bag out of the trunk.
The front porch light had been left on, the soft glow a gentle reminder that this was where she belonged. This was her safe place.
She stepped in through the front door, shutting out the frosty morning. The house was warm and smelled like tuna casserole from the night before.
It was five o’clock in the morning, and her eyes felt droopy. She hadn’t slept on the plane due to the frazzled nerves and the broken-heart cocktail she consumed before catching her flight. Her mind raced through all the events of her trip instead.
Too tired to head up the stairs, she hung up her coat and took a seat in the corner of her couch with her laptop. Now that she was home, she needed to face her new life. She wouldn’t be working for Maritime forever, and it was time she prepared to put her aunt in a nursing home.
She began searching for homes that didn’t look like four-walled asylums. They couldn’t afford the nicer homes in the area where a big chunk of the expenses seemed to go to landscaping. Aunt Judy wouldn’t need all that anyway. She preferred being inside. She needed something nice, practical. A place not too far away so Grace could visit her every day.
Grace’s eyelids grew heavy in her search. It wasn’t until she heard the soft “good morning” from the stranger in her living room that she realized she had dozed off. The man in front of her was middle-aged with a white goatee and a head full of white hair, and Grace expected him to be carrying a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken, but the Sunrise Homecare shirt and the small duffel bag at his side indicated he was the night-shift guy.
Grace quickly wiped the drool from her mouth and got up from the couch. “Hi,” she said, her voice still groggy from sleep. “You must be Darren.”
The man smiled. “And you must be Grace.”
“How was she?”
Darren looked down the hall and back. He leaned forward to whisper in her ear, “She’s a gosh-darn pain in the ass. But I can tell she has a good heart underneath all that sauce.”
Grace smiled ruefully. “Thank you for everything. And for staying the extra night.”
“It pays the bills, darlin’. It pays the bills.”
Darren gave her a salute before heading out. Shortly after, Aunt Judy appeared down the hall, her hair snarled on one side, big puffy bags underneath her eyes. There must have been too much salt in her dinner last night. Grace made a note to remind Sunrise again that Aunt Judy couldn’t eat too much sodium.
“Good morning,” Grace said, rushing to her aunt to help her down the hall.
“Did Colonel Sanders leave? I was hoping to get one last look.”
Grace giggled. “I’m sorry. He left a minute ago.”
“Damn. It was nice having a man around here.”
Grace led her to the kitchen table and started preparing her oatmeal.
“How was your trip?”
Grace tilted her head to the side. She didn’t want to worry her aunt over what had happened with the cartel and Noah. She would tell her another day when she didn’t have a life-altering decision to make. “It was… the trip of a lifetime.”
“Oh really? I can’t wait to hear about it.”
“We need to talk first,” Grace said, her eyes landing on the wall clock above her aunt’s head. She had less than fifteen minutes until she needed to get ready for work. She had better start talking now, or she’d lose the nerve.
“What is it, dear?”
Grace sprinkled brown sugar in the pot of oats and stirred in the milk. “I realize that I haven’t been giving you the option on whether you stay here or go to a nursing home,” she said. “And I’m really sorry.”
Aunt Judy’s eyebrows slid up her forehead. “Oh? You’re just realizing that?”
Grace took a deep breath. “The decision was never mine to make,” she said softly. “And… although I don’t want you to leave, I also don’t want to keep you here just because I’m afraid of abandoning you. Or rather, I’m afraid of you abandoning me.”
Aunt Judy gawked at her. “Well, I’ll be damned. You’re ready to have this conversation now?”
Grace fought through the tightening in her throat and the burning in her eyes, but she nodded. “Yes.”
“Good. Because Cindy and I found the perfect place.”
Grace sucked in a breath. “What? Who’s Cindy?”
“Cindy replaced Tamara while you were gone, remember? Anyway, I was going to tell you when you were ready. But Cindy and I have been shopping around. We found a nursing home that specializes in MS patients.”
“You did?” Grace’s mouth flew open. “You’ve been looking?”
“When I found myself turned on by Mr. KFC, I knew I’d been cooped up here way too long.”
Grace covered her mouth with her hand, stifling her laugh.
“I pinched his butt,” Aunt Judy said, looking ashamed.
“Aunt Judy!” Grace shrieked. “You didn’t.”
“I blamed it on my muscle spasms,” Aunt Judy said, sinking into her chair. “I apologized.”
Poor Darren. “Shame on you. You’re lucky he didn’t file a report.”
“I know, I know.”
Grace sighed as she stirred the oatmeal on the stove, then turned to the coffee maker and added a new filter. She would need an entire pot just to keep herself awake until lunchtime.
“How much is the nursing home?” Grace said, scooping oatmeal into a bowl.
“It’s about a quarter of what we’re paying for Sunrise.”
Grace’s shoulders sagged with relief. “That’s good.” She set the bowl in front of her aunt and sprinkled cinnamon on top.
The cost of living in a home was the only silver lining of the whole situation. Her aunt’s social security should be able to cover her living expenses there, which meant Grace might be able to start saving money for once.
“I’m going to miss you, Aunt Judy.”
