Sticks and Stones (20 page)

          He flattened
the paper onto the coffee table, moving a treenware bowl out of the way. Grace
glanced at the paper as she ripped the seam from the candy bar wrapper and
sneered. “Really Ben? How the fuck is that drawing of our dream home supposed
to make me feel better?”

          She stood in a
huff and paced the room, chewing on a large bite of chocolate and gripping the
stone in her other hand. “A home that we’re never gonna have because she ruined
our relationship…with your help, I might add!”

          Ben lifted his
hands in apology as Tilda stormed in the front door. “Poppet! We must talk! You
mustn’t use black magic to avenge Janice!”

          “Whoa!” Ben
yelped. “Gracie, what are you planning?”

          Grace’s eyes
narrowed. “To repay the bitch for everything she’s done to me.”

*        *        *

          Rick made it to
Grace’s house in record time. When he pulled up to her house another car pulled
behind his car.

          He spotted the
suit’s car parked in the driveway and cursed.
Good
, he thought.
I’m
in the mood to kick someone’s ass and it might as well be his!

         
“Rick?” a female voice called out as
he got out of the car.

          He turned and
smiled. “Mrs. Ryan?”

          Kim nodded and
came closer. “My, you’re tall!” she giggled.

          Patrick
extended his hand. “Hi, I’m Patrick and this is Kim.”

          Rick gripped
Patrick’s hand tightly. “Nice to meet you both.”

          “Hopefully
you’ve come to talk my best girl out of doing something irrational,” Patrick
replied with a sigh.

*        *        *

          Ben dashed into
the kitchen after Grace, Chewy hot on his heels with her back arched. Ben
brought his foot back to kick her, but Chewy leapt out of the way with a hiss.

           “You can’t be
serious, Gracie! Janice has these new…powers or whatever! I don’t think
you’re…”

          “Don’t think
I’m what, Ben? Stronger than she is?” she hissed, searching the kitchen drawers
for more chocolate.

          “No. She’s
evil,” he clarified, cupping her cheek. “Babe, you’re not like her. Please
don’t start now.”

          Grace pulled
away from his touch.

          The slight
stung him, but he kept talking. “Look, you and I can work things out and get
back to where we used to be. I can take care of you, Grace.
Let
me take
care of you.”

          Unable to find
another candy bar, she shook her head and finished off her liquid concoction.
“I don’t feel that way for you anymore Ben.”

          He rubbed the
back of his neck and walked towards her. “Is it the hockey player? The one who
sleeps around?”

          Grace spun
around and glared. “His name is Rick and he’s never questioned my religion, in
fact, he’s interested in it! He accepts me, stretch marks and all! He’s a
wonderful dancer, a good listener and he makes me feel…special.”

          Ben gasped, “My
god, you’re falling for him!”

          She shook her
head. “Nope. I’ve already fallen.” She turned and refilled her glass. After
taking a healthy swig she giggled. “I might only be a passing fancy for him,
but I’m going to enjoy every single minute.”

*        *        *

          Rick’s heart
soared and sank at her words. How could he prove to her that his feelings were
real and not a manifestation created by the psycho witch from hell?

          His large frame
filled the kitchen doorway.

          Ben scowled,
causing Grace to turn.

          “Do your magic,
Grace. Check to see if there’s a spell on me,” Rick shrugged. “I think you’ll
find my feelings are true.”

          Grace lifted
her hands. “In the words of F. Scott, ‘I don’t care about the truth. I want
some happiness’.”

          Rick smirked
and walked towards her. He tenderly ran the back of his fingers down her cheek.
“Now I’ve got you quoting Fitzgerald.”

          Ben rolled his
eyes and snorted. “I can tell you right now he’s not in love with you. Look at
him! What would a hot shot punk want with an older woman?”

          Reginald loomed
over Ben and using every ounce of energy possible, he appeared and roared, “GET
OUT!”

          Ol’ Ben pissed
his pants while running for his car.

          Rick smirked at
Reginald. “Damn, you scared him off before I could introduce my fist to his
face.”

          “My good sir, I
didn’t want you to stoop to his level,” Reginald bowed.

          Kim wrung her
hands and entered the kitchen. “Grace, I know you’re upset about Janice, but
honey, you mustn’t retaliate. Remember the Three-Fold Law.”

          “What’s that?”
Rick questioned.                  

          “For good or
ill, shall be returned to us threefold,” Grace sighed. “So, if I do something
nefarious against her, it’ll be returned to me three times worse.”

          “Well, isn’t
there something that you can do?” Rick mumbled.

          Grace lifted a
shoulder. “I can ask the God and Goddess for justice to be done.”

          Tilda nodded.
“That’s right Poppet. Your hands won’t get dirty and Janice will reap what she
sows.”

          Kim wrapped an
arm around Graces shoulders. “Promise me you won’t do anything foolish.”

          “Promise,” Grace muttered
mulishly.

*        *        *

          Although it was
nice meeting Grace’s parents, Rick was relieved when they finally left. His lip
quirked when Grace closed the door and leaned against it.

          “Jeesh! They
acted like I was going to commit murder!” she groused.

          Rick lifted a
shoulder. “They’re worried about you. You didn’t put up much of a fight with
them I noticed.”

          She nodded and
wrapped her arms around him, nuzzling her face into his chest. “Yeah, but only
because I pulled this from my bag,” she muttered, handing him the stone.

          “What’s this?”
he frowned.

