Six Weeks of Grace Pt. 04

"HELP!" she heard the scream at almost the instant that Don scooped up Grace. Somehow she had gotten tangled in the climbing rope.

Anne jumped up and ran towards them. It seemed like it took her forever to get across the yard and she couldn't figure out how Don could already be there. By the time she got to the play set, Don was comforting an obviously unhurt but frightened little girl. Grace was crying but it was somewhat muffled as she was engulfed in Dons arms and pulled tight against his chest. She could hear him whispering soothing words to her as she slowly started to relax in his arms.

Anne stood in wonder as she watched him holding Grace. She reasoned that he must have been keeping an eye on Grace the whole time they were talking and saw her start to get caught in the rope. But how had he gotten up and to her in what seemed like to Anne the proverbial blink of an eye. How could a man that big, move that quickly? She looked back and forth at the deck that they had been sitting on and the playset and shook her head as she realized that once again, he had her confused.

"Maybe I'll put her down for a short nap." Don said to her so quietly she could barely hear it. Grace was falling asleep in his massive arms and she could see the wet stains on his shirt from her tears.

"Ah, yes, that's probably a good idea; it's been an exciting day for her." Anne replied as she gazed at the sleeping child cradled against him.

Looking at them, father and daughter, Anne felt her emotions again start to surface and she turned away. "I'll leave you now but I'll be checking in." She said over her shoulder as she left the yard. Going around the house, she was back in her car and driving before the tears started.

"Damn it Anne!" She screamed out in frustration. "Get ahold of yourself."

Back at the house Don was stunned by her sudden departure but carried the sleeping child and put her to bed. He sat in a chair in her room, just watching her. As she slept, all he could see was a little angel laying there, an angel he was determined would never be taken away from him.

The rest of the week was a new experience for the pair; they both seemed to be infatuated with the other. At times the little girl made Don laugh like he was a kid himself, other times he wondered how he was ever going to manage. Through it all, Grace was always beaming, smiling as he burned the chicken nuggets and bleached the color from her clothes; laughing as he became embarrassed at helping her take a bath. She was the one holding his hand when he was nervous getting her enrolled in school, he had to be reminded by Bobby that it was set to start the next week. She had to make sure that he read her a story every night and she got the required hug and kiss goodnight.

Anne for her part, dropped in unannounced to check on the pair. But aside from poor cooking skills and an innate inability to pick clothes that matched, she was unable to find fault of any kind. This fact did not sit well with the partners.

She delivered her weekly report the first Friday but it was uneventful. "That's it, I have one incident where he may have drank but I have no proof of it." Anne recited her first report.

"That's it!" Roger blurted out. "Tell me how one of the most notorious bar brawlers in the county is a model parent!"

"I don't see the problem," Anne asked. "If I understand everything, if the guy is a good parent, then we are done here."

"Maybe you don't understand everything!" Roger exclaimed.

"Fine, then clue me in." Anne replied quickly.

"That's enough Anne, you just stay close, I want you there constantly, keep recording anything that happens." Mark said and then dismissed her.

Anne left thinking about the meeting with the partners. Fucking assholes she thought for the hundredth time as she left the office. She was glad to be away from them so she decided to do a 'drop in' on Grace and Don.

Up until now, she had always knocked but decided she was going to use the access the Judge had afforded her. It was Friday afternoon so she really didn't think anything would be wrong, but she needed something to report, so she came through the door unannounced.

"Miss Anne, Miss Anne!" Grace said excitedly as she saw her coming in.

Anne took one look at her and burst out laughing. She couldn't help herself as she took in Grace's outfit. The little girl was wearing a green striped shirt with blue and purple checked pants.

Grace picked up on Anne's laughter and started clowning around until they were both overcome. Stifling herself for a second, Anne kneeled down in front of the giggling little girl. "Honey, did you pick out those clothes to wear?"

"No, Daddy did!" Grace answered proudly, still laughing at the game they seemed to be playing.

Anne was shaking her head and smiling at Grace when Don came into the room.

"What are we all laughing at?" He asked quizzically.

Still kneeling down in front of Grace, Anne looked up at the sound of Don's voice and realized once again, how he towered over her. Quickly she stood up and composed herself as Grace started running upstairs.

