Page 74 of Eight Years Gone

Chuckling, he crossed the street to walk the same path through the park back to his car.

“Fuck yeah,” he muttered, grinning in the dark.

Tonight was exactly right—easy conversation and a whole lot of fun. He’d yearned for this on those long, lonely nights without Grace.

She was his again. She’d smiled at him with her big blue eyes full of trust.

They still had work to do—the damage had been done—but he planned to show her every day and in every way that he was hers too.

He made it back to his car, unlocking the door, scanning the area as he got behind the wheel, wondering if the potentially lifesaving measure would ever fade after such a long time overseas.

Turning over his engine, he flipped a U-ey in the quiet street, driving by Grace’s, needing to see that her house looked secure. When all appeared well, he snatched up his phone, dialing her number.

“Is everything okay?” she answered.

He felt himself smile when she sounded at ease—happy. “Everything’s good.”

“I think you’re supposed to wait a couple of days before you call. Ten minutes feels a little desperate.”

He chuckled, loving that they were back to this. “Tonight was good, Grace.”

“It was.”

He could hear the smile in her voice each time she spoke. “I love you.”

She sighed. “I love you, too.”

His smile was back. “Good night.”

“Good night.”

Hanging up, he pulled onto Main Street, already counting down the minutes until their next date.

Seventeen

Jagger drove closer to Scranton’s busy downtown, holding Grace’s hand as he navigated the six o’clock traffic.

He moved into the interstate’s left-hand lane, avoiding several slower vehicles, occasionally checking his mirrors to see if anyone followed his path—another habit long ingrained.

He was doing his best with the average Joe thing, but he regularly found himself on alert—or certainly more than he needed to be for his low-risk lifestyle in the States.

He knew paranoia wasn’t uncommon after spending so much time doing what he’d done, but he’d assumed he would step back into the fold of everyday living mostly unscathed.

Apparently, decompressing wouldn’t be an overnight thing—

“What are you thinking about over there?”

He took his eyes off the road long enough to glance at Grace. She’d pulled off classy and sexy in an olive-green sweater dress and boots combination. He loved that she’d left her hair down to flow past her shoulders. “I was thinking about kicking Todd and Ruby’s asses in the costume contest.”

Grace grinned. “He’s been smack-talking you, huh?”

Jagger laughed out a dismissive puff. “He doesn’t seem to understand who we are—that we’re reigning champs.”

Grace’s smile was back.

“Although I’m not sure how we’re going to beat our own game—the pooper scooper and shit emoji were pretty epic.”

Grace nodded with feeling. “That was definitely our best.”

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