Saving Gracie

by Kristen Ethridge

  Gracie and Jake talked some about that first meeting—not even a week ago—and companionably ate the dinner Jenna had prepared. In typical Jenna fashion, the BLTs were clearly made with love. She’d built each sandwich on fluffy French loaves, spread them with pesto and garnished both with fresh mozzarella cheese.

  They weren’t ordinary BLT sandwiches, and this was no ordinary evening. Waves lapped against the side of the boat and their sweet sound fit the moment more perfectly than any symphony.

  “I don’t know what I’m going to do next, Gracie. Too many of my dreams have been lost this last year. I placed my trust in a client who lied to me and cost me my business and more. I tried to earn back the trust of the board of directors at my family’s company, only to find out I couldn’t give them the only thing that mattered to them—DNA—and I didn’t even know it.” Jake paused, looking around, and then focusing back on Gracie with intensity.

  “I don’t think I told you that I’m going to be an uncle—Jenna’s expecting—and the more I think about what having another generation means in my life, the more I want to make sure I get things right. I went with Jenna to her prenatal checkup today—she’s a patient of Gloria’s, believe it or not—and I got to hear the heartbeat of the next member of my family. Then I came to your school and talked with your students. It’s all made me realize I enjoy connecting with people the most. I may not have been the most successful attorney during my time in Austin, but I allowed myself to believe my client’s false story simply because I wanted to help others. I still do.”

  Gracie wiped her hands after finishing her last bite of BLT. “I know you’ll find something that suits you. Maybe you could teach business classes at the college? I had to leave my studies there because of...personal reasons...but I’ve always hoped I could finish my teaching degree so I can continue to help others.”

  “I have to find a job sooner rather than later. I do have a settlement I have to pay as part of the bankruptcy.” He paused. “Seeing the enthusiasm of your students today made me realize that whatever I do, I need to do something that touches individual lives.”

  Her smile gave him strength as he began turning this new corner in life.

  “Are you ready to pull up anchor? I want to head back for the marina before it gets dark. If anything happens to the boat, Mitch might not forgive me. And I’ll be picking you up bright and early for church tomorrow.”

  “Yes. Let’s get everything cleaned up.” Gracie shook the bread and chip crumbs from both plates overboard. Not much else was left—they’d eaten every scrumptious bite. Carefully, she laid the delicate plates and glasses back in the box.

  A few minutes later, Jake joined Gracie at the bow. She stood silently, taking one last look at the splashes of orange and yellow in the sky. Jake slipped an arm around her waist, grateful for the moment.

  He turned and looked Gracie in the eye. Her gaze reminded him of a chocolate lava cake he’d once had at a fancy restaurant—sweetness on the outside and warm pudding on the inside. It was a wordless moment, and she seemed to be searching him as much as he was searching her.

  He knew what he was looking for, and needed to know if she felt the same way. Carefully, he pulled her close. Suddenly, he could no longer see the chocolate in her eyes, but could taste the sweetness in her kiss.

  She didn’t pull back and Jake made the moment last a little longer, enjoying the feel of the breeze, the sway of the water and the tenderness of the woman in his arms. He felt stirred to the soul.

  When the kiss ended, they stood in a companionable silence, Gracie’s head resting on Jake’s shoulder as they gazed at the sky with its deep gold and orange streaks that cut through the clouds and shimmered on the water. He couldn’t feel much certainty in his life right now, but he knew he’d never question or regret this moment.

  Gracie turned toward Jake and broke the silence.

  “Did you ever hear back from Councilman Porter?”

  He couldn’t decide if the burnished sky or her copper highlights shone with more fire.

  “No, I didn’t. But I told him not to call unless there was a problem. So it looks like everything’s taken care of for Monday’s meeting.”

  “Good. That’s the icing on the cake of a perfect weekend.” She smiled with a brightness that put the setting sun to shame.

  “And the weekend’s not over yet.”

