Paige paused. A lump formed in her throat as she tried to explain the story. “Mrs. Buscher died when Grace was sixteen. Car accident. What they didn’t plan for was Grace not finding the right man.”
“Ouch. That would be difficult…”
“But, Grace is a beautiful person. Everyone speaks very highly of her but rarely thinks of her as more than the nice girl at church. I don’t think she’s been on a date since …”
Nolan wanted to hear what Paige started to say, but the woman turned quickly to him. “Guess we’d better get out. They’re waiting for us to go in, and the baby shouldn’t be outside in this wind.”
~*~*~*~
“Quite chatty, aren’t they?”
Craig was encouraged to hear the delight in Grace’s voice at the apparent ease with which Paige and Nolan conversed. “They’re a nice looking couple too.”
He was right about that. Paige was tall, willowy, and very fair. Her Scandinavian heritage was evident from her blond hair and blue eyes, to her broad shoulders and height. Nolan was just as tall and broad shouldered, but his hair and eyes were dark. No Hollywood movie could have produced a more attractive couple.
Grace’s excitement at the possibility of a relationship developing between her two closest friends was evident. “I just hope that Paige will give it a fair chance. My newest and oldest friends—how neat is that?”
Chapter Ten
A radio droned the latest news as Grace carefully put her house in order. The days were staying too cold to keep the house open any longer, and Grace spent the morning getting it ready for winter. She blocked off the windows with quilted fabric to keep the cold out and screwed weather stripping to the bottoms of the doors. It made opening the doors harder, but it did keep out drafts.
“…has attacked women in three different neighborhoods already. The police are asking women at home alone in the mid-morning to early-afternoon time frame to keep all doors locked and to call 9-1-1 immediately if they see any suspicious activity. In other news…”
Grace immediately prayed for the women who had already been attacked. “Lord, You know, you’d think that the safest place to be in the world would be your own home. This kind of thing just reminds a person that the only safe place
anywhere
is in the palm of Your hand…”
She continued praying and chatting with herself as she finished her winter preparations. Craig planned to go wood cutting the coming weekend. She’d have to get the wood stove readied and clear the furniture off the porch to make way for her woodpile. The day promised to be a very busy one.
Seeing Nolan drive up from his lunch appointment, Grace dashed out the front door. “
Stop
, you!”
The startled man whirled around in confusion. “What’d I do?”
Laughing, Grace shook her finger at him. “You
didn’t
tell me about your ‘sorta-date’ the other night.”
Nolan had strategically avoided this conversation. Paige had been more than willing to grant full permission for Nolan to discuss each and every word that had been exchanged. Nolan was beginning to think that she delighted in the prospect that Grace might actually extract the evening’s conversations from him.
Considering that almost the entire evening had been spent in discussion of Grace, Nolan was at a loss as to how to handle the situation.
“Well, really, there isn’t much to tell. I had a wonderful time. Paige is very easy to talk to once she opens up.”
“Uh huh. Did she say that she didn’t want you telling me?”
“No, she actually said that I…”
“Come on; don’t leave me in the cold. I can get it from her too, you know.” Grace’s impatience was becoming comical.
He realized that Grace was really looking forward to a serious relationship brewing between her friend and himself. Wondering at her obvious lack of interest in him as a man, Nolan felt a bit of a blow to his ego. He wasn’t used to women being immune to him. And yet, months earlier, Nolan would have assumed that he would love knowing there was at least one woman out there not trying to attract him.
Realizing that Paige would delight in telling Grace about their evening, Nolan decided to come as ‘clean’ as he could without thoroughly embarrassing himself. “Well, she actually opened up a lot. She told me about her growing up as your friend, about your mother trying to teach her to sew— ummm…”
“You talked about sewing and my mom? Her awful years of junior high?” She mulled the idea that this might be a very good thing. Paige had obviously been very open and forthcoming with Nolan. Considering she rarely opened up like that to people she knew well, opening up to a stranger seemed very interesting indeed.
“Yes. She talked a lot about you. It is obvious that you’ve been friends for years. She even told me a bit about your upbringing and about Craig and Melanie living with you for a while. She really respects you, you know.”
