She'd woken Tuesday morning to a handwritten note on the pillow next to her:
Hope you slept. I left a muffin and a latte on the kitchen counter. I'm helping my uncle but I'll call over later and see how you are. Max.
Grace tried to curtail the butterflies that swarmed as she read his note over and over, trying like hell to not see the caring words as anything more than a friend helping another friend, but it was futile. She was falling faster and harder than she'd ever dared to hope for again and she had no way of stopping it.
"Penny for them," Holly asked, bumping her hip against Grace's as Grace's towel did another circuit of the bar.
Grace startled, knocking a half-filled glass of Heineken and catching it before it toppled completely, earning a smirk from Earl, a huff from Caleb, and a knowing giggle from Holly. Grace had no idea how long she'd been standing there, drifting into space with only her thoughts of Max to keep her company. She felt her cheeks heat and scurried away to serve a couple of regulars.
"Hey, Grace!" Ruby's voice echoed from the entrance as she all but skipped through it. She was still in her coveralls, covered in grease, having obviously come straight from work, a small pink bow bouncing in her hair. Grace smiled. She still had no idea how such a girly girl as Ruby could love getting so messy while working on the cars she did. It was a dichotomy to which Grace had warmed quickly.
"So, with Josh being away, you know what that means, right?" Ruby literally vibrated where she stood. "Girls' night!"
Caleb turned to them both from his usual seat at the bar. "Away?"
"Yeah," Ruby answered. "They're helping Dad's friend in Philly. He's taking a team of them." She turned back to Grace. "Well?"
Grace laughed, popping the cap and placing a bottle of Diet Pepsi in front of her. "Sounds . . . interesting."
Ruby rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on. You can't mope for the next week while Max is gone."
Grace's shoulders snapped back when Holly and Ruby shared a look. Caleb cleared his throat and eyed her over the lip of his glass as he drained it. "I wouldn't-why would I? Don't be silly."
She blatantly ignored the snickering coming from the others sitting around the bar, who apparently knew that she would, indeed, be wallowing and missing Max like crazy while he was gone. Jesus, she was so transparent and this town was too damn small. "Fine," she said, blinking slowly. "I'm in."
Ruby grinned. "Awesome. I'll call the girls and arrange something for this weekend. Storms are forecast next week so we need to plan now."
"Storms?"
Ruby waved her off. "Just a little thunder and lightning. We usually get a good few days of them. Clears the air real good." She sipped the rest of her drink, threw a bill on the bar, and started walking backward toward where she'd appeared. "Now excuse me while I go and abuse my husband in all the ways he loves before he leaves tomorrow."
Grace laughed, shaking her head and wondering whether she'd get the chance to abuse Max in all the ways he loved before he left. With that thought, however, instead of excitement, she was suddenly struck with an intense feeling of melancholy. This work trip with Vince had brought home the very real prospect that Max wasn't going to be around Preston County forever.
Grace knew he had a life in New York, friends who were close enough to warrant being called family. His best friend was getting married soon and he was going to be best man. He had a life waiting for him and Grace had to wonder whether she'd factor into any of it when he decided to return. Of course, in terms of romance, she knew that it was an impossibility; Max had made that clear. But could they remain friends or would Max simply take off and leave without a second glance?
"Grace, honey."
Swallowing down her uneasiness for another day, Grace looked over to Holly, who was holding the draft pump at a ninety-degree angle, getting nothing but gurgling foam. "Can you go down and change the keg out?"
Grace smiled wanly. "Sure."
She dropped her towel to the bar and headed toward the stone steps, located at the back of the building She went down to the cellar, flicking on lights as she went. The place had always given her the heebie-jeebies-God alone knew what creepy-crawlies hung out in the nooks and crannies of the place-but she was slowly getting used to it. As long as she could hear the people in the bar above, she didn't start to panic.
After fighting with a box of Coke syrup, she finally located the empty barrel and rolled another one into its place, reattaching the pipe and calling out an "Okay" for Holly to start pumping.
"Loud little thing, aren't you?"