Running to You: Small Town Romance

Chapter Eleven

**This has not been edited or proofread.**

GRAYSON

Farrah was a mess, but I held her through it all, rocking her gently in the recliner in my living room until she fell asleep in my arms, her tears exhausting her.

I felt angry that I hadn't been there with her, but at least she hadn't been alone. And thankfully, Chase had been close by when she called him. The arrest had been done quickly. The longest part of it all was her wait time for me to get there.

Chase quietly stepped into the house. He frowned at his little sister before heaving a soft sigh. "Guy's boots match the prints I found in your woods," he softly told me, keeping his voice low so he wouldn't wake Farrah.

I breathed a sigh of relief. That part of this nightmare was over, at least.

"But?" I prompted.

He grunted. "She'll have to face him in court. She probably won't need an attorney, but it might be best to get her one in case."

I nodded. "I'll cover it all," I told him. "I got her this far. I'm going to get her the rest of the way."

He nodded. "I know I agreed to this earlier, but you've one hundred percent got my blessing," he promised. "You're the best for her, Grayson. You smooth each other out. God knows you've got a lot of rough edges."

I rolled my eyes at him. He just smirked and left again, throwing a two finger wave over his shoulder at me before he shut the front door behind him.

I pressed my lips to the top of Farrah's head. The hardest part was over. Now, I just needed to her to testify against him in court. Then, we could finally put every bit of this nightmare in our pasts and move together into our future.

~*~*~

Farrah woke up some time later, her bleary eyes blinking up at me. I smiled at her softly. "Sleep well?" I asked her.

She nodded and got up from my lap. "I'm hungry," she grumbled.

I laughed softly. "Come on. Let's go to the diner and get a bite to eat," I told her.

She smiled and grabbed my hand in hers, leading me out to my truck. I just managed to snatch my hat up before we slipped out the door. Once we were rolling down the drive, I cleared my throat. "Before we get there, I want to talk to you about something," I told her.

She sighed and looked over at me. "What now?"

I almost smirked. "Chase stopped by while you were sleeping – informed me that you'll have to testify."

She blew out a soft breath. "I thought it was going to be something a lot worse. I can deal with that compared to the fear of the past few weeks," she admitted.

I grabbed her hand in mine and lifted it to my lips, pressing a kiss to the back of her fingers. "You're an incredible woman, Farrah. You know that, right?"

She laughed softly. "You're not so bad yourself, Grayson."

I grinned at her. "I'm proud to call you mine."

She swallowed thickly, her eyes shining with tears. "Thank you for not running when things get rough," she whispered, her voice hoarse and thick with emotion.

I gently squeezed her fingers and pressed them to my cheek as I focused on the highway in front of us. "I'm here for it all, Farrah – the hard, the easy, the in between. You're it for me."

Her sniffle was the only response I got.

~*~*~

I regretted going to the diner instantly.

The moment we walked through the door together, the entire building was obsessed with us. The news of the arrest in the bookstore next door had spread like wildfire, and Farrah was the very center of attention.

I didn't even get to enjoy my freaking meal in peace with all of the people coming up to the table, randomly plopping their butts into seats, and demanding details from my woman.

Farrah grinned at me. "Get the glum look off your face, Grayson. Everyone is just worried and wants to know what happened."

I glared at her over my cup of sweet tea. "They're intrusive and annoying," I corrected.

"You watch your tone," Chase's Nana said as she stepped up to our table with a piece of pie, "or I'll take this pie back to the kitchen and enjoy it myself."

I just grunted in response. She set the pie in front of me. "I'll bring another one on the house if you keep your moodiness to yourself and off our sweet girl here," she said, gently squeezing Farrah's shoulder.

I rolled my eyes but kept my mouth shut, instead picking up my fork to stab a piece of the pie with. Farrah giggled, finding amusement in the entire situation. I didn't dare cut her a look.

I could keep my annoyance to myself at the promise of more pie.

She walked away from the table, and Farrah reached over to grab my free hand. "I love you, Grayson, even your grumpiness."

At that, I smiled. In response, I brushed my thumb to the pulse in her wrist before feeding her a piece of my pie.