Chapter Twelve

Grace's feet took on a mind of their own when she stepped into the school and heard her daughter sobbing. She ran into the main office and Cadence rushed to her, throwing her arms around her waist and burying her face in Grace's coveralls which were quickly soaked through with tears.

"You're okay, Gremlin," Grace reassured her daughter gently as Mr. Franks and Mrs. Avery looked on. Mr. Franks' expression was stern and angry while Mrs. Avery appeared scared and worried. Both of them wore similar expressions of shock when Vince came striding slowly into the office as well, though he remained near the door and out of the way.

What's going on?" Grace asked as she pulled Cadence away from her slowly. Her entire body froze when she saw the purple welt on Cadence's cheek. She turned her gaze to the principal and teacher and clenched her fist. "Why is there a bruise on my daughter's face?"

At that announcement Vince pushed himself away from the wall and went to Cadence. He ran his finger over her welted, tear-stained cheek and fixed the principal and teacher with a predatory gaze. He was Vincent Griffin's son after all and had mastered a gaze quite similar to his fathers.

"What happened here?" Vince demanded in a voice that commanded answers. He knew that Grace was too focused on Cadence to be in any shape to have the talk that needed to be had.

"Perhaps we should step into my private office?" Mr. Franks suggested with a wave of his hand. Vince nodded. He wrapped his arm tight around Grace's shoulder and led them both into the office. His eyes fell on a boy sitting in the corner beside Mr. Franks desk. He appeared to be around ten or eleven and it appeared as if he'd been crying and was now trying very hard not to.

"Now, I think we need to hear exactly what happened," Vince stated as he crossed his arms over his chest and stood over Grace and Cadence who had taken a seat in the leather chairs in front of the desk.

"I'm terribly sorry," Mrs. Avery wept as she wrung her hands. "I let the children leave ahead of me to go to the cafeteria and apparently the boys began to pick on Cadence in the hallway."

"And what happened in the hallway?" Vince asked the boy who was staring down at his sneaker clad feet.

"Apparently Jackson and his friends began to pick on Cadence in the hallway and, of course Cadence's response was to throw a punch," Mr. Franks replied before Jackson could speak.

"They pulled my hair," Cadence accused, covering her head with her hand.

"I didn't!" Jackson exclaimed. "I swear I didn't do that! We was just fooling.. Just having a bit of fun."

"You think it's fun to pick on those that can't defend themselves?" Vince questioned with a raise of his brow. "That is not having fun. That is being a coward and a bully. You aren't that kind of child, are you?"

"No sir," Jackson replied, meeting Vince's gaze. "It wasn't me that pulled her hair, it was Kyle. She turned around to punch him and he moved so she fell and hit her face on the lockers. That's how it happened, honest!"

"Why would your friend Kyle pull Cadence's hair?" Grace asked as Cadence whimpered beside her.

"One of the other boys dared him to," Jackson replied with a shrug.

Grace turned to Mr. Franks. "Deputy Caudill said that he comes by here several times a week. Was he here today?"

"Yes he's here today, Miss Collins. He'll be in the cafeteria at this time." Vince saw a look of fear on Cadence's face at the mention of Grant's name and he didn't like it.

"So what's going to happen now?" Vince asked.

"Kyle has already been taken home by his parents. He is suspended for three days because of his conduct. Jackson here is going to have detention for the week and I'm afraid that you'll have to take Cadence home for the day," Principal Franks replied.

"Of course," Grace snapped, rising to her feet. "I wouldn't leave her here like this anyhow."

"I'm very sorry this happened," Mrs. Avery whispered as they stepped out into the hall.

Grace turned to her. "Mrs. Avery, I know that your job is difficult but please don't allow my daughter to go into the halls unsupervised. Especially now that we know other children are giving her a hard time."

"Oh but they weren't alone!" Mrs. Avery assured her. "Grant... I mean Deputy Caudill, was walking with them. That's why I really don't understand how this happened."

Vince nodded curtly. "Thank you, Mrs. Avery." The woman seemed to know she was being dismissed and she scurried away quickly.

"I need to have a talk with Grant," Grace hissed.

