Page 11 of Unruly Defender

– GRACY –

I wake slowly and instantly realize the pillow my head is resting on is in fact not so much a pillow but Henley’s chest. Pushing myself up, I glance down and a slow smile slides across my face as the memories of last night resurface.

After dinner we talked some more and eventually took Finn for a walk and we ended up watching a movie in bed. Both of us are still dressed and I guess somewhere during the movie we fell asleep.

I reach for Finn who’s sleeping near our feet and take him in my arms as I slide off the bed.

Finn knows the routine. I need to find my shoes and coat before we head out for a walk.

I grab my purse and decide to swing by the tiny place near the marina to get some coffee and breakfast to take back to the boat.

Henley is still sleeping when we get back, but as I place the coffee on the table and the bag with fresh pastries, his phone suddenly starts to ring, waking him up. He groans and grabs his phone.

With a groggy voice he says, “Yeah?”

Clearly, the person on the other end said something important because he flashes up and his eyes are wide open.

“When?” Henley scoots off the bed and rubs a hand over his face.

“Then we’re going to speed things up. Two hours from now I’m walking into the clubhouse.

Yes. Make sure everything is set. Good. See you there, brother. ”

Henley stands and puts his phone away to free up his hands so he can rub his face.

Finn dashes off to him and starts to claw with his one front paw at Henley’s pants.

He reaches down and scoops him up, earning him a facewash from Finn.

The way that rugged man cradles his little dog in his arms makes me swoon.

He bends down and places Finn back on the floor, who happily trots to his blanket to catch up on some sleep. “Something smells good. Did you go out for coffee?”

“Uh huh, and fresh pastries. Did something go wrong? The phone call, did Yates have news?” I question as I grab plates and place the pastries on them.

Henley grabs a cinnamon bun and places a kiss on my temple. “Don’t worry about it,” he mutters and takes a bite.

“I am, and I will. And after last night I kinda hoped you would be honest with me. And I know there are things you can’t tell me and aren’t my business, but you can’t expect me not to care about you.” I quickly grab my coffee and take a sip to stop myself from rambling.

Henley’s gaze is locked on me as he slowly eats his cinnamon bun.

He reaches for his coffee and says, “Yates called to say Rush wants everyone in church this afternoon. There will be a vote. I need to prevent it from happening.”

“He’s going to push this whole dealing in drugs thing through, isn’t he?

” My heartbeat picks up. Not due to fear, but from anger.

“You need to stop him. You mentioned last night how all eyes are on Unruly Defenders because of him. Dammit, what if he is doing this because he wants you to walk in there and claim your spot as the president? And then have the cops come in and you’ll be the one with the criminal record and right back where you were a few days ago. ”

Henley stares at me with wide eyes and it makes me feel weird.

“I’m overthinking things, right? Too farfetched? Sorry. My mind is running in different directions and I just want you safe and out of trouble.”

“Not farfetched at all,” Henley muses. “Why didn’t I think about this particular angle? Shit. Can I trust Yates? Is he in on all this?”

“Wait. Hang on, and put a pin in it, Mister. Are you questioning your buddy’s loyalty again?

That’s not my intention, Henley. And really, you can’t flip a coin with trust and not trust a person.

I get you’ve been betrayed, and Rush is a scumbag and all, but there are more loyal people out there than scumbags.

And you’d better stay on the positive side of things.

Your mother tells me you practically are Mister Positive, always have been.

Hell, I’ve even called you that myself. So, don’t let that scumbag crush another part of you. Am I clear?”

“You’re damn sexy when you get all angry and tell me what I can and can’t do,” he tells me with a wolfish grin on his face.

“Yeah, well, you’re damn sexy every damn minute of the day,” I mutter and stuff my mouth full with a large bite of a cinnamon bun.

We finish our coffee and I gather my things before both of us leave the boat. Finn and I follow Henley to his bike where it’s parked near my car. I put Finn in the car so I can give Henley my full attention.

