The door to the room slowly opened as I lifted my head and saw Grace. The energy in the room changed as she gave me a sweet smile. Standing up, I quickly made my way over to her and wrapped her in my arms.
“I’m so sorry, Grace. I’m so sorry I brought you here and then left you all alone last night.”
Grace wrapped her arms around me tightly as she spoke softly in my ear. “Noah, please don’t apologize. It’s really okay. Besides, I have an idea of how you can make it up to me.”
I pulled back and looked into her eyes as I smiled. “Really?”
Nodding, she wiggled her eyebrows. I knew Grace was trying her best to keep my mind focused on something other than my mother, and I loved her so much for that. “Yep. And it involves hot fudge.”
Smirking, I asked, “Hot fudge?”
Grace let out a soft laugh as she placed her hand on the side of my face. Looking over my shoulder at my mother who was still sleeping, Grace cleared her throat. Pinning her with her eyes, she said, “I need to talk to you, in private.”
“Sure,” I said as I motioned for Grace to head back out of the room. Grace walked a little ways from my mother’s room and before she stopped. Turning to me, she handed me an envelope.
“What is this?”
Grace looked into my eyes and whispered, “It’s the deed to your house.”
Narrowing my eyes, I looked at the envelope and then back at Grace. “What do you mean, it’s the deed to my house?”
Grace stood a bit taller as she cleared her throat. “I talked to my grandfather yesterday afternoon. He put a cash offer on your home that your father couldn’t refuse. With my grandfather’s connections, he was able to purchase the house and get the deed transferred over to your name and get it all done this morning. The house is yours, Noah.”
Feeling my legs give out, I leaned against the wall to hold myself up. A sinking feeling came over me as I thought about what Grace had just done. “Grace . . . I don’t have that kind of money. I’d never be able to pay him back and I can’t accept this. I won’t accept it. Tell your grandfather, while I certainly appreciate the offer, it’s too much for me to take.”
Grace looked down at the floor as she said, “It’s a wedding present.”
“What? A wedding present for who?”
Grace’s eyes met mine. “Us.”
My eyes widened as my stomach clenched. “Us?”
Before I could ask any more questions, Emily came walking up with a huge smile on her face. “Noah! Isn’t it amazing? Dad took the house off the market and gave it to you. I can’t believe it! When the lawyers delivered the documents this morning, I broke down in tears. I’ve already started making the plans to have Mom transferred home instead of the Christopher House. She’s going to be over the moon to know she’ll be home, Noah. She’s going to be home!”
Emily threw herself into my arms as she sobbed. “She’s going to be able to die at home in her own bed with us surrounding her, Noah. Our prayers were answered.”
Closing my eyes, I counted to ten before I opened them and looked directly at Grace. “By the Grace of God, Emily, our prayers were answered.”
Grace smiled as tears built up in her eyes. I didn’t know when I would get the chance to talk to her about this whole marriage thing. All I knew was she made my dying mother’s wishes come true and she managed to make my sister believe my father had a shred of decency.
“I promise, Grace. I’m doing fine.”
Grace had been back in College Station for two weeks. She wasn’t able to come to Austin last weekend due to a paper she had to write. The weekend before that, she had a cold and didn’t dare come near my mother or me for fear of getting either one of us sick.
“Noah, I can hear it in your voice. You’re tired. Have you slept at all?” Grace asked.
Pushing my hand through my hair, I let out a sigh and said, “It’s hard to sleep, Grace. I keep checking on her and as soon as I do fall asleep, Emily calls and wakes me up.”
“Noah, I’m telling you right now, you need to rest in order to take care of your mother.”
Glancing over at the bottle of Ativan, I nodded my head. “I’m going to check on Mom now and then head to bed. The hospice nurse is coming for the night. I think she saw how tired I was and she offered to come back and stay the whole night.”
Hearing Grace let out a sigh of relief, I smiled. “Please don’t worry about me, baby. I’m fine. You know, Grace, we still need to talk about what you told your grandfather. You know I can’t accept that.”
