"Hey beautiful! Wait up!" Peter yelled and Callie stopped walking and waited for him. He wrapped her tight in a hug and she pulled away and glared at him when she saw the coal ash smudged all over her white work dress.

"Dang you, Peter! I wanted to look nice for Grayson." she said. Peter looked her up and down and winked.

"You still look pretty damn good to me." Callie just laughed and shook her head. "So have you got plans for dinner?" Peter asked.

"Yes. Grayson should be coming into town anytime now and we're going to eat at the diner." The lopsided grin left Peter's face and he looked at her very seriously.

"Are you spending the night with him again tonight?"

"So what if I am?" Callie asked crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at him. "That is none of your business."

"Don't get your bloomers in a bunch, Callie, I'm just trying to look out for you. I don't want to see you get hurt again."

"I don't need your protection when it comes to Gray. He won't hurt me." she replied curtly. Peter nodded and he wrapped his arm tight around her shoulders and kissed her temple.

"Come on, beautiful, I'll walk you to the diner and stay with you until the big guy gets here."

"You better get your arm off of me before the big guy gets here or else he's liable to remove it for you." Callie teased. Peter snorted and squeezed her tighter.

"I'm not afraid of him. Nobody is going to keep me away from my Callie."

"Oh really?" Grayson's deep voice said from behind them. Callie saw every ounce of blood drain from Peter's face and his slight double chin worked up and down in fear. He put distance between himself and Callie before turning around.

"Well hi there, Grayson." he said with false enthusiasm "We were just talking about you." Grayson nodded and Callie laughed at the amusement on his face. Grayson was clearly enjoying Peter's obvious discomfort.

"Leave him alone, Gray." she said walking to him and raising on her toes so she could kiss his cheek.

"I wouldn't want to come between him and his Callie." Grayson replied doing his best to sound angry. Although Callie could tell it was an act, it was clear that Peter could not.

"Uh.. I was uh.. That is to say Callie and I are just…" Peter realized he was mumbling so he shut his mouth with a snap.

"Go get us a table, Callie, I want to talk to Peter." Grayson said.

"Gray…" Callie's tone was full of warning. Grayson pointed toward the diner.

"Go, Callie. I'll leave him in one piece, I promise." Callie looked between the two men. Grayson's expression showed that he expected to be listened to and Peter's expression was begging her to stay and protect him. She couldn't help but walk away to the diner. She still owed Peter for teasing her about seeing her bloomers when she'd climbed out of Annie's window.

Grayson watched her until she disappeared into the diner and he heard Peter shifting his feet nervously beside him.

"You never were very good at keeping that lost puppy dog look off of your face whenever she would walk away from you." Peter said. Grayson just shrugged and turned back to Peter.

"Like you said, I never have been good enough for her but for some reason she wants to be with me." he said. Peter's face paled.

"You heard me at the docs?" he asked. Grayson nodded.

"Yeah. I believe you called me a hot headed bastard, a son of a bitch and you said something about pissing on my grave, which wasn't very nice by the way."

"Sorry about that." Peter said. "Callie is my best friend and I'm protective of her." Grayson nodded.

"Thank you for looking out for her the last few years." he said. Peter looked at Grayson with surprise. He had expected Grayson to break his jaw for saying what he had said or at least yell at him… What he hadn't expected was for the man to say thank you.

"Sure Grayson." he replied. "Now go eat some dinner with the woman. She's been waiting a long time for you to come back." Grayson nodded and walked away. Peter watched him go into the diner and he prayed that this didn't end with Callie having her heart broken yet again.

888

Thomas Whitaker was fuming as he sat alone inside his home with only his whiskey bottle for company. He had spoken to Raymond Collier again today and Raymond had let him know it would be two weeks before his cousin would be in town.

Two weeks was a long time and plenty of time for Callie to marry Grayson because Callie was not the type of woman to want a fancy wedding. Thomas had let Raymond know that even if Callie married Grayson before Thomas could kill him, the will was to remain a secret. The lives of Raymond's wife and son depended on it. Even if Grayson and Callie married before Raymond's cousin arrived Thomas would still kill Grayson and make Callie a widow and then he would marry her and take Frank Logan's fortune.

Thomas would leave Callie and Grayson alone for a while. He would wait until their guard was down and then he would figure out a way to kill Grayson once and for all. He leaned back in his chair and stretched his legs out in front of him. He took a long drink of whiskey and smiled to himself. It wouldn't be long now and he would be a rich man.

888

"So do we need to get working on your wedding dress?" Annie asked Callie three days later as the two women put the finishing touches on some skirts and blouses for the display window.

"No, he won't marry me." Callie replied. Annie looked over her small glasses as she ran the needle and thread through a skirt with practiced ease.

"Why not?" she asked.

"He says he wants to wait until he deserves me again." Callie said with a sigh.

"Well that's kinda sweet and really stupid all at the same time." Callie laughed.

"Well that's Gray I guess. Kinda sweet and really stupid." she replied.

"So you've been staying with him at the hotel?" Annie asked after she stopped laughing and Callie nodded.

"Yes." she replied. Anyone else asking that would have made Callie angry but this was Annie who had been like a mother to Callie and so she got a free pass to invade her privacy.

"Have the two of you….." Annie raised her eyebrows suggestively. Callie blushed and shook her head.

"No, we have not." she said quickly. "For goodness sakes, Annie, the man is recovering from a bullet in the back." Annie snorted.

