Page 18 of Saving Grace

Now, dull blue orbs stare back over a drawn face. All I feel is anger, regret—but most of all, guilt. Pushing Butters’s face from my mind, I hobble to the kitchen on one crutch. My armpits ache from being propped up on crutches all day, and just one is a relief.

The table in the kitchen is set for supper.

One place setting, not two.

The second Grace realizes I’m here, she brings over the plate of food. Steak, as she planned earlier. Salad and potatoes. A glass of juice sits on the table already. I sit, wary of her attention following me. She sets the plate down, followed by my evening painkillers, and takes a step back. “Anything else you need?”

“Nope.”

“Okay, well, I’m going to call it a day. Try not to choke on your steak.”

I look up into those light blue eyes. Sadness is the only thing that I find there.

Grunting out an acknowledgment, I pick up the knife and fork and cut the steak. At least she left me to my own supper and didn’t mutilate my meat in the name of “proper home care”.

Grace – 1

The last three nannies – 0

With a full belly, I settle onto the sofa and flick on the TV to avoid the quiet. Lulling me into its soft haven, I doze off as the night wears on. A noise startles me awake, and I glance at the clock in the kitchen. Almost midnight.

I turn off the TV and push down the hallway on one crutch. Grace’s door is closed. Her light is out. The floor creaks under my feet. I turn into my room.

A sniffle splits the air.

I wander to my bed and rest the crutch against the bedside table. Tugging my shirt over my head, I sit on the bed. Swallowing painkillers with a mouthful of water, I start the agonizing process of lying with a bed stick, poking up on my side of the bed. No handles dangling from the ceiling here. With my body on the bed and my legs straight and as comfortable as I can make them, I reach for my phone and AirPods.

A sob echoes through the quiet house.

Then another.

With a sigh, I shove the AirPods into my ears and scroll through my playlists. The last thing I need is to be surrounded by silence. I select a playlist, determined not to let the nightmares scream throughout the night.

More sobs, and I slam my eyes shut. Maybe I shouldn’t be such an ass. Maybe she should harden up. Life sucks. The sooner she realizes that at her young age, the better off she’ll be.

The sobs continue and I crank up the volume on the Nickelback playlist Reed sent me.

Suck it up, buttercup.

Chapter Five

GRACE

When Louisa told me everything Mackinlay went through, I was in shock. He’s lucky to have come home at all. But even those thoughts are not helping me curb my temper right now as we stare each other down in the doorway to the laundry.

“I told you I can do it, Grace.”

“And I toldyou, this is my job. I’ll be damned if you are gonna take this away from me, Rawlins, just because you got out of bed on the wrong side sincewhenever!”

“The wrong side—” He scrubs his hand over the light stubble on his jaw as his eyes track to the ceiling, the other hand gripping the crutch like his life depends on it. By the way his gait wobbles today, it’s possible it does.

“Focus on your recovery and let me handle the rest.”

His fiery gaze meets mine again, and it only hardens. “If you say so.”

He moves from the doorway where he’s been blocking me from entering, and I step through with his hamper.

“I forgot to tell you, Addy is coming over later to run me through your regime in case I can help.”

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