Saving Grace (25 page)

“Argh!  You’re such a joy killer!  Don’t you want to lavish in the moment a bit longer?”  She peeked out from under her long hair, with questioning eyes.

She was met with stern ones.  “Of course, but Grandmother has to be dealt with.  Then…” The spark was back in Anne’s eyes. “I can lavish all I want.”

Grace threw a pillow at her sister and groaned.  “If I weren’t so overjoyed to have you back…”

“You’d what?” Anne gave her a fake evil eye.  “Pick up the phone and dial sister, from your phone.  Because we know she won’t answer mine.”

“Give me one more day until we call them.  I just want more time with you before all hell reigns down.”  Grace gave Anne her best set of puppy dog eyes.  “Please.”

Anne smiled, knowing she could never resist her kid sister … not even now.

“It’s not going to work.”  Anne watched her sister’s look go from pleading to pouty.

“Really?”  Grace bit her lip.

Anne dropped back against the pillows on the bed.  She knew she’d been beaten, and to be honest she almost reveled in being able to give her one simple pleasure.  Besides, she didn’t really want to deal with the Aundine’s either.

“Okay … tomorrow. After all, how much could one more day hurt?”  Anne tossed a pillow at Grace, and then headed for the shower.

Chapter 31

              Andrew had seen the dramatic change in his wife over the last few weeks, which in itself wasn’t surprising.  He expected Lilah to beat herself up for the hand she had in Grace’s disappearance.

              He expected that she’d avoid all social obligations.  It would make sense that she wouldn’t want to explain to anyone in her circle where Grace was.  Given that it was almost identical to what had happened when their daughter ran off all those years ago, Andrew felt it was like losing their daughter all over again and expected Lilah felt the same.  Except this time they weren’t sure if Grace ran off … she was just gone.  And now after these past few weeks, Lilah wasn’t just avoiding scandal – she was in mourning.

              One thing he didn’t expect was the physical toll that it would take on his wife.  Her normal immaculate appearance went from manicured to slightly disheveled.

And her uptight demeanor quickly took a tumble to an open vulnerability he’d never seen. 

If it weren’t due to such extreme circumstances, he’d welcome this drastic change in his wife.  She seemed human for the first time in their marriage.

              In the early morning hours, he’d normally find her in the sunroom enjoying an early cup of tea, but Andrew knew that too, had changed. 

              He slowly carried a single cup of tea up the winding staircase toward her room, hoping she’d allow him inside.  After tapping on the door, he waited.

              “Come in,” she said softly, lifting herself up from underneath her covers to lean up on her pillows.

              Andrew turned the knob and crossed the floor, setting her tea on her bedside table.  He then turned to open the heavy drapes, which had blocked every ounce of light from her room.

              Lilah brought her arm up to block her eyes in protest. 

“Do you have to do that?” She grumbled.

              “Yes, I do.  You’re normally up enjoying the sun this time of morning.” 

              Andrew sat on the side of her bed, and reached for her tea. 

“Here.  I brought this to you.”

              She offered a weak smile.  He had made such efforts to show her kindness, when she knew she didn’t deserve it. 

“Thank you, dear.”

              “Why don’t you come downstairs with me?  I have asked that your favorite breakfast be made.  You need to eat.”  He studied his wife’s face, seeing how thin it had become.  “You can’t keep yourself holed up in your room.   It’s not healthy.”

              “Is there any news?”  Her eyes held a glimmer of hope.

              “Zach has had nothing to report, but I received a call from the police department last night.”  He had been debating on saying anything to his wife, as there was nothing conclusive to reveal.

              Lilah sat up a bit more straight, eager to hear more.

              He clamped his mouth tight, not knowing how this news would play out.

              “Well?”  She impatiently asked.

              He sighed and forged forth. “There were some reports that she’d shown up on at a television set.  The producer called it in, doing his due diligence as he knew she’d been reported missing.”

              “They found her!”  Her eyes held life for the first time in weeks.

              “Well, not really.”  Andrew watched his wife’s panic return, and quickly added.  “But the good news is she’s been seen and she’s healthy and safe … the bad news is…”

              “Oh,” she moaned, and leaned back into her pillows.  Her stomach felt like it was coming up through her throat.  She wasn’t sure she could take much more.

              Andrew wasn’t sure he should tell her the rest.  Instead he patted her arm, and stood to leave.  “Get some rest.”

              “You can’t leave without telling me everything.  You must not,” she pleaded.

              He stood and stared down to his wife, hoping she’d take the rest in stride.  To him it was good news, as his granddaughters were trying to find each other, but somehow he knew she would not take it as such.

              Lilah watched her husband’s weary eyes with anticipation, wondering what he wasn’t telling her.  She recalled what he’d said so far.

              “You said she’d shown up on a television set.  What were they doing at the show?  Why would she go there … for what?”  Lilah asked a more direct question, hoping to get a direct answer. 

              “She went in search of Anne, who was a member of a reality show on set in Oahu.”  Andrew sat back down, and took his wife’s hand.

“What,” Lilah gasped.  “So is she with Anne?” 

Lilah prayed she was.

              “I don’t know.”  He sighed.

              “What do you mean, you don’t know?”  Her voice raised an octave.  “Where is she?”