A few moments of silence filled the line. “I know. We’ll talk when I come this weekend.”
Closing my eyes, I let out a breath. “I wish you were here.”
Clearing her throat, I knew Grace was attempting to keep herself from crying before she spoke.
“I should be there with you.”
Opening my eyes, I cursed to myself. Just when Grace and I were finally back together . . . we were being kept apart by life. “I miss you.”
“Noah, I miss you too.”
“You and me, together forever.”
Grace let a small sob out as she barely said, “Forever.”
Feeling like I was about to lose it and beg her to come to me, I took in a deep breath. “I’m going to try and get some sleep. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
Grace cleared her throat. “Okay. Give Lisa a hug and kiss for me, and tell her I’ll see her in a few days.”
Closing my eyes, I said, “Will do. Bye, Grace. I love you.”
“Bye, Noah. I love you the most.”
Smiling, I pulled the phone away and hit End. Dropping my phone onto the chair, I quickly walked over to the bottle of pills and took one. I needed sleep desperately.
Hearing a light knock on the door, I grabbed the pills, opened the side drawer on the side table and tossed them into the drawer.
Turning, I said, “Come on in.”
Angela, the young hospice nurse, gave me a polite smile and said, “I gave your mom some pain medicine and I’m pretty sure she is out for the night. I’m going to put a movie on, would you like to join me?”
The way she was looking at me had me giving her an awkward smile. “You know, I’m exhausted. I think I’m going to hop in the shower and get some sleep while mom is sleeping.”
Angela smiled bigger and nodded her head. “I’ll let you know if anything happens, but I’m confident she’ll sleep all night.”
Nodding, I said, “Great. Thanks so much. You’ll never know how much I appreciate you staying tonight.”
Giving me a wink, Angela said, “Oh it’s my pleasure. This is what I’m here for, Noah.”
The moment the door shut, I let out the breath I had been holding. Waiting a few minutes, I headed downstairs to the kitchen. I could hear the television on in the guest room. Opening the refrigerator, I looked at the beer Grayson had left behind two weeks ago. Reaching out for them, I saw Grace’s face flash before my eyes. My hand stopped and I grabbed a bottle of water instead.
By the time I made it back up to my room, I could hardly keep my eyes open. I sat on the bed and fell backward as I closed my eyes.
Slowly I felt relief coming. My mind cleared and I drifted off to sleep.
Grace
Opening the front door, I stepped out and ran right into someone. Looking up, I let out a small squeal as my father looked at me.
“Daddy! Another surprise visit?” I asked as I saw my mother standing slightly behind him.
“Mom!” Moving toward her, she opened her arms and held me tightly. “What have you done, Grace?” she whispered into my ear.
Pulling back, I looked at her cautiously. “What?” I asked as I glanced between the two of them.
“Are you headed to class?” my father asked in a stern voice. I was instantly transported back to the night I got busted for sneaking out of the house and heading to a party Jimmy Clay was throwing before he left for the Army.
“Um . . . I was going to grab lunch.”
/>
Glaring at me, my father stepped forward and opened the door as he said, “Lunch can wait. We need to talk.”
Swallowing hard, I knew what it was about. My grandfather must have told them about Noah’s house.
Deciding now was not the time to stand up to my father; I turned and headed back into the house. “Alex and Will are both in class so it’s just us,” I said as I walked in to the kitchen.
“Something to drink?” I asked as I pulled out a water for myself.
“No thank you,” my father said as he sat on the sofa.
Smiling weakly, my mother said, “No, Grace. Why don’t you come on in here so we can talk.”
Dragging in a deep breath, I walked confidently into the living room. If there was ever a time I listened to Luke’s advice, it was when he told me how to act around my parents when we were in trouble. Never show weakness. My father would go in for the attack.
Sitting, I smiled at them both. “So, what’s so important that you had to drive all the way here to talk to me in person?”
