Aging with Gracie (24 page)

Grace tried to deal with the reality of the situation, but she was finally overwhelmed with emotion. Her father looked to be in a similar state.

Parents were like that, she supposed. They worried themselves sick about their children...especially those who were crazy enough to run into burning buildings. Knowing that the residents were okay, though, cemented it in her mind that she would have done the same thing again. She would have done almost anything to take care of those residents.

They were
her
residents…her family.

The thought was humbling because Grace knew for certain that they would have done the same thing for her...that they
had
taken care of her during that dark hour. Not only had Theo, in his own perfect way, watched over her during the fire, but the rest of the residents had cared for her and influenced her over the past months in ways that far exceeded anything that she had done for them.

“Where is Mother?” Grace asked. “Is she here?”

Grace knew that her mother would drive her crazy fussing over things, but she needed her. Even though Evelyn had a tendency to try and manage her daughter’s life, Grace loved her senseless.

“She walked down to the cafeteria with two of those women from Mansfield Park.”

“What women?”

“Marianne and Elinor? Does that sound right?”

“Are you kidding me?” Grace started to shake her head in disbelief, but the action made the place above her ear throb like the dickens.

“They’re staying with one of Marianne’s sons over on Collier.”

“So Theodore is really okay?”

“They even brought him along from what I hear. The son’s staying home with him while Marianne visits here.”

“Those women will never cease to amaze me,” she told him. “Do you know how old they are?”

“Grace, surely you’ve learned by now that age has little to do with living an active life. Some people just know how it should be done.”

He watched her in silence then. It was as if he seemed to think that somehow, she would lapse back into the coma that had almost taken her from all of them.

“Mind if I step out to grab a cup of coffee? I can let your Mama know you’re awake.” He stood and performed a half-hearted stretch.

“Sure, Daddy.” She held out her hand. “Thank you for being here.”

“You’re welcome, Sugar Plum.” He gave her knuckles a quick kiss. “You know, there’s a fellow who’s been waiting to see you since they brought you here. Almost a week now.”

“Jack.”

Just the thought of him sent a pain through Grace’s heart. She closed her eyes and tried to rid her mind of the image of the kiss she had witnessed.

“You wanna’ see him?”

She shrugged. She really wasn’t sure what she wanted when it came to Jack. Of course she wanted to be with him, but she had already resigned herself to the fact that he would be better off with Susan.

She had enough to deal with trying to absorb everything that had happened over the past week. Grace wasn’t sure she could handle the confrontation, but she also knew that a part of her had to see him. After all, she still loved him.

“I guess you can send him in.”

She struggled to sit back up in bed. For a moment, she wished for a mirror, but she decided against asking for one. Instinctively, she knew what he would see. A pale, ghostlike form. A frizzy, half-bald head. Chapped lips. Dark circles under her eyes. She figured that it didn’t matter how she looked, anyway. He could take it or leave it.

Less than a minute after her father left the room, Jack walked in. Grace was shocked at how he looked. And she had been worried about her own appearance! For crying out loud! Jack looked awful!

His pale blue eyes were the only sign of life in his beautiful face. He had several days’ growth of a coal-black beard, and his hair was damp, as if he’d recently taken a shower and rushed back to the hospital. He was wearing a faded sweatshirt that had seen better days, a pair of worn jeans, and his running shoes.

“Gracie.” His voice was hoarse, much like hers.

“Hi, Jack,” she whispered.

The sight of him hurt her. As much as she still loved him, she was still bombarded with memories. She found herself at a loss for words.

“Princess, I’m so sorry that this happened to you.” For a second, he reached out his hand as if he wanted to touch her. Instead, he sat on the edge of her bed with his knee bent and clasped his hands in front of him. “I should have been there.”

“It’s not your fault, Jack,” she told him.

“If I’d only...”

“Let’s not talk about
ifs
, okay?” Although her voice was gentle, the firm look she sent his way made her point. “It won’t change anything. The only people to blame for this are Richard Watson and Agatha North.”

“They’re in jail, you know.”

“I hadn’t heard,” she said. “It’s been kind of a hectic ten minutes since I woke up.”

“I’m sorry, Gracie.”

“I remember hearing your voice, Jack,” she told him with tears in her eyes. “I know that you were the one who got me out of the fire.”

“But if I’d only gotten there sooner.” He reached a hand toward her hair, but then stopped when he realized that it might cause her more pain.

“They shaved my head,” she said matter-of-factly. “What do you think?”

“I’ve already seen it, Gracie,” he told her. “It doesn’t matter about your hair, Gracie. I wouldn’t care if you were bald.”

“My mother probably has a different opinion.”

“I think you’re wrong,” he told her. “She’s been very worried. Like the rest of us, she’s hardly left your side.”

“Really?”

“Really,” he nodded. “All of us have been here since shortly after you arrived. We’ve been waiting for you to give us some sign that you were coming back to us.”

“Well, I guess I’m tougher than all of you thought,” she smiled. “Of course, not tough enough that I still didn’t need you to save the damsel in distress one last time, right?”

“I would do it again, Gracie.” He placed his hand on her knee as if he needed some contact, some bond, with her.

“I suppose Susan isn’t as fond of your Knight-in-Shining-Armor routine as I am,” Grace guessed. “I’ve come to depend on it, you know.”

“Susan is nothing to me, Gracie.” Jack reached for her hand but Grace moved it away. “We dated for a few months a couple of years ago, but I haven’t seen her since until the day of the party. You’re the woman I love.”

She closed her eyes on the feelings his words evoked. She couldn’t do this right now. She knew that she and Jack needed to talk about what had happened, but it was too soon. It hurt too much.

