Betting on Grace (34 page)

Authors: Nicole Edwards

BOOK: Betting on Grace

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Epilogue

The middle of October

“Exactly
why
do you have so much shit?” Lane
smarted off as he helped Grant carry some of the boxes from the back of his
truck.

Grace held her coffee mug with both hands as she stood
on the front porch watching the two men.

She still couldn’t believe this was happening. They
were both moving in with her today. It had been almost two months since Grace
had sprung the news on her father that she was in love with two men and that
they loved her. In the days that had followed, with business booming and the
days getting shorter, Grace had been able to spend a little more time with Lane
and Grant than was normal for them.

In fact, they’d actually started dating. What a
strange concept that was, especially since their relationship had started off
mostly on a sexual level. Since they’d officially come out, Lane and Grant had
taken her to the movies twice, to the local dance hall once, to the bowling
alley — which they both promised never to do again because she had creamed them
at bowling — and then to a local fair that had been set up in the neighboring
town.

“Just get another box and quit complainin’,” Grant
demanded with a rough chuckle when he and Lane returned from inside the house.

“It would help if you weren’t a damn hoarder,” Lane
remarked, making Grace laugh again. She loved listening to them give each other
a hard time.

She had to admit that dating them was fun, but this
was even better.

On the nights they stayed over at her place, Grace
rarely got any sleep, but she couldn’t very well complain since she was often
the one to wake them up in the middle of the night trying to feel them up. That
was when the real fun began.

But over the course of the last two weeks, they hadn’t
been able to spend nearly enough time alone. Enough being the key word. Grace
wanted to spend every available minute with them. Sure, they made a point to
have dinner together every night, if possible, but even that had been
interrupted by the sheer number of guests who had converged on the ranch. As it
turned out, Hope had come up with a Halloween-themed adventure, and people from
all over were coming to stay just to check it out. That left very little time
for them to enjoy much alone time.

The sound of horns honking had Grace turning away from
the two sexy cowboys currently lifting boxes out of Grant’s truck in time to
see Hope’s and Faith’s trucks pulling up in front of her house.

Great. To what did she owe this honor?

“Hey! We thought we’d come help,” Trin said when she
hopped out of the passenger side of Hope’s black Chevy.

“Oh, my goodness!” Grace squealed when she noticed the
little girl who followed closely behind her. “Maddie! What’re you doin’ here?”

Grace placed her coffee cup on the railing and made her
way down the steps in time to reach out and catch the little girl who
practically propelled herself into Grace’s arms.

“My daddy and I came to stay again. This time we’re
gonna be here for a month.”

“A whole month?” Grace asked, intrigued.

“Yep,” Maddie answered.

“Ben surprised her,” Hope said as she ambled over.
“Hell, he surprised us all,” Hope added under her breath, a smile tipping the
corners of her lips.

Yeah, it was safe to say that Hope was happy about
that, although it was clear she didn’t want anyone else to know it.

“What’re y’all doin’ standin’ around?” Mercy nagged as
she passed by, a box in her hand. “You said we were comin’ to help them move
in.”

Grace looked at Hope, studying her. “Y’all wanna
help?”

Grace wasn’t sure why she was so shocked. Her sisters
had actually accepted the fact that Gracie was dating Lane and Grant rather
easily. Oh, she’d been bombarded with questions, especially from Faith, who
just couldn’t fathom how that worked.

“Why not? We didn’t have anything better to do,” Hope
lied.

Grace knew that there was always something to do at
the ranch, especially now with the holiday festivities underway. And she wasn’t
just referring to the Halloween spectacle, either. They were gearing up for
Thanksgiving and Christmas, as well.

Grace just wanted to get through October first. Then
she’d worry about the rest of the year.

Glancing up at the sound of more tires crunching on
gravel, Grace noticed her father pulling up in his SUV, Jan riding shotgun.

“Is this a family reunion of some sort?” Lane asked as
he came to stand beside Grace.

“I had no idea they were comin’, but I’m not gonna
complain if they wanna help y’all move your stuff in.”

Lane placed his arm around Grace’s shoulders, pulling
her to his side at the same time Grant walked up to her other side. Grant
slipped his hand into hers, twining their fingers together as the three of them
watched her father approach. Her sisters had stopped moving, too, and Grace
wondered if they were thinking the same thing she was: Is this the part where
he tells them that he’ll break their legs if they hurt her?

“What’s everyone standin’ around for?” Jerry asked,
carrying a plastic sack in one hand and a brown paper bag in the other. “The
faster y’all get that thing unloaded, the sooner we can eat.”

Grace grinned back at him. “I’m with you, Dad. What’re
y’all standin’ around for?” she asked Lane and Grant.

A chorus of laughter erupted, and then everyone
started talking at once, Faith, Trinity, and Mercy following Grant and Lane
back to the truck while Jerry and Jan remained with her, along with Hope and
Maddie.

“We brought food, in case you couldn’t tell,” Jan
added with a beautiful smile.

Grace was happy she was there. In the last few weeks,
they’d seen a lot more of Jan. She came to Sunday dinner occasionally, but not
as often as Jerry would like mainly because Mercy was still being a royal pain
in the ass where Jan was concerned. Grace didn’t know what Mercy’s deal was,
but she’d effectively managed to isolate herself from everyone.

No matter what Grace tried to tell her, she couldn’t
get Mercy to open up. She just prayed that one day Mercy would come around. But
they weren’t willing to beg her. Well, at least no one but Cody, it seemed.

“Good grief, man. Next time you move, I ain’t
helpin’,” Lane teased Grant as they made their way up the steps.

“This is the last of it,” Faith called out as she
stopped beside them. “What are y’all waitin’ on?”

The rest of them turned, with Grace leading the way
inside. Once there, she heard the screen door slam shut, followed by her father
saying, “So, when are y’all gonna make an honest woman outta my Gracie?”

Oh, Lord.

Acknowledgments

As always, I couldn’t do this without the incredible
support from my family. The fact that you are all on this journey with me makes
it that much more incredible. Thank you!

I’d like to thank all of the blogs who’ve supported me
in my endeavors. I wouldn’t be where I am without you. I could never list all
of the names because I know without a doubt that I’d miss some. But you know
who you are. Colt and I are forever indebted to you.

Nicole Nation 2.0 – Ladies, I have to tell you that as
I continue to go along, and the more time I find myself lacking, I have to say
thank you for your understanding. Y’all lift my spirits and keep me motivated.
As I’ve said many times, your support is humbling. I love you all!

About the Author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Nicole Edwards lives
in Austin, Texas with her husband, their three kids, and four rambunctious
dogs. When she’s not writing about sexy alpha males, Nicole can often be found
with her Kindle in hand or making an attempt to keep the dogs happy. You can
find her hanging out on Facebook and interacting with her readers - even when
she’s supposed to be writing.

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