Finding Gracie's Rainbow (26 page)

“
I’ll be in the living
room if you need anything.” He looked down at the code she was
writing on a pad next to her. “Your family is ready to go, but I
thought you might want to say good night to them.”

“
I’ll be there in one
minute. I just need to finish this paragraph.” Gracie still didn't
look up as he left.

Annie waited for Jackson to
walk into the living room and asked him one question in front of
Gracie’s family. “Why don’t you just tell her that she told you
that she loved you?”

“
Because she was a little
drunk when she said it.” Jackson glared at her as Gracie had walked
into the room and heard her. He looked over at Gracie and saw the
look on her face. “I told you she had a big mouth.”

“
It sounds like I had a
big mouth.” Gracie saw the looks her family had shot her. “Before
anybody asks, I don’t remember saying that and like Jackson said I
was drunk. I just came in to tell everybody good night because
Jackson said you were about to leave.” Gracie turned away from
them. “Have Bea come to me when she’s through with her
shower.”

She picked up the coffee
that Jackson had brought to her and took a sip as she started
pouring through the rest of the chapter as thoughts about the
conversation kept popping into her head. She needed to push it to
the back of her mind if she wanted to accomplish anything, and she
was about there as Bea came into her room.

Gracie smiled when Bea
brought her the hairbrush, and they sat down on Gracie’s bed while
she brushed her daughter’s hair. “Did you enjoy your
party?”

“
It was the best.” Bea
answered happily as she sat there. “I got a new movie that we can
watch after church tomorrow.”

“
That sounds like a plan,”
Gracie could hear the happiness dripping from her voice. “Annie is
going with you tomorrow. I have to work tonight, but you can wake
me when you get back.”

“
Work at night?” Bea
turned to her as they stood to walk to Bea’s bedroom.

“
Yes, there's something I
have to finish.” Gracie pulled the covers down as Bea slid into her
bed. She listened to her say her prayers and then kissed her on the
cheek before she left the room. Jackson looked up from the couch as
he watched Gracie walk to her own bedroom again.

Gracie never left her room
again as she concentrated on the task before her. She knew that
Jackson had walked in a couple of times during the night to refill
her coffee cup as she continued to work. She had forgotten how easy
it was to zone out as she wrote, letting herself into the fantasy
world that she had developed a long time ago. After she finished
reading, she wrote two different endings in which she would make
the decision as to which one she would send in to Mr. Foster.
Gracie found herself stifling yawns as she printed them out and
glanced at the clock noticing that it was already five-thirty in
the morning. She stood to stretch and take a break from sitting in
the chair.

Gracie caught herself
looking longingly at her bed as the noise from the printer was not
helping her to stay awake. She started pacing as she watched one
page after another come out of the printer and started pondering
how the printer actually worked. Shaking her head, she realized the
printer was through with the first rough draft, and she then sent
the other version to the printer as she started to read. She took
out her red pen and started proofing it as Jackson walked back into
the room.

“
How’s it going?” He asked
as he watched her making corrections.

“
It’s going.” Gracie
mumbled as she continued to fight the sleep that was threatening to
take her over. “I'm printing off the last of it now.”

“
Want a refill?” He
noticed that her mug was empty as he watched her work.

“
No, I’m good.” Gracie
said as she finished the copy she held in her hand. She laid that
one down and picked up the one that had finally finished printing.
She caught herself smiling as she read that one, and it made her
choice fairly easy. “All done,” she put a rubber band around that
one and laid it on her desk as looked at the bed. “Time to sleep.
Good night, Jackson.”

“
Good morning, Gracie.” He
walked out of her room and headed to the couch where he had no
problem heading off to sleep.

