The Stand Read online

  “The wish wasn’t specific to the store,” Grace said quietly. She leaned against the counter. “I just wanted to make something important here, leave my mark. Maybe I’m supposed to do that with the youth center. And I think the youth center is part of what’s going to help me find the star. It was a huge deal for all of us when we were younger. More important than the store even.”

  And that was also the truth. Grandpa had run the store and enjoyed it, but his passion had been for the youth center. He’d transferred that passion to Grace.

  “I couldn’t help keep the old youth center going, but I know I am supposed to make this one into something good. And make sure the kids have a place to go.”

  Kara smiled at her. “That makes sense.”

  “You think you’re going to find your piece of the star at the youth center, too?” Maddy asked, brown eyes curious.

  Grace rubbed a hand over her eyes. She hoped so, but at this point, she was hoping for anything to happen. “I don’t know. I think it’s a good possibility.”

  “What about your parents?” Kara asked.

  “What?”

  “Your parents.”

  Grace swallowed as dread uncoiled in her stomach. Did Kara know something about her father? How could she? “What do you mean?”

  “Maddy came to the youth center because of her father and me because of my mother. You sort of ended up at the youth center because of your parents, too. I just thought that maybe, since it had something to do with what Maddy and I had to deal with, it might be a factor for you also.”

  Grace shook her head. She exhaled a pent-up breath. “I don’t even…I didn’t even know my parents,” Grace reminded them, recognizing the defense in her tone. “Shit. I barely even remember my mom—how can she have anything to do with this?”

  “I think,” Kara said gently, “that it’s something that might be possible at this point.”

  Grace jingled the keys in her hand and gave a swift smile. “We’d better go. I still have a lot to move.”

  She walked away from the counter and toward the door before either of her friends could say anything. She didn’t want to think about her parents right now, only wanted to be able to focus on the youth center. And finding the star.

  Fortunately for her, she believed the two were linked. If she could get situated in her new house, with the antique store closed, she might be able to open up her mind to something bigger. But there was no sense in bringing up Lewis to anyone else if it wasn’t necessary right now.

  “We’ll help bring more of your stuff to the guesthouse,” Maddy told her on her way out.

  “Thanks.”

  She’d deal with that now, then do some serious brainstorming on the star later.

  ~ ~ ~

  “What do you keep looking at over there, Nathan?” Elliot asked.

  He jerked his attention back to the other men, giving a casual smile. He didn’t want to lie but he’d promised Grace he wouldn’t say anything about Lewis. A tough problem considering he’d been open with Elliot and Riley about Amanda, and he wanted to be open about this, too.

  “Did you see her again?” Riley asked.

  “Amanda?” Nathan shook his head. “No.”

  “That’s twice now,” Elliot reminded them. He leaned back against the car and crossed one ankle over another, waiting while the women finished up in the antique store. He crossed his arms as well and gave Nathan a knowing look. “You’re part of finding the star. I think that’s pretty clear by this point.”

  Nathan frowned. Grace wasn’t going to like that assessment.

  Elliot chuckled. “Think about it. Why have you seen something twice and Grace hasn’t seen anything? More than that, both times you saw Amanda she was trying to get you to leave Serenity Falls. The first to tell you that you don’t belong here and the second…”

  “To try to get me to leave, to go back to her,” Nathan said, remembering clearly. “I see the pattern. I’ll tell Grace,” he said with a sigh. “She seems to have enough reason to be mad at me for other things, this won’t be much different. But at least she’ll know.”

  “Why do you think that is, exactly?” Elliot said.

  “Why’s what?” Riley asked.

  “Why do you think Grace has so many reasons for being mad at Nathan?” Elliot smirked in his direction. “Or do you think Nathan just thinks Grace is mad at him all the time?”

  Nathan chuckled. “My imagination isn’t that vivid–you’ve been hanging around Kara too long. I think it’s pretty clear Grace…” He chose his words carefully, “isn’t the most comfortable when I’m around.”

  He watched Riley peer into the store then return his attention to them. “I think you’re going to find Grace has a hard time being comfortable when just about anyone who’s interested in her is around.” He paused and gave a kind smile. “Because that’s the issue, right? You like Grace and since she knows it–”

  “Which was pretty much right away,” Elliot added.

  “–she’s been avoiding you,” Riley concluded. “That about right?”

  Nathan scratched his cheek. “Yeah, that’s just about right. Which, apparently, Elliot finds amusing.”

  Elliot shrugged. “I do because I’ve been there before. Love hurts. But…I think if Grace is so uncomfortable around you, it says more about her feelings than you might think.”

  “What does it say?” Nathan asked.

  Riley’s expression went serious as well. “If Grace didn’t have any feelings, she’d either just be your friend or tell you she didn’t want to if that was the case. She wouldn’t avoid you.”

  Watching the look on Riley’s face, Nathan asked, “Is this okay for you?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, you’re Grace’s brother. I know how close you are. I understand if you think it’s better if I keep my distance.”