  “What do you mean?” Gracie looked at him with genuine interest. It felt good to know she didn’t want the moment to end, either.

  “Have you ever been to Summer Street Fest downtown? It’s tonight.”

  Gracie shook her head. “No, I haven’t. Usually when there’s a festival like that in town, the crowds at Huarache’s are pretty strong, so I wind up helping out with a couple of shifts at the restaurant.”

  As Jake intertwined his fingers with Gracie’s, he noticed that her hands—like everything else about her—were soft. He loved that Gracie wasn’t jaded. She still saw the sparkle of sunshine in life.

  “I haven’t been there in years,” Jake said. “But I can’t think of anyone I’d rather go back with.” He squeezed her soft palm once, then twice. She returned the gesture and the electric frisson that shot through him caught Jake by surprise. He couldn’t deny it. He’d fallen for Gracie.

  * * *

  After a few hours at Summer Street Fest, eating ice cream and window shopping in all the stores downtown, Jake walked Gracie to her front door. “Sweet dreams. I’ll see you in the morning. I’ll be here about forty-five minutes before church starts so we’ll have time to pick up doughnuts or a breakfast burrito on the way.”

  “That sounds great. Thank you for such a wonderful day, Jake. I’ll never forget it.” She unlocked the door and stepped inside.

  He waited on the porch long enough to hear Gracie turn the lock and see the hall light come on. Satisfied that she was safely inside, Jake climbed in the truck and turned toward home.

  One of his favorite songs, a Creedence Clearwater Revival classic, came on the radio. Jake rolled down the window and let the sea breeze blow through his hair. His whole world had come crashing down during the last twenty-four hours, and yet he felt like celebrating.

  Time with Gracie changed his whole outlook on life.

  The cell phone he’d casually tossed in the car’s cupholder earlier started to ring. He almost didn’t want to answer it because he was having so much fun singing.

  But it might be Gracie and he didn’t want to miss hearing her voice one more time tonight.

  “Hello?”

  “Jake, it’s Jenna.” Her voice quivered.

  “Everything went great today—thank you again for all the help. The boat’s safe and sound. Don’t be so worried.” He laughed at his sister panicking over her husband’s pride and joy.

  “I’m not calling about the boat, Jake. It’s Nana. She’s had a heart attack. You need to get to Provident Medical Center right now.”

  Chapter Ten

  Gracie felt thankful for hardwood flooring. She would have worn a hole in a carpet with the number of times in the past twenty minutes she’d walked to the small digital clock on her nightstand. Jake should have arrived to pick her up almost half an hour ago. Church would start in less than ten minutes.

  She picked up her cell phone and pressed two keys, triggering the redial function.

  Ring.

  Ring.

  Ring.

  “You’ve reached Jake Peoples. I can’t take your call right now...”

  Gracie hung up. She’d heard the automated message about ten times already. And she’d left three messages. Gracie didn’t see the sense in leaving any more.

  Nor did she see the sense in waiting any longer. She would miss worship by continuing to stall. Gracie grabbed her keys and purse off the table near her small bathroom and headed d
ownstairs.

  Maybe Jake had forgotten that he’d committed to picking her up. That explanation seemed plausible. He was probably already sitting at church, saving her a seat and sharing a laugh with Mamí and Papí.

  In fact, they were probably all wondering why she was running so late. She needed to get her little blue Ford in gear and get on the road—without thinking of Jake, whose car repair help and borrowed screw a few days ago made it possible for her car to start this morning.

  Outside the church, Gracie saw dozens of cars she recognized, but not the one gray truck she hoped for. Maybe Jake parked in the next block or around the back.

  Mariela Ramos began to play a hymn’s opening notes as Gracie opened the door to the sanctuary. Even though the song signaled the beginning of church, Gracie didn’t rush to find a seat. She stayed put in the doorway, scanning the back of everyone’s head looking for one particular short, dirty-blond haircut.

