Chapter Sixteen

"Mommy! Mommy! Patricia's making pancakes!"

Grace's eyes flew open at the sound of her daughter's excited voice. Her gaze immediately went to her alarm clock and she leapt from the bed when she realized it was three minutes after eight! Why hadn't her alarm gone off? She had set it for five so that she could get up, get in her run and get her grandmother and daughter up and dressed so she could be at work by nine. They would never make it now!

"Mommy, did you hear me?" Cadence yelled once again from the kitchen. "Patricia is making pancakes."

"Okay, gremlin!" Grace called back. "I'm up."

Grace stumbled her way into the kitchen, rubbing at her gray eyes. "Good morning!" Patricia greeted brightly from where she stood at the counter in black slacks and an emerald green blouse, stirring a bowlful of pancake batter with gusto.

"Good morning," Grace mumbled. She glanced toward the living room and saw Ester sitting in the chair while watching television in her robe and house shoes.

"The coffee is ready if you'd like some," Patricia informed her. "I wasn't sure how you took it or I'd have you a cup waiting."

"Thanks." Grace went to the coffee pot and quickly filled a cup. As she took a drink and let the warm caffeine heat her blood, she turned to Patricia. "This is really nice of you, Patricia, but I hope you know I don't expect you to cook for us."

"Oh I know!" Patricia assured her. "I like to keep busy."

Grace took another sip of coffee and headed toward the phone on the wall. "I'll have to call Meg and tell her I overslept and will be late for work. I only planned to work a half a day today so now I'll have even less hours."

Patricia nodded and the hot pan sizzled as she poured pancake batter onto it. "Yum! Yum! Yum!" Cadence exclaimed, bouncing with each word.

Grace wondered why her daughter was acted as if she'd never before had breakfast. Patricia probably thought Grace was a horrible mother who starved her daughter, then again, Grace could just be being overly sensitive about things because she wasn't a morning person and her routine had been blasted to bits today.

She picked up the phone and dialed her best friend. "Hello, best friend!" Meg said in her usual chipper way. "I wondered when I'd hear from you."

"I'm so sorry, Meg," Grace sighed. "For some reason my alarm didn't go off..."

"I turned it off," Patricia spoke up from the stove as she flipped pancakes. "I was under strict orders," she added, seeing the look of disbelief on Grace's face.

"Thanks to you, I'm going to be late for work," Grace ground out.

Meg cleared her throat. "Actually.. Um.. About that.. You're uh.. You're fired," she managed to stutter out.

Grace nearly fell over and she gripped the doorframe tightly to hold herself up. "Fired? But Meg, I need that job! What did I do?"

"Nothing!" Meg promised quickly. "Grace, you didn't do anything.. Oh this his hard! You're my best friend, Grace, but I'm under strict orders that you are no longer allowed to work two jobs."

"It seems like a lot of people are under strict orders to mess with my life!" Grace exclaimed angrily. "And I bet I can guess where those orders came from!"

"Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome," Meg supplied an answer.

"Mr. Moody, Bossy and use to getting his way," Patricia supplied another.

Grace let out a long breath to attempt to combat the anger that was wanting to bubble to the surface. How dare Vince just try to step in and completely take over her entire life! Grace could take care of herself and had been doing so for a long time before he showed up.

"I'm coming to work," Grace insisted.

"No, you're not," Meg replied stubbornly. "You're fired. If you come you'll just be working for free."

"You don't have to listen to him!" Grace exclaimed with frustration.

"Yes, I do. He's a very convincing person when he wants you to see things his way and he's right! You are engaged to a multimillionaire! He might even be closer to a billionaire if it came right down to it. You certainly don't need the little bit of money you make working every weekend in my diner."

"I have to go, Meg. Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome is about to hear my opinion on this little stunt he pulled," Grace grumbled. She hung up the phone and glared at Patricia. "You came into my room and turned my alarm off?"

"Yes, I happen to like my job and he would have fired me had I allowed you to wake up at five in the morning," Patricia informed her without looking up from the pancakes she was currently cutting into hearts.

Grace rubbed her face with her hand. "Vince isn't the boss of me."

"Yes, however, he is the boss of me and I have to do as he wishes," Patricia replied as she sat the plate full of heart shaped pancakes on the table in front of Cadence with a flourish that had the girl giggling.

Grace gripped the phone tightly and stepped out onto the porch so she could have a bit of privacy. There was a coolness in the air and mist was still hanging heavy over the mountains. Grace dialed Vince's cell phone number and thought of all the angry things she wanted to say to him.

