The Way of Grace (Miller's Creek Novels) (10 page)

She shook her head. “He puts on a good act, but I don’t buy it.”

“What happened to waiting until you’ve e
xamined the evidence?” His
green eyes bored through her momentarily.

Her muscles tightened. Was he making a commentary on her legal ski
lls
?
“Granted, I haven’t had a chance to study the case in depth, but I just have a feeling about this guy.”
A defensive edge
crept into her tone.

Andy pressed the accelerator, causing the car to shoot forward.
“Sorr
y to burst your bubble, Princess
, but that
ai
n’t
a feeling. It’s a prejudice
.
”

It took most
of the ride back to Miller’s Creek
for Grace to gather the courage to break the chilled
silence,
but as they entered the city limits, she took a deep bre
ath and went for it. “So what did
you want to talk to
me and Jason
about?”

He steered the
car into the parking l
ot of Tyler, Dent
,
and Snodgrass
and braked to an overly quick stop. Without looking her way, he intoned, “
I
thought about having you two help with the
Simmo
ns trial.
”

Grace’
s heart rate rocketed upwards, partly
from
the opportunity to work in clo
se proximity with Jason, mos
tly
in excitement over her first case
, not to mention
the chance to hopefully impress Elena Delgado
with her ability
.

“But that’s only if you can get past your prejudice.”
Andy exited the car, grabbed his briefcase from the back
seat, and started for the building
.

Grace slammed the car door and moved toward the pickup, rifling through her purse for the keys.
“See you after lunch.”

“Actually, could you come in for a minute first?”

She frowned, but made her wa
y to where he stood near the
opened
door. “Sure. Y
ou need something?”

H
e
smiled,
an enigmatic grin that left her more confused than ever. “I
need you downstairs for a minute
.”

Still puzzling over his strange request, Grace followed Andy, who now whistl
ed a loud and cheery tune
. As she reached
the
darkened basement
,
the
lights came on.

“Surprise!”
People fr
om
all over
the community laughed
and applauded.

Andy,
his face lit with a big grin, pointed
at her
and mouthed the words “for you.”

Her breath caught in her throa
t. A
smile catapulted to her face as she gazed around the room at the people she loved more than life itself—Mama Beth and Big Bo, Trish and the Tyler kids, Steve and
Dani
Miller,
the old geezers, and
of course, Matt. Papa and Jason were even here! Grace
brought
shaky
palms to her face.

Her boss
patted her on the shoulder and waved a hand to silence the laughter and cheers. “
All right
, folks, settle down a second, so I can explain all this to our girl.” He steered her through the crowd to a table in the back of the room, all decked out with lunch items, drinks, and a big cake. “This is to celebrate your passing of the bar and becoming a full-fledged attorney. Congratulations, Gracie. You always do Miller’s Creek proud.”

The
people once more
erupted into
applause and
they pushed her to
the front of the serving line.
Throughout
lunch, people
stop
ped
by to
congr
atulate her on her achievement.

The crew
affectionately
known
as “the old geezers” gathered first. J.C. Watson, his clear
blue-
gray eyes kind and humble, patted her back. “Just wanted to say how proud of you we all are, Miss Gracie.”

Right behind him was Coot, who wo
uld no doubt be a trumpet if this
group
ever became
an orchestra. He hooked his thumbs under
his suspenders, his pot belly protruding. “You make us pop our buttons,” he bellowed loud enough for everyone to hear.

“No, that would
be
your daily slice
of pecan pie at Granny’s
.” Steve Miller, the town mayor, came up behind him and slapped him on the shoulder. The room erupted. Steve bent low to hug her neck. “Congratulations
, sweet girl
.”

Next
was
Dani
, the
petite blonde who’
d managed to capture the heart of Miller’s Creek long before she was known as Mama Beth’s daughter
or Mrs. Steve Miller.

Mama Beth
followed
,
and her
blue eyes sparkled with unshed tears. “
Goodness me
, Gracie, you never cease to amaze me with how smart you are. I remember you when you were just a little girl in pigtails. Now you’re all grown up.”
She hugged Grace.

There
was no stopping
tears
now, and heat crept
up
her neck. She glanced across the table at Matt, who sent an encouraging and understanding smile.

Mama Beth
moved away
,
sniffling and wiping her cheeks,
her husband, Big Bo Miller, a
gentle giant at her side.

