Xander had gone to shower while Grace made coffee. The black brew dripping into the carafe mesmerized her. She tried to figure out what she had done to deserve this unlikely turn of events. Xander had denied knowing anything about his brother being in the area, and yet something nagged at Grace. She realized she didn’t know anything about Xander or his family. In the time they had spent trying to get to know each other, he never talked much about his family or his childhood, only of the recent past and his present.
Just one more reason to justify the fact that she couldn’t be in love with Xander – she knew nothing about him. And if her mother had taught her anything, it was to be cautious and not jump into anything without all the facts. Yet as hard as she tried to convince herself of the fact she didn’t love him, in her heart she knew it wasn’t true. He had worked his way into her heart and as much as she tried to deny it, she was heads over heels in love with that man.
She groaned just as the coffee maker beeped. signaling it was ready. “Perfect timing.” Xander’s voice behind her broke through her thoughts.
She poured coffee into two mugs and doctored them up. Ironically, they took their coffee the same way and it comforted her somehow to realize this. She handed a mug to Xander.
“Thanks.”
She nodded and moved to the window in the kitchen, looking out to the barn. “We need to decide what we’re going to do.”
Xander slid onto a stool. “I thought we already did.”
Grace turned to face him. “I know you think we can just continue on with the business, but everything is behind schedule now.”
“Yup, it’s behind schedule. We roll with it and continue on.”
Grace closed her eyes as she sipped her coffee. He made it sound so easy. “What about Dale?”
Xander set his mug down. “What about him? He goes to jail. I don’t really care about what happens to him, Gracie. I only care about us.” He stood and walked over to her. Reaching for her, he placed his hands on her hips. “Do you want the business?”
“I don’t know what I want. I don’t want to let Mom down, but it seems impossible.” Grace set her mug down. “At least I’m not crazy.” She muttered.
“Crazy? What are you talking about?”
“With everything being moved around, I thought I was doing it and not remembering. I was taking bets on the fact that I must be losing my mind.”
Xander smiled. “You’re a little crazy, but not in that way.”
Grace smiled weakly up at him. “You know what I mean.”
He nodded, stepping back away from her to lean against the bar. “What do you want to do, Grace? Do you want to work towards the inheritance or do you want to give up on it?”
“Are those the only choices?” Grace dropped her head. “I don’t know. Part of me wants it, because this is home. It’s where I grew up. Parts of me and Mom are here. But then another part wants to live my own life without feeling like Mom is still telling me what to do, calling the shots at every turn.” Frustration laced her words.
Xander folded his arms across his chest. “I’m leaving the decision to you. I want you, Gracie. You whether you are here and we have an inheritance together or whether it is you as a school teacher living in your small apartment. I love you and I’m not leaving no matter what you decide.”
He turned and grabbed his coffee mug. Refilling it, he glanced at her with a gesture for more coffee. She held out her mug and watched him fill it. Warmth spread through her as she heard those words again. He wasn’t going anywhere. She just needed to decide if she wanted the house, this house with Xander, or if she wanted to start a life outside of here with him.
She stood there long after he left the room, the words of his poem going through her mind. She had memorized it already. She wanted to deny it one more time, but couldn’t. She loved him. There was really only one thing to do.
Grace finished her coffee and rinsed her cup. She turned towards the back yard and proceeded towards the barn. She walked around the place. It had been cleaned up for the most part – ashes shoveled and raked, the area cleared and ready for rebuilding. Wood had been delivered and things were in place. Grace knew it could be done within a couple of weeks. In reality, their schedule was only delayed slightly. She once again hesitated and doubted her decision she had made just a few minutes before in the kitchen.
She sighed when it dawned on her that she really didn’t know what she wanted and as much as she could try and fool herself, no decision had been made.
“I thought I might find you here. Police called. Dale wants to talk. Didn’t know if you wanted to take a ride with me?” Xander spoke quietly.
Grace turned to face him. “What does he want to talk about?”
“I don’t know. But it could be interesting.” Xander held out his hand to her. “You up for it?”
She nodded and took his hand. Xander laced his fingers through hers and walked silently beside her.
“Everything is ready for the work on the barn to start tomorrow.” Grace spoke out loud, although speaking more to herself.
“Yes.”
She glanced at him. “Don’t you have any opinion at all on what we should do?”
He stopped and turned towards her. “It’s your decision, Grace. I want what you want.”
She started walking again. “It’s not that simple.”
“It can be if you just trust your gut.” Xander squeezed her hand and handed her a helmet from the back of his bike. There was no more talk between them as they rode into town. Grace welcomed the silence and leaned against Xander’s back as her mind wandered. He oozed strength and compassion, never once telling her what he wanted. She hugged close to his back and enjoyed the movement as one between them on the bike.
When Xander parked in front of the police station, Grace was slow to loosen her grip. He sat waiting for her, and yet he just rested his hand on her arm. There was no gesture to hurry her, just a simple understanding of the war that raged within her and allowing her to battle it in her own time.