Knowing the answer, I looked at each of them and gave them a fake-ass smile.
“So, you’re getting married?” my father busted out as my smile quickly faded.
Fuck a duck.
I totally forgot I told my grandfather Noah had asked me to marry him.
“Um, well . . . ah . . . um . . . I . . . well Noah and I, we um—”
Shit. I was not expecting this. How stupid of me to have forgotten.
My father cracked his neck and slowly let out a breath. “When were you planning on telling us this new plan, Grace? Does Alex know? Does she know you’re walking away from the dream you both shared? Did you even have the decency to tell her?”
Anger quickly raced through my body as my mouth dropped open.
Looking at my father, my mother shook her head and said, “Jeff, what did I say on the way here?”
Standing, my father pushed his hand through his hair and cursed under his breath.
“Bullshit, Ari. We worked our asses off to put this girl through school. She’s less than two months away from having everything, and she’s throwing it away for some asshole who we don’t even know.”
Heat flushed through my entire body as my heart rate increased.
“Jeff!” my mother called out.
“How dare you!” I said as I slowly stood up and balled my fists to the side. “How dare you start throwing out accusations? You know nothing, Dad. Nothing at all of what my plans are.”
Turning to face me, he pointed at me as he spoke. “You went to your grandfather and asked him to buy a house, Grace! A fucking house that belongs to this boyfriend of yours that no one even knew about.”
I tried to calm myself before I spoke. “I was desperate and I knew I couldn’t ask you.”
Jerking his head back, my father’s eyes grew bigger. “Holy shit. You’re pregnant, aren’t you? That’s why you couldn’t come to us.”
My mother quickly stood up as I laughed. “Really, Dad? The first thing that comes to your mind when I say I couldn’t come to you is that I’m pregnant. Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but no, I’m not pregnant. I’m a little bit more responsible than that. But hey, thanks for the vote of confidence there, Dad.”
“Grace Hope, don’t use that tone with your father. We have every right to question you after my father just put down over four hundred thousand dollars on a house that belonged to Noah’s parents. Then we find out you’re getting married. What else do you think we’re going to deduce out of that?”
Chewing on my lower lip, I knew my mother was right. “I certainly didn’t think y’all would drive all the way here and treat me like a child,” I said as I glared back over to my father.
Throwing his head back, he laughed before looking back at me. “If you don’t want to be treated like a child, don’t act like one, Grace.”
My heart felt as if someone had stabbed a knife through it. Feeling tears slowly build up, I turned away from my father.
“Noah’s mother is dying of cancer. Her husband walked out on her when she found out the cancer was back. He also decided to sell the house that Noah and his sister, Emily, grew up in. Their mother wanted nothing more than to be in her own home as she . . . as she . . . as she died. I didn’t know any other way. They were getting ready to put her in a hospice facility. I did what I thought was the right thing to do at the time.”
Slowly turning around, I looked at my mother, who quickly wiped a tear away. Looking at the ground I said, “I know you don’t want to hear this, Daddy, but I love Noah and I’ll do whatever I can for him and his mother.” I caught my father’s stare as I glanced up. “I knew you didn’t like him. I also knew if I came to you and asked you for the money, you would tell me it wasn’t my concern. Granddad was my only hope. I told him everything, and I also told him Noah had asked me to marry him.” Shaking my head, I wiped a tear away.
I shrugged my shoulders as I looked away. “I guess I thought if Granddad thought I was marrying Noah, he might be more willing to help. He told me once that he and Gram had set money aside for both Luke and I. When I presented him with the offer, I asked if they would change things up and just use the money they set aside for me to buy the house. They could consider it a wedding gift. Noah hasn’t asked me to marry him, and I keep putting off talking to him about this. He was upset I had asked Granddad, and at first he said he wouldn’t take it. Then his sister came to him crying because their mother was going to get to go home. Noah didn’t have the heart to tell her the truth. He’s already begun selling off some things, like jewelry, that has been in their family for some time. His mother had stocks that he has also begun selling off. He plans on paying Granddad back every penny.”
