"And you think that’s appropriate?” Noah asked his cousin as he sat on the high stand in front of her across the counter. She had asked him if he would like to rent one of the rooms in his house to Grace. He looked behind his shoulder to Grace who sat on one of the chairs in the shop, picking the beans to make the coffee. He had no idea why the beans was needed to be picked anyway because he knew nothing about coffee. “You know the ball is in your court, but if you still want to help her, then it's your window to do so,” Charlotte said. Noah thought about that, and he wondered what he should do. They hadn't talked about anything else since she asked him here this morning thankfully, he was on night duty today, so there was no rush at all. He glanced at Grace again, and she was still engrossed in what she was doing. He sure loved that she had a little bit of color on her face today, and she was wearing the appropriate cloth for the weather; a fitted pair of blue jeans, and a green s
Grace brought out the last of her clothes and then she took it to the closet. The room was really nice, but it was simple. There were only three pieces of furniture in the room. The bed, the dresser, and a single chair that was placed in front of it. There was a small piece of carpet in front of the bed, and the bedside tables that were attached to the bed had a lamp on one side, and an alarm on the other hand. There was nothing on the pale pink walls except for a small wall clock and a picture of the house itself. She looked around and sighed. Thankfully, she wouldn't have to buy anything for the bed or the windows. There were deep pink curtains against the double windows which were on the same wall of the room, but they were small in size, so she guessed it was why they made them double. On the bed, there were three bed sheets that came with two pillowcases each and each also had a comforter for covering her body to them. “I just hope this place is as safe as it looks and feels l
Grace parked in front of the house Noah had given her the address for, and she sat down in the car, not confident enough to walk from the car to the house. She was scared someone might come out of the bushes and jump her, someone who might as well be her ex husband. The only problem with her theory was that there were no bushes on the street. The house stood beside the garage as Noah had described and there were a few houses on both sides too, but the other side of the street had a bakery, a supply store, a vet clinic, and a bookstore. Everyone was going about their business and no one was even glancing her way. Well, she was still seated in the car, and the windows were rolled all up, with the radio and heater turned on. Speaking of the car, it was a stone white ten thousand twenty thirteen dodge grand caravan SXT with a mileage of at least eight thousand miles on it. Grace had always been interested in cars, so we knew this was a very nice car. When he had gone into his garage a
"Hello, Keisha.” Grace heard Charlotte greet the woman that came in just now. Grace looked at the woman Charlotte had called Keisha and she saw her grunt at her greeting before muttering hers as well. “This is Grace, she's the one that just got into town.” Charlotte introduced and Grace extended her hand for her to shake it, only she didn't. Instead of taking her hand in a shake like she expected, she looked down at it like she had a plague, or her hand was soiled, and that made her dislike her immediately. No one should have that much disdain in them for others, especially people that they were just meeting for the very first time. Keisha had never met her before but she had treated her like she was dirt on her foot. To be polite, she said. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Keisha.” It wasn't, because she didn't seem nice, and someone that vile wasn't someone she was looking to meet or have anything to do with. Her hand was still stretched towards her, but when Keisha looked down at
The morning was bright and sunny and the sky was pleasant, and it looked like rain wouldn't fall today, but that would be great. She had had her fill of lightning and thunder. Last night, she had slept alone in the house because Noah had to go to work on the night shift, and even though at first, she had been scared, but she had put in the alarm, sat for hours after he was gone until she fell asleep, and inky woke up this morning. Perhaps, it helped that she was tired before when she went to get the toiletries at the store, or because she was just tired from settling into a new town. Either way, she had slept like a baby, feeling safe and at peace. Now, she was on the line in front of the cashier, waiting to pay for the groceries she had bought. This morning when she had wanted to make breakfast, because she was truly hungry, she had met the fridge empty, the cabinets as well, and she wondered how Noah are before now. Guessing that he ate at Charlotte’s place, she had no choice bu
Deciding to pick up one or two things over at Charlotte's, she drove in that direction as she left the grocery store. She was too hungry to wait until she was done cooking to eat something, so she would pick up something to snack on. She soon got to Charlotte’s shop, and she got down from the car. She wasn't sure what to get, but she hoped her menu have sour cream coffee cakes with the cinnamon-walnut swirl.As she opened the door to the shop, the bell jingled as it usually does, only not as loud as before but it still made her jump a little. She stopped a few feet from the counter and smiled her usual cheery smile at Charlotte. "Hi, Charlotte. Good morning." She said with a wide grin.Charlotte smiled right back with all her teeth on display. "Hello Grace, good morning. What would you like to get?" She asked.Grace thought for a moment then she said. "A hot cup of coffee to go and a bag of sour cream coffee cake with the cinnamon-walnut swirl if you have them." She said.Charlotte's
