Finding Gracie's Rainbow

by Deborah A. Price

  Jackson walked over to his friend and pushed him into their group. Christian flipped his phone shut and looked over at Jackson as he slipped the letter into his pocket.

  “What is going on?” Christian asked as Annie walked up to him.

  “Gracie doesn't want you to work.” Annie smiled at him as she looked around at the other couples.

  “She could have just said that.” Christian said as he listened to music. “Aah, normal dancing. Do you know what she just handed me?”

  “Not a clue,” Annie watched as Gracie sat down at a table with Jackson.

  “The letter she had written her mother and there is blood on it.” Christian watched Annie seriously as he looked over to where she was staring. “Jackson is starting to lose patience with her.”

  “I wish I could tell him what was going on. Gracie isn't going to open up about it.” Annie was worried about the toll of the investigation on the relationship between her cousin and her friend.

  “Stop thinking about that. You know that we aren't supposed to interfere.” Christian mumbled while they continued to dance.

  “I can’t sit here and watch her push him away. Do you realize how long Jackson has had feelings for her?” Annie looked him straight in the eyes as she asked.

  “I can just about guess.” Christian frowned as he studied her. “I'm wondering why I am still investigating this. Usually as soon as they find you that you're too involved, they will yank you from the case.”

  “You didn’t know anybody but Jackson.” Annie sat down, and he followed her. “I, on the other hand. . .”

  “Live with the victims,” Christian glanced over at Jackson as he finished her sentence for her.

  Jackson looked over at Gracie after they had sat down to watch the others. “So have you had enough of your ‘me’ time?”

  “Harsh,” Gracie said as she finally looked at him. “You've changed over the last couple of weeks.”

  “I ain't the only one.” He was looking at her through narrowed eyes as he talked. “By the way, I hope you remember the special dance, just in case we win this morning’s competition.”

  “What special dance?” Gracie was looking at him puzzled.

  “The one we were supposed to dance ten years ago.” Jackson watched as friends and family sat down around them.

  “That was a long time ago,” Gracie looked around her and watched as her parents stood. “I so do not wish to win this.” She said as Jackson half smiled.

  “The music will remind you if we do.” Jackson was watching the expression cross her face.

  “You could remind me later.” Gracie didn't like to be put on the spot. She glanced over at Paige, who was sitting close enough to hear the conversation.

  “You might as well put your dancing shoes back on. I heard the judges talking to your boss already.” Paige was smiling at the both of them.

  “This contest has been fixed, and I demand a redo.” Gracie was serious as she watched her father confer with Mr. Foster.

  “Have you got the proof that it was fixed?” Steven was laughing at his sister. “You looked in top form to me.”

  Jackson was smiling as they were called. “You made the dance up so. . .”

  “I don’t remember it, Jackson.” Gracie was pulling him back. “Forfeit, I can't do this.”

  “We aren't forfeiting.” Jackson turned to her as the music started. “Now close your eyes and remember.”

  She opened her eyes and found herself dancing, keeping up with Jackson’s steps.

  “Told you.” Jackson was smiling down at her.

  “Yes, you did.” Gracie looked at him seriously after the dance ended. She watched as Salem walked over to them with his wife.

  “Your family sure knows how to celebrate a birthday.” Salem smiled as he shook her hand and then Jackson’s. “I’ll be back week after this to help at the office.”

  “What for?” Gracie asked before thinking. “Are you going to fire me?”

  “No, but you will be busy.” Salem walked off smiling as Gracie looked over at Jackson.

  “Did you hear that, Jackson? I'm going to be busy in two weeks.” Gracie started frowning as she sat down.

  Jackson looked over at Christian and back at her. “I heard.” He needed to find a way to distract her so that the party wouldn't be ruined. “I'm going for some water. Would you like something?” Gracie shook her head as he walked off.

  “Help.” Jackson mumbled under his breath as he got closer to the rest of her family.

  “What is up?” Dylan asked as glanced over to where Gracie was sitting by herself.

