State of Grace
ATF AU
Part 1
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Most of Team Seven sat in the area commonly called the "bull pen" working on various reports and research for their caseloads. The majority of it was 'catch-up' work. Old reports that should have been filed weeks ago with A.D. Orin Travis but due to some emergency situations coming up they had never quite gotten finished. Now that things had slowed to a reasonable pace, Travis wanted the paperwork caught up.
When Buck's phone started to ring, the ladies man seriously debated not answering it. He was making headway and didn't want to be distracted.
Finally, he sighed and picked up the receiver, "Wilmington."
"My – is that any way to answer the phone, Bucklin?" Came a soft, almost lyrical feminine voice.
Buck froze for a moment, a quick flashback of memory coming to him. But he shook it off and asked, cautiously, "Grace? Is that you, darlin'?"
"It's me. How are you doing, honey?" She asked.
"I'm doing great. How are you? Where are you? What's going on?" Buck grinned.
Grace laughed, "I'm doing well, Buck. I was trying to get hold of Chris but I understand he's in a meeting. I'm in New York, but I'm coming to Denver and wanted to see you two old cowboys."
It was Buck's turn to laugh, "That would be terrific, Gracie. When will you be here?"
"Tomorrow, my flight gets in around two. I'm staying at the Hotel Monaco."
"Snazzy. How long will you be in town?" Buck asked.
"Could be a while. I'm doing research for a new book," she said.
"Need a ride from the airport?" Buck asked.
"Oh don't bother. I'm renting a car anyway. But let's have dinner," she said.
"That sounds good."
"Take this down, it's my cell phone number. 212-555-5269. Will you let Chris know I'm coming?" She asked.
"Sure will."
"Okay. Just let me know when you want to get together," Grace said.
"Have a safe flight, Gracie. See you tomorrow, darlin'."
"Can't wait to see you, handsome. Bye!"
Buck hung up the phone and met JD's eyes across the double desk that they shared.
"Should I even ask?" JD queried.
Buck laughed, "Not a conquest – not this time. Chris' sister-in-law, Grace, is coming to town. Where the hell is Chris anyway?"
"Still up in Travis' office," Josiah said.
"I didn't know Chris had a sister-in-law," Nathan said with a glance to Buck.
"Yeah, Gracie is Sarah's little sister. She's a writer – been living back east," Buck said.
"A writer?" Ezra asked. "I wasn't aware there was artistic talent in the Larabee family."
"Well, she's a Connelly, Ez, not a Larabee," Buck said.
"That would explain things," Ezra muttered, returning to his paperwork.
Vin looked up, "Cowboy's back."
All heads in the bull pen turned and saw Chris head wordlessly into his office, shutting the door behind him.
"I better go tell him the good news," Buck said heading for Chris' office.
Buck knocked on Chris' door even as he opened it.
"Can't you at least wait until I say 'come in', Buck?" Chris growled.
"This can't wait, stud," Buck grinned, bounding over to Chris' desk.
"What?"
"Guess who just called yours truly," Buck said.
"Buck, I'm not in the mood," Larabee spat, shifting through the paperwork on his desk.
"Grace."
Chris froze and looked up at Buck.
"Yeah, she's coming to Denver. Will be here tomorrow," Buck said.
"How long has it been, Buck?" Chris asked, his voice subdued.
"Five years. She hasn't been here since--" Buck stopped and looked a bit uncomfortable.
"Since the funerals," Chris finished.
"Yeah," Buck said seeming to collect himself. "She said she's going to be here a while. Doing research on a book or some such thing."
"Her last book went to the best sellers list," Chris said.
"You read it?" Buck looked incredulous.
"Of course I read it. She's my sister-in-law for crying out loud."
"Didn't think it would be your--" Buck paused.
"My what?"
"Your cup of tea, ya know," Buck finished.
"There's a lot you don't know about me, Buck," Chris said.
"After 12 years? I doubt it! Anyway, she gets in around two tomorrow. She's staying at the Hotel Monaco and wants to get together with us for dinner," Buck said. He stuck a post-it note on Chris' desk. "That's her cell phone number. One of us needs to give her a call about dinner."
"I'll take care of it. Anything else?" Chris asked.
"Nope."
"Then get back to work. I'll let you know about dinner," Chris said, turning back to his paperwork.
Buck stood for a moment, then shrugged and turned to leave.
"And shut the door behind you," Chris called.
As soon as Buck was gone, Chris picked up the post-it note. He stared at it for a moment then picked up the phone and dialed Grace's number.
"Hello."
For a moment, Chris couldn't respond. The voice….her voice….it was so much like Sarah's.
