Free Saving Gracie by Kristen Ethridge

waves in the distance continued their swells and rolls as Gracie’s emotions came crashing back to the sand.
    She felt betrayed by her own impulsiveness. She couldn’t believe she was making the same mistakes again—thinking with her heart, not with her head. Hadn’t she learned anything from her time with David?
    She had to remember that the same Jake Peoples who had mesmerized her just moments ago could steal her dreams and her future with just one vote from his friends on City Council.
    She could not allow him to steal her heart.

Chapter Five
    J ake tried to use the soft sand beneath his feet to explain feeling off balance. It couldn’t be that walking near Gracie Garcia rocked his world.
    Jake couldn’t let the moment pass without saying something. But what? What sense could he make of the unexpected, wordless moment that clearly lay on them both with an undeniable weight? He couldn’t just ignore it, much as he wanted to play it cool.
    Before he could match words with his racing emotions, Gracie spoke.
    “We should probably go. My car needs to be fixed before everyone comes out and sees me with you. People are beginning to ask questions about the closing of the school, and after you showed up tonight...” She paused, looking out at the waves. “Well, I just don’t want to have to answer everyone’s questions.”
    Like a surfboard standing in the sand, a wall went up between the two of them. He immediately sensed the barrier’s instant appearance.
    Many dates in Jake’s youth ended on this very stretch of beach. Most of them finished with a kiss. But all that sloppy teenage ardor couldn’t compare to the surge of adrenaline that filled him when Gracie stood near. In the past, he could always tell when the feelings were mutual.
    Now, though, Jake couldn’t read Gracie. He knew he hadn’t imagined her arms around his neck. He couldn’t possibly have made up the tingle at the top of his spine when she threaded her narrow fingers through his hair.
    Maybe he’d just made more out of the events because he hadn’t been here in so long. Maybe he really wasn’t the family businessman who could accurately assess a situation and react accordingly. Maybe he remained the lawyer from Austin who got caught up in what he wanted to see instead of what was actually there.
    Without a word, he turned toward the car.
    The corner lot holding the Victorian house in which Jake’s grandmother lived sprawled across half a city block. As they pulled through the back gate near the refurbished carriage house Jake rented from Nana, he noticed Gracie’s head turn slightly.
    Was she wondering how many of the modest homes from the neighborhood surrounding Gracie’s church would fit within Nana’s ornate wrought-iron fence? Jake had never thought about Nana’s estate in those terms before, but now he couldn’t help it.
    Gracie didn’t let out so much as one syllable to help Jake understand her thoughts. In fact, she hadn’t uttered a single word since she’d asked Jake to leave the beach. Thankfully, the drive didn’t last long. Each passing minute stuffed more awkward silence into the car, pressing around them until he noticed that there remained very little room to even breathe.
    “I’ll be right back.” He couldn’t get out of the car fast enough, but then slowed his gait in order to give himself the maximum amount of time away from the uncomfortable quiet.
    The workshop adjacent to the garage opened with the same key that had been under the mat for years. Jake went straight to the upright toolbox in the back corner and pulled out a narrow red drawer on the third row, then rummaged through a small plastic box. Pulling the rusted screw out of his pocket, Jake compared it to a new one to make sure it matched. Satisfied, he pushed the drawer back in, walked over to the door and locked up.
    The whole trip to the workshop couldn’t have lasted more than two minutes. Jake wished it could have eaten more time off the clock.