Lace had always been strong and independent. Even after her grandparents had died and she’d had to pick up her emotional pieces, she’dstillmanaged to keep that tough side of her persona intact; determined to move forward, no matter how painful.
Lace didn’t think it would be the same if Vince headed for the hills.
The man was everything she’d ever dreamed of. Smart, handsome, engaging. Even the goofy side of him appealed. Or maybe sheespeciallyenjoyed the dumb-ass things he said. She’d always admired how her grandfather had made Gram and her laugh over the silliest of things; throwing out the most ridiculous of “dad jokes” for their amusement. It was like he’d made it part of his job
Lace hadn’t realized how rare that was, until it had been gone.
And now, Vince.
He had the same easy way of cracking her up; of seeing beyond the mundane in the world to make everything sparkle a little brighter.
Hell. He even hadLacebuying into his hearts and flowers vision of things. She’d actually been tolerating Captain Nincompoop more than normal over the past few days.
Thatmightbe because the gruff man was ignoring her more than usual, but from Lace’s perspective, her attitude toward him had definitely softened.
Not that she was looking forward to working again tomorrow. Having this day off where she wasn’t hooked up had been a breath of fresh air.
If only?—
“You’re thinking pretty hard over there,” Vince cut into her thoughts.
Right.
Thinking, but with no colorful fantasies thrown in to amuse.
Didn’t that just suck.
“I was just recalling things about my grandparents,” she told him, half-honestly. She didn’t want to burden him with her self-doubts wherehewas concerned.
“You want to talk about it?” Vince didn’t push, which was just like him. He simply left room for her to decide whether or not to share.
Should she?
If Vince didn’t know about her grandparents’ deaths already, it was because he hadn’t pressed his mother on the subject. Ellen Sothard was fully aware of how they’d died.
Lace gave an inward sigh.
Before they got to the Sothard homestead and something slipped out, Lace figured it was time to fill Vince in.
She didn’t often talk about her grandparents’ passing because it was so painful. But if Lace hoped for Vince to remain in her life, even if it was only for the short term, he deserved to hear it.
“They were killed in their ice shack,” she spit out bitterly.
“What?”
That one word had been sharply barked, because, yeah, what she’d told Vince wasnotthe type of accident that happened every day.
He clenched his jaw. “They went through the ice?”
It was a good guess, but incorrect.
Lace imagined thatmostice deaths came from breaking through and going under to succumb to the frigid waters.
That’snotwhat had happened to her folks.
“No,” Lace managed. “They were actually out after dark one night, having a bit of fun cooking supper over a camp burner in their shack. They were so excited that they were going to toast s’mores.” She remembered how they’d looked, giggling like children, anticipating their indulgent adventure.
“They were extremely familiar with the lake and its unforgiving foibles, so they weren’t worried to be heading out after dusk. Theyneverwould have attempted it if the ice had been unsafe.”