And I gave him what he asked for. We made love. It was slow and passionate and intimate in every way. He told me how much he loved me over and over. I loved this man. Nothing could ever change that.
* * *
We wanted to sleep in, but Woof would have no part of it. He wanted to eat. He started to meow right in Grant’s ear.
“Go ask Jack to feed you,” he grumbled.
“Oh, my dad—I have to go make him coffee.”
He pulled the covers back and exposed his very awake manhood. “You’re going to leave this to go make coffee for your dad?”
“Raincheck?”
“Oh yes, please, I’d like that raincheck now. Just let me wake up enough to open my eyes so I can actually watch you.” He reached over to grab me, but I was already up and getting dressed.
“I meant I’d take the raincheck this time. Not for nothing, but it’s very hard not to enjoy your hard on.”
A soft laugh escaped his lips. He got up and pulled on his sweats.
“Oh, Babe, you don’t have to get up with me. Stay in bed and sleep longer.”
“There is no other place I want to be than by your side, even though it’s not here in this nice, warm, comfortable bed.” And he fell back onto the bed.
“Well, I’m heading down. So get back up and come with me.”
“Get back in bed and come with me.”
“Keep it up, Mr. Funnypants.”
“I plan on keeping it up for at least an hour if you get back in bed with me.”
I knew better than to lean down and kiss him, so I went to the door and gave him my best come hither look.
“Fine. I’m up. I’ll be down after I hit the bathroom. I’m sure if Jack doesn’t want to hear, he certainly doesn’t want to see anything either. And waking up with you makes everything wake up, if you know what I mean.”
“Oh, I know what you mean.” I left and headed downstairs. My dad was already up and in the kitchen. He had cooked. Holy crap. He didn’t cook often, but when he did, it was awesome. He had made my favorite: maple syrup French toast. I was in heaven. Wait. And bacon, too. Now I was in heaven. If only I could bring it back to bed with Grant, then I’d really be in heaven.
“Dad, you cooked.”
“What, a man can’t cook for his daughter and her, um, boyfriend? Uh, lover? No. How about significant other?”
“Yeah. Dad, you can stop now.”
“Speak of the devil. Good morning, Grant. I hope you had a good night’s sleep,” Jack addressed him.
“Good morning, Jack. Yes, I feel very rested.”
“Right. Well, I’m sure you have a huge appetite. Um, ‘cause you haven’t eaten all night,” He threw at him.
“Dad, stop.” I could feel my cheeks flush.
“Yes, sir, I’m famished.”
“How famished?”
“Dad! Please. Stop.” I felt like I was twelve years old and my dad was seriously embarrassing me.
“I could eat this entire platter of French toast,” Grant said innocently, having no clue what he was alluding to.
“Grant!”
“What?”
“Why don’t we all just sit and eat and say nothing. Okay?” I said, with a bit of an attitude.
“What’s wrong with her?” my father asked my lover.
“I have no idea. She should be in an awesome mood,” my lover replied.
“How awesome?”
“That’s it.” I couldn’t take it anymore. I took my plate and coffee and went to sit on the couch by myself.
“She didn’t used to be this grouchy when she woke up,” my dad mused.
“She’s usually not,” my boyfriend mused along.
“Maybe she woke up on the wrong side of the bed?”
“Nope, she was on her side.”
“Ummm, hello? I can hear you over here.” They just chuckled, so I took my breakfast and went out onto the terrace. I sat down and looked out over the ocean. I was so lucky. I had everything I could hope for. Everything.
The morning breeze was chilly, but it didn’t cool me too much. I shut my eyes so I could feel the sun on my face as I listened to the ocean. I was at peace. Right here, right now. I had no idea what would be coming my way over the next few days, and I didn’t care. Right now, I was happy and that was all that mattered. Apparently Grant and Jack didn’t quite annoy me enough, because they grabbed their plates and joined me on the terrace.
“So, Lanie, birthday tomorrow. What would you like to do? Go to dinner?”
“Oh, Dad, no. Please don’t make a big deal about it. Maybe just a nice family dinner.” I forgot when I said it, that family meant everyone.
“Yeah, that won’t fly with Samantha. She probably already has decorations and party hats. In fact, I know she does,” Grant said as he eyed me for a reaction.
“Well, Haley mentioned she would love to cook something for everyone. I’ll give her a call this morning.”
“Really? I’d rather we just do something here.”
“Sure, sure. It’s your day. Whatever you want,” Jack said.
“Just something casual, okay? Please don’t make a big deal about it.”
“Samantha … too late,” Grant said.
