Sticks and Stones by Kerrie Dubrock Read Free Book Online Page B

doors
and broke my heel in the process!”
              Blake gasped,
“Not the Louboutin’s!”
              Rick rolled his
eyes. Sometimes his brother sounded girly.
              “Yep,” Grace
nodded sadly. “Anyway, if Rick hadn’t been there, I’d have fallen on my face.”
              She gazed at
the brothers and frowned. “For brothers, you two don’t look alike.” Blake had
black hair and killer blue eyes and Rick had sandy brown hair and dreamy hazel
bedroom eyes. She cocked her head and noticed that they were about the same
height and shared dimples. Other than that, that’s where the similarities
ended.
              “Damn! You two
are brothers?” Zee grinned, sidling closer to Rick.
              Blake scowled
at his little brother and pushed him towards the door. “Thanks for helping
Grace. I’ll call you tonight.”
              Rick held his ground
and kept his gaze on Grace. “She can’t drive with a swollen ankle so I’ll take
her home.”
              Maybe it was
his steely resolve or the way he lifted an eyebrow, daring Blake to push the
issue that made Grace intervene. “Blake, Rick can drive me home. I’ll figure
out a way to fetch my car tomorrow.”
              “Or, I could drive your car
and Blake and Max can pick me up later so I can get my car,” Rick offered.
    *        *        *
              “What the hell
is going on with Grace and the hockey player?” Ben yelled into the phone at
Max.
              “Whoa! Slow
down, Ben. Grace and who?” Max replied.
              Ben took a deep
breath. “I just saw Grace and some hockey player,” he sneered. “Is she dating
him?”
              “I have no idea
what you’re talking about and even if I did, what business is it of yours? If I
remember correctly you dumped her,” Max growled into the phone.
              Ben sat in the
parking garage and rubbed his forehead. “I know and I made a huge mistake.”
     
    *        *        *
              After she gave
Rick directions to her house, Grace gazed out the window and wondered what Ben
wanted to talk about. She shook her head angrily. It didn’t matter.
              “Who is he?”
Rick murmured.
              She whipped her
head around. “Huh?”
              “The suit. Who
is he?”
              “My old
boyfriend,” she mumbled.
              Rick turned his
head to gauge her face. “And what’s he to you now?”
              She sighed sadly. “A
memory.”
    *        *        *
     
              Rick placed the
icepack on Grace’s elevated ankle and walked to the mantle to check out the
photos. He grinned when he saw a younger Grace smiling back at him, surrounded
by a man and woman. “These your folks?” She cocked her head and nodded. “Do you
want to call them?”
              “Well, I could,
but they’re gone.”
              He settled
beside her and took her hand. “Grace, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”
              She laughed and
nudged his shoulder playfully. “They’re not dead! They’re in Ireland
researching our Celtic roots.”
              Rick blushed.
“Oh. Well, that sounds interesting.” He glanced around the small living room
and smiled. “I like this room, it’s cozy and I might add, well decorated.”
              The walls were
painted deep red, not something Rick was used to. In fact, many would say his
condo was stark in comparison. A cream colored over-stuffed chair and ottoman
sat to the right of the fireplace and an antique looking couch sat under the
bay window.
              “That’s an
interesting couch,” he murmured.
              “It’s a
fainting couch from the 1800’s. One of my prized possessions,” she replied.
“And here comes another,” she smiled when