          “It’s the
Nauthiz stone. I pulled it from my bag yesterday, in the reverse position and
basically what it means is that I need to think twice before acting on
something. This stone is the only thing that’s saving Janice’s ass right now.”

          Unsure what to
say he gripped her tightly and ran a hand down her hair. “Now what shall we
do?”

          “Run away,” she
giggled.

          Rick cocked his
head. “Really? Where’d you like to go?”

          “I’m not picky.
But I’d like to take a long, hot bath first.”

          Chewy mewed at
them and leapt into Rick’s arms.

          “Chewy!” Grace
reprimanded. “Are you okay?”

          “Yeah, she took
me off-guard,” he grinned, rubbing Chewy behind the ears. “Why don’t you take a
bath while Chewy and I discuss travel plans.”

*        *        *

          Grace held the
velvet bag tightly and sat on the bed. She cleared her mind and took a deep
breath before plucking out a stone. Slowly, she opened her eyes and stared at
the stone between her fingertips. Relief covered her face as she stared at the
Raidho stone. It was in the upright position, meaning a journey was in her
future. With that pleasant thought she grabbed her sleep shirt as well as a new
book and headed towards the bathroom for a long soak.

          The warm water
felt soothing, so she plunged deeper into the tub keeping her book above the
water. It was a book she’d been itching to read.
The Wild Knight Eoghan
by Camryn Corrigan and Margaret O’Mara. The time travel book ranked number one
on the charts. She dug into the thick book and entered another world.

*        *        *

          “So now you
know why I need to get Grace away from here,” Rick mumbled into the phone.

          Chase rubbed
his jaw. “I knew Janice was a whacked out bitch when I met her.”

          Rick overheard
Emily in the background. “What did she say?”

          “Great idea
Em!” Chase praised. “Em says you and Grace should use our house in Florida.
I’ll have the caretaker get it ready for you. You’ll like it; it’s right on the
beach.”

          “Seriously?”

          “Did I stutter?
Don’t worry about a thing. I’ll have Darcy set up your flight, limo ride, the
works.”

*        *        *

          Rick didn’t
want to interrupt her, but she’d been in the bathroom for over an hour.  He
knocked gently and when she didn’t respond, he panicked and threw open the
door.

          Grace nearly
dropped her book into the water at the disturbance.

          He blushed.
“Sorry. I knocked, but you didn’t answer. I was a little worried.”

          She teasingly
arched an eyebrow. “Surrreee.”

          Rick couldn’t
help but gape at her. The bubbles had nearly dissolved, exposing her private
parts. She cleared her throat, breaking him from a trance-like state.

          “Chewy and I
made travel plans and want to share them with you.”

          “Can you take
my book for me?” she asked, holding it out to him.

          “Yeah,” he
replied huskily. “I’d rather dry you off, though.” He made no attempt to hide
the fact that he was gaping at her.

          She motioned
with her head. “My towel’s on the shelf.”

          He placed her
book on the built-in maple cabinet and reached for the thick purple towel while
Grace removed the shower head and rinsed the remaining soap bubbles from her
body.

          Rick held the
towel open and she gripped his shoulder as she stepped from the tub. He wrapped
the towel around her and held her in place as he planted kisses on the back of
her neck.

          Grace tilted
her head, giving him easier access. Having her hair up in a clip had its advantages!
She began to feel light-headed, unsure if it was the alcohol, the hot water
from the bath or his kisses, and began to sway slightly.

          He ran his nose
along her neck. “My kisses make you unsteady, huh?”

          She murmured,
“You always make me feel woozy.”

          He grinned and
began rubbing the towel gently over her breasts, then lower to the tops of her
thighs.

          The act, so
sensual, she nearly expired on the spot.

          Rick sank to
his knees, continuing to dry and plant moist kisses along her lower back, down to
her ass.

          Her legs
quivered with each soft, gentle kiss.

          After he dried
the back of her legs, he turned her and continued kissing her stomach, then
lower still. She rested her hands on his shoulders when his tongue grazed
between her legs.

          “Aahhh,” she
moaned, gripping his shoulders tightly.

          He nipped the
soft folds, inserting two fingers inside her. Instinctively, her body arched
toward him. His lips quirked into a smile over her skin.

          Grace buried
her hands into his thick hair, panting. She’d been with Ben for four years and
he’d never put so much effort into lovemaking. Okay, there was that one time
with whip cream, but that hardly compared to what Rick was doing to her now.

          ‘Course, he’d
been around and knew what he was doing, she supposed. Kicking that unpleasant
thought to the curb, she held on as waves of ecstasy throbbed through her.

*        *        *

          Snug in bed,
Grace eagerly watched Rick undress. The man definitely had a rockin’ body. He
knew she was gaping and tried to stifle a laugh.

          Unzipping his
jeans he brought a fingertip to the corner of his mouth. “Ya have some drool,”
he teased her.

          Grace rolled
her eyes at him, but touched the corner of her mouth anyway and scowled when
she felt wetness. “I’m sure you’re used to drooling girls. Your ego must be
huge.”

          He lifted the
bed sheet and covered her body with his. Playfully, he kissed the tip of her
nose. “Girls, yeah. Women, no. As for my ego? Not as big as you’d think.” With
the straightest face he could muster he added, “They only wanted to sleep with
me. Can you imagine?”

          Grace pushed
his chest, giggling. “Those harlots! Only wanting you for your body!”

          “Right?” he
quipped, nuzzling her neck.

          She ran her
hands along the length of his smooth back, sighing happily.