Page 98 of Good Girls Don't Kiss and Tell

A rail thin woman in her forties was playing on the front steps with Pip, and when Gracie saw her, she ran down the steps as quickly as she could. Pip held up her arms just as Gracie swept her up and hugged her tight.

Tears pricked her eyes as she whispered, “You get to come home with me, sweetheart. I missed you.”

Pip’s arms tightened around her neck. “Missed Mommy.”

Gracie’s heart somersaulted in her chest.Mommy. I’m mommy.

“Gracie, this is my daughter, Hazel. She’s Pip’s grandmother.”

Gracie moved Pip to one hip and held her hand out to Hazel. “Nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too. Thank you for taking care of her.”

The woman avoided Gracie’s gaze and she waited for her to ask to see Pip as well, but she didn’t. It was so strange that Margaret could be so focused on everyone else, yet her daughter didn’t…

No, no more judging people. It wasn’t any of her business why Hazel wouldn’t want her granddaughter, anyway.

Margaret kissed her cheek, and Gracie hugged the older woman. “We’ll see youtomorrow.”

“All right, honey.” Margaret kissed Pip, and as her daughter helped her down the stairs, Gracie knew how hard this must have been for Margaret. It was why Gracie planned on giving Margaret the picture of Pip and Margaret that Ryan had takenwhen she saw her tomorrow. She was hoping to help ease the other woman’s sadness as best she could.

Gracie smiled into Pip’s glowing face. “Wanna go home?”

“Home!”

They headed down the steps and back to Rock Canyon. Gracie would wait until Pip was asleep before she dealt with Eric. Her parents had decided to move back to Rock Canyon and were trying to find a place to live. They could keep an eye on Pip tonight for half an hour or so.

She had a date with destiny.

Chapter Thirty-Three

“Sometimes doing the right thing is hard…doing the best thing for you can feel damn near impossible.”- Miss Know-It-All’s Gossip Column.

Gracie stood just outside the front door of Buck’s at half past ten that night. It had taken her longer than she expected to get Pip to sleep, and she’d been loath to leave until she was sure she was out cold. She was in a hurry, as unromantic as that might be, and the big lug blocking her entry was not helping matters.

“Grant, so help me GOD, if you do not let me pass, I will make you sorrier than any man has ever been!”

Grant leaned back against the wall and turned the lower half of his body away from the possible danger. “He’s working. You can see himtomorrowwhen the mere sight of you isn’t going to send him drowning in a full bottle of tequila.”

“I am not going to upset him—”

“Upset him? You broke his damn heart, and I’m not letting you do it again.”

Gracie knew Grant’s concern was coming from a place of love, but her patience had reached its breaking point. “I’m not going to hurt him! My plan is to make him ecstatically happy! Now get out of my way.”

When he still didn’t budge, she had no choice. Gracie kicked Grant in the shin with her pointy boots, and he grabbed his shin with a yelp.

“You are a menace!” Grant reached for her, and she ducked under his arms. He lost his balance and fell on his face in the snow. She took the opportunity to run through the doorway. She searched the bar for Eric and saw no sign. Her eyes caught the stage, where Bobby Lassiter’s band was performing. Gracie grinned and started forward, only to be grabbed from behind.

“I told you, you can talk to himtomorrow. He’s had a rough night, with people giving him shit about that book he wrote, so—”

Gracie struggled, kicking and swinging her arms as he effortlessly held her off the floor. “Dammit, Grant, if you don’t let me inside, I’m going to make sure you never father children!”

* * *

Eric was in a surprisingly good mood considering several ladies had hit him with their oversized purses. He was also pretty sure Mrs. Andrews had thrown an apple at him in the grocery store, but still, he was downright chipper. Because the people that mattered, his family and friends, had all rallied behind what he’d done. They were proud.

He was just waiting on one more person to show up.

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