"Vince Griffin," his tired voice answered.

The exhaustion in his tone had Grace forgetting some of her anger. "Good morning, Mr. Griffin."

"Grace!" Instantly his voice sounded lighter--happier--and Grace knew then that she wouldn't yell at him like she had wanted to. Stupid love. "How are you?" he asked. "How's Cadence."

"Cadence is fine," Grace replied. "I, on the other hand, am very aggravated."

"You called Meg, didn't you?" he asked with a sigh.

Grace gripped the phone a little tighter. "Yes, I did, and apparently I'm fired because you said so. Can I ask why you did that?"

"It's simple," he replied. "You work too hard."

Grace could just imagine him shrugging and giving her that look that told her he knew he was right. "Vince, I love you and I appreciate everything you've done for me, for Cadence and for this town but you had no right to do that with Meg. I work two jobs because I have to, Vince. I have to have the money."

"No, you don't. You don't need that money anymore and there's no point working yourself to death for no reason."

"Is that right?" Grace demanded. "What am I supposed to do, Vince? Sit around and become a desperate housewife of Clifton County?"

Vince chuckled. "If you want to."

"Did you talk to LeRoy too? Am I going to be sent home when I show there on Monday?"

"Of course not," Vince said with exasperation. "You enjoy being a mechanic and you told me that yourself. I would never try to take something away from you that you loved doing. I know you are a strong, independent woman and I respect that but at the same time I am a rich man and you working yourself to the bone and having no time for yourself is not something I will allow."

"You won't allow?" Grace hissed.

Vince grumbled on the other end. "Wrong choice of word. You woke me up and I haven't had my coffee yet," he accused. "Can you honestly not see where I'm coming from? I love you and I care about you and you are working yourself to death. You don't have to do that anymore. Take more time for you, more time for your daughter and more time to just live instead of always working so hard."

Grace sighed. "Okay. I understand where you're coming from and I can see your point but, Vince, I just wish you would have talked to me about this before you left instead of going behind my back and making decisions for me."

"I'm sorry. It won't happen again. My only excuse is that I knew you'd get angry and I'm a chicken."

"You are a highly respected businessman. I highly doubt that you are a chicken."

"Cluck cluck," Vince insisted.

Grace laughed. "I miss you already," she said softly as she wrapped her arm around herself.

"I miss you too," Vince replied. "But I have to get ready. I have a breakfast meeting in about an hour but I'll call you this afternoon. Have fun in Lexington today and be careful but more importantly, spoil yourself, Cadence and Ester. Pretend I'm there and get anything the three of you want."

"Yes sir," Grace clipped as if she were a soldier. Vince chuckled, they said their goodbyes and Grace went back into the house.

"Is there going to be bloodshed?" Patricia asked with amusement.

Grace shook her head and put the phone back on the hook. "No, I'm not going to hurt him. But sometimes that man is infuriating."

"Tell me about it," Patricia agreed. Then she smiled. "But I suppose his heart is in the right place."

***

Vince rose from the bed and walked to the window of his penthouse suite. He looked out over the city and frowned. He had always loved the city and it had been his home for his entire life, but now he couldn't get over the fact that all he saw was concrete and cars.

He missed seeing trees, mountains, rivers and tiny storefronts. Everything here was so rushed and loud. There were honking horns, car doors slamming and delivery trucks backfiring. People were rushing on their way to work and run errands and no one even seemed to notice one another. No one took the time to stop and say hello or even wave. It was strange how quickly New York City had gone from home to a place he didn't feel like he belonged anymore.

Vince scratched at his bare stomach and thought about his conversation with Grace. He was glad that she wasn't going to fight him about quitting her second job. The woman worked too hard and it simply wasn't something that Vince wanted to see her doing anymore. Vince would never try to control her or stop her from doing what she loved but he knew for a fact she didn't love working every weekend in that diner.

Vince glanced at the clock and sighed. He was nervous about today. He had to be at the office by nine to start the interviews for the COO position. He was going to narrow it down to two options and then let Patricia make the final call since she would be the one working daily with whoever was hired.

It wasn't the thought of those interviews though that had him nervous. No, it was the dinner at his mother's house that had him on edge. He was going to tell then about Grace and ask his mother for the ring. He knew it stood a good chance of turning into an ugly confrontation but was hoping that it wouldn't.

