The Way of Grace (Miller's Creek Novels) (15 page)

“I w
asn’t planning on bringing this up today,
but
since the situation presented itself,
I have to.
” H
e
swallowed hard
. “
I kept my distance these past two years at your request so you could
pursue your law career
, but now I’d like us to see if there could be something more
between us
.”

Grace
suddenly felt physically ill. She
lowered her head and ru
bbed her hands together
. How could she get out of this without hurting his feelings? “Matt, I’m just not ready.” She glanced up at him, resolute, but fearful of what she might see.

Though his eyes held sadness, he took her words well. “Okay. I’m prepared to wait as long as necessary.”

“I can’t promise you I’ll ever be ready.”

“Any reason why?”

Where did she start?
His irresponsibility?
His spong
ing off Andy’s goodness?
Papa’s opinion?
“I’m not convinced you’re what I’m looking for.” There. She’d said it.

He pondered her words
for several minutes
then turned his
gaze back
toward her, his jaw set in concrete.
“Yeah, well. I guess I’ll just have to find a way to convince you that I’m exactly what you need
. . .
regardless of what you’re looking for
.”

What was she supposed to say after that? Here she was, trained in persuasive speech, and she had no rebuttal? Grace gathered her things, intentionally keeping her eyes down. “Guess I’ll see you later.”
She
crawled
from the car and traipsed to the front door,
refusing
to look back as she
let herself in the house. H
er
t
houghts ran in circles
as she closed the door to her room behind her
. Matt
was
right about
trying to please everyone. She’d always wanted
to keep everyone happy. Well, no more.

She
scribbled a quick note to Papa and laid it on the counter, then moved outside
, digging for her keys.
By the time she reached the pickup, a plan h
ad formulated
. Urged forward
by a myriad of emotions—confusion, determination, and more than a little anger at Matt’s comm
ents
—she put the truck in gear and headed out of Miller’s Creek toward the mall in Morganville
for a little retail therapy
.

6

G
race arrived at work the next morning feeling
like a new person
. Attired in an
electric blue
suit and
matching heels, with her newly-
colored hair pulled back away from her face, sh
e waltzed into the office with
newfound confidence. Yes
, she’d spent way too much
, but the department store had extend
ed
her
a line of credit, thanks to her
job as an attorney.

Andy, Ben
,
and Jason stood in the hallway, most likely discussing the Simmons case.

“Good morning.” Grace passed them with a smile.

“Gracie?” Andy’s incredulous voice sounded from behind her.

She
face
d
him. “Yes?”

“You look so . . . so
. . . different.”

“Thanks.”
Grace took in their facial expressions, eyes rounded and jaws hinged open. Her plan was working.
No longer would they think of her as little Gracie, the meek and mild-mannered child they’d known all these years. T
hey had no choice
now
but to
take her seriously as an attorney. And if her mini-makeover had worked for them, it would also work for Elena Delgado and the rest of the legal community. It was time everyone knew that
Grace
Soldano
, J.D.
was in town.

A few minutes later she sat with all three men in the conference room. She jotted notes as Andy spoke, and waited until
he
finished
before she asked the question at
the front of her mind
. “What about the Simmons trial?”

Andy lowered his head for a brief minute.
“
I’ve decided to let Jason handle it with me.”

Her heart ground to a stop as her mouth hinged open. “I’ll do a good job.”

A sigh whooshed from her bo
ss’s mouth
. “I know, but with Sandra out, I need you in other places right now.”

Jason met Andy’s gaze
. “I think Grace would make a great addition to the team.”

Her
heartbeat quickened, but
one glance at Andy gave her the
answer.

His mouth had morphed into a thin line. “I’m certain of it, but my decision stands.”
He
rose to his feet and made preparations to leave the room. “We’re through.”

Grace jumped to her feet. “Andy, could I speak with you privately?”

He pivoted. “Sure.” His sea-green eyes held uncertainty. “If this is about the Simmons’ case—”

“No.”
Yes, she was more than a little disappointed, but t
he move was his call, no matter how much she disliked it. “I
just wanted to ask you not to call me Gracie.
I think it’s more professional if I go by Grace.”