When Noah mentioned his mother, Grace didn't think she would be meeting her this earlier, or that this tall and beautiful young-looking woman would be her. When she had opened the door earlier to the door knocking, she had been surprised to see a woman standing there, with a bag and a basket. "Hello," the woman had said. “Hello, how can I help you?” she had asked and the woman had laughed and shook her head. Although, she should have been angry at the sarcastic laugh from the woman, but she hadn't found it offensive. It was just as if Grace had said something funny. “Help me? How can you help me?” she had smiled again, then. "Sorry, I don't mean to offend you. I'm Tammy, Noah’s mother.” She had said and Grace had almost gasped. “Oh, wow! I didn't know that,” she had said, pulling the door wider for her to come in. "I'm sorry, Noah didn't say you were coming, ma'am. He's not indoor as well.” She said. Tammy laughed again. "Ma'am? Young woman, that’s offensive, don't you think? I'
Noah left work late today, but it didn't stop him from hearing about his mother’s escapades. She did that sometimes, no matter what anyone said. He knew without being told that his father would have advised her against it, but as he knew, she was a strong headed woman and a matchmaker. At least, she prided herself on being that, and after a long while of trying, she had succeeded with his brother. Ezekiel had met his bride to be through their mother’s antics. She had one day asked him home to her house, saying she was down with the flu, and needed him to pick up her prescription at the hospital, and on his way drop something at the old Judge Raymond’s house, and that had been all. Ezekiel should have known that it was just a tactic for something, seeing as he could have called Noah who was a doctor and worked at that same hospital she wanted him to pick up a prescription from. Now, she was trying to do the same thing with him, and he knew that the moment Charlotte told him. “What
Talking about using herself as bait when she realized Jack had came to town.“What do you mean?” Charlotte asked with a frown on her face as she looked at Grace panting.Grace put one hand on her chest and the other was pointed outside the door of the shop. “He’s here, Charlotte. My ex husband is here.” She said, swallowing at the same time, talking.She had gone out to take the trash when she saw him down the road on the main street seeing as she had decided to take the front.She was scared, or maybe she was more than scared. She wanted to go hide somewhere, anywhere at all, wherever it was that he wouldn’t find her.“What? Are you sure?” Charlotte asked, the distress showing right there on her face. She was sure that she was going to have a heart attack if care wasn’t taken because of how hard her heart was thumping against her rib cage. Nodding as she looked from Charlotte to the door, she said. “Yes. I’m sure he’s the one I saw.” She said.“Okay, you know what?” Charlotte asked w
Charleston, West VirginiaFBI BuildingWhen Agent Conner walked into the observation room the afternoon of that Saturday, he didn’t think he would see their boss, the deputy director, Mr. Jimmy, and a junior agent, Agent Smith in there.He was wearing a dark blue suit with a white and black striped shirt inside it, and he stood there in front of the one way mirror with his arms folded across his chest.“Sir,” he greeted him with a nod.“Agent Conner.” Mr. Jimmy nodded at him and then he greeted Smith then he sighed, before turning back to look through the one way mirror, where Agent Ezekiel sat and on the opposite side of the chair, was Jack Northland and Mr. Darien, his lawyer.The bastard had lawyered up the moment Zeke had mentioned warehouse to him. “What has the bastard said?” Conner asked looking at his junior colleague, but Agent Smith just shook his head. He hadn’t said anything, Conner thought. If the shake of his boss’s head was any indication.Conner furrowed his brow, pond
The small, secluded corner of the charity event became the stage for a confronting Jack, and it was as if Grace couldn’t think of anything than what they had planned, as she stared at Jack’s face. He looked as if he could have shot her if they were alone, but thankfully, they weren’t. Zeke’s penetrating gaze fixed on Jack, looking at him with reproach, something to mirror the exact way Grace felt.“You’ve been walking a tightrope, Jack,” Zeke said, his voice carrying a weighty seriousness. “But the act ends now.”There was nothing Grace could do but let Zeke take the lead, but at the moment, she seemed to have lost her voice and things seemed to be like a dream. She couldn’t believe in a million years she would be able to do a thing like this, confronting Jack, a man who had made her suffer all those years ago, like this.Jack’s facade flickered briefly, a moment of uncertainty crossing his face before he regained composure. “I’m not following,” he retorted, striving to mask his grow