“Ready?” Grace sat back and lifted her helmet from her head.
Xander nodded and waited for her to get off the bike. After securing the helmets, he turned and with his hand at the small of her back, he guided her into the station.
They were greeted by an officer who directed them to the detective’s office who had been handling the case. He was expecting them and had put Dale in one of the integration rooms. Xander stopped Grace just outside the door. “You sure you want to do this with me?”
Grace nodded. They entered the room and took chairs across the table from Dale.
“Well, well. I didn’t expect your girlfriend to show up, too.” Dale smirked at Grace.
“You wanted to talk. Say what you have to and get it over with.” Xander slammed his hand down on the table, getting Dale’s attention back to himself.
“Fine. Look, I need to be bailed out.” Dale sat forward. “You help me out, I’ll help you.”
“What could you do to help us? You caused this whole mess.” Grace’s hard voice obviously took Dale by surprise and he sat back.
“I have information.” Dale kept his eyes on Xander.
Xander reached out and placed his hand on Grace’s arm. “What kind of information?”
“You didn’t think I did this alone, did you?” Dale grinned. “You give me more credit than I deserve, my dear brother.”
Xander fought the urge to knock the grin off Dale’s face and took a deep breath, praying he could stay calm. “Well, who is the mastermind behind all this?”
Dale shook his head. “Nope. We need an agreement first.”
“I’m not bailing you out. You were trespassing, you vandalized my house…” Xander pushed his chair back and stood.
“Your house. That’s interesting. I thought it wasn’t yours until two years were up and that was only after completing what the old bag wanted you to do.”
Grace stood beside Xander. “That ‘old bag,’ as you pu
t it, was my mother. And I don’t know where you got your information, but it is wrong.” Grace pushed gently against Xander’s arm. He glanced down at her and nodded. They turned and left the room, leaving Dale staring after them openmouthed.
The detective waited outside the room. “He didn’t give up any information. Why did you leave?”
Xander turned towards Grace and waited for her to answer.
“He has information, sure, but he’s not ready to talk quite yet. I think we’ll go grab some lunch and then will come back later. Let him sit and think for a bit.” Grace smiled at the detective. “Say about an hour, hour and a half we’ll be back?”
The detective nodded. Grace looped her arm through Xander’s and glanced up. “Hungry, dear?”
Xander smiled and nodded. She was up to something and he liked it.
Chapter 34
Grace and Xander settled into the local diner and perused the menus. Xander set his aside and watched Grace. Her lips pursed as she debated on what she wanted to get. When she finally set the menu aside and glanced up, he did all he could not to laugh out loud.
“What?”
“Quite a production in deciding what you want.”
She stuck out her tongue at him. “Everything is so good here. I always have a hard time deciding what I’m going to have.”
The chit chat died down as the waitress appeared and took their orders. Grace played with her fork as she watched Xander. “Do you think Dale is telling the truth? That someone else is behind all this?”
“I suppose he could be. I can’t imagine who it would be, though.” Xander pondered carefully before saying any more. “I don’t want you to get upset by things he says about Abigail. You know he is acting out because of the relationship I had with her.”
Grace nodded. “What exactly was your relationship with her?”
“She was more of a mother to me than my own ever was. She took an interest in things I did. Got me out of trouble and encouraged me to make something out of myself. I guess I would say she was my mentor.”
“Sounds like Mom. Always taking in strays.” Grace’s hand rose quickly to cover her mouth. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
Xander chuckled. “I know. It’s true in some ways, though.”
As the food appeared in front of them, they ate in silence. After they had eaten and checked the time, they decided to take a stroll to the park in town and just relax while Dale stewed some more.
Xander was convinced that Grace had probably found the right button to push by making him wait. A tactic he never would have thought to use. They walked in silence, a comfortable silence that Grace found warming. She allowed herself to feel the possibility of what life would be like with Xander by herself, the possibility of telling him that she really did love him. But it wasn’t a conversation she was ready to have with him and she allowed fear to overrule her desire to share her heart’s desires with Xander.
Fear could be a powerful motivator, Grace realized. She stopped walking and turned to Xander. “What would Dale be the most afraid of?”
Xander shook his head. “What do you mean?”
Grace pulled Xander to a nearby bench. “Fear. It motivates us. What would Dale be most afraid of that would have pushed him into doing this?”
“I don’t know. Grace, I haven’t talked to my brother since we were kids. I don’t have any idea what he is like now, what motivates him to do things.”
“Okay, but most fears that we have carry over from our childhood. What was he like as a child?” Grace asked.
Xander sat back and stared into space. “I don’t know. We weren’t close growing up. Mother couldn’t stand the sight of me and well, Dale spent all his time trying to please her.”
Grace clapped her hands together. “That’s it!”
“What is?” Xander turned toward her.
“Your mother has to be the key to all this.”
Xander shook his head. “My mother is a cold heartless woman, but I don’t think she would go this far.”
Grace stood and reached for Xander’s hand. “Well, let’s go find out what Dale has to say, shall we?”
