Free Embrace Me by Jo Matthews, Rebecca Turley, Sally Goodwin, Elizabeth Simonton Page A

at him, a little confused. Had my mother told him everything? How dare she! It was none of Mac’s business.
    “ Shan.” I breathed in relief as I heard Charlie’s voice from behind me. As I turned, I could see that he had noticed Mac. “Who is your friend?”
    “ You must be Charlie.” Mac held his hand out to shake it. “I’m Harry Mac.”
    “ Nice to meet you,” Charlie replied, shaking his hand like he was a little uninterested. “Shan, are you okay?” I nodded as he pulled me into his arms.
    “ Sorry, Charlie, it was my fault,” Lorna blurted out. “I was shouting at Tim Scott.”
    “ Tim Scott?” Charlie yelled. I could feel his arms tighten around me.
    “ It was my fault really,” Mac interrupted. “Megan Field finished with him. I was trying to help mend his broken heart.”
    “ Out of all the places you could have brought him, you bring him to New York!” Charlie yelled towards Mac.
    “ I didn’t see the harm,” Mac said as he shrugged his shoulders.
    “ Charlie, don’t,” I whispered, clutching his chest. “Mac doesn’t know anything.”
    “ Come on, let’s get you girls home. Bradley is waiting in the car,” Charlie replied, pulling me with him. I mouthed ‘sorry’ to Mac.
    “ I’ll see you lovely ladies soon!” Mac called as he disappeared into the crowd.
    “ Jerk,” Charlie muttered. I wasn’t sure if I was meant to hear it or not, but there was so much hatred in his tone. It wasn’t like him.
    Bradley was waiting in the car and laughed at the state Lorna was in.
    “ What did you do to her?” he teased as I sat in the front with Charlie.
    “ Nothing,” I replied innocently.
    “ Why don’t we believe you,” Charlie laughed, taking my hand in his. “She isn’t going to be sick in my car, is she?”
    “ I thought you cared about me, Charlie,” Lorna moaned.
    “ I do. I just care about my car more.” I had to laugh as Lorna grunted at him.
    “ Leave my girl alone, Collins,” Bradley teased, “or I will tell her to be sick in your car.”
    “ Can everyone stop talking about me being sick?!” Lorna yelled, putting her head between her knees.
    “ Did you have a nice night, Grace?” Bradley asked, changing the subject. “What do you think of these two crazy girls?”
    “ Crazy? Thanks, Brad,” I called. Charlie squeezed my hand and then brought it up to his lips to kiss my knuckles.
    “ Grace knows what I mean.”
    “ I had a great night, even though I had no idea what was going on with Mac and that other guy. Why were you shouting at him, Lorna? Who was he?”
    I could feel Charlie’s hand tense on the steering wheel.
    “ Are you going to tell her or should I?” Lorna asked.
    I turned to look at Grace. “I don’t know where to start,” I sighed, looking back at Charlie. Grace deserved the truth. I trusted her just as much as everyone else in this car, so I decided it was time. “Okay, well…I’m Jennet Downing’s long-lost daughter, and the reason everyone in this car hates the Field family so much, is because they know the Fields tried to blackmail me into marrying William Field.”
    “ Holy Shit!” Grace was speechless for a few minutes until she spoke again. “They blackmailed you? How?”
    “ They told Shannon they would kill me,” Charlie answered, knowing I hated saying those words. He was my weakness, and I would do it all again if it involved saving his life.
    “ Oh. My. God!” Grace slumped back in shock.
    “ Are you really Jennet’s daughter?” she finally asked as Charlie pulled up outside her apartment a while later.
    “ Yes,” I smiled. “It all becomes public in a few months.”
    “ Shit, well, this is kind of different from my quiet life in Texas,” she laughed.
    “ Grace,” Bradley muttered, “you don’t know the half of it.” We all laughed at that.
    I knew this life was a long way from how Grace had lived before. Her parents ran my mother’s ranch in Texas, and I was sure the fast pace of New York must have