Page 147 of Perfectly Matched: Harbor Falls Romance Collection

“Guess who’s here!”

Izzie raced in the back door of Romantically Yours Sunday afternoon, Bandit nipping at her heels. Claire, sleeping at Gracie’s feet, barely raised an eyelid at the pup. Gracie glanced up from her computer where she was attempting to determine the costs of the Oriental rugs and the awning that were damaged in the storm for the insurance company. She was so used to Izzie breezing in and out that she barely glanced up as she searched her inventory list.

“Who?”

“My mommy!”

“That’s nice.”

Gracie’s gaze trailed the list. Perhaps it’s in another file, she thought.

“And she is so cool! She’s got long black hair and a small tattoo on her shoulder and she brought some movie pictures for me to look at and a new baseball bat—I’m so glad she’s finally realized that I don’t like dolls—and her lips are really red and her teeth are really white and she is so beautiful and she’s staying the night for three whole days, maybe longer!”

“Uh-huh.”

“And she and my dad look so perfect together.”

At that statement, Gracie finally looked up. A twinge of something she couldn’t readily describe settled deep in her belly. Something that made her a bit queasy. Something telling her that things weren’t quite...right.

Who looked perfect together?

She looked Izzie square in the eyes.

“Who did you say is here?”

“My mommy!”

“Your mommy.”

The words barely escaped her lips. Gracie sank back in her chair and stared at the girl. Marci was here? In Harbor Falls?

“I bet you’re excited, huh?”

The words fumbled off her tongue. Try as she might, Gracie couldn’t let Izzie know she was a teensy bit upset at this news.

“She is so pretty. And I love her so much. I hope she stays longer than three days.”

Gracie swallowed.

“And where...where is she staying?”

“With us!”

The child jumped up in excitement.

“Well, I had to tell you. I have to get back to my…family!”

Family.

Izzie, as was her style, was gone in a flash. Gracie sank lower into her chair feeling like a deflated balloon.

She didn’t know what to do, or to think, so she did nothing. Not a thing.

For the remainder of the afternoon, she stayed in the shop. Later, she holed herself up in her apartment. This was none of her business. She’d wait for Rick to tell her. To share that Izzie had blown things all out of proportion, and that she’d misunderstood. That Marci was just passing through town and would be gone within the hour. She was sure he would do that, soon.

Any minute, probably.

Thing was, he didn’t.

It was Monday afternoon before she saw him again and that was only briefly as he and Izzie and Marci got into his ex-wife’s car and drove away. It was late Monday evening when she finally saw him, although he only spoke a brief hello as he ushered his family up the back stairs and into his apartment. His gaze had lingered, catching hers, but Gracie had glanced away too quickly to read his eyes. She was so confused, didn’t know what to think, or how to act. She longed for an explanation, but she obviously was not going to get one.

If she would admit it to herself, she was hurt.

Well, you took the risk willingly, Gracie. Not his fault. It’s all on you. And she decided right then, that it was okay. She would get through this. Eventually.

She couldn’t help, though, but notice the radiant gleam on Izzie’s face and the attractiveness of her mother. Izzie was right when she’d said her mother was pretty. She was more than that, she was gorgeous, in that Hollywood sort of way.

But the thing that bothered her most was the fact that Marci’s little black rental sedan had sat parked all Sunday night out back beside Rick’s BMW. It hadn’t budged until the entire family took it out Monday afternoon. And apparently, neither had Marci. Budged, that is. Both were still there late Monday evening.

Gracie thought about the situation into the night. By Tuesday morning, she’d figured it out.

Rick wasn’t talking to her because Rick didn’t want to talk to her. Of course, what could he say that would make her feel better? His wife was back. Izzie’s mother was back. They were a family again. She’d have to understand, right?

Wrong.

If he had wanted, he could have found a way to explain the situation. It’s not like he couldn’t have found a moment to walk across the hallway between their apartments, rap on her door, and tell her what was going on.

But he didn’t. And what that said to her was that he really didn’t care enough to provide any sort of explanation at all. And that, said more than any words could say.

By noon on Tuesday, she left Harbor Falls. She’d packed a bag, turned the closed sign on her door, and locked the shop and her apartment up tight. After dropping Claire off at Amie’s, she headed out of town, and quite honestly, wasn’t certain if she would ever come back.

****

Izzie was ecstatic.

Rick was miserable.

And if she’d be honest with herself and admit it, Rick knew Marci was miserable as well.

As he stared across his living room at mother and daughter curled up on the couch together watching television, he couldn’t help but wonder why he’d not seen through Marci years earlier. Izzie was chattering away, informing her mother of the antics of her favorite cartoon characters. Marci listened intently, asking this question and that, laughing and smiling.

Acting all the while.

It was what she was good at.

Marci was in her element. She’d been an actress since birth. She was no more comfortable with the “mom”

scenario than he’d be on a stage.

He just hoped eventually that his daughter would see though Marci’s performance.

He missed Gracie like crazy. He had enjoyed the genuine laughter she and his daughter shared. He loved the way Gracie ruffled Izzie’s bangs and crouched down to get on her level when she talked to her. He adored the fact that Gracie adored his daughter.

He missed her. And it was high time he told her what was going on. He should have done so before now.

Rising, he told the pair on the couch that he needed to go downstairs for a few minutes. Instead, he slipped out in the hallway and gently tapped on Gracie’s door. After a while and no answer, he realized it was Tuesday and that she’d likely still be at the shop.

But the back shop door was locked so he rounded the building to the front and found the front door was locked as well. The thing that sent shivers of dread deep into his gut was the sign on the front door that read.

“Closed Indefinitely.”