  Riley ran a hand through his hair. “It might be safer to keep your distance, but I don’t know if it would be better. I don’t want to see Grace hurt, but I also know you well enough to doubt you’d be the cause of any of it.” He peered into the store again and lowered his voice. “I’m worried Grace is going to get in over her head. If nothing else, you’re helping to keep an eye on her, which I think we all agree is necessary. But as far as the rest…” He sighed and shook his head. “I don’t know. You might have more to do with Grace finding the star than any of us realized. For what it’s worth, I think if she actually gave you a chance she might discover she likes you, too.”

  Nathan scuffed his shoe on the ground. Damn. Riley—and Elliot—they both saw too much. But who cared? He wanted more with Grace, and he wasn’t a quitter. Might as well have it all out in the open.

  “So you’ll tell Grace about Amanda,” Elliot said with a nod. “And then we should all talk about it, come up with a plan.”

  “It’s almost May,” Nathan agreed. “Not much time left.”

  Riley shook his head. “They threw the star on Maddy’s birthday so they have to have it back on the same day.”

  “It’s in August, right?”

  “The first.”

  “That’s barely over three months,” Elliot said. “And you said Grace told you nothing has happened yet.”

  “That’s what she said.”

  Nathan still wasn’t convinced about that part, but he only nodded.

  Riley repeated Elliot’s earlier comment. “A plan would be good.”

  The women emerged from the store and Grace turned to lock the door one last time. Nathan watched Riley walk over to her, take the keys and whisper something that made her smile. She gave him a fierce hug.

  When they broke apart, Nathan noticed her gaze travel to where Lewis had been standing earlier.

  Nathan gave her an inconspicuous nudge. “He’s gone.”

  Her eyes jerked to his, then around the group to see if anyone had heard.

  “He watched everyone load up the car and the truck, but hasn’t been back since,” Nathan told her.


  “Why is he still here?” she asked, keeping her voice low.

  “Maybe he still wants to talk to you.”

  “About what?”

  He took her arm and steered her toward the car. “Don’t worry about that right now. We’re going to grab some pizza for everyone and meet at your house to help move the rest of the boxes over to the guesthouse.”

  “I’m worried about it,” she said, “because I have too many other things to deal with without some guy lurking around claiming to be my father.”

  She jumped, startled, when Elliot tossed an arm over her shoulder. “Did I hear something about pizza?”

  Her smile bordered on harried.

  “Pizza. Yes.” Nathan opened the door for Grace and nudged her in. “We’ll grab some on the way and meet you at Grace’s if you want to help load up the rest of the boxes.”

  “Sounds good.” He raised his brows and gave Nathan a smile. “See you there.”

  Inside the truck, Nathan turned to Grace as the other cars pulled away. “I think you should tell Riley.”

  “Didn’t we already talk about this?” She gestured behind her. “Are we going to go? The boxes—”

  “Can wait. Just for a minute.”

  “God, Nathan. Why? Why are you doing this?” She pressed her hands over her face. “I’m sorry. I am, but…”

  “What?”

  When she didn’t answer, he reached out and pulled her hands away from her face. “Talk to me.”

  “That. You keep doing that. Pressuring me. Telling me what to do. I can handle this, Nathan. I—” She broke off when he smiled. “What? Now what?”

  “You think I’m doing this because I don’t think you can handle it? Grace.” He sighed. “You’re probably the most capable person I know.”

  “Then why?”

  He shifted, carefully taking her hand. Her eyes narrowed but she didn’t pull away. So he put it out there, just like his conversation with Elliot and Riley. “I want this. Us. Something more.” Her mouth opened but he shook his head. “Not finished.” She shut her mouth. “Probably because you are so capable. I want to help, I want to be here for you, and maybe…” He brushed his thumb under her eye, hating that she flinched with the contact. “Maybe to help make these circles under your eyes go away. I know you can do this, Grace, I know you can. But I want to make it so you don’t have to do it all on your own.”

  He saw the argument in her eyes, on her lips throughout his entire speech. He also saw when it faded away. When her shoulders slumped with something like resignation.

  “You have a way with words, you know that?”

  He grinned. “Yeah?”

  “It’s annoying.”

  “How about this?” he asked, leaning across the console. “Is this annoying?”

  Her mouth opened again, but this time he caught it in a kiss. He slid his hand to the back of her head, fingers weaving through her silky hair, knowing somewhere in the back of his mind that he still hadn’t told her the truth about Amanda.

  But right now, when her body shifted and her arms locked around his neck, he couldn’t focus. His brain scrambled at the fierceness of her kiss, the heat of her small body pressing as close as the confines of the car would allow.

  She broke away, panting, and held up a hand, warding him off when he tried to pull her close again. “Wait—hold on—”

  “Why?”

  “Why?” She laughed, running a hand over hair to smooth it down. “This is—we’re in your truck.”

  He grinned, glancing around. “Yeah. Brings you back, right?”

  She eased back in her seat, and he forced himself to give her space, even though he could still feel her mouth fused to his and her body firm against him. “I’m assuming you mean to high school or whenever, and no—I never made out in someone’s truck.”

  “Then this is all new to you. Maybe we’d better try it again to see if we did it right the first time.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “What is wrong with you?”

