Restoration (15 page)

She leaned forward and pressed her palm on Drew’s inner thigh. “You know, I’d much rather a shag than a snog.”

Drew choked on his drink.

The music changed and she visibly tensed as she recognized the song.

“Go on. I’ll catch up. I just need a little more liquid courage,” Drew said, obviously adjusting himself.

Excitement ran through her as she hopped up and moved toward Valerie in the center of the dance floor. She let her hips sway back and forth as she became more confident. The song was high-energy and she and Valerie were smiling as they jumped up and down during the chorus. Soon the song ended and morphed into a more sensual rhythm.

She felt Drew’s hands move around her hips and pull her into his chest. His fingers spread wide as he ground into her rear.

“Oi, mate! I’ll thank you to keep your hands off.” Drew’s angry voice shocked her and she turned to see that it was a stranger holding her close.

“She doesn’t seem to mind,” the man said.

“Yes, I do mind,” Grace added as she squirmed away from his grip.

“She minds.” Drew pushed at the man. “Shove off.”

“Bloody hell. I’m leaving, all right?” The man backed away, hands in the air.

Drew looked down into her eyes, his face stony.

“I’m sorry, I thought it was you.”

“I thought I’d murder him, Grace. And you, rubbing against him like that, it almost killed me.” He pulled her to him. “I can’t think of you with anyone else. I need to know you’re mine.”

His hand trailed down her back and he dropped his lips to her shoulder, nipping at it with his teeth.

“I don’t want anyone, but you.” Her voice caught as he pulled her against his apparent arousal.

“I told you this dress was going to be a problem for me.”

His breath on her skin made her knees tremble as they danced. She didn’t need any more alcohol to make her head swim; Drew’s hands and mouth were doing a fine job on their own. The music changed and Drew took her hand. He led her back to the booth and her waiting drink.

“All right, birthday girl. Drink up. I’ve got a long night ahead of me until I can get you home.”

Drew watched as Grace fiddled nervously with the hem of her dress. She was sitting on the rear-facing bench o
f the cab, her feet bare, free of the heels she’d been teetering in all night. Her eyes caught his gaze and she flushed.

“Stop looking at me like that,” she muttered, clearly embarrassed by the lascivious glint in his eyes.

He held his hands up in protest. “What?”

The cab swayed and screeched, swerving to avoid a cyclist who’d darted into the street and Grace fell forward into his arms. He inhaled deeply and was filled with the scent of her perfume. Something about it made him think of the warm sands of a Hawaiian beach. He couldn’t place it, but he’d come to crave it.

“God, you smell good,” he whispered against her hair.

“So do you.”

He pressed his forehead against hers and pulled her onto his lap. “I don’t think I can wait until I get you home, love.”

His fingers traced the smooth skin of her thigh, slowly creeping under the hem of her dress. He could feel the sharp intake of her breath against his lips as he closed the distance to his goal. Her mouth crushed against his to stifle the moan that poured from her. A thrill ran through him, making his scalp tingle. At that moment, he needed nothing more than her skin against his.

“Drew, we can’t.” Her words were breathy and filled with excitement.

“Why can’t we?” he whispered.

She pulled away and his desire to close the distance and reclaim her came boiling to the surface. “The driver. He’ll see us.”

“Well then, it’s a good thing I slipped him fifty quid to keep his eyes on the road.”

“You didn’t?”

“Oh, yes. Yes, I did.” He pulled her against him and pushed his hand past the lace covering her. Her skin was hot and already wet for him. “Oh, God. You are so sexy.”

As his fingers worked, she fought for control. He could feel her tense against him, over and over, biting back the noises he loved to hear her make.

“Let it go, love. Kiss me and let it go.” He increased the tempo of his stroke and she wrapped her fingers in his hair, kissing him deeply.

As she came apart, pride flowed through him. This beautiful creature was with
him
, needed
him
, and only
he
could make her react this way.

Her breath shuddered as she pulled away from him. “I can’t believe we just did that in a moving cab.”

