Eight Years Gone, page 40
She jerked her shoulders. “We’ll decorate the tree together next year.”
He pulled her against him, wrapping her up in a hug. “I’m sorry, Gracie.”
She stood stiff in his arms for the briefest of seconds before she returned his embrace. “I know you have a job to do. I know all of this is for Colton.”
He held her tighter, sliding his hand up and down her back. “You’re always stuck in the middle. Constantly, Grace.”
“I’ll get over it.” She eased back, wiping at her cheek again. “We should get inside so we can start the movie. Colton and Amanda picked Elf.”
“That’s a good one.”
She nodded as she started toward the stairs. “It is—”
He snagged her hand before she could walk up the first step, aware that the air wasn’t entirely clear between them. “I’m home tomorrow. All day. I promise.”
“Yeah, but I’m not. I’m working at the shop.”
He pulled her back against him, needing to hold her. “But we’re doing the Toys for Tots fair tomorrow night, right?”
She nodded. “That’s the plan.”
“We’ll have some fun helping the kids. Together.”
She sighed, locking her wrists at the back of his neck. “That sounds good.”
He tucked her hair behind her ear. “This is almost over.”
Or he needed to believe that was true. Because even though he knew Jimmy and Greg’s shopping trip had been a load of bullshit, he also had no idea what to make of it. When he’d stopped in Millsdale to show Rod the pictures he’d captured throughout the afternoon, the PI had been at a loss too.
She nodded.
“I’m sorry, Gracie. Truly.” He kissed her. “Are we good?”
She brought her lips back to his. “We’re good.”
“Give me a minute to change into something comfortable. I’ll meet you at the couch, so we can snuggle up and enjoy the movie.”
“It’s a date.” She smiled, capturing his hand as they started up the steps. “I’ll make everyone some popcorn.”
Fifty-One
Grace printed out her final invoice before she shut down Simplicity’s front counter computer. After a long day of preparing dozens of table arrangements for three different Christmas parties, plus handling the everyday orders and deliveries, she was eager to get home. She and Jagger had a date tonight, and they were going to enjoy it.
It was true that she’d been upset last night when he didn’t make it home in time to help them with the tree, but today had been a new day, and this evening was full of its own possibilities.
Giving the shop a final once-over, she shut off the lights in the processing room, then locked up as dusk settled over Preston Valley.
Getting in the Sorento, she turned over the engine, backing up on the quieter than normal Main Street, starting the few blocks home.
A quick shower was a must because she intended to end her evening in bed with Jagger.
That had been the plan last night, too, but she and Jagger had woken up still snuggled on the couch when they heard the alarm going off in the bedroom early this morning.
They were both tired—burning the candle at both ends. But the next little while was just for them.
Pulling up in the driveway, she smiled as Jagger’s Stingray sat parked in its usual space, and the huge tree glowed beautifully in the big picture window.
“Things are good,” she whispered. Because, for the most part, they were.
Hurrying up the walkway, she stepped inside as Colton put on his jacket. He looked handsome in black ripped jeans and another one of his preferred plaid button-downs, covering a white T-shirt.
“Are you meeting up with Amanda?”
He zipped up. “Yeah, she’s picking me up. We’re grabbing some pizza with friends, then hanging out at the fair. Amanda told her mom we’d help with a couple of the booths since she’s the chairperson for the whole thing.”
Grace beamed, loving that Colton seemed mostly relaxed again—that he was eager to get back to the new life he was creating. “That’s great. Jagger and I shouldn’t be too far behind you. I want a shower and to change.”
“I’m sure I’ll see you around.”
“Have fun.”
“You, too.” He opened the door and was gone just as quickly when Amanda pulled up in front of the house.
She sighed, moving down to the office where the light was on.
Jagger clicked to a screen saver on his laptop as he turned his head, grinning as he sat at the desk. “Welcome home, beautiful.”
Her heart melted as she walked to where he sat, finding him sexy and gorgeous in jeans and a black sweater. “You got a haircut today.”
He nodded. “And I trimmed my beard.” He lifted his chin, turning his head from side to side.
“I like it.” She stroked her fingers along his jaw. “You look like you’re ready for the fair.”
“You better believe it,” he said, pulling her mouth down to his. “Tonight’s ours, baby.”
She hummed in her throat as she kissed him again. “I’m going to shower really quick. Give me fifteen minutes, and we can go.”
He winked. “Sure thing.”
She sent him a grin, then headed for the master bathroom, ready for a great night with the man she loved most in the world.
“Unbelievable,” Jagger muttered with a shake of his head as he rewatched the news footage Rod had sent over ten minutes ago via a link.
He’d been out and about for most of the day, Christmas shopping and enjoying a grueling workout at the gym, oblivious to what had transpired while he and Grace had accidentally slept on the couch all night.
He glanced at his phone as it started to ring, putting Jason on speaker while Grace showered down the hall.
It had been tempting to follow her to the bathroom and get them both off while they were naked and wet, but he wasn’t looking for a quickie with Grace. When he took her to bed later tonight, he intended to make up for a week of lonely nights.
“I take it Rod sent you the link too,” Jagger said, already knowing that’s why his boss was calling.
