The Way of Grace (Miller's Creek Novels) (17 page)

The tall attorney
moved down the side of the building
toward him
, and Matt
momentarily panicked, looking for a place to hide.
What would he
say if Jason enter
ed the
shade of the patio
?
Thankfully, the handsome Brit stopped just shy of the
area
and leaned against the wall to make his call.

“It’s me.”
The man grew quiet,
listening
intently
to whoever was on the other end.
After a long min
ute, he spoke. “
P
lay it cool. Getting upset
will only
cause
foolish mistakes.”
Jason grew
silent again, and
brought a hand up to rub his jaw
.
“The new girl is no threat.”

Matt’s heart pounded faster.
New gi
rl?
Was he referring to Gracie?

“I tell you, she’
s putty in my hands. No need to worry.”

Sweat broke out along the
nape
of Matt’s neck. He’d been right about
the guy
all along.
He’d
use whoever he needed
to accomplish his purposes.

Jason clicked the
phone shut and moved inside the restaurant.

Matt’s mind raced. Should he say something to Andy? He thought back through what he’d j
ust overheard. Nothing concrete, and Andy was already overburdened.
Lord, help me know what to do.
No verbal response came, but Matt was suddenly overcome with the most evident response of God he’d ever felt.

A combination of relief and disappointment meld
ed inside. They all needed him—
the band, Andy and Trish,
but
especially Gracie
.
His brother
had seemed more than a little troubled when he’d mentioned her over
lunch,
like he wanted to say more, but couldn’t. Did he know something—something he couldn’t reveal for whatever reason?

Matt leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees.
Without a shadow of doubt,
God want
ed him here
, at least for now,
to take care of her
.
And no matter how
appealing it was
to go on the road,
he’
d never sacrifice God’s plan fo
r his o
wn, especially when
Gracie
’s welfare hung in the balance
.

7

G
r
ac
e
flung
her purse across the bed
room
Friday afternoon after work
. The
bag
landed on the bed, but scattered the contents
o
n the tile floor,
popping
like firecrackers as they landed
.
Though part of her frus
tration had to do with
not being allowed to help on the Simmons case,
a big part of it
also
had to do with Matt.
Andy
let it slip yesterday that his brother
had an invitation to go on
tour
with a band
. B
ut
why
was she
so
put out
by
the news
?

She ambled to the dresser, removed the new silver hoop earrings, and deposited them in the jewelry box
which
once belonged to Mama.
At first she’d convinced herself
that she was upset
because of what it would do
to
Andy and Trish, but if it bother
ed
her
this
much, was it
p
ossibl
e her feelings for Matt
ran deeper than she realized
?
She removed the
pins
that held her hair in place
, allowing the strands to fall to her shoulders, then combed them out with her fingers
. This all had to be figured out
, and sooner rather than later.

How she’d missed Matt! She hadn’t seen him since Monday, and thanks to her stubborn pride, that hadn’t ended so well. Grace raised the mini-blinds to look out over the weedy garden spot she’d started years ago with Mama. A sparse handful of marigolds still bloomed, but would die away at the first frost. Multiple questions nibbled at her brain. Had Matt decided to take the gig? Had he already left town? Was he upset with her for going to lunch with Jason?

A frown creased her forehead as h
e
r mind wandered to the past
week
of
wo
rking around Jason. He’
d been very kind
and considerate
and
e
ven treated her to lunch a couple of
times. His legal skills were top notch,
his dress and manners impeccable.
Though
flattered by his constant attention,
there was
something about him she couldn’t qu
ite put her finger on,
beneath the surface, like a shadow in the muddy creek after a big rain.

Grace flopped down on the bed be
side her purse. “
Ow
!” She stood
,
pluck
ed a
tube of lipstick
from the bed,
and tossed it in her gaping purse
just as t
he phone rang
.
She
hurdled
her
brief
case and raced down the hall
, hoping it was Matt
. “Hello?”

