Grace had just made her way to the front door, ready to open it when a forceful push surprised her. She looked at who it was and she saw that it was Diana.Diana strode past Grace, marching confidently into the house like she own the place. She had a look on her face, and she looked down at Grace from her nose like she wasn’t even worth to stand before her.To say that she was stunned by the intrusion was saying the least, Grace watched as Diana made a beeline for the kitchen where Noah and Zeke, Noah’s brother, were gathered.What was the woman’s problem, really? She had no problem that she was visiting Noah, because really it was none of her business, but the way she treated her, it was really like she was a dirt on her shoes, and that infuriated her.But, she was not in the mood at all to say anything to her. It was what she was dealing with, with her ex husband that she was thinking about.Shaking her head, she walked back to the kitchen and walked to the stew she was making, glan
Grace heaved a sigh of relief as she closed up Charlotte’s shop for the night. She had somehow been able to convince her she would do that when she noticed the other woman was feeling down.Charlotte rarely miss coming to the shop, and she always close up when she was around, but Grace knew she needed the rest, so she had sent her home early. “She wouldn’t if I didn’t do that.” She muttered to herself as if answering a question.The familiar ritual of taking out the trash at closing hour usually offered a brief respite from the hectic buzz of the day. It was a pretty eventful day, from the beginning of having to serve coffee and scone and pies, to the slow buzz in the evening.She was all pumped up so much she didn’t even think twice when she offered to close up, because she didn’t think about having to walk home alone or at night.Anyway, she was already starting to feel at home in town, and she didn’t have to worry about whether or not she was going to get caught by her ex husband.
The seconds stretched into an eternity as Grace clutched her phone, her thumb hovering over Zeke’s contact. Anxiety coiled in her chest as she pressed the call button. It rang twice before he answered, his voice laced with concern. “Grace? What’s wrong?”Although, there was more of surprise that she was calling him at night like this, as it happened it was her first time of calling him.“It’s urgent,” Grace replied, her voice tense. “Can you come over? I need you to come here, please.” She said with her voice shaking a little. She might have acted all brave and stuff when the man was warning her, trying not to show a side that she knew would make the man even more happy of how vulnerable she was, but right now, after all the encounter, she was scared shitless.Not that she wasn’t scared then, but she just needed to act like she wasn’t, and now, there was no more acting.“What’s going on, Grace? Is anything all right?” He asked her but she just told him what she said before. “Please co
Just about when Zeke left and Grace stood up to go to her room, she had staggered and then she had fell back against him, thankfully he was fast enough to caught her as she fell backward.After that, she knew nothing again until now when she felt a small slap on her face, then a hard pressing against her chest, and that made her realized her surrounding even though she couldn’t open her eyes yet. “Come on, open your eyes now, goddammit, breathe please!” She heard Noah’s voice so far, yet so near.She was feeling as if she had just been dragged out of the water, like that night she had to stay in the lake, freezing, but that hot breath of Noah against her face was pumping heat through her.Suddenly, she wanted to get up and get under the blanket, and she started to struggle to open her eyes. Noah’s voice and his breath was so hot on her cheek, as he said one thing over and over. “Come on, Grace. Come on, open your eyes. You can do it.”He kept saying those words, words that somehow c
Reading was something Grace had taken up and was doing consistently since she started to come back home early. Somehow, Charlotte had heard about what happened and had said she would always close early no matter what, and she had kept to releasing her early.Right now, she was seated with a hot cup of cocoa in front of her, with blankets around her legs as she sat on the couch with the book in her hand.She was still reading one of those books she had started on when she heard the front door click shut, signaling Noah’s return home. She glanced up from her book, ready to greet him, but his wearied expression immediately caught her attention. His usual vibrant demeanor seemed clouded by an unspoken worry.Whenever Noah was back from work, he would always have a smile readied for her, and he would always want to talk and have fun, but now, he wasn’t at all. He looked as if something was bothering him, and that bothered her.What could have probably happened to a strong man like him that
After what felt like an eternity of grappling with his inner turmoil, Noah emerged from his room. He took a deep breath, steeling himself to confide in Grace about the weight he had been carrying.As he walked toward the kitchen, his footsteps felt heavier than usual. The sight of Grace sitting at the table, setting up dinner, both comforted and nudged him to finally open up. She glanced up, offering a gentle smile that somehow eased the knots in his stomach.“Hey, Noah,” Grace greeted warmly, noticing the solemn look on his face. “You’re out. Feeling better?”Noah nodded, trying to muster a faint smile. “Yeah, a bit. Grace, can we talk?” he asked, his voice tinged with vulnerability.“Of course,” Grace replied, her concern evident on her face. She gestured for him to take a seat, finishing setting the table before joining him.As they settled at the table, a tense silence lingered, both of them hesitant to break it. Finally, Noah spoke, his words weighed down by a sorrowful tone. “I’
The morning light streamed into the kitchen as Grace stood by the counter, her fingers tracing the rim of her coffee mug, lost in her thoughts. She thought of how she was going to spend the day now that she wasn’t going to work for the day, but she wasn’t sure of how that would pan out with Noah at home.She had been trying to avoid Noah for a whole week, and she had succeeded, but fate seemed to have other plans because for some reason, he wasn’t going to work today.She didn’t hear him go out or anything this morning, and he wasn’t working afternoons as well, which could only mean he wasn’t going to work.Rubbing her eyes, she drank the remaining coffee in her cup, swallowing it all down in one gulp. She still needed another shot of the caffeine in her body.As she poured herself a cup of coffee, the quiet entrance of Noah disrupted the solitude she had grown accustomed to in the mornings when he was already out of the house to work. She felt a knot form in her stomach at the sight
Grace sighed, feeling a mix of relief and regret. “Noah, I… I’m sorry,” she said, her voice tinged with remorse. “I had no idea you felt that way. I was hurt and confused, thinking I had repulsed you in anyway. I mean, I’ve seen how attractive your ex girlfriend looks, so...”She trailed off to look away from him, getting embarrassed from talking this close to him. He put his hand under her chin to raise her face to his, a small smile playing on his mouth.Their eyes met, a silent understanding passing between them. The air seemed lighter, the tension that had loomed between them dissipating with the truth finally laid bare.“I realized what I should have done when I pulled back. I should have talked to you about it,” Noah admitted, a hint of remorse in his voice. “But when I heard that cry, all I wanted to do was beat myself up and just punish me for hurting you in whatever way.”Grace nodded in agreement. “Yeah, we both should have. But now that we’ve cleared that up…” She trailed o