Page 26 of Holding Grace

She wouldn’t do that with me around – not yet – so it was time for me to go.

I had just one more thing to ask of her.

“I was thinking...” I started in, before I was momentarily distracted by the bare strip of skin revealed at Grace’s waist as she stretched her arms over her head... “uh...I was thinking it might be a good idea for me to be here when your bed is delivered tomorrow morning.”

Grace leaned back against the counter, a little wrinkle of thought between her brows. “If you want to. Do you think they’ll need help?”

“No, it’s not that.” I shifted my feet, knowing I was right about this, but not sure how Grace would react. “It’s a safety thing. It’ll be guys who deliver it, right?”

She shrugged. “Probably. I assume, anyway.”

“So, guys delivering a new bed to an apartment you’ve obviously just moved into. They can assume you don’t know your neighbors and probably don’t know the area. You may not know anyone in town. They’ll see the layout of not only the building but also your apartment. If you’re here alone when the bed is delivered, they may assume – correctly – that you live alone.

If I’m here, they won’t know if I live here or even if not, how often I might be here – either during the day or at night. They’re supposed to deliver the bed early from what you said. If I’m here early in the morning and you just moved in, it looks even more like I either live here with you or I’ll be around a lot.”

Which I hoped would be true, but that was beside the point right then.

Grace continued to look at me. She didn’t seem upset at my suggestion, but I could see the wheels turning.

“I’m wondering...” she narrowed her eyes... “do you spend a lot of time watching true crime documentaries?”

I huffed out a laugh as I realized she was teasing me. I relaxed a little, sliding my hands in my back pockets.

She hadn’t said yes, but at least she wasn’t telling me to go to hell.

“No more than the average person,” I responded. “And if the documentaries are true, that means that stuff happens. The delivery guys may be the nicest, most honest, best guys in the world, but why take the chance? It sucks, but just me being here will make it safer for you.”

“It does suck, and I hate it, but unfortunately that doesn’t mean you’re wrong.” Grace pushed away from the counter, and I caught a hint of her light scent as she took a step closer. “It’s probably best if you’re here. I appreciate it and appreciate you thinking of it.”

“Cool, then.” Cool? Did people even still say that?

I needed to go before Grace had the awkward task of kicking me out.

I headed toward the door, and she followed me, holding it open while I stepped out into the hallway.

“See you bright and early.”

Grace shook her head. “It’ll be early, but I make no promises about being ‘bright’.”

I remembered back to our conversation when I’d first found her again.

“Right. Not a morning person. I promise to keep my expectations low tomorrow and use as few words as possible until you’re ready to interact with the world.”

“That would be best. And thanks, again. Really. For everything.”

I shot her a mock frown as I forced myself to take a step back.

Man, this woman was tough to leave.

“I’m letting you get away with that this one last time because I know it’s important to you to say it. But it’s not necessary, believe me. We’re all more than happy – I’m more than happy – to do all of it.”

And much more, if she’d let me. Again, not the time to discuss it.

“Well, I appre-” She wrinkled her nose as she caught herself. She let out a breath, then gave me a small smile. “See you in the morning, Michael.”

I returned her smile and took another step back. “See you then.”

I turned and headed down the stairs to my truck. As I drove home, I felt something settle in me at the reality of having Grace back in my world. She was here, and safe, and happy, as far as I could tell.

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