"I'm going up to play in my room." She yelled over her shoulder as she took off.

Don cocked his head slightly still awaiting the answer to his question. Anne looked up the stairs and watched Grace disappear down the hall before answering. "I'm sorry Mister Duncan, I just . . . well it's just that . . . ah. "

"Miss Summers, if you have something to say, please say it!" Don said, exasperated at her apparent fear of him.

"Fine . . . a green striped shirt does not go with purple and blue checked pants." Anne said solemnly, wondering how he was going to react to her criticism.

Don looked at her for several seconds before a shy smile came to his face. "Actually," he paused. "I'm having some trouble with that."

Anne couldn't help herself as she broke out into a grin. On one hand she was relieved that he hadn't taken her criticism badly and on the other, she thought his shy confession was kind of cute. Before she could think it through, she exclaimed. "YA THINK?" And then started laughing again.

Don's face turned angry for only an instant before he realized she was only teasing him and joined in on the joke at his expense.

After they both started to regain their composure, Don looked at her for a moment before he decided to throw it back at her. "Well if you can do a better job, be here at ten tomorrow morning for school shopping."

Anne looked back at him and her eyes went wide. "Ah ... I ... I" She stuttered out.

"Well fine then, I guess Grace will just go to school in whatever I buy her." Don added with a smile.

Suddenly Anne though that this would be a great opportunity to keep an eye on them. "You win, I can't let that happen to her."

Now it was Don's turn to be shocked, he had simply wanted to put her back on her heels a bit, he never expected her to actually go along. But then he thought, why not. "All right, now that that's settled, I have lasagna to make for supper." He turned to go back into the kitchen but then turned back around. "You're welcome to stay." He added with a smile.

"Lasagna?" She asked with an obvious look of disbelief.

"Homemade." He added.

"Homemade?" The disbelief even more evident in her question.

Again he gave her the shy smile. "Okay you got me. I'm making it AT home," he started and then took an obvious pause. "But I bought it at the store; I just have to put it in the oven."

Again, Anne took in the shy grin and couldn't help herself, she slowly nodded her head. "How can I pass up homemade lasagna?"

Anne was surprised as they worked together to get dinner on. True to his word, she had to smile as she saw him take out the prepackaged frozen meal, read the directions over and over, follow them word for word and finally get it cooking. As it baked, they set the table and got out all of the needed items to complete the meal. There was little conversation as each seemed a bit off their game, being together and fixing dinner. Anne did note that Don never let more than a few minutes go by without running upstairs to check on Grace.

After getting the Lasagna out at exactly the appropriate time, Don went and got Grace for dinner.

"Are you eating with us Miss Anne?" Grace asked when she saw her in the dining room.

"Is that okay?" Anne asked playfully.

"Yeah, we need to have company sometimes. " Grace answered quickly.

"Hey, what does that mean?" Don asked.

Looking at the dining table set and everything just right, Grace gave Anne a serious look. "We always eat in the kitchen cause daddy doesn't cook so good."

Anne looked over at Don and she could see his face turn red. She tried to stop it, but a slight giggle came out as she took in Grace's statement.

"Well, let's eat." Don said quickly, before it got any worse for him.

After they sat down, Anne was once again shocked as Don nodded to Grace who bowed her head. "Thank you Lord for this dinner and that Miss Anne can be with me and daddy for dinner."

After dinner was done and cleaned up, Anne spent some time with Grace but any questioning was futile. The little girl was infatuated with her daddy and no amount of probing gave any sense that Grace wasn't thrilled to be with him.

After Don helped with a bath, he tucked her in with a story as Anne waited downstairs. She wanted to leave but didn't want to just walk out after dinner.

"You could have come up." Don said as he came down the stairs.

He saw a sadness flash across her face for an instant and then it was gone. "Thank you but no, I was okay right here." She answered rising from the couch and stepping to the middle of the room. "I should go but I wanted to thank you for dinner, it was actually very good."

Don seemed uncomfortable accepting the praise; he remained quiet as he really didn't know how to respond.

Anne sensed his discomfort and continued on. "I was just surprised that Grace said grace. "

They both smiled as they realized how funny it sounded, and then Don seemed to get a bit defensive as he pondered her question. "Didn't expect that from me, did you?" He asked tersely.