My mother put her hand over her mouth as she slowly sat. My father looked over at her and then turned away from both of us.
Dropping her hands to her lap, my mother asked, “Noah’s father was selling the house out from under his family? Why couldn’t he let his wife have her dying wish?”
Pressing my lips together, I said, “No one knows. Noah said his dad is a selfish son-of-a-bitch who only cares about himself.”
“Are Noah and his sister both living in the house right now?” my mother asked.
Clearing my throat, I sat across from my mother. “No. Emily recently got married and her husband took a job in Virginia. She moved a few weeks ago and it about killed her. She’s trying to come back down, but they aren’t sure how long their mother will . . . um . . . well they don’t know when it will happen. It could be tomorrow, or in two months.”
Turning back to us, my father finally spoke. “Who is taking care of their mother?”
Not bothering to look at him, I said, “Noah. Hospice comes in once a day. One of the hospice nurses has stayed a few nights so Noah can get a good night’s sleep. It’s hard for him, though. He hasn’t been sleeping well and he’s all alone and—”
Looking away, I choked back my tears.
Shaking her head, my mother gasped. “That poor family.”
Sitting next to my mother, my father took in a deep breath and slowly blew it out. “You still shouldn’t have gone to your grandfather, Grace. I don’t want to see you getting lost in this Noah guy. Focus on finishing up your degree, moving back to Mason and getting your business started with Alex.”
I couldn’t believe my ears. Who was this man sitting in front of me?
“Do you really think so little of me, Dad?”
Snapping his eyes over to me, my father narrowed an eye and asked, “Excuse me?”
“You really think I’m going to give up everything, walk away from it all, because I’m in love with one of the most amazing men I’ve ever known.” Holding up my finger, I tilted my head and said, “Oh wait. You wouldn’t know what an amazing person he is because you’re too busy judging him.”
My father’s eyes grew dark. “My job as your father is to protect you.”
“From what? Please, Dad, tell me fro
m what?”
Standing, he pointed at me as he raised his voice. “From borrowing money from your grandfather, quitting school, running off with someone we know nothing about. From ruining your life, Grace.”
Standing, my mother put her hand on my father’s arm and pulled him back some. “Jeff, I think you need to step outside and get some fresh air.”
Standing up, I felt my whole body shaking. “Ruining my life? How in the hell am I ruining my life? By being in love? You raised me, Dad, to always try and help those you love. Well I did. I did what I thought was the right thing to do at the time. Noah is paying Granddad back. I’m guessing you chose not to hear that part. He is selling off everything he can. He will not take the money as a handout, because that is the type of man he is.”
My father stood there staring at me. His body tense, his chest heaved as I spoke.
“As far as me quitting school, I don’t even know how to respond to that. I’ve given you no indication I’m quitting school. I’m not stupid, Dad. As much as I want to be with Noah, I’m here.” Pointing down, I repeated myself. “Here, Dad. Not where I really want to be.”
“What about after school, Grace, when you are supposed to be starting up your career? Will you be there for Alex or for Noah?”
My mother sucked in a breath as she stood in front of my father. “Stop. You’re angry and you need to stop before you say something you’ll regret.”
Feeling the tears roll down my face, I looked away. Seeing my purse, I knew exactly what I needed to do. Everything in that moment became clear to me. Walking over to it, I picked it up and headed for the front door.
“Grace? Sweetheart, where are you going?” my mother asked as I reached for the door and opened it.
Looking back over my shoulder, I caught my father’s eyes. “If you ever ask me to choose between Noah and my family, I’m going to pick Noah.”
Opening the door, I walked through and shut it as I heard my father call out for me. The moment I hit the bottom stair, I took off running. The further away I got, the better.
Grace
Standing on the front porch, I sucked in a deep breath and held it for a few seconds before blowing it out. Knocking lightly, I stepped back and waited.