“That’s nothing compared to what I plan to do when we get to a proper bed.”

He watched her cheeks redden and her tongue dart out to wet her lips. The cab rolled to a stop in front of his house.

The driver cleared his throat. “All right?”

Drew helped Grace adjust her clothing and stepped out into the cool night air, holding the door for her. His keys jingled as he handed them to her.

“Go on inside. I’ll catch up.”

While Grace ran barefoot up the walkway, he leaned into the open window of the cab and paid.

“All right, mate. Off you pop. Seems to me like you’ve got business inside.” The driver winked and took his money.

Chapter 16

“Good, God! Start a fire down there, please! I’m freezing,” Valerie pleaded from the top of the stairs.

Grace rolled her eyes from her crouched position at the fireplace. “Already on it!”

“I hate winter. Literally, hate it.”

Grace chuckled softly as Valerie stomped down the stairs. She was wrapped in her duvet, her face barely peeking out from the cocoon she’d created.

“Why are you already dressed?” Valerie asked through a yawn.

“I have to go talk with the crew today, remember?”

“Oh, right. Too many accidents, not enough progress.”

“Exactly.” Grace chewed on her lip. “I’ve been . . . distracted lately. They need to know I’m involved.”

“How is your distraction doing?”

“If you mean Drew, he’s getting better. He’s been spending time with people again, seeing friends.”

Grace wrapped herself in a thick wool scarf he’d given her.

“Where is he, anyway? I haven’t seen him much.”

“Oh, he’s visiting family in Surrey. He should be back at the end of the week.”

Valerie arched a brow. “So, that’s why you’re so cranky. I hope he gets back sooner, rather than later.”

“I do miss him.”

“You more than miss him.”

She shot Valerie a glare and grabbed her coat.

“I’ll be back.”

Valerie gave her a mock salute. “Aye-aye.”

As Grace walked the short distance to the job site, she shivered. The cold morning air sank into her bones and had her picking up the pace just to keep warm.

She thought about what Valerie said.
You more than miss him.
Their relationship had turned a corner and she knew she was walking a fine line. She was in love with him, head over heels, but couldn’t bring herself to tell him the truth about John. His heart had been crushed by his ex-wife and it was easy to see the effect her affair still had on him. Until she was sure about his relationship to John, she still held tight to her convictions. It wasn’t the right time to tell him.

Snow was in the forecast for the next few weeks and construction was moving slowly on the restoration. She was diligent about ensuring all safety measures were being adhered to and stood waiting at the site for all of her workers to assemble. As they slowly arrived—chattering amongst themselves and drinking tea from thermoses and paper cups—the unwelcome tingle of nerves fluttered in her belly.

She cleared her throat to gain their attention.

“Thank you all for being here. I wanted to address everyone and say what a wonderful job you’ve been doing over the last five months. Restorations are tedious and can be tiresome. Now that the weather has turned, we all need to change our habits. Working in freezing temperatures has a multitude of risks. Falls are the biggest danger, but there’s also a high risk of frostbite due to prolonged exposure to cold temperatures. Please make sure you’re wearing appropriate clothes, gloves and hats, use the hand and foot warmers we’ve provided, and take frequent breaks. Again, thank you and continue the good work.”

Her hands shook as she walked back to her cottage. She hated public speaking and hoped desperately that Mick was able to keep the workers safe. The building was tall and required a lot of scaffolding. Mick assured her that they were following safety regulations to the letter.

Valerie had a pot of coffee waiting in the kitchen when she walked through the door. The aroma was heavenly and she headed straight to the kitchen for a dose of caffeine.

“I’m never letting you go. As far as I’m concerned, your job is secure until the end of time.” Grace inhaled the rich scent as she brought the cup to her lips.

“I’ll remember you said that.”

“So, what’s on the agenda for today?” Grace asked.

Valerie flipped through her emails. “Let’s see, Bidwell is putting out feelers to the town council about restoring the church next. Then, oh, this’ll be good.” A note of sarcasm colored her words. “There’s a severe weather advisory for tomorrow morning, ice and snow, as well as high winds.”