              “All the police knew is that Grace showed up in search of Anne.  They said she arrived with someone, whom they have no name.  They’ve gotten a description and are getting ready to put out an APB.  Then she left in search of her sister.  I guess Anne had left the show when she heard that Grace was missing.” 

              “Great!  Now both grand-daughters are missing?”  Her voice broke.  “Now what?  Was this man with Grace dangerous?  Is he holding her hostage?”

              Andrew didn’t want Lilah to jump to conclusions.  He shook his head, and laid his hands on her arms, trying to calm her down.

              “Lilah, from all reports - he was friendly.  She looked to be with him by choice.”  He didn’t blame his wife for her hysteria.  He was concerned too.  This wasn’t like Grace to go missing and not make contact.  Those same thoughts ran through his head last night as well, until the police reassured him of their assumptions that the mystery man was not a threat according to the television staff.

              “Why didn’t they get a name?” She cried.  “Where is my Grace?  Why won’t she return my calls?”

              “I think you know the answer to that last question.”  His voice dropped.               

He didn’t mean to bring up her mistakes, but couldn’t help but think that they wouldn’t be in this position if Lilah had left the girls to their own lives, and been more compassionate instead of controlling their every move.

              “Get out,” she ordered, in response.  “I want to be alone.”

              “Of course.”  Andrew rose from his wife’s bed, wondering when this madness would come to a stop.  He was too old for this.

Chapter 32

              As the afternoon wore on, Grace could tell Anne’s nerves frayed with every hour that passed.  The closer it got to Chad’s arrival, the more she flitted around the kitchen trying to stay preoccupied with preparing dinner.

              “What time is it?”  Anne asked, sliding a pan of enchiladas into the oven.

              “Only twenty minutes after the last time you asked me,” Grace laughed.  “You have a solid thirty minutes before he gets here.”

              “Ugh,” she groaned.  “Why am I so nervous?”

              “Anne, it’s normal.  Think about it.  You had to share him with how many other women… and now it’s just you?”

              “Don’t remind me.”

              “What?  Aren’t you happy?”  Grace frowned.

              Anne turned the oven on, and leaned against the counter to face her sister. 

“Of course I am, but now it’s real.  It’s not a ‘maybe he’ll pick me’ situation.  He’s already picked me.  Now what if he changes his mind?” 

              “What?  Are you crazy?”  She laughed.  “I’ll tell you who’s crazy.  He is … about you.”

              Burke slid the lanai door shut behind him and joined the girls in the kitchen.  He’d heard the tail end of their conversation and thought he’d offer his two cents.

              “You want a guy’s perspective?”

              Anne looked up to him with her big brown eyes without a word.  He took it as a yes.

              “He wouldn’t have let the others go if he wasn’t sure.  And trust me, I saw them … they were gorgeous.”

              “Hey!”  Both girls said in unison, making him laugh.

              “I’m just saying … they were.  And if he didn’t think you were it … he’d have stuck it out with his harem.”

              “Really?  You call that help?”  Grace gave him an evil eye. “Harem?”

              Anne laughed.  “I understand.  Thanks.”  She let out a breath, steadying her nerves.

              “So what are we having tonight?”  He rubbed his hands together, looking into the oven.

              “Anne used to cook with my mom and then our cook, at Grandmother’s, when I was a kid.  She’s amazing.  She’s making her famous Mexican food.”  Grace grinned.

              Burke’s mouth watered with the smells that were beginning to waft from his oven.  Nothing he’d ever cooked made his home smell this good.

              “We’ll have enchiladas, tex-mex dip, and chili rellenos,”Anne said, digging through the groceries that she and Grace bought earlier in the day. 

“Hey, Burke.  I’m using the only pan I could find in your kitchen. I need two more of the size that’s in the oven. Do you have any more?”  She looked to her sister, who shrugged.

“I didn’t think to look before we ran to the store,” Grace said, apologetically.

Burke shook his head.  “I’m no gourmet cook.  That pan in there” He pointed to the oven.  “… is usually reserved for French fries, chicken fingers, or some fish … and it’s all I need.”

Anne dropped her head.  “Crap.  Chad will be here in half an hour.  I need to get the chille rellenos in the oven now.”

“Hey, no worries.  I’ll run to the store.  What kind of pans and what size?  I’ll go pick them up.”  He picked up some scrap paper.  “Just write down what I need and I’ll run in and ask someone who knows what to look for.”

“Thank you.”  She grabbed the paper and wrote down exactly what he needed, before turning back to open the chille’s and grabbing her eggs.

“I’ll be back before you’re ready to pour that stuff in a pan … promise.”  He winked and ran out the door.

“And that is my knight in shining armor,” Grace said lovingly, as she watched him jog to his car, from the window.

Anne grabbed a whisk and tossed it to Grace.  “Don’t think you’re getting out of work here, sis.”

She laughed at her sister’s dreamy face, and continued, “Once I crack these eggs in this bowl, I’ll need you to beat them.”

              “I don’t cook.”  Grace’s eyes went wide.

              “Well from the looks of it your knight in shining armor doesn’t much either, so you two are going to starve if one of you doesn’t learn.  And this is an easy dish to make, so take notes.”