“You’re sweet. A hundred and twenty.”

God, he loved her sass. “You’re missing my point.”

“I hear ya.”

“Do you? Because I’ve seen you hold your own with your brother but he would just as soon cut off his own hand before hitting back. Those tricks won’t work with a man twice your size with a grudge.”

It took Grace a second to respond.

“Hon?”

“I’m here. And I know you’re right. I need to be smart and trust my instincts. I knew Sokolov was a shitty man the first time I met him. But I ignored it.”

Dameon pulled his copy of the paper that had her picture in it and smiled. “Well, don’t ignore it anymore, okay? I just found you and I’m not ready to lose you.”

He heard her sniffle over the line. “Grace?”

“Yeah?”

Okay, she was choked up.

“Are you crying?”

“No.” Another sniff. “Okay, yes.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh my god. Nothing. You say the sweetest things to me, and I don’t know how to handle it.”

That turned his worry into a smile. “Well, get used to it.”

She sighed.

“Better?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“Are you home?”

“I am. But if it’s okay with you I’m going to stay at the canyon house tomorrow night. We’re supposed to get some significant rain and I want to see how the runoff behaves. We don’t want surprises when you start building.”

He couldn’t stop smiling. “You’re something else.”

“I know,” she teased. “Just remember that when I ask you to join our bowling league.”

“What? Bowling?” Did she just say bowling?

“You heard me. It’s a smallish town. We take our kicks when and however we can get them.”

“You’re serious? This isn’t like the pedicure man-card stealing thing, is it?”

“Call Colin or Matt if you think I’m kidding. Our first game is Thursday night.”

“You’re not kidding.”

She laughed and laughed.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Grace sat beside Carson and across the table from stoic Richard, apologetic Vivian, and matter-of-fact Simons.

In front of her was her reinstatement paperwork.

“We sincerely hope you understand the position we were in when these accusations were brought to us,” Vivian said, speaking for the team.

Grace looked to Carson for direction. He lifted his hand as if telling her to feel free to say her piece.

She placed her folded hands on top of the table and spoke up for herself for the first time since everything had blown up.

“While I understand there are precautions and protocols in place to protect the city, I fail to see why there was never once a time where my character was upheld by anyone at this table.” She looked directly at her boss. “I have worked under your direction for five years. Have I ever once not performed in my job? Have I ever given you reason to consider these allegations had any merit whatsoever?”

Richard stared without expression. “Your performance evaluations have always been satisfactory.”

“That’s it?” It was clear Richard wasn’t going to budge on this.

“We value you as an employee,” Vivian said in an effort to ease the tension.

There is power in silence, and Grace did her best to channel that.

Carson took her silence as his cue to speak. “As everyone at this table is aware of, Miss Hudson has filed a civil suit against Mr. Sokolov. In the many points in this suit, the man’s assaultive behavior is the one thing that stands out as a serious safety concern. If Miss Hudson chooses to continue her employment with the city, this suit and her safety have to be considered.”

“Of course. It goes without saying that Grace wouldn’t be expected to work on anything in regard to this property.” Vivian was doing all the talking.

“And in light of the romantic relationship Miss Hudson and Mr. Locke have developed, Grace feels it would be in her best interest to relinquish the charge of this project to one of her coworkers to avoid any possible questioning of her character.”

Vivian and Richard exchanged glances. “That seems reasonable.”

“What do you say, Grace? Are we able to move past this?” Simons asked.

Carson looked at her, then back at the others. “Can you give us a few minutes?”

Richard looked annoyed, while the other two attempted to smile. “Of course.”

Once Grace and Carson were alone, she finally released the breath she felt she’d been holding. “He is such an asshole.”

“I don’t think that is going to change.”

She was completely torn. “I need some time to think on this.”

Carson nodded. “That’s reasonable.”

A few minutes later, Carson asked the others to return. When they did, he told them she was going to take the rest of the week and weekend to make her decision.

“Thank you, Carson,” she said as they walked out to the parking lot.

“We’re not done yet. Unless you’ve changed your mind about the countersuit.”

“Oh, no. I hate bullies, and that’s what this person is.”

“Couldn’t agree more.”

She stopped at her car. “Listen . . . something is bothering me. I want to run it past you.”

“Okay.” Carson turned to look at her.

“The other day I was driving to my brother’s. This sedan pulled in behind me. At first, I thought maybe it was an unmarked police car because he was right on my butt. I slowed down, he slowed down. I turned, he turned.”

“You were being followed?”

“That’s what it felt like.”

“Was it Sokolov?”

She shook her head. “No. The guy looked familiar, but I didn’t get a good look at him. When I turned into my brother’s neighborhood, I pulled over to the side of the road and the guy pulled past me.”

“When was this?”

“Yesterday.”

“Nothing since?”

“No.”

“You wouldn’t be the first person to get harassed after filing a lawsuit. It does take a special layer of stupidity to do so once things are already in the courts. Unfortunately, there are a lot of unintelligent people out there. The problem is we can’t do anything about it until Sokolov makes contact, directly or indirectly. If the man contacts you at all, you need to call me immediately. I’ll file an emergency restraining order.”

Grace instantly thought of Erin. “Like that will work.”

“I know. But it’s all we have. You need to keep your eyes open. Be cautious. This guy had your cell phone. There’s a lot of personal information in there.”

Grace nodded. “It might have just been my imagination.”

Carson stared her down. “Is that what your gut is saying?”

“No.”

“Okay, then. Did you tell Dameon?”

Grace wavered. “No.”

“Tell him. And your family. The sooner we nip this, the better our chances of nailing this guy if he’s behind it.”