Chapter 116

Stevie was feeling fantastic. She took a selfie with Xander, and the giant demo car trophy with the smashed up croc in the background. She sent the photo to James. She sent the caption "NBD, just the Fisher Demo Derby Champ..."

When the adrenaline wore off, Tess could barely move. Her neck was so stiff that she couldn't turn in either direction, and the pain in her lower back was terrible.

She got back into the car with Kate, Jodi, and Claire. Tess needed to be helped into the backseat. The emotion of the last few days and lack of sleep had exhausted her and she fell asleep for the whole way home. Jodi drove them all home. Despite the pain, she felt more at peace than she had for a few days. She knew what she needed to do once she got home.

"Okay Grace, you said you wanted to talk privately. It's just us and Dylan, and I tell him everything anyway. Is this private enough to talk now?" asked Regan

"Yeah, this is fine. I trust you Dylan." said Grace.

"Good, I'm glad, because you can always trust me." replied Dylan "I'll just be quiet and drive us so the two of you can talk."

"So what did the priest want?" asked Regan.

"Well thirteen years ago, Father Dan and I had become good friends. I enjoyed hanging out with him. He offered to be my date to a fundraiser dance since as usual, I was single, and everyone else had dates. We were going just as mates. It was a formal dance, and I let Jaz do her thing and she picked out my dress, and did my hair and make up. I felt really pretty that night. Father Dan wore a tuxedo and he looked really good. We had fun at the dance, and I certainly didn't mean for it to happen, but we kissed. It was a really good kiss, but he was a priest and we both realized that our attraction couldn't continue," admitted Grace.

"Why did you not tell me this when it happened?' aske Regan.

"You weren't there. I talked to Jaz about it at the time." explained Grace. "So anyway we were both on the SES and Dan tried to rearrange our schedules so we wouldn't work together anymore because of the kiss at the dance and our attraction to each other, but one of the days, he couldn't find anyone else and we had to work together. We got a call about an animal stuck under a porch or something. We ended up in a very tight space, very close together. I literally had to climb over him on my stomach while he was laying on his back to get the animal. There was a lot of intimate touching as a result, and we kissed again," said Grace.

"Grace, this is crazy. I can't believe I'm just hearing this story now." said Regan.

"It's not exactly my proudest moment. Anyway, the truth is, I really liked him. If he hadn't been a priest, I would have definitely been interested in a relationship with him thirteen years ago. He was a priest, so I put it out of my mind, but Dan said he had fallen in love with me. It was a problem for him, and obviously, we couldn't be friends anymore. He chose God and left Gungellan and was transferred to a church somewhere else to get away from me. I never saw him again until today." said Grace.

"So what did he want now then?" asked Regan

"Dan left the church. He isn't a priest anymore. He told me he still loved me and wanted to know if there was a chance we could be together," admitted Grace.

"Holy shit Grace! He professed his love for you? What did you say?" asked Regan.

"Well he mentioned that he knew I was married and that he had just wanted to say hello after so many years. I told him my marriage was ending, because it is, and I can't lie to Dan, I still think of him as a priest. He asked me if I still loved my husband and I told him I didn't." said Grace. "That's when his whole attitude changed. He went from reserved and pleasant, to very intense. He told me he had never forgotten about me, and that seeing me today brought all of the feelings he had thirteen years ago back for him. He told me I was beautiful and that he still loved me. He told me choosing the church over me thirteen years ago had been a mistake. He asked me if I thought there was a chance I could grow to love him back," said Grace.

"Grace, this is amazing! Do you think you could love him back? He isn't a priest anymore, you could really be with him, marry him even," said Regan.

"I know. Dan's a very good man, and he looked really good, but the whole situation was such a surprise. I haven't thought much about Dan in the last thirteen years. When I knew him, I was also still sort of hung up on Marcus, so I don't know if it would have worked out then, but now? I'm a very different person now. Honestly, my life is a hot mess right now. I'm not fit to be with anyone. I mean, I'm like, homeless. I don't have an apartment. I'm less than a month out of a marriage. I'm in the beginning of a divorce. My emotional state is definitely not good. The profession of love thing, it was intense, and I'm not sure I can take many more intense feelings right now. Ask Stevie how I was last night. I had a complete breakdown with her. I sobbed for hours. Stevie tried, but she couldn't get me to stop. She just held me until I was so exhausted I passed out. I can't handle a relationship right now." said Grace.

