“What do you know, cowboy?” Mercy asked, clearly catching on to the same slip-up that Grace had.
“I know that this is the best coffee in the whole damn world,” Grant said, focusing on the cup in his hand, deliberately not looking at her or Mercy as he sipped slowly.
“I think you’re full of shit,” Mercy argued. “I’ve tasted that coffee. Now what do you know?”
“Not a damn thing,” Grant said firmly, still studying that freaking coffee cup.
Grace knew something was up. Grant wasn’t one to gossip, but obviously, he knew something they didn’t. And since it had to do with her dad, she wanted to know just what the hell it was.
Grace rose from her chair and closed the gap between them, coming to stand directly in front of Grant. So close that he had to move the coffee cup out of the way. When their eyes met, she could see he was smiling. Not with his lips, but the slight crinkles at the corners of his eyes said he was fighting it.
“Where’s my dad?” Grace asked, planting her hands on her hips. “And don’t you dare tell me that you don’t know.”
“I really don’t know,” Grant said resolutely. “I haven’t seen him this mornin.'”
“Grant Kingsley, don’t you play dumb with me,” Grace snipped. “What. Do. You. Know?” she asked, punctuating each word with her finger into his chest.
“Ouch. Shit,” Grant said, laughing as he tried to get away from her. She had him trapped between her body and the counter, and if he tried too hard to break past her, he would spill his coffee on her, which she knew he wasn’t going to do.
“Spill it, cowboy,” Grace demanded, referring to what he knew and not the coffee.
“You don’t want to know,” Grant said, his eyes suddenly serious.
“Why? What happened?” Mercy interrupted, moving to stand next to Grace. “Is my dad okay?”
“He’s fine.” Grant’s blue eyes darted back and forth between Grace and Mercy. “Better than fine, I’d say.”
This time Mercy was the one to poke Grant with a finger, right in his belly, making him laugh — or maybe that was a grunt — and slosh coffee over the rim of his cup and onto his hand. Grace jumped back to avoid being scalded, but Mercy was right there, up in his face. Well, as up in his face as she could get considering how freaking short she was.
“Fine. Shit. Back off a minute,” Grant said with a rough chuckle.
Mercy did, but not far. She took a step back while Grace took a step forward, both of them still pinning Grant in place, with their eyes and their bodies. If he really wanted to get away, she knew he could easily move them out of his way, probably at the same time.
“I kinda … uh… stumbled upon your dad last night. Totally by accident,” he explained, a look of intense amusement on his face. “He was… Well, let’s just say he was otherwise occupied.”
“What?” Mercy exclaimed. “Are you sayin’ what I think you’re sayin’?”
“Depends,” Grant stated. “What do you think I’m sayin’?”
“My dad has a woman?” Mercy asked.
Grace’s head snapped toward her sister. How the hell had she come up with that? That was the furthest thing from Grace’s mind.
A woman?
Her dad?
Seriously?
Grant just nodded, a clear affirmation that Mercy’s assumption was correct.
“Oh, my God,” Mercy whispered, turning to look at Grace. “Pops? With a woman?”
“Like I said, I didn’t stick around, so honestly, I don’t think he knows I was there. So for chrissakes, don’t fucking say anything,” Grant bellowed. “Look, I gotta get to work.”
Grant glanced at Grace, their eyes meeting for a long moment. Grant was the first to break away, his gaze darting over to Mercy and then back to meet hers before he said, “I’ll stop by your place tonight. If that’s all right with you.”
Grace knew that Mercy was aware of what was going on between her, Grant, and Lane. Well, maybe she didn’t know quite how serious things had been getting, but hell, her nosy-ass sister had played a part in getting the three of them together in the first place. Even knowing that, Grace had to admit, it was still a little strange for her sister to be listening in. Rather than say anything, Grace simply nodded her head, her heart beating fast and hard in her chest.