He delicately strokes his fingertips along my hair and cups the back of my neck to pull me close. “If only we met a few years ago,” he whispers, more to himself than to me.

“Time is irrelevant. And problems will always come and go. A life can be lost by tripping in your own home or taking one step outside. Does this mean you’re not supposed to live?

That you should be too scared to take a risk and avoid doing things that feel good, or make you curious, or make you crave so badly your heart aches to connect with that single person?

Except, you don’t want to take that step because the future is unsure, the consequences could take lives.

..and yet, by not doing it and playing it safe, you did in fact already kill everything beforehand.

Your own life, your future, everything. Because you’re not living it.

And I’m rambling. But it’s frustrating. You are frustrating.

” My shoulders sag. “I know this whole situation is not on you or on me. I didn’t choose the insanity my life is wrapped in, and you didn’t choose to be betrayed.

It happened to you, it happened to both of us. Just...don’t let it define you.”

I reach out and stand on my toes to connect my lips to his.

I pull back and stare in his eyes to see the turmoil swirling in there.

I pat his chest and turn to head for my car.

Getting inside, I start the engine, making the radio automatically turn on.

The tunes of Danny Vera’s song “Roller Coaster” fill the car.

I love his tunes but this song and the timing is practically melodically shoving my nose into the fact of the turmoil of life. It takes everything inside me not to stop the car and rush back into his muscled arms. But instead I take one last glance at him through the rearview mirror as I head home.

My whole mood is down the drain when I park my car and head for the bungalow I share with Maggie. I’ve never had a guy influence my feelings how Henley seems to be able to rock them. Good or bad. And I hate it even more that I don’t have a grip on myself.

And why do I even care? I just met him a few days ago.

Hell, we’ve only spent time together for a handful of hours spread out over two days.

And I didn’t even see him for three days after the first time we met.

Not to mention he was an ass that first day.

Great, Gracy, just great. Now I’m fussing over wanting him while I have so many other things running havoc in my life.

I stalk inside and Finn rushes to Maggie who is waiting for me. Suddenly I feel bad about not letting her know where I was last night. It’s not like I owe her an explanation but I know how she worries about me. And to be honest, I never spent a night somewhere else without telling her.

“Sorry. I went out to the boat but didn’t intend to spend the night there.” I place my purse on the table and decide to grab a quick shower before I head for work.

I’m about to head for my room but Maggie’s voice stops me. “Henley called last night to let me know where you two were. And you don’t owe me an apology, sweetheart. You know that. Oh, and I will take over your shift this morning because I need for you to run a few errands for me.”

“Sure, just let me grab a shower and a change of clothes and I’ll take care of it for you.” It’s not unusual for Maggie to rearrange my day but my gut tells me there’s more to it this time. “What do you need me to do?”

“You go and get ready, I’ll make you a list.” She shoos me away and even if I think it’s weird, there’s a hot shower with my name on it screaming for me to take it.

I head for my room and decide to take my time freshening up.

Standing before my closet, it’s easy to make a choice what to wear.

Mainly because I don’t have to be behind a desk today.

Ripped blue jeans, a purple tank top, along with some black boots with a tiny heel.

Most definitely a day for casual clothes.

I grab some underwear and my thoughts slide to Henley again.

Why can’t I ban him from my mind? Sliding the purple lace panties on—along with the matching bra—I dress quickly and decide to leave my hair down.

I glance at my makeup and I don’t want to fuss too much and only apply some mascara along with some lip gloss.

Ready to take on a new day and dead set not to think about Henley, I stroll into the living room to find Maggie, but she’s not here. The sliding doors are open and I know she likes to drink her tea on the patio, so I head out and see her sitting in her favorite chair while glancing at the beach.

“I’m ready, do you have your list of errands for me?” I question and her eyes land on me.

“Henley has the list, he’s outside waiting for you,” she simply says and I swear I can feel my eyes widen and my jaw drop.

I start to sputter but she just shakes her head while wearing a smile, freaking mischief dancing in her eyes. “Just hear him out, sweetheart. Remember what I told you.”