Grace’s heart pounded with nervous anticipation as the car pulled up in front of the grand entrance to the charity event. “Be still, my heart.” She whispered.If this was some other day when she wasn’t so tensed and nervous, she would have thrown her head back and laughed at the ridiculousness of her words to steady herself.No one said words like that anymore, talk less, to themselves. She clutched her purse to herself as Noah offered her his hand to pull her out of the back of the limo Zeke had arranged. According to him, they needed to arrive in style, so that people would know they were of importance, as that would aid their plans for the night.The swarm of reporters and flashing cameras waiting outside made her feel uneasy, but there was a faint sense of relief knowing that anything that transpired tonight would be caught on camera, dissuading Jack from trying anything untoward.As she held unto Noah’s hand, she felt as if she could conquer the whole world, his confidence radiat
Being tensed doesn’t even began to explain how Grace was feeling as she sat in the hotel room in front of the mirror, her reflection staring back at her with anticipation and dread. They were back in San Diego, according to Zeke’s request that they attend Jack’s charity event he was hosting with some people.He said he suspected that this was how they had been able to keep under the radar for a long while, and he wanted them to show up there.So, being nervous and tensed was just an understatement. If anything, she was scared, and the way her heart was leaping hard in her throat, pumping hard against her rib cage, was indication enough.Her hands trembled as she attempted to apply a touch of makeup, but her nerves made the task difficult. Tonight was the night she would confront her ex-husband, Jack, face-to-face for the first time since she ran away from him.Zeke’s plan echoed in her mind, the fact that he had said they had to attend this charity event, hosted by Jack and his associ
Back in West Valley Rocks, Grace and Noah became even more discreet about things than ever, but they were doing as Zeke had asked them to be. Things were a bit tough, between going to work, and making sure to close early, and driving back home to ensure no one from Diana came to threaten her again.Noah had insisted actually, but she didn’t want to have to be that scared anymore. Now, she was eased into closing early and getting back home early where it was save.Speaking of Diana, according to Noah, who wanted to meet with her and ask her about sending that man, she was nowhere to be found in town, so maybe she had skipped town, or at least, that was what Grace believed.Anyway, after work today, she had decided to make some pot roast she would be taking with her over to Noah’s parents, as they had invited a small number of people over to their house to celebrate the success of Zeke and his wife’s wedding, and honeymoon.Grace shook her head when she remembered Tammy calling her to i
The dimly lit apartment seemed smaller than usual as Noah and Grace stood facing each other, the tension thick between them. Grace’s hands trembled slightly as she struggled to articulate her fears. “Noah, I can’t do this anymore. We were so close to being caught tonight. I can’t bear the thought of something happening to you.”Noah’s jaw clenched as he tried to maintain his resolve. “But Grace, we’re onto something. This isn’t just about us anymore. There’s something fishy going on in that warehouse, and I need to find out what it is.”“But at what cost, Noah?” Grace’s voice cracked, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. “I can’t lose you. I won’t be able to live with myself if anything happens to you because of this.”He softened, realizing the depth of her distress. “I understand, Grace. I do. But if we stop now, we might never uncover the truth. I can’t just turn away.”They stood in silence for a moment, the weight of their opposing desires pulling at the fabric of their rela
The warm fragrance of sandalwood and man filled her nostrils, making her want to thread her fingers into the heavy waves of his hair, so she could hold him there and simply breathe in.They had just finished packing and Noah and came to her room to find her, to talk, but somehow, they had ended up in each other’s arms, his tongue down her throat.Her heart stuttered as he released her hands to slide one of his under her hair to the nape of her neck. The first brush of his mouth against hers had sent her eyelids drifting down so she could savor the firm warmth of the lipsHe traced the line between her lips with the tip of his tongue, not invading, just stroking lightly, shifting his weight so his thigh pressed between hers, the thin material of her skirt pulling tight around her hips to accommodate him.Grace moaned as she parted her lips, he swept inside, his tongue teasing the moist flesh of her mouth as he stroked it around, then he moved his leg between her thigh a little bit.It
Grace sighed, feeling a mix of relief and regret. “Noah, I… I’m sorry,” she said, her voice tinged with remorse. “I had no idea you felt that way. I was hurt and confused, thinking I had repulsed you in anyway. I mean, I’ve seen how attractive your ex girlfriend looks, so...”She trailed off to look away from him, getting embarrassed from talking this close to him. He put his hand under her chin to raise her face to his, a small smile playing on his mouth.Their eyes met, a silent understanding passing between them. The air seemed lighter, the tension that had loomed between them dissipating with the truth finally laid bare.“I realized what I should have done when I pulled back. I should have talked to you about it,” Noah admitted, a hint of remorse in his voice. “But when I heard that cry, all I wanted to do was beat myself up and just punish me for hurting you in whatever way.”Grace nodded in agreement. “Yeah, we both should have. But now that we’ve cleared that up…” She trailed o