“All my stuff is probably wrecked,” she said. “Jesse said they got the fire out pretty quickly. But because the wall between my place and Edgar’s place caught fire, there would be a lot of water and smoke damage. I didn’t even think to grab pictures or my laptop or… I panicked and just ran out the door with nothing but my phone.”
“That’s what you should have done, Gracie.” Gideon smoothed a soft path across her lower back with one big hand. “Things are replaceable. You’re not.”
“I’m sorry I yelled at you, and I’m sorry I was impatient with you at the mall earlier tonight.”
“I deserved it,” he said.
She lifted her head and studied his beautiful eyes. “Yeah, you did.”
He kissed her forehead. “You look exhausted. Come on.”
“I won’t sleep,” she said as he helped her stand and took her hand.
He led her up the stairs to his room. “I want you to try for me. Climb into my bed.”
She stared at his bed. “I can’t.”
“It worked before,” he said. “Just try, Gracie.”
“I don’t want to be alone,” she whispered. “I’m – I’m afraid.”
He took off his shirt and unbuttoned his jeans. “I’ll stay in the bed with you.”
Stripped down to his boxer briefs, he took her hand and urged her into the bed. She climbed in and he slid in after her, pulling the sheets and the quilt up to cover them both.
When Tank jumped on the bed, he shook his head. “No, Tank. To your bed.”
The dog whined but jumped off the bed. As he walked out of the room, Grace said, “I feel bad. I’m in his spot.”
Gideon spooned her, wrapping one arm around her waist and pulling her back snug against his chest. “You don’t need to feel bad. He has his own twin mattress on the floor in the spare bedroom, and I only let him sleep with me on special occasions.”
She rested her head on the pillow, snuggling into Gideon’s heat. She yawned loudly. “What kind of special occasions?”
“His birthday. Christmas Eve. When there’s a bad thunderstorm.”
She yawned again as heaviness stole into her limbs and exhaustion fogged her thought process. “He’s a good,” a third yawn that nearly split her face in half, “boy.”
“He is,” Gideon said. His warm hand brushed her hair away from the back of her neck, and he pressed a kiss against her skin. “Go to sleep, Princess.”
“Tired,” she mumbled.
“I know, baby. Go to sleep.”
She closed her eyes and embraced the sweet bliss of sleep.
* * *
“Tank, ugh. Don’t lick my face, buddy.” Grace sat up in Gideon’s bed, staring blankly at Tank who was lying beside her.
She glanced at the alarm clock. It was just after eight and the house was quiet. Shit, she needed to be at work in less than half an hour.
You gonna wear Gideon’s shirt to work?
She muttered another curse. She needed to call in and take a personal day while she figured out what the hell she was going to do.
There was a piece of folded up paper propped up next to the lamp and she picked it up before collapsing on her back.
Tank rested his head on her chest, and she petted him absentmindedly as she read the note from Gideon.
Grace,
I called the clinic this morning and let them know you won’t be in today or tomorrow. Preacher is getting your spare car key from Kira and will drop your car off at my place later this morning. I asked Kira to look into grabbing some clothes and toiletries from your place.
Go back to sleep.
Gideon
A smile crossed her face. She read the note again before setting it on the night table. She used the bathroom, let Tank out for a pee break, drank some water, and ate an apple before climbing the stairs to Gideon’s bedroom again. She climbed into bed, smiling at Tank when he stretched out in Gideon’s spot, pulled the quilt up to her chin, and went back to sleep.
* * *
When she woke the second time it was just past noon. She stretched lazily and checked Facebook for almost fifteen minutes before using Gideon’s charger to plug her phone in. Tank was snoring beside her. She patted his hip and climbed out of bed. “C’mon, lazy bones. We can’t sleep all day.”
She used the bathroom and grabbed Gideon’s robe that was hanging on a hook on the back of the door. She belted it around her waist and returned to the bedroom.
“Tank, come on. We’ve slept long enough.”
His look suggested it wasn’t long enough, but he followed her downstairs and outside to the back yard. When he was finished, he stretched out on the back deck in the sun and ignored her when she called him to come in.
The front door opened and closed, and she headed toward it, smiling when she saw Kira standing in the hallway. “Hey, honey.”
“Oh my God, Gracie.” Kira dropped the bags she was holding and hugged her hard. “Oh, honey, are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she said.
“Gideon called me first thing this morning and told me what happened. I was freaking out, but he said you had some smoke inhalation but overall, you were okay.” Kira looked her over. “Do you feel all right?”
“I do,” she said. “I had a cough last night and a sore throat, but it’s better this morning.”
“What happened?” Kira picked up the bags and followed Grace into the kitchen.
“Edgar next door was smoking in bed and fell asleep,” Grace said.
“Idiot.” Kira grabbed two mugs from the cupboard. “Sit down and relax, honey. I’ll make us some tea.”
She put a pod in the machine and set the mug underneath it. “You must have been so scared.”
“It was awful,” Grace said. “By the time I got downstairs, Daniel had broken in through the front door and he helped me outside.”
“Yeah, he told me he had to break in your front door.”
“You talked to him?” Grace said.
Kira set the mug of steaming tea in front of her and removed the old pod before sticking a fresh one in. “I called him this morning.”
“I thought you weren’t talking to him,” Grace said.
Kira shrugged. “We’re not back to being friends yet or anything, but after what he did for Addison and now you… I figured I could at least give him a second chance.”
“What did Connor say about it?” Grace sipped at her tea.
“He was surprisingly cool about it. I told him that I absolutely didn’t feel anything for Daniel, and he said he knew and that he trusted me.” Kira sat down with her mug of tea. “God, I love that man. He’s just so… sweet.” She laughed. “No one ever believes me because he comes across as so standoffish, but that isn’t who he is with the people he cares about. You know?”
“I know.” Grace smiled at her. “Have I mentioned how happy I am for you?”
Kira giggled. “I’m happy for me too. Anyway, I talked with Daniel this morning. I asked him if I could go into your place and get some of your clothes and stuff and he said no, not yet. So,” she leaned down and picked up a bag and plopped it in front of Gracie, “I did a little bit of shopping for you this morning. I picked you up some toiletries, a few pairs of underwear, a bra, a couple pairs of leggings, some t-shirts and a pair of sneakers. Oh, and this bag has a new pair of scrubs for work.”