  “Not sure.” He certainly hadn’t planned on what just happened. But it happened—and he wished she’d admit that it was coming to this anyway. “I guess I should have bought you dinner first.”

  Her eyes widened, like she still couldn’t fathom what had gotten into him. “Dinner,” she said, and then shook her head, as if remembering where she was. “Pizza. We’re supposed to be getting pizza.”

  “So we took a detour,” he said, turning the keys in the ignition. “That’s not a bad thing, right?”

  He waited patiently for her answer, practically feeling her internal struggle. Grace didn’t let go. Grace certainly didn’t open up to people unless she absolutely trusted them. This was a turning point in their relationship, and he needed her to be on the same page as him.

  “I don’t know,” she finally answered. “I’ll think about it.”

  He released a low laugh and pulled away from the antique store. She’d think about it? Well, that was better than telling him that could never happen again.

  He flashed her a smile. “You do that.”

  Chapter 7

  Last night, Grace officially moved in with Kara, two days after closing the store. Deadlines seemed to loom over her head. She wanted the youth center done before school started for the kids at the end of the summer. She needed to find the star by about the same time. She had a dozen other small goals that would help lead to these but was having trouble keeping her thoughts focused.

  What if she didn’t find the star? What if she ran into Lewis again, and had to face a part of her past she wanted to keep there?

  When she’d been in high school, before she’d met Maddy and Kara, she’d gone through a phase of wondering about her parents, more specifically her mother. She’d even done some research and asked Riley and Grandpa about them. But she hadn’t figured anything out, and after she’d met Maddy and Kara, she’d been happy to move on.

  So, why do I have to deal with it now? Why can’t Lewis just go away and let me forget about my parents all over again?

  And then there was Nathan. Grace rose from bed and dressed, mind swirling with the unknown. What had he been thinking kissing her like that? No, she knew why he’d kissed her. But she had no idea why she’d kissed him back. Nathan was one big contradiction. When she finally thought they were on the same page, that he was safe, he went and did something dangerous. Like trying to break through her defenses.

  She didn’t need–no, didn’t want–a relationship. Just another person to walk out on her. No, she was doing just fine on her own and with her friends. She didn’t need Nathan.

  But, God, he was a good kisser. And in those moments, she had felt safe.

  She toasted bread and brought her plate to the table in the dining room. She couldn’t sleep in late like Kara. She had too much to do.

  She listened to coffee brew, picking at her toast and looking over three pages of notes she’d made for the website. She’d even drawn her idea of a layout and added tabs for different pages.

  She checked the clock, impatient to get started. Nathan had told her to come over as early as she wanted, but she didn’t want to bother him before 8:00. Especially at his house, which had been his idea, not hers.

  Sure he had everything he needed there, but it seemed too intimate. She had to keep reminding herself it was a meeting, that’s all. And the piano was there as well, in case he wanted to collect payment right away.

  Grace tossed her mostly uneaten breakfast in the trash and retrieved her sneakers from her bedroom. She was nervous, that’s all. Being alone with Nathan for a few hours made her stomach swirl.

  Business. That was it. She’d have to keep it all business.

  Nathan was definitely not safe. He was exactly the kind of person who she’d end up liking and then end up being hurt by. He’d already been married once and left that relationship. Not to mention he lived up on the hill in that big house though it was only him.

  He was inconsistent. That’s what i
t was. And she was looking for someone consistent.

  Grace straightened at the thought. No, if–if–I were looking for someone, it would be someone very different from Nathan.

  She snagged her jacket off the hook by the front door and scooped up her notes. Fine, if Nathan said to come over whenever she wanted, he’d better be ready. Grace closed the door softly and dug out her keys. The sooner she got to his house, the sooner this would be over with.

  ~ ~ ~

  He thought the flowers were a nice touch. They sat on the island in the center of the kitchen, brightening up the space. Daisies and some other wildflowers he’d pulled from the garden on the side of the house. He didn’t know much about flowers but when the landscapers had done the yard, they’d told him he could cut flowers from that spot and they’d still grow back. Good enough.

  He’d also cut up some fruit because he doubted Grace had taken the time to eat a proper breakfast. He could set it out without her getting too suspicious. Lastly, it was part of his plan to let Grace know about Amanda today. Easier said than done.

  The bell rang as he finished cutting cantaloupe, and he checked his watch. Earlier than he’d thought. She was eager to get this done. It might take more persuasion than he’d planned on to get her out of the house to relax.

  He rinsed his hands off quickly in the sink and carried the towel with him to the door. When he opened up to find Grace, half her face was swallowed by dark sunglasses, and she had her arms wrapped tightly around a notebook. Her hair was tucked behind her ears and she looked serious, almost professional. Except for the dark jeans, oversized sweatshirt, and sneakers.

  “Morning.” He stood back to let her into the house.

  Her greeting was short. “Hi.”

  She moved inside but didn’t go any further. Grace propped her sunglasses on her head and tipped up her chin. “Where are we working?”

  With her eyes so blue, tilted up at him, he didn’t feel like working. He felt like yanking her close and kissing her again. Until she didn’t want to think about websites or the youth center, only them.