DRAGONJULS Storybook
Disclaimer and Acknowledgements: See Part One
Part 8
Chapter Eighteen
The house was very calm considering that everyone seemed to have been up for ages.
Grace had arrived home sometime in the early hours but still managed to get up at six in the morning and start the day. Fortunately, it was Sunday so she had managed to stay in bed that extra hour later that they all indulged in on the ranch. She had almost dreaded this morning wondering how Catherine would react when finally Jace left, not to mention how Jace herself would react. Certainly it had been an interesting few days; never more so for the constant state of flux the household had been under ever since Jace's arrival on the property. Yet Grace was pleased it had been a rough road for Catherine the last five years. Having little knowledge of what Catherine had been like prior to her time here but if her penance had been loneliness, then she had certainly received her fair share of that. Now things appeared to be changing, Jace had opened up Catherine's eyes to other possibilities Catherine might not know it yet, but it was working.
Grace hadn't been in the kitchen more than ten minutes when Catherine arrived. She slumped down in the chair by the table and looked at her friend. "Have a good night?"
Grace smiled at the rather terse phrase. "Yes, Andrew took me to a barn dance it was excellent, with lots of people and everyone enjoying themselves."
"I'm pleased, you going to make a habit of going out every Saturday evening?" Catherine asked her casually.
"Would it matter if I did?" Grace eyes her thoughtfully.
"I guess not, although I might have to find someone to baby-sit."
"Ah, the kids! I kind of forgot about them, will you be going anywhere on a Saturday evening?" Grace couldn't help it; she knew damn well that when Catherine was on the ranch she never went out, so her response would be interesting.
"Yes, the kids! You don't really expect me to be the bottle washer and nappy changer do you!" Catherine sounded and looked petulantly at her.
"I wasn't aware that they had that requirement, unless something happened last night and you haven't told me about it yet?" Grace eyed her with interest and a smirk.
"Figure of speech." Catherine did look a little embarrassed at her description.
"Just out of interest, how come the boy calls you Catherine? I wasn't even aware you had talked to them on an individual basis."
"I......Well......he, Oh, it was a deal we struck that's all; I get to call him Jake which suits him better."
"I see, what about Lisa she going to have the privilege too?"
"Yes, Jake asked me that same question when I put him to bed last night."
Grace almost dropped the teapot and mug, which she was about to pour for Catherine. "YOU! You put him to bed?"
Catherine raised an expressive eyebrow. "Yes, is that a crime?"
"Is what a crime?" Jace Bardley sauntered in and smiled at the others in the room.
Both women looked up and in unison said "Nothing!"
Jace laughed and shook her head. "Okay, I get the picture not in front of the guests, huh?"
Grace chuckled and motioned her hand to the coffeepot and Jace nodded her head.
Catherine gazed deeply into her mug of tea.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Jace asked Catherine.
"What?" Jace smiled gently at the woman opposite her.
"A penny for your thoughts, you do look deep in thought, just an old saying."
"Oh! Yes, a penny, a penny for your thoughts," Catherine said distractedly.
"You seem a little distracted today, anything wrong?" The younger woman persisted.
"No, no I'm fine." Catherine gave her a small lopsided smile but it was very clear it was an effort for her to maintain it.
Not wanting to push the woman, she turned her thoughts to Grace. "Grace, how did you get on with loverboy?"
"Oh, come on Jace, he's just a friend, but we did have a good time." Grace smiled broadly at the chatty young woman she looked happy this morning, which she hadn't expected.
"Great, so fill me in?" With that the two women talked about the dance and various other topics, Catherine remained silent throughout, glancing on occasions at the animated blonde in front of her.
At seven, Colin arrived and as the two women were still chatting about Grace's exploits the previous night. Catherine deemed it a good idea to go to the study with him and they would finish breakfast there. Grace shrugged her shoulders but didn't say anything.
