Loving Jack(11)

Grace parked at a meter just a bit down the road and across the street  from The Inn on Main Street. She idled there with the heat warming her  hands and feet while people streamed into the banquet hall for Mr.  Landry's wake. She waited until the limo arrived and Jack's family  disappeared into the building before she shut off the engine and  anxiously crossed the street. She didn't want to be caught by Jack in  the lobby if they entered at the same time.         

     



 

Once inside, Grace made a beeline for the elevator. It was on the  opposite side of the lobby from the banquet hall entrance. She hit the  button for the third floor and listened to the sound of soft  instrumental music and murmured voices that filtered out from the wake  as she waited with a knot in her stomach. The elevator was taking  forever so she went to look for the stairs. The longer she stood in the  lobby the better the chance Jack would find her there. As far as Grace  was concerned, she'd never been there and she would never tell Jack  about her whirlwind trip across the country to his hometown and back in  the same day. Grace was already mentally and physically exhausted but  she could sleep during the five and half hour flight that would take her  home, if her mind would stop spinning, that is.

Grace saw the sign for the stairs and relief loosened the coil in her  gut. The door adjacent to the stairwell opened and she nearly turned and  ran the other way. Grace found herself face to face with Victor of the  soulful eyes and warm skin. She wasn't sure if Victor was Hispanic or  possibly American Indian. What she did know was that he was an  incredibly handsome, perfectly formed man.

Victor was leaving the restroom when he saw her. Grace's steps stuttered  but she kept moving past the handsome man with long lashes and dark  eyes that seemed to see too much. Victor didn't know her and she was  happy to keep it that way. Pretending to be just another guest at the  inn, Grace turned her gaze back to her goal and kept moving.

She was glad she hadn't had time to unpack anything but her funeral  dress. It only took about fifteen minutes for Grace to gather up her  things, stuff them back into her carry on and get back down to the  lobby. After quickly checking out at the front desk Grace strode out as  swiftly as possible without drawing any attention. The rain had stopped  so there were a few smokers lingering on the sidewalk outside, but  thankfully there was no sign of Jack.

Grace thought she was in the clear until her nemesis stepped into her  path. Grace halted just before slamming into the man. That was unfair,  she chided herself. Victor hadn't wronged her. She was envious of him.  That didn't make him a bad guy.

"Hello, Ms. Yates," Victor said politely. Obviously Grace had been  incorrect in her assumption that Victor didn't know her. Her chances of  Jack never knowing she'd been there were quickly dwindling. There was no  sense in pretending she didn't know exactly who he was now. Grace  nodded and returned the greeting.

"Hello, Victor." She didn't know his last name so he was at a slight advantage. He'd obviously done some research.

"You look lovely." He looked her over from the French twist in her hair  down to her black wrap dress and on to the length of her legs with  interest.

"Uh, thank you," she replied, at a loss for what else to say to the man who had the right to stand by Jack's side.

"So tell me, did you really think you were special because Jack bent you over his car?" he sneered at her. Grace gasped.

"Excuse me?" She couldn't have heard him correctly.

"I asked if you truly believed that sweet little snatch of yours was so  special that it could change a man?" he asked with no effort to keep his  voice down.

"Look, I don't know what you think happened between Jack and me, but  this isn't the time or place to discuss it. I came here to be a friend  in his time of sorrow. Nothing more." She tried to walk around Victor.  She was mortified. It was obvious that Jack had told Victor about her,  though it wasn't true that he'd bent her over anything. Victor grabbed  her arm and held on tight.

"He occasionally gets a taste for pussy." Victor shrugged and the vulgar  word was particularly harsh coming from such beautiful mouth. "So do I,  it's no big deal. I just thought you should know." He leaned over and  sniffed her hair. "Maybe I should fuck you and see what the fuss is  about. Would you let me fuck you over my car, sweet little Grace?"

