Devlin's Grace (7 page)

He
snorted. “No, I was once, though, raised up in the church.
 
I don’t believe in much of anything anymore,
but my granny taught me proper respect so I lit a candle for her and my
mom.
 
I guess you’re not so do you mind?”

Gracie,
brought up to attend church every Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday
night, shook her head.
 
Since moving to
Springfield she seldom went to services.
 
Most weekends she worked and she’d fallen out of the habit.
 
Sometimes she missed it, most of the time not
at all.
 
“No, I was raised Baptist, but I
haven’t gone to church in a long time.”

“That’s
just as well,” Devlin said.

“Why?”
She didn’t understand his meaning.

“If
you’re going to run with the devil, it’s for the best,” he said.
 
She still didn’t totally understand. “Let’s
go.”

After
climbing back up the stairs and heading through the Crescent lobby, Gracie
dripped with sweat.
 
The late August day
turned out far more humid and hot than she expected.
 
Before they got on his motorcycle, Devlin
said, “Are you hungry?”

She
nodded. “I’m starving.”

“Then
we’ll go eat.”

At
an unpretentious building along the main highway loop through town Devlin
treated her to some of the most delicious Italian food she’d eaten in years,
maybe in her life.
 
His mood shifted back
into cheerful and they talked about many things.
 
Gracie noticed for the moment his darkness
seemed to have receded and Devlin chatted with charm.
 
He teased her without hurt and shared some of
her favorites.

“So
you really like both Johnny Horton and AC/DC?” he asked. “There’s quite a
difference there, Gracie.”

“I
know,” she said. “But I love both. I guess it depends on the mood I’m in or
something.”

His
lips twitched into a big smile. “I like both of them, too.
 
AC/DC’s my anger music.
 
I listen to it to vent.
 
Horton, Hank Williams, and Johnny Cash are
singers I use to unwind.
 
I’ll admit though
I’m not into any of the chick singers you mentioned.”

Their
music wouldn’t be something he could relate to and she grasped that.
 
“I bet you like Ozzy, though,” Gracie said.
“And let me guess…Elvis Presley, Lyle Lovett, and Dwight Yoakum.”

Devlin
laughed. “I can listen to any of those, yeah.
 
You’re not bad at guessing, Gracie.”

“I
must be on a roll.” She couldn’t remember ever being this comfortable talking
to a guy or not being nervous she might say something wrong. “Let me guess some
more.”

“Go
for it.”

Gracie
studied Devlin and pondered him for a moment. “I’d say you don’t watch much
television, but you like movies.
 
You
like to read sometimes, but you like the speculative stuff like King and Koontz
more than Tom Clancy or Clive Cussler.
 
And I’m guessing you like vanilla over chocolate.”

After
all, she preferred vanilla because it was simple yet good so maybe he did too.
Devlin’s eyes sparkled as he nodded.
 
“Right again.
 
I do like movies,
but you might be surprised at what I prefer.
 
Maybe you can come over and watch a movie with me sometime and see.”

“I’d
like to, very much.”
 
She wanted to see
the space he called home and get deeper insight into what made him tick.

“Then
we will,” Devlin said. “On the way home I thought we’d stop somewhere to get me
a phone if you don’t mind helping me.”

He’d
meant it, Gracie thought.
 
“I’d be happy
to,” she said. “But I’m not much of an expert.
 
I like my cell phone, but I don’t know much about plans or carriers or
any of it.”

“It’s
still more than I do.”

“Then,
sure,” Gracie said. “There’s a place at the mall where we could look if you
want.”

“Fine
with me,” Devlin said.
 
“Ready to go?”

“I
am whenever you are.”

Riding
back didn’t seem as scary or as long, but Gracie noticed years ago return trips
were always shorter.
 
As she relaxed
enough to enjoy the ride, her grip on Devlin loosened. She leaned against him,
comfortable and happy.
 
Two hours passed
in a flash and before she knew it, he parked in a space at Battlefield
Mall.
 
By then, Gracie wanted to stretch
her legs and take down her hair.
 
She
pulled the clip out and tucked it in her purse.
 
This time, she reached for his hand with confidence he’d take it and
they strolled into the mall together.

Most
of the time, Gracie wasn’t much of a mall shopper.
 
Both her time and money were budgeted for
other things.
 
On this Saturday, however,
she enjoyed the festive atmosphere and delighted in strolling among the other
people with Devlin.
 

His
tall, rugged good looks drew more than a few glances from other women, but most
looked away when they saw her at his side.
 
At first she thought he remained oblivious, but then she caught sight of
his fleeting grin.
 
Gracie smiled. “You
noticed they all look at you, I guess.”

His
grin broadened into a full wattage smile. “Babe, the guys are checking you
out.
 
You’re prettier than I guess you
realize.”

“Me?”
She’d never really liked her appearance and pretty wasn’t a word her parents
used to describe her.
 
Maybe they feared
she might grow up vain, but Gracie doubted it. “I’m not pretty.”

Devlin
halted so fast another couple trod on their heels.
 
Something hot kindled in his eyes as he gazed
down at her. “Gracie, you’re fucking beautiful.
 
I’m surprised you even bother with me, but you do.
 
I’m glad, too.”

It
might take awhile to adjust to the possibility she could be attractive, but his
words blossomed in her heart.
 
In a very
low voice, not really meant for him to hear, Gracie said, “You’re worth it.”

He
stroked back her curls from her face with a gentle hand. “Then you’re the first
who thinks so, babe. Let’s go look at phones before I start kissing you and
forget where we’re at.”