“Talk to y’all later,” Grant said, dumping his coffee in the sink and putting his mug in the dishwasher before sneaking out the door.
When Grace turned around, she found Mercy sitting at the table, staring off into space. She looked a million miles away.
“You okay?” Grace asked.
“Pops has a woman.”
“That’s the rumor,” Grace confirmed, not sure what to say about that.
“Should we ask him about her? Who is she? Where did she come from? How long has he been seein’ her?” As the questions continued to tumble out of Mercy’s mouth, Mercy jumped to her feet and began to pace. “Do you think she works here? Does he love her?”
“Slow down,” Grace insisted, placing her hand on Mercy’s arm, effectively stopping her in her tracks. “Let’s take this one step at a time. First of all, we don’t know what Grant stumbled upon last night. Who knows, maybe it was a…” Oh, hell, Grace couldn’t say the words aloud. To think her father might’ve had a one-night stand didn’t seem appropriate.
Mercy turned to face Grace, her eyes reflecting what Grace could only assume was fear. Mixed with a hell of a lot of emotion.
Grace placed both hands on Mercy’s arms. “Don’t freak out. We don’t know anything at this point. Maybe we should talk to him.”
“You think?”
“No, but what other choices do we have?” Grace smiled.
Purely for Mercy’s benefit.
■□■□■□■□
Jerry didn’t move a muscle, his hand poised on the doorknob.
He was just about to make his way into the kitchen, where he generally met up with his girls each morning for coffee. At least one or two of them anyway, depending on how busy they were. He’d been ready to push open the door when he had heard voices. Two voices, to be exact. From where he stood, he knew one of them was Mercy. Her voice was unmistakable, not to mention loud. The other he wasn’t quite sure, but he thought it was Gracie.
It wasn’t the sound of the voices that had brought him to a halt, though.
Nope. He was pulled up short because of what they were saying.
Should we ask him about her? Who is she? Where did she come from? How long has he been seeing her? Do you think she works here? Does he love her?
Son of a gun.
They evidently knew about Jan, and by the tone of Mercy’s voice, she wasn’t too thrilled with the news that he was seeing someone.
Which was exactly why Jan hadn’t wanted him to share that little tidbit of information with any of them.
Who had told her? How did they know?
He wasn’t ashamed of his relationship with Jan. Quite the opposite, in fact. He’d been seeing her for the better part of the last eight months, and they had even talked about him introducing her to his daughters. Eight damn months and he’d never brought her to meet his kids. And that was one of the main reasons they hadn’t been able to take their relationship further, which he found he definitely wanted to do. And he wasn’t talking sex because … well, because that part of the relationship was smooth sailing at this point.
What kind of man was he that he couldn’t even show off the one woman who’d captured his heart when he hadn’t even realized it’d been set free in the first place?
Jan was concerned about how the girls were going to take the news, and according to what he’d just heard, rightfully so. In fact, Jan seemed more concerned about how the girls were going to react than he was. Maybe that was because she was a schoolteacher and her empathy where children were concerned far exceeded his.
Rather than be a pussy about it, Jerry knew he should’ve just marched right into that kitchen and answered all of
Mercy’s questions directly. It would’ve been so much easier.
Or, okay, maybe easier wasn’t the right word. It would’ve been smarter.
No, maybe that wasn’t the right one, either.
Shit.
He didn’t know.
What he did know was that he was tired of sneaking around. He was a grown man, and he had the right to see a woman if he wanted to. Right?
He was about to turn fifty-five, and he’d spent the last decade and a half alone. Well, mostly alone. There had been a handful of women over the last sixteen years since he’d lost his dear, sweet Charlotte, but none of them had been serious. Most of them hadn’t even known who he was because he had wanted it that way.
Yes, he would have to admit he’d had numerous one-night stands over the years, although he wasn’t proud of it. But Jan wasn’t a one-night stand. If he could assure his daughters that no one would ever replace Charlotte but that he deserved to find happiness again, maybe he could move forward.
