Back out in the living room, Grace and Danny were heatedly signing back and forth in silence. The look on Danny's face was one every teenager who'd ever argued in favor of something—and lost—had ever worn. Defeated, he stormed up the stairs and made a point of slamming the door to his room hard enough that the pictures on the walls shook.
"I'm sorry about that," Grace said smoothing her dress as she tried to restore her usually calm expression. I could tell that she was worried, though. "He's having a tough time with everything."
"Grace, what's going on around here?" I asked. "I feel like there's something you're not telling me."
"What? Oh, no nothing that involves you," she said dismissing me in a tone that reminded me of my mother, and it made me bristle.
"Grace, dammit! Tell me what's going on here and maybe I can help!" I said as I grabbed her arm.
"Adam! Stop it!" she yelled as turned and shoved me away. The palm of her hand hit the most bruised spot on my chest and I gasped as I fell backward onto the floor. Grace dropped to the ground next to me, "Adam! I'm so sorry; are you okay?"
"Grace," I gasped struggling to catch my breath, "Why won't you tell me what's going on?"
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Her face crumpled and she burst into tears as she wrapped her arms around her waist and sobbed. Pushing myself up off the floor, I knelt beside her. I could still feel a throbbing pain in the spot where her hand had hit my skin, but I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and pulled her to my chest. She resisted only for a moment and then gave in and collapsed against my chest and let out a wail of pain that made my eyes water in sympathy.
"It's okay, Grace," I whispered as I rubbed her back and slowly rocked her until she was cried out. When Verity came rushing into the living room to see what had happened, I shook my head and she backed away, leaving me to handle her sister's anguish. "You're going to be okay. I promise."
"How...how...how do you know?" she choked out between quiet sobs. "You don't know me. You don't know my family. You know nothing about us!"
"I know that you're the kind people who were willing to take in and care for a perfect stranger without hesitation," I said as I rested my cheek against the top of her head and felt the stiff cap rubbing against my skin. I wanted to push it off so I could feel her soft hair rubbing against my cheek, but I didn't dare move any more than I already was. "I know that you are someone who has strong beliefs in something that I don't quite understand, but that you are willing to defend even when it means your sisters turn their backs on you. And I know that you love your brother and sisters more than anything in the world and that you are trying to find a way to ensure that they are taken care of no matter what."
Grace grew silent in the circle of my arms. She leaned against me and let her arms drop to her sides as she tipped her head and looked up at me. Her blue eyes were filled with sadness and worry, and I wanted nothing more than to scoop her up and take her into the bedroom with me. The memory of her warm body pressed against mine the night before sent the blood in my body racing down between my legs and I quickly shifted before she could feel the swelling in my pants.
"I also know that you're someone who thinks you have to bear the weight of the world on your own shoulders without any help," I observed. "But you don't. I don't know exactly what you need, but I'm more than willing to help you in any way I can. You just have to be willing to trust me. I know that's difficult for girls like you, but I promise you can trust me."
I felt her stiffen in my arms and then before I knew it, she was up on her feet moving across the room. She stopped in the kitchen doorway and looked at me.
"I'll have you know that girls like me are capable of handling a lot more than you think we can, Wallace," she said with a grim expression. "I'll thank you not to make assumptions about what we can or cannot do."
"Jesus H. Christ, lady!" I exploded. "You need to knock that chip off your shoulder and join the rest of the world! The rest of your family is doing the best they can to help you, but you're shutting them out! I'm offering to help too, but you're so suspicious of everything that you're going to reject me before you even give me a chance! Fine, whatever! Do your thing, lady. I wish you the best of luck trying to save the world all on your own! I've got my own shit to worry about!"
I was livid and had no outlet for my anger, so I did what every other member of the family did and headed for the door. I limped down the stairs and up the drive to the road where I stopped and stood staring across acres of open farmland. My anger at Grace and her stubbornness quickly dissipated as I stood wondering how long before the phone was charged so I could call Bugsy and figure out what it would take to get the people who owned these fields to install our turbines. I was so lost in my thoughts I didn't hear Honor until she was standing behind me.
"I know you're crushed out on her, but she belongs with Gabe," Honor said breaking the silence.
"Jesus H. Christ!" I shouted as I spun around and then bent over holding a hand to my chest until the sharp pain subsided. "Don't sneak up on someone like that!"
"Sorry, I thought you heard me," she shrugged as she kicked at the dirt with her bare foot.
"I didn't think she wanted to be with Gabe," I said wondering what she was getting at. "And what the hell are you talking about crushing out? I'm not a teenage boy."
"They always disagree like that. She and Gabe have been sweethearts since they were kids. She's just trying to figure out whether she's going to stay or go," she said. With a wry grin, she added, "And you don't have to be a teenager to have a crush."
"Where's she going?" I asked as I slowly stood up. Honor stared at me for a long time before she replied.
"Away, so you better say something before she does," she said before suddenly taking off in a dead run toward the end of the road.
"Honor!" I shouted. She ignored me as her feet pounded the dirt, leaving behind small clouds of dust in her wake.
"That does it. One way or another, I'm going to get to the bottom of this mess," I muttered as I limped back to the house. I scoffed at Honor's assertion, but as I pulled open the screen door, a part of me knew she was right.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Grace
I spent most of the afternoon holed up in my bedroom, waiting for the appointed hour to call Mike and find out what was going on with the Miter account. His messages had sounded urgent, but then Mike had a way of making a lunch order sound urgent, so I tended not to get too worked up about things he said.