"He's a big man and that was a little bullet!" she replied. "Maybe you need to make the first move on him. Do a little seducing."

"I wouldn't even know how to start doing something like that." Callie replied matter of factly.

"Throwing him down on the bed and kissing him absolutely senseless would be a good start." Annie replied. Callie blushed again and in her embarrassment she poked her thumb with the needle.

"Ouch!" she shouted sticking her thumb in her mouth.

"Are you okay?" Annie asked with an amused laugh.

"I am just fine." Callie replied her voice muffled around her thumb in her mouth. "No more talking about seducing men or throwing them down in beds and kissing them senseless, okay?"

"Sounds like fun." Grayson's voice came from behind them. Callie nearly choked on her embarrassment and her face flamed red as she turned to face him.

"You okay?" he asked. She nodded and stuck her thumb up in the air.

"I just poked it is all." Grayson walked toward her and grabbed her wrist gently. He bent down and lifted her thumb to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss against it. Callie felt sparks and flames shoot through her and she could tell by the way Grayson's eyes darkened that he could feel it too. They stared into each others eyes for several long moments until Annie cleared her throat.

"I believe I can handle the rest of this if you would like to leave a little early, Callie." she said with a knowing smile.

"No, I can't…." Grayson covered Callie's mouth with his rough calloused hand to silence her.

"She'll be in in the morning." he said and then Callie nearly screamed with shock when he lifted her into his arms. She threw her arms around his neck and glared at him.

"You are going to hurt your shoulder." she scolded. He chuckled and kissed her nose.

"My shoulder is fine." he promised."Have a good day, Annie." Grayson said with a nod and then he carried Callie out the door.

Annie sighed and leaned back in her chair. The more time she spent around Grayson and Callie the more she could see what Callie saw in the man. He really loved her and he wasn't ashamed to let others see just how much. Annie had known Grayson his whole life and after seeing how he'd been acting this past week she was starting to have her own doubts about Phillip's murder. Grayson had always been hot headed, stubborn and set in his ways but as far as she knew he was as honest as a man could be. Maybe it had been self-defense after all.

888

"Did you see the way everybody stared at us?" Callie asked with a laugh as Grayson kicked the hotel room door closed with dirty heel of his boot.

"I don't care." Grayson replied laying kisses along her jawbone. Callie trembled and tightened her hold on his neck.

"It could hurt your quiet, brooding, tough guy image." Grayson chuckled and felt her tremble as he moved his lips down her long graceful neck.

"I've told you before I don't care about what anyone thinks of me. The only person I care about is you." Callie moaned his name as he pulled away from her and sat her down on her feet. He walked away and stood in front of the bed.

"So do you think you could show me what you had in mind when you talked about throwing a man down in the bed and kissing him senseless?" Callie's knees nearly buckled at the intensity in his green eyes.

"Your shoulder…." she said.

"Callie, my shoulder is fine… The rest of me though really needs to feel you."

"Gray, it's only been five days, are you sure your'e okay?" Callie asked in a breathless voice. Her body was on fire and begging for his touch but she didn't want to cause him to hurt himself. Grayson sighed and raised his eyebrow.

"Have I ever lied to you?" he asked. "I promise it's fine." He could tell that she still wasn't convinced. "All right fine. I'll show you that it's okay." Callie felt her heart speed to an out of control rhythm as he undid the buttons of his flannel shirt and slid it off. He dropped it to the floor as her eyes took in the sight of his muscular body. He was tan and solid with layer upon layer of muscle covering his arms, chest and stomach.

She forced her eyes back to his face and saw him run his hand through his blond hair which fell messily back across his forehead. He turned his back to her and looked over his shoulder at her.

"See it's fine." he said. Callie looked over the hard smooth planes of his back. She looked at his shoulder and saw that it did look okay. It was already healing and there was no redness or swelling around it. He smiled over his shoulder at her.

"Does it meet with your approval doc?" he asked. Callie nodded.

"Yes you do… I mean it does." she said and Grayson chuckled when he saw the deep blush color her cheeks. He walked over to her and buried his hands in her long blond hair.

"I love you, Callie. I have loved you for as long as I can remember and I have been dreaming of making love to you for a long time." Callie could hear the longing and desire in his voice and it made her knees weak.

"I love you too, Gray." she said her voice breathless from the kisses he was pressing to her neck. Grayson smiled against her neck as she pushed him backwards and led him to the bed. When he felt her hands trying to shove him he allowed her to push him back and he fell onto the bed. There was a mixture of nerves and confidence on her face as she climbed into the bed next to him and pressed her lips against his.

Grayson growled, grabbed her face in his hands and deepened the kiss. Callie moaned and ran her teeth across his lip. Grayson didn't break the kiss as he rose from the bed and pulled her up with him. He undid her dress and it slid to the floor around her feet.

"God you are beautiful." he said and his voice sounded deep and rough with passion. Callie ran her hands through his hair and pressed her lips against his neck. She felt him stiffen and groan and felt her confidence rise as she slid her hands down along his chest. She didn't notice when he slid out of his boots and pants until he lowered her back onto the bed and she felt the heat of his skin as it pressed against her own.

They took their time exploring each others bodies with their hands and mouths. And when finally Grayson could not wait any longer and he slid himself inside of her it truly felt as if he was home… Every painful moment of the last five years was forgotten. None of that mattered now that he had Callie. He had read a book once that said everyone had a soul mate that was made just for them and he knew he was holding his in his arms right now.