"Mister Duncan, I didn't mean it that way." Anne said trying to defuse the situation.

"How did you mean it?" Don growled out.

Anne was instantly afraid and moved back a step. This is what she feared all along, her eyes darted around the room, wondering if there was any escape. She felt very alone and vulnerable with this huge man so close to her.

Don saw her expression change and the trapped look on her face and silently cursed himself. "Miss Summers," Don began, keeping his voice as soothing as he could. "Please forgive me, I didn't mean to frighten you."

Anne looked up into his face, trying desperately to get a read on what was behind his words. Was this just a ploy to get her to relax, then he would spring. She looked carefully into his eyes but there wasn't any hint of deceit, he seemed genuinely embarrassed by his outburst.

"Please, Miss Summers, please sit down." Don asked as he motioned to the couch behind her. "Please." He repeated gently.

Anne started to back up to return to the couch and Don was careful to take the chair farthest away from her.

After they were both seated, Don took in a deep breath and let it out. "Miss Summers," he began. "I want to apologize, I didn't mean to scare you, believe me, I have never harmed a woman in my life and I never will." Anne started to speak but Don continued. "You don't have to say anything. You have every right to be wary of me, I know that you have a thick file that says you should be scared to death of me. I am a drunk and out of control angry and violent psychopath, I'm sure that's what it says."

Anne stayed quiet this time as Don seemed to be unsure of what to say next. "Miss Summers, no one changes overnight and neither will I, but . . . I will NEVER hurt you."

Looking at him, she realized that he was staring directly in her eyes and for some reason she actually believed him. "Mister Duncan, I guess you are right, your past has made me feel a bit unnerved at times." Looking down for a minute she paused and then continued. "But I owe you an apology, when I asked about saying grace, I guess I did mean it the way it sounded. I'm sorry but in reading your file -," she stopped suddenly.

Don quickly picked up on it. "I understand Miss Summers, a man with my past saying grace, must have seemed odd?"

"I'm sorry" She said softly. "I shouldn't have assumed."

Don hesitated and then started carefully. "You actually assumed correctly, when Grace got here, she told me that they always said grace at meals. I wanted her to feel at home here, so we have continued it."

Anne simply nodded before she got to her feet. "I do thank you for dinner."

Don got up also and escorted her to the door. What had been a nice evening now seemed to be difficult. Before she left, Don felt he needed to find out about tomorrow. "Uh, Miss Summers, I hate to send Grace to school looking like a circus clown."

Anne turned back to him and saw the shy smile again. "I'll be here at ten; I don't want her to face that either." She replied with a small grin of her own.

After she left Don just sat alone in the living room, thinking about the evening. He still felt badly about frightening her but wondered why. Thinking about it, the answer was slow in coming but it finally seeped through to him. Because he liked her, that was why. She was fun to be around and he had enjoyed the back and forth teasing they did. She jumped right in helping with dinner and she was great around Grace. But that thought brought up the incident in the bedroom and the pain he saw when he mentioned certain things. Obviously there was something there but what he wondered.

Finally turning off the lights and locking up, he realized that he was looking forward to tomorrow.

"Okay, see the small animals on the skirt, they match the small animals on the top." Anne was pointing it out to Don.

"So all I have to do is get the animals to be the same and the clothes match?" Don asked.

"That's it!" Anne replied with a smile.

They had been shopping for most of the day and Don was finally figuring it out. He was learning the ways of kids clothing and they had filled his SUV with clothes and school supplies. Grace was having the time of her life trying on outfits and picking out backpacks and lunch boxes.

Anne was also having more fun then she could remember. She loved shopping for Grace and Don gave her free reign to buy whatever she wanted for the little girl. Anne was having Grace try on yet another cute set when she turned around and ended up right in the arms of Bill Meyers. She stepped back as she recognized him.

"Well Anne, nice to see you," He said with a leer. "No kiss for old times' sake?"

"Not hardly," Anne spat out as she turned away from him. She remembered all too well the one date with him, all hands and an inability to understand the word 'No'. It had taken a slap and her running for the door for him to get the message. She still hadn't forgiven her girlfriend for setting her up with this asshole!

"Don't you turn away from me you fucking bitch." He yelled out, as he grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. "I ain't forgot you slapping me."

