Eight Years Gone, page 36
She shook her head as she settled against him. “We’ve got it covered.”
He hated that this wasn’t the first time he’d bowed out of a prior commitment. Luckily, Grace was understanding. “I’ll be there for the duration on Wednesday. I promise.”
“Me and Amanda will be there right after school on Tuesday and all day on Wednesday,” Colton reminded Jagger.
“And Brandon’s helping out on Wednesday afternoon. Everything’s good,” Grace assured.
Colton moved to sit on the floor again. “Do you really only work two days a week each month?”
Jagger shrugged. “Sometimes it’s three or four. Five tops.”
Colton shook his head. “That’s crazy. And you make good money?”
Jagger nodded, having no issues with being honest about his income. “It’s certainly not bad. About fifty grand.”
Colton’s eyes grew huge. “A month?”
Jagger nodded again. “It pays to be highly specialized.”
Colton settled his elbows on the coffee table, clearly intrigued. “So, like, what will you do while you’re down in DC?”
Jagger snuggled Grace closer, always eager to have her by his side. “For this trip, I’ll run the routes the client will take at the same time of day the client will take them. I’ll be looking for locations where a security team might have a hard time maneuvering if they need a quick exit. If I see something that looks like it could be an issue, I’ll find routes that will provide a better outcome.”
“Huh,” Colton said, going after another cookie on the plate. “So, you just drive around?”
“For a lot of it. I also go to the locations where the client has meetings and hotel accommodations and look for weaknesses in building security. Since this guy’s a high-profile VIP, I’ll also inspect some target areas close by where someone who’s motivated to cause problems could.”
“So, you’re troubleshooting.”
Jagger struggled with a smile, sensing Colton’s disappointment in his job. “Pretty much. What I do now is pretty low-key, which is how I like it. Looking over your shoulder every day gets old.”
“No kidding. Or I would assume it gets old,” Colton quickly clarified as he shrugged. “Was that how it was when you were in Delta Force?”
Jagger shrugged. “I spent most of my time in locations where I didn’t belong. More often than not, it’s a fatal place to be. That’s all I’m going to say.”
“Huh,” Colton said again. “Getting a job like yours is probably pretty difficult.”
Jagger bobbed his head from side to side. “Not many people have the skill sets I do. But even if you don’t have my type of training, the security sector can be very lucrative.”
“Not if you have a criminal record, which I do. Sometimes I think about a career in intelligence or becoming a PI, but I don’t think it’s in the cards.”
Jagger frowned, not liking that Colton sounded so defeated. “You’ve been in a couple of fights. Hopefully, the latest was your last.”
Colton nodded. “That’s the plan. But I don’t like that we haven’t heard anything from the court. I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing. I know my mom’s tried to call for an update, but no one’s gotten back to her. I don’t want to end up in juvie.”
Jagger shrugged, not quite as concerned. “I imagine they have bigger fish to fry than a kid who had a couple of drinks and got disorderly. The other kid’s parents didn’t even press charges.”
“We can talk to the lawyer about making sure they dismiss your case and also about getting your record expunged,” Grace suggested. “You’re doing really well here. A couple of mistakes shouldn’t keep you from pursuing what you want in the future.”
Colton shrugged. “Lawyers are expensive.”
“Yeah, but I’m loaded, so it’s not a problem.”
Colton grinned as he looked at her.
She smiled back. “The money is yours, too. He was your father, too.”
His smile vanished. “I don’t want anything that was his.”
Grace nodded. “I get that. It’s important that I make my own way, too. A lot of the money that was put into trust has been donated for various scholarships and to the hospitals where Dad was volunteering overseas.”
Colton blinked, clearly surprised. “Most of it’s gone?”
She winced as she nodded again. “I’m afraid so. I would have talked to you about it before Jagger and I moved forward with the decision, but I hadn’t read far enough into my mother’s journals yet.”
Colton shrugged. “I’m not mad that you gave most of it away. It sounds like it went to good causes.”