The question was whether or not they would understand.
He knew his girls missed their mother. Hell, he missed her, too. But he’d forged through, raising his girls and maintaining the ranch that had been in his family for three generations completely, and painfully, alone. So didn’t he deserve a little happiness?
And he’d found that with Jan. He’d probably go so far as to say that he’d never been happier. She was sweet, smart, funny, gorgeous… Hell, he could go on endlessly about how incredible the woman was.
On top of that, she was… Lord help him, the woman was a spitfire. She kept him on his toes, made him think, made him ache, made him want things he hadn’t wanted in so long. She brought out a side of him that he’d inadvertently buried with Charlotte.
“Don’t freak out. We don’t know anything at this point. Maybe we should talk to him.” Yep, that was definitely Gracie. And today she was the voice of reason.
“You think?” Mercy asked.
“No, but what other choices do we have?”
Okay, maybe not complete reason — that was definitely the “no other choice” way of thinking.
It was the perfect opening, damn it. Now he was supposed to make his way into the kitchen, announce that he was in love with a woman and that he was ready to introduce her to his children. He wasn’t even scared to admit that he was in love, either.
No, that particular emotion was what kept him moving through every single day, something wonderful to look forward to every time he had a chance to see Jan.
Last night had been the first night she had accepted his invitation to come to the ranch. She’d been reluctant every other time, but he had promised her that she had nothing to worry about. And last night, when she’d arrived, he’d had every intention of accidentally coming into contact with one of his girls so he could make the introduction. They hadn’t made it past his office, though. The fireworks had been lit the second she’d stepped through his door, and he’d damn near devoured her whole, right there on his desk.
The thought of Jan laid out like a feast right there on his desk… Yep, it set his blood aflame.
He couldn’t help but think that the spur-of-the-moment inferno that occurred when they were together was not something he’d ever had with Charlotte. No, Charlotte had been so sweet, so wonderful in her own right, but she’d been the opposite of Jan.
Perhaps that was one of the reasons he didn’t feel guilty for loving Jan. He wanted to believe that if Charlotte could see him now, she would encourage him to find the contentment he’d forsaken for so long.
Shit.
It wasn’t helping to stand there and think about it. He knew he had to waltz right into that kitchen and tell Gracie and Mercy just how he felt about Jan.
Forcing his hand to twist the knob, Jerry put his feet in motion, stepping into the kitchen, smiling at his girls.
“Mornin’,” he greeted.
“Pops,” Mercy said, sounding surprised to see him.
“Last I checked, that was who was starin’ back at me in the mirror, yes,” he replied gently, tacking on a smile. Obviously, he was going to ramble versus say what truly needed to be said. The least he could do was be nice about it.
“See, he’s even smilin’,” Gracie mumbled, not looking at him.
“Of course, I’m smilin’. Why wouldn’t I be?” he asked, making his way to the refrigerator for a bottle of orange juice. He should’ve opted for coffee, in the hopes that it might give him a little energy. Last night had been…
Do not go there.
“What’re you girls in here talkin’ about?” he asked, hoping they might jump right to the subject and all of this secretive crap would be behind him.
“Nothin’,” Mercy answered quickly, her cheeks turning pink.
“You look guilty,” he said, uncapping the juice as he stared back at her. He continued to watch her over the end of the bottle as he brought it to his lips.
“I gotta go,” Mercy said abruptly, turning toward the door.
“Hold up, girlie,” he said roughly, nearly choking on his orange juice.
Now’s your chance.
“Was there somethin’ you wanted to talk to me about?”
Another wave of color spread across Mercy’s cheeks, but she shook her head. And with that, she hauled ass out the door without looking back.
Pretending he had no idea what was going on, something he was pretty damn good at, Jerry turned to Gracie. “Somethin’ wrong with her?” he asked, tipping his bottle toward the door.
