Finding Gracie's Rainbow (24 page)

“
Really, Princess, I'm all
yours for the rest of the day.” She pulled up into their driveway.
“Just let me change clothes first.”

She walked up the hall
after changing and entered the living room just as Bea was putting
a movie in the player. “What are we watching?”

“
You’ll see and after
this, I want to take Uncle Jackson on a date.” Bea grinned as she
saw the look her mother shot to her.

“
You’ll need a chaperone.”
Gracie sat down beside her.

“
I thought you could be
the chaperone.” Bea took the handheld phone and dialed Jackson’s
number before she started the movie.

“
Do you seriously want to
watch
Cinderella
again?” Gracie looked at the television screen. “We can both
quote it from memory.”

“
My day. Remember?” Bea
was laughing as Gracie started saying some of the lines before the
Disney castle disappeared from the screen.

Gracie stood and stretched
after the movie ended looking at the clock as she spoke. “You have
two hours before your date. Would you like to go to the
pool?”

“
What pool?” Bea asked as
she carefully placed the DVD back in its case.

“
The one at Jackson’s
apartment,” Gracie had asked Jackson about using the pool after it
had started getting warm. “Let's go suit up and then we'll ride
over there. Jackson knows that we're coming."

“
He does?” Bea asked in
shock as they walked towards her bedroom.

“
I sent him a message.”
Gracie walked into her daughter’s room and found the bathing suit
for her to put on. “As a matter of fact, he’s probably waiting on
us as we speak.”

~

Jackson walked out of his
apartment as Gracie and Bea pulled up. He smiled when Bea ran up to
him and hugged him tightly. “I hear someone is having a birthday
today.” Jackson took her hand as he looked over at Gracie, “Feeling
better?”

“
Loads,” Gracie walked
beside them to the pool.

Jackson looked at her with
a grin on his face. “Still don’t want to know- do you?”

“
Absolutely not,” Gracie
took the short set that Bea had handed her after she stripped down
to her suit. “Keep it a secret- okay?"

“
Wish I could.” Jackson
sat down in one of the pool side chairs. “There was somebody else
in the room.”

“
Annie?” Gracie asked as
she watched Bea splashing around.

Jackson stood and pulled
his t-shirt off as Gracie watched him. “Yep and she has a really
big mouth.” He looked over at her. “Are you getting in the
water?”

“
You don’t think that
she'll talk to anybody about that. Do you?” Gracie frowned as she
asked him while her cell phone was ringing. She answered as she
watched Jackson jump in the pool. She walked away from them as she
listened to Addison talk about Mr. Foster. She put the phone back
in her pocket and walked over to the pool. Jackson looked up at her
as she sat back down.

He noticed that she had
started to move her neck around in a circular motion and after
glancing over to Bea to make sure she was still in shallow water
pulled himself out of the pool. “Why do keep a job that stresses
you out?”

“
The job isn't stressing
me out. It’s my boss.” Gracie looked over at him as she shielded
her eyes from the sun. “I get all the flack from New
York.”

“
Whatever it is, it can
wait. End of the business day.” Jackson glanced back over at Bea.
“Now strip down to your suit, or I'm going to throw you in the
water with your clothes on.” Jackson watched as she took the phone
out of her pocket. He took it from her and turned off the
power.

“
What if my family calls?”
Gracie slid her shorts off as Jackson placed the phone down in her
bag.

“
They can wait, too.”
Jackson waited for her to finish. “How about the shirt?”

“
I like it.” Gracie
laughed as she kept it on. “It’s staying so I don’t
burn.”

“
That’s what sunscreen is
for.” Jackson picked up the bottle she had used on Bea.

“
The shirt stays.” Gracie
stepped over to the pool and tested the water with her
foot.

Jackson walked over and
pushed her into the water. “I thought that Steven was the only liar
in your family.” He grinned after Gracie stood up in the pool. “As
I remember, Kim was always mad because you tanned, and she
burnt.”

“
Fine, I don’t burn, but
the shirt is staying.” Gracie walked over to Bea and splashed her
when Jackson started laughing. “What?”

“
I'm just wondering when
you became so modest.” He walked over close enough to whisper in
her ear. “You weren’t modest last night when I took your dress
off.”

“
Sweet Jesus,” Gracie
mumbled under her breath before turning towards Jackson. “What did
you just say?”

“
I think you heard me.”
Jackson swam over to the deep water as he watched Gracie
fuming.

She decided that he had
been playing her fiddle and started splashing with Bea before he
swam back over to them. Gracie just looked at him and shook her
head as he splashed her in the face. “Go away, Jackson. Bea and I
have this corner of the pool.”

“
My pool and it’s getting
to be supper time.” Jackson looked over at Bea. “Are you ready to
eat?”

“
Always,” Bea laughed at
the expression on her mother’s face as Jackson whispered in her ear
again.

“
You so want to ask.”
Jackson was laughing before he walked up the steps in the
pool.

“
Do not and will not.”
Gracie shot back at him as she followed him with Bea. “Just drop
it, Jackson, I don’t want to know anymore.”

“
Not in the least bit
curious?” Jackson asked as Gracie turned to him angrily.

“
No, not in the least
bit,” she tugged her wet shirt off and wrapped a towel around her
as Jackson smiled at her. “I have too much on my mind for you to be
playing games. Can we change our clothes in your
apartment?”

“
You can.” Jackson decided
to let her think that he was just playing games as he looked down
at Bea. “So where are you taking me on our date?”

“
Micky Ds of course,” Bea
took the outfit that her mother handed her before walking off to
the bathroom.