“Grace?
This is Elena Delgado.
”

Elena?
She
covered the
mouthpiece
with one p
alm
, h
er heart thump
ing in her ears
.
She swallowed hard
to find her voice
and moved her hand away from the phone
.
“
Yes?
”

“
I was calling to see if
this would be a good
time for a
tour of the District Attorney’s office.
”

Her mouth went dry
, but she somehow managed to plow
ahead.
“
Sounds great
.”

“Wonderful.
I’m actually in Miller’s Creek right now. Why don’t I swing by and pic
k you up
?”

Elena
come
here?
“Well, I—
”

“I won’t take no for an answer. The phone book says you live at 1351 Farm to Market Road 8204. Is that right?”

“Um, yeah, but –
”

“
I’ll be there in a few.” The li
ne went dead.

Grace
dropp
ed
the phone
to the receiver
and rac
ed back to her room
.
After
a
quick over-haul
, she
ra
n to the kitchen and living area
to make sure
that part
o
f the house was presentable.

Her heart sank as s
he
sca
nned
the room
. What would
Elena think
? M
ismatch
ed furniture, worn and sagging, and kitchen c
abinets that h
ad long since seen better days.
The bright-colored Mexi
can tile
Mama and Papa
brought with them from Mexico
had been a pleasant reminder of her heritage
at one time
.
Now it seemed to scream bad taste.

She gave her head a shake
.
There was nothing she could
do
here. Instead, s
he
hurried
to check her appearance, quickly combing her
unruly
hair into place
.
Maybe she could
meet Elena outside.
T
he doorbell
rang. With her
pulse
racing like mad,
Grace
forced herself to
calmly
open
the front door.
“Hi, Elena.”

Before Grac
e could object,
the other
woman pushed her way inside,
glancing around the room. “
Love what you’ve done with your hair.
So this is your house?”

“
It actually
belongs
to my father. I’m living
with him while I pay off my
school loans.”

To her sur
prise, Elena smiled.
“Smart ide
a
.
Are y
ou ready to head to Morganville?”

“Sure.” She followed
the other attorney
outside to where her
beautiful red sports car was parked.
Grace’s
eyes widened. “This is yours?”

“Yes. Isn’t it a beauty?”

Classy black leather
decked the interior
, which
still
boasted that new car smell
. Grace forc
ed her
mouth closed
and clicked her seatbelt into place
, all the while battling jealousy
.
Must be nice to have money to burn.

Elena
turn
ed her head to peer over her shoulder
as she backed out.
“If you don’t mind, we’ll
drop by my house first. I
’d like
to introduce you to my family.”

“Um, s
ure.
You live nearby?”

“Between here and Morganville.”

Grace checked
Elena’s left hand.
No
wedding band
.

A few minutes later they
barreled down the highway
toward Morganville. In her designer sunglasses a
nd chic clothing, Elena could’
ve passed for a movie star or super model. Grace
twisted sideways in the seat to face her
. “Thanks for the invitation to tour the DA’s office
. I really appreciate it.”

“My pleasure.”
Her smile revealed perfect white teeth, which glistened in contrast to her olive skin. “
By the way, I heard there
might be an opening
.
I immediately thought of y
ou
.
”

Her breath
suspended in her chest
.
“
Really?”
Grace knew she must
sound like an over-eager school
girl, but
excitement
pranced around like a
wild horse
within
.

Elena
laughed,
a musical sound
like
that of
tiny wind chimes.
“Yes, really.
Sounds like you might be interested.”

Grace
chewed
her lower lip. Until she had given this more thought, she shouldn’t say one way or the other.
“
Maybe
.”

“
Didn’t you
mention
you’d always w
anted to be a prosecutor?” Elena’s smile had di
sappeared, replaced with a cold
er façade—the same one that earned her the
reputation of being
a tough opponent in court
.
“
What are your
objections?”

“I wouldn’t call them objections exactly.”

“Then what would you call them?”

Grace thought through the question. “I guess misgivings would be a better way to describe it.”