Falling Grace

by Melissa Shirley

I pushed her out of the bathroom and slammed the door.

  * * * *

  “Hot date with my brother?” Jamie asked as I stretched a leg behind my back. He reached out and touched one of the bruises on my neck, a soft, slow trace over my skin, the caress lasting longer than necessary. The whisper of his fingers warmed me deep inside, comforting licks of a flame that promised sweeter things. “He’s rather like a dog marking his territory, isn’t he?”

  Well, dog fits the description in more ways than one. Okay. Maybe my thoughts were still angry.

  “Lucky you’re not a fire hydrant.”

  “Did you come to chat or to run?” I snapped the words out a second before I took off sprinting around the lake. The heat in my cheeks didn’t come from the sprint but from the burning desire to get away from his words. My hands clenched tight as I pushed myself further, the blotchy dots at the corners of my vision brought on by his words.

  What was wrong with me? Jamie’s teasing tone took any sting that might be perceived from his words. I wanted to hit something, hard. I… I wanted him to touch me again.

  Pushing it all from my mind, I concentrated on the running. After the second curve and the first long straight away, he caught up and grabbed me by the arm. “Hey. I was only kidding.”

  His hand was a warm brand, and even after I shook him off, the heat lingered. I couldn’t keep looking at him and looked off into the woods. A trail ran off to the side, and instead of answering, I jogged down the marked path, under a canopy of trees and beside a bubbling creek. The temperature difference between the lake path and here cooled the sweat I’d accumulated trying to outrun Jamie’s astute observations about his brother.

  He caught up easily as I slowed to take in the beauty of nature.

  “Are you mad at me?” His voice washed over me, slow as though the answer mattered to him.

  I’d never been a real outdoorsy girl before, but now, I stood enraptured by the peaceful solitude of it all. A squirrel skittered by, chasing a nut that continued to roll away as soon as he touched it. I smiled over my shoulder at Jamie. “No.”

  “Liar.”

  I risked a look at him. His slight smile, the way he looked at his shoes when he said it, the flush of color in his cheeks… Lord, help me. I whipped my head back to study Mother Nature’s handiwork.

  “It’s okay…to be mad. I mean… I overstepped.”

  I ignored the rush of heat that sparked through me. “It’s pretty here.” This time I looked at him, measured the moment with that one glance. I couldn’t stand out here and decide anything while he took the time to care if I was mad, said all the right things and looked so damn hot I needed one of those hand fans.

  I’d broken the magic of the moment. He straightened and smiled. “You don’t go into the woods much, I guess.”

  “I’m not really a wilderness walk kind of girl.”

  “Come here. I want to show you something.” He led me a few yards into the trees, then stopped, looked around for a second, and set off again. “It’s through here.” We walked on until we came to a fallen tree almost as tall as my car. He climbed up easily as I stared at the obstacle. “Come on.” He jumped off to the other side.

  I gripped a branch and pulled myself up to stand atop the trunk. “I always wondered about the view tall people have.”

  He chuckled. “I don’t know anyone that tall.”

  “In a town this small you don’t know that Amazon deputy?” I looked down. The idea of jumping off the log sent fear racing through my veins. I shook my head. No matter which side I went down on, jumping was my only option. I choked back a gasp.

  “Come on. I won’t let you fall. I promise.”

  “No way.” I looked both ways down the fallen tree. Neither end tapered to a shorter height. I was stuck.

  His voice, the cadence and soothing vibration, comforted me, made me want to trust him to catch me if I fell.

  He held out his arms and waved his fingers at me. “Come on. Don’t be a princess.”

  I narrowed my eyes at the challenge, held a deep breath, and jumped. True to his word, he caught me in the air, and I powered into his chest, knocking us both down, me on top. His eyelids fluttered shut and panic welled up in my throat.

  “Oh my God. Did I kill you?” I sat up, straddling his lap, ignoring the irony of straddling a second Sheperd in two days. Trembling, I ran my hand over his chest, looking for an injury I wouldn’t be able to find with a road map if it existed. “Jamie? Oh, please be okay.” I cupped the back of his head with my palm and lifted gently, feeling for cuts or abrasions.