  “Somebody reminded her of the trial before he left.” Jackson watched the looks going around the tables. “We need to take her mind off of that.”

  “So take her out.” Christian watched as he grabbed two bottles of water. “Nobody is going to be upset if you two cut out early.”

  “I think that I'll do that.” He smiled as he took the water to the table. “Let’s go catch a movie.”

  “Whatever,” Gracie stood and walked to her parents to thank them for the party and then walked off with Jackson.

  Chandler and Janet looked at each other puzzled before looking at their other guests and walking towards them. “Is there something we should know?” Chandler asked as he noticed that Steven was watching his sister leave.

  “Not that we know of.” Steven answered his father as Sammie and Ed walked over to them with Bea.

  Bea was walking next to Ed, smiling as he teased her. Ed sat down and looked at Steven. “If I am Mark’s second cousin, does that not mean that Bea and I are related?”

  “Yes, it does.” Steven looked at his youngest niece. “You are third cousins.”

  “That’s so cool.” Bea laughed at Sammie. “See, you are too dating my cousin.”

  Steven laughed at them, as he thought about Gracie. “Such a small world.” He murmured as Paige studied him.

  Chapter 20

  Gracie tried to busy herself the next week with her work. She had finally finished the manuscript that Simone had given to her. She smiled as she thought about calling Carolyn about Gaige Forrester’s new offer. She had purposely given Simone that story because she knew the author’s work.

  Addison watched her throughout the week. She noticed that Christian and Annie were at the office a lot going over all the testimony and the charges brought against Mark and his cousin.

  On Friday, Gracie finally asked about what was going to happen to Susan and Christian looked at her seriously. “Do you wish to bring charges against her?”

  “No, I don’t.” Gracie looked across the desk at him as she answered. “She saved my daughter from Mark’s hands.” She stood as she thought about the kidnapping. “Susan was coerced into doing what she did. Does that not make her a victim?”

  “In my point of view it does.” Annie spoke up from beside Christian watching Gracie start to pace. “What about the manuscript charge?”

  “I would like to drop that. She turned it over to get sent to prison.” Gracie stopped pacing long enough to look at her. “I thought that I would die with the little time that I was with Mark. She spent nine years going through the same thing.”

  “I’ll talk to the judge.” Christian stood and walked towards her. “Would you like to watch the video that we’re going to show to the court?”

  “Not really,” Gracie started frowning at him as she answered. “I would like for someone to fast forward through the whole mess and get it over with. The Camerons are coming in sometime tonight, and they're going to stay with my parents.”

  “I was wondering about them.” Annie looked over at Christian before asking her the next question. “Are you up to working on your journal?”

  “Not really, but I won't let my mom read that.” Gracie walked back over to her desk and sat down when she saw the look on Christian’s face. “Don’t worry, Detective, I'll have it ready for you.”

  Addison buzzed Gracie's intercom. “Gracie, your moth
er is on line one.”

  “Thank you, Addison.” Gracie glanced at Christian and Annie as she answered the phone. She hung up and looked down at her desk. “It seems that the Camerons are already here.”

  Christian stood and walked to the office doors. “I'll go see the Camerons now. Will you join me or do you need to get back to your office?” He looked at Annie before opening the doors.

  “I need to get back to the office.” Annie frowned as she never took her eyes from Gracie as Christian left.

  Gracie raised her eyebrows as she looked over at her roommate. “What are you thinking about?”

  “Christian is really not that bad.” Annie stood up then as Gracie smiled.

  “I'm glad you figured that out.” Gracie stood and walked over to her. “Now when are you going to admit that you like him?”

  “When you start talking to Jackson.” Annie watched as Gracie started frowning at her.

  “Don’t go there, Annie.” Gracie shut the doors after Annie left, and Addison watched her.

  Addison waited until after Gracie sat down before walking into the office without knocking. “It’s lunch time, Gracie."

  Gracie stared at her before saying anything. “I want to get as much done as possible today.”

  “I’ll bring you a tray then.” Addison sat down and studied her. “You have smoke coming out of your ears. Calm your thoughts down.”

