there, he’d no doubt carry her if he had to. But if it came to that, Hope wouldn’t be able to do it. She’d just have to pray they figured it out, or she’d be sleeping in her car that night.
Hope jumped into the SUV, and without another word to Lucas, she cranked the engine and peeled out of the lot.
“Ouch!” Grace yelped as she was tossed against the seat. “Um, Hope, I appreciate you helping me out, but do you think you could be a tiny bit more cautious? I’m dying back here.”
“Oh, sorry,” she said. “I just…” She shook her head and let out a little growl of frustration. “How long has he been in town?”
“I honestly don’t know. We met yesterday for a late lunch to discuss his housing needs and then—”
“So that’s why you couldn’t join me and Joy to dig into the research on the cottage,” Hope said.
“Right. I had a client.” Grace wanted to reach out and squeeze her friend’s shoulder, but she couldn’t. Instead, she said, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you right away. He asked me not to, and I… I just—”
“You were being a decent friend to him. It’s okay, Grace.” Hope’s voice was low when she added, “I’m just not going to be able to get used to having him around. It’s too much.”
Grace’s heart ached for her friends. They had a lot of baggage to work through, and Grace wasn’t at all sure things would work out for them. But she sure prayed they would. “Hope?”
“Yeah?” her friend said.
“Lucas didn’t have a car at the restaurant. I’m not sure how he’s going to get back to his mother’s. Want me to call him and make sure he has a ride?”
“Dammit,” she muttered. “Yeah. I guess you better.”
At least Grace’s phone was handy in her front pocket. She pulled it out and dialed Lucas’s number.
“Everything all right?” Lucas asked after the first ring.
“So far. We need to know how you’re getting home. Uber? Lyft? Calling a friend?”
“If I say no, will Hope come back and get me?” he asked, sounding hopeful.
“Yes.” Grace said a silent apology to Hope for throwing her into the deep end with Lucas, but the sooner they got talking the sooner they could get past whatever it was that had kept them apart for the past fifteen years.
“Then no. I need a ride,” he said, sounding pleased.
“Okay. Go inside and get something to eat. Hope will be back for you after she gets me to my bed.”
Hope groaned from the driver’s seat and then whispered, “Thanks a lot, Grace. You couldn’t have said we’d send a cab or something?”
Grace ended the call with Lucas and said, “Premonition Pointe doesn’t have cabs anymore. He could take an Uber, but all the way to his mom’s house would be one expensive trip. And considering he’s hired me to be his Realtor, I just feel like he needs to be taken care of.”
“Stop. I’ll do it,” Hope said. “But you owe me.”
“Understood.”
Forty-five minutes later, when Grace was in her bed with water, leftover pasta, and a bottle of pain killers on her nightstand, Hope reluctantly left to pick up her ex.
Chapter Twenty-One
“Grace?” Lex called from the hallway. “Are you decent?”
“Of course I am. I’ve hardly moved for days,” Grace groused. She’d been cooped up in her house for far too long while Lex kept her fed and watered. Even getting up to use the restroom was a challenge because her back still wasn’t cooperating. She’d called a healer the day after her injury who’d come by and given her a salve that had worked wonders. She’d been up, showering and even cleaning the kitchen, but she’d overdone it and was right back where she started.
Lex popped her head in the bedroom. “I meant are you decent enough for a visitor?”
“Who is it?” Grace asked as she tried to prop herself up and winced at the sharp pain in her lower back.
“Owen. He says he needs to talk to you about one of your properties.”
Grace groaned. He’d been back in town for three days, but she’d put off seeing him due to her injury. Her ego was having a hell of a time getting past the fact she was walking like a ninety-year-old woman. Not to mention the fact that it had been more than challenging to change clothes and take care of basic hygiene such as showering the last couple of days. Grace reached for the mirror sitting on