Grace nodded. “You planning to ask her out to dinner or something soon?”
Verily Wirth, watching from his living room window, heard Nolan’s deep rumbling laugh, and it warmed the widower’s heart. The older man made plans to ask Grace to make him one of her pot pies so that he could find out more about Grace’s new beau.
“Grace, you don’t give up, do you? Actually, I was going to see how she felt about e-mails. I thought it would be less uncomfortable for her. If we saw each other at church and occasionally at your house, while we emailed each other…”
“That would work wonderfully!” Grace was beaming. She was going to get to be in the middle of another budding romance. What more could she ask for?
~*~*~*~
The next morning Grace decided to walk to her Bible Study. The air was crisp, but with a sweater and a brisk walk, she’d stay warm enough. Stepping outside, she found her legs were cooler under her denim skirt than she’d expected. She hurried back indoors to put on a pair micro fiber tights to keep them warm.
This short delay gave Nolan time to return from an appointment, go inside, and fill a glass of water. He watched as Grace left her house and strolled down the street with a little wave to the tall, lanky elderly man who lived next door to him. Smiling, he turned on the radio for the mid-morning news and went through his messages in his voice mail. The third one made his stomach churn. “Hello, handsome. It’s Michelle Walker here. Look, I’d like to have another meeting. Your gal at Computing Concepts is completely incompetent, and I really would like to get this system in the works. Call me.”
Before he could respond, the latest news bulletin on the radio caught his attention. “—on the lookout for a male, Caucasian, average height, red hair, mustache and approximately one hundred eighty pounds. Today’s victim makes the fifth in a rash of attacks in the town of Brunswick, which lies to the south of Rockland. Today’s attack in Brunswick, combined with an attack yesterday afternoon in Ferndale that may be related, has sparked a county-wide manhunt…”
Nolan grew concerned as he listened to the announcer talk about the neighborhoods and women that the man chose. All were women, home alone in deserted neighborhoods between ten in the morning and two in the afternoon. His alarm grew as Nolan considered the situation.
That could have been Grace! And she’s out there walking in the open, almost begging to be attacked.
Debating his options, Nolan picked up the phone and called Craig at his insurance office. “Craig? Hey, it’s Nolan. Have you been listening to the news?”
Nolan listened intently. “The dog is a great idea but… well; Grace just took off on foot somewhere. She had that flowery bag with her. Any idea where she went?”
Holding the phone away from his ear, Nolan shook his head in wonder at the fierceness of Craig’s protective side. “Down, boy. Maybe Melanie knows where she went and could give her a ride home?”
He hung up the phone reluctantly. Grace wouldn’t be very happy when she heard the trouble he had gotten her into. After debating whether he should go in search of her, Nolan finally turned back to his messages and turned the problem of Grace over to the Lord.
~*~*~*~
“Craig… I do not want a dog!” Grace’s voice was firm, but her brother on the other end of the line was not budging. “Craig… I…” Quickly, she realized that, like it or not, she’d have to get a dog. If she resisted for too long, Craig would go to the pound and get one himself. It would likely a huge Rottweiler that ate too much, and took up way too much room. It was also a little known fact that Grace did not like large dogs. While not terrified of them, she found them intimidating, and unpleasant memories ensured that she’d shy away from them whenever possible.
“Fine. I’ll go right now. I’ll get the one that barks the most, I promise. Right… fine. Thanks for nothing, bro. Tell that wife of yours to slap you when her hands are free.”
Grumbling all the way down her walkway as she headed to the bus stop, Grace was ready for battle when Nolan waved from his window. She crooked her finger menacingly. He gave an exaggerated shrug and jogged outside.
“Yes?” His tone was far too innocent.
“You are taking me to the pound. Thanks to you, my brother has demanded that I buy a dog. I think you can pay for him too. I want the dog, the bowl, the leash, a two-week supply of food and his first vet bill as recompense for getting me into trouble. Got all of that?” Grace’s smile belied the fierceness of her words.