"Hello? Is someone there?" A tinge of impatience this time.
"Grace? It's Chris."
"Chris. Oh my gosh! How are you?" Grace asked.
"I'm okay. How are you?" Chris asked.
"Doing well," she said.
"So I've heard. Buck just told me you're coming to town," he said.
"Yes. I'm doing research for a new book."
"How long will you be staying?" He asked.
"Not sure. It could be a while. I'll stay till I have all the research I need. Did Buck tell you I wanted to get together for dinner?" She asked.
"Yeah. Tomorrow night. Is that all right?"
"Absolutely."
"I'll make reservations. We'll pick you up at your hotel. Six o'clock okay?"
"Perfect."
"Grace, why don't you come and stay at the ranch while you're here?" He asked.
"Ah – well, gee Chris that's really nice of you but I don't want to put you out. Besides, I have a suite all reserved and I may need to conduct interviews and--"
"Well, how about coming out for a weekend then? We can go riding," he said.
"I'd love that, Chris. Hey, I've got to run – my other phone is ringing. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" She asked.
"Yeah – have a safe trip. Bye, Grace," he said.
"Bye, Chris."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Grace looked around the hotel suite after the bell hop had helped her bring her belongings to the room. Two suitcases, a garment bag, a laptop case, toiletry case and purse. Hopefully she'd brought enough to last for a good while.
The suite was nice. Roomy. She liked that the bedroom was separate from the living room. Made it feel more like an apartment than a hotel. There was even a little utility kitchen off the living room.
She approached the large sliding glass window that led to a small balcony. Opening the window and stepping out onto the balcony Grace took a look at the view of downtown Denver.
She sighed thinking of the last time she'd seen this view. Had it really been five years since she'd been back? That horrible year – three family members dead and buried. It had been too much; she'd practically run back to college. Then when she graduated shortly thereafter, she wanted to stay as far away from Denver as she could. She brushed the tears that threatened away and went back inside.
She started to carry her bags to the bedroom. She'd need to unpack and then decide what to wear for dinner tonight. She had just less than two hours before Chris and Buck would show up.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Chris drove his new Dodge Ram 2500. It was almost an exact duplicate of his previous truck, even down to the color – black, of course. Between the ranch and work as an ATF agent, he rarely had a truck that lasted more than 5 years, give or take, due to the wear and tear he put on them. He'd only had the new truck about a month now and he wondered how long this vehicle would last him.
Buck sat beside Chris, riding shotgun. The pair had left directly from the ATF office and was headed for the Denver Monaco Hotel where Grace was staying.
"Did you talk to Grace at all today?" Chris asked.
"Nope. Was I supposed to?" Buck asked.
"Nah, I just wondered," Larabee shrugged.
"Where are we going for dinner, stud?" Buck asked.
"Rock Bottom Brewery," Chris replied.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Grace took a good long look at herself in the mirror. She wore her long, dark auburn hair down. She brushed it back over her shoulders as she put her pierced earrings into her earlobes. Then she ran her hands down over the royal blue dress, smoothing it out slightly. Her own blue eyes stared back at her and she stuck her tongue out at herself.
"You're just being silly, Grace," she said to no one.
She stepped into black high heels and grabbed a small black handbag.
Looking at the clock on her nightstand, she saw it was just a few minutes before six. She stuck her hotel room key in her purse and left her room, headed for the lobby.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Glancing around the lobby as they entered the hotel, Chris and Buck did not see Grace sitting on a couch by the front desk. But she saw them. Silently for a moment, she watched them. Just enjoying the sight of the two men making their way across the lobby. Buck spotted her first, which was not a surprise. Grace smiled and rose to her feet.
Buck put his fist to his heart like he'd been shot. "Gracie, oh my god – what happened to that little gal that was off at college?" Buck asked, joyously, leaning down to give her a kiss on the cheek and pull her into a bear hug.
"You're still a tease, Buck," Grace said, hugging him back.
"And you're all grown up!" He held her at arm's length for a moment before stepping to one side.
Grace laughed, "Well, I hope so, Buck. I'm an old lady – almost 27 now!" She turned to look at Chris and had to fight control her facial expression at the sight of him. Back when she was in high school she'd had a school-girl crush on her sister's husband something she thought time would eliminate; but it unsettled her to see Chris again and she found her heart pounding against her rib cage.
For Chris, the sight of Grace almost threw him. It was only his law enforcement background that allowed him to keep his expression neutral. It wasn't Sarah's face that looked up at him but there were flashes of similarities that he'd forgotten or maybe had never noticed before. After all, Grace hadn't been much more than a kid the last time he saw her.
