Chapter 12

Before leaving for work, Gracie kissed her grandfather on the cheek and glanced at the thermometer near the door. Thirty-nine degrees wasn’t unusual for November. Gracie closed the air vents on the car, so they’d stop shooting in more cold air. Her teeth chattered, and her shivering complicated the already difficult task of driving. She could drive only because her grandfather had traded in their old car for one with an automatic transmission. Pressing her knee to the bottom of the steering wheel to guide it, she shifted the car into drive. The uneven pressure of her foot on the gas pedal caused the car to jerk and jolt forward. She grabbed the steering wheel, wishing she hadn’t promised her grandfather she’d go in today.

Gracie arrived early, planning to defrost the spare freezer in the back room, but instead, out of habit, she started the opening process. The sound of someone’s fist pounding on the front door startled her.

“Kage!” she called out, nearly dropping a bucket of Peach Popular. “What on earth?”

Kage motioned for her to open the door.

“Are you okay?” she exclaimed, touching his crimson cheeks. When she took his hand, she jumped back. “You’re ice cold!”

His voice shook along with his shoulders as the shiver worked its way down his body. “I-I-I slept over th-th-there l-l-last night.” Kage pointed to the bus station. “T-They k-k-kicked me out this m-m-morning once they realized I wasn’t b-b-booked for the six a.m. bus, so I’ve been s-s-sitting next door under those s-s-stairs waiting for you to come to w-w-work.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Why were you sleeping at the bus station?”

“Looks like I’m done at the Carter’s. I kept thinking about you though.” Kage’s hand steadied as he reached toward her. “You are the only reason I’d stay in this town. I hate it here, Gracie. I hate working for Gene. I hate Barney’s ignorant conversations. I hate the way this town thinks it’s got some kind of treasure. There’s nothing here worth even my time, besides you.”

“You gotta be the best worker Gene’s ever had in years.”

“I doubt that, by his opinion.” Kage doubled his fists.

“Sorry,” Gracie said, regretful that Gene hadn’t been kinder.

“I ain’t sorry. I hate this place. I don’t want to spend another day in this town. No offense. I want to get out of here. But I’m not leaving you. I got a ticket for the late afternoon bus out. Come with me, Gracie?”

This time Gracie didn’t answer as quickly, but she knew in her heart she wouldn’t go.

* * *

Pearl dug through her purse for spare change and tossed a broken lipstick tube in the trash. Finding a couple coins in her purse after digging for a minute, she headed out the door with the tablet she’d scribbled Kage’s phone number on, planning to call him as they’d discussed late the night before.

She had tried to clean her place, tossing the pillows back on the couch and carrying a garbage bag through each room, picking up trash she’d neglected for over a week. She wiped the coffee grounds from the counter, ignoring the stains left behind. The place was not fit for company. Kage would have to sleep on the couch. When she talked to him, he hadn’t seemed bothered by the arrangement.

She wondered what her baby brother might look like. When their father died a couple of years ago, she looked for Kage. Granted she hadn’t looked very hard, just a phone call to the orphanage only to find it had been shut down.

She’d always pictured him in her mind as a little boy, and since she’d never met him, her vision had remained that way. How had that baby she held only once become a man? Pearl wasn’t much for emotions. When she felt a twinge of any sort, she would just wash the thought away with a drink—bourbon—her favorite choice of cure-all. But she had to be at work in a few hours, and she’d used all the logical excuses to miss—some twice.

* * *

“You know I can’t leave …” she paused, “my grandfather.”

“Then spend the day with me,” Kage whispered.

“What?” she exclaimed, his breath tickling her ear.

“We can do anything you want. Just spend today with me,” Kage persisted, lifting Gracie and twirling her around. She was tempted.

“Kage, I’ve got to open the store,” Gracie insisted, though contemplating the possibility in her mind.

“Who’d know? You’ve had odd hours with it anyway, between it already feeling like winter and your grandfather. Oh, I’m sorry, is he doing okay?”

