Theron's Hope (Brides of Theron) (28 page)

Grace went over to her cousin and enfolded him in her arms.  “Michael, we will be traveling through several worm holes to get back to his planet.  We will be moving at or near the speed of light.  This will change the way time will affect me.  If and when I return, you may be dead and your children might be much older than even me.  That is why it is important that we set this up and think of all of the obstacles that could potentially get in the way.  That is why I came directly to the best lawyer on the planet to see to my affairs.”  She released her hold on him and looked him in the eyes.  She saw the pain in them.  She kissed him on the cheek and said, “I am going to miss you, Em and the kids so much.  I love you all.”  She patted him on the shoulder and started to lead him out of the room. “I know that this is a lot for anyone to digest in one sitting.  Go home and kiss your family and talk to Emily.  We will be just fine here until tomorrow.”

As they approached the door, Jo came in with one of the doormen and the groceries she went out to buy.  Jo could clearly see that Michael was upset.  She was about to go to him and see what was the matter when Zane took a bag from the doorman and offered to help her put away the groceries.  Michael slipped out before the doorman could get into the elevator and pressed down.  She could clearly see he needed a moment alone to gather himself together. 

Grace walked into the kitchen where Jo and Zane were putting away groceries.  Zane was mostly watching and taking things out of the bags and placing them on the counter.  When Jo saw Grace she asked, “Is there anything wrong?  Are the kids alright?  I have never seen Michael so upset.”

“No Jo, he is fine.”  She started to change the subject, “Zane, did I ever tell you how Jo and I first met?”  She looked at him, encouraging him to play along with her.

“No, I don’t believe you have,” he said, inviting her to proceed.

“Jo had just immigrated to the United States from Cuba.  It was not a good time there you see.  They have a dictator and our country had a trade embargo on them.  Even to this day, many people flee Cuba in small boats or rafts trying to make it to the shores of Florida.  All of them come with the hope of starting a life in a country of opportunity and freedom.  Jo and Miguel were luckier though.  They had family that had made it here several years before and they were able to get them a guest visa.  When they arrived they contacted Michael for legal representation to obtain citizenship.  Michael would do a certain percentage of cases pro bono for those of the community in need.  He had also helped Miguel’s siblings get their citizenship.  He had Aunt Marion get her placed with a reputable temporary maid service and Michael hired Miguel to work at the firm cleaning at night.  He is still working there and is now the head custodian.”  Jo was listening to the story smiling, remembering the kindness Grace’s family had shown her.

“When I broke the mold and told my aunt my plans for attending Columbia University and majoring in Journalism, she suggested that I moved to this apartment and to hire a maid to take care of me.  She gave me the number to a temporary to permanent placement company that hired out domestic workers.  I did not know this at the time.  Michael had called them to send Jo first.  Then he told Jo to prepare one of her best food dishes and bring it with her when she came to interview.  He knew that I would need a cook and food was the sure way to win me over.”  She smiled over at Jo.

“That had to be the best food I had eaten all week, hell, all year.  The boarding school didn’t offer foods of varying ethnicity.  They typically stuck to the American standard bland food.  I hired her on the spot and we have been working together ever since.  The truth is I love Jo more than I did my mother.  It makes me feel bad sometimes, but I know why.  She is there for me all the time.  I call her and she comes to take care of me.  Even now she is sacrificing her weekend to help me out.”  She looked at Jo with admiration.  “I love you Jo.  I want you to know that.”

Jo looked at her like a proud parent would look at a prized child.  “I love you too, Miss Grace.”  She smiled and added, “Miguel will be here in two hours and I really need to start cooking dinner.  I have planned a wonderful meal.”  She looked at Zane giving him a sly smile, “It is my husband’s favorite and Grace loves it as well.  It just happens to be what I made her when I first interviewed with her.  You two go off and do something and leave me in here to make dinner.”

Gracie looked at Zane, “How about a walk in the park?”

“I think that would be a nice diversion from an otherwise exciting day.  It will give us time to discuss the board meeting and your Grandmother Agatha.”  He walked over to her taking her hand and kissing her palm.  They made their way out of the door after Grace put on a light coat.  He did not know if tomorrow would be as exciting as today was.  He could clearly see that Grace felt less burdened with Michael knowing the whole story.  What worried him was how Emily would take the news. 

They spent the next hour walking around the park and watching people.  She filled him in on some of Agatha’s most despicable traits as well as some of her more formidable ones.  She was quite a woman.  She was definitely a woman you should never underestimate.  One thing she made clear was that her grandmother was rather hard on her for her decisions and would readily rise to the occasion to call her on it tomorrow with her very critical remarks.  It was important for Zane to hold his tongue when it came to Agatha.

They were on the way back to her apartment when along the trees they heard a loud scream and a man shouting, “Give me your money, Bitch!”  Zane took off like a rocket in the direction of the distress while Grace started chasing after him, calling him to stop.  She grabbed the nearest person to her and asked him to call 911 as she ran as fast as she could in the hope that she would find Zane unharmed.  Who knows if the crazy robber was armed and she knew that he, despite his size and physical strength, was not bullet proof. 