  As I leaned down and pressed my ear against his mouth, feeling for breath, he whispered, “You smell like flowers.”

  I scrambled off him and stood, brushing the leaves from my legs, adrenaline pulsing through me. Was I angry or relieved? I wanted to be mad, but my mind wouldn’t let go of the feeling of his body, solid and warm, beneath mine. My knees quivered a little as I remembered the strength in his legs as they’d tangled with mine.

  “I thought I killed you.”

  He sat up and grinned, dusting a twig from his hair. “I’m a pretty strong guy.”

  I took in the mischief in his eyes and the smudge of dirt left on his cheek. Pressing my lips together, I was determined not to smile or laugh and tried to frown. With a hand on my hip, I stared at him. “Really? Because I just knocked you down.”

  He bound to his feet, then took a step closer.

  I backed away, imagining danger in the glint in his eyes.

  He leaned in. “I think you should start running now.”

  “And why’s that?”

  He chuckled. “Because if I catch you, I’m going to throw you in that lake.” He pointed to a spot in the distance. A waterfall from the stream ran into the bright blue water of a lake smaller than the one we ran around.

  I giggled like a school girl and ran toward the clearing. When I stopped in front of the water, Jamie came to stand beside me. I smiled up at him. “How about a swim?” Sweat dripped down my back and patches of dirt darkened my legs. A dip in the sparkling pond sounded heavenly to me. I shucked my shirt, tossed it onto the grass at my feet, then yanked down my shorts until I stood in only my sports bra and semi-sensible underwear.

  Without waiting for his reply, I ran to the water and jumped in. I swam out, then turned back and treaded water while I watched him stand there, mouth open. “Too scared?”

  He scowled and moved to kick off his shoes and yank his shirt over his head.

  I swam to the bank and waited for him to test the water with a toe. “You coming in?”

  Even his laugh sent tingles to places that should have cooled in the freezing water. Everything about him counteracted the chill of the lake--the laugh, the rippled stomach, that grin, and oh, the accent.

  “You bet.” He dove head first into the water, staying under long enough I whirled to look around. After a few moments, he surfaced farther out. Water sprayed around him as he shook his head. “Wanna race?” He took off for the far bank, leaving a wide wake behind his kicking feet.

  Twenty or so strokes in, a searing pain twisted my leg muscles. I cried out and stopped kicking. The throbbing pain hunched me over and towed me in a slow weighted fall toward the bottom. Lungs burning for oxygen, I flailed my arms to the surface. In a mad struggle to stay afloat, I took in big gulps of air immediately followed by large swallows of pond.

  The tightening in my legs worsened, and I started to go under again. My mind flashed on my dad, my sisters, their faces blurring as I sank beneath the surface. In the face of sheer exhaustion, the thrashing and panic receded. Before I reached unconsciousness, and before my lungs exploded into shards of bronchial tissues, I became weightless, floating toward the light at the surface.

  Was this death--sluicing through the water toward the heavens? Strong arms pulled me against a hard chest as we broke the surface. We bobbed in one motion as Jamie kicked his feet to keep us suspende
d in the brightness of the day and the gentle waves his movements created.

  In the face of my impending death with his body wrapped around me, I forgot about the pain in my leg until he braced an arm around my chest and hauled me toward the shore. After a few swings of his arms, he anchored me against him again and cradled me to the small patch of sand on this side of the pond. I flopped back onto the grass and grasped my burning calf muscle. It throbbed in perfect time with my heart rate, and I squeezed my eyes shut.

  With gentle fingers, he massaged my leg, brushing his fingers over my skin until relaxation washed over me. My pain ebbed and a new awareness battled for mind space. With every tender touch of his hands, my breath hitched.

  “Are you okay?” His voice rasped as though having his hands on me affected him as deeply as it did me.

  “Mmm-hmm. I think so. I feel like an idiot.” Jamie’s hands on my body had me contemplating how alone we truly were. Wasn’t it Blane I was attracted to? And if that was truly the case, why was my heart trying to make itself a path out through my ribcage?