“Meh,” Aunt Judy said before attempting to bring a spoonful of oatmeal to her mouth. “You’re going to love having the place to yourself. You’ll be able to date without my old ass cockblocking you.” She waggled her eyebrows.
Grace chortled, shaking her head, ignoring the painful reminder that Noah wouldn’t be a part of that plan.
“Speaking of dating, I almost forgot to tell you. When Cindy and I visited the home, we noticed that half their residents are men. Men, Grace! I’m going to have a hard time keeping my pinchers to myself.”
Grace’s head fell into her hands. “You need to come with a warning taped to your forehead.”
“Ah, nonsense. I’ll behave.”
“I didn’t know you were so randy,” Grace said, shuddering at the word.
“Why do you think I watched all those romance movies with you? I was living vicariously, just like you were doing.”
Grace opened her mouth and promptly shut it.
“I’m allowed to dream about my own Prince Charming too, you know. I have MS. I ain’t dead.”
Grace giggled and got up from her chair to give her aunt a big hug. “Oh, Aunt Judy. Please, just promise to keep it consensual.”
“I promise, I promise.”
Grace held her aunt for a long time, breathing in what smelled like Vick’s vapor rub and lavender essential oil. “What’s that smell?”
“Cindy made this concoction for me. Said it would help me sleep. I think she might be a witch because it worked.”
Grace gave Aunt Judy her signature disapproving look.
“I’m going to miss seeing that face every day,” Aunt Judy said, stroking the side of Grace’s cheek with her shaky hand. “We had good times together.”
“We did,” Grace said, smiling through the growing lump in the back of her throat. “And we still will. I’ll come visit you every day.”
“About that,” Aunt Judy hedged. “This place is in Cadillac, about an hour away.”
“Oh,” Grace said. “So, not every day.”
“You can visit me on the weekends,” Aunt Judy said, her eyes wet. She brought Grace in for another squeeze.
They held each other for several breaths.
“So what are you going to do with all this new free time of yours when I’m settled in a new home?”
Grace sighed, smiling to herself. “I’m going to start looking for teaching jobs.”
“Really?” Aunt Judy said.
The coffee maker beeped, and Grace leaped toward it. She poured two cups of coffee before sitting back down next to her aunt. “I realized while I was in Costa Rica that sales is not what I want to be doing for a living. I think I want to try giving preschool teaching a real shot.”
“It’s about damn time.” Aunt Judy’s eyes were sparkling. “Good for you.”
“Thanks.” Grace smiled. “After that, I’ll probably spend more time with Tessa. I’ve been thinking about doing something fun. Maybe a girls’ trip or something.”
Aunt Judy dropped her spoon, and it clanked against her bowl. “Who are you, and what have you done to my little Gracie?”
Grace smiled, looking away. “I met someone in Costa Rica who encouraged me to get out and live my life more.”
“And what does this person have that I don’t? I’ve been saying the same damn thing for years now.”
Grace pictured Noah’s sea-green eyes and the heartbreak written all over his face when she left him in that hospital room.
She sucked back her tears and forced a smile. “Pura vida. He had something called pura vida.”
Aunt Judy arched a single brow before turning back to her oatmeal.
Friday, October 29
Noah: Did you make it home okay?
Read.
Thursday, November 4
Noah: I’m so sorry for everything… Can I call you?
Read.
Friday, November 12
Noah: Grace, can we talk please? I miss you.
Read.
“When you said you wanted to go out, this wasn’t really what I had in mind,” Tessa said, hopping on her ATV. “I don’t even know who you are anymore. ATV riding? Really?”
Grace shrugged. “I told you, I’m done being a homebody. There’s so much more to life than cheesy rom-coms.”
Tamara had asked to come by and visit with Aunt Judy, so Grace took the opportunity to spend the day with her best friend around Up North trails. She had booked an ATV rental with a tour group so they wouldn’t get lost.
“I like this side of you,” Tessa said, shimmying her shoulders. Her helmet wobbled around her neck.
“Better tighten that strap,” Grace said, placing her own helmet on.
The roaring sound of ATV engines buzzed around her, and she turned on her own engine, tightening her grip around the handlebars. A flutter in her stomach whirred as their group of riders took off.
The train of ATVs crossed the main street before following the trail into the woods, picking up speed. It was a cool morning. The sun was shining, and the leaves left on the trees were still vibrant orange and yellow hues.
As they went faster, Grace couldn’t shake the memories of being on the catamaran. She could almost feel the press of Noah’s lips with the wind that snuck its way underneath her helmet.
She shivered. The unanswered text from yesterday haunted her thoughts. Grace, can we please talk? I miss you.
It had been weeks since she left Costa Rica, and she had hoped by now it would be easier to ignore him. But each day was harder than the last. Still, she couldn’t respond, not when she was trying so hard to move on.
The trail wound up and down small hills, making her stomach drop with each dip. She had to navigate carefully. Every turn, every rock was a welcome distraction to the constant torment inside her head.
After an hour of riding around the forest trails, they arrived back at the rental shop. Grace’s forearms were sore from all the gripping and steering.
“That was really fun,” Tessa said. “Who would have thought Grace would be taking me out on an adventure like that?”
