She kind of needed him to go, too. After all this time in Hamlet, she was running low on her pills. And while Jefferson’s shop might have most everything that the locals needed, his supplement section consisted of two bottles of Vitamin C and a multivitamin that expired more than a year ago.
Self-medicating with supplements was a habit she picked up when she seriously started her dance career. Since her body was the only tool she had, it was imperative that she kept it in tip-top shape. That meant eating healthy, staying away from alcohol, and not using any kind of drugs. At first that even included any kinds of prescriptions or over-the-counter medications. Then she met Tommy and her anxiety got so out of control, she went to the doctors. But the prescription he gave her made her feel off, made her feel funny, and she couldn’t risk going back to get her meds regulated.
So she contacted an herbalist, instead. For her anxiousness and sleepless nights, she took valerian root; those were kept in the pm compartment. For the persistent, nagging headaches that she couldn’t ever shake, she would pop a butterbur and feverfew blend. Even though it might not work the same way as taking an aspirin, there were no side effects. And the capsule did seem to lessen the duration and severity of her headaches if she caught them in time.
Rick might not understand her dependency on the herbs, but considering the many nights he told her about where he drowned his own demons down at Thirsty’s, he never judged. When Grace panicked that her supply was getting low, he promised to pick some up.
Something was off about her refill, though. She pinched the pill between two fingers and brought it up to her face. It looked… different. The shade was a little bit lighter, the pill a little bit bigger.
Huh.
Grace didn’t see the bottle anywhere. It had to be that Rick couldn’t find her normal blend and bought her the closest thing he could find. So long as it did the job, that was fine. Tossing the pill back, she chased it with a swig from the water bottle she kept nearby before slipping the caddy back in the top drawer.
The headache was still bothering her. From experience, the supplement would either take in a half an hour or she caught it too late and nothing would help. The best she could do for now would be t
o lie down and work on relaxing her body while it went to work on the pain.
She had time before Rick would be home. Changing into a comfy t-shirt and a pair of sleep shorts, she thought about waiting for Rick on the couch. He brought a couple of new books for her to read and she was in the middle of a sweet romance. Now that she believed in love again, she rediscovered her affection for stories that came with a happy ending.
Just as she was about to head out to the living room, Grace yawned. Whoa, was she tired all of a sudden. Forget her book. She could always read later. For now, that big king-sized bed was calling her name.
It wouldn’t hurt if she closed her eyes for a few. Rick would be off duty soon, and he was bringing dinner in from the coffeehouse. He’d wake her up when he got back. She’d be much better company, too, if she took a short nap and got rid of her headache.
Pulling Rick’s quilt away from the edge of the bed, Grace climbed in. The room was already quite warm. She didn’t bother tugging the quilt up over her. The second her head hit the pillow, she was out.
“Rise and shine, sweetheart.”
The soft voice sounded like it was coming from far away. Her eyes still closed, she fought coming to as a gentle caress against her cheek had her flinching. She felt like she was floating, disconnected from a body that didn’t seem to respond the way it should. But that touch? It was… wrong somehow. She tried to move away from it.
She couldn’t.
Her limbs were heavy. That worried her almost as much as the fact that she couldn’t quite place the owner of that voice—or remember when she fell asleep in the first place. Wasn’t she supposed to be waiting up for Rick?
She remembered the headache, then taking one of her pills to try to cut it off before it became too much of a nuisance. But something was different about the pill. The wrong color? Maybe.
And maybe that was why she was feeling so off. Grace was used to her formula, her brand, and it could be that the replacement Rick brought back for her was giving her a strange reaction. True, she didn’t have a headache, but her head feeling like it was stuffed full of cotton wasn’t any better.
She felt her body move, her weight shifting as she leaned against something long and hard. Her legs were wrapped in a heavy, thick fabric that rustled as she flopped like a ragdoll. She felt drunk; she’d never been drunk before, since she never drank alcohol, but maybe this is what it felt like. Was she drunk?
Grace didn’t think so. Sick, though? The way her stomach went tight… yeah. Sick was a definite possibility.
She needed to get to the bathroom. Throwing up in Rick’s bed would only make her feel worse. Kicking out her weak legs, trying to maneuver herself toward the edge of the bed, she froze when she heard the rustle again, realized that the silky material was too heavy and too slick to be his comfortable quilt.
What the—
She struggled to lift her lids. Her head was fuzzy, she was queasy and confused, but she was starting to remember things. The headache, her supplement… and changing into sleep shorts so that she could relax.
That wasn’t what she was wearing now.
Glancing down, Grace saw a whole lot of white. White ruffles on a satiny white skirt. White lacy sleeves. A white bodice.
“What have I got on?” She slurred her words. Her tongue seemed like it was too big to fit in her mouth. “It’s… it’s not mine.”
She didn’t expect an answer. So focused on the fancy white gown she was wearing, she forgot all about the voice she heard speaking to her when she was first waking up. She thought she was alone.
She wasn’t.
“Of course, it’s yours. You’ve kept me waiting long enough to see you in it. I refused to wait any longer. I didn’t think you’d mind too much if I changed you myself.”