As they left, Grace smiled wryly at them. "You know that's the first time in over five years that we haven't sat down together for breakfast if we are all on the property."
Jace frowned. "Well, looking at them both I suspect they will either both come out of there smiling or with even longer faces then when they went in." She then giggled at the thought of the frowning man and the stoic woman, wonder if they ended up with indigestion.
Grace starred after them and smiled. "You could be right about that Jace. Although you know she's sad because you're going."
Jace let her cheerful visage drop a moment and sadness appeared on her own face. "I know I feel the same. Actually Grace I probably feel worse. But she knows I can't stay and she can't leave so we have to do this."
"Yeah, but at what cost to you both?"
"Oh, I'm going to try and pursued her to come to LA and visit."
"She hates LA!"
"What! What ever makes you say that?" Jace gasped at the words.
"Because she once told me it had bad memories for her, something to do with her father, but beyond that she didn't say." Grace saw the pain register in her new friend's face and felt sorry for her.
Jace looked devastated. One of the reasons why she felt so happy was because she was sure that she could persuade Catherine to visit but maybe it wasn't ever going to happen. "Hey Jace, keep asking maybe one day she will put that episode in her life away and you will see her."
"I will!" she whispered.
Grace went over to the oven and brought out some cookies. "For the journey later,
we can't have you starving on your way to
LA."
Jace got up from her chair and hugged the other woman. "I'm really going to miss you!"
"The feelings mutual." Grace hugged her back.
Jake walked slowly into the kitchen and didn't know if it would be better to leave the room and come back in or just make a noise.
He coughed indiscreetly. 'Women!'
Both women turned and gave him a tearful smile. "Ah, great another victim for my cooking." Grace pulled out a chair for Jake to take and she patted him on the shoulder.
He looked at Jace and raised his eyebrow. 'Hades was he related to Catherine? He certainly had that mannerism down pat.' Jace wondered in fascination.
"You have a problem with that eye?" Jace asked him.
"No! But I wondered why you have to leave today?" Jake sounded interested.
"I am on assignment for my studio, by chance I caught a chill and Catherine allowed me stay here to recover, but I need to go back home." she patiently explained.
"You don't like living here?" Jake asked her in concern.
Jace glanced at Grace and smiled tearfully. "Yeah, I like it here, but it's not my home Jacob. I live in America my career, family and my friends are there."
"You have friends here too!" He protested.
Jace looked over at Grace, who eyed her with compassion it couldn't be very easy for Jace to answer his very logical, but painful questions. "Yes, I hope so!"
"Then you could stay here, Lisa will miss you!" The boy pointed out to her.
"She will soon forget me Jake, it's only been a couple of days and people forget." Her heart dropped at the thought, 'Please god's don't let Catherine ever forget me.'
Little did they realise but Catherine had been listening to the conversation and her heart was pounding at the injustices of having met someone who could fill a void in her life, but it was being torn away almost as quickly as it came into being. "What if she doesn't will you come back to see us?" A low gravely voice, which would always send Jace's heartbeat racing sounded from the doorway.
Jace looked deep into ice blue eyes, which held a question in them.
'She's telling me something and I don't understand what! So help me just say the words Catherine if you do I would stay with you forever.'
"We will have to see, I guess next time I have holidays available." Jace wondered how she managed to control the emotion in her voice.
"Holidays right, I tend to forget about them." Catherine ventured further into the room and stood by Jake's chair.
"Yeah, you always do! It's a wonder Colin and I don't sue you for lack of them." Grace tried to temper the emotional charges that were evident in the room.
Catherine smiled, "Okay, I won't answer that, it may incriminate me at a future date."
Pulling away from the table she looked out of the window. "Not as bleak today what do you think Jake?"
The boy was obviously smitten with Catherine because his grin was so warm when he looked at her and answered the sullen look completely gone. "Yeah, definitely not as bleak, it really is getting brighter."
She looked back at the boy and gave him a brief grin in return.