But Vince couldn't think about that yet. First things first, he had to get through the interviews and then worry about dealing with Beverly and Vincent Griffin.

Unfortunately, time always flew when you were dreading something and Vince found his driver pulling into his mother and father's long driveway. He let out a long breath when they stopped before the massive mansion that his parent's called home.

Just before he exited the phone, Vince's phone rang and he looked at the screen to see Grace's picture. "Hi sweetheart," he said as he relaxed against the seat.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"It's been a long day."

"Did you get your interviews done?"

"I narrowed it down to two applicants but the final call will be up to Patricia since she'll have to work with him or her the most," Vince replied. "What about you? Are you all having a good time?"

"Patricia is wearing me out!" Grace exclaimed with a light laugh. "We decided to just get a hotel room down here because Ester is too tired for the return trip tonight."

Vince smiled. "Did you get your cookbook done?"

"Yes, surprisingly! I thought we'd have to drop everything off and come back another day to pick it up but Patricia mentioned your name and, boom, they were stumbling over themselves to get it done."

"See, there are perks to being with a man like me who has a family like mine."

"So, if you're done with your interviews when will you be heading back?" Grace asked and he could tell she was eager to see him. Vince wanted her just as badly.

He sighed. "Tomorrow morning. I'm having dinner at my parents house tonight."

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow then," Grace whispered softly.

Vince smiled. "Give Cadence a kiss for me."

"I will," Grace promised. "Patricia wants to talk to you."

Vince grumbled. "Of course she does."

"Hello boss," Patricia's voice came over the line a second later.

"Hello, Patricia. Take it easy on Grace. She's not a professional shopaholic like you."

"She's keeping up quite well and we've nearly maxed out your credit card," Patricia countered.

Vince rolled his eyes. "If you're trying to anger, worry or otherwise bother me then you are failing miserably."

"Of course, of course, because you would give her absolutely anything," Patricia teased and Vince heard Cadence giggling in the background.

"Is there something you wanted?" Vince asked, knowing his mother was probably watching him through a window and wondering what was keeping him in his car.

"Yes," Patricia assured him. Vince heard a door open and close. "I have privacy now," Patricia said. "Have you talked to that horrible woman about the ring?"

"No, I haven't spoken to her yet. I am actually sitting in the driveway right now and waiting to go in for dinner.

"Well, good luck, boss, and if they lock you up in the loony bin or any other such place, I will don my black spandex and sneak in to help you escape. Just so you know, Grace doesn't suspect a thing. She's actually having a very good time."

"Good she needs to unwind and have fun." Vince sighed. "I have to go now."

"Give Widget a kiss from me," Patricia called.

"Goodbye Patricia."

"Goodbye boss."

Vince flipped the phone closed, slid it into his pocket and sighed as he got from the car. He made the long walk up to the wide cherry doors. He adjusted the suit jacket and tie he was wearing and then knocked three times. The door was answered quickly and Vince found himself looking at the short, gray haired man who had been his parents butler for as long as Vince could remember.

"Good evening, Bernard," Vince greeted politely.

"Good evening, sir. It's been a long time since I've seen you here."

"Not nearly long enough," Vince mumbled when he saw his mother come sweeping down the grand staircase in her prim and proper tailored skirt and blouse. Her blond hair was elegantly styled on the back of her head and her clear, age defying face was clearly angry.

"Nice of the prodigal son to finally come back and pay a visit to his aging mother and father," Beverly declared haughtily.

Vince tipped his head in apology as he slipped off his suit jacket and handed it to Bernard. "I apologize, mother," he said, laying a kiss to her offered cheek. "I have been busy with other things."

"Down there in Mayberry, as you call it?" she inquired as she led him toward the sitting room. "What could you possibly have been doing down there this long?"

"Well that's actually something I need to speak to you about."

Beverly stopped walking and looked up at him. "I don't like the sound of that. What's going on?"

Vince took a deep breath. It would be better to simply get down to it instead of beating around the bush. "I met someone, mother, and I've asked her to marry me. She agreed and I need grandmother's ring."

Beverly let out a high pitched gasp and Vince rolled his eyes and caught her just before she hit the floor.

"What on earth did you do to your mother, boy?" Vincent Griffin's deep voice commanded.

Vince looked into his father's stern ice blue eyes and sighed. "I told her that I found the woman I want to marry."

Vince stared hard at him for several long moments and then downed the remaining scotch from the crystal glass in his hand. He shook his head and wiped his mouth with his hand. "Oh dear."