"Mommy, Grant is mean," Cadence whispered, tugging on the greasy sleeve of Grace's coveralls. "He was laughing," she added before wrapping herself around Vince's leg.

Vince felt ice fill his veins. He barely managed to ground out the words. "He did what?"

"He laughed but when I fell he ran away...."

"The principal said he's in the cafeteria. I'm going there now," Grace growled.

Vince shook his head. "I'll go. You should take Cadence home and get her settled down."

Grace's eyes flashed with temper. "But I should..."

Vince laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Partners remember? Now you're in no shape to go have a showdown with him without tearing his head off. Let me deal with Grant and you tend to Cadence. She needs you right now."

Grace took a deep breath and nodded. "You're right. She's upset and I need to focus on her." Grace bit her lip. "Vince, just remember that he's a cop so you can't..."

Vince chuckled. "I'm not a violent person by nature so he should be okay."

Vince watched Grace and Cadence walk out the wide double doors of the school before setting off for the cafeteria. Thanks to the din of noise coming from within, the room was easy to find. Vince scanned the crowd for Grant and it didn't take long to spot the man. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt and was lounged against the wall speaking to a woman who Vince assumed was a supervisor. Grant wasn't wearing a gun and Vince wondered if the man was off duty. He quickly crossed the circular room with wide and purposeful steps.

"Hello Grant," he said with a polite, controlled tone that years of training had taught him well.

Grant's eyes widened and he cleared his throat as he stood straight. "Hello Vince." Vince took note of the fact that even standing as straight as he could, Grant was still a good six inches shorter.

"Can we step outside and speak for a moment?" Vince asked politely.

Grant spared a glance toward the young woman beside him and then sneered as he returned his gaze to Vince. "I don't think so. I'm not going to spend my day off talking to some city boy."

"If it's your day off then why are you here in the first place?" Vince inquired, folding is hands behind his back.

"That's none of your business, city boy. Now if you've got a problem why don't you just come down by the station when I'm on duty and we can discuss it."

"You can stop calling me city boy, Grant. I think you've made it clear that I'm not from around here. And why won't you come outside with me? You'll bully little girls that can't defend themselves but you won't come out for a quick chat with a city boy?"

Grant swallowed hard and once again looked at the woman beside him who was frowning as she stared between the two men. Finally Grant shook his head. "I'm not scared of you, Vince. If you want to have a chat, let's go have a chat."

Grant quickly walked away and Vince tipped his head to the lady before following after him, keeping his hands folded behind his back because he wasn't quite sure he trusted himself enough to let them loose.

Once outside and out on the sidewalk in front of the school, Grant spun around. "So what's this chat about, city boy?"

"I want to talk about what kind of twisted coward encourages adolescent boys to tease and torment a poor handicapped girl who can't defend herself," Vince replied, his tone calm and even.

Every ounce of color drained from Grant's face. "I didn't have anything to do with what happened to Cadence this morning."

"So you're a twisted coward and a liar on top of that. Those boys were being encouraged by someone and I'd be willing to bet my last dollar that that someone was you. Cadence admitted to her mother and I that you laughed at her."

Grant puffed out his chest and clenched his fists. "I'm about tired of you calling me names! Them boys were just fooling around. Boys will be boys."

Vince's own temper was raging but he kept his manner cool and collected. "I wonder if the sheriff knows what kind of man his deputy is? I wonder if he would things the same way as you do. Does he believe that boys will be boys?"

"Is that a threat?" Grant demanded.

Vince shrugged nonchalantly. "We could just settle this right here," he suggested. "I know you like picking on little girls and this might sound cliché but, why don't you pick on someone your own size?"

"You want to fight me?" Grant demanded incredulously.

"It wouldn't matter if I did. A worthless coward such as yourself isn't man enough to throw a punch. At least not against a man who would be more than a match for you."

"That's it!" Grant exclaimed. "You come down here and worm your way into Grace's life while filling her head full of lies about who you are and what you want with this town.. You never should have come here!"

Vince shook his head. "You're just throwing a temper because she turned you down, Grant. Maybe she could see that deep down you were nothing but a boy and what she wanted all along was a man."