“That sounds like the makings of a blizzard.” She worried at her bottom lip.

“I’ll call Mick. He’d better give the crew time off tomorrow,” Valerie said.

Grace nodded. “Good idea. Tell them we’ll keep them posted about when it’s safe to return to work.”

“They won’t be happy about not getting the hours.”

“I’d rather they be safe and angry, than hurt and suing us.”

The storm hit earlier than expected, knocking down power lines and causing traffic accidents everywhere in the area. The workers were sent home as the wind picked up and the site became unsafe.

Grace and Valerie built up their fire, set out candles, and planned for a long night with no power and howling wind outside.

“I’m not going to get any sleep tonight,” Grace muttered.

“Nope. Me neither.”

“I’m in love with him.” Grace’s eyes focused on the flickering shadows cast on the floor by the candlelight.

“I know.”

“How do you know?” She was flabbergasted.

“You’re the same as you were with John, only . . .” she trailed off.

“Only?”

“You’re actually you.”

“What does that mean?”

“Well, when you were with John, you only did things he liked, were only friends with his friends, and didn’t have your own interests.”

Grace could tell Valerie was trying to choose her words carefully.

“Now, you and Drew are together, but separate. You both do your own things, but make time to be together. The way you guys look at each other, it’s so obvious.”

“Hmm. I guess I never really thought about that. Now that you mention it though, you’re right.”

She thought back on her years with John and realized what an all-encompassing force he’d been in her life. She’d made friends in college, but never really kept in touch with anyone. John’s friends became her friends. After John died, people paid their respects and checked in on her for the first few months, but then gradually disappeared into their own lives. She loved reading, music, art, and could tour historic sites all day. John liked amusement parks with thrill rides and found her job boring. He wanted to climb mountains, be a daredevil, and most of all, he always wanted to be the hero.

Even after a year, she still felt a wave of guilt wash over her any time she had a negative thought about him. She pushed the feeling away and focused on Drew. He’d taken the time to befriend Valerie. He’d introduced her to his friends, but hadn’t pushed them on her. And he’d taken her to Scotland to see some of the most beautiful historic sites the country had to offer, simply because he thought she’d love it.

“It’s so odd. I remember feeling like I would never stop being sad. Like John was
it
for me.” She snuggled up under her duvet. “I was wrong.”

The storm rattled the windows as she slowly fell asleep on her end of the couch. The sound of the power cutting back on woke her during the early hours of the morning. The fire had burned itself out and the faint smell of wood smoke filled the room. It was ice cold when she lifted her blanket from her body.

“Did we make it?” Valerie’s sleepy voice croaked from under her blanket.

“Yep. Power’s back on, too.”

“Thank God! I hate a cold shower.”

Grace laughed as she got the fire going again and Valerie rose and stretched, stifling a yawn.

“Coffee?” she asked.

“Definitely. What time is it, anyway?” Her eyes were still heavy with sleep.

“Five-forty-five. Ugh!”

“Wimp,” Grace chided.

“Look, some of us like sleep. We covet it, actually. You are some kind of super human who can run on barely five hours of rest.”

“Like I said. Wimp.”

The town was blanketed in heavy snow as Grace walked her usual running route. Her feet, snug in high rain boots and thick wool socks, slipped occasionally as she made slow progress through the town. The cold bit at her skin and her cheeks were already burning.

A tree had fallen down in the town square during the night and had sadly landed on top of the wooden gazebo in its path. The roots of the tree were raised out of the ground, gnarled and twisted with clumps of dirt still holding on.

As she continued through town, she grew increasingly worried about the state of her project. There were many cold-sensitive points during the rebuilding process and the last thing they needed was another delay. She rounded the corner and caught sight of the manor house. The scaffolding was still standing and the structure looked sound.

They were just a few months away from their goal and most of the exterior work was finished. Optimism crept in that they were actually going to finish on time. The roof was going to be the most challenging aspect, and work had already begun on it.