"I'm going to take Tralargon out for an hour, I'll be back before you leave Jace." With that she left the room for the stables.
Jace was dismayed she'd hoped that Catherine would spend what little time she had left here with her but that wasn't to be. "I think I'll go and check up on Lisa, see what she wants for breakfast." Jace left the room quickly tears very close to the surface.
"Is Jace mad at me Grace for asking her to stay?" The boy asked innocently, a little worry seeping into his eyes.
"Don't worry about it Jake. It's a question she wanted to be asked unfortunately you're not the person she wanted it to come from!" She patted his arm and gave him some sausages and bacon with hot buttered toast.
**********
Catherine walked beside Tralargon on Cutters Ridge her hair being whipped back by the steadily worsening wind; it really wasn't a good day to be up here at all. "But it's where I first met you Jace Bardley and for my sins it's where I left you to suffer with your friends."
Her inner voice continued. 'If you hadn't you would never have had her in your life as you do now!' Catherine looked at the landscape; even in this wild weather it still looked a fascinating scene.
"I know that!" she spoke into the wind.
'So, why are you letting her go?' the nagging voice continued to taunt her.
"Because it's the best thing for her! I'm not into long term relationships, it just never works."
'Admittedly you never let yourself have a long term relationship before you arrived here but what about Grace and come to that Colin?'
"That's entirely different they work for me." Catherine turned her face towards the south-facing ridge and watched a waterfall cascade into the running stream below.
'Jace indirectly works for you!' the insidious voice still plagued her.
"I know! This is different she doesn't know that! I want to keep it that way." Turning towards her mare she vaulted up on her back with practised ease.
'Why?' The voice persisted.
Catherine turned her head and shouted into the increasing wind.
"Because god damn it, I LOVE HER!" the cry from her heart pierced the wind but there was no one around to hear it and it carried ineffectually over the ridge.
The voice had done its worse or best it all depended on your point of view.
Catherine galloped off down the ridge back in the direction of the ranch she had something to do.
**********
Peter Adamson arrived exactly as promised. He helped Jace with her bags and then went to wait inside the car as she asked him too.
He knew that something had changed with Jace but he didn't know what! Maybe, when she got back home it would all fall back into place?
Jace hugged Lisa and told her to ask Grace for a bedtime story from time to time! "What about Catherine too can't she tell me one on the nights Grace can't?" It was such an innocent childish question.
Catherine had her back to the door on the porch and just shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe." It was a very noncommittal reply.
Jace whispered something into Lisa's ear and the little girl smiled and nodded.
Jace went over to Jacob. "Hey Jacob don't go trying to out do Catherine in the horse riding skills just yet will you she might get mad." A gentle-teasing note came from the blonde's voice.
He gruffly held out a hand to her, as she took it he said. "It's Jake and I won't, well not this week anyway."
Catherine smiled briefly at his comment. This kid certainly wasn't what they had been told to expect.
Jace looked tearful and muttered "Thanks Jake."
Turning to Colin she looked into the grey eyes of the tall rangy man.
"Thanks for everything Colin I don't think you know exactly what bringing me here meant to me in the end?"
He smiled at her and then held out his arms and she ran into them and was held in a very tight friendly hug. He whispered into her ear.
"Oh, Jace Bardley I think I do." He then gently let her go.
That left Grace hovering.
Without a word they both hugged each other and the tears that threatened fell profusely. "You know what I'm going to remember the most about you Jace?" the emotional voice said next to her ear.
Jace looked into her brown eyes. "What?"
"Your kindness and your compassion. But above all that the tears! I've never known anyone who can cry so much!" Her eyes twinkled with humour tinged with sadness.
"Oh, gee thanks." Jace looked towards the car and saw that Peter looked a little agitated.
"I'd better get moving thanks for looking after me Grace."
"Anytime my friend."
Catherine didn't move from her position by the door, it didn't look as if she was going to either.