Chris smiled at her, "Grace, it's good to see you." He stepped close to her for a hug.
Grace hugged Chris back and he felt the slight tremor that ran through her body – or did he imagine it?
"I'm glad to see you too, Chris," she said, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.
Grace stepped back and seemed to collect herself. She linked arms with both men and said, "So, where are we going tonight?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
At Chris' truck, Grace smirked.
"Oh, shoot. I forgot that you like these 'monster trucks', Chris. Anyone bring a step ladder by chance?" She said.
Buck laughed as he opened the door for her, "Come on, Gracie, I'll give you a boost."
Buck stood behind Grace and took hold of her waist, lifting her easily onto the running board.
"I should have worn my hiking boots," she said, looking at Chris while she took a seat.
"Hey, scoot over, hog," Buck teased.
Grace slid over to the middle of the bench seat and Buck climbed into the truck beside her.
"Seat belts," Chris said as he started up the engine.
"Yes, daddy," Grace muttered as she and Buck buckled up.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Grace enjoyed dinner tremendously. Chris had seemed a trifle tense to her but two beers loosened him up. That and listening to Buck tell tales of Team Seven.
"They sound like quite a crew," Grace said. "When do I get to meet them?"
"I'm sure we can arrange something, Gracie. What is it, more research?" Buck laughed.
"Hey, you never know when that's going to come in handy. Someday I may want to write a book about federal agents," she replied.
Buck stuck his lower lip out, "Not about me?"
"Oh Buck, what would I write about with you? How to pick up women?" Grace laughed as though something struck her extremely funny. "I have the title even – 'Wining and Dining Them – The Wilmington Way.'"
Chris laughed with them. "So what is the new book about, Grace?"
"Oh now Chris, a writer never talks about her work until it's published," she teased. "But I can tell you it's another mystery."
Chris nodded, "I read 'Mark of Evil'."
"You're kidding," she said, looking stunned. "Somehow I didn't think that would interest you."
"Well, you did send me a copy," Chris grinned, "Of course I read it."
"And?" She asked.
"I liked it. The ending surprised me. I didn't expect that the fiancé would have been the murderer."
Grace grinned back at him, "It was fun to write that one. Spent a lot of sleepless nights because I just got so involved in the story. I didn't want to stop writing anytime I got going."
"I like the tall guy with the mustache myself," Buck added.
Chris and Grace cracked up.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Driving back to Grace's hotel later, Chris asked, "So what do you have planned for the upcoming weekend?"
"Well, I'm supposed to have a book signing Saturday morning. Should take a few hours. But the rest of the weekend is wide open," Grace said.
"Want to come out to the ranch afterwards? We can go riding and barbeque," Chris said.
"That would be fun," Grace smiled.
"How about you, Buck?" Chris asked.
"Got a date, stud," Buck said, giving Grace a wink.
"Oh surprise, surprise," Grace joked.
Chris pulled up in front of the hotel and Buck opened the passenger door and stepped out.
"Thanks for dinner, Chris," Grace said.
"Sure. Do you want me to pick you up on Saturday?"
"Oh no, I can drive out. I'll come as soon as I can escape the book signing," she said.
"Sounds good," he replied. He suddenly leaned close to her and kissed her cheek. "Good night, Grace."
"Good night, Chris," she said quietly. Grace slid across the seat and Buck helped her step down.
Buck practically picked Grace up to hug her good-bye.
"See ya, squirt," he said.
"Later, stretch," she replied as they both laughed.
Buck climbed back up into the truck and watched the doorman hold the door open for Grace. She turned in the lobby and waved to them as they drove off.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Saturday morning, Grace was up early. She was still on New York time. She ordered in a room service breakfast. She enjoyed being able to eat a leisurely meal. She scanned the morning paper and enjoyed her coffee.
After she showered and dressed, she prepared a small overnight bag. Chris had called her the previous evening and suggested she just stay over at the ranch. She accepted his offer happy to have a chance to get away from town and spend some quiet time with Chris.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The book signing was at a large store in a Denver mall. Her publicist had set it up after Grace had made plans to go to Denver. He'd thought it would be a good marketing ploy. Sort of a 'home town girl makes good.'
Grace was happy to see some familiar faces in the crowd. Some of her old high school chums had turned out to welcome her home.
About two hours after the book signing had gotten underway, a tall, dark haired man leaned over Grace with a copy of her book 'Mark of Evil' in his hands.
"Hi," Grace said, smiling up at him. "Who should this be made out to?"
The man smiled, "That would be me, Miss Connelly. I'm one of your biggest fans."
"Oh well, thank you. What's your name?" She asked.
"Fowler. Cletus Fowler," he grinned.