***

"What in the world is wrong with you?" Beverly exclaimed a short time later after she'd regained consciousness. She was pacing back and forth across the sitting room like an angry cat while Vincent sat in his arm chair smoking his pipe and petting the tiny puppy that was resting on his leg.

Vince sat in the matching arm chair rubbing at his aching temples and willing himself to die. "There is nothing wrong with me, mother."

"Did those mountain people do something to you?"

"Like what, mother? Run a probe? Conduct experiments? Alter my brainwaves?" Vince was certain he heard his father chuckle but then again the old man could have been choking on his cigar smoke. Or, maybe he was allergic to his new pet.

"Any of those things would explain this sudden case of craziness you seem to have developed!" Beverly shouted. "Giving up your career and moving to the middle of nowhere to be with some woman who is so far beneath you?"

"Throw your fit if you must but do not say another ill word about Grace," Vince warned.

Beverly sniffed and threw her hands in the air. "Oh excuse me! This Grace , tell me about her."

"Beverly calm down before you give yourself a cerebral hemorrhage," Vincent stated firmly and Beverly glared at him before resuming her pacing. Vincent looked at his son. "Vince, you've worked very hard to create that company. Are you certain that you want to simply walk away from it?"

"What you both fail to realize is that I'm not giving up anything. I am still the CEO. That company is mine and will be for a long time to come. I simply no longer wish to live in New York and so I'm hiring someone else who can take care of the day to day running of Griffin Real Estate and Development," Vince informed them for what felt like the tenth time. "As a matter of fact, I'm considering opening a small branch of the company right there in Clifton County as well as running the campground."

"Campground?" Beverly spat as if the very word was poison. "My Harvard educated, business man son is going to be a campground operator?"

"Disgraceful, I know," Vince noted dryly. "None of this, however, is any concern of yours, mother and father. You raised a smart son and I know exactly what I want and what I'm doing. Now about the ring..."

"You want to put your grandmother's ring on the finger of some ignorant, mountain hick?!" Beverly demanded with vehemence.

Vince stood slowly, using his height alone to put his mother in her place. "I have asked you politely not to speak ill of Grace. Do so again and you will lose a son."

"What else am I supposed to think of her since you will tell me nothing?" Beverly sniffed, attempting to sound regretful.

"Grace is a very strong woman. She is beautiful, independent and fun loving. She brings out the best in me and I love her. Isn't that enough?"

"Does she come from good bloodlines?" Beverly inquired.

Vince raised his brow. "Am I getting a wife or a racehorse?" he mumbled and this time he was certain he heard his father chuckling.

Beverly stuck her manicured finger under Vince's nose. "Son, do not test my patience!"

"I love her mother and she loves me. That's all that matters."

Beverly snorted. "She loves your bank account."

"No, actually she doesn't." Vince shook his head. "That would be the one hundred and seventeen women that you attempted to set me up with."

"Have you even though about what this could do to your father's career?" Beverly demanded, obviously choosing to ignore his comment.

"Father's career will be just fine," Vince grumbled. His head was throbbing and he wished Grace was here to rub the pain away the way only she seemed to able to. He was rubbing at his own temples but was applying so much force he knew he would have to stop soon or hit brain.

"Okay then. You say she is independent. What does she do for a living?" Beverly asked, seeming to calm slightly.

Vince groaned inwardly and decided it was time for the proverbial shit to hit the fan. "She's a mechanic," he replied and then he began a countdown under his breath. "Five, four, three, two, and now..."

"A MECHANIC!" Beverly screeched. Vince winced and Widget let out a yelp and buried herself under Vincent's arm.

"Beverly, you scared her," Vincent scolded. "Son, you know better than to spring something like that on your mother."

"On me?" Beverly demanded of her husband. "Aren't you equally as horrified?"

"I'm worried about our son making a mistake, yes, but as he said, he is a smart man and we truly have no control over what he does," Vincent replied as he scratched the frightened puppy's stomach.

"I take it Widget is fitting in?" Vince asked.

Vincent smiled, an odd sight for Vince to see on his father's face. "We get along splendidly."

Beverly stepped between the two of them. "Vince, I am your mother and I am telling you that I am deeply worried for you."

"There is no need to worry, mother," Vince assured her. "Grace is a good woman and I love her and I love her daughter as if she were my own..."

"Daughter?" Beverly's brow rose. "This Grace is divorced?"