Just
as they started into the cell phone store, Gracie noticed a woman approaching
from the opposite direction, staring at them.
 
She began waving and ran toward them.
 
“Hey,” she called. “Robert! Wait, Robert Devlin!”

Robert?
 
Gracie frowned and looked up at Devlin.
 
His face flushed crimson and he offered her a slight nod.
 
“Yeah, it’s my name, but I don’t use it, and
she damn well knows it.”

Before
Gracie could ask who the woman was, he released her hand just in time for the
woman to lunge into him.
 
She hugged
Devlin, who wore an uncomfortable expression.

“I
can’t believe you’re out of your cave,” the woman cried.
 
Gracie scrutinized her and realized she knew
her from the campus.
 
She worked at the
campus library in the reference room, but Gracie couldn’t remember her name.
“It’s good to run across you,
cuz
.
 
How are you? I never see you.”

“I’m
good,” Devlin said.
 
Gracie caught the
word cuz and relaxed a little.
 
The woman
must be family, not competition. “Lauren, this is Gracie Alloway.
 
Babe, this is my cousin, Lauren Devlin.”

“Lauren
Devlin-Marks,” Dev’s cousin corrected. “I got married, remember?
Five, six years ago.
 
It’s nice to meet you, Gracie.”

“Yes,”
Gracie said. “Don’t you work at the university library?”

Lauren
snapped her fingers. “I do.
 
You’re a
student, aren’t you? I knew I’d seen you somewhere.”

“I
am and I spend a lot of time in the library when I’m not working,” Gracie said.

“So,
Dev, what are you doing at the mall?” Lauren turned to her cousin.
 
Gracie noted she didn’t use his first name
again.

“I’m
getting a cell phone,” he said, casual.

Her
mouth drooped open wide and she stared. “Wonders never cease,” Lauren said.
“That’s awesome, Dev.
 
It’s about
time.
 
Maybe now I can get ahold of you
once in a while.
 
Call me, won’t you?”

“Sure,”
Devlin said.
 
Maybe he didn’t see Lauren
much now, but Gracie noticed the familiarity between them.
 
She’d bet cash money they were close, once.
“I will, Lauren, if I ever get one bought.”

His
broad hint worked. “Okay, so go buy one.
 
It’s so good to see you and to meet you, Gracie.
 
I’ll talk to you later.”

“Yeah,”
Devlin said, sounding gruff.
 
He grasped
Gracie’s hand and led her into the store, leaving Lauren alone.
 
When Gracie sneaked a backward glance, Dev’s
cousin stared after them, incredulous and yet with unspoken approval, too.
 
Then she turned to the task at hand, finding
a cell phone for Devlin.

He
rejected anything as fancy as her Blackberry and she couldn’t blame him.
 
“It was smarter than me for a long time,”
Gracie told him and he laughed.
 

“Give
me one without all the bells and whistles,” he said to the clerk. “I need
something I can use, not one to confuse me.”

After
forty-five minutes, Devlin owned a basic model, a flip phone with a few
features, and they walked out of the mall.
 
Before they exited, he turned to Gracie. “Is there any place else you
want to go before we leave?”

“No,
I’m good,” she said.

“You’re
not in a hurry to get anywhere, are you?”

She
shook her head.
“No, why?”

“I
need you to come home with me and teach me to use the damn phone, if you
would,” Devlin said. “So?”

Without
hinting or begging, he planned to take her where she wanted to go. “So, let’s
go.”

Devlin
lived in a rear apartment in an old house near the corner of East Division and
Summit Avenue.
 
He parked his bike in a
small space beside a beat-up old Ford Taurus and led her up two steps into his
apartment.
 
They entered into a narrow
living room and it led into a kitchen, larger than she expected and cozy.
 
A 1950’s vintage fridge hummed against one
wall and a narrow door led into a bedroom furnished with one double bed with
metal bars for both head and foot boards.
 
A bathroom smaller than hers opened to the left.
She tossed her purse down on the kitchen counter.
 
No dirty socks littered the floor and there
weren’t any dishes waiting to be washed in the kitchen sink.
  
Everything appeared to be in order, tidy and
neat.

A
long old couch faced the windows looking out over the backyard and a
television, old but newer than the one she owned.
 
Beside the TV, a three tiered shelf held DVD
movies, many of them.
 
“Have a seat,”
Devlin said. “I’ll be right there.”

He
headed into the bathroom so Gracie scanned the movies, eager to find out what
he liked.
 
His eclectic collection
included several of Elvis’ movies, not the singing, dancing romps but
Love Me Tender, Flaming Star,
and
King Creole
, Billy Bob Thornton’s
Monster’s Ball
,
Astronaut Farmer
, and
Slingblade,
a few modern Westerns, all of M. Night Shyamalan’s films plus more.
 
Unlike the video libraries some men
collected, she didn’t see any X-rated movies among the shelves and nothing with
violence or war scenes.
 

When
Devlin returned, they worked with the new phone until he could use it and
Gracie programmed her number into it.
 
“Do you want me to put any other numbers in?”

“No,
that’s good for now.
 
I’ll probably put
Lauren’s in later.
Now what?”

“We
could watch a movie,” she suggested.

So
they did,
King Creole,
and ate frozen
pizza.
 
Gracie cuddled against Devlin
afterward and roused, reluctant when the time came to take her home.

“You
work tomorrow,” he said as he dropped her off at her place. “So do
I
, so I guess I’ll see you Monday night at class.
 
Call me, though, anytime, if you need me.”