Jace smiled tearfully at her. "Thanks for your hospitality Catherine and your care."
Catherine shuffled her feet and all eyes were on her response.
"No problem Jace, I hope you have a safe journey home." Her voice sounded bored.
If this was a let down then Jace was positively deflated what did she really expect. "I'd better go." She turned away and rushed down the steps towards the car.
Seconds later she heard the pounding of those same steps and a hand clutched at her arm. Jace looked into the ice blue eyes of the woman she loved and once again was unable to understand the message being relayed.
"Why can't you tell me?" Jace asked softly.
Catherine swallowed her throat felt dry. She suddenly hugged the younger woman to her and over her head she simply said. "Thank you for offering me your friendship," she said fiercely.
Jace whispered into her chest. "I want to offer you so much more!" was the anguished response.
Catherine felt a tear drop on the blonde head. "I know! It's just too late for me Jace."
"Why? Why too late?" the anguished response drifted in the air between them.
Catherine didn't answer and she released Jace and propelled her towards the car as Adamson thrust the passenger door open.
Jace wasn't given the opportunity to say more.
As the car turned to leave Jace saw Lisa run up to Catherine and place her small hand inside the larger one. Catherine looked down in surprise but didn't remove her hand then Jake joined on the other side.
Jace smiled a bittersweet smile and tears began to fall even faster if that were possible.
Peter Adamson looked at the figures gradually getting smaller as he left the property behind. 'Jesus it felt as if he was watching an episode of 'Little House on the Prairie, you just couldn't understand events in life some days.'
Catherine bent her head to the small fair-haired child and asked her what she was doing.
"Jace said you would be sad. So, she asked me to hold your hand because she couldn't do it herself."
"I see, did she tell you that also?" she glanced at Jake once again a faint memory refused to take shape at the action of these children.
"No, but you looked like you needed it!" He replied with sincerity.
"Great, what I need is a drink! Who's game for a milkshake? I want the lime one!" She turned and walked back towards the house with two children hanging onto her. Discussing the merits of Strawberry, Chocolate and Banana flavoured milkshakes, but definitely not a lime one!
Grace had watched the events of the last two minutes enfold and it broke her heart. "She never gave Jace a chance Colin!"
Colin looked at the crying woman beside him and his heart went out to her. "Maybe she thought it was too late."
Grace eyed him dubiously. "Oh god Colin, it's never too late to take a chance on love!"
"Do you really mean that?" He asked forgetting for a moment they were talking about Catherine.
"Yes! Of course I do!" She strode back towards the kitchen.
Colin watched her go and put a hand to his chin thoughtfully as he went down the steps towards his house.
**********
The American Airlines flight to LAX was on schedule.
Jace had the window seat next to Peter, he had insisted.
After the flight levelled off Peter tried to make conversation with Jace. "I talked to Hudson a couple of days ago. She asked about you."
Jace didn't look at him she watched as the plane flew further and further from her heart's desire. "She did that was nice of her." She replied absently.
"Not really, you know Hudson she thinks you might have a scoop for her. Have you?"
"No!"
"Well, I guess that was to the point. But she's going to insist on something for the background on the story. You have spent the last seven days under the recluses roof she'll expect something!"
Jace turned her head to him and noticed he was only trying to let her know what was going on with Hudson. "She's not a recluse, she just lives quietly."
"Jace, I don't know what's going on believe me if I didn't know better, I would say you've fallen in love. I also don't need to know only if you need a friend's shoulder to cry on. But Hudson's a bitch and she will want something from you!"
"Peter, don't worry I can handle Hudson."
"You haven't fallen in love have you Jace?"
"If I had would it matter?"
"I don't want to see you hurt Jace I care about you. I sometimes think you live in a world some of us mortals never get to see."
Jace for the first time since getting into his car on the ranch, smiled and then laughed at the comment. "Oh, Peter what a load of garbage, I'm a mere mortal too."