"No ma'am," Vince replied, realizing that his mother was very likely about to pitch another fit, and given her tight scruples, this fit could prove to be the biggest yet.

"An unwed mother? You are going to run the Griffin name through the mud by attaching yourself to a poor mountain mechanic who is also an unwed mother?! This is absolutely ridiculous. You will not put your grandmother's ring on the finger of a woman who could not even manage to keep her legs crossed until marriage!"

"Goodbye mother," Vince managed to growl through clenched teeth as he turned quickly and headed for the sitting room door.

He could hear his mother and father arguing as he went to the house entryway and met Bernard at the door. Vince took his jacket from the man's waiting arm and Bernard smiled. "I wish you all the best, sir. She must be quite the woman to have captured your attention."

"That she is Bernard. Tell me, were you listening at the door again?" Vince inquired.

"Of course I was, sir. I have to find my entertainment when I can."

Vince tipped his head and then walked out into the cool evening air. He was just opening the back door to his waiting car when his mother called out for him. Vince blew out a long breath and turned slowly.

"Vince wait!" she called breathlessly as she ran down the steps and came to him. "Here's the ring," she added, holding up the sparkling emerald and diamond ring that his grandmother had worn for sixty years. Vince reached for it but Beverly snatched it away. "I want to meet her first. If she gets my approval then you can have your grandmother's ring and put it on her finger."

"Isn't that a bit childish? Even for you?" Vince mumbled.

"I am trying to compromise. If you're going to be hard-headed and stubborn, I will simply take the ring and pawn it at my earliest convenience," Beverly snapped, slipping the ring into her skirt pocket.

Vince sighed. "Calm down. There is a festival starting next week and running into the weekend. You and father should come. You can meet Grace and her daughter then. I have no doubts that if you overlook your usual prejudices you will come to love them just as I have."

"We shall see about that," Beverly replied skeptically.

"But I will warn you," Vince added, fixing her with a stern gaze. "If you say one insulting or spiteful thing to Grace, her daughter or her grandmother, I will turn my back on you and you will lose a son."

Beverly rolled her eyes. "I understand. She means a lot to you and I promise to be on my best behavior."

Vince just shook his head. "Whatever you say."

***

"I missed you!" Grace exclaimed breathlessly the next afternoon as Vince stepped onto her porch and she threw her arms around his neck.

He hugged her tightly. "Not nearly as much as I've missed you," he promised, breathing her in.

"Vince!" Cadence came running from the house with her blond pigtails swinging. Vince released his hold on Grace and wrapped the girl in a tight embrace. "I missed you!" she exclaimed.

"I missed you too, sweetheart. Did you have fun while I was gone?"

"Yep. We went shopping," she said as she pulled away. "Do you like my new dress?"

Vince smiled as he looked at the pink dress covered in tiny white flowers. "That's a very nice dress. Very beautiful."

"I got a bunch more clothes too. Mommy said it was too much but Patricia kept getting more anyway."

"Good. I wanted you to get all you wanted," Vince assured her. "Where is Patricia?" he asked as he turned his gaze back to Grace. She looked beautiful today in a pair of form fitting jeans and a yellow t-shirt. Her auburn hair was loose and falling around her shoulders and Vince could see in her gray eyes how much she had missed him. He knew there was no way a man could ever get tired of being looked at like that.

"She is dazzling us with her culinary skills," Grace replied with a smile.

Vince frowned. "She has those kinds of skills?"

"Of course I do," Patricia replied, stepping out onto the porch. "You must have overlooked that section of my resume."

"Apparently," Vince mused dryly.

Grace put her hand on his cheek. "You look a little stressed. What's wrong?"

Vince sighed. "I'm afraid I have some bad news."

"What kind of news?" Grace asked, clearly worried.

"It seems we're going to have some visitors," Vince replied. "They are coming in next Wednesday so they can enjoy some of the festival."

"Who's coming?" Grace asked impatiently as Patricia laughed and walked back into the house, whistling with every step she took.

"My parents," Vince stated with dread.

"That will be fun!" Grace's eyes lit up. "I can meet my future in-laws."

"You have no idea what you're in store for," Vince warned. Honestly he was not looking forward to the visit. He knew that if anyone could scare Grace away from him, it would be his mother.

"You've been putting up with all the craziness that is my family and my life. How much worse could yours be?" Grace teased.

Vince just shivered and shook his head. "You have no idea."