Grace was doing her best to not a make scene but she really wanted to  blast this asshole. How could he be such a crude and selfish jerk at a  time like this? Grace revised her thoughts on Victor. It seemed he  actually was the enemy. She would give him one more chance to act like a  gentleman and let her leave quietly.

"I'm not doing this with you, Victor. Let me go. You have no reason to  be jealous," she told him calmly. Sadly, it was the truth. Grace was no  threat to Victor's relationship with Jack. This trip was all the solid  proof she needed.

"Jealous?" Victor barked out a laugh. "Jealousy has nothing to do with  it. I was trying to help you out, honey. I've seen too many girls set  their heart on my Jack just to have it broken when he's done with  playing with them. I have nothing to be jealous of. He always comes back  to me."         

     



 

"Let me go, Victor," she ordered and pulled to get free. They'd drawn  the attention of the smokers and people milling about on their phones.

"Is there a problem here?" A man asked from behind them and Victor  stiffened. Grace peered around Victor and had the breath knocked out of  her. For a split second she thought it was Jack. Then the man's military  cut hair, slightly larger build, and dress uniform sank into her brain.  At the funeral she'd only seen Jack's brother, Everett, from behind.  Now the resemblance between the brothers struck her momentarily  speechless.

"No problem," Victor told Everett and turned his back on the man,  dismissing him. Victor tugged on her arm. "I'm just escorting Ms. Yates  to her car."

"I don't think the lady needs or wants your assistance, Victor." The  warning was clear in Everett's tone. Victor stopped and let her go.  Grace kept walking.

"Just remember, honey, one fuck means nothing." Victor fired one more shot at her back. Grace spun around and glared at him.

"Go to hell," Grace wanted to shout, but what she had to say would be  best delivered calmly and without any additional drama. "Let's get a few  things straight, honey," she mocked him and stepped closer so the whole  street wouldn't hear her. "First off, Jack didn't bend me over his car.  He held me to his chest and loved me hard, on his car." Victor's eyes  widened. Maybe he didn't have the whole story after all. "Secondly, that  wasn't the only time we were together." That deflated Victor's bravado a  bit.

"I'm not here to have a bitch fight with you. I'm here because Jack came  to me distraught over the loss of his father. I love him, Victor."  Victor's mouth fell open. Everett's eyebrows rose sharply. Fuck! Why had  she said that out loud? Verbalizing her feelings gave them so much more  weight.

"I love him enough to put aside my own hurt feelings and drag my sorry  ass across the country to be here today, even if he really didn't need  me. And clearly he didn't. You have the situation well in hand. So I'm  just going to leave now." Tears filled Grace's eyes. Her composure  crumbled there on the sidewalk. "I'm sorry I came, because Jack deserves  better than this." She sniffed and gestured between them.

Grace turned and hurried down the sidewalk toward her rental. Everett  caught up with her and lifted her bag from the ground as they crossed  the street and she let him do it. After opening the door she took the  bag back from Everett and stuffed it in the back seat. Everett was  watching her the whole time but she couldn't return his gaze. Tears were  streaming down her cheeks. She felt horrible for causing a scene, even  if she hadn't instigated it. She slammed the back door of the compact  car and opened the driver door.

This was a nightmare. Jack had been concerned about a confrontation over  his sexuality. Grace had made his fears a reality. It was no wonder  Everett felt the need to escort her away from the inn. The only thing  she was grateful for was that Jack hadn't seen her or heard anything  that transpired. She hopped in the driver's seat, turned the engine  over, and rolled down the window. Everett was still standing by Grace's  car watching her carefully.

"Thank you for walking me to my car," she told him and made brief eye  contact. "I'm terribly sorry for what happened over there." She cleared  her throat. Swallowing shame over the scene with Victor and sadness  because she knew everything Victor had said was painfully true. "You  won't see me again," she promised.

"Well, that's a damn shame," Everett replied. What had that meant? She  looked up at Everett. He was about to say something when he was cut off.