Grace nodded again. “That was certainly our intent. But there will be the proceeds from the mansion, and eventually, we’ll need to sell his condo and car in the city. The three of us can decide what to do with that money together.”
Colton shook his head. “You guys can do whatever. I truly don’t want it.”
Jagger reached for the last of his cookie. “The way I see it, what’s left no longer has anything to do with Steve. You both have a right to the hurt and anger he’s caused. You also have a right to use the financial gain to your advantage.” He looked at Colton. “Why wouldn’t you want a clean slate when Steve’s lawyer can make it all go away with a couple of phone calls?”
Colton stared down at the floor. “That seems like rich people bullshit. Do something wrong and Daddy makes it all disappear.”
“Yeah, it does. If this is something you want to move forward with, it’s not an open invitation to be a punk. It’s a one-time pass for a couple of mess-ups. It’s not a bad deal.”
Colton sighed. “I guess we could talk to the guy.”
Grace beamed. “We can call him tomorrow after school and see what he can do. Then we’ll talk to your mom.”
Colton nodded. “Sure.”
Grace moved to the floor, kneeling by the half-finished board game. “As fun as this was, we need to get ready for tomorrow, and I need to put some time into figuring out my grocery list for Thanksgiving. I have to go shopping before the chaos descends upon us on Tuesday.”
Jagger knelt to help clean up. “Asa and Aunt Mags take care of the ham and turkey. Grace makes several sides and a couple of the pies—or so I’ve been told. Things have changed a bit over the last eight years.”
She nodded. “It’s a big day at Aunt Maggie and Asa’s. Christy and Gabby bring their families—their mom and dad, too. And Ben usually comes.”
Colton frowned as he looked at Grace. “Didn’t you and the chiropractor date?”
She sighed. “Small towns are awesome. The gossip mill never stops.”
Colton smiled. “I’ve heard some things.”
“We went out a couple of times. Then Jagger came home.”
Colton winced. “That’s awkward.”
“Not really,” Jagger chimed in. “It all worked out. Ben and Grace are still friends, and he tolerates me, which I can live with because I got the girl.”
Grace smiled as she rolled her eyes and stood with the games. “What’s your mom doing for Thanksgiving?”
Colton shrugged. “We’re still not talking much—mostly just a few texts here and there. But I assume she’s packing since she’s taking that job in Philly. She’ll probably hang out with her new boyfriend.”
Grace’s brow furrowed. “She knows she can come to Preston Valley, right?”
Colton adamantly shook his head. “That’s weird.”
Jagger looked at him. “We ate a meal together just fine.”
“That was one thing. Aunt Maggie’s been cool about everything. I don’t want to rub my mother in her face. She and Dr. Dad cheated on her sister.”
Grace sighed. “Things are what they are. We’re all grown up enough to deal with it. We’re not excluding anyone, especially on a holiday. Your mom can bring her boyfriend.”
“No. He’s a tool.”
Grace’s frown returned. “Is he unkind to you? To your mother?”
Colton shook his head. “It’s nothing like that. He’s this stuffy business guy with no sense of humor. He lives down in Philly. I can’t figure out what she sees in him.”
Grace put the games back in the cabinet, then looked at him. “When you tell your mother about your A, I hope you’ll invite them.”
Colton sent her a pained look.
“Or don’t,” Jagger chimed in. “It’s your Thanksgiving too. But you only get one mom, and from what I can tell, she’s been pretty damn good to you.”
Colton narrowed his eyes. “You’re an expert in that psychological operations stuff, aren’t you? Where they teach you to brainwash people and bend them to your will and whatnot?”
He’d become an expert in any and all operational tactics that got the government the information they needed. But he smiled slyly. “I’m unable to confirm or deny your questions.”
Grace laughed as Colton grinned.
Jagger wrapped his arm around Grace. “Let’s get to that Thanksgiving list before we make dinner. I’ll use my mind tricks to get a chocolate silk pie added to the menu.” He kissed her temple as they walked away.