Her phone buzzed in the pocket of her coat while she walked back to the cottage. She used her teeth to remove one glove while she pulled the phone free.

“Hello?”

“Grace, is everything all right there? I saw there was a terrible storm.” Drew’s voice was full of concern, causing a warm feeling to spread through her.

“We made it just fine. Cold, but safe. What about you?”

“Just some flurries here. I think they’ve closed the motorway, though. I don’t know when we’ll be able to get back.”

“Just be careful. Come back when it’s safe to travel.”

“Will do, Miss McConnell.”

The weather remained below freezing for most of the week,
causing major transportation delays. Another heavy snow was in the forecast for Monday afternoon and Grace’s stress level increased with every day that passed.

Due to traffic problems and poor conditions, work on the project was going slowly. Many workers just couldn’t make it in or didn’t want to even try. She spoke to Mick multiple times throughout the weekend to nail down the timeline on the roof project. He assured her that they could get a large amount of work done before the next snowfall on Monday.

An unexpected accumulation of snow fell on Sunday night and when she woke Monday morning, she expected more bad news from Mick about the crew. Surprisingly, however, he had ten workers already at the site. He was confident they’d meet their goal before lunch when the next snowfall was expected to begin.

With Drew stuck in Surrey until the end of the week, she needed something to distract her. Hoping the Braley church project would be clinched soon, she began preliminary research. As she ate her lunch, the sound of sirens wailing in the distance registered dimly in her brain.

“Grace?” Valerie’s voice pulled her attention from the research she was trying to engross herself in.

She raised her eyes from her laptop screen to see Valerie’s ashen face.

“What’s wrong?”

“There’s been an accident at the site. The roof collapsed.”

“Was anyone hurt?”

“I think so. Mick said there were five guys on the roof and three inside when it happened. They’re looking for them now. So far, no one’s been recovered.”

An icy pit formed in Grace’s stomach. She needed to get to the site immediately. Her heart raced as she pulled on her boots and slipped on her coat. She rushed as fast as her feet could go on the slick pavement. Adrenaline coursed through her veins, causing her to shake involuntarily.

The site was a disaster. The flashing lights of emergency responders filled the street and reflected off the snow, red then white. As Grace got closer, she saw two men being carried out on stretchers, awake and talking, but bloodied and battered. She breathed a sigh of relief seeing they were alive, but her heart dropped as she caught sight of another stretcher with a full body bag being loaded into an ambulance.

“Oh, God,” she whispered. Her knees trembled and felt like they were about to give out.

“Grace!” Valerie called out as she made her way toward her.

Grace connected with Valerie and they walked closer to the destruction.

“Someone is dead.”

“Who?”

“I don’t know.”

Mark Ringstad
. His name turned over and over in Grace’s head as she waited for Bidwell to call her back. He was in a meeting when she’d made the international call and his assistant refused to interrupt him.

Mark Ringstad
. He had three children under the age of seven. His wife was named Angela.

Mark Ringstad
. He was only thirty years old and now he was dead because of her.

Her phone rang, the shrill sound causing her to nearly jump out of her skin.

“Grace McConnell.”

“Grace, what is this emergency?” Bidwell sounded irritated.

“Mr. Bidwell, there’s been an accident on site. The roof collapsed after a heavy snow. One worker is dead and two are seriously injured.”

She waited on the line, listening to his heavy breathing.

“Shut down the project immediately. This is bad. Very bad.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Let’s wait to assign blame until we know why this happened. In the meantime, you should know that the town will want us gone until this is cleared up. You and Valerie had better plan on returning ASAP.”

“You sound like you’ve been through this before?”

“Accidents happen, Grace. I’ve been doing this a long time. People get hurt and the first ones to get blamed for something like this are the overseeing architect and the construction foreman. He’s a local guy and you’re the foreigner. Which one of you is easier to get rid of?”

A lump formed in her throat and she had to cough to get the words out. “When do we need to be back?”