Saving Gracie by Kristen Ethridge

the school running...somewhere, somehow.”
    Gracie looked straight at her sister, making a promise with her eyes. “I’m going to meet with him right now and explain it, then I won’t need to see him again until the City Council meeting, when I’ll have to come up with something by myself.”
    “Bien.” Reaching out, Gloria patted Gracie on the hand. “I’ll let you take care of business. I’ll be at the beach for a little while if you want to join me when you’re through.”
    Gloria turned toward the office door.
    “Okay. This shouldn’t take long, and then I need to run by my P.O. box to check for that grant letter. I’ll call you later and see if you’re still down at the beach. A little break with some sand and sun sounds like just what the doctor ordered to take my mind off things.”
    After Gloria left, Gracie tried to collect her thoughts in the few minutes before Jake’s arrival.
    Last night, he said things between them weren’t personal, only business. Then with no warning, everything turned very personal. Too personal.
    These days, Gracie couldn’t afford many extras. She knew about prioritizing. And even though she’d thought of nothing else but last night’s moment in the moonlight, the price was too high. Saving El Centro was the only thing that mattered.
    She needed a plan. She needed new options. She did not need Jake Peoples. She didn’t need anything that took her away from running her school and remaining available to her students. Attraction and relationships, even of the casual kind, didn’t have a place in her life’s budget. When she’d broken that rule and made time in her life for David, she got shortchanged. She wouldn’t let that happen again.
    In order to save her school—her life’s work—she couldn’t.
    The bell on the front door jingled, breaking into Gracie’s thoughts.
    The instant Jake walked through the office door, his presence filled the small space. Even though he was dressed casually in khaki pants and a navy knit polo shirt, Gracie’s breath caught a little in her throat. She couldn’t take her eyes off him. He looked polished.
    He looked unaffordable.
    “Gracie, I need to apologize to you...”
    Jake’s words began to flow out with a rush, but Gracie interrupted. “Really, Jake, if we just—”
    He cut her words off. Two strides closed the distance between them. “Gracie, you don’t need to say anything. This is my fault.” He leaned against the desk, using his hand for balance. He came so close to Gracie that she could feel the heat his body generated.
    She couldn’t help but stare. Five fingers, with neatly trimmed nails. The faintly defined muscles in his arm showed the effort of a man who worked out, but not to excess.
    Remembering how much she’d let her guard down and wanted those arms to hold her last night made Gracie’s eyelids slide closed.
    She didn’t want Jake to apologize.
    “Gracie? You can’t even look at me now?” Jake’s voice cracked.
    “No, Jake. That’s not it at all. It’s just...just my head.” Gracie flicked her wrist dismissively.
    He looked at the piles of papers scattered across the desktop. “Paying bills usually gives me a headache, too. I know how you feel.”
    She hoped not. If he truly could read her mind, they’d have an even bigger mess on their hands.
    “Thanks,” she said softly, unable to think of anything else.
    “I have an offer to make to you.”
    Gracie forced herself to look up. His green eyes reminded her of the ink on a dollar bill. The harsh reality remained that she needed more dollars and less Jake. “What do you mean?”
    “Remember when I told you last night that Pastor Ruiz’s words made me realize I hadn’t treated you fairly?”
    “Yes.” Gracie nodded. She remembered every step and every syllable of that walk on the beach.
    “Well, it’s true. And I stayed up last night trying to figure out what to do about it.”
    At least she hadn’t been the only one awake all night.