  I bit my lip, and he bent my knee in, then straightened it back out. His gaze held mine captive.

  “Did you forget to wait for an hour after you ate?” He knelt facing me with a half grin and his hand still resting below my knee. His thumb drew slow circles unlike any massage I’d ever had. Warmth spread through me from the caress.

  “Old wives’ tale,” I said, voice scratchy.

  Oh my. Maybe I had a case of hero worship because he’d saved me, or maybe I was simply attracted to him in the same measure as Blane, whatever the reason, my skin flushed. His hand skimmed across my thigh and my eyelids fluttered shut, the sensation blazing through my nerve endings, from collarbone to kneecap.

  “Jamie.” I had nothing more. Only a whisper of his name.

  He inched closer and cradled my cheek with his palm. Heat smoldered in his eyes, and a low thrumming electricity crackled on the air between us. I couldn’t breathe.

  “You’re dating my brother.”

  Damn. My desire went to war with my good sense of right and wrong. I couldn’t sleep with Blane one day and kiss Jamie the next. Of course, my heart pounded and my palms itched to run through his thick hair. Sexual confusion, nothing more. They looked exactly the same. Being attracted to both of them had nothing to do with anything more than a surface issue. But, oh my, their surfaces appealed to me. Jamie… I wanted to swoon into him. He said the right things, made me want to tell him stuff I never said. But I’d met Blane first…oh, hell. Why was this so hard?

  I scooted away, and he dropped his hand. “We can’t do this, Jamie.”

  He hung his head.

  I missed his touch. Damn, what was wrong with me? “I didn’t mean to lead you on.”

  He stood and paced two steps before coming right back to stand in front of me. I had a vision of long legs and loose running shorts and battled the urge to twist my head to have a quick peak up one leg hole. Instead, I focused on his face.

  “He’s not what you think.”

  I shook my head. “No one ever is.”

  As though summoned by Jamie’s words, Blane jogged up the path from the other side. “Hey, beautiful.” His grin for me morphed to a grimace when he turned to his brother. “Jamie. What are you guys doing out here?” He looked from me to Jamie, then did a slow circle with his arms outstretched. “Alone?”

  Jamie stood, brushed past him, and moved to lean one shoulder against a tree. His gaze never wavered from mine as he crossed his arms. While his pose said this was no big deal, his face spoke of something else altogether. Lines formed brackets around his mouth in an intense scowl he aimed at Blane.

  Blane offered his hand, clasping mine in a tight grip as he helped me up.

  I shook off my embarrassment as I wiped sand from my backside. “Um, we went for a run this morning and a swim.” At Blane’s frown, I continued in a rush. “I almost drowned. He saved my life.” Blane ran his hands over my shoulders.

  “My brother took you skinny dipping?”

  I looked down. Wasn’t skinny dipping a naked kind of event? I still had on clothes. “Just a swim, Blane, with more coverage than my swimming suit.”

  He glared at Jamie.

  “And I got a cramp.”

  He ignored me and took two steps toward his brother. “And as always, Jamie to the rescue.” He kicked at a rock half buried in the sand, then turned to face me. “He’s good with damsels in distress. Except what was her name?” He tapped his chin with a finger, looking every bit the tough courtroom prosecutor, and Jamie puffed out his chest, squared his shoulders, looking more rugged by the second.

  The air around us grew heavy, and I moved to stand between them in case something needed broken up quickly.

  Blane nodded, eyes on his brother. “That cracked out hooker you brought home? Was it Sheila or Sarah? What was her name?”

  Jamie’s hands clenched at his side, and I moved closer to Blane. I cupped his cheek and gently pressured him to focus on me. “Hey. Um, I need to get home. I have to work today, and I don’t think I can walk back. Could you give me a lift?”

  Blane continued to stare at Jamie as he pulled me close and kissed me, long and deep. I pulled away, reeling less from the power and intensity behind it, and more from embarrassment and confusion. “Sure. I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.”

  He propelled me away from Jamie. “Hey, gather her things and bring them to Mom’s. I’ll make sure she gets ’em back.” His tone held enough command that I snapped my head up to gaze at him. Fire blazed in his eyes.

