Read Online Grace (The Family Simon Book 5) by Juliana Stone - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Juliana Stone
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a little cold out here, dear.”
To say that Grace was surprised to see the little woman pop out from behind him would be an understatement.
Her mouth fell open. “Oh,” she stammered, taking a step back into the house. “I didn’t see you there.”
Dory smiled. “I’m glad that you didn’t. I quite enjoyed the show. Been a while since someone has put Mathew in his place.” She turned to Matt and winked. “I like this one.”
Dory sailed past him and when he attempted to speak to Grace, she held up her hand—actually put it in his face—and shook her head. She stomped off after Dory and disappeared down the hall.
Slowly Matt undid the laces on his boots and shrugged out of his winter gear. Outside the wind still howled, and the snow still fell. It was going to be a long night, he thought, making his way to the back of his house.
Grace was bent over the pen, the smallest pup in her hands, while Dory cooed over Rosie and her babies.
Matt should have been pissed off that his home, his sanctuary, had been invaded. He was a guy who liked solitude. He liked quiet and easy, and Grace Simon was neither one of those things.
And yet it wasn’t anger that coursed through him as he poked about in the kitchen—lit a few more candles and got the chili ready for dinner. He paused, eyes drawn to the other side of the room and something inside him shifted. Grace sat on the sofa beside Dory, listening attentively to whatever it was the older woman was saying. As if she knew, Grace looked up. Their eyes caught and held.
Nope. He wasn’t angry or annoyed or anything like that. For the first time in a long time, Matt Hawkins was content.
Maybe Grace had been right. Maybe this was the end of the world. Or at least, it was the end of the world as he knew it.
9
M att could charm the panties off a nun. Seriously. There was no question. Dory was clearly under his spell and from what little Grace had seen, the woman was no pushover. Heck, it hadn’t taken him more than an hour to crack through Grace’s cold exterior—all her resolve to remain aloof and uncaring slowly slipped away. She couldn’t help herself. When the man’s guard was down his smile was a thing of beauty, and by the time dinner was over, Grace was craving not only his smile, but a whole lot more.
She watched him, from her perch on the sofa, as he chatted with Dory. They were discussing his award-winning chili (apparently he’d taken first prize at the local fall fair) and Dory was trying to figure out his ‘secret’ ingredient. Gosh. A man who could cook. A man who took in injured dogs. And a man who cared enough about an old woman who lived down the road that he would head out into a blizzard in order to make sure she was all right.
Matt Hawkins was a man of contradictions. He pushed as hard as he pulled and Grace wondered if he’d ever let anyone see what was buried inside him. The things he hinted at. The dark things. The things she wanted to know.
You are in trouble girl.
Her cell phone rang and she fingered the device. It was her mother. With her battery running low and no way to charge it, Grace knew she’d run out of time. Eden DuRocher Simon was going to give her hell. No way around it. She hit the accept button, pressed speaker phone by mistake and was still fiddling with the damn thing when her mother’s voice rang out.
“Grace Bluebell Simon.”
Good Lord. The full name had been used. Bluebell was only pulled out when there was hell to pay. This was not going to be good. Grace sprang to her feet and bolted past Matt and Dory to the front hall where hopefully she would have some bit of privacy.
“Mom.”
“Grace, do you love your mother?”
Wonderful. Her mom was going with the guilt thing.
“Mom, please. Let me ex—“
“Because I certainly love all my children even when they make it hard. That is a mother’s cross to bear. Remember when Beau’s appendix burst?”
“What does Beau’s appendix have to do with
To say that Grace was surprised to see the little woman pop out from behind him would be an understatement.
Her mouth fell open. “Oh,” she stammered, taking a step back into the house. “I didn’t see you there.”
Dory smiled. “I’m glad that you didn’t. I quite enjoyed the show. Been a while since someone has put Mathew in his place.” She turned to Matt and winked. “I like this one.”
Dory sailed past him and when he attempted to speak to Grace, she held up her hand—actually put it in his face—and shook her head. She stomped off after Dory and disappeared down the hall.
Slowly Matt undid the laces on his boots and shrugged out of his winter gear. Outside the wind still howled, and the snow still fell. It was going to be a long night, he thought, making his way to the back of his house.
Grace was bent over the pen, the smallest pup in her hands, while Dory cooed over Rosie and her babies.
Matt should have been pissed off that his home, his sanctuary, had been invaded. He was a guy who liked solitude. He liked quiet and easy, and Grace Simon was neither one of those things.
And yet it wasn’t anger that coursed through him as he poked about in the kitchen—lit a few more candles and got the chili ready for dinner. He paused, eyes drawn to the other side of the room and something inside him shifted. Grace sat on the sofa beside Dory, listening attentively to whatever it was the older woman was saying. As if she knew, Grace looked up. Their eyes caught and held.
Nope. He wasn’t angry or annoyed or anything like that. For the first time in a long time, Matt Hawkins was content.
Maybe Grace had been right. Maybe this was the end of the world. Or at least, it was the end of the world as he knew it.
9
M att could charm the panties off a nun. Seriously. There was no question. Dory was clearly under his spell and from what little Grace had seen, the woman was no pushover. Heck, it hadn’t taken him more than an hour to crack through Grace’s cold exterior—all her resolve to remain aloof and uncaring slowly slipped away. She couldn’t help herself. When the man’s guard was down his smile was a thing of beauty, and by the time dinner was over, Grace was craving not only his smile, but a whole lot more.
She watched him, from her perch on the sofa, as he chatted with Dory. They were discussing his award-winning chili (apparently he’d taken first prize at the local fall fair) and Dory was trying to figure out his ‘secret’ ingredient. Gosh. A man who could cook. A man who took in injured dogs. And a man who cared enough about an old woman who lived down the road that he would head out into a blizzard in order to make sure she was all right.
Matt Hawkins was a man of contradictions. He pushed as hard as he pulled and Grace wondered if he’d ever let anyone see what was buried inside him. The things he hinted at. The dark things. The things she wanted to know.
You are in trouble girl.
Her cell phone rang and she fingered the device. It was her mother. With her battery running low and no way to charge it, Grace knew she’d run out of time. Eden DuRocher Simon was going to give her hell. No way around it. She hit the accept button, pressed speaker phone by mistake and was still fiddling with the damn thing when her mother’s voice rang out.
“Grace Bluebell Simon.”
Good Lord. The full name had been used. Bluebell was only pulled out when there was hell to pay. This was not going to be good. Grace sprang to her feet and bolted past Matt and Dory to the front hall where hopefully she would have some bit of privacy.
“Mom.”
“Grace, do you love your mother?”
Wonderful. Her mom was going with the guilt thing.
“Mom, please. Let me ex—“
“Because I certainly love all my children even when they make it hard. That is a mother’s cross to bear. Remember when Beau’s appendix burst?”
“What does Beau’s appendix have to do with
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