Vince was aware of the sheriff at the tiny gas station across the street watching their confrontation. It was clear that Grant had not noticed the man. "I'm gonna kick your damn ass!" Grant bellowed. His fist flew out and caught Vince hard in the jaw.

Vince felt the pain all the way to his toes and his head rang. It would seem the little man packed quite a punch! Vince's plan, once seeing the sheriff, had been to goad Grant into throwing a punch and then letting the sheriff deal with him. But now? Now that Vince's blood was rushing and his head was throbbing, he wanted to bloody a couple knuckles of his own.

The quiet and despondent Vince that he had been for the first thirty-two years of his life would never do anything so impulsive and out of control but he had changed quite a bit in the last nine days or so.

He clenched his fist, pictured Grant's face as a punching bag and let his arm go with thirty-two years of pent up aggression surging behind it. Grant stumbled backward, spit out blood and soon the two men were wrestling around on the ground with the sound of boot steps pounding on the pavement toward them.

***

"I'm really not a bad guy," Grant muttered through his fat lip as he and Vince sat across from one another in a jail cell a short time later.

"You could have fooled me," Vince replied as he shook his wrist. The momentary rush he had gotten from turning Grant's face into mush was long forgotten now that his knuckles burned and his hand ached.

Grant let out a long, angry huff and it whistled quite comically through his busted nose. Vince wanted to laugh but his own bruised and aching jaw kept his laughter at bay.

"I'm not a bad guy and I didn't want those boys to hurt Cadence. I should have stopped them from picking on her and I guess it makes me a pretty big ass since I didn't, but I didn't want her to be hurt."

"Why did you let them do it?" Vince demanded.

Grant shrugged as he kicked at the dirty concrete floor with the toe of his sneaker. "I don't know..." he admitted. "I really don't now."

Vince could hear true regret in the man's voice and it was almost enough to make Vince feel sympathy for the man.. And that almost, of course, was not at all. The two men fell silent for a long while before Sheriff Martin Short walked up to the cell.

"Well, Mr. Griffin, this isn't exactly how I wanted to have my first real meeting with you," he stated, putting his hands on the bars.

"It's not what I had planned either, sir," Vince admitted, rising to his feet.

The sheriff pulled a ring of keys from his belt and unlocked the door. He motioned for Vince to step out and Grant growled when the sheriff shut the door behind him, leaving the deputy locked inside. As Sheriff Short led Vince toward the main door, Vince let his gaze take in the jail.

"This place looks like a jail from an old western," he said.

"That's exactly what it is," Sheriff Short replied. "Not many jails are built into the bottom of the courthouse anymore and they quit using wood and steel quite a few years ago."

"How much do I need to pay for my release?" Vince asked as the sheriff handed him his wallet, keys and cell phone.

Sheriff Short shook his head. "Nothing. Word gets around in towns like these, Mr. Griffin, and I've heard about more than one charitable donation you've made. And seeing as how Grant was the one in the wrong here, no matter how you slice it...."

Vince sighed. "Take it easy on him. I pushed him into hitting me and I knew exactly what I was doing. I think he truly regrets doing what he did with those boys this morning and you should probably just let him out. I don't think he'll be repeating that mistake again any time soon."

"I'm sure he won't!" Sheriff Short agreed. "You taught him that lesson good. You know, for a man from the city you sure do throw a good punch." Vince heard Grant grumble from inside his cell. "Are you sure you don't want to press charges?" Sheriff Short asked. "You have every right to since he threw that first punch."

Vince tipped his head. "I'm sure. I can't say what Grace will want to do about what happened with Cadence but as far as what happened on that sidewalk, it's over as far as I'm concerned."

Vince shook the sheriff's hand and then stepped out the doors and into the sunlight. He stood on the sidewalk a moment simply breathing in fresh air and was quickly joined by Grant. "Well I'm on light duty for a while but it could have been worse," Grant admitted. "Thanks for not pressing charges."

Vince frowned and wondered what light duty in this town meant. As far as he could tell their crime rate was in the negative digits and even the cops on regular duty did little more than eat donuts and guzzle coffee. Vince shook his head. "I didn't do it for you, Grant. Truth is I have no respect for a man who will do what you did. I did it for Grace because you used to be her friend and so I'm hoping you have some hidden redeeming qualities that I've yet to see."