  Gracie caught herself getting angrier. “You know what I’m fixing to go through. Any suggestions about how I should calm down?”

  “Do something fun.” Addison was scrutinizing her. “What did your mom want? She never calls the main phone.”

  “Bea’s grandparents are in town for the trial.” Gracie stood. “I hope nobody tries to take their picture.”

  “Why is that?” Addison asked as she wrote down what Gracie wanted for lunch.

  “They’re Amish; very traditional Amish.” Gracie saw the shock come over Addison’s face. “I forgot to mention that, didn’t I?”

  “I think so.” Addison smiled. “I never met anybody Amish.”

  “They’re good people.” Gracie stood and opened her file. “Did I forget to have you call Carolyn?”

  “I called her this morning. She is thrilled about Gaige.” Addison stood and walked to the doors. “Try not to think about next week, Gracie.” She had said before she walked out the doors.

  “Easier said than done.” Gracie thought to herself as she started going over the articles for next week’s magazine. Five o' clock finally came, and she shut her computer down, making sure there were no loose papers laying around for Salem to find. Satisfied with what she had accomplished, she walked out to Addison’s desk. “What are you still working on?”

  “Is it time, already?” Addison looked up at her strangely as she quickly finished typing a reply to an email. “Give me a couple of minutes.” She signed off and then shut the computer down. Grabbing her purse, she walked with Gracie out of the building. “So what are you going to do this weekend?”

  “Revisit my past.” Gracie said solemnly as she got into her car. She looked up at Addison. “Don’t look so shocked. I have to take Bea over to meet her grandparents.”

  “I forgot. Have fun and, Gracie. . .” Addison looked at her seriously. “Don’t stress yourself out too much.”

  “I'll try not to.” Gracie shut her door and took off towards her sister’s house to pick up Bea.

  Kim opened the door as Gracie pulled up. “I heard you have company over at Mom’s house.”

  Gracie sighed. “News does get around- doesn’t it?” She noticed that Ed was sitting with Sammie on the couch as they watched a movie with Bea and Garrison. “So, how serious is that relationship?”

  “I’ve had to set an extra place at the table a lot lately.” Kim smiled. “But at least they both respect the rules.”

  “I'm happy to hear that.” Gracie watched as Bea saw her and ran over to where she was standing. “How is it going, Princess?”

  “I am having fun.” Bea looked at the expression on her mother’s face. “Kim said we were going to grandma’s house.”

  “That we are. Are you ready?” Gracie noticed that Sammie had looked in their direction, and she smiled at her.

  Sammie stood and walked over to her aunt. “May I talk to you?”

  Gracie looked at her puzzled, “Sure.”

  “Privately,” Sammie looked down at her cousin. “The movie is still on, Bea.”

  Sammie walked out the back door as Gracie followed her. “Ed’s mother knows what is going on.”

  “She does? I’m not surprised. Ed’s father has been in the newspaper for the last couple of weeks.” Gracie sat down in one of the deck chairs.

  “She knows more than the papers.” Sammie looked at Gracie worriedly. “She used to go up to Pennsylvania when Ed was younger so that he would appreciate the luxuries that he had, and she’s close to the Camerons. They were there when you were.”

  “How much do you know, Sammie?” Gracie looked over at her shocked at what she was hearing.

  “More than I want to know. Why did you allow yourself to marry him?” Sammie had tears in her eyes. “Why didn't you leave him?”

  “I'm not telling you that, Sammie.” Gracie stood aggravated with the fact that Sammie knew what her life had been like. “Please, forget what you know. I never wanted anybody to learn about any of this.”

  “Ed wants to go with you.” Sammie said causing Gracie to turn around. “It has been awhile since he has seen them.”

  Kim was watching as Sammie talked to Gracie outside before she turned around to look at Ed. “What is all that about?”

  Ed looked up at her from the movie and stood not to disturb the younger kids. “There’s something that you don't know.”