Forty-Six
Grace moved from the processing room to the front of the store, where Amanda and Colton held down the fort after sending Jen home twenty minutes ago. School had finished for the day, and the holiday break had officially begun for the kids in Preston Valley.
For most of the day, Grace had had her hands full as she and Aunt Maggie created an assembly line of sorts to get a solid start on the centerpieces and arrangements that needed to be made. “Did we get any final orders?”
“A couple more,” Amanda said, handing over the paperwork, looking professional and pretty in stylish jeans and a sweater.
Grace glanced at the sheet. “The two-candle centerpiece is certainly the winner. I’ll have to keep that in mind for next year.”
Amanda nodded. “It’s definitely popular. I think it beat the other options by seventy percent.”
Grace raised her brow. She hadn’t had a chance to sit down and run all the numbers. Mostly, she was in survival mode. “Huh.”
Amanda glanced at the clock. “We’re not taking any more orders at this point, right?”
Grace shook her head. “Customers are welcome to the create-your-own section right out here and the arrangements we have in the fridge, but our inventory is tight.”
“And delivery starts at two thirty tomorrow?” Colton confirmed as he hung up the phone, looking handsome in dark wash jeans and a blue plaid button-down that covered his white T-shirt. “We’ve had a couple of people asking.”
“We’ll deliver in three waves. At nine, noon, and two thirty. Anyone who ordered vase arrangements and the floral cornucopias will see their delivery at nine. There will be several two-candle centerpieces going out then, too, but please don’t mention that. I’d rather people expect those at the noon and two-thirty deliveries and be surprised if they show up early.”
“Under-promise and over-deliver,” Amanda piped up.
Grace beamed, thrilled that Amanda seemed to have a head for business. “Exactly.”
Colton lifted the pink sheets where he’d taken messages. “I’ll call these people back to let them…”
Grace and Amanda looked to Simplicity’s picture window as Colton trailed off, staring outside.
Two men, whom she pegged to be in their early to midtwenties, stood on the sidewalk, waving to Colton.
Grace frowned. “You know them?”
Colton nodded, setting the pad of paper back on the counter. “Yeah, I’ll be right back.”
Grace looked at Amanda. “Do you know them?”
Amanda shook her head. “I’ve never seen them before.”
Grace forced a smile for Amanda, not so sure she liked watching Colton exchanging intricate handshakes with the men outside. “Uh, can you take these order sheets back to Aunt Maggie? And if you can set her up with another dozen boxes of the white candles, too, that would be great.”
Amanda took the sheet. “Definitely.”
Grace pretended to work as her gaze wandered to the window, watching as Colton spoke to the two men who screamed trouble.
It wasn’t necessarily that one of the guy’s hoodies said GIVER OF ZERO FUCKS in bold white font or that the other had skeletons and other creepy tattoos on every square inch of his exposed skin. It was their overall vibe.
She recognized bad news when she saw it. Her older brother had made her wary and wise to the rougher side of life. Before his death, Logan had become the type of bad influence Jessica wanted to keep Colton away from.
The man with the tattoos and shaved head did most of the talking while Colton nodded and occasionally smiled.
Grace steamed out a breath because nothing about this seemed good.
Colton was doing so well here in Preston Valley. His grades were excellent, and he was going to school every day. He was making new friends and seemed excited about his future after Dennis Fitch had told them last Friday afternoon that he would make sure Colton’s current case disappeared and he would also expedite the expungement of his record. The last thing he needed was old acquaintances popping back up in his life.
Everything about the current situation felt sickeningly familiar. Logan had had the friends he’d grown up with—the ones who had made his life better. And then there was the group who had actively helped him spiral.
Every time Logan had started to turn things around, the scum would return to pull him back down. She wasn’t about to let that happen to Colton.
She moved to find out what was going on as Colton knuckle-bumped both men, then turned and came back inside. “Is everything okay?”