Gracie’s countenance changed. “He isn’t himself. When I’m around I think he tries hard to act like he feels good, but I stayed with him all day yesterday, and he didn’t act right.” Gracie walked over to the freezer and took the top off an ice cream container and then struggled to remove the next one. Kage put the lid back on the open container and took the container she had pressed against her chest wrestling to open it.

“What are you doing?” Gracie giggled.

“Helping you,” Kage replied, almost pulling off a serious face.

“I don’t think so.” Gracie pulled the lids off again, eyeing Kage not to replace them.

“Come on, Gracie. You’ve got your grandfather’s car. Let’s go somewhere. I’ve got some extra money from working so many hours. Let’s go to Whitehorn for lunch! It’s a short ride. I need to buy a few things, at least something presentable to wear if I’m going to interview for a job in Louisville. Never know, maybe I can work for the hotel.”

Lifting her from the ground, holding her against his body, her feet inches from the floor, Kage wrapped one arm around her waist as he took his other hand and replaced the lids on the ice cream containers. She kicked his shins, pretending to struggle.

“Let me down,” Gracie squealed. “You can’t just kidnap me. People will come looking for me.”

“Seriously, you think so? You honestly think that they are going to be so outraged that Swirly’s is closed that they’ll come looking for you, especially when you didn’t open yesterday?” Kage put Gracie on her feet. Keeping his arm around her waist, he pulled her away from the ice cream freezers and grabbed her coat.

“Maybe.” Gracie pushed away from him and stumbled over her own feet.

Kage cornered her with his palms flat against the wall at both sides of her shoulders, their faces inches apart. “Please?” his wide eyes begged.

Gracie, lightheaded from the playful struggle with Kage as he had replaced the lids on the ice cream containers, whispered, “Okay, you win.”

Kage reached over and flipped off the store lights, his hand coming to rest on her cheek. Only sunlight dimly lit the room as their lips met.

* * *

Gracie turned in a circle, swinging her arms out wide taking in the sun’s rays breaking the chill. Earlier they had stopped in a few shops. Kage tried on a pair of khaki trousers that he didn’t buy. Gracie soon realized that he hadn’t really planned to spend his money on new clothes. It was a hoax, and she’d fallen for it.

Kage splurged and bought lunch at the Whistlestop. Gracie was careful to order the least expensive thing on the menu. The portions were large though, and Kage finished hers when she couldn’t take another bite. Now sitting on a park bench, Gracie found the fountain in its center relaxing and hours passed as they talked about nothing important—nothing that mattered.

They’d teased each other, acting lighthearted all day, as if time weren’t running out, but she couldn’t pretend any longer. “You’re still leaving today?” Gracie asked hesitantly.

“Yes.” Kage took Gracie’s hand. “I know I’m crazy to ever think you’d come with me, but if I get everything settled in Louisville, will you at least visit me? I can save up and buy you a ticket.”

Gracie loved the feeling of his face so close to hers. No one else was at the park, and it felt as if they owned it. “You don’t need to pay for my ticket. You know my grandfather needs me. I’ve got to stay,” Gracie countered, realizing that this was the first day since her grandfather had told her that he was sick, that she hadn’t thought of him the whole day through.

“I understand, but I really think you’re just scared to leave that little sad town,” Kage challenged, placing his arm playfully around her shoulders and leaning back against the bench.

“Don’t you tell me what I’m scared of.” She pulled away from Kage. Gracie wasn’t sure why his words sat so wrong with her, but they did.

“What’s wrong?”

“Stop saying it—that Ridgewood is so bad. You don’t know. You don’t really know anything about it!” Gracie pushed her fist into his chest pushing him away. “I like it. It’s my home. I know I haven’t traveled like you have, but Ridgewood has good people. If you gave it a chance, you’d like it.” Gracie hadn’t raised her voice like this before.

Kage appeared taken aback. “I’m sorry. I guess I’ve never had a place I felt that way about. Nothing much is special anywhere I’ve been. I wasn’t meaning to make you feel bad. So, say you live in Ridgewood for the rest of your life, what are your plans? Are you going to run Swirly’s by yourself forever? Who’s going to take care of you when your grandfather is gone?”

