Grace Anne Read Online Free PDF Page A

Grace tried to pull away from the man who
held her and the little boy she’d scared, but Michael kept dragging her back.
    “Grace? Grace, tell me…Trace, give
me a bottle of water for her.”
    She looked up at Michael.
    “What is it?” he asked her.
    “Nothing. It was…people like to
make comments on the type of clothing I sell all the time and sometimes
they…this is Trace’s day. I’m not going to worry about a small-minded person
when he has so much to celebrate.”
    She hoped that he’d understand she
wasn’t going to talk about it in front of his son and though he didn’t ask
again, she knew that he was far from satisfied. She leaned her head back
against the seat and thought about what she had to do now. Now that someone had
found her, found her after all she’d done to ensure they wouldn’t, she would
have to bolt again.
    She could sell him the building.
He wanted it and she needed it gone. The caller had been able to find her in
New York, which 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