Read Online Saving Gracie by Kristen Ethridge - Free Book Online Page A

grandmother?”
    “In Mexico. She doesn’t like to travel, so we have to go see her. And it’s always been hard for my parents to get time off from running their restaurant.”
    “I know how that feels. I didn’t see Nana much during my years in Austin.” His eyes fixed on the red light ahead. “Of course, most of that was my own doing.”
    His last words trailed off and he changed the subject.
    “Look at the clouds over the water. The sky looks like it’s on fire.” The setting sun turned the clouds a faint purple, set off by a backdrop of flaming orange.
    “God paints a pretty picture, doesn’t He?” Gracie joined in the admiration.
    Jake didn’t answer. Silence fell between them, like a thousand down feathers filling all the spaces in the small cabin of the car. First it tickled gently, fluffily, but then the sharper edges reached out and poked her, making the presence of the quiet too obvious for comfort.
    Gracie rubbed the cotton folds of her skirt together, then hesitated, not wanting to squirm too obviously.
    “Do you have to be anywhere right now?” Jake asked.
    “Well, I thought we were going to your house to get the part.” Wasn’t he going to help her with the car repair?
    “We still are.” His blade-sharp tone cut through her questioning mind. “Do you have time to take a walk on the beach?”
    In the short time since Jake had walked into Gracie’s life, she’d seen many sides of him. Authoritative. Impatient. Driven.
    Never impulsive.
    Without waiting for her answer, he pulled the car into a parking spot close to the water’s edge, demonstrating a trait Gracie did recognize: decisiveness.
    She couldn’t figure this out. “Why, Jake?”
    He shut off the ignition, then rested his fingers on the door handle. “You said it yourself, Gracie. God painted a pretty picture tonight on the horizon. And Pastor Ruiz talked about walking earlier.”
    “He used a metaphor. I don’t think he really meant for you to take up a new fitness routine.”
    Jake opened the door and stepped out quickly to avoid the passing traffic on Gulfview Boulevard. He came around to Gracie’s door and reached his hand inside, beckoning her to join him. “I’m not, Gracie. Something the pastor said spoke to me tonight, and I wanted to take his advice.”
    His hand lingered inside the car, waiting for Gracie’s action.
    Just over Jake’s shoulder, she could see a seagull cruising effortlessly on the breeze. Did the seagulls question why they soared? Or did they just trust that the wind would carry them?
    Could she trust Jake’s invitation? Or was it just another calculated move in their game of real estate chess?
    The words in her mind muddled together instead of forming a quick prayer as she’d wanted. She could only hope God knew what lay in her heart at this moment. And then, as she felt the breeze dance through her hair, an answer came in the form of another carefree bird riding above the waves in front of her.
    Like the seagull, she needed to trust.
    She lifted her hand and laid it cautiously in Jake’s palm.
    He squeezed and tugged back, helping pull her out of the car. His fingertips felt warm as they brushed the center of her wrist, causing the blood in her veins to tingle with awareness. Tonight, she and Jake weren’t at her school or her church. She couldn’t bolster her confidence with familiar surroundings or faces.
    A hermit crab without a shell could not have felt any more defenseless.
    They walked down a few concrete stairs, then stepped onto the unstable surface of the beach. Her feet pushed small dents in the sand.
    “You said you liked something Pastor Ruiz talked about?” She needed to know why Jake had changed their plans. She needed to wrap reason and order around her shoulders. Standing without her light sweater made Gracie cold in spite of the early summer evening.
    “He made me realize I didn’t handle myself professionally last night.” They walked along the edge of the shoreline,