  “Gracie!” Gloria’s attempt at whispering could be heard by the crowd in the back half of the sanctuary. She waved her hand.

  Gloria moved her Bible off the seat it had been saving and Gracie slid into her spot. She stayed perched on the edge of the seat, unable to settle in. She should have watched the choir singing, looked through her bulletin and located the day’s verse in her Bible. She should have focused on God while she sat in His house.

  But Gracie couldn’t keep her eyes off the door.

  Where was Jake?

  “What’s the matter?” Gloria passed Gracie a note scrawled across the top corner of the bulletin.

  Gracie waved her hand dismissively and shook her head. “Nothing.” She pushed the trifold back to her sister.

  The speed at which Gloria’s eyebrows shot up wordlessly told Gracie her sister wasn’t going to leave it at that. She knew there was something behind the quick denial. Gloria picked up her pen again, but Mamí plucked it from her fingers. They’d never been allowed to pass notes in church, and even though they were both grown, Mamí’s rules remained steadfast.

  The choir started singing one of Gracie’s favorite hymns. She tried to listen to the voices raised in praise. But the doubt in her head drowned out all the surrounding sounds of grace.

  Pastor Ruiz stepped to the pulpit. “Bienvenidos, mi familia. Today we’re going to speak about a topic affecting us all. Trust. Worrying. What does Jesus say about these two things? In Matthew 6:34, He says plainly ‘Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.’”

  Oh, boy, did it. The words hit home to Gracie. But instead of focusing on the preacher’s lesson, she found herself drawn into her own worries, rehashing them in her mind.

  An hour later, Gracie still couldn’t control her mental wanderlust.

  “Yoo-hoo? Where have you been all morning?” Gloria poked at Gracie’s shoulder for emphasis.

  Gracie kept walking, wending her way through the small after-church crowd in the foyer. “Hmm?”

  “Exactly. You’ve just proven my point. What is on your mind?” Gloria stopped Gracie from exiting the church. “Is it Jake?”

  Gracie blinked, trying to clear the fog from her mind. “Qué?”

  “Jake. The guy you’ve thought about all the time recently.”

  “He’s not here.” She tried to scan the faces nearby. Maybe she just missed seeing him in the sanctuary.

  “I know he’s not and, mentally, neither are you. What is going on?” Gloria took Gracie by the chin and turned her face, bringing them eye to eye.

  “He said he’d pick me up for church this morning, but he didn’t show.”

  Gloria dropped her hand. “When did he tell you he was coming?”

  “Last night, after our date.” She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Gracie could feel the pins and needles she’d sat on all morning. As the numbness wore off, the hurt began to set in. “He said he’d be back in the morning for church, then he went to give the boat keys back to his sister.”

  “Jenna Peoples Carson? That sister?” A spark of animation popped into Gloria’s voice.

  “Yes, why?” Gloria only sounded like this when her instinct kicked in, and Gracie knew from experience not to discount Gloria’s gut feelings.

  Her sister frowned, which didn’t reassure Gracie about what was coming next.

  “Jenna Carson is a patient of mine. In fact, Jake was with her at yesterday’s appointment and I thought he was there as the father, not the uncle. So I made it clear I was his girlfriend’s sister. She was surprised to hear he even had a girlfriend. She seems very nice, but Jenna Carson is the number two person in charge of the largest foundation in town. She sits on the board of every major charity on this island and her face is pictured on the society page every single week. What if she said something about his new girlfriend after they left the clinic yesterday?”

  Gracie took a step back. That didn’t sound at all like the sister Jake described. Jenna had even set up the boat and made that delicious meal for Jake and Gracie. But the pins and needles poked more, leaving a burning sensation. Maybe Gloria was on to something. “What are you getting at?”

  “They’re already in the middle of a huge storm because of the revelations at the board meeting. The Peoples name is damaged goods right now. If it got out that Jake was dating a girl like you, there would be even more fires to put out.”

