Read Online Saving Gracie by Kristen Ethridge - Free Book Online

carefully stepped back toward Jake.
    Tinkering with the battery, the executive looked completely out of place, still dressed in his office attire. This neighborhood was known more for blue jeans and blue collars. Jake’s crested, collared knit shirt and starched trousers stood out.
    Absently, he reached his hand down and wiped it on the twill. A greasy streak stood out clearly just above the knee. “Oh, no, Jake. Your pants.”
    He looked down and shrugged. “Typical. I get so lost in a project that I forget to keep track of what’s going on around me. Don’t worry about it. That’s what dry cleaners are for.” Jake reached for the flashlight, then shone it around the top of the battery. “Yep, there’s your problem. See that ring?”
    Gracie craned her neck around the edge of the hood and looked at the clamp on one pole of the battery. She nodded.
    “It’s supposed to be on tight to give a good connection, but for some reason, your screw is rusted out and now it’s loose. All the salt air down here is hard on car parts. You’ll need a new screw.”
    “Can I make it home?”
    “Afraid not. Your battery isn’t making the connection. It’s a pretty easy fix, though. I’m sure I’ve got a part at my place that will work.”
    “Oh, well...that’s okay. I’m sure someone will be out soon who can take me home.” Gracie did not want to owe Jake Peoples anything. Not even one measly piece of metal.
    “Gracie, everyone just sat down to dinner. Port Provident isn’t that big—I live about ten minutes from here.” He pointed east, in the direction of the island’s largest collection of historic homes. “We can have your car fixed before everyone finishes eating. There’s no sense in interrupting everyone’s dinner or making you wait any longer.”
    His tone didn’t surprise Gracie. She’d heard it before. The businessman with all the answers.
    Unfortunately, she couldn’t argue with him. Unlike his insistence on closing her school, this time, his plan made sense. If he could fix the problem quickly, there wasn’t any need to disrupt her family and friends while they ate.
    The issue of being beholden to Jake, though, felt like an itch in an unreachable place. It bothered her. But there wasn’t really anything she could do about it right now.
    “Okay. Thanks for the offer.” One little round half inch of metal couldn’t cost that much in obligation, anyway. She picked up her things off the front seat of the car and followed him down the sidewalk.
    * * *
    Jake jogged in front of Gracie, reaching out to open the passenger door. His small act of chivalry surprised her. Except for her father, she couldn’t remember a man opening a car door for her.
    “Okay, we should have you fixed up in no time.” Jake angled the steering wheel ever so slightly to the left, pulling onto the street.
    “Thanks again. You really didn’t have to do this.”
    “Gracie, my nana would never forgive me if I’d left a lady stranded in a parking lot with a broken-down car.” He flashed a quick grin.
    “Your nana?” She knew Jake led a family business, but for some silly reason never thought of him as having a family.
    “My father’s mother. Her favorite author is Emily Post.”
    Gracie laughed. “I love to read, but even I wouldn’t take an etiquette book down to the beach.”
    “Nana would. And when she’d finished refreshing her memory on proper knife and fork placement, she’d take out monogrammed notecards and a fountain pen to catch up on correspondence.”
    “She sounds very proper.”
    “Oh, yes. Her family’s been a fixture here in Port Provident since before the Great Storm of 1910.” Jake guided the car onto Gulfview Boulevard. “But most people love her because she has a heart as vast as that water over there.”
    “Sounds like she’d be a good grandmother. I miss my abuela. ”
    “That’s Spanish for ‘grandmother,’ right?”
    Gracie nodded. “It is.”
    “So, where is your