“Will do.
Just used to you being Gracie.”

“Thanks.” She stepped around him, cradling her legal pad next to her chest. As sh
e rounded the corner, she
ran smack dab into Jason, who stood right outside the
door,
his lanky frame leaned against the wall.

“Oh!” Grace over-compensated for his unexpected presence, and started to fall.

Strong arms reached out and yanked her upward, and she found herself pulled close to Jason’s chest, his expensive cologne encircling her head.
“
Th
-th
ank you.
I’m s
orry I
ran you over.”

“No problem. I was waiting to speak with Andy.” His British accent was a velvet glove.

Andy walked past. “Why don’t we
meet
in my office, Jason?”

Jason
grip
ped
he
r arms and gazed into her eyes. “Sure
.” He released her
with a smile
and followed Andy down the hall.

Her heart pounding uncontrollably,
Grace made her way back to her office, still puzzling over what had just transpired. To her surprise, Matt stood at the receptionist window.

His eyebrows puckered as she entered her office.
“You okay?”

Forcing a smile she didn’t feel, Grace nodded weakly.
“Just fine.
Why do you ask?”

The color of his eyes changed to creek mud as his face hardened. “
Let’s start
over, and t
ell me the truth this time.”

Immediate anger erupted in her chest, but before she could let him have it, Jason stepped from Andy’s office and poked his head in the door. “Sorry, I didn’t
know you had company.
” The handsome attorney stepped closer, unt
il he towered over her
. “Would you like to have lunch with me today?”

Grace’s heart skipped a beat, and she swallowed,
hoping
she could speak intelligibly. She opted not to sneak a peek at Matt, since she was pretty sure this would make him none too happy. While she didn’t want to intentionally hurt his feelings, it wasn’t like she hadn’t tried to tell him yesterday just how she felt.
She sent Jason a smile.
“I’d love to.”

Maybe now Matt would understand she meant every word.

M
att slid off the white mare’s back
the following Thursday
morning
and began to unsaddle the animal.
The ride had done nothing to relieve his melancholy.
As though she understood, t
he mare
turn
ed
he
r head and
nickered
.

U
n
pleasant
memories
from last Sunday’s date with Gracie
filled his head
. The r
ecent turn of events
was yet a
nother rejection
in a long string
, the first of which
left him
wondering what was so wrong with
him that his own mother didn’t
want him.

Matt
groaned and rake
d both hands across his head, a battle raging
within.
He knew from past experience
to keep his c
hin up, but his heart
refused to cooperate
.
Ho
w could he prove to Gracie
he was exactly what she needed?

God, help me through this
. Help me
respond to
Your
will without hurting myself any further
.

Even as the words whispered in his he
art, he sensed the truth that following God
sometimes involved
personal suffering
and sacrifice
. Hadn’
t the life of Christ proved
that very
point?
W
hile being in God’s perfect will was the safest place to be, it could also be the most dangerous.
Another mystery of God’s kingdom.

Mat
t carried the saddle to the tack room and hoisted it onto the rack
.
S
omething
ha
d to give
before he went bonkers.
He
’
d
hoped the ride would whisk every thought of Gracie away, but
no such luck
.

A heavy weight
pressed against his hear
t,
and he sucked in a deep breath,
suddenly very much aware of
spiritual danger. Gracie’s perfectionist nature
could easily lead
to living life on her own terms and in her own goodness rather than letting God
’s grace do
its
perfect work. Is that
why
she
’d
exchanged her typical w
ardrobe for a sophisticated one
and
dyed
her
once gorgeous black
hai
r
the
color of copper
?
How he wished he could get the old Gracie back, not this new and improved version that was anything but improved in his book.

Matt glanced at his watch.
He pictured her,
humming happily as she went about her tasks,
dream
ing about
Jason
and his cat-who-ate-the-canary grin
. H
is
stomach churned
in response
, sending acid to his throat and mouth
.

Her
face
had
been a shade lighter and her eyes a sh
ade darker when she’d returned to her desk after
her meeting with the other attorneys
on Monday
,
ye
t she’d insiste
d she was okay. When would she lear
n that he knew her so well
he could immediate
ly tell when anything was wrong?