Page 17 of Skid
He wiped an errant tear leaking from his eye as he clarified, “I was in the military when ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ was the standard. I love Grace like a daughter, but she’s not my type. In my day, you were closer to what I was into, just without the beard.”
I rubbed my chin and smiled. “I’m flattered, but I only have eyes for Grace.”
He shrugged. “Pity.”
“I do have a friend back home that has a thing for older men who keep themselves in shape. I think you’d like him.”
I pulled out my phone and showed him a picture of Mathias, Aubrey’s best friend, and he whistled low. “Damn. That’s more my speed.”
“If you’re ever in Portstill, I’ll set you up,” I mentioned, and he looked at me with a serious expression.
“Do you promise to give her a good life free of expectations and love her when the demons who haunt her rear their heads?”
This was my opening, so I took it. “What kind of demons am I dealing with? Ones that I can slay or ones that have already met their demise?”
“Both,” he cryptically responded, and I felt my stomach drop.
I needed to call James and have him start digging deeper into Grace’s life. Somehow, I missed something if there was someone who still needed to be dealt with. Who could it be? Kevin Ringman died four years ago, so who was still haunting her?
Chapter 8
Grace
Iwoke up still feelinghis soft lips pressed against mine. I couldn’t believe I asked Dalton to kiss me last night. It was out of my character to be so forward, but spending the day with him, seeing his beautiful smile aimed directly at me, his hypnotic blue eyes looking deep into my soul, made me bold. I had some painful things I deal with when it comes to intimacy, but desire was something that I experienced like everyone else. Through the years, I had random hook-ups, needing to have a connection, but I never allowed anyone to take it past a night or two of fun.
With Dalton, I could see forever, and I needed to get my head out of the clouds. He was just passing through, and soon, he would be gone. Deciding to have fun while he was here and to keep my heart from becoming involved, I vowed to let our connection go wherever fate took us, for as long as we had together. I already knew I’d miss him when he was gone, so I would make the most of our time now.
After drinking a cup of coffee and doing my morning yoga in the living room, I took a quick shower and grabbed the list for the dessert he requested. I was excited to try a new recipe and I drove to the nicer store in town, choosing to use all fresh ingredients for his pie. After gathering all the ingredients except the liquor, I headed back toward my house, deciding to use my key to grab some liquor from the bar.
Eddie was already inside when I pulled up, and I announced my presence as I opened the door and yelled, “Eddie, it’s me. I wanted to grab some whiskey for a new dessert.”
He stuck his head out of the office behind the bar and motioned for me to join him. Stepping around the newly delivered boxes of beer and liquor, I walked into the small office and sat down in my chair in the corner as he plopped into his creaky desk chair.
“What’s the new dessert?” he asked, and I smiled.
“Kentucky Derby Pie,” I answered, and he chuckled.
