Susan Mallery - Falling for Gracie

“She has my baking pans.”

“I gathered that.”

“Why would she take my baking pans?”

“Not a clue.”

Gracie considered the possibilities. “To make her own cakes? But why?” She rose up slightly so she could see in the window again. Pam bent over the oven, positioning the cake.

“The rack’s too high,” she murmured. “The edges are going to burn. If she was planning to steal my business, she should have asked more questions.”

She turned to him. “Is that it? Is Pam going to steal my business?”

“Why would she want to? She seems to have enough money of her own.”

“You’re right. Someone is paying for very expensive clothing,” Gracie said. “And there’s the bed-and-breakfast. That wasn’t cheap. Okay, now I’m completely confused. What is she doing?”

They stayed out in the bushes for nearly two hours in an attempt to find out. The only thing they discovered was that Pam was a really bad baker. Gracie felt some small measure of satisfaction when the cake turned out lopsided and burned on the edges. The pleasure peaked when Pam attempted to remove the cake from the pan and only about sixty percent of it fell onto the cooling rack.

“It was a complete disaster,” Gracie said cheerfully as they headed back to the car. “My first cake was much better than that and I think I was all of ten when I made it. I guess I don’t have to sweat her stealing my clients anytime…”

Her voice trailed off as she realized she didn’t have any clients to steal.

“We’ll figure it out,” Riley said as he put an arm around her and drew her close. “We’ll watch her for as many nights as it takes.”

“Good thing sweeps month is over on television and there’s nothing to watch.”

He looked at her and raised his eyebrows. “You would rather watch television than spy on Pam with me?”

She smiled. “Never! Did I say that? Absolutely not. You sure know how to show a girl a good time.”

THE NEXT two nights of spying produced similar results. Pam baked. Badly, Gracie thought with some measure of satisfaction. Pam also didn’t take good care of the pans, which were getting dark and scratched, but that was the least of Gracie’s problems.

But on the third night there wasn’t a cooling rack in sight. Pam barely came into the kitchen and when she did it was to pop a cookie sheet of store-bought appetizers into the oven and pull a bottle of white wine out of the refrigerator.

“Company,” Riley said with satisfaction. “Let’s see who Pam hangs out with these days. Maybe we’ll get some answers there.”

“The only possibly interesting person could be the mayor,” Gracie whispered. “And it can’t be him. She thinks he’s just as creepy as everyone else.”

“Are you sure?”

Gracie realized she wasn’t sure about anything except that she was getting a cramp in her leg.

“We’ll go around to the side yard,” Riley said. “We’ll be able to see who’s arriving.”

Gracie followed him, making sure to stay low. When they were in position in the side yard, she fumbled with her camera. Might as well get a picture of Pam’s visitor.

A car drove down the street. Gracie rose so she could brace herself against a small tree. She raised her camera to her face and squinted to see out the tiny viewer. The car got closer.

“Come on, big guy,” she murmured.

Riley chuckled. “Big guy?”

“Just an expression.”

“Okay. The car’s pulling in.”

She wasn’t sure what happened next. Maybe it was wet grass or leaves. Maybe it was just being clumsy. Maybe it was fate. Whatever the cause, just as she prepared to snap the picture of Pam’s visitor, Gracie’s foot slipped. She found herself sliding and falling. As she instinctively reached out to grab something, she squeezed the button on the camera. The flash exploded in the darkness. The tired mechanism pushed out a picture and whoever was in the car backed up and sped away.

“Come on.”

Riley grabbed her free hand and dragged her out of the yard and toward their car. Lights popped on in Pam’s house. The front door opened.

“Who’s out there?” Pam yelled. “What’s going on?”

Gracie threw herself into Riley’s car and ducked down below the dashboard.

“Drive. Drive!” she insisted.

“I’m driving.”

He started the engine and made a U-turn. It was only when they were a couple of blocks away that he turned on the lights. Gracie slowly straightened.

“I’m sorry,” she said, afraid to look at him and see how mad he was. “I didn’t do that on purpose.”

A strange sound made her stiffen. Was he…laughing?

She turned her head and stared at him. “What is so funny?”

“You,” he said with a chuckle. “I know you didn’t do that on purpose. I watched you start to slide, but I was too far away to prevent it. You were like a cartoon or something. Slow at first, then faster and faster.” He glanced at her. “I’ll give you this, Gracie. You’re never boring.”

“Great. You can put that on my tombstone. In the meantime, we still don’t know what Pam’s up to or who she’s hanging out with. Did you see the car?”

“No. It was too dark to figure out make or model.”

Gracie pulled the covering off the picture and stared at a section of Pam’s roof and a bunch of darkness she figured had to be the sky.

“If I don’t get my baking career back, I’ll never make it as a photographer.”

“You’ll get your baking business back.”

“How do you know?”

“Because we’re going to solve this mystery, and then whoever did it will make it right. Even if I have to stand over him or her and physically force them.”

She liked the sound of that. “You can be so sweet.”

“Because I’m willing to beat people up for you?”

“Yeah. It’s great.”

He reached over and touched her cheek. “You need to rethink your standards.”

“Not even a little.” She turned her head so she could press her mouth to his palm. “Want to sleep over?”

“Absolutely.”

She liked that he didn’t even have to think about it.

“You’re a good man, Riley Whitefield.”

“I’m a bastard. You can’t see it.”

“I don’t think so.”