Peter smiled at the change in his friend. "Then I'm glad because I wouldn't want any thunder bolts coming over our heads about now, not when I'm thirteen thousand feet in the air." He chuckled and entwined his hand in hers.
"So tell me what's she really like?" He wasn't sure she would even answer him.
She turned her head back to look outside and this shielded her face from his view. "Oh, you know what these so called recluse figures are like all silent, angst and tragedy." Jace smiled at the explanation that certainly wasn't Catherine Warriorson.
"Is that so! How well did you get to know her?" Peter's interest was piqued.
"I guess as well as anyone can. But I did become friends with the housekeeper now
that's a fun loving woman if ever there was
one."
Peter noted the change in her voice she wasn't deliberately hiding anything but something wasn't being said. "Yeah, she did seem happy when I met her."
"You would have loved her Peter she can organise, cook, oh boy can she cook! She has a kindness in her heart that you don't see often in this lifetime she's quite simply a good friend to have."
Peter laughed loudly. "Hell Jace if I didn't know better next thing you're going to tell me is you're in love with the woman!"
Jace smiled and continued to look out of the window. "Would that be so wrong?"
Peter went silent and tried to see her face and expression as she made the comment. If nothing else Jace's face was expressive to the point of almost conveying the words themselves. "No, no it wouldn't be wrong. Are you?"
Jace waited a moment or two before answering. "Not with Grace no!" Silently she added 'I'm hopelessly in love with her boss though.'
"I'm pleased to hear it, what would your parents have had to say?" Peter said mockingly.
"My parents? Well, I wouldn't know. It's not a topic usually open for discussion between us." She laughed and turned back to him.
Peter smiled she really did like him and he had been a good friend for much of the five years she had been in Hollywood. At times it had been tough, she didn't exactly come across as the most sophisticated on the block. She had found out early that making the right friends and ones that were friends not the pseudo plastic type that was the key in LA. They kept you out of trouble and she had been able to maintain a lot of her original views on life because of that!
Peter was one of those friends.
Another was James Thompson he was the PA to the owner of Paragon Pictures and they had originally met after she'd hounded him for some information on Union City. Now he was a good friend she also liked his partner Paul Strong, he wasn't in town much having a high profile job and lots of money if James's presents were anything to go by but they were happy. She'd had dinner a couple of times in the last eighteen months with them; Paul was the strong silent type reminded her of Catherine in a way and James was the gregarious one, very like her. It made her smile, as she thought of Catherine in a domestic situation and with her as a partner.
"So, would your parents approve do you think?" Paul asked, noting she had gone silent on him.
"If it made me happy it would make them happy." Jace answered him finally.
"There would be no one that they would disapprove?" Peter was making frivolous conversation he knew it and Jace knew it but it helped to pass the time.
Jace had to think about that she didn't have any enemies that she knew about, neither did her folks but if you put things in context there would be one person they probably wouldn't entertain. "Oh, there would be one person they probably wouldn't approve of."
Peter almost choked on his scotch and soda that he'd just received from the steward. "Really! I hope it's not me?"
Jace smiled. "Peter no way are you in this persons league and not for the obvious reason too."
"So spill it Jace who is it? You have me really interested now."
"Devonshire, the owner of Xianthos Publishing Corporation and other holdings if I'm not mistaken."
Peter looked at her and wondered if she knew that Xianthos was the major shareholder in Union City obviously not by her vehement statement. Not a good time to let her know either just let sleeping dogs lie.
"Why her? What connection do you have with her?" Well this was a turn on Jace actually might have her own skeletons in the cupboard after all.
"Me personally none! I've never met the woman. But she bought out my Father's business in Santa Barbara about six years ago. We thought she would let him stay in the company but they tossed him aside as if he was a piece of garbage. I'll never forgive her for that!"
"What made him sell in the first place?"