“I can’t believe how all of this is going down. Your timing yesterday was perfect. Fucking epic. Those shots you took were the money shots, man.”
Jagger grinned. “If I’m being honest, I couldn’t figure out what the hell was going on when I was tailing Jimmy and Greg. I should have known they were casing both places.”
“You have to be one of the luckiest bastards I know.”
Jagger chuckled, hitting replay on the surveillance footage that had been released to the media via the police, where a group of car thieves dressed in hoodies and jeans hopped out of the back of a rental truck in the wee hours of the morning. Ten masked men descended on the Mercedes dealership lot while another broke into the building to destroy the key safe.
Within moments, the most expensive cars were driven down the street and out of the cameras’ views, where they undoubtedly disappeared into shipping containers after their GPS devices were disabled. The same events played out at the Range Rover dealership an hour later.
According to the newscaster, law enforcement was optimistic that they would track down the dozen stolen vehicles, but it was highly likely they were already on their way to West Africa on a freighter.
“It’s a damn good thing Rod called me when he did,” Jagger said. “His informant came through for us big-time.”
“It seems like you have everything you need to wrap things up for the kid.”
Ultimately, Jason was right, even if there were more players Jagger wanted to take down. Because there was no way Ray’s people had pulled off a heist like the one he’d just witnessed without help. But he had enough to keep Colton safe, which was good enough for him. “I’ll pay Ray a visit first thing Monday morning.”
“You’ve put together one hell of a damning packet. I imagine good ol’ Ray will be shitting himself before he gets through half of what you have.”
“That’s the plan.” Because Colton would forever be one of Ray’s loose ends until this was finally finished.
“You’re good, Tennyson. Truly the best I’ve ever had on my payroll.”
“Rod was an integral part of this operation,” Jagger reminded Jason.
“Don’t play modest with me. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. If you ever change your mind and want back in on the regular contracts, all you have to do is call. I still have people asking for you. We’re waiting for you to come to your senses and get your ass back in the game.”
Jagger rolled his eyes as he rubbed at his jaw, listening to the same old spiel. “I’m not doing regular contracts. Grace and I are talking about starting a family.”
Jason puffed out a pained laugh. “Don’t say shit like that to me because it’s a damn shame, man. A fucking waste of everything you’re good at.”
“Says the eternal bachelor.”
“You’re damn straight. You can’t tell me you hated everything about your life overseas—that you didn’t love the hell out of that trip we took to Barcelona to meet up with our top client last year. The nightlife was fire.”
Jagger laughed, remembering how he’d had to mostly carry Jason back to his hotel room after his boss had gotten supremely drunk. “Those ladies drank you under the table. They owned you.”
“Says you.”
“Yeah, the sober one who actually remembers.” Jagger chuckled as he shook his head. “I won’t deny that there weren’t some excellent perks to the job—that we didn’t have some damn good times.”
“And you’re giving it up. Say goodbye to your freedom, man, because there’s no turning back once you and your lady decide to pop out a kid.”
Jagger turned in his seat, realizing Grace was standing in the doorway, looking gorgeous in snug jeans and a stylish red and white sweater. She’d pushed her hair back with a black headband that accentuated big blue eyes full of hurt.
Walking in, she yanked up her camera bag, then turned and left.
“I’ve gotta go,” he said, hanging up and rushing after her as he shoved his phone away. “Grace—”
She put on her black peacoat, tossing him a cool gaze. “I’m heading out.”
He took a step toward her. “I’m coming with you.”
“How about you don’t.” Opening the door, she closed it with a sharp snap and was gone.
Jagger paid his entrance fee at the doors of the high school gym, hoping that an hour had been enough time for Grace to cool off.
Grace rarely got super pissed, but tonight she’d had every right to be. She’d walked in on a conversation that had sounded like he was second-guessing his decision to give up his overseas life. But that was the farthest thing from the truth.
Eager to find her, he navigated around several young families, spotting Grace among the crowds and the numerous activity booths. She held her camera, crouching down to snap a picture of a toddler walking around with more of the chocolate cupcake he was eating smeared on his face than was making it into his mouth.
The toddler’s mother said something to Grace, making her smile. But it wasn’t her real smile—not her gorgeous grin that she often flashed when all was right with her world.
Because he hadn’t just made Grace angry, he’d also made her sad.
She stood, walking to Santa’s workshop, where Ben, dressed up to play the man in red, sat on an ornate throne, holding a five- or six-year-old little girl on his lap.
Grace put the camera in front of her face, snapping a picture of Christy dressed in a green elf’s costume, donning red striped tights and curly-tipped shoes.
Suddenly, Christy walked forward, grabbing Grace’s hand as she said something, pulling her toward Santa’s throne as the little girl vacated her spot on Ben’s thigh.
Christy tugged her friend on Ben’s lap as she spoke to Grace.
Ben wrapped his arm around Grace’s waist, saying something that made her laugh—the kind of laugh Jagger hadn’t heard in a while.
Moments later, Grace stood as Ben did, hugging him before she and her two friends walked off to make their way through the crowd to join Brennan and Mike at the cookie-decorating table.