At last the line ended with Trish and Andy, who both engulfed her in a hug at the same time. “You know we’re so proud of you,” exclaimed Trish.
Andy nodded and beamed.

A lump landed in her throat. She‘
d be nothing without these people. Here they were congratulating h
er when she owed them so much, e
specially Andy
. Grace swabbed at her tear
s as she gazed into her boss’ eyes. “I can’t thank you enough for everything
you’ve done for me. H
elping me through college
and law school was
enough,
but now
you’ve
gone and
done all this. Thank you.”

“Helping you through school was my pl
easure, Gracie, b
ut I can’t take credit for this.”

She
turned
her head to one side.

“This was Matt’s doing.”

Matt? Grace whipped her head around to thank him, but his chair was empty. Instead, Jason, who sat nearby, captured her gaze with his own.

4

M
att
stood
on tiptoe
at
the back of the church after
Sunday
morning
worship
and
searched the crowd
for Gracie. She’d been there earlier, but must have slipped out as soon as the service was over.
To make matters worse, Jason Dent had been lurking around her all morning, and now he was
gone as well
.

A wave of dis
courage
ment wa
shed over him.
He ha
dn’t seen Gracie
since the surpris
e party,
tied up with finishing a requested son
g
for a guy
in Nashville.
A sigh escaped
.
He’d hoped to ask
if
she wanted to
join him for
a cup of hot cho
colate at Granny’
s
.

People milled past
, and t
hough he was no stranger to Mil
ler’s Creek, no one spoke
. Instead they
chatted with
each other,
making him feel
invisible
.
He looked the
other
way
.
Out of the corner of one eye
,
he spied
Otis Thacker, the town grump,
headed his direction
.

Matt
quickly offered a
hand
as the elderly man tottered up
. “How are you
, Otis
?”

“
Hmph
.”
Otis
ignored his hand
and leaned closer
. “I’m fine, but you’re not doing too well by the looks of things.”
His bad breath blasted Matt in the face.

“I’m sorry?”
His brow wrinkled as he shoved his fingers back into his jean pockets.

The old man
waved a crooked finger in the air
. “If my
father was
alive—he
was
a clothes salesman
, you know—but if he was
alive, he’d drag you to the
store and dress you in something more appropriate
for church
.”

Ma
tt’s
mouth droo
ped open, but nothing came
out.

“And he’d give your face a shave while he was at it.”
Otis
tottered away, his
parting
words
drifting behind him. “Young people these
days have completely lost every lick of sense.”

Mama
Beth hurried up
,
wheezing and
out of breath.
“
Heavens!
I hope
Otis
wasn’t too sharp-tongued. I tried
to get here as soon as I saw him
headed
your way
, but I didn’t quite make it judging by the scowl on your face.”

He
attempted a smile
, but the audacity of the other
man
had left a sour tast
e in his mouth.
“Hey
, Mama Beth.”
He leaned forward and hugged her neck. “
G
ood to see you
again
.
I’ve been hoping you’d invite me over for some of your famous cooking.”

Mama Beth cackled, her face gleaming with good humor. “You
know you
don’t have to wait for an invitation. Come any time. I’d enjoy the company. That man of mine is off with Steve on a hunting expedition
ri
ght now.
”

“
D
eer
hunting
?”

“Yep.
Maybe by this time next week I’ll have some fresh venison for you.”

His mouth watered at the thought. “Can’t I come
for a meal
now
and
later?”

“Of
course.”
Her smile faded,
and she cocked her head to one side. “Something tells me
it’s not really my cooking
you’re after.”

He lowered his head,
released a half laugh
, and dra
g
ged
the toe of his right
shoe
across the carpet
. “Good old Mama Beth, perceptive as always
. Is it that obvious?”

“Probably not
to anyone else.
Do you have
lunch plans?”

His heart
lightened
.
A good heart-to-heart with Mama Beth was just what he needed.
“None that can’t be changed.”

“Good, I’ll see you at my house in a few minutes.”

After locat
ing Andy to let him know the change in plans, Matt crawled in
to
the Pinto
and cranked her up for the drive to Mama Beth’s.
Though often cantankerous, his
1976
pea-green car
started on the first try.
A fe
w minutes later he
perched on a stool in Mama Beth’s
country
kitchen while she hummed and bustled about with preparations for lunch.