Kage kept his tone gentle and contained, causing Gracie’s harsh edge to ring out in even greater contrast. “Take care of me? I can take care of myself!” Gracie wasn’t sure why she was so upset. She knew he was only saying what she had thought too, even just yesterday.

“I didn’t mean it like that, I … I just meant … well,” Kage paused, aware he wasn’t finding the right words. He continued to stumble. “I just imagined, someday falling in love with somebody and taking care of her—protecting her,” Kage said almost apologetically.

Gracie turned her back to Kage and stared over the bushes, seeing another young couple walking in the distance, holding hands and laughing. Jealousy shot through her. “I don’t have any choice here, do I?” Gracie said between clenched teeth.

“What do you mean?” Kage asked, reaching his hand out to rest it on her shoulder but swiftly withdrawing it when she flinched.

Gracie could keep saying that she was fine, but it was not working. All the emotions were still there. She turned toward Kage. “I didn’t even know you a month ago, and now you’re leaving, and it feels like I’m losing my best friend! My grandfather is all I’ve had, and he is dying! I can’t even sleep through the night without waking up screaming!” Gracie exploded in tears, doing everything she could to suck them back. She held her breath and hit her fist against the bench. When Kage reached for her hand, she knocked him away.

“Why?” Kage asked puzzled. “Why don’t you sleep?”

“Because I keep having bad dreams about everything!” Gracie screamed out, causing the couple across the park to look their way. Neither Gracie nor Kage moved or said anything for several seconds.

Then Kage put his arms around her, though Gracie’s gaze was still coldly affixed on the shrubbery in the distance. He took her hand and brought her fingers to his chin, intertwining his fingers with hers. He kissed each knuckle and said nothing else. He’d done just the right thing. Kage had stopped talking and just held her.

Gracie, slowly giving in to his embrace, sank against Kage’s chest. When she finally spoke, pulling slightly away from his embrace to look into his eyes, her voice was faint and cracked as she spoke. “Okay, now you can say more of that nice stuff you were saying, about the one you love and your plans. I wasn’t listening then.”

Kage’s smile was one of subtle triumph. “As I was just saying,” Kage paused, playing up the fact that he had been rudely interrupted, “I have these pictures in my mind. To me, well, if I could have anything on this earth, it’s a simple question for me to answer. I want a family. I want to take care of a beautiful woman and keep her safe and make her happy. That’s all.”

“So, you want to take care of me?” Gracie asked, with the edge noticeably absent.

“Honestly, Gracie, I think about it every day. I want to know that you are okay. It bothers me what you’re going to do when—” and he stopped.

“When my grandfather dies,” Gracie finished his sentence.

“Yes, he loves you, Gracie. But I know what it feels like to be alone, and I hate it,” Kage said, looking straight into Gracie’s eyes.

Her eyes dampened once more. “I’m scared. I don’t know what I’ll do when he goes. I just can’t imagine it. There is a part of me that thinks I might go crazy. Did anybody ever tell you about Mrs. Laurel? She went crazy all alone in that big house. She thinks her husband still lives with her. If you ever see her now, she’s talking out of her head,” Gracie shared. “That could be me someday,” she added, her eyes playfully wide as she tried to lighten the mood.

“You aren’t going to go crazy. Look at everything you’ve been through, and you’re not crazy, Gracie Howard. I’ve met some crazy people. You are not!” Kage said, as he placed her hand between both of his and brought it to his chest. “What you are is beautiful!” Kage leaned forward. Gracie leaned hard into Kage. She returned his kiss more passionately than ever before.

When she was with him, she felt like someone she didn’t know—someone new, someone special. Gracie broke away and whispered, “I’m going to miss you so much. I don’t have lots of people I can run to in the middle of the night, you know.” Gracie tried to force a laugh.

“Not many people I’d get out of bed in the middle of the night to see.” Kage drew her close. Gracie wondered what she could say to make him stay.