  Gloria’s words drove into Gracie like a punch to the gut. A blow in a boxing ring would have inflicted less pain than the shot to Gracie’s pride, to the heart of her insecurities.

  “A girl like me?” She desperately hoped her sister meant something other than the way Gracie took the comment.

  Gloria nodded. “An immigrant from Mexico. You do good work at your school. I help women—even those like Jenna Carson—bring new life into the world. But this is a small town, and you and I both know none of that matters to certain groups of people.”

  Gracie knew Gloria wasn’t pulling a wild theory out of thin air. She remembered everything—and she never would have forgotten how David treated her kid sister years ago.

  How could Gracie have been so blind not to see the reality again? How could she be so naive? Jake might have expressed feelings for her yesterday, but it wouldn’t take long for him to be set straight about the reality of trying to rebuild his reputation while in a relationship with a girl from the other side of town.

  “Do you really believe that, Gloria?” The words came out in a whisper. Each syllable scraped her throat raw.

  Her older sister answered without a blink or a flinch. “Of course I do.”

  * * *

  The cell phone vibrated in the truck’s cupholder where it lay, forgotten in the frenzy of the past twenty-four hours. After four rings, the voice-mail message came on in lieu of the owner’s personal greeting.

  “You’ve reached Jake Peoples. I can’t take your call right now. Please leave your name, number, and a brief message. I’ll return your call as soon as possible. Thanks.”

  Beep.

  “Jake. It’s Carter Porter. I just got your message—I’ve been out of town with the family. Look, I can’t take back the proposal. We have to move forward. You’re not the only one who was interested in the Maximized Revenue Zones. I’ll see you at the meeting tomorrow and we’ll discuss it more. Bye.”

  * * *

  Gracie’s heart skipped a beat as she pushed open the heavy door to the City Council’s chambers. She hadn’t planned on coming to the meeting since Jake told her he’d decided to call off the proposal. But she hadn’t heard from him all day yesterday and after a sleepless night, she needed to talk to him—needed to know Gloria’s theory was wrong—and she was running out of logical places to get answers.

  She even made a midnight drive past his grandmother’s estate. The familiar
truck wasn’t parked out front, and she couldn’t see a single light on, either in the carriage house or the main house.

  Gracie didn’t know why he wasn’t answering his phone or where he’d gone. But maybe he’d be at the meeting today. It was her best hope of finding him and asking the questions drilling a hole in her brain. The more Gracie thought about it, the more Gloria’s statement after church made too much sense.

  Just like yesterday at church, though, Gracie didn’t see Jake in the crowd. She took a seat near the back so she could watch for him, unnoticed by the rest of those gathered to hear Port Provident’s official business.

  At least she only needed to worry about finding Jake, not about saving El Centro. If she hadn’t been told that the outcome of this meeting was secure, she didn’t think she’d be able to handle it. Thank goodness she knew Jake had left the message for Carter Porter and that Jake told her yesterday things appeared to be straightened out.

  Gracie really only wanted to deal with one major source of stress at a time.

  “All right, everyone, let’s call today’s meeting to order.” Mayor Blankenship spoke into the microphone placed in front of her. “Let the record show that we have a quorum. First on the agenda today, we will revisit the issue of Maximized Revenue Zones on Gulfview Boulevard. Councilman Porter, the floor is yours.”

  A little kick of adrenaline surged into Gracie’s bloodstream. Shouldn’t something else be on the agenda? But Jake said things were going to be okay. She clung to the reassurance he’d given her, even if nothing else about Jake made sense right now.

  She assumed Jake’s friend would set the record straight and then her heart rate could slow back to normal.

  “Thank you, Madam Mayor. We held off the vote last week to give businesses affected by the proposal the opportunity to get their affairs in order. Now that we’ve done our due diligence for our business owners in that matter, I’d like to propose that we move immediately to a vote on the proposal without any further discussion. Do I have a second?”

  A vote? A second?