Colton nodded. “Yeah.”
She held his gaze before he looked down. “Who are they?”
“Just a couple of guys I know from Millsdale.” He met her gaze again. “Everything’s good, Grace.”
She nodded, wanting to believe him, eager to ask more questions. But she didn’t want to push. Colton was starting to relax. His guard was mostly down around her and Jagger. “Okay. I’m going to get back to work.”
“I’ll call those customers.”
“Thanks.” She looked toward the window again, making certain that the men were gone, then went to help Aunt Maggie, glancing at the wall clock, relieved that Jagger would be home in just a couple more hours.
She’d promised Jagger she wouldn’t keep little or big things from him. And something about those two men reappearing in Colton’s life felt big.
Jagger switched the paper bag that held the dinner for three to his opposite arm as he adjusted his keys in his hand. Before he could get the key in the lock, Grace opened the door.
She smiled, wearing black yoga pants and one of his old gray sweatshirts. She’d pulled her hair back in a high ponytail. “Hey, stranger.”
He grinned, staring at the person he loved most in the world. “Hey, beautiful.”
She moved to let him in and shut the door behind him.
Setting the bag on the table, he dropped his carry-on and coat to the floor, then wrapped her up in a hug, kissing the top of her head. “I missed you.”
She returned his embrace, holding on tight. “I missed you, too.”
He eased her back enough to stare into her big blue eyes. “Where’s Colton?”
“In his room.”
“How was today?”
“Busy. But we got a great head start. We should have half the orders ready for the nine o’clock delivery tomorrow.”
“That’s great.” But he held her gaze because he knew she had more to tell him. “What’s going on?”
She sighed. “You know me too well.”
He tucked the loose strands of her hair behind her ear. “What’s up, Gracie?”
She sighed again. “Colton had a couple of visitors today. At the shop. They talked outside, so I have no idea what was said, but I didn’t like it.”
He frowned. “Who were they?”
She shrugged. “He didn’t say. Just that he knew them from Millsdale. I didn’t want to push too much since he’s finally starting to open up. But they’re trouble. They reminded me a lot of Logan’s old friends—and not the ones from Sheraton Prep.”
Jagger blew out a breath, wanting to change out of his slacks and button-down, but he wanted to know what was going on with Colton more. “Okay. Let’s have some dinner and see what’s what.”
She settled a halting hand on his arm before he could move. “But don’t push, Jagger.”
“I won’t,” he said as he started toward the kitchen.
“Wait.” She closed the distance between them, wrapping her arms around the back of his neck as she stood on her tiptoes, kissing him. “Thank you for grabbing dinner.”
He pulled her mouth back to his, forever craving her taste. “You’re welcome.”
She pressed her lips to his again. “I wish I could just say welcome home. This is the second time you’ve come back to complications.”
He rested his forehead against hers. “We’ll get stuff figured out.”
“Ugh,” Colton said as he moved down the hall. “I thought I heard your voice. Why am I not surprised to see you two hanging all over each other?”
Jagger eased away. “How about you grab the bag over on the entryway table, and I’ll get some plates?”
Colton changed directions, heading for the bag instead of the kitchen. “Sure.”
“I made a salad to go with dinner,” Grace said as she walked to the fridge. “And what does everyone want to drink?”
“I’m good with water,” Jagger said.
“Me, too,” Colton added.
Minutes later, they sat at the table, silently eating the thick sandwiches and truffle potato chips he’d grabbed at Myra’s Gourmet.
“I heard you playing the guitar,” Grace finally said to Colton. “You’re very good.”
He shrugged. “I haven’t played for a while, so I’m a little rusty.”
Grace raised her brow. “If that’s rusty, I’m looking forward to hearing you at your best because I couldn’t tell.”
“Thanks.”
“So, it sounds like it’s been busy around here,” Jagger said as he reached for the salad dressing, ready to move past the small talk and steer their conversation to where he and Grace wanted it to go. “What’s been going on while I’ve been gone?”