Startled by the suddenness of his attack, Anne let out a small gasp. As she closed her eyes and braced for the blow she thought was surely coming, the hand on her shoulder was suddenly gone.

Her eyes sprang open as she heard the sound of a large thump. Don had her assailant by the front of his jacket and had slammed him against a nearby wall. Bill had crumpled on impact and his face was distorted in surprise and pain, it was obvious he never expected to be face to face with any angry Donald Duncan.

Anne was stunned as she took in the scene, but then she let out a gasp as she realized that Don was pulling back his arm and clenching his fist. She leapt forward and grabbed his arm. "DON, NO!" was all she could get out as she tried to stop him.

Anne's voice cut through his furry and he stopped instantly. He looked back at her and she could see the look on his face go from rage to wonder as he saw her holding onto him. Once she saw him regain control, she slowly released the massive arm she had a death grip on.

Turning back to the frightened man pinned against the wall, she could hear Don speak slow and distinct to him. "If I ever see you again or hear of you approaching her, we will finish this, do you understand?"

Bill's eyes were open wide in terror as his head bobbed dramatically. Don released him and he fell to the floor, his legs unable to hold him up. Scrambling to his feet, a very frightened Bill Meyers took off at a brisk walk through the store.

Anne quickly grabbed Don by the arm and led him back over to where Grace was just coming out of the changing room.

"I'm sorry." Don said sheepishly as they left the store a few minutes later. They had finished up quickly, made their purchases and were headed across the parking lot.

Anne looked at him in wonderment for a couple seconds before she answered. "For what, saving me from getting slapped by some guy?"

"I . . . ah . . . well thank you also."

"For what?"

"Ah, well nothing, I guess it doesn't matter." He answered with a nod towards Grace, as he realized this is not a conversation they should be having in front of her.

Later when they returned home and Don had placed an exhausted Grace into her bed for a nap, they sat in the living room having a cup of coffee. "I do want to thank you." Don started quietly. "I'm trying hard to change but sometimes I still have trouble controlling my emotions."

Anne was conflicted as she looked over at him, he was embarrassed by his actions yet those same actions had saved her from harm. How she could blame him for protecting her she wondered. "Mister Duncan," she started.

"Miss Summers," he interrupted her, "I had hoped that your calling me Don at the store had changed things a bit."

"I guess it was just a reflex but you're right." She paused and then smiled. "Please call me Anne."

"Thank you and by the way, Don works for me."

"Don" she said with emphasis as she began again. "You did what you had to do to protect me, and I appreciate it, I just wanted to make sure that you didn't go farther than you had to."

Don was quiet for a while before he started speaking. "But you probably didn't help your cause though?"

"What do you mean?"

"Miss, I mean Anne, you probably stopped me from doing something that would have allowed you to take away Grace."

Anne sat back in her seat and then looked down, not wanting to meet his gaze. "My job is to do what's best for Grace." She answered his accusation, looking back at his face. He nodded but she could tell he wasn't convinced.

Anne realized that she was also tired and stood to leave. "I guess I could use a nap too, I'm not used to spending a day shopping either."

Don got up and walked her to the door. "I know you have free reign to come and go as you please but do you have plans to come back this weekend?"

"I don't know, why do you ask?"

Don hesitated but then decided to just go ahead and tell her. "Grace starts school Monday and she wanted a special dinner tomorrow night. I thought since you helped with her school shopping, you could come for dinner."

"Are you cooking?" Anne asked with a chuckle.

Again the shy smile broke on his face. "Hey I did good with the lasagna!"

"What time?"

"We'll probably eat at five, so come whenever you want to."

"It's a date," Anne blurted out and then her face turned red. "I mean -," she hesitated.

Don smiled. "I know what you mean, see you tomorrow."

After she left, Anne drove back to her apartment thinking of the day. He was right about one thing, she probably did stop him from doing something that would have caused the loss of his daughter. But she couldn't help being impressed with the day. Spending time with Grace was great, shopping with a little girl, picking out clothes, seeing her smile and her happiness over each purchase made it one of the most special days she ever had. However being with Don added to the day; he was friendly and outgoing with a great sense of humor. He was never impatient with them and always smiling.