Chapter 12

Gracie looked over as
Addison finished faxing the final chapters that Gracie had handed
to her first thing Monday morning. She was done with it and wanted
nothing else to do with the book. Picking up the phone next to her
computer, she returned the calls from Saturday; watching while
Addison started to read the papers she held. In between phone
calls, Gracie scolded her friend. “Never read the ending before the
beginning, Addie.” Gracie went back to her calls after she walked
over to take the papers while giving Addison a stern look. She
pointed to the box giving her permission to start at the beginning
as she mouthed that she was to read it on her own time.

Addison walked out of the
office, smiling as she carried the box away. She sat down at the
desk and answered the phone. Glancing towards the office, she
buzzed Gracie on the intercom to let her know that it was Bea’s
school calling.

“
Hello?” Gracie answered
after she had picked up the phone.

“
Gracie, I hate to be the
one making this phone call, but we have a bit of a problem
here.”

“
Who is this? Terry?”
Gracie tried to remain calm as she asked. “Is Bea alright?” She
didn't like the hesitation in the principal’s words.

“
Your ex-husband came and
took Bea.” Terry had already called the cops. “We had no paperwork
here saying that he wasn’t allowed to take her.”

“
But you know what the
deal is.” Gracie stood as the panic started to take her over.
“Where did he take her?”

“
I don’t know.” Terry
answered her honestly. “I called the police but without the
paperwork. . .”

“
There was nothing you
could do. Thanks, Terry.” She hung up and immediately called
Jackson without thinking. By the time he came to the phone, she was
already crying, and he could only make out bits and pieces of her
conversation.

He told her to stay where
she was and to stay on the line. Jackson talked to his partners and
came back onto the line to tell her that he was on the way to her
office.

Addison had been watching
her through the window and immediately walked into the office
sensing that something was amiss. Watching as Gracie paced the
floor with tears streaming down her face, Addison sat down at the
desk.

“
He took her!” Gracie
stated gulping for air. “He took my baby.”

“
Who?” Addison didn't know
what to do for her.

“
Mark.” Gracie watched the
doors for Jackson as she tried to calm down. “Why did he take her?”
She continued to pace as she remembered the way Mark had beaten her
before Bea was born.

All Addison could do was
watch and listen to her. She stood up walking towards the doors of
the office. “I'm going to cancel all of your appointments for
today. Did you call somebody?”

“
I called Jackson.” Gracie
looked at Addison through her tears. “My family needs to
know.”

“
I’ll call Kim, so she can
let everybody else know. Is there anything I can do for you?”
Addison watched as Gracie started to turn white as a
ghost.

“
Find out why he wasn’t in
jail.” Gracie said wondering how long it would be before she heard
from her ex-husband.

“
I’ll find out what I
can.” Addison walked out of the office as Jackson marched in, going
directly to Gracie.

He took her in his arms as
she cried. He tried very hard to try to calm her down as they stood
there.

“
What do I do now?” Gracie
tried very hard to stop crying as she thought about her daughter.
“What if he beats her?”

“
Don’t think about that,
Gracie.” Jackson had thought the same thing as he drove from across
town. “I called a detective friend of mine, and he's working on
this right now.” He rubbed her back as he saw the panic in her
eyes. “Steven went over to the school to find out everything he
could from Terry and Bea’s teacher.”

Gracie’s cell phone rang as
he talked, and she took it out of her pocket staring at it as she
tried to compose herself. “Where are you?” She had steeled her
voice when she heard Mark’s voice. Jackson watched as Gracie sat
down behind her desk and started writing. “I don’t have that kind
of money lying around, Mark.” She flipped the phone shut and looked
up at Jackson while opening her desk drawer. Taking the check that
Mr. Foster had given to her for her manuscript, she turned it over
and endorsed it.

Jackson watched as Gracie
stared at it. “Gracie. . . Don't. We'll find her.”

“
Before or after he lays a
hand on her?” Gracie picked up her purse, dropping the check into
it. “I have to protect her, and this is what he wants.”

“
Did he give you a meeting
place?” Jackson stopped her before she made it to the
door.

