Page 25 of Amazing Grace

Winston stood when Grace and Molly did, and gallantly helped them into their coats. Then he waved them off. “Goodbye, my new friends. Give my love to Zoe, Emily, and Lily.”

They smiled and waved at him as they left Caffeine Ivy’s. Then Grace turned to Molly. “Uber to pick up your truck? Why? We can walk wherever we need to go for now. And going grocery shopping? Making dinner? Not that I mind making dinner for Zoe and Emily since they’ve been so kind to us, but… Was that supposed to be some sort of super secret signal for us to leave?”

Molly grinned. “It worked, didn’t it? It got us out of there.” She shivered. “That man looked like a nice old dude, but he was giving me the creeps.”

“Winston? He seemed harmless.”

Molly looked doubtful. “Except he said Jeremy had been shot and made that remark about Jeremy taking some time to die. Why would he say that if he didn’t know for sure that’s what happened?”

“He also mentioned Jeremy being stabbed, hanged, poisoned, and a bunch of other murder methods. He might’ve just been repeating the rumors floating around town.”

“I don’t know. He seemed really serious when he was talking about Jeremy getting shot.”

Grace took a breath, then nodded. “I know. I felt the same way. When he started talking about the other ways rumors have Jeremy dying, I was wondering whether he was repeating what he’d heard or trying to muddy the water after slipping up. Of course, we won’t know if he’s even right about the gunshot until after Maverick gets the autopsy report. I mean, I saw the body. We both did. It looked like a gunshot to me, but I’ve only ever seen them in movies.”

“Me, too.” Molly sighed. “But he looks like such a nice old dude, even if he gave me the creeps.”

“Even nice creepy old dudes can lose their tempers when they’ve been cheated out of a lot of money.” Grace took Molly’s hand. “Hey, your hands are like ice. Let’s get you a pair of gloves. Me, too, while we’re at it. There’s a gift store up ahead.”

They ducked into the store and quickly found gloves — a pair of blue for Grace, and a pair of deep pink for Molly. Grace purchased them over Molly’s objections, and they left wearing the gloves.

“I really do need to get to the field to retrieve my truck,” Molly said. “I don’t want to have to ask Mom and Dad for help. I need the truck to get around town and find a new job.”

“Youhavea job. As of this moment, you’re officially working for me as my assistant. Pay is standard for the industry, and benefits are included, of course.”

“Grace, you don’t need to do that!”

“Yes, I do. I need you with me while we figure this thing out,” Grace said. “You heard Maverick. We’re still not in the clear. I’m not going to sit around and wait for her to serve me with an arrest warrant for murder just because she couldn’t find the person who actually did it.”

“She’s not incompetent, Grace. She’s just doing things by the book. Besides, it can be dangerous. We’ve already been in a hit-and-run.”

“I know, but we don’t know if that was on purpose or just an accident. Besides, if we can find out whodunnit first, then that’s less time I need to be worrying about whether I need to retain us legal counsel, and more time I can spend thinking of ways to kiss you senseless.”

Molly turned as pink as her gloves and grinned. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Grace said and winked at her.

“Then I say we leave my truck where it is until tomorrow, go home, and test out some of your, um, theories. The list of suspects can wait a while as far as I’m concerned.”

***

Zoe and Emily had left a note saying they’d taken Lily to the park. The house was empty, which was a boon as far as Grace was concerned.

Grinning like a pair of schoolgirls, Grace and Molly stampeded up the stairs to their room. They quickly shrugged out of their outer clothes, then, a bit more hesitantly, shyly, shed everything else.

Once stripped of everything but their pride, they paused, looking at each other.

Molly was stunning.

She was the opposite of Grace’s tall, willowy form.

She was shorter than Grace and curvy, with breasts Grace knew would fit perfectly in her hands. Her skin was milky white and freckled. Her waist dipped in, and her hips flared in the very definition of Rubenesque. She had what Grace liked to think of as “cheerleader” legs. Sturdy, muscled, and strong.

Grace sucked her lower lip in over her teeth and tried to decide how to proceed. Should she try to seduce Molly? Be timid and gentle? Or be bold, and sweep her off her feet?

She really liked Molly, and instinctively knew it was the sort of feeling that had the potential to grow into something deeper and meaningful if nourished. She wanted that in her life, and she wanted it with Molly.

Molly had said she was bisexual, but how much experience did she have with lesbian lovers? More than anything, Grace didn’t want to screw this moment up.

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