Dreams of Eden (Ace of Queens # 4)

CH.8 Keeper

Chapter 8

"There's Alec," Owen's voice pulled his brother out of his shock.

Alec shook his head as he took the last few steps and walked up to join the small party gathered by the door. His mind raced faster than horses as his eyes moved over Eden's face.

Her hair was shorter, maybe by a few inches. Her skin was a little tanner. Her face had lost a significant amount of weight. Her eyes were a bit sunken showing vividly she hadn't slept properly in days. Her bottom lip was slightly indented as if she had been biting on it.

As Alec made his mental note of how she had changed since he last saw her on that meadow, he asked himself if her brown eyes had always been so inviting.

They tempted him to pull her into his arms and tell her everything would be okay.....nothing could ever hurt her again.

"You must be Grace!" Rose spoke up as she extended her hand to the girl. "Alec has told me so much about you. It's so nice to finally meet you in person."

"Hello, Ms. Hunts," Grace said politely.

"Actually," Rose turned to Jackson with a small smile. "I'm Mrs. Heywood now."

Alec blinked in surprise as he watched the big smile on Jackson's face.

"We decided to have a small wedding," Jackson said as he walked up to Rose and put his arm around her waist.

"Mr. and Mrs. Heywood has moved to Romania. Mr. Heywood's daughter, Eden, is enrolled to start classes at the Armory in September.

Alec's eyes snapped up to Eden. She looked away as Grace started to speak.

"Hello, Eden," She said. "I'm Grace. Is so nice to meet you."

Eden slowly placed her hand in Grace's and smiled, "Nice to meet you too."

Alec frowned at how low she spoke. She was almost whispering.....like her grandmother.

"You are going to love the Armory," Grace told the girl.

"We should head out now," Jackson announced as Eden gave Grace a small smile and moved away.

"Actually Mavi asked me to ask you all to stay for dinner tonight," Owen stopped them. "Xavier and Rye are on their way back. They would love to see you."

"We can stay, right honey?" Rose turned to Jackson with hope in her eyes.

Jackson hesitated for a second as he looked at Eden, "Yeah.....I.....We can stay."

Rose followed her husband's eyes and turned to the girl, "Eden, my love. Would that be okay with you?"

"Yes," Eden took a deep breath and tucked away a strand of her hair.

"Oh perfect," Rose smiled. "Owen, where are the kids? I am dying to see them."

"They would be finishing up with their piano lessons soon," Owen laughed. "Come, I'll take you to them."

Before he began to lead the family upstairs, Owen turned and looked at his brother. "You two are staying for dinner, correct?"

"Actually, we were just headed out..." Grace informed him.

"We'll stay," Alec said quickly.

Grace looked taken back as Owen nodded.

"Alright," Owen said. "Meet us upstairs when you're ready."

"Alright," Grace smiled.

Alec stood holding his breath as Eden passed him without so much as a second glance at his direction. She pulled at the hair tie around her wrist as she quietly followed Rose up the stairs. Her brown eyes stayed glued to the top of the woman's head as she stiffly took each step.