Grace Anne - By Kathi S. Barton Page 0,53

to stay away from them,” she told him quickly. “There are several of them. I’ve met them all and they’re dangerous. Promise me that you’ll keep away from them.”

“I will. I promise. What did she do to you, Grace? I know she hurt you. Tell me what she did to you.”

Grace looked away from him, ashamed. She was ashamed for what she’d allowed her to do to her and, worse yet, let her get away with.

“She had someone rape me. She held me down while she…she encouraged my father to rape me.” She still hadn’t looked at the little boy in front of her. “I wasn’t very old, seventeen. She’d tied me down after I’d been sleeping. I always thought she’d drugged me, but I couldn’t remember. When I told her about it later, she’d acted like she had no idea.” She was crying, the tears falling down her face hot and quick. When Trace said her name she didn’t want to look at him, didn’t want to see the look on his face. When he said it a second time, she turned.

“I have a favor to ask you. I’ve been thinking about it for a long time. You can say no if you want to, but I’m not sure it’ll keep me from doing it. Will you let me?”

She nodded.

“Will you please let me call you Mom?”

Grace stared at him for several seconds. He started talking again very quickly. “I’ve been thinking about it since that day you took me to the vet’s for Walter. You were so brave when that kid threw that cat on that lizard. And when you told his mom to shut up and mind her tongue I about busted with love. She looked like she’d swallowed a bug. A big one. Then that nurse was starting on you.” He laughed. “She backed up right away when you gave her that look. The one that said ‘I’m not going to take your crap either, lady.’ I still laugh about it sometimes.”

“I’m not going to be a pushover with you either, you know. I’m going to expect you to be the worst little boy sometimes, and I might let you slide on some things, but then you’ll be grounded when you need to be. And I’ll want you to have a sick day from school even if you aren’t sick; you’ll have to help me plan stupid birthday parties for your dad and when we all have another baby, if we want, then I expect you to be big brother to it.”

He looked like he was thinking about it then grinned at her. “Deal. But don’t expect me to hug you in public. Grandma does it enough and I hate it.” Then he grinned wider. “Not really, but I can’t let her know that. She’s my favorite grandma.”

“Trace, I would be honored if you call me Mom. Just please don’t call me Momma. I detest that stupid name.”

“You got it, Momma.”

Chapter 16

Joey looked at her stepson. Thomas had been a horror since the day she’d married his dad. And he hadn’t improved one bit in all the years since. She supposed she should have put her foot down more, but the kid wouldn’t listen to anyone. The few times that she had had to discipline him he’d rebelled so much and retaliated so harshly against the other children that she’d finally given up. She blamed herself for a little of what he’d done now.

She turned to the door when it opened. She burst into tears when she saw her husband and Michael walk in. Rushing to the men she was pulled into a tight hug and held. Sometimes, like now, a hug could make all the difference in the world. She was still crying when she pulled back.

“The nurse said that he’ll be fine in a few days and the police are going to take him to the infirmary at the jail. They thought about leaving him here, but they just don’t have the manpower.” She looked over at Thomas who was cuffed to the bed by his ankle and wrist. “I’m actually afraid for him. He killed one of their own and I know they aren’t too thrilled about the fact that he survived whoever shot him.”

“Have they figured out what happened yet? Payton said that he was screaming about being framed for those two men, that a woman had actually committed the crimes.”

Joey knew from Michael’s tone that he didn’t believe his stepbrother, not