Nolan jogged back inside to retrieve his wallet, and they drove to the pound. The howls of lonely dogs were audible a block away, and Grace’s face showed her irritation. “I hate places like this. I want to take them all home, and it seems so unfair just to take one. I can’t believe you got me into this.”
Nolan tried to defend himself but immediately gave up and resigned himself to being the “bad guy” for the afternoon. It was enough work to follow her through the facility and drag her away from homeless kittens, rabbits, and birds to the dog cages. There the struggle began in earnest.
With tears in her eyes and a heavy heart, Grace went from cage to cage greeting the “inmates.” Nolan noticed that the smaller dogs received more attention than the larger ones, and a large mastiff barely received a hello. A shelter volunteer recognized Grace and led her to the back. Snuggled up on a blanket arranged in the middle of a rabbit cage, lay a ball of fluff. Grace lost her heart immediately.
“They found him in a dumpster. He was barely old enough to be weaned. We don’t know if he got in a bag of trash, fell asleep and the owners threw him out, or if it was deliberate. He’s a frisky little guy, but he needs more care during the next two weeks than we can afford to spare.”
“What kind of dog is he?” Grace was already trying to name the yapping little fellow.
“Pomeranian. He could be a purebred. A vet could tell you, most likely.” The volunteer looked hopeful, too hopeful to Nolan’s eye.
“Grace… he looks like a rat on steroids. This is supposed to be a watchdog. How do you expect him scare away an intruder?”
Grace’s look squelched any other objections. “Look, Nolan, all I promised was to get the dog that barked the most. This guy here fills the bill. Now, I suggest you get out your checkbook and pay for your mistake.”
Nolan laughed as he took the dog’s identification card to the front desk to pay all fees associated with the little bundle. He joked with the ladies behind the counter about getting a discount according to size, but they were merciless. One of them smugly remarked. “I heard that you are in the doghouse, and that’s why you are paying for him. I don’t think your girlfriend would appreciate us making it easy on you.”
Nolan quickly decided not to correct the woman’s assessment of his relationship with Grace. What purpose would it serve but to make him sound like a heel? He smiled and said, “I got her in trouble with her brother, and the dog is my penance. I’m afraid of what she’ll name him. Can’t you just see him being named Killer or Cujo or something equally ludicrous?”
“His name is Rolex, you traitor.”
“Rolex? What kind of name is that?”
Grace grinned wickedly. “He’s a watch dog, isn’t he?”
“And he’s costing as much as one too…” Nolan muttered under his breath.
Grace’s expression was smug. She left him to fill out the paperwork and get recommendations for food and a vet, while she went to the car with her little bundle of fur. Seconds later, Rolex slept peacefully on her lap, giving Grace a moment to pray for patience with her friend and brother before that friend returned to the car. A peace settled over her as she prayed. She knew how to make it right.
Nolan joked and teased about the fierce puppy all the way home. While Grace found an old blanket for her sleeping pooch, he headed to the pet store. Grace started her dinner as she waited for the coming supplies and continued her running conversation with the Lord.
“Knock, knock. Got your stuff, Grace. Need anything else? I have a business appointment in thirty minutes, and I smell pound on me.” Nolan checked his watch, and seeing the timepiece made him smile.
“Thanks, Nolan. Oh, and make sure you give the receipts to Craig next time you see him. He owes you for your expenses.”
“What? Thought I was paying the price for this one?”
“Nope. I just had to make you sweat it a little. Give those receipts to Craig—better yet, give them to me. I’ll give them to him.” Grace went inside with a smug look of satisfaction on her face.
Knowing he was going to be late for his meeting, Nolan pulled the receipts from his pocket, followed Grace inside, and handed them to her before darting across the street to clean up for his meeting. Moments later, his SUV pulled swiftly out of the driveway.
As he passed the two cars that Cade had darted between only weeks before, Nolan slowed down. The mere sight of them reminded Nolan that no meeting was worth risking the life of a child. Grace saw it all and smiled. Moments later, when she saw an expensive velvet dog bed in the bag of supplies, Grace smiled again. Guilt certainly had its advantages.
~*~*~*~
“You call
that
a dog? It looks like an overgrown hamster!” Craig’s incredulity amused the women.