Looking at him, Gracie
handed over the sheet of paper where she had written the
information. He started dialing his own phone as he read it. He
gave the detective the information that Gracie had given him and
then turned back to her after he hung up. “Sit down.”

He shut the door and spoke
out of concern. “There is no such place. I have a feeling that he
was going to meet you at the bank.” Jackson knelt down in front of
her. “He was setting you up. Hand me the check.” He took the check
from her and folded it as he stood. After placing it in his wallet
for safekeeping, he looked down at her. “The police can do
something now because you just received a ransom call.”

“
Kidnapping.” She started
to feel the tears start again as Jackson motioned for Addison to
come back into the office.

He explained to Addison of
what had just happened and told her where he was taking Gracie.
Addison hugged Gracie tightly before she left as she cried inside
for her.

After Gracie had left with
Jackson, Addison called a quick staff meeting to inform her
coworkers what had just happened in the office as she had Mr.
Foster on the speakerphone. Mr. Foster was flying down to handle
the office while Gracie tried to deal with the blow that had
presented itself. Salem Foster was a rare breed and treated his
staff like his family.

~

Steven drove over to his
mother’s house in a fog as he remembered everything that Terry had
told him. Jackson had called while he was in Terry’s office and
Steven had put the phone on speaker so they could all hear what was
being said.

He knew that Gracie was
torn up about what happened, and he was extremely grateful that
Jackson had thought to take her to Janet’s house.

Gracie looked up when
Steven walked in and went directly to her. He hugged her in
support. They didn't say one word as Gracie held her phone tightly
in her hand. She glanced at him, and he saw a look of defeat in her
eyes as he pulled her closer to him.

“
What did you find out
from Terry?” Gracie finally broke the silence as she asked in a
voice cracked with emotion.

“
They were on the
playground when Mark took her. Mark told Mrs. Dalton that he was
Bea’s father, and that he had already signed her out, but he
didn’t.” Steven glanced away from her eyes as he continued. “Mrs.
Dalton said that Bea acted like something was wrong, and she
radioed up to the office to find out what was going on. By the time
she had found out that Bea hadn’t been signed out, Mark was already
gone.”

Gracie looked at the phone
in her hand willing it to ring. “Bea was scared.” She squirmed away
from her brother and stood while Janet watched her helplessly. “I
should've just let them have the book.”

Kim walked in the front
door with Robert and Sammie as Gracie talked. “We’re praying for
all three of you.”

“
The three of us?” Gracie
looked at Kim strangely through her wet eyes.

“
Jackson is outside
crying.” Kim informed her sister. “We just talked to him.” She
watched as Gracie headed to the front door. “Where are you
going?”

“
To see Jackson.” Gracie
was still clutching her phone as she walked out the door. She
watched him unsure of herself as he had his hands over his face.
“Jackson.” She walked over to him.

He looked over at her not
trying to disguise his emotions. “How are you holding up, Gracie?”
Jackson was surprised when he felt her arms go around
him.

“
I’m fine, well
considering everything, oh, never mind me. You're attached to her,
too, and I forgot about that.” Gracie’s eyes were haunted by the
grief she was feeling as she talked before she noticed the police
cars in front of the house.

“
I would've been
disappointed if you had put my feelings first.” Jackson admitted as
he wiped his eyes. “I feel so helpless.”

“
But. . .” Gracie stopped
as her phone rang, and she flipped it open quickly to answer it.
She listened as Mark ranted because she hadn't shown up with his
money. “Let me talk to Bea.” She was growing mad as he first
refused her as she looked at her watch. “Let me talk to her, Mark.”
She was listening for any type of background noise as she waited
for Bea to come to the line. “Hey, Princess,” she was trying not to
cry as she heard her daughter’s voice. “I love you.” Mark took the
phone back and hung up after giving Gracie more instructions.
Gracie had put the phone on speaker so Jackson could hear
everything that was being said. “I want to go home.” Gracie tried
to hold her tears at bay as she longed to see or hold anything that
belonged to Bea.