“Hay is for horses,” I joked and sipped the coffee.
Grace gave a tight smile and glanced around the house like she was taking it in one last time.
“You heading out?” I already knew the answer, but I wanted to hear her say it.
She nodded. “Yeah, I’ve got a long drive ahead of me.” Grace jingled the keys in her hand. “I really appreciate all you’ve done. Thanks for showing me the Wyoming way.”
“It was my pleasure.” I took another sip. “You got everything?”
She nodded again.
I finished the second cup of coffee and set the mug down on the counter. It being lukewarm made it taste funny. Not hot enough to punch with bright acidity and warm the body, but not cold enough to thicken into a sweeter, smooth experience—the worst of both worlds, something undesirable. My eyes returned to Grace. She was dressed in the same outfit she arrived in: a black knee-length skirt, heels, and a black top with that bunched-up fabric on the front of it. It was like she had come full circle. The big city once again making itself known out here in the untamed wild. I took her all in like a glass of lemonade on a hot summer day, from the heel of her stiletto up to her golden hair that fell perfectly below her shoulders.
When I stepped toward her, she stepped back, a scared animal ready to dash. “Let me walk you out,” I said.
“Yeah, sure.”
Grace walked backward a few steps before turning around. She glanced over her shoulder at me, not letting me out of her sight for too long. I slid on my pair of work boots at the door and followed her out onto the porch. She looked back again. Perhaps she discovered something that gave her pause, or maybe it was intuition.
The sun was a blaze of glory set halfway up that big blue Wyoming sky. The animals were agitated, making all sorts of noises—probably because they hadn’t been fed at the proper time. My boots clomped down the steps of the porch. Grace was already to her car, opening the driver’s side door. She paused and turned to me.
“I really enjoyed our time together,” she said, and for the first time, I saw the dimples her smile created. I wasn’t sure if they were there before. I assumed I would have noticed something as cute as Grace’s dimples, but maybe I wasn’t seeing things clearly—enamored by the entirety of her and not the details.
“I did too,” I said. My smile was as wide as a six-lane highway as I slowly strolled toward her. “Will I ever see you again?”
Her hand gripped the top of the door as she glanced at her driver’s seat and then back at me. Her fingers repositioned the keys. They jingled slightly.
“I don’t think so,” she finally said.
I was only six feet from her now. I slid a thumb into the loop of my jeans and rocked back on my feet. I liked that she thought she was leaving. It was cute.
“Goodbye, Calvin.” She got into her vehicle and closed the door.
Grace slid the key into the ignition and delivered a small smile before turning it. The engine went click, click, click. She struggled, turning the key again. Click, click, click. The engine wouldn’t turn over. Her face became panicked, and she tried a third time. Click, click, click. Music to my ears. Her arm flailed like a windmill as she cranked the window handle on her dated vehicle.
Grace gritted her teeth, clearly displeased. “I thought you said you fixed it?”
“I thought I did too,” I lied. “Go ahead and pop the hood.” I moseyed over to the front of the car and lifted the hood, toying around with some wires, pretending to examine and make adjustments to random parts.
The car door squeaked open. Her heels munched on the gravel. From my peripheral vision, I saw her come into view. She huffed, folded her arms in front of her chest, and pushed out her hip. Quite the attitude for a woman without a working car or cell phone.
“What’s wrong with it?” Her voice had an edge of annoyance to it.
“I’m not so sure. I’m not a mechanic, Grace.”
“You promised it’d be fixed by today.”
I turned my head toward her and a sinister smile slowly crept its way across my face. The mask beginning to slip. “I promised a lot of things.”
“What the hell does that mean?” she nearly yelled.
I couldn’t help but laugh and, in an instant, I was lunging toward her. She had no time to react. Grace tried to swat me away, but her pretty blond hair was already wrapped around my hand. She screamed so loud her voice cracked.
“I promised I’d let you leave, and we both know that’s not happening,” I said, dragging her back toward the house. Her legs gave out, and she kicked at the ground. One of her heels slipped off. A Cinderella in the making. Grace’s hands shot up to my arms. She pinched and slapped and clawed. Her nails dug into my skin, drawing blood.
“Fucking bitch,” I yelled. Stopping just before the steps, I struck her in the side of the head with my other hand. It was a warning. She cried out.
“Let me go,” she screamed, kicking and flailing.
“It’s too late for that,” I said, caressing her face with my hand. “You shouldn’t have come here, Grace, but I’m glad you did.” I smiled.
She craned her head and opened her mouth, snapping at my hand. I didn’t pull away fast enough and her teeth clenched down on my pinky finger. A pained scream escaped my mouth, and I released my grip on her. Grace hit the ground and bit down harder. I tried to pull away, but her bite was like a vice. My steel-toed boot struck her ribs and she coughed, forcing her pretty little mouth open. My finger was a mangled bloody mess with bone exposed. Grace rolled to her side, coughing and gurgling on my blood.
“That wasn’t smart, Grace.”
She was on all fours, trying to stand, while I ripped the sleeve of my T-shirt off and wrapped it around my hand. The pain was nearly unbearable, and I hoped Dr. Reed would be able to fix it. I thought she’d try to run. I enjoyed the chase. But instead, she completely caught me by surprise. Grace charged at me, hitting me in the stomach like a lineman on a football field. I gasped, falling backward. This wasn’t the first time she took my breath away. When I first laid eyes on her, I knew she’d be a fighter. My back cracked against the wooden porch step. I winced and rolled to the side. While I collected myself, she was already running back into the house. Had she ever seen a horror movie? You never run back inside.
“Where are you going, Grace?” I yelled, getting to my feet.
I threw open the screen door. The living room was empty. The kitchen was empty.
“Oh, Graaaace . . . where are you?” I sang out like a child playing hide-and-seek.
No answer, but I heard shuffling down the hallway. I walked toward the noise nonchalantly, running my fingers along the wall, taking my time. The hunt is always much more fun than the catch.
I sang slowly as I strolled down the hallway.
“Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me,
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind but now I see.”