“What do you need? I want to get you something, but I’m not sure what you like these days. I’m thinking dolls are out of the question.” Jack usually just sent me money, which I loved.
“Um, Dad, you’re joking right?”
“I can help you, Jack. I know a few things she could use.”
“I bet you do.”
“Are you guys going to start again?”
“I still don’t know what she means by that.”
Grant just shrugged. I shook my head and proceeded to stuff my face with French toast. Oh my God, it was so damn good. I began to actually moan with each bite. Grant shifted uncomfortably in his chair, so I shot him a look and he gave me a sexy smirk. I guess all forms of food brought sex to mind now. I laughed to myself and continued to enjoy my breakfast. My dad took that as his cue to leave.
“Hey, I’m going to go fishing again. Just Joe, Jeff and I. I’ll see you two later.” He departed and headed inside.
“So, just you and me now. How about that raincheck?” I purred.
“As much as I’d love to, I actually have something I need to take care of this morning,” he said cautiously, as if he knew I wasn’t going to like his next statement. “I’m going to talk to Dane. Things have gotten out of hand, and with your birthday tomorrow, I feel like now is the time.”
“Grant. Don’t. Wait for us all to do it together.”
“Lanie, I have to do this. You’ll understand later. I should have taken care of this the minute I realized what he’d done. I waited only because I didn’t want to upset you. But now this is something I have to do. It needs to be done.”
“Can you take Steve or Dylan with you? Or both?” I really didn’t want him alone with Dane because I had no idea what was wrong with him lately. Was he out of control? I couldn’t grasp it all.
“Lanie, it’ll be fine. I don’t think he meant to hurt me yesterday other than a fistfight. I don’t believe he would have let me fall. I don’t.”
“Fine. But at least bring your phone with you. Text me if anything happens. Maybe do it somewhere in public. And no fighting, please.”
“Lanie, relax. It’s all going to be fine.”
He gave me a gentle kiss, grabbed our plates and left me on the terrace. I sat for a while and thought about my secret back-up plan. Now would be a good time to make some calls. I grabbed my cell phone and started to dial. The phone rang and then I heard the other end pick up.
“Hello?”
“Hey, it’s Lanie.”
“Oh my God, Lanie, how are you?”
“I’m doing great. Well, except for something that isn’t so great. It’s pretty bad.”
“What’s the matter?”
“It’s Dane. Something’s wrong with him. Seriously wrong.”
&
nbsp; “Lanie, no. Is he sick?”
“I’m not sure. Well, no. I mean, not physically.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I need your help.”
“My help?”
“Yes. You’re the only one I know who can get through to him.”
“I’ll do anything I can to help him.”
“I knew you would,” and I proceeded to tell my last resort the whole sordid story. When I was done, we just talked for a long time. And when I hung up, I felt like it could all turn out okay. Like everything would work out. I then proceeded to call Chelsie and fill her in.
* * *
I spent the rest of the morning catching up on work for the business. We had all taken a bit of a vacation since our parents got here and I was behind. I couldn’t stop thinking about Grant and Dane. I hadn’t heard from either of them. It was hard to concentrate. I grabbed my phone and texted Grant.
L: U OK?(
G: It’s all good. better thn I exptd(
L: Oh thank God(
D: Hey B
L: Dane just txtd me(
G: I know, he’s w/me
D: ?
L: Hey Dane(
G: It’s all going 2B OK(
D: I’m sorry. 4 everything(
L: Ya think?(
D: IOU that in person(
G: I’ll fill you in later(
L: I can’t do this. I have no idea who I’m txtg(
G: Love you(
L: Love you(
D: Love you(
I had to check who I texted my last text to. I was getting confused.(
L: What?
D: j/k like sister(
L: Really?
D: I understand. IOU Explaining(
L: Yeah U DO
G: On my way ovr
L: OK
D: CU L8r(
I went back to work and finished everything up and waited for Grant to get home. Grant home. I loved that. We were practically living together now anyway. I wondered which house we would end up in. I heard the front door open and I literally sprinted down the stairs.
“Well? What happened?” I think I was yelling.
“Apparently his talk with his parents was quite enlightening. They basically told him they could strip him of everything he has if he didn’t straighten himself out.”
“Can they do that?”
“They all can. The business is in a contingency contract. They own everything on paper still, legally. Until they sign everything over to us.”
“You’re kidding me. I had no idea about any of that. I know they still collect money from the company, but I thought they were completely absolved otherwise. My house is in my name, my dad transferred the deed to me.”
“My parents transferred the deed to my place, too. I guess Dane wasn’t as smart or didn’t care.”
“So what did he say about yesterday morning?”
