Awakening Veronica(Divine Creek Ranch 17)(4)
As always, Ethan had an uncanny ability to read her emotions and had refused to allow her to internalize the stress after it was all over. He’d lifted a sleepy little Rose Marie into his arms before leading Grace up the stairs, and started the steam shower for her.
Tidying up her bedroom afterward, she smiled as Ethan’s deep voice filtered from Rose Marie’s bedroom next door, where he was reading their toddler a bedtime story. Rose Marie had been giving her fits lately and Grace felt blessed to have three very patient spouses to rely on for help with her.
She lifted the scrapbook she’d recently completed from her dresser and carried it downstairs before settling on the couch with Jack, who was talking on her cellphone. Ethan had convinced her to leave the phone downstairs so she could relax for a while. If she didn’t have her smartphone at hand, she’d be less likely to check her e-mail and Facebook status when she should be relaxing. Adam smiled and winked at her from where he sat in the big overstuffed chair, working on his laptop while listening to a football game on the television.
Jack said, “She just came back downstairs, Grandma Kate. I’ll tell Dad you said hello. Nice talking to you, too.” He grinned and handed her the cellphone.
“Grandma Kate! I was happy to see you made it to chat tonight.”
“Hey, sweets!” Kate’s energetic voice said from the other end. “I’m calling to make arrangements with you for my trip out there.”
“I have great news. Some friends are getting married and having their binding ceremony the weekend after you arrive. We’ve already added you to the guest list.”
“Wonderful! I’d love to be there. Who’s getting hitched this time?”
“Remember Lucy Owen? It’s her sister-in-law, Maizy, and her three men.”
“What wonderful news! I enjoy weddings nearly as much as I enjoy grandchildren! I have an engagement party to attend this Friday night, and then I’ll be arriving Saturday, if that works for you. I want to ask you about something. Feel free to tell me no, but I’m hoping for a little favor from you.”
Grace didn’t hesitate to answer. “Sure, Kate. Anything.” Kate wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important to her.
“I’m sure you noticed that ill-mannered person in the online chat room tonight?”
“Kind of hard not to, wasn’t it? And to be honest, what happened tonight is kind of mild in comparison with some of the bad behavior Veronica’s had to put up with online. She seems to have had more than her fair share of creepers and trolls.” Thinking about the chat made Grace tired. She admired Veronica’s ability to maintain her composure under pressure. She was on board if there was a way she could help.
“I agree and I think Veronica is more stressed out than she lets on. She’s a bit of a hermit, you know. Someone actually showed up on her doorstep a while back, claiming to be her greatest fan. She wasn’t very forthcoming when I asked her but I heard about that and one other incident from her brothers recently. I have to confess, I’m a little worried about Veronica. She lives so much of her life online and that can’t be healthy.”
“Tell me what you need.”
“She needs a change of scenery, in my opinion. I don’t know if she’s ever taken a vacation. And there’s this pattern I see in her that I don’t like. It’s not so much that I wanted to see her defend herself against that bully in chat tonight, because those kinds of battles are impossible to win, but…” Grace perked up, because Kate wasn’t the type to not be able to put her feelings into words. “I think she could use a little sabbatical. A little time to gain perspective and to find…whatever it is that’s missing in her life.”
Grace answered without hesitation. “I think you should bring her with you. We have plenty of room.”
“The dilemma lies in the fact that you keep your online life and your real life very separate and I wouldn’t want to compromise your privacy. She doesn’t realize that my friend Grace in Divine and Caressa MacFarland, successful erotic romance author, are one and the same person.”
“Do you think she could be trusted?”
“Absolutely. I’m sure of it.”
“Then that’s good enough for me. You understand why I protect my privacy and wouldn’t endanger that by letting someone know my secrets. I’ve known Veronica online for some time now. While I don’t make a habit of revealing my private life to author friends, there are exceptions. You say you’d like for her to take a sabbatical down here but early in the chat she mentioned that she was going into a heavy writing cycle, trying to get a three book series completed.”