Page 49 of Giving Grace

Shifting the duffle from one hand to the other, I take the keys he’s offering and unlock the back door, and hold it open for him while he passes through with Molly. All in, I shut the door and lock it before quickly punching in the code to keep the alarm quiet. By the time I’m done, I’m scrambling to catch up to them again.

By the time I make it to the bank of elevators, Ryan’s already called down one of the cars and the doors slide open with a soft ding. Climbing on, I hit the button for the fifth floor without direction and the doors slide closed with nothing but Molly’s soft snores to fill the silence between us.

“Ryan,” I say it quietly, nervously shifting my duffle from one hand to the next, because I have no idea what I’m going to say to him but thank you seems to be a good start. Or maybe I’m sorry for being an ungrateful bitch.

“Hmmm…”

I look up, to find he’s not even looking at me. Instead, he’s leaning against the back wall of the elevator, eyes closed. Molly’s face buried in his neck while she sleeps. The corners of his mouth are turned down, lines dug deep and heavy with pain. For some dumb reason, it makes me mad all over again. That he’s willing to endure what must be agony just to keep from waking her up.

“I’m not sleeping with you.” As soon as it comes out of my mouth, my cheeks go warm and I have to mentally weld my spine into place to keep myself from looking away from him. “I mean it, Ryan,” I hiss at him because I’m the kind of idiot who likes to make things worse. “So, if that’s what this is then—”

The corner of his mouth lifts in a smirk and he cracks a lid, giving me some side-eye. “Your virtue is safe with me, Jimmy,” he says, right before the elevator bobs to a stop and the doors slide open on his floor. Pulling his slumped shoulders off the wall, he shuffles himself out of the elevator and down the hall. Stopping in front of his front door, he leans against the doorframe. “You want to open the door?” he says, giving a chin jerk to the keys I still have clutching in my hand. “It’s the blue one.”

“Oh...” Stepping forward, I find the key that has a blue silicone bumper on it and fit it into the door and giving it a turn.

Without warning, the apartment door directly behind me opens and I turn, letting the doorknob slip out of my hand without opening it.

“Hey, Patrick’s been texting me for an hour now. He said…” The woman standing in the doorway says, her voice trailing off when she sees me. “I know you.” I recognize her too. She’s the nurse from Sojourn. The one who helped us the day Molly and I visited Ryan there. Pretty. Young—not much older than me, with long dark hair and the kind of curves that are noticeable, even under the baggy T-shirt and flannel pants she’s wearing.

Kaitlyn.

I think her name is Kaitlyn.

I hate her on sight.

Ryan curses under his breath and reaches for the door himself, grappling with the knob and pushing it open. “Yeah—what the hell does he want?” he says on his way through the door.

“Something about you taking off from his wedding reception with his sister-in-law and her kid,” she calls after him. Rolling her eyes when she doesn’t get a response, she steps into the hall, pulling her door shut behind her. “I’m Kaitlyn,” she says, sticking her hand out. “I used to work at Sojourn and thought I’d gotten rid of the pain in my ass that is Ryan O’Connell, but…” She shrugs. “Here I am—a glutton for punishment.” Her gaze drifts down my frame before bouncing back up. “Nice dress—the color is amazing on you.”

Looking down at the bridesmaid dress I’m still wearing, a Grecian-style gown with a deep V-neck and a slit in the skirt that reaches mid-thigh, I force a smile onto my face. “I’m Grace—the sister-in-law,” I tell her, taking the hand she’s offering and giving it a shake. “Thank you.” As soon as I let it go, she’s through the door to Ryan’s apartment, leaving me little choice but to follow.

“He says he’s been calling you but—”

Ryan comes out of what must be his spare room, without Molly. “I don’t fuck with my phone while I’m driving,” he says, tugging at his tie like it’s trying to choke him. “—he knows that.” Looking past him, I can see Molly, sprawled out on a futon, her grubby white dress shining like a beacon in the dark. “She’s fine, just let her sleep,” he says, pulling my attention away from her to find him frowning at me like he can read my mind. “She’ll survive the night without brushing her teeth.” Free of his tie, he drops it on the floor and starts to work himself out of his jacket, his dark gaze shifting past me to focus on the woman behind me. “What did he say?”

“That Declan is driving your car home for you and that he wants you to call him A-sap,” she tells him while moving into the kitchen. I watch as she opens one of the upper cabinets and pulls out a glass and fills it with water from the tap like she lives here. “He sounded kinda pissed.”

“He’ll get over it,” Ryan tells her before looking at me. “Do you need something to sleep in?”

“Ummm…” I look down at the duffle I’m carrying and do a quick inventory. All I have in it is a change of clothes for me and Molly’s PJs. Her toothbrush. I figured I could give her a quick bath at Declan’s and put her in her pajamas before we left because there was a 100% chance she’d fall asleep on the long drive back to Boston. That way I could just put her to bed when we got home without having to wake her up. “Yes.”

“You want me to grab her something?” Kaitlyn offers while rummaging through another kitchen cabinet and pulling out a prescription bottle. “I can—”

“No.” Still looking at me, Ryan drops his gaze and starts making his way across the living room toward his bedroom. “I’ll take care her,” he says, disappearing through the door. Less than a minute later, he’s back with what looks like a T-shirt and a pair of boxers. “Here.” He holds them out to me and I take them. “I’m going to go take a shower and—”

“Not so fast,” Kaitlyn says from the kitchen, holding out the glass of water and a small, white pill in the palm of her hand. When Ryan doesn’t move to take them, she sighs. “Come on just take it so I can go back to my apartment.”

“I’m fine,” he growls at her, his jaw tightening when she laughs at him.

“You’re not fine, tough guy, you’re in pain,” she says, coming forward to press the glass into his hand. “And you know if you don’t take it you’ll sleep like shit and then you won’t be able to get out of bed in the morning so just—”

“Jesus Christ,” he mutters, holding out his empty hand to give his fingers an impatient wiggle. “Fine—I’ll take it if you promise to leave.”

“Scout’s honor,” she says, dropping the pill into his hand. He tosses it into his mouth and washes it down with the water while doing everything he can to avoid looking at me. He told me once that he doesn’t like taking his pain meds. I guess that’s one of the things about him that hasn’t changed. That and the fact that he still sees alternately repulsed and turned on by me.

Draining the glass, Ryan shoves it back into Kaitlyn’s hand. “You know where the door is. Feel free to use it,” he says to her before finally looking at me. “Do you need to take a shower?”

“Ummm…” I look down at the pile of clothes he’s just handed me and nod like an idiot. “Yes. I would—I mean it’s been a long day and…” Jesus Christ, why can’t I speak in complete sentences? It’s not like he offered to scrub my back or wash my hair. Finally, after what feels like a lifetime of stuttering, I give up trying to make sense and just nod my head. “Yes, please.”

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