Grant hung his head and stuck his hands in his pockets. "I've known Grace all my life and I've been in love with her for about as long. I just couldn't figure why she'd pick some outsider form the damn city over me."

"So you were jealous? Jealousy made you treat Cadence that way? If you want to be some hard nosed son of a bitch with me because I stole your girl then that's just fine but you'll leave that little girl alone, do you understand?" Vince practically snarled, regretting the fact that his hand was hurting because throwing another punch was looking like a nice prospect.

"Hey now, I never hurt Cadence and I didn't tell those boys to either. I just didn't... stop them," Grant muttered the last words and sighed. "I know it was wrong, Vince, and I'm ashamed, alright? It won't happen again and I plan on having a talk with those boys about the dangers of bullying."

"You should heed your own words, officer," Vince warned.

Grant nodded. "Point taken."

Vince was about to turn and walk away but paused. "I think you should know that I'm not going anywhere."

"I'm starting to get that impression," Grant admitted. He stood straighter and fixed Vince with a hard stare. "You better be good to Grace. That woman has had a damn hard life and doesn't need you coming in and breaking her heart."

Vince nearly laughed. "I hardly think you have any right to be telling me how to treat Grace after what you've done. Since I've already told her and I hear that news travels fast in this town I figure it'll only be a matter of time before you find out so I'll just tell you now--I love that woman and I love Cadence and I would never do anything to hurt either one of them." He looked down his nose at Grant. "I'm not the kind of man who would do a thing like that." Vince's final words were dripping with blame and Grant once again lowered his head in shame.

***

"What happened to your face?!" Grace demanded when she opened her door and saw Vince standing on the porch with an angry welted, bruise on his jaw.

"I tripped and fell and smacked it on a fist," Vince replied with a grin and wink at Cadence who was giggling behind Grace.

"Cadence, mommy will be right back," Grace said sternly before putting her hand on Vince's chest and pushing him backward so she could walk out onto the porch. She closed the door behind her and put her hands on her hips. "Grant hit you?"

"I hit him back," Vince assured her. He put his hands on her bare upper arms and stroked her shoulders with his thumbs. Grace knew he loved it when she wore tank tops and she could feel the rush of heat from his touch clear to her toes.

"I thought you said you weren't a violent person," she reminded him, doing her best to ignore what his fingertips were stirring within her.

Vince nodded. "And we've already covered the fact that you've changed me."

Grace shook her head and fought back a smile. "So I've turned you into a violent maniac?"

Vince grinned a lazy half grin that always made her weak in the knees. "No, silly woman. You've made me feel, Grace. I was numb before and ever since I met you I..." Vince paused when Grace looked down at her feet. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Grace swallowed hard and lifted her gaze back to his. "It's just that you say the nicest things."

Vince's brow rose. "And that's a bad thing?"

Grace sighed. "I'm just not used to hearing them... at least not from someone who means them."

"I mean them, Grace," Vince vowed. "And don't let anyone make you believe differently for a solitary second. And you might as well get used to hearing them because I've been saving them up for a long time."

"I love you," Grace whispered.

Vince swooped low and captured her lips in a kiss. It was different from the kiss they'd shared in the garage. It was slower, softer and somehow sweeter. It was full of less lust and more tenderness. When Vince finally pulled away, Grace's head was spinning.

He put his hands on her cheeks and smiled. "Likewise," he replied leaning in and brushing his lips against her ear. It wasn't until Grace put her hand on his cheek and saw him wince in pain that she remembered his run in with Grant's fist.

"So, how does the other guy look?" she asked, unable to fully hide her amusement. Grant deserved to have the hell beat out of him after what he'd done to Cadence and Grace hoped that Vince had done just that.

Vince smiled. "Let's just say he can whistle a very lovely tune through his nose and he won't be sucking from a straw for at least a week." Grace laughed loudly and Vince chuckled as well.

Grace reached out her hand and took his in it. "Well come on then, Rocky. Let's get you some ice for that jaw."