Page 59 of Skid
“Do you want to stay here, or would you be more comfortable in the bed?” I asked, and she pushed herself up to sit on the couch.
“Bed, please.”
I helped her stand and guided her to the bedroom before pulling back the covers. She kicked her shoes off and pulled her jeans down her legs as she sat on the edge of the bed. I could see she was struggling.
“Let me help you, baby.” I kneeled in front of her and removed her pants, leaving her socks on. “Bra?”
“Off, please.”
I reached under the back of her shirt and unhooked the clasp of her bra, trying to remember how I’d seen it done and getting confused. She took over and reached into the arm holes, pulling one strap down at a time before reaching under the front and pulling the bra out. I took it from her and helped her to lay down.
The sun was shining into the windows, and I pushed the button to close the drapes, casting the room into darkness. She closed her eyes, and I pulled the covers over her. A smile graced her beautiful face, and I kissed her head gently, whispering, “Get some sleep, and I’ll check on you in a while. If you need anything, just call for me.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, and I walked to the doorway, watching her as she rolled onto her other side and nestled into the bed.
Once I was sure she was okay, I walked to the back deck and called James. The app was running in the background as I waited for James to pick up so I could watch Grace as she slept. If she made one move to need me, I wanted to be aware. On the fourth ring, James answered the phone.
“What’s up, Skid?” he asked, and I clenched my hands together.
“Did you go looking for Grace today?” I asked, hearing the anger in my voice.
If he went behind my back to gather information, he and I would have a problem. “Hell no. Amaya was with her father, and I walked over to get her. We bumped into Sadie and Grace, and Amaya had no idea of our conversation. I wouldn’t do that to you or Grace. Why? Did she say something?”
“She got sick shortly after she saw you, and I wanted to check,” I responded, happy my gut was wrong about everything. Maybe, she was coming down with a bug, and I would nurse her back to health.
“Is she okay? Can we do anything?” he inquired.
“No man, I appreciate it, but I think she must have caught a bug. I’m going to let her rest and check on her later.”
“Let me know how’s she doing.”
“Will do,” I answered and disconnected the call.
Sitting on the back porch, I watched Grace sleep, praying she didn’t have a nightmare as I continued to dig into the Ringmans. Two hours later, I was tired of looking into those assholes’ lives and went to look in on Grace. She was sleeping peacefully, and I closed the door behind me. Not wanting to disturb her, I laid down on the couch in the living room and fell asleep, missing having Grace in my arms.
Chapter 20