  Blane moved us down the path, stepping around to stand in front of me as soon as we came to a clearing. In a move I would normally find sexy, he ripped his shirt over his head and scowled. “Put this on.” He shoved the shirt at me, then crossed his arms, blocking my way out. “What were you doing with Jamie?”

  “I already explained.” Venom burned through my tone. One date, not a good one, did not a boyfriend make. I didn’t owe him an explanation.

  “Let me get this clear…last night you’re banging me, and today you’re in your underwear making goo-goo-eyes at my brother? My twin brother? That’s kind of fucked up, Grace.”

  I shoved my arms through the sleeve of his shirt and shot him a glare as I edged past him. “Go to hell, Blane.” I didn’t need to be reminded of my bad behavior the night before, and I didn’t need his jealousy.

  He grabbed my elbow and spun me back to face him. “Don’t walk away.” I jerked free and crossed my arms as he dropped his hand, closed his eyes, and sighed. “I’m sorry. You’re the most incredible woman I’ve ever met, and I know last night didn’t go the way you wanted.”

  I cocked an eyebrow and drummed my fingers against my bicep.

  “I… I like you, and Jamie always goes after what I have. He’s not satisfied with his own life, so he’s pissing all over mine.” He reached out a hand and rested it against my crossed arms.

  “I don’t need some jealous guy I went out with once acting all Tarzan over something innocent and… It was innocent.”

  He shook his head and looked down at his feet. “You’re right. I was jealous because you’re the kind of girl I could see myself building a forever with, and I don’t want anything to ruin that.” He wrapped his fingers around my forearm and tugged me closer.

  I took one grudging step closer and he tugged again.

  “Come here, baby.” He lowered his head and brushed his lips across my cheek. My hands crept up his bare chest, and he grinned down at me. “I want you in my life, Grace.”

  He laid a kiss on me that robbed me of the ability to breathe or think. Anger? What anger?

  “Let’s get you home, because if you stand here much longer wearing my shirt with so little on underneath, I’m not gonna be responsible for my actions.”

  Halfway to his car, he swung me over his shoulder and patted my bottom as he walked. When he reached the passenger side, he
slid me down his body, pinning me between him and the car.

  “You are beautiful.” He brushed my hair behind my ears, his fingers stroked over the sensitive flesh there, and I sucked in a gasp. “I couldn’t sleep last night for thinking about you.”

  I grinned. “Stalker.”

  He winked and opened the door.

  Chapter 9

  Hope snored quietly as I walked into the apartment. She didn’t so much as stir as I strode to the bathroom to wash the pond water off. As I blow-dried my hair and put on makeup, I tried not to think on the morning’s interlude. Not twenty-four hours after fooling around--okay, having sex with Blane--I lusted for a kiss from his brother. I scowled at my reflection in the mirror.

  What had I done? I’d stripped to my underwear, flaunted my body in front of Jamie, and worse, let Blane treat me like property while I left Jamie in the woods.

  Something about the Texas air must have affected me. It had to be that. I couldn’t tolerate any other explanation.

  An hour later, I strolled into my office, case file in hand, and picked up the phone to call my sister. Charity had insight like no other. I’d called on her expertise to win more than one case. The check from the Quinns sat on my desk, allowing me the security of knowing I would be able to afford her plane ticket.

  “Hello?”

  I looked at the receiver in my hand. “Daddy?” Had I dialed wrong?

  “It’s my amazing Grace. How’s Texas?” His voice, the medicine to cure all my ailments, boomed through the phone straight to my heart.

  “I have a new case.”

  “And that’s why you called Charity?”

  So, I hadn’t dialed wrong. “Yeah. Why do you have her phone?”

  He chuckled. “I won it playing poker with her last night. Got her car too.”

  I’d lost a new watch before, but never played for anything more expensive than what could be replaced at the local Wal-Mart. “Must have been a hell of a game.”

  “You know Charity. Always raising the stakes.” He chuckled. “Tell me about this case.”

  “I think I might be in a little bit over my head.”