Page 78 of Trusting Fate (Hope Falls: Brewed Awakenings 2)

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Easton wokeup and before he even opened his eyes, he was aware that the bed was empty beside him. It was the same feeling he’d gotten when he’d woken up the day before and known that Grace wasn’t in bed. Yesterday he’d walked downstairs to find her speaking to his parents. He had a feeling this morning would not be a repeat of that same situation. If he had to guess, Grace was already at the house working.

He sat up, swung his legs off the bed and ran his hands through his hair. Last night something had changed between them. Something had shifted. She’d opened herself to him in a way that she hadn’t before, and he wasn’t talking about the sex, although that was amazing.

She’d told him that finding out about his financial situation the way she had had hurt her feelings. He truly hadn’t meant to keep anything from her, it had honestly not crossed his mind to tell her about his financial situation. He never talked about it and rarely gave it much thought. It was a means to an end, and that end was helping people. But even though it had upset her, he was glad things had worked out the way they had, because now he knew she cared about him.

If she didn’t care about him, then why would it matter that he hadn’t told her.

Feeling hopeful for the future, for their future, he walked to the bathroom and saw that the door to his bedroom was open and the bed was made. It was only seven a.m. but he wouldn’t be surprised if his parents had already been up for hours.

After taking a quick shower he headed downstairs to the kitchen. When he went to the fridge to get Cleo’s tuna, he saw a note from his mom hanging on it telling him that his parents were going to be at the fire station today because they were having a Thanksgiving Open House where kids could come and climb on the truck.

He couldn’t help but smile seeing the note. That was how his mom had communicated with his brothers and dad the entire time he’d lived at their house. Even after they all had cell phones, she refused to text claiming it was impersonal.

All these years later, Easton finally realized she was right. Seeing his mom’s handwriting did feel a lot more special than getting a text from her. He took down the paper, folded it up and put it in his pocket.

Once Cleo was fed, he filled an insulated coffee mug and headed out the door. He wasn’t going to do yoga this morning. He knew that Grace was already at the house, and he was frustrated with himself that he’d slept in and she’d been there alone. He didn’t like the thought of her being there alone.

He got in the rental truck that production provided after finding out what happened to his truck. He tried to decline it, he had no problem walking to and from the site. But they said it was a lot cheaper than sending a driver every day and he needed to have transportation.

When he pulled up to the house and saw Grace’s SUV he got that funny feeling in his stomach. He was a little bit nervous to see her. He was starting to think that no matter how long they knew each other or how old he got, he’d always feel a little bit like a nervous teenager around her. And he was totally okay with that, because if he was still getting nervous that would mean he was still seeing her.

He walked in and found her finishing up the linoleum removal in the hallway that led from the kitchen to the laundry area. Today her hair was in two braids, and she was wearing a hat, blue jeans, and a long-sleeved white T-shirt. He knew she would hate it if he told her, but she looked adorable.

“Hey!” She stood up, clearly surprised to see him. “What are you doing here? Why aren’t you with your parents?”

“They are at the firehouse with my brothers for the day.”

A crease appeared between her eyes. “You should go and be with them.”

“No. I should be here.”

Grace bit her lip and Easton could see that she was freaked out that he was there and he thought he might know why. Yesterday, when they were at Ava’s house, Audrey had told him that Grace had never had a serious relationship, which was the same thing that Grace had said but it was different hearing it from Audrey. The way she’d explained it made him understand her commitment issues a little bit more. Audrey told him that Grace changed after their dad left. She said she was little when it happened, but she used to hear her mom talking about it to her friends. Her mom would say that Grace was a shell of herself and didn’t trust people after her dad abandoned them.

It didn’t surprise Easton at all that Audrey would have overheard adult conversations. She was quiet and sort of blended into the background, which was the polar opposite of Vivien who was always the center of attention. And then there was Ava, who he’d noticed was very nurturing and motherly. She seemed like she was always checking in and making sure everyone was okay.

And then there was Grace. It was clear that even though all of the sisters were adults now, they all respected Grace as an authority figure and adored her. He’d gotten the “if you hurt her I’ll kill you speech” not only from the three sisters, but also from Blake who was protective of her aunt and Asher who said that it was none of his business as long as Ava was happy, but if anything happened with Grace that made Ava unhappy he would make it his business.

Easton didn’t mind that everyone was so protective of her. In fact, it made him feel a lot better that they were. It broke his heart that her dad had left when she was so young, and then her mom had gotten sick and died, leaving her to raise her sisters. Grace had been through so much and had to deal with so much on her own, he was happy that her family was protective.

And he had assured each and every one of them that he wouldn’t hurt her. And he planned on keeping that promise. Even if that meant giving her space.

He saw her starting to panic last night when they were talking, and he didn’t take it personally. Actually, he did take it personally but in the best way. What they had was real, and that was scary to her. He understood that. And he’d give her space to process it. He wasn’t going to put any pressure on her about the status of their “situationship” he would take his cues from her.

He was a patient man, he’d wait as long as it took for Grace to realize what they had, how much she meant to him, and that she could trust him completely. He wasn’t going anywhere. He was going to show her how much he loved her. Actions. That was what Grace needed to see for her to let her guard down. He knew she would never make any decisions about them based on how she felt or how he felt. She would need evidence, proof that he wasn’t going to hurt her.

So that’s exactly what he was going to give her. Starting with not continuing the conversation from last night which he knew she wasn’t ready to have.

Taking advantage of the fact that there were cameras filming them and he was supposed to be her boyfriend, he walked over to her, cupped her face in his hands, leaned down and kissed her. It was just a peck, but he wanted to reinforce their connection. “I’m going to work on reframing the master bath. Let me know if you need anything.”

Her eyes widened and her body language relaxed. “Oh, okay.”

As he turned and he walked down the hall, he knew that his job there was done. The score was: Connection – 1 Protective-Wall-Around-Her-Heart – 0.

* * *

Grace had been bankingon the fact that she’d have this time to herself, to figure out what in the hell was going on with her. She was torn between being happy to see Easton, because damn that man could wear a thermal, and disappointed because she wasn’t going to have any time to think. She’d been nervous he’d bring up the conversation they’d had last night, but instead he’d just treated this day like any other and gone to do his work.

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