The Rules Regarding Gray (30 page)

He tried to smile, but it left his eyes feeling warm again, and he glanced down at the floor between them. “No.” He paused as he looked back up to her eyes. “And yes.” He leaned forward and kissed her forehead, and then he forced himself to release her hands. “I’ll find you in a little while.”

She nodded, and she moved on, crutching her way through the hallway that led to the fellowship hall and luncheon. The luncheon was immediately following the service, and the interment was something he’d be doing alone at a later date. When he pulled his eyes back from their focus on her as she moved down the hallway, he plastered a small smile on his lips as he reached for the next hand to shake.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

It was nearly thirty minutes before Jasper entered the large room where there was a spread of food being laid out by more blue haired women than Gray had ever seen in one room. She was sitting alone at one of the large round tables, and when his eyes finally settled on her, his lips pursed, and he motioned her over to him as he stood by the door.

He didn’t say a word to her when she reached him, but he held the door open for her, and she followed him back up the hallway to the main entrance door. As they exited into the warm late summer air, it was to a deserted large concrete landing and wide expansive steps that led down to the sidewalk. He stepped down the first step and turned back to her.

He took her crutches from her, resting them on the wide concrete stair rail next to them as she held onto his shoulders. He clasped her waist in his hands and squeezed.

“I’m sorry, Jasper.”

He shook his head, and he gave her a small smile, but as his lips pulled up subtly, his eyes glossed over. He pulled her body into his, lowering his head to her shoulder and nuzzling against her neck. His breathing lurched and his tears touched her skin. She clasped the back of his neck with one hand as her other stroked his upper back.

The door being pulled open behind her interrupted them, and he pulled back from her as she whipped her head around.

The minister was standing there. “We’re getting ready to say the grace—”

“Can you just go ahead without us?” Jasper tried.

The minister looked at him nearly stunned for a moment. “Well… We really shouldn’t—”

Jas sighed in completely unveiled frustration, but then he looked at her as she returned her focus to him, and he took a deep breath. When his eyes shifted back to the minister, he smiled. “Give us a minute please. We’ll be in.”

He waited for the minister to return inside, and then he turned his attention back to her once more. “Now tell me how exactly you managed to get yourself here in one piece.”

She laughed quietly. “I might have accidently beat an old woman with my crutch at airport security.”

He chuckled.

“And don’t get me started on how much people can hate you for taking longer than the allotted time to get down the aisle on an airplane.” She smiled.

He leaned to her. But he stopped short of kissing her on the lips, and as he studied her eyes for a moment, he took a deep breath, and he leaned to her cheek instead, kissing her gently.

“Come on. Since you decided to make the trip, you’ve signed yourself up for the same torture as me.” He grabbed her crutches, and then she followed him back inside, down the hallway and into the fellowship hall.

* * * *

Jasper and Gray left an hour and a half later, and she could literally see the tension draining from his body as they walked out to his car. She’d stashed her bag in the small coat room near the entrance, and he’d grabbed it on their way out, dropping it in the trunk of his car.

She was silent as they drove, and when he pulled up to a security gate, she glanced at him. She knew his grandmother was a wealthy woman, but this kind of wealthy she’d not been expecting. As he drove up the long driveway, she was craning her neck under the sun visor so she could see it all. He glanced at her, actually smiling, and she smiled at him too. But then her focus shifted back to the house, and she froze. A man was sitting on the porch steps. She reached over, gripping his forearm.

He glanced toward the house. “Fuck,” he muttered the second his focus shifted to the front porch where the man was sitting.

The man had a bottle of vodka in his hand, and the front door was standing wide open, practically torn from its hinges.

Jasper snatched up his cell phone, making a quick call. “Guess who’s here?” He was silent for a moment. “Yeah. Apparently the man can scale fences drunk,” he muttered.

She had no idea who he was talking too, but just before he hung up, he commented again.

“See you soon, Officer.”

He hung up as he threw the car into park, climbing out quickly. Gray followed him, but as he glanced over the roof of his car to see her climbing out, he glared at her. “Damn it, Gray. Wait in the car.”

She balked at him. She sure as hell wasn’t going to sit in the car, but before she could say as much, the man stood. It was his father. She was certain of that given his oddly similar appearance to Jas and the fact that he’d walked near Jas at the church.

The man laughed as he awkwardly pushed himself up to stand. He was clearly drunk. “What’s this sweet little piece of ass doing here?” He eyed Gray lasciviously, if not seductively.

She sneered at him.

“She’s a tiny little bitch, ain’t she?” His dad’s focus shifted back to Jasper.

“Shut the fuck up,” Jasper barked.

When his dad’s attention returned to Gray, she cringed.

“My son’s a little too worthless for you. You should know that.” He started staggering toward her.

Her eyes narrowed, and she gritted her teeth, her lips twitching as she sneered at him. She must look ravenous, and she felt a hiss in the back of her throat—a hiss that made her want to strike out at the cruel man. He looked frightening, but she’d be damned if she didn’t still want to beat the shit out of him. But, when she cocked her head to the side and took a step forward, Jasper stepped in front of her.

“Gray,” he warned her, reaching back and resting his hand on her hip.

“His mother never even wanted him. Can’t say I did either.” His dad laughed again, taking a big swig from the bottle.

Her fingers reached back up under his suit jacket, and she gripped his waist. Whatever his father said it was going to break her heart for Jasper. She knew that, and she didn’t really trust herself not to beat the man with her crutch. She wasn’t prone to violence, but she knew enough about Jasper’s life to know this man had wreaked havoc on it and deserved a good come to Jesus ass kicking—not that she was likely the most capable person to deliver such a thing.

