The Way of Grace (Miller's Creek Novels) (35 page)

Hurt
slashed into
his heart. “Why are you afraid, Gracie? Don’t you trust me?”

Graci
e pulled her hand away and
rested her face in
both palms. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came.

He engulfed her in a hug, rubbing a hand a
long her back. “It’s okay, sweetie, l
et it out. It’s safe for you to say whatever you need to say, even—” He closed his eyes against the ensuing pain. “—even if it’s so
mething you know I don’t
wanna
hear.”

They remained in the embrace
a long while, Gracie clingi
ng to his neck as if her life depended on it. Finally, she pulled away,
streams of tears coursing
down her cheeks.

His heart fell. This wasn’t good. He forced a smile and nodded to assur
e her
.

“My life’
s in such chaos right now, Matt.
”
Her words came out choked and broken. “
I want to be able to say the same thing
s
to you, but I’m so confused, and you deserve better than me telling you one thing now and s
omething else later when things
have hopefully calmed down.”

The
words
churned in his gut, but
she spoke from an honest place. “I’ll accept that, Gracie, but I want you to know I’ll still be here waiting. Take all the time you need.”

A half sob sounded in her throat, a sound that tore at his already shredded heart.

“What’s bothering you, sweetheart? Please tell me.”

She said nothing, and tears
continued to fall.

“Does it h
ave to do with Elena
?”

Grac
i
e remained
reticent
.

“With Jason?”

Agai
n, she didn’t speak, but now
chewed her bottom lip. Finally, she shook her head.

An inner alarm went off in Matt’s head. She wasn’t telling the truth, but wh
o was she covering for
—
Jason, her boss, or both?
He hadn’t bought Jason’s act since day one, but in man
y ways Gracie’s relationship
with her boss bothered him even more.

Sh
e
fidgeted away from him, and h
e
laid
his head against the back cushion. If his suspicions were correct, the Delgado lady could have serious, even dangerous, psychological issues. But Gracie was a worrier, and he couldn’t have her paralyzed by fear.
That’s why
he’d
tried so hard
to act like
she was worried for no reason.
He start
ed to ask another question
, but changed his mind at
how pale
she’d
grown. “You feel okay?”

She released a heavy sigh.
“I’m just really tired. I think I need to go home and rest if that’s okay.”

“Of course it’s okay. Sorry if I kept you too long. I’m just trying to find a way to help you out of the chaos and confusion you mentioned earlier.”

Her lips curved into a faint smile.
“Thanks, Matt, but I’ll be fine
. I just need time to make sense of things. Right now I’m still adjusting to the new job. I’m sure that’s a big part of it.”
She stood and plodd
ed to the door
.

Matt followed. “You know
Andy would take you back in a heartbeat, don’t you?”

She nodded sadly
as she donned her coat and buttoned it up
. “Yes
,
but
this is someth
ing I have to do
.”

He
opened his mouth in rebuttal
, but she silenced him
with
a
n uplifted
hand.

“B
e
f
ore you
lecture me,
this job
has nothing to do with
vindicating
my mother’s death
.”

Matt
took i
n
the
depth of sorrow in he
r eyes
. His Gracie was on a mission—a mission that didn’t include him—and knowing her
tenacity
, she wouldn’t rest until it was completed.

He
ushered her to
the old beat-up truck
and watched her drive away
.
Matt ran a hand across his mouth
. Watching her leave was
sheer
torture
, but he had to trust that God cared for her when he couldn’t. O
ut of nowh
ere,
a
rush of joy splash
ed
over
him.
At least there was hope for them now. Gracie hadn’t said ‘no,’ just ‘not now.’
He rubbed his hands together to warm them
, breathed in the rain-washed air
enter
ed
the cabin
.

Maybe he should look into
the possibility of
a promise ring for
her
Christmas
gift
, just to show her how serious and committed he was.
As he opened the
screened
door, his ce
ll phone buzzed
.

“Hey, Matt.
Derek here.
Interested in coming on the road with us over the holidays? We’re booked solid through New Year’s.”

Why was
a
patio cha
ir
sitting beneath her window?

Grace stopped in her tracks, he
r eyes darting around the dimly-lit
backyard. The
glow from the security light
cast a soft glow, but also cast
really deep shadows. Did she dare walk to the shed to peer behind it?

After a few seconds to think through her options, she walked casually to the chair and
returned it to its position be
neath
the table
, casting
a
brief glance toward
the shed. Too dark to see if anyone was there.
Grace fumbled with
her keys as she
made her way to the back door. She
locate
d the right one and
inserted it
in the back door
knob
. S
ometh
ing brushed against her leg, and s
he nearly fell off the back porch trying to get away.

“Meow.”
Millie sau
ntered toward her again and butt
ed her head against Grace’s shin.

“
You scared me to death
, you silly cat
.” She bent low and
lifted
Millie to her arms. While Grace scratched
behind the
cat’s
ears
, her eyes flitted around the backyard
. “Did you miss me
, kitty
?”

Grac
e
turned the knob
and
quickly
flipped o
n the light switch,
relieved to find everything the way she’d left it.
She dropped Millie
to the floor.
The phone shrilled, and she startl
ed.
Settle down, Grace. It’s only the phone.
She cradled the phone
in the crook of her neck
as she slipped off her coat. “Hello?”

“
Well, hello
. I’ve been trying to reach you all afternoon.” Jason’s cultured voice was unmistakable.

“Hi, Jason.
Sorry, I wasn’t here when you called. I was out
with a friend.”

“Anyone I know?”

Why did it matter? “Yes. Matt Tyler.”

The line grew
death
ly quiet. “I see. Well, I was calling to see if you’d allow me to take you to dinner
again
tomorrow night. I’d make it later in the week, but I’m leaving on Tuesday to visit my family for the holidays.”

She moistened her lips, remembering
Matt’s tender kiss
.
No, she was finally gaining some perspective on how she felt about Matt, and she wouldn’t let anything or anyone—including someone as handsome as Jason Dent—mess that up.
“I can’t, Jason, but maybe after you return.”
If only to question him further abou
t Elena, since he’d managed to
evade the question the other night. That w
ould
also
allow
her
time
for
a
o
ne-on-one chat with Elena
.

“Surely you can squeeze me into your schedule for dinner. You have to eat some time.”

He clearly wasn’t accustomed
to being told no. “Thanks for the offer, but I’ll have to take a rain check.”

“Fine.”
He clipped the word short.
“Happy Thanksgiving.”
The phone went dead.

Grace hung up
. She h
adn’t meant to upset him
. Maybe she should meet with him to tell him face-to-fac
e to let him know she wasn’t interested
in anything but friendship
. But it would have to wait until after Thanksgiving. Right now, all she wanted to do was shower and get to bed early. She needed all the sleep she could get to confront Elena with her suspicions in the morning at work.

The house was oddly quiet without Papa there. Normally by now, he’
d be
leaned back in his recliner,
the TV