“Please, Gracie, let me tell you that I’m sorry,” his voice sank, and the sound of it pricked her heart. “I know that you were hurt when Susan showed up, but I tried to explain. We’re not─”

“─Don’t, Jack.”

“But...”

“Jack, I’m sure that you know what my feelings are for you,’ Grace said through her tears. She put her hand on his rough cheek. “I was going to tell you that night. I’m in love with you. Do you hear me? I love you.”

“I love you too,” he began, but she raised her hand to cut him off.

“And I still love you, Jack,” she explained, “But seeing you with Susan hurt so badly. It broke my heart. I just can’t deal with all of that right now. It’s too overwhelming for me.”

“But we
will
deal with it, Gracie?” He looked deep into her eyes and saw the answer through her tears. “You will give me a chance to explain…to win you back?”

Jack reached down and rubbed his thumb along her lower lip. Before she had time to voice a protest, he pulled a tube of lip balm from his pocket and dabbed it against her lips.

“Sorry,” he gave her a sheepish grin. “It’s become a habit over the past few days.”

She took his hand and kissed his knuckles.

“Thank you, Jack,” she told him. “I can never thank you enough for saving my life.”

“I couldn’t lose you, Gracie.” He bent down and touched her lips with his. “I won’t lose you,” he promised as he stood up from his perch on the bed.

“I really appreciate you being here, Jack, but I think that it would be best if you left.” Hot, salty tears rolled silently down Grace’s face as she made the request.

“I’ll go for now, but don’t forget that I love you, Gracie,” Jack whispered. “Don’t forget that.”

Grace was unsure how she convinced herself to send him away, but it had been necessary. She had to put her feelings for Jack on hold for now. The hurt was too real. Too new.

There were other issues to deal with, as well. First, she had to see for herself that her Manhattanites were okay. Then, she had to check out the damage at Mansfield Park and make sure that everyone had a safe place to stay. She would just have to see how things with Jack went after that.

Jack stood in the doorway and watched as Grace turned her head toward her window. He knew that she could feel his stare, and he willed her to turn around. To welcome him back into her arms. He stood there for the longest minute of his life waiting, hoping, that she would change her mind. She didn’t, though, and he finally walked away.

Grace heard the door close, but she did not look back. She simply closed her eyes on the pain. The bright sunlight coming through the blinds was torture on her headache, but it was nothing compared to the pain of letting Jack go.

Chapter Fourteen

A Novel Plan

For the next three weeks Jack moped around Mansfield Park organizing the clean-up and generally being a bear to anyone who approached him. Davey and the rest of the crew had taken to leaving him voice messages in order to steer clear of his moodiness.

His own grandmother was still miffed at him, as well, because of the Open House debacle with Susan. She and his grandfather had moved into their new house a week ago, and she hadn’t even invited him over for a bite of her home-cooking! It wasn’t his fault that Susan had kissed him! Couldn’t anyone see that? Couldn’t Grace see that?

The only people talking to him were his grandfather and a couple of the residents...Marianne and Elinor, in particular. Each day, they gave him updates on Grace’s condition. Of course, they usually told him nothing that he didn’t already know. He called her father twice a day to check on her himself...and to see if she would speak with him. So far, she hadn’t.

He cringed as he smashed his thumb between the ice cream maker and the wall. He was working in that part of the building today. Marianne had taken the job of re-organizing the parlor under her wing, and the older woman had been flitting around the space all morning. She’d just ordered him to move the machine an inch to the right...hence, his throbbing thumb.

“This was Grace’s special project,” she’d announced a week ago, “And I’ll not have her coming back to a mess.”

Grace’s little project
, Jack thought.
As if the entire place hadn’t been a special project for her
.

He’d discovered that Grace was like that. She ended up taking everyone under her wing…at the cost of her own self.

He agreed with Marianne, though. The place had to be perfect when Grace came back. He would make sure everything was back to order. It was the least he could do after all the trouble he’d inadvertently caused.

Fortunately, the only structural damage the residence had sustained during the fire had been to a common hallway and to the Ice Cream Parlor. They’d had to replace the tile flooring and redo the walls, but overall, things were back to normal. The appliances, bistro tables, and chairs were fine, as well. It had been one of the heavy marble tables that Jack had lifted from Grace’s unmoving form the night of the fire. He’d wanted to cart them all away, but Marianne had refused to let him. She’d argued that doing so would make Grace “mad as a hornet.”

Jack sat down in one of the tall chairs and brushed his hand across the smooth tabletop. As he stared at the muted green swirls, he tried to imagine what he would have done had he lost Grace that night. Not speaking to her was hard enough as it was, but to know that he might have never seen her face again...well, the thought of that was almost too much to bear.

He clenched his hand into a fist and grimaced as pain shot through his thumb. He felt a pat on his shoulder and turned around to find Marianne’s eyes watching him closely.

“She’s
coming back, you know,” she told him.

“Did she tell you that?” he asked.

“No,” she shook her head and walked around to the other side of the table. Lithe as a ballerina, she slipped into the seat. “Grace didn’t tell me that. In fact, when I spoke to her this morning, she was still considering the move to Tuscan.”

“There’s no way I’ll let her go.” Jack slammed his hand down onto the table.

“And how do you plan on stopping her, Jack Ellis?” Marianne asked. “From what I hear, she won’t even speak to you.”

“I’ve tried!” Frustrated, he dropped his head back and ran a hand through his already disheveled hair. “I call twice a day, but she won’t take my calls. I’ve thought about just driving down there, but I didn’t want to jeopardize her recovery.”

“Please,” Marianne muttered. “The only trouble she’s having with her recovery is trying to figure out how to cover up that bald spot on the side of her head!”

Jack’s anxiety began to ease with Marianne’s declaration.