Gracie turned to Jackson
after Bea shut the door. “You can stop trying to bait me, Jackson,
especially around my daughter. Whatever I did or said is over and
done with, I can’t change it or take it back.”

“
Anything you say,
Cinderella.” Jackson was laughing at her. “Mum is the word, I
gotcha.” He watched as Bea came back into the room handing Gracie
her wet bathing suit.

~

Gracie looked around the
backyard where they were going to have Bea’s party. She was
watching with amusement as the puppies chased the streamers that
were waving in the wind.

Annie walked out to see if
Gracie needed any help, and they were securing the tablecloths to
the tables as Beast started to whine. Gracie looked over to where
he was and started laughing as the furry brown dog was wrapped in
pink streamer. “Those two are going to have to stay in the house
until after the party.” Gracie went over to Bea’s puppy and started
unwrapping the streamer from him as Annie grabbed the other puppy
and took him into the house.

They watched as Bea ran
outside after her school friends started arriving for the party.
Her family started arriving shortly after that and Gracie couldn’t
help but to notice the look that her sister had shot in her
direction. She shrugged it off as she continued to watch Bea and
her friends.

Jackson walked up to her as
she started to place the candles on top of the cake. “You had a
pretty good turn out.”

“
Bea’s happy with it.”
Gracie glanced at him as he fingered up some of the icing. “Bad,
bad boy.”

“
That’s not what you said
Thursday night.” He smiled wickedly when Gracie glared at
him.

“
Don’t start, Jackson.”
She looked around the table for the book of matches she had laid
down as she heard the doorbell. “Be a pal and see who’s at the
door.”

“
Sure thing.” He walked
back into the house and walked to the front door.
“Addison?”

“
Where is she?!” Addison
answered him back with a question feeling angry because she had to
make a trip to Gracie’s house.

“
In the back,” Jackson had
noticed the angry short tone she had used. “I think that whatever
this is about can wait until after the cake.”

“
I’m sorry. I had
forgotten all about Bea’s party. I can wait.” Addison apologized as
she glanced out to the back.

“
You might as well join
us.” Jackson walked out to the back as Addison followed him
out.

Gracie looked up as Addison
walked out with Jackson and frowned at her as she lit the candles
almost burning her finger in the process. After they sang Happy
Birthday to Bea and the cake was served, Gracie walked into the
house with Addison. “Well? I'm assuming that something is up, or
you wouldn’t be here.”

“
Where is your phone?”
Addison questioned Gracie before they sat down at the kitchen
table.

“
Why?” Gracie asked
glancing outside to see how the party was going.

“
Because Mr. Foster can’t
reach you, so he's bugging the crap out of me.” Addison looked over
at her seriously. “He thinks that you're avoiding him.”

“
Let him think what he
wants, I'm going to have Bea’s party without work interfering.”
Gracie walked towards the back and added. “That story is really
starting to get on my nerves.” She heard Addison’s phone ringing
before she walked out. “If that’s Mr. Foster, you can tell him I'll
call him after my daughter’s party.”

Addison answered her phone
as she watched Gracie shut the door behind her. She gave the
message to Mr. Foster and walked outside to watch Bea open some of
her presents when her phone started ringing again.

Gracie looked at her hard
as she walked over to take the phone from her friend. “You do
realize that this has a power button- don’t you?” She looked down
at the name and decided to take care of him right then. Answering
Addison’s phone she walked into the house and paced the floor as
Mr. Foster talked to her.

Addison had walked into the
house after her and stood there watching until Gracie turned to
face her.

“
Evidently he meant he
wanted it last Tuesday, and I'm to be accessible everyday no
matter. What is going on?” Gracie sighed as she tried to calm down.
“I guess he wants everybody to work just as hard as he does.” She
handed Addison’s phone back to her. “He won’t bug you
anymore.”

“
Actually, Mrs. Foster
read the story, and she’s been hounding him about it.” Addison
informed her as Gracie winkled her nose. She spotted Gracie’s
phone. “Would you like me to check your messages?”

“
Go for it. I need to get
back outside.” Gracie stepped to the backdoor after she handed
Addison a pad and pen. Jackson could feel the difference in her
attitude the minute she had walked back outside. Gracie tried to
smile, but the attempt failed as she looked at Bea and her friends
playing.

She sat down at the table
and picked up one of Bea’s Barbie dolls, smoothing the little dress
out as their guests started leaving. Janet was watching her with
concern as she sat down beside her.

“
I need to call a family
meeting.” Gracie mumbled not looking up from the doll that she was
holding.

Janet left the table and
told the rest of the family what Gracie had just said. They all
went inside the house, and Gracie let the dogs out before sitting
on the couch. She glanced over to where Addison was still sitting
at the table writing down her messages.

“
I had no idea about the
amount of calls you receive.” Addison was shocked as she looked
down at the piece of paper where she had been writing.

Gracie stood and walked
over to where Addison was still sitting, glancing at the paper
before she moaned. She looked at her family and started talking
about what was on her mind; beginning her story at the time when
her apartment had been vandalized and explaining everything that
happened since then in the order it happened. “So to make a long
story short, Amanda McBride will have a book published. It’s
already under contract, and my boss is calling because he wants me
to finish it a week ago.”

Her family was sitting
there smiling after she started to pace the floor. Jackson stood.
“Is that why you were celebrating Thursday night?”

“
Boss’s orders,” Gracie
finally sat down as Addison handed her the paper and her cell
phone. “And that is why Addison stormed in here today.”

“
Finish the story, and
he'll leave both of us alone.” Addison looked up as Jackson peered
over Gracie’s shoulders to take a look at the paper.

“
What does the M mean?” He
asked as he glanced at Addison.