Sure, he had his flaws, but who didn’t? The important thing was he’d been there for her, almost from the beginning, and this despite their rather odd and scary past. He’d obviously gotten over her being stalker girl. He was protective, caring, funny, smart and, when they made love, she touched a whole new dimension because of him. He made her feel safe. He made her feel sparks.

She watched him as they drove back to her place. After he parked in the driveway next to her car, he leaned over and kissed her. As she wrapped her arms around him and held on tight, she wondered if it was the least bit possible that she might very well have picked the man of her dreams at the tender age of fourteen.

RILEY WOKE to a sunny room and an empty bed. He brushed his hands against the rumpled sheets and figured Gracie had to be somewhere in the house and that she’d show up here eventually. Then he would grab her and pull her down next to him and have his way with her. Again.

He closed his eyes and smiled at the thought. He liked having her in his bed. He liked how she looked and smelled and how she made him feel. She was good for him, and he couldn’t say that about many people he knew.

“Whatcha smiling at?”

He opened his eyes and saw her approaching. She wore a long T-shirt and, from the way her breasts swayed with each step, very little else.

“You.”

“Yeah?” She sat next to him and brushed the hair off his forehead. “Were you thinking about last night? You were an animal.”

“You weren’t bad yourself.” He turned his head to glance at his left shoulder. “I think you bit me.”

She grinned. “I know I bit you.”

“You left marks.”

“Complaining?”

“Only if you don’t do it again.”

She chuckled, then bent down and brushed her mouth across his.

“You’re violating the three F’s code and soon the three F’s police will come and arrest you. The good news is you won’t have to worry about being a daddy while you’re locked up.” She held out a white plastic stick. “I’m not pregnant.”

He’d forgotten it was time for her to take the test.

He reached for the stick, but she held it out of reach. “I peed on that. I don’t think you want to touch it.”

“Good point.” He studied her face. “You’re sure?”

“Yup. Not just from this.” She waved the test. “But I’ve been getting symptoms. I’ll be getting my period in the next day or so. I’m guessing it’s late because of all the stress in my life. That happens.”

“Are you okay with this?”

Her eyes widened. “I’m completely fine. Be happy. This is what we wanted. Isn’t it?”

“Of course.” An unexpected pregnancy wasn’t a part of his five-year plan.

“We’ve kept using protection after that first time, so no worries.” She stood and tossed the plastic stick into the trash. “I’ve made coffee. I have some eggs if you want. I’ll even scramble them for you.”

He sat up, then grabbed her hand and squeezed her fingers. “I only eat cake.”

She laughed. “You’re my kind of guy. Want to shower first?”

“Thanks.”

RILEY LEFT about thirty minutes later and drove home to change clothes before going to the bank. He’d promised to call later so he and Gracie could figure out their “Pam” strategy. He also had a meeting with Zeke about the campaign and a host of other responsibilities.

But all he could think about was Gracie and the fact that she wasn’t pregnant. A good thing, he told himself. So why wasn’t he more happy? Had he wanted her to be?

No way, he told himself. Then what? He would have had to marry her and be a husband and father. Neither were part of his game plan. He wasn’t the kind of man who settled well in one place and Gracie…

Well, all right, maybe Gracie was the kind of woman that if he had to settle down she would make it okay. But he wasn’t looking for a commitment. Not his thing. He didn’t care.

Except he did care about her. He didn’t want anything bad to happen to her and he was determined to make her life right. He liked being around her.

Interesting, but not important, he told himself. When the election was over, win or lose, he planned on walking away. Nothing about that had changed.

“WE’RE DOING girl bonding,” Alexis said. “Please say you’ll come.”

Gracie wasn’t sure she was in the mood for her family’s definition of togetherness, but she did want to see her mother. They hadn’t spent any time together since clearing the air on their past.

“All right,” she said. “What time?”

“Vivian has a half day today, and Mom and I are taking a long lunch, so say noon? We’re doing a potluck. Do you have any cake?”

“Of course. I’ll bring some. I have tuna salad, too.”

“No thanks.”

Gracie chuckled, then sighed. “Is Vivian’s wedding back on?”

Alexis hesitated. “To be honest, I haven’t a clue, and I’m not sure I want to even know. If we go back and forth one more time, I’m going to have to kill her.”

Gracie could relate to that. “What about Tom? Has she talked to him?”

“I don’t know that, either. I guess we’ll find out. See you in a couple of hours.”

“I’ll be there.”

Gracie hung up the phone, then wandered into the kitchen. Selfishly, she wouldn’t mind if her sister’s wedding was back on simply to have a cake to make. Right now the only thing on her calendar was the cake she was making for free for the historical society. While she planned to give them more than just the sheet cake they’d asked for, the event wasn’t appropriate for something too fancy.

Not that she had her actual design. She’d left that at Pam’s along with all her really good pans. At some point she was going to have to go back and get them, but not today. In the meantime, she would recreate the design and figure out her work schedule. At least now she didn’t have to worry about fitting it in around other cakes.

At a little before twelve, Gracie drove over to her mother’s house. In some ways, she actually felt better about everything. One by one her problems were being resolved. She wasn’t pregnant and she wasn’t fighting with her mother. Now if she could just get her career back on track, she would be pretty darned close to perfect.

She parked behind Alexis’s car. Her sister waited while Gracie collected a pink bakery box from the passenger seat and stepped out.

“How’s it going?” Alexis asked, looking especially happy and cheerful.

“Good. What about you?”

“I’m great. Zeke and I have spent the past few nights talking.” She grinned. “And doing other things. Did Riley tell you about him wanting to do stand-up?”