  “And I am waiting to learn.” Kim looked at Ed hard. “Spill it.”

  “My mother was visiting the Camerons when Mark took Gracie up there.” Ed started to explain. “Sammie heard her talking to one of her friends on the phone and started asking her questions.” Ed paused as he saw the look come over Kim’s face. “Momma thought that Sammie knew, or she wouldn’t have answered her.”

  “Oh, God.” Kim frowned at him as she listened. “So now she knows more than I would have told her.”

  “If you could have seen the look on her face after Mom told her, you would've been sick. I thought Sammie could have committed murder then.” Ed was frowning just as hard as Kim. He glanced over at Bea. “My cousin has Mark’s eyes.”

  Kim glanced at Bea. “Not completely, she might have the color, but not the shape.” She walked out the door after talking to Ed and Sammie looked at her with the tears still threatening to fall down her face.

  “Sammie, some things just happen. Some reasons aren't meant to be explained.” Gracie walked to the door. “And if Ed wants to come with us, then he can.”

  Sammie watched her as Kim hugged her. “You really can't expect me to forget everything that I know.”

  “My life is going to move forward, Sammie.” Gracie smiled at her. “You can only learn from my example.”

  Kim looked into her daughter’s eyes after Gracie walked back into the house. “You were never meant to know any of that.” She kept hugging her as Sammie finally let the tears escape her.

  “I think that I'm old enough to know.” Sammie said through her sobs. “I think that Jackson was right when he told me that there should be an instruction manual for her.”

  Kim laughed then. “When did Jackson say that?”

  “At the party,” Sammie finally smiled. “I found out what happened when I had dinner with Ed and his mother on Monday.”

  Ed peeked out the door and waved to them while he was getting ready to follow Gracie over to her parent’s house. He was relieved to see Sammie smiling and blew her a kiss as Kim watched.

  “He seems like a pretty decent guy.” Kim said as she watched him leave.

  “His mother doesn't play around with him.” Sammie walked into th
e house and looked over at Garrison, who was still watching television.

  “I'm glad to hear that. When are you going to invite them to church?” Kim followed her into the house watching as she sat down next to Garrison.

  “They’re coming Sunday.” Sammie smiled as she talked. “You’ll like his mother; she acts a lot like Paige.”

  ~

  Gracie pulled into her parent’s driveway and looked at her daughter. “Are you ready to meet your other grandparents?”

  “They’re here?” Bea brought her hand back from the door handle as she looked up at her mother. “What if I don’t like them?”

  “You’ll like them, Princess.” Gracie opened her door and waited for Bea to join her. “They’re a little different from us, but they're very nice people.” She took her hand, and they walked up the sidewalk together and walked into the door.

  Chandler looked up from the couch where he was talking to Jonah Cameron and smiled as he saw Bea walking in with Gracie. “Bea, come over and meet your other grandparents.” Chandler looked over at Gracie as she looked around for her mother.

  “Pop, where is mom?” Gracie asked him as she hugged Jonah and Sarah.

  Chandler frowned as he answered. “She's in your old bedroom.”

  “Why?” Gracie noticed the frown on his face. “Tell me she doesn't have the journal.”

  Mark’s sister walked into the room, nodding at Ed as she talked. “I’m afraid she does, Gracie. You haven't changed a bit.” She smiled as she watched Ed sit down with her parents.

  “Mary, how are you doing?” Gracie smiled as she walked over to hug her.

  “I’m doing just fine.” Mary answered as Gracie started to the staircase. “I didn't know who to give the journal to, and she took it.”

  “Thanks.” She watched as Bea talked with Jonah and Sarah. Gracie took the staircase two steps at a time as she wanted to reach her mother. “Mom?” She watched her as she went over to the old desk that was sitting in the corner.

  Her mother turned to her with tears in her eyes. “How could you put yourself through this?”

  “I had to.” Gracie answered as she went and hugged her mother to her. “I thought I said I would take care of this.” She flipped through the pages noticing that her mother had already written down all the words. “I didn't want you reading this.”