It was then he knew he’d screwed up. Royally.

****

On Thursday morning, Rick walked into Amie’s Place loaded for bear. He’d had enough of Amie and Constance and all the other merry-matchmakers who had directly avoided his queries about where Gracie had gone for days now—and he was out for some answers.

Now.

How his life had suddenly gone haywire, he had no clue. Of course, it all had to do with Marci. Just one more thing for which he would never forgive her.

But he wasn’t going to think of that now. His prime concern was Gracie, where in the hell she had gone, and to what conclusions she must have jumped before she did.

If he could only talk with her. If she’d only waited until he could explain the situation and discuss what was happening. She’d misunderstood, he was certain. He should have spoken to her Monday afternoon when they’d passed on the stairs, but things were just so damned awkward that he couldn’t.

How could he have explained anything in front of Izzie?

Hell, Izzie was the happiest he has seen her in months. How could he say to Gracie.

“Oh, this isn’t what it seems. It will be over before you can blink an eye,”

and break his daughter’s heart.

That heartbreaking was likely to happen anyway, but he didn’t want to be the cause of it or add to Izzie’s hurt and confusion.

He’d known he’d avoided Gracie but thought she would have realized that Izzie needed to spend time with her mother. He didn’t intend for that time to include the three of them, but that was the way Izzie wanted it. He guessed the child needed that sense of family. Even if it was only brief and false. That was the one thing he had wanted to tell Gracie. Should have told her. That was the reason he’d come to her shop Tuesday afternoon only to find her gone. He just wanted to tell her he was doing it all for Izzie’s sake. That nothing had changed between the two of them.

“Honeybun?”

Rick whipped his attention to the young girl behind the counter. He hadn’t realized she was waiting.

“Uh, no,”

he answered.

“Is Amie around? I need to talk to her.”

“I’m right here.”

The voice came from his left. Turning, he looked at Gracie’s friend. Her face was stern, her mouth in a frown. I’m not in the mood for a run-around. Please just answer my questions.

“Let’s sit over here.”

She motioned to table next to the window. He followed and the girl behind the counter brought them both their coffee.

Rick didn’t think he’d be there long enough for it to cool off, but he took it anyway.

He sat across from Amie and looked directly into her eyes.

“Please tell me where she has gone,”

he pleaded.

Hell, yes, he was pleading.

Amie closed her eyes and took a breath. When she opened them, Rick knew he wasn’t going to get the answers he sought.

“I don’t know where she is. She dropped off Claire before leaving town. Later that day, she left a message saying she would be back later in the week. Maybe.”

Later in the week. Maybe that would be today, he thought.

“Did she say why she left?”

Amie stared.

He glanced away. He knew why.

“I have to talk to her Amie. If I could just talk to her, explain something—”

“Have you tried her cell phone?”

He nodded.

“She’s not answering. Voice mail is turned off.”

She stared some more.

“Then maybe you have your answer.”

Rick wasn’t going to accept that.

“But I didn’t get a chance to explain anything to her. She left so abruptly.”

Amie didn’t hesitate in her response.

“I think explaining would probably be in order. In fact, it might have been good to have done that several days ago. Perhaps you should have done that a little sooner.”

Ah. So, Amie did know more than she was letting on.

He studied her for a few seconds.

“It was a difficult situation.”

“Gracie is an understanding woman.”

“I know that.”

“You should have trusted her to understand.”

“I know that, too.”

“You shouldn’t have avoided her.”

“It wasn’t that, Amie. There was more to it. Izzie, she was just so...”

He didn’t go on. There was no need for him to hash this out with Amie. This was the conversation he needed to be having with Gracie. Standing, he tossed a couple of dollar bills onto the table for the coffees.

“If you see her, just tell her I need to talk to her. If she calls, tell her, too. Will you please do that for me?”

Amie’s face softened then, and she nodded.

“Yes. I’ll do that, Rick. I’ll tell her.”

With a jerk of his head, he replied with, “Thanks,”

and then left the restaurant. A fear like he’d never known gripped his gut. He’d lost her. And then he reminded himself that he’d consciously decided to take the risk, and that Gracie was worth the pain.

Every minute he’d loved her was worth it.

He just hadn’t known that losing her would come this quick, or hurt this bad.

****

Late Saturday evening, Gracie came home. With her heart guarded and her mind made up, she quietly made her way up the back stairwell to her apartment, careful not to wake her next-door neighbors. One thing she noted as she’d pulled into her parking space behind the shops—Marci’s car was gone. She didn’t know what that meant, but it didn’t alter her plans. Not one bit.

Whether Marci meant anything at all to Rick, or even whether she had slept in his bed, was none of her concern. All that mattered was that Gracie knew that she was the only person she could ever depend on. All Gracie Hart would ever have was herself, and it was high time she accepted that fact.

She would remain firm in her convictions and she would not be swayed. She’d found the solitude she longed for in her stay in the mountains the past few days. The pain was still there, would always be there. But she’d learned to live with it before and she’d learn to live with it again.

Basically, she was getting quite good and shoving the pain aside and blocking it all from her head—and her heart. She supposed that was a coping mechanism that she hadn’t quite realized she had mastered well.

There would be no children, no husbands, no lovers in her life. That just appeared to be her destiny. There would be no more Romantically Yours, either.

She’d found a new place to start over, and that’s what she intended to do.

New shop. New friends. New life.

She’d done it before, she’d do it again.

Yes, she was going to leave Harbor Falls. For good.

There was only one task remaining. One more thing she had to take care of. And she would do that first thing in the morning. There was no use dragging this thing out.

It was time to get on with her life. Without Rick and Izzie.