“He said he started fighting with me and when he clipped me and I fell, he just froze. He said everything just started coming in flashes. He just couldn’t do anything. He just froze up. He said he couldn’t get any leverage, that if he moved, his grip would have slipped.”
“And you believe him?”
“I want to. But I have mixed feelings about it all.”
“And with me? What did he say about that?” I didn’t want to bring it up, but I knew I had to. Grant got a pained look on his face. I’m sure the images of me with Dane were going through his mind.
“He admitted to the whole Lori thing. It was a set up. But he still claims that he thought what happened between you and him was real. He thought you wanted to. He denied drugging you. He said Lori was back at the house at some point. He said he thinks it was her.”
“It doesn’t make sense. But I was so out of it, my entire memory of it could be off.”
“He knows we’re in love. He’s stepping aside. He wants us to be happy.”
“And you believe that?”
“I don’t know, Lanie. This whole thing with Dane, it’s just not right. I’ll give him a chance to prove himself because of our history, but one wrong step and I am going to his parents.”
“You’re going to tattletale on him?” I laughed.
“Yes.” But Grant was completely serious. I was having a hard time reading his feelings on this, which was strange, because usually I could read him like an open book. He was hiding something. I just didn’t know what. Part of me was glad I had contacted the last resort. I had a feeling we would still need it. This just wasn’t sitting well with me.
“Want to go down to the beach?”
“I have to catch up on work.” Grant didn’t seem himself. I wondered what had really happened. I knew he wouldn’t lie to me, so I assumed he really needed to work.
“Want some company?”
“I can’t concentrate with you around. I’ll just end up taking that raincheck and I’m saving it.”
“For a rainy day?”
“No, for tonight,” he growled and then pulled me into his arms. He placed soft kisses up my neck and then along my jaw line. My body responded immediately and I grabbed his face and pulled it to mine. I loved the feel of him against me and started to step things up a notch but he pulled himself away slightly.
“What’s the matter?”
“Nothing, Love. I just have to get to work. You should go into town with Samantha and Chelsie and go shopping. I know Samantha wants you to pick an outfit for your birthday present.”
Grant talked to Dane, and now he was pulling away from me. I started to feel paranoid, but I’m sure it was unwarranted. “Um, okay.” I let my hands drop from his face. He reached up and grabbed mine.
“Lanie, I love you. You look upset. Everything is fine. I just have to take care of some things. You go have fun with the girls. Give them a call. We’ll pick this up later. I promise.” He raised his right hand while placing a kiss on my lips.
I wasn’t happy. But I did as he asked and went to call the girls for a day in town.
When Samantha and Chelsie pulled up, I jumped into the back seat and settled in.
“So, what’s new?”
“Grant and Dane talked.”
“Did he tell you what happened? We spoke to Jennifer, so we already have an idea of what happened with his parents.”
“Do they all know?” I was referring to what happened between Dane and I.
“No. Apparently he wouldn’t say anything about who or what, just that it was a huge misunderstanding and an even bigger mistake on his part,” Samantha said.
“I, for one, am not buying any of this. Not a bit of it. He’s an ass in my book and there’s nothing more to say on the subject. I’ll never be close with him again. Never.” Chelsie knew how to hold a grudge. I planned on never crossing her. Not that I would, but I would never go out of my way to make her mad.
“So what’s the plan?”
“We’re taking you shopping for a birthday outfit, one for the day and then something extra special for the night. Meow!” Samantha made kitty claws in the air. She was a pisser.
“Not that it will last very long. The way you two go at it, we should buy you aprons or bibs.”
“Ha, ha. Very funny. But totally true.”
We shopped at all our favorite stores and they bought me bagfuls of stuff. I kept saying no and Samantha kept saying yes and whipping out the credit cards. We left the lingerie store with three bags full of nighties and honey flavored sparkle dust and well, lots of things. I was actually set for an entire honeymoon. I thought about putting some of the items away for such an occasion. We didn’t realize the time and soon it was already six o’clock. We stopped for dinner and drinks. I had one too many and had an awesome buzz for the ride home. They dropped me off at my house; I grabbed my tons of bags and headed inside. It was dark. No one was home.
“Dad? Grant?” I called out. Nothing. “Woof?” And I heard him scamper to me from the other room. I hit the lights and found two notes, one from Jack and one from Gra
nt.
Lanie,
The boys and I headed out for dinner and some beers at the bar to catch the game. See you later. I’ll make curfew. HA HA(
Dad
Lanie(
I had to run out for a bit. Be back later on tonight. Eat something if you haven’t already, please. I’ll be home for dessert. I love you(
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