Saving Grace by H.P. Munro

Author:H.P. Munro [Munro, H.P.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Red Besom Books
Published: 2016-10-14T03:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

Charlotte’s feet pounded on the gravel track. The sun glistened off the reservoir as she did her third lap around the well-trodden path. She looked up as she ran, catching glimpses of the sun through the leaves. It had been four days since their abrupt exit from Grace Falls, and in that four days Charlotte had yet to settle back into the city she’d called home for the majority of her adult life.

Suddenly there were too many people. The traffic was too noisy. The smells too overpowering. Only when she was in this man-made oasis within the city would Charlotte’s heart stop aching. Surrounded by trees and nature she found a semblance of peace.

The rhythmic beat of her stride provided a hypnotic cadence allowing her mind to wander from its current physical location back to Grace Falls.

Today’s catalyst was an email from Peter. Her thoughts had returned to her hometown again. Yet were she to be honest with herself she would acknowledge that the receipt for the truck repairs was only a convenient scapegoat. Her mind had never been far from the town, or Erin.

She stopped running and placed her hands onto a tree to help her balance as she stretched out her calf muscle. Soon her stretching was forgotten as her hands caressed the bark of the tree. Its roughness against her fingertips comforted her. Spurred on by a thought she refused to acknowledge, she found herself running again. This time, instead of completing her lap, she was running through the park.

Dodging past tourists, she reached the exit on 59th Street. Making her way towards Midtown her pace only slowed when she reached the crosswalks at the end of each block.

***

Molly saved the document she was working on and took a sip of her coffee, wincing at the coldness of the liquid. Making her way towards the small kitchen that served her floor, she was stunned to see a sweaty Charlotte pleading with the receptionist.

“Charlotte?”

Charlotte spun around and grinned. “Ah, thank God. Do you have a minute?”

Ignoring the look of disgust on the receptionist’s face, Molly motioned for Charlotte to follow her. “’Course, c’mon through. I was going for coffee. Can I get you anything? Water? Respirator?”

Shaking her head, Charlotte walked beside her. “Water for now. Respirator for later.”

Molly dug a bottle of water out of the fridge and handed it to her friend, then poured herself a fresh cup of coffee. “Should I be worried that you’ve obviously run here?”

“I just needed to speak to you.”

“You know there’s this amazing thing called a phone you could have used.” Seeing a scowl form on Charlotte’s face, Molly let it drop. “Let’s go back to my office and we can talk.”

“So what’s so important that you needed to forgo modern technology?” Molly held the door of her office open for Charlotte to enter.

Before Charlotte got a chance to respond, or sit down, Molly gripped the waistband of her shorts.

“Hang on there, sweaty woman. I’m going to get something for you to sit on otherwise I’m going to be looking at your ass print all day.

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