He was out of sight now and she was starting to panic.  How could this be happening?  She lost her parents and siblings and now after just finding the perfect person to share the rest of her life with, would God see fit to deprive her yet again?  She stopped in her tracks to quiet the pounding she heard as her feet struck the ground when she ran.  Her heart was pounding and she was scared.  She heard it then, over the sound of the beating of her heart, the scream and the sound of flesh hitting flesh.  She picked up her pace and ran in the direction of the scream.  Right behind the cover of low branches in the trees she found him trying to subdue the robber. 

The woman he threatened was lying on the ground several feet away from them.  Her nose was bleeding profusely and she was shaking violently and crying.  He has a gun!  Oh my God, he has a gun!  The man was much smaller and no match for him physically but all he needed was one lucky shot and her life could change forever.  Would she be able to overcome the grief of losing Zane?  She never wanted to find out. She had never loved anyone like this before.

Zane wrestled with the robber and the gun in the robber’s hand was pointed straight up.  She heard the loud report of the gun fire up into the trees followed by the sound of birds flying away in frenzy, chirping madly and bark flying from where the bullet struck the tree branch.  “Please God, please, don’t take him from me,” she pleaded.  Just then she heard a crack as Zane broke the arm that was holding the gun.  The gun fell to the ground with a clunk.  That was when she made her move and picked up the gun and pointed it directly at the men.  She shouted, “Freeze! Don’t move a muscle or I swear I will shoot!”  She checked the chambers in the cylinder of the revolver and saw that the gun was loaded.  “Zane, are you alright?”

Zane had his full attention on the attacker and worked to subdue him further.  “I am fine Grace, please check on the woman.”  She bent over the woman and asked her if she was alright, never letting Zane out of her line of sight.  The victim was quite shaken but otherwise alright.  Her nose looked like it was broken but she was a really lucky girl that Grace’s warrior chose to respond to her distress call.  Most of the people in the park would have ignored it and maybe just called the police and by then she might have been dead.  She heard the woman say her thanks to God for sending someone to help her. 

Just as Zane had the man contained the police broke through the trees. They looked towards Grace with the gun and told her to drop the gun.  She carefully and slowly placed the gun on the ground and backed away from it sitting next to the victim and began to explain to the policeman what her and Zane interrupted.  The cops took their statements and contact information while Zane checked the woman, setting the bones of her broken nose, and he continued to stay with her until the paramedics arrived on the scene.  The victim hugged her savior and thanked him for saving her as she was being loaded onto a stretcher for transport to the nearest hospital.  When they were released from questioning they made their way back to the apartment.

“You could have been killed!”  Grace said with a hint of anger. 

“To ignore her screams would have been equivalent to murdering her myself Grace.  I could not live with that on my conscience.”  He stopped and turned to look at her in the eyes.  He said softly, “You are crying.  Why?”  He wiped away the tears that were lining her cheek with his large fingers.

“I thought that maybe it was just my luck to lose the most important person in my life just after I finally found you.  It would have been even more tragic than losing my whole family in a burning building.”  She put her arms around him.  “I couldn’t bear to lose you Zane.  I don’t think that I would have wanted to live a life without you in it.”

“Don’t you worry, my love, I see a long and happy life for us.  I am sorry that I have upset you this much but I knew with my training, the criminal did not have a chance in hell,” he smiled at her and this did little to comfort her.

“All he needed was one lucky shot and you could have died.  I feel bad for the woman right now.  We will not be able to testify and the creep will probably walk away for this.  Hopefully, they can get him for something that will stick.  Let’s go home,” she said as they walked back to her apartment building. When they entered they smelled the mouthwatering aroma of Cuban cuisine. 

Dinner was fabulous and Miguel instantly liked Zane after finding that his intimidating size was no match for his humbling nature.  This is how she wanted to spend the rest of her day.  She wanted Jo to know how much she meant to her, how much Miguel meant to her.  This way maybe after she left and Jo was given the keys to the apartment, she would accept this act of kindness from someone who truly wanted to pay it forward to a woman she could honestly say took care of her in the toughest of times.  Jo was a woman that she truly admired.

Zane woke up early that morning.  He had been sleeping longer than usual lately and by 4am he was fully awake and could no longer sleep.  He watched Grace for a little while as she lay on the bed, naked but for the sheet that covered her.  The last two days had been amazing.  She was adventurous in the bed and willing to try anything.  Like putty in his hands she would mold herself into any shape he wished.  He hoped it would always be like this. 

He carefully got out of the bed, trying his hardest not to wake her as he slipped on his jeans and the long sleeve thick Henley shirt, socks and running shoes he brought down from the ship. The tailor had come through and all the remaining suits and clothes he owed her were accounted for so he would be well dressed for the board meeting this morning.  He went into the kitchen and made himself a cup of coffee and brought it out to the balcony.  It was a bit cold outside so he went in and grabbed a thick fleece blanket from the living room and wrapped it around his shoulders. 

His thoughts kept drifting to the activities of last night.  He thought about the softness of her inner thighs as he tasted her.  How she cried out when he brought her great pleasure.  The way her toes curled when she had an orgasm.  The way it felt when she returned the favor by taking him into her mouth and letting him spill his seed all over her breasts.  He thought about the bath that they enjoyed together after, and how the water was getting cold before they made any attempt to get out.