Page 9 of Forbidden Kisses
“Can I help you?” a deep voice asked behind her as she looked through the window. It wasn’t Jack’s. Her heart skipped a nervous beat, but she forced herself to turn and face whichever brother it was.
“Sam.” It was the oldest Sawyer brother and Abby’s ex. He was tall, broad shouldered, and tanned from his hours in the sun. His honey-toned hair was tousled, and Grace remembered he had a habit of running his fingers through it when he was stressed, which was pretty much all the time.
She watched as recognition of who she was crossed his features. It was obvious he had no idea that Jack had hired her.Crap.
“What are you doing here?” Sam asked, rooted where he stood—as if sharing breathing space with her might corrupt him.
Grace’s heart rode up in her throat. Sam was a good guy. He’d been a great brother, coming to her rescue several times when she’d been bullied at school. “I’m, um…” Her hands fidgeted nervously in front of her. “I…”
Her world began to spin. She liked to think she was tough, but that was mostly with the people she didn’t care about. She cared about the Sawyers, even though she’d spent years wishing she didn’t.
“I’m, um, leaving.” She grabbed her purse off the desk and crossed the room toward the door—her strong fight-or-flight instinct taking hold. “Coming here was a mistake. Sorry.”
The front door opened and Jack blocked the exit. He looked between her and Sam, his features pinching. “So I see you’ve met our new office manager,” he said to Sam, shutting the door behind him so neither one of them could leave.
Sam offered a hard stare in Jack’s direction. “Outside. Now,” he ground out. Then he turned without so much as looking at her and exited out the same door that Jack had just closed.
“I’ll be right back,” Jack said, stepping closer to her. “Don’t worry. This will be fine. Stay here.”
Which she took to mean “don’t run away.” But that was exactly what she wanted to do, even though she had no other job options at the moment. This was it for her. If it was just herself she needed to take care of, she’d bolt. But her mother was depending on her, too. Grace needed this job. Not only that, she wanted it. It had good pay, good hours, and…Jack.
Grace swallowed, reminding herself that he was off-limits to her—the same as he’d always been, but for very different reasons now.
She sat and waited, hearing the muffled argument between the brothers outside. Her body warmed at the knowledge that Jack was fighting for her. Not that she should take it personally. He needed an office manager and she was it. This was just a job, for both of them.
—
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Sam folded his arms in front of him.
Jack shrugged. “Hiring someone for the desk job. Remember? We discussed this yesterday.”
“We didn’t discuss hiring Grace Donner.”
“Why not Grace Donner? She’s never done anything to hurt this family. It was her mother that sold our mom’s stuff, not her.”
Sam was staring a hole through Jack’s forehead. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration, then shook his head. “She’s a Donner. We despise the Donners.”
“But we used to love them,” Jack pointed out.
Sam shoved his hands onto his hips. “You can’t be serious right now.”
“Look, Grace is good with business. Don’t you remember how she helped out when she lived with us?”
“When she was fifteen years old? Do you even know anything about her anymore? Did you know she’s been working as a bartender at Dewy’s for the last year?”
Jack nodded. “I did. She’s not there anymore, and why does that even matter? Dewy’s slime, but she isn’t. She’s the same person we called sister once.” Only tougher. Life hadn’t been easy for her, he guessed. He wanted to help.
“Yeah? Well, did you also know that Dewy fired her for stealing?”
Jack swallowed as a sickening feeling settled over his stomach. “Who told you that?”
“There’s talk. I listened. Not gonna say I was surprised. Tammy was a thief. Why wouldn’t her daughter be, too?”
“What did Grace steal?” Jack asked, trying his best to give Grace the benefit of the doubt.
“Money from the register.” Sam’s expression softened. “Sorry, man. You always were one to want to rescue people. Some people can’t be rescued, though.”
Jack shook his head. “It’s hearsay.” Even though he knew Grace’s mother was sick and suspected they were struggling. She’d asked for her first paycheck upfront, which told him she was desperate for money. But did that mean she was a thief?