Brennan waved Grace over to look at his creation.
She knelt at his side, grinning with bright eyes as she nodded enthusiastically at whatever he was telling her.
“Fuck,” Jagger muttered, knowing that if he walked to where Grace spoke to Brennan, her smile would disappear. He would ruin her night all over again.
Turning around, he headed for the door, wanting her to have fun. No one deserved it more than she did.
When she got home, they were going to talk. He wasn’t about to lose the most important person in his life. They’d worked too damn hard over the last couple of months to get back to where they’d been.
Fifty-Two
Grace drove toward the house with Colton in her passenger seat after Amanda had been asked to take her little sister home early. “I’m sorry your night got cut short.”
Colton shrugged. “I’m fine with it. Britney definitely wasn’t feeling good.”
Grace winced, remembering how the little girl had cried in Amanda’s arms as she and Colton walked Amanda to her car. “Five iced cookies for a four-year-old is probably pushing the limit.”
Colton nodded. “I thought Britney was going to puke when Amanda was buckling her into her car seat. I held my breath the entire time. I really thought Amanda was going to wear it.”
Grace laughed. “Hopefully, they made it home without any issues.”
“They did. Amanda texted me a few minutes ago. Britney’s already tucked in with a trash can by the bed.”
“That’s good.”
Colton got more comfortable in his seat. “So, where’s Jagger? I thought you two were coming to the fair together.”
She felt her smile dim as she thought of Jagger’s conversation with his boss. Their chummy reminiscing and Jason’s warnings to Jagger about losing his freedom when she and him “popped out a kid” had taken her completely by surprise.
Not all that long ago, Jagger had assured her that he didn’t want to live the overseas lifestyle anymore, but as she’d taken her pictures at the fair tonight, it had been hard not to wonder if he’d changed his mind.
“He ended up having something else to do,” she fibbed.
“You guys are fighting. Because of me.”
Grace adamantly shook her head as she took her eyes off the road long enough to look at her brother. “No—”
Colton huffed out an unamused laugh. “One of the things I like best about being here with you and Jagger is that you don’t bullshit me. You don’t treat me like I’m some stupid kid. You two were just fine before Jimmy and Greg showed up at the shop.”
She sighed because that was true. But it also wasn’t that simple. Especially after what she’d heard tonight. “All right. We had a fight. But it’s not because of you. Things are hard all the way around right now.”
“Which is because of me.”
She shook her head again. “Nothing that’s going on is your fault. You took a job to make some extra money. You didn’t ask to get caught up in a car theft ring.”
“No, I didn’t.” He sat back in his seat. “All of this sucks.”
She nodded as she turned onto Summer Street. “It does. But that doesn’t mean it’s your fault.”
“Well, I hope you guys can fix things. You and Jagger are good together. Someday when I’m old like the two of you, I want a relationship like you guys have.”
She huffed out a laugh as she pulled into the driveway. “I think there was a compliment in there somewhere.”
He smiled at her.
She smiled back, aware that he was teasing her, trying to cheer her up. “We’re not that old.”
He shrugged. “You’re almost thirty.”
She held his gaze. “Which isn’t old.”
He jerked his shoulders again. “It’s practically middle age.”
She wanted to smile again as her eyes wandered to the Christmas tree still glowing in the window, but her stomach grew queasy instead. “Jagger and I are going to be fine. It’s just a rough patch,” she said mostly to herself as she and Colton got out of the Sorento.
Jagger looked up from his seat on the couch as Colton and Grace walked through the front door. He dropped his feet from the coffee table as he raised the remote, shutting off the TV.
Colton looked from Jagger to Grace. “I’m going to bed.”
Jagger nodded as he stood, aware that Colton was bowing out of the evening, even when it was barely nine thirty.
“Good night,” he and Grace said as Colton disappeared down the hall.
Tension hung heavy in the room while Grace put her coat away in the closet.
“Can we talk?” he asked, not quite sure how to navigate their current situation. Grace had never been upset enough to walk out on him before.
She turned, holding his stare as she closed the distance between them, stopping in front of him.
He exhaled a long breath as another wave of guilt ate at him. “I hate that your eyes look like that because of me. Guarded. Sad.”
She dropped her gaze, staring at the floor as she sniffled.
“Gracie.” He captured her hand, tugging her closer. “I’m sorry.”
She shook her head.
He stroked his finger along her jaw, gently nudging her chin until their eyes met. “I’m sorry.”
She exhaled a shaky breath. “Are you unhappy?”
“No.” He sighed as he sat on the couch, tugging her down to his lap, loathing that they were back here again.
He’d worked so damn hard over the last three months to show her that the life they were building was everything he needed. But a few careless words spoken on speakerphone had rightfully made her question where they stood. “You heard a seriously shitty conversation.”
She huffed out a breath. “Yes, I did.”
He hooked his arm around her hips, pulling her closer. “I wish I hadn’t turned in the chair when I did because you would have heard me tell Jason that my life has only gotten better since I’ve come home. I don’t feel like I’m giving up anything, especially not my freedom. I want the marriage and babies package with you, Grace.”
