GRACE

Stepping out of a helicopter into a beautiful field filled with different species of flowers is certainly something Grace from two, three months ago would have not pictured at all. When Dominic mentioned moving to a safe place, I pictured another penthouse with a nice pool to swim in.

But... The scene in front of me is more than that. It's as though someone breathed reality onto a very detailed painting of nature. The plants that surrounded us danced with the wind, and so did the length of my gown.

As I reached for Ruby's hand and pulled her closer to my side to block her ears from the loudness of the ascending helicopter, I took many seconds to enjoy the scene laid out in front of me. And as I did that, my soul felt relaxed, the same way I feel whenever I'm with Dominic.

Soon, we were walking out of the bare field we were standing on and our feet approached the straight path that welcomed us to the lushness of the land. As we walked, admirable scents tickled my sense of smell and a deep inhale was all it took to fully perceive the beauty that filled the air.

Ruby seemed to be enjoying the sight as well. Her eyes widened in admiration and we both reached for one of the flowers at the same time.

"Stop." But Dominic halted our intention.

We looked up at Dominic who was still maintaining the very serious expression he left the penthouse with. He took two steps forward and I questioned him with a quick glare.

Then, he said, "The people of this town don't like it when the flowers are touched. If you wish to touch any plant, there is a smaller field filled with samples. You can touch those."

"Oh." My mind failed to understand why such a rule would exist, but I am very aware that I have to respect the laid down rules. So, I adjusted my position, clutched Ruby's hand, and asked, "Are you going to tell us where we are now?"

We resumed our walk and I watched as the little luggage we brought swung in Dominic's grasp.

"I can't tell you where we are," he replied.

"I can always use Google Maps," I reminded him.

"I know. I don't want to take risks. You might decide to text one of your friends and that might not turn out fine." I resisted the urge to roll my eyeballs. He was still insinuating that the culprit could be someone from my side. But how can I text anyone when I don't have my phone with me?

"Anyway," Dominic continued, his voice lacking enthusiasm, "this is my hometown."

"What?" I did not expect that at all.

"Welcome to my hometown," Dominic still sounded a little unhappy. He sounded as though he was being forced to visit his hometown.

"Something tells me you don't want to be here," I commented.

"This is the only place that is safe for us."

I honestly had no idea how to react to his gloomy responses, so we all walked in silence until we reached the exit of the field. From that point, all we saw was the vastness of bare, sandy land. Thankfully, a rooftop waved from a distance. That was an indication that we wouldn't have to walk for too long.

But I still couldn't get rid of the fact that Dominic was unhappy. So, with Ruby silently walking at my pace, I briefly hastened my steps and whispered to Dominic, "Now that I think of it, there is really no need for all this. I wasn't attacked, all I got was a message."

Without turning or stopping his considerable strides, he replied, "Do we only take action when you are attacked?" Then, his head swung to face me. "The texts you have been receiving are enough to know that someone has been watching you. That person wants to hurt you."

"Shh." I glanced at Ruby. "Don't be too loud. Ruby shouldn't know."

"I am speaking the truth," he replied and his gaze went back to the road ahead.

"I know. But... Dave is investigating the whole thing, isn't he?" Dominic drew a long sigh. "And our current suspects don't sound that dangerous. And... Ouch!"

I was too engrossed in making a point, I didn't notice that Dominic had stopped walking. Thank God crashing into his back didn't create chaos for Ruby.

As I took a step back, Dominic turned and pierced my gaze firmly.

"What is wrong, Grace?" he asked.

"I... I don't know." His question was warm and it made me realise that I was ranting without sense. "I guess I just thought this is... This is a little unnecessary."

Dominic took a step closer to me, a cool breeze passing through us within the same second.

"You are thinking too much, Grace." He reached for my arms, the strap of our bag brushing against my left arm in the process and continued, "It is my duty to do everything to protect you. I don't care if you find it silly or unnecessary, as long as it keeps you safe, we are going to be staying here for a while."

Shrugging quite dismissively, I said, "This place does seem nice. And I am glad Ruby is here with us."

"Are you going to be okay, Grace?" Ruby suddenly asked.

Her question made me worried that she had caught on to the whole drama that I brought to their family. But before I could say anything, her father beat me to it.

He dropped the bag on the floor, crouched in front of her, and said, "My daughter, this place is strange, isn't it?"

The girl blinked gently. "Is Grace fine?"

"Of course," he nodded. "She is okay."

"Okay." That was all she said. And she resumed walking, leaving Dominic and me behind.

After Dominic and my very silly self picked up our pace, I rushed to hold Ruby's hand and we were soon walking behind Dominic. A sheepish smile formed on my lips because as we moved, I realised that I was really loved by the two souls walking with me.

That smile persisted for a while and I was able to enjoy the evidence of life that surrounded us.

"Anyway," Dominic swept away the silence, "Dave called yesterday and he informed me that Diane is presently out of the country. And uh... Regina is pretty much still in New York, she doesn't seem suspicious for now. And for the texts, they are yet to get anything out of it."

I nodded even though he could not see me but that soon turned into a groan.

"You just reminded me that I don't have my phone anymore."

"You can always use my phone."

"If you say so. How much longer till we get to our destination?" I noticed that Ruby was starting to sigh. And now that I think about it, we have been walking for a while.

"We are here," he replied and I bumped into his back again, a curse almost slipping out of my lips.

This time, my forehead felt the hit and as I rubbed it, I placed my sight on the house in front of us. A few metres away from the building was a parked vehicle.

"Is this also your house? And is the car yours?" I inquired.

