Grace Anne - By Kathi S. Barton Page 0,10
wasn’t all that hard, but if they knew where she was it was only a matter of time before they figured out where she was living too. And they’d found her phone number easily enough. She frowned down at the cell in her hand. It, too, would have to go. She closed her eyes against the sudden pain there. And she’d have to leave everything she knew.
She had a cart in front of her suddenly and she was checking things off her list. She had no idea what the conversations were she participated in. She thought she was giving the correct answers, but she didn’t really care. She was shopping, yes, shopping for food she knew she’d never eat.
The drive to his parents’ was surreal for her. She’d lived in New York for nearly ten years and had never been this far out. The houses got bigger and the lawns much more lush the more they drove. By the time they pulled around the circular drive she nearly had her face smashed up against the window.
Trace was practically bouncing off the seat when he saw the dogs come running toward them. As soon as the car stopped he was out the door and tumbling in the yard with them. Before she could get a few steps away from the car Michael pulled her back toward him. She looked up at him.
“Thank you for allowing me to help with this special time for Trace. I appreciate it. But I really have no…I shouldn’t be here. This is your son’s birthday and you and I don’t even care all that much for each other. I should just go home.”
He looked at her for several seconds and didn’t say anything. She turned toward the house to call someone to come and get her when he called her name. She turned back to him and waited for him to speak. He was standing next to her when he finally spoke near her ear.
“This isn’t going to end however you have going though your mind. I don’t know what happened, but it can’t be as bad as you think it might be.”
“No,” she told him with a sad shake of her head. “No, Mr. Cunningham, it’s much worse.”
Chapter 4
Josephine Cunningham, or Joey to her friends, watched the two of them together. Actually, they weren’t so much together as the girl fought to be away from Michael. But she never said anything, even with the daggers she kept throwing at him. Trace seemed to be having the time of his life with her as well.
She laughed twice when Grace elbowed her son. Michael didn’t get upset, but seemed to find her avoidance of him funny. Strange, she thought. Normally, Michael backed off when someone gave him the cold shoulder. Not that it happened much, but it didn’t seem to faze him now.
Joey wondered why the girl was here. Not that she minded, but it had been more than curious. Trace had asked, begged really, if he could bring her to his party. Grace had even produced a gift for him. A very nice set of lamps that Trace said would be “awesomesauce” for his room. Whatever that meant.
“Would you like some more cake, dear? There is plenty and if you don’t have another piece, I won’t be able to either.” Joey handed her a plate of cake and sat down beside her.
“Thank you, Mrs. Cunningham. It’s delicious. And thank you for allowing me to come here today.” Grace took a big bite of the cake.
Joey watched her eat. She was happy to see that she didn’t pick at her food, but ate with gusto. She looked over at her son before she decided to dig a little information from her. The last that Joey had heard, this woman had made Michael very mad, and now here she was at his son’s birthday celebration.
“Call me Joey. And thank you. My daughter-in-law made it. To be honest, I think she buys it, but she won’t say.” Joey took several bites before she continued. “I hope the two of them didn’t force you into coming today. It was lovely that you’re… I’m going to be honest and snoop. What is the relationship between you and Michael?”
Grace laughed. It was a beautiful sound and Joey noticed that Michael turned to the sound as if drawn to her and it. She smiled. Curiouser and curiouser.
“Ask your son, Mrs. Cunningham or, better yet, your grandson. I’m just here because I’d been backed