“Should have just aborted the fucker. We were going to give him up for adoption before we even left the fuckin’ hospital. Hell, didn’t even know if he was gonna come out right. I mean, his mom was one worthless fucking slut, and the shit that bitch pumped into her body while she was knocked up… Coulda killed a fucking horse.”

“Shut up,” Jasper seethed, his fingers curling against Gray’s hip his other balled into a tight fist at his side.

“Social workers were there and everything, but his grandma
begged
. Shoulda seen her, sobbing and groveling with us.” He laughed again as he stumbled and fell.

Jasper’s whole body tremored under her fingers, and she stepped closer to the back of his body, squeezing his waist gently again.

His father just kept laughing as he clumsily stood from the ground. “She paid us to keep him. Can you believe that?” His dad held the bottle up toward Gray as she peered around his shoulder. “She wanted us to give him to her! Ha! Fucking cunt,” he muttered as he collapsed back to the step.

Jasper inhaled deeply, but it shuddered in his chest as he exhaled.

“We took her fucking money and kept the little shit. Regretted that decision ever since. Should have just left him with her—useless piece of shit.” He stood again, stumbling toward them as he drunkenly cocked his head toward Gray. “Tellin’ ya, little girl. He ain’t worth your time. Only person that ever gave a shit about him was his gran. Bitch didn’t give a shit about me, but this fucking loser…”

And that’s when Jasper snapped. He didn’t have to lunge far to connect his fist to his dad’s face, and as he hit, his dad’s face snapped sideways and she gasped, watching the man spin toward the step and fall to his knees.

“Oh, God,” Gray whispered from behind him, and she tried to move toward him.

“Stay back,” Jasper snapped at her.

A police cruiser pulled up moments later as his dad mumbled and cursed, but he wasn’t moving very fast, and when Jas turned to face Gray, he just stared at her as she looked back. She couldn’t tell if he was upset at her or not.

“This is why you shouldn’t have come here,” he muttered, his face expressionless and cold.

She gaped at him, shocked at the shift in him. “Jas, I just wanted to—”

“Bradley,” he cut her off dismissively as he shifted his focus to the policeman walking up behind her.

“Huh,” the officer commented wryly as he reached them. “Now, did he pass out like this or did he have some help?”

Jasper shrugged, saying nothing. Gray just watched them. It was clear they knew one another, and as the officer looked at her, he smiled.

“I’m guessing you’re not a trespasser, right?” He toyed with her in a casual tone.

“I can’t say I’m sure,” she replied a little passively.

Jas turned to her and stared some more before he shook his head. He was irritated at her.

“Breaking and Entering this time around. He’s graduating from the petty stuff, isn’t he? This’ll keep him in a little longer.” The officer hoisted Jasper’s father off the stairs as his dad groaned, and after he’d been handcuffed, he was led away to the squad car where he was patted down quickly. The officer shoved Jasper’s dad in the back of the car, and then he sat in the driver’s seat talking on his radio for a minute. She watched Jasper that entire time, and he ignored her completely.

“Okay,” the officer said as he approached them again. “Sending someone to process the scene—take some selfies with the door damage, sprinkle their pixie dust around to check for prints. It’s probably overkill given he was on scene and we’ve already hauled him off the property a couple times, but no sense not being thorough. Am I right, or am I right?” The man had an interesting personality if nothing else. “Don’t think we’ve been properly introduced, and since Mr. Drees here is being his usual cool-cat self, I guess I’ll introduce myself. Officer Bradley, and you are?” He held his hand out to her.

“I’m Gracelynn Ellis. It’s good to meet you.” She shook his hand, smiling politely.

Officer Bradley turned his attention to Jasper again. “Didn’t know you had a girlfriend. Make a cute couple. She’s a hell of lot prettier than you though.”

Jas actually managed a subtle smirk at that. “She’s not
my
girlfriend. But I do have her.” His tone was bitter and sarcastic.

Officer Bradley’s brow wrinkled in confusion.

Jas shook his head, but it wasn’t amusement. “Don’t worry. I had permission. That is until last night,” he muttered as he leveled his eyes on her.

She tried to swallow as her heart hammered.

“Now we have rules again, don’t we Gray?” His tone was taunting, but he turned his attention back to Officer Bradley. “We share a love of dancing. She’s an incredible dancer. The best ever.”

Officer Bradley nodded. “Well, maybe you should make her your girlfriend, seeing as you like dancing so much with the gal. Never took you for a dancer, though, Drees. Gotta say.”

Neither of them said a word. Jasper’s jaw was clenched tight, and she stared at the ground, still pathetically trying to swallow her guilt. He was obviously well aware Ian was home. And that meant he was also well aware that Ian didn’t know she was there. And the most glaring part of this scenario? He’d obviously decided he was going to be pissed about it.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Gray sat out by the pool on a lounger while Jasper waited inside for the crime scene guys to finish up. Bradley had called shortly before from the station. They’d found two rather expensive pieces of jewelry on him when he’d been searched. Both, without doubt, had belonged to G, and he had taken them, also without doubt, to pawn. It was getting better and better as far as Jasper was concerned. The more his dad fucked up, the less he’d have to deal with him.

But he was also humiliated. The woman sitting out on the lounger had found out things about him that even he wasn’t aware of. And finding out in that way wasn’t exactly what any logical person in their right mind would wish for. For some reason, he was pissed at her because she’d put herself in the position to be there to witness the whole thing—a thing he’d have preferred to witness on his own in order to save his dignity. He paced in the kitchen as the men took pictures of the front door.

He kept glancing out to her, fidgeting nervously and growling in frustration. There was so much bullshit floating through his mind right now, and those thoughts were so confusing. He’d not been prepared to see her in this world. This world was always haunting to him, and part of him didn’t like seeing her as part of it. But she was there for him, and that meant something important too.