"Oh Grace, I'm so sorry it wasn't me there for you yesterday. I'm glad you weren't alone." said Regan, thankful Stevie had been with her sister. "What did you tell Dan? How did the conversation end?" asked Regan.

"Well I told him I couldn't give him an answer. I told him my life was a complete mess right now, and that I was still dealing with the end of my marriage. I told him I didn't know if I could ever love anyone again. The entire interaction was very overwhelming." said Grace.

"What did he say when you told him that?" asked Regan.

"Well he said he was certain he still loved me and that he would give me time if I thought there was a chance we could be together in the future. Then he said that he was free from his obligations to the church and could live his life as he chose now. Then he said to me 'I'll choose you.' He gave me his number and told me to call if I thought in time I could grow to love him back. Then he apologized for the outburst and left," explained Grace.

"So what do you think? Could you grow to love him again?" asked Regan.

"I don't know. What we had was brief and quite chaste, he was a priest after all. He was my mate and I liked him a lot then, but now? I just don't know. Maybe? He was always a really good, kind, bloke. He would probably be a good boyfriend or whatever, but I'm not sure I even want to get into a serious romantic relationship ever again with anyone. I'm not sure I can. My head is spinning. I'm going to keep his number for a while, but I'm not going to be calling it, at least not anytime soon." said Grace.

Regan, Dylan and Grace took the empty car trailer back to Killarney. Regan pulled into the Killarney driveway to drop Grace off and switch cars and pick up Ben and Kelly. Regan gave Ben a run down of the events so he could pretend he had been there too.

"Thank you guys for today. Dylan, you were a great date. I needed this. I needed some family time. I'm hurting, hurting bad, and now with the Dan thing, I'm also very confused, but being with my family helps," said Grace

"We had a great day too. I wish I got to see you more often, but it was a great day today. I love you." said Regan.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning! I love you guys. Bye!" said Grace as she hugged her sister and waved goodbye as they drove off.

Grace thought about everything that had happened today. It felt good to know that a good man like Dan still loved her. Maybe she wasn't unlovable afterall. She still wasn't sure if she wanted to do anything about Dan, and she wasn't sure she could even love again, and if she did, if she could handle potential heartbreak or betrayal again.

Her conversation with Tess weighed on her. Tess was lonely because she had refused to date for so long. Tess reckoned that loneliness felt better than heartbroken. Grace thought loneliness might be better than feeling like she had felt last night. Tess also said she hadn't even realized how lonely she was. Grace realized that even when she was married, she had been feeling lonely for a while. Now she just felt both lonely and heartbroken.

Stevie was feeling exhausted. The high of winning had settled and her body was extremely sore. The long drive home had taken a toll on her too.

Her eyelids were heavy by the time she finally pulled into Killarney. She put the ute in park and checked her phone. She had a text from James. "Congratulations! Those Hall-Ryans sure are talented. I guess I owe you a victory dinner now. Give me a call when you get a chance, I'd love to hear the play by play."

Steve saw the text and smiled. Maybe she had a little more energy for a phone conversation.

Xander took Rufus into his stall and got him settled in. Stevie unhitched the trailer and parked the ute in the garage. She went to check on Xander. He knew exactly what needed to be done for Rufus and was in the process of finishing up. She gave him a hand so they could finish sooner.

Finished, the two of them walked in the house. They were greeted by Grace. She had Champagne and grape juice chilled for a victory toast. Stevie thought it was a really sweet gesture from Grace, especially considering how she was feeling last night.

The three sat at the kitchen table and reminisced about the great day they had. When the champagne and juice were drunk, they all went to their bedrooms. All three had an early morning.

Xander went straight to sleep. Grace sat up for a while and pondered loneliness vs. heartbreak.

Stevie on the other hand, texted James.

"You still up? Just got home"

"I'm still up. Can I call you?" replied James.

"Yes"