The Presence of Grace (Love and Loss #2)(61)

“Trust us, Devon, those were hardly graphic details.” Evie snorted and took another drink of her wine.

“I thought I had another four or five years.”

“You thought she wouldn’t get her period until she was sixteen?” Grace asked, clearly having underestimated how clueless I was about everything period-related.

“I don’t know. Maybe I was just hoping I had more time. I am not prepared for this at all.”

“Yeah, that’s true. You need a trash can in your guest bathroom.” This came from Evie.

“What? Why would you say that?”

“Because she’s going to need to throw things in the garbage and she’s not going to want to walk through the house with it balled up in her hand.”

“Oh,” I said quietly. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

“I took her out today and bought her everything she’ll need for the next few months, but she’s still pretty freaked out about the whole thing. She’s afraid to swim, she’s afraid to ride the rides at Disneyland, and she’s really afraid that she’ll leak on your sheets, Evie.”

“Poor girl,” Evie said with so much love in her voice.

“She said she wanted you to know, Devon, but she didn’t want to tell you herself. I don’t think she really wants to talk to you about it. I think she’s embarrassed. Like we all were when we got our first period. Talking to our dads about it was the last thing we wanted, right, Evie?”

“Definitely.”

“Olivia never got the chance to talk to her about this stuff. She was so young.” The words slipped out of my mouth before I had a chance to think about them, but when my eyes found Grace, she wasn’t upset. She just looked sad. Olivia was going to miss out on a lot of things, and that alone was upsetting, but the worst part was that Ruby and Jax were going to miss out on having those experiences with their mother. It was pure luck that Ruby had been with Grace that afternoon, and there was no doubt in my mind that Grace had made Ruby feel comfortable and safe in what was probably a stressful situation for her. What could have been a disaster, seemed to be a memorable day for my daughter and the woman I loved. When I walked in the house that evening, Ruby was obviously happy and not emotionally scarred, which was probably what would have happened had she been with me. Instead she had ice cream and a girly movie, and fluffy blankets on the couch. Grace had given her that. “Thank you for taking care of her today. It means more than I can even explain.”

“Of course,” she said softly. She looked as though she wanted to say more, but she didn’t. She just gave me a smile.

“I’m glad you told me too, even though it’s none of my business,” Evie said.

“The way I figure it, Ruby needs as many women on her side as she can get. There’s room enough for both of us.”

If I hadn’t already loved her, I would have fallen for her in that moment.

“I couldn’t agree more,” Evie said with a bright smile.

I wanted nothing more than to kiss Grace stupid, but since we had a guest, I decided instead to go make sure the kids were fast asleep, and maybe sneak a kiss to Ruby’s forehead.





Chapter Twenty

Grace



Devon left Evie and me on the deck and I tried not to worry that it would become awkward. I’d known she was coming to stay for a night before taking the kids back to California, but I hadn’t been sure how I would feel seeing her. The last time we’d been together, I’d had no idea about her previous relationship with Devon. The good news was I sensed absolutely no weirdness between us. In fact, I still really liked Evie. She was funny, smart, and it was obvious she really cared about the kids. There was no way to dislike her.

“Shelby mentioned she told you about my past with Devon.”

Well, that was one way to start a conversation.

“She did. She did not, however, mention she’d spoken to you about it.”

“I asked her not to. I didn’t want you to be on the offensive when I saw you.” Evie smiled at me and I couldn’t help but smile back. “I love Shelby, she’s great. I know you two are close, which, by the way, makes this the smallest universe ever.” She laughed. “But there’s no way Shelby can give you an accurate insight into the relationship I have with Devon.”

“No, you’re right. Shelby was concerned about me, knowing my history, but had nothing but great things to say about you. Devon filled in all the holes though, I think. I hope you aren’t upset with Shelby. She didn’t mean any harm.”

“Oh, Grace,” Evie said, waving her hand. “There isn’t a vindictive bone in Shelby’s little body. I knew she was just trying to look out for her friend. It says a lot that she would speak to both of us, ya know? She really just wants all of us to be happy, which leads me to my next point.” She paused for a moment, but then took a deep breath and continued.

“Have you ever wanted something so bad, it was all you could see? You were so focused and so intent on that one thing that you were blind to everything else? And then one day, something different popped into your vision, and suddenly, that very thing you wanted so badly wasn’t what you thought it was? Well, that was Devon. I loved him, in a way. But then Nate came along and changed all that. I’m not saying that what I felt for Devon wasn’t real, it just wasn’t what I thought it was. It was something, but it wasn’t my everything. Nate is my everything.”