"He had no choice he was putting me through college and had mortgaged the company. It had never done that well but it made us a living and I was going to join him that summer after I'd graduated. We had time to make some money before my sister needed to go to college she's ten years younger than I am. They called in the markers I guess."
"I'm sorry Jace."
"Thanks, dad works for a small publishing house in Santa Monica now they live on the outskirts of LA. With my sending them part of my salary and his savings, we should be in a position to send Lucy to college next year."
"That's very commendable Jace, is that why you work for Union?"
"Yes, I don't always agree with Hudson's tactics, but she pays well and I think I'm helping in some way to give the place a better image."
Peter squeezed the hand he still held. "You know if you got involved with someone, say someone like me then you wouldn't have to stay and be a lackey for Hudson."
Jace smiled at him gently. "Is that a proposal?"
Peter cleared his throat and with red stained cheeks he answered. "If I said yes would you consider it?"
"Oh, Peter you are so good to me I don't deserve you! But the answer to your question would be no." She sighed as she turned away from him once again.
"Well, I'm going to keep trying you know maybe one day you might actually consider it."
"Peter, that wouldn't be fair to you would it?"
"Jace, anything you offered me would be enough."
She turned for the final time and touched his cheek. "I love you Peter, but I love you only as a friend and I know that's all I can ever offer you."
"Well, I know people who have thought they loved as friends and have married and been very happy."
"Not me!"
"Well, I'm going to stay around a little while longer if you don't mind, you never know and what the hell, I like you."
Jace turned to face him and kissed him on the cheek. He blushed and punched the button for the steward he needed another scotch!
Jace moved the seat into the reclining position, she wanted to sleep and dream about Catherine and possibilities. 'Funny isn't it how Xianthos had reared its ugly head. Hades, it would be so ironic if she ever met Ms Devonshire never mind had a notion to fall in love with her. No she had met her 'soulmate', Catherine Warriorson was most definitely that candidate, no one and nothing was going to stop her from making it a reality!'
Sleep came to Jace and in it she saw the tall dark haired woman riding into the sunset, holding on to her waist was a smaller blonde woman.
Oh, if only dreams became reality.
**********
Catherine had helped all day with the children; it had given her something to do, to help her stop thinking about Jace. It hadn't deterred her thought of the young woman at all.
'Hell, I almost told her!'
Grace had taken Lisa for a bath and was settling her into bed with a story. I wonder what we have in the library that would entertain a seven-year-old? There again Jake wasn't immune to the stories either. Catherine had watched him the previous evening gradually relinquish his interest in the TV to a good storyteller and Jace had definitely been that! Tomorrow she would take a look after all, Grace might not be around forever.
The way her household was going, she was going to lose all the adults and have them replaced by kids! That made her chuckle and she wondered what life would be like with lots of children around the place. 'I miss you Jace Bardley, and you've only been gone half a day!'
Jake was ensconced on the floor watching some trivial programme on the TV he was a strange boy. Sullen one moment and then he could be so charming.
'I think I need to arrange schooling for them! Funny given the circumstances of a week ago, I would be sitting in the study pondering, which take over would give me the most profit! Now I'm contemplating bedtime stories and schools. Can your life change so drastically over night and you have no control over it? Yes, hers had dramatically done so.'
"Where are you now Jace how, far away from home are you?" she whispered into the room not loud enough for the boy to hear.
Colin was acting strangely. She needed to take him aside and talk to him about it. He was far too essential to the ranch and to her to allow him to leave because he was lovesick! No, he would come out of that! It was in his hands to do something about it anyway. Why on earth hadn't he taken her advice?
'Maybe, it is because I never took my own advice and admitted the same to Jace. Because he's probably as scared of making that kind of commitment as I am!'
Time to get the boy to bed, he seemed to have some sort of crush on her, in time it would disappear, it always did but for now it served its purpose. Jake would go to bed on time and that's all anyone wanted at the moment.
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