Grace Under Pressure (Grace Walker Series Book 1)

Chapter 37:

Thank God Mark was there, because Olivia never came back outside while I was waiting on Mason. I met him at the side door, since that's the only one that didn't have steps. He came out with his dad and handed me the keys.

"We really appreciate this Grace, Mason needs to get back to normal, and I know you are the only one that can do it." He said.

I could feel my face flush. "Thank you." I said.

"Alright, well here are the keys. You can use it anytime you want, not just for things to do with Mason. Since your mom insists on sharing the gas cost with me, tell her I already filled it up she can do it next time." He said with a chuckle.

He walked over to the Jeep to make sure all the valid paperwork was in the glove box. Mason followed behind him and I followed Mason. I did stop though because I felt someone staring at me. I looked up at the house and seen Olivia standing in the window, glaring at me. I quickly put my head down and walked after Mason.

"Looks like everything is in order, Grace. So she's all yours." He said. He handed me the keys and excused himself and walked back up to the house.

Mason watched his dad walk in the door and turned to face me.

"What are you about to do?" He asked.

"Nothing really. I was going to pick the Jeep up and head home and fix my mom and me some dinner. What's up?"

"Oh, nothing, just trying to get away from the house. Olivia didn't go to bridge and I swear it's because she knew you were coming to get the Jeep." He said.

"I was just going to go home, but" I said against my better judgement "if you'd like you can come with me."

He smiled then and said it sounded great. He told me he had to go back in and tell his dad.

It took him what seemed like forever to come back out. So, I went ahead and got behind the wheel. It felt amazing sitting behind the wheel. You can tell that Mr. James takes care of it, there wasn't a scratch, dent or bit of dust in sight. I started the engine to get the vehicle warmed up. Ten minutes past. I kept looking up to the house and seen nothing. And because I was in the car, I didn't hear anything except for the radio.

Mason eventually walked out and looked super mad. He got in the passenger seat and asked could we please leave now. I backed out of the drive and headed back to my house. The radio was playing, which made the silence less awkward. We got about 10 minutes from the house, and Mason finally started talking.

"Sorry about that. Dad and Olivia got into a huge fight when he went back in after giving you the keys. She claims she can't fit it in her schedule to help me get back and forth from places. I don't think that's the case. I don't think she wants to. So, why is it a big deal for me to get help from you?"

"I don't know Mason. I've been asking that question for a few days. I don't think she feels I'm good enough to drive your vehicle or even be associated with you."

"Well whatever it is, she needs to stop trying to control my life. You are my friend. I'm not going to drop you just because she feels some type of way." He said.

We got the house a few minutes later. I seen Mom's car in the driveway when I got there. I helped Mason get out of the Jeep and walked with him to the front door. Unfortunately, our front door has steps so it took a minute. Mom must have heard us drive up. She came and held the door open so Mason could come in.

"Hey Mason, how's the leg?" She smiled.

"It's doing okay. Doc said my therapy is really helping. I am so ready to trade this cast for the walking boot though."

"I bet. Grace, I seen you set chicken out for tonight, but honey it's going on 5 and it's still pretty frozen."

Well, shoot. So much for dinner.

"You two want to go get something to eat?" Mom asked.

"Sure. I can always eat." Mason said. Mom and I looked at him and laughed.

"Okay, well let me change out of my work clothes and you two think of a place to go to."

Mom went upstairs to change and I asked him if he wanted something to drink. He said water would be fine. I got both of us a bottle out of the fridge and we sat down at the kitchen table to wait on Mom.

"So what should eat?" He asked. I was craving chicken since I set it out, but now we will have to eat they tomorrow, so I tried to think of something else.

"Pizza and bread sticks?" I suggested.

" That does sound good. What that place downtown called that we used to go to when we were little? Antonio's or something?" He said.

"Yeah, that's the name of it. We will see if Mom is okay with it."

Mom came down a few minutes later and asked if we made a decision. We told her Antonio's. She said that's fine and we left to head there.

A few minutes later, we got there and had about a 10 minute wait. I let Mason sit down on the bench with Mom while we waited for our name to be called.

"So, how was the rest of your day Mom?" I asked.

"Ya know, work is work." Typical Mom, when she's off of work, she doesn't like to talk about it.

This place was little, but clean and it was always busy, but they were efficient. A waitress called our name and we followed her to the table. The smell of cheese and pepperoni wafted in the air and it made my stomach growl. She sat us down at a table and took our drink orders. We went through the menu to check out what we wanted. Mom and I usually just ordered take out from here, and they only offer about half of the menu.

"Let's get the sausage and mushrooms." I said. That was my favorite.

"Sounds good, anything else you see you want Mason?" Mom asked.

"Yeah, let's get some mozzarella cheese sticks and maybe some cheesy garlic bread." He said.

Mom and I both agreed. The waitress came back with our drinks and we sat and talked until she came back with the appetizer.