Page 110 of Catch Me When I Fall

Grayson snapped his hips two more times, growling as he finally let go with me. He barked out my name as his head snapped up, his jaw tight. His eyes shot open, meeting mine as he gave me what we both needed. “I love you more than anything else in this world,” he rasped as our bodies fell into pleasure.

The gates of heaven stayed open for me then, shining down upon us and letting me finally have my happiness I’d been searching for.

Chapter 29

Carrie

Two Weeks Later. Astoria, OR.

“Carrie?”

I looked up from the order for the school district Read-A-Thon to find Rossy coming up to the checkout counter, in disarray. His glasses were crooked, his gray hair flying in different directions, his eyes wild. There were also two—no three—coffee stains on his cream shirt and his usual vest was missing.

Who the hell was this man, and where was my Rossy?

“Rossy?” I blurted in confusion, tilting my head. “Are you okay?”

A few of the customers gave him a quick glance, but nothing more. My boss waved his hand, brushing off my concern. “I’m positively fine, darling,” he said as he came around the counter, his eyes searching behind his glasses. He moved some things, and I turned to watch him, puzzled.

“Uh, Rossy? Weren’t you wearing those pants yesterday?”

He paused his pursuit, turned, and looked at me. “What do you mean yesterday?”

I stared.

“It’s Saturday,” he stated, gesturing to his pants. “These are my Saturday pants.”

I bit back a chuckle. “Rossy,” I began gently, “it’s Sunday.”

The old man blinked and looked to the coffee bar. Margo was off on Sunday afternoons now due to her school schedule. She’d told Rossy and Sarah she needed at least one afternoon to catch up on her “bullshit homework.”

It’d been an adjustment not having my usual lavender latte during my Sunday shift, but we all made do. Sarah was supposed to cover the coffee bar, but one of the twins caught a stomach bug earlier this week, and she hadn’t been in. So, it was just me and Rossy on this gloomy, cold afternoon, though Rossy was nowhere to be found when Grayson dropped me off this morning, and remained missing well after Margo left. This was the first time I’d seen him today.

“Goodness,” he muttered, running a hand through his hair. Then, a sweet chuckle came from him. “That must mean I have something great here.”

My brows furrowed. “Something great?”

He looked at me as if he forgot I was standing there. “Sorry, Carrie. I’ve been—well, I—” He cut himself off, like he was trying to find the right words. I waited patiently as he cleared his throat. “I’ve been writing again.”

My lips spread into a smile. “Writing? Wait—writing again?”

He nodded, laughing to himself. “I don’t know how it happened. Last night, I was getting ready to close the shop, and an idea hit me. I sat down to write it and, well, here we are.”

“That’s great,” I praised him.

Rossy gave a warm smile and put a hand on my shoulder. “Thank you, darling. I’m very excited about it.” His hand fell, and he gestured to the mess of office supplies behind him. “I came in search of the printer paper. I ran out of my private stash.”

I winced. “Yeah, we’ve been out since Thursday.”

He nodded. “That’s alright; I’ll go out and get some.”

My eyes dropped to his coffee-stained shirt. “How about I go? You stay and man the counter? We’ve been pretty slow today.”

His eyes followed mine. “I’ve gotten carried away, haven’t I?”

I moved passed him and grabbed my coat. “I’ll be back in a few minutes, Rossy.”

Once I was outside, the cold air hit me, but I was thankful the snow was melting. The warmer weather would be here in just a few months, and fishing season would be back in full swing. As I made my way down the sidewalk, I looked across the street, peering in between the building to where the docks were.

---