Page 51 of His Saving Grace

Chapter 11

Gracesteppedoutof the late afternoon sun and onto the back porch of the main house. Phase one of scratch-an-itch-and-rock-Mason’s-world was about to begin. Her stomach did the sort of tumbling pass that would make a gymnast proud. Bella, who was right beside her, planted her rump on Grace’s foot.

She winced at the bony dog hip on her toes and took a deep breath. She could do this. It was a solid plan. Maybe a little less brilliant in the bright light of day. And now that she was no longer quite so high on Mason’s kisses.

A night of tossing and turning had left her all achy and needy this morning. She’d briefly contemplated taking care of things, but ultimately decided on a cold shower. It didn’t help.

Because she’d been awake so early, she’d tackled the weeding in the vegetable garden, before the heat of the day made it almost impossible. The job left her with nothing to do but think. And imagine. Obsess. Burn.

After that bit of self-inflicted torture, it had been time for her weekly trip to town with Eloise. And nothing said fun after a night of carousing, like spending the morning in church. She wasn’t particularly religious, but Eloise was. At Eloise’s urging, Grace had tagged along that first week, and now it was a thing. She’d been so distracted today, Eloise had noticed and asked if everything was okay. She didn’t like lying to Eloise…

Why not? You’ve been lying to her from the beginning.

A thread of guilt wrapped around her heart, digging in, cutting deep. She rubbed her chest, but the ache didn’t budge. Yeah, but that was a necessity. And she hadn’t exactly lied. She’d just omitted some of the facts.

Besides, that was entirely different than telling Eloise the reason she wasn’t herself was because she was thinking dirty thoughts about her son. The one she’d given a blow job to in his truck last night.

At the reminder, heat flared low in her belly, making her ache for an entirely different reason. She needed to get it together. It didn’t matter that she wanted to jump Mason’s bones, she needed to keep her cool. No good would come of him knowing how desperate she was.

She pulled her foot from under the dog and stepped over to the door. Voices beyond stopped her. She shuffled closer and pressed her ear against the wood.

“… what you were thinking?” That sounded like Eloise.

“I was thinking that I would like to have a nice evening with a friend.” That was definitely Mason.

“I already told you to stay away from her.”

“We’re adults, Mama. If we want to see each other, then we’ll see each other. We don’t need your permission.”

“I know, but—”

Bella whined and pressed her nose against the door.

“Shh,” Grace said, pushing the dog back to make more room so she could move closer. She practically melded herself with the door, straining to hear what came next.

“It’s just that she’s…”

Jake came around the corner, whistling a random tune, and Bella raced to the top of the steps, her tail beating like a fan. Grace jumped away from the door, her cheeks pulsing. She’d spent more time blushing during her time here on the ranch than she had in her previous twenty-eight years of existence.

He spotted her, and that sexy grin made an appearance. She got the impression he couldn’t help himself. He was always charming and flirtatious. It seemed almost as natural as breathing to him, and it made him virtually irresistible. Plus, he was drop dead gorgeous.

His blue Callahan eyes twinkled with amusement and satisfaction. He removed his hat, giving her a nod in greeting and rubbing Bella’s head. She’d bet just about anything there was a very happy Gina wandering around Redding right now.

“Good morning, sunshine.” He donned his hat.

“Morning.” She mumbled the word, her insides clenching tight. She was afraid he’d take one look at her and figure out what she and Mason had done last night.

Don’t be an idiot. He was more than likely too wrapped up in his own sexcapade with Gina to be worrying about what you may or may not have done with Mason.

Exactly, because when he’d left them last night, it was in the middle of a crowd and their clothes had been on. She was just being paranoid.

Jake opened the door, and Bella charged into the kitchen. He made a sweeping gesture with his arm, and Grace had no choice but to go on in.

A heavy, tense silence greeted her. Eloise and Mason stared at her and Jake. Her stomach did another dive toward her feet. She wanted to know how their conversation had ended, but then she’d have to admit to eavesdropping. Not going to happen.

Eloise gave her a smile, but there was a tense edge to it. A pang of disappointment stabbed her. Eloise had been so amazing, and she’d let her down. And she didn’t know how to fix it. She could call this whole thing off, but then she’d hurt Mason. She felt caught between them.

Her face must have shown her distress, because Eloise’s features softened and her smile shifted into a genuine one. Some of Grace’s anxiousness melted away.