They strolled arm in arm toward the police station with Grace humming softly. Xander smiled at her sudden spark of excitement. This would be interesting, to say the least.
The detective met them outside of the interrogation room. “He has been a bundle of nerves since you left. Pacing, muttering to himself. He asked to make a phone call, but since it wasn’t to a lawyer he wasn’t granted that. Put him in a foul mood.” He turned towards Grace. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
Grace patted his arm. “We’ll find out, won’t we?”
Xander shrugged at the detective and opened the door to allow Grace to precede him into the room.
“Where did you go?” Dale stopped his pacing and turned to face Xander and Grace as they entered the room.
“Doesn’t matter.” Xander held the chair for Grace before sitting himself. “Let’s talk.”
“Now you want to talk. What if I don’t want to anymore?” Dale leaned on the back of the empty chair in the room.
“Then don’t talk, but I’m not going to waste my time here unless you’ve got something to say.” Xander gave him a charming smile.
Dale glanced between Grace and Xander. She didn’t say a word to him, just sat there staring back. Xander gestured to the chair. “Are you going to sit and talk?”
Dale slid into the chair. “I need to be bailed out.”
“That’s not going to happen until I hear what you have to say and then I’ll decide if it is worthwhile or not.”
Dale fidgeted and tapped his fingers on the table. “At least, get them to let me make a phone call.” He nodded over his shoulder towards the door.
“Who you calling?”
Dale shrugged. “Mother. She’ll bail me out.”
Xander snorted. “Of course. I should have known. She has always bailed you out of trouble, hasn’t she?”
Dale sat forward, elbows on the table, “Well, we didn’t all have an old bag at our beck and call.”
“Really? Looks like you are still calling yours.” Xander clenched his teeth as soon as the words left his mouth. He couldn’t be dragged down to his brother’s, hell, half brother’s level.
Dale laughed. “You just don’t get it, do you?”
“Enlighten me.”
“You made things worse for yourself by allowing that woman into your life, and the fact that Father kept in touch with her all these years. It was a slap in the face to Mother. She deserved better.”
Xander stood. “I doubt she deserved better than what she drained from Father, but I’m done with this conversation.”
Grace continued to sit and glanced up at Xander. He raised his eyebrow at her and she shook her head no slightly. With a sigh, Xander sat back down.
“Dale, tell me, why are you so afraid of her?” Grace’s voice broke the strained silence and Dale met her eyes.
“Afraid of who? Your mother?”
Grace smiled. “No, yours.”
“I’m not afraid of her.” Dale’s words were hesitant.
“No? Okay, why are you still striving for her approval then?”
Dale slammed his hand down. “Look, bro, get her outta here. She has no business in this.”
Grace stood. “Actually I do. It was my property you vandalized.”
Xander stood. “We’re through. Good luck getting out of this one.”
Grace and Xander were met by the detective as soon as they left the room. “Not much to go on.”
“How much do you need? He already admitted to starting the fire and he was caught in the house.” Xander took a deep breath. “Look I don’t want any more contact with him. Call his mother to come make bail.”
The detective nodded. “Well, that’s the funny thing. She states she doesn’t want anything to do with him and to let him rot in jail, and I quote, like his father.”
“Who’s his rea
l father?” Grace asked.
The detective tipped his head towards her. “Excuse me? John Stevens isn’t his father?”
“No, he’s not.” Xander grabbed Grace’s elbow and steered her towards the door.
“What are you doing?” Grace hissed as they left the station.
“I want answers before that nosy detective starts digging around my family. We’re going to my parents’ house.”
“Do you really want to do this?” Grace had insisted they go back to the house first and talk. She watched Xander pace the living room and prayed he knew what he was doing.
“Don’t you want to know why Dale did this?” Xander demanded.
Grace shrugged. “Does it matter really why he did it? He did it and now we are starting over.” Grace curled her legs up under her on the couch. She had done a lot of thinking while sitting in the police station listening to Dale spew his bitterness over Xander and Abigail’s relationship. He was a hurting man, and most of it wasn’t his fault. Grace was angry for the part he played, but she knew from her own experience that sometimes forces beyond your control influenced your path.
“Why do you not care all of a sudden?” Xander stopped pacing and sat down next to Grace.
“It’s not that I don’t care. I think my priorities have shifted, that’s all.” Grace reached for his hand. “You’re right. We don’t need to do this. Maybe Dale did us a favor.”
“What are you saying, Gracie?”
“I’m saying I don’t know if I really know what love is, but maybe this is as close as I can get to it.” She raised her eyes and met his. Love shone from his like she had never seen before. Her heart skipped a beat as she realized this was exactly what she had been waiting for.
“I love you.” Xander waited.
Grace smiled. “I know you do. I see it in your actions every day, in your words when I read and reread the poem you wrote me. I don’t know where to go from here, though.”
“Maybe we just take one day at a time and figure it together as we go.” Xander leaned forward and kissed her gently.
A Fine Line Page 16