"Nope. It is someone else's."

The building was similarly structured to something you would find in the woods, only it was bigger and prettier thanks to the flowers that surrounded the foot of the building. The flowers gave the brownness of the bungalow a soul and that was enough to tell that the rooms of the house would be full of warmth.

As we resumed our walk towards the structure, the entrance door swung open to my surprise, and a woman, who was probably in her late thirties, walked out.

"Well, look who the breeze brought along." Arms crossed, she fixed her round, mystic-looking eyes on Dominic who was already steps ahead of me.

"Hello, Janet," Dominic gruffly said.

"Hello to you too, brother."

Brother?

Oh yeah. He did say that he had siblings.

My eyes flickered to the tall woman who was yet to say another word. The resemblance between the two was quite hard to notice, but I figured it out anyway.

"Well don't just stand there, give me a hug!" she suddenly hollered and ushered him into her arms.

I heard Dominic give off a scoff, but he went into her embrace anyway.

"You look different," I heard Dominic say.

"I have been working out." As I stole a look at her fit figure, she caught me and finally noticed me. "She is not Diane."

"No. She is not." Dominic cleared his throat and walked towards me, his hand clutching mine as soon as he levelled in stance with me. "She is Grace, my girlfriend."

As though suddenly touched by something hot, an actual look of horror covered her face. And her feet moved until she was standing very close to me, her pretty eyes studying me intently.

"Tell me you are real," she pleaded.

Confused, I answered, "I am... real?"

Her fingers locked with my hair and I looked up at Dominic, my confusion demanding an explanation. But he dodged my silent question with a short grin.

"You are really real." Janet dropped her horrified expression. "Oh, thank heavens." Heavy chuckles escaped her lips and she hurriedly ushered me into her arms.

Still confused, I played along and made sure to maintain a smile each time she took breaks from her bone-crushing hugs to admire or compliment me.

"Okay, Janet that is enough," Dominic said.

"Oh yeah... I..." She finally noticed Ruby who had earlier detached her hand from mine so that she could sit on a chair that was not so far from where I was standing. "Ruby?" She glanced at Dominic. "She is Ruby, right?"

"Yes, she is."

"Oh, my God." She rushed to the little girl, her knees kissing the ground so that she could hug her properly. "You are finally here. Oh, my baby is finally here."

"Janet..." Dominic tried to intervene.

Swiftly, Janet had Ruby in her arms and her crazy excitement was out there for all to see. "Q has to hear about this! Everyone has to know!"

"Janet..."

"What?" She eyed him.

"We have to rest. Everyone will hear about everything tomorrow."

"What? No. Everyone is presently at the main house." She proceeded to gently nudge me while she made Ruby dance in her arms. "They all have to meet Grace and Ruby. They have to know Grace wasn't made up. Come on, into the car."

"You are most certainly not commanding me right now."

"Eliot Dominic Powers, get your butt into that car right now!" She narrowed her eyes at him. "How's that for a command?"

"We had better not waste time at that damn house," Dominic loudly grumbled and he surprised me by walking towards the jeep.

"Come on darling," Janet's tone changed to a loving one, "I want us to meet everyone while they are at breakfast."

After ensuring Ruby and I were comfortably seated in the back seat, Janet started the vehicle. At the same time, she ordered Dominic to wear his seatbelt.

It took a while, but I was soon able to escape the mild bewilderment that had overcome me. Then, I was able to ask the question that was on my mind.

"Janet." I smiled at her peeping image in the front mirror. "Why did you ask if I was real earlier?"

"Oh you see, when Eliot called a few weeks ago and told me about a particular Grace he was seeing, his brothers and I thought he was telling us a fake story to shut us up."

"Shut you up?" I asked, my eyes planted on Dominic who was very quiet.

"He was tired of us asking... begging him to finally consider having a girlfriend." My lips formed an oh. "Honestly, if he didn't bring you along, I would still be doubting him. I am so glad you are with my brother, Grace." She threw me another huge grin, the car dancing as we took on a bit of a rough path. "We are going to arrive at the main house soon. Pops will be so thrilled to meet you, Grace. And he will be more excited to finally meet his beautiful granddaughter."

"And we are here! Hey Pops!" Janet waved eagerly while her busy hand drove until the car came to a stop. "Look who's here!"

I didn't think the journey would be that fast.

Janet rushed out of the car and towards the elderly man that was standing akimbo in front of the grand building that I kept stealing glances at. This building was more like a duplex, just that it had a more traditional touch.

Ruby and I got down after Dominic did and I noticed that the older man we were walking toward bore a lot of semblance to Dominic. To put it better, excusing a few details, their father looked like a much more grown version of Dominic.

"Father," Dominic's deep voice greeted and I sensed some anger in it.

"Dominic," the older man replied, and he made sure to return the stone glare his son was giving him.

"They are not on talking terms," Janet, who had found a way to slide away from her father's side, whispered into my ears as we both watched the duo exchange a lot with just dagger glares.

"That explains what is going on right now," I replied.

"Yeah. Anyway, come in. You must be famished."

I frowned. "Wait. What? You are just going to leave them alone? If they could kill each other with their eyes, they would have died seconds ago."

Janet clicked her tongue in response. "Well, they haven't done that yet, have they?" My frown deepened. "They need to sort things out and I think this is the time. So, let us go inside and fill our tummies." She transferred her smiling face in Ruby's direction. "You must be hungry, Ruby."

Ruby, though quieter than usual, allowed Janet to lead her into the house. And after I received a slight nudge from the woman, I took another worried look at Dominic who appeared to harbour serious anger towards his father.