“Maybe,” Gracie said honestly.
That’s what he loved about this one. She was always so damn open and honest about everything. Sometimes to a fault.
“Spill it, kid.” Jerry moved over to the table and lowered his body into the chair.
Shit, his muscles ached. More so than when he spent the day unloading hay bales from the trucks that brought them to the main barn. Probably because last night he’d used muscles that hadn’t been active in… Good grief, how long had it been?
Forever since he’d done anything like that. On a desk.
The memories made his skin heat, and he had to look away from Gracie, fearing his discomfiture might just show on his face.
“Dad,” Gracie began hesitantly. “Is there something you want to tell us?”
“Like what?” he asked, pretending not to know what she was talking about.
You’re screwing it up.
“Like…”
Gracie didn’t finish the sentence even though Jerry practically begged her to with his eyes.
Keep going, kid. Make this easy on your old man.
“Never mind,” she finally said. “I need to head out, too. It’s gonna be a long day.”
Jerry watched Gracie push to her feet and head for the door.
He should’ve called after her, should’ve told her to come back so he could spill his guts, get the weight of a thousand lifetimes off his chest.
But he didn’t.
No, he just watched his best opportunity to get things out in the open walk right out the door. Twice.
Damn it.
Chapter Twenty-One
Grace left her father’s office cursing herself for not taking the opportunity that had just been set up. She’d had the perfect opening to talk to her father about Lane and Grant, something she’d been pondering for a while now, and she’d chickened out.
Like a total wuss, she had tucked her tail between her legs and run.
Damn it.
That was the whole reason she’d been waiting for him, wanting to address the huge elephant in the room, because she knew that eventually it was going to be out. And at that point, she’d be backpedaling. Some people believed in the theory of don’t ask permission, just do whatever you want and ask for forgiveness later. Grace wasn’t built that way.
She wanted to have her father’s blessing, to know that he supported her in her decisions. No matter what those decisions were.
With so much going on with Gra
nt, Grace needed to be there for him. And that was going to call attention to their relationship.
Ever since she’d given up on her dream of barrel racing professionally, she’d regretted that she hadn’t followed the dream. Even if she didn’t want to do it now, Grace knew that was because of how hard she’d been on herself. If she was truly honest with herself, Grace knew her mother would’ve wanted her to pursue her dream.
So, yes, Grace had some regrets. Which is why she’d made a point not to chicken out, so to speak, anymore on the things that were important to her.
And right now, there wasn’t anything more important to her than Lane and Grant.
Based on what had happened when she’d showed up in her dad’s office during the altercation with Grant’s father, she was pretty sure Jerry suspected something was going on between her and Grant anyway. And she wanted to be the one to tell him before he freaked out, which she was pretty sure he was going to do.
And what better opportunity than when it was clear he had a secret of his own?
But noooo … Grace had waffled and hauled ass just like Mercy.
Speaking of Mercy, she really needed to find her sister. They needed to talk this out because, quite frankly, Grace was a little surprised by her sister’s reaction to the fact their father might just have a girlfriend.
Girlfriend.
God, that sounded strange.
Her father with a woman. She just couldn’t see it.
Grace had never known her father to date, although, yes, she wasn’t naïve enough to believe that the man had suffered without the companionship of a woman for all these years. She might wish it were so, because truthfully, she still didn’t want to think that there might be a woman out there who could replace her mother, but when she really thought about it, the idea of Jerry spending the rest of his life alone wasn’t fair, either. To anyone.
So yeah, she’d been surprised to find out from Grant that her father had been with a woman last night. But she hadn’t overreacted. Not the way Mercy had.
Figuring Mercy had probably headed to the one place she always sought solace when she was upset, Grace headed for the barn. Once there, she tried to move silently through the big, open space, but no luck. The sound of her boots shuffling on the concrete could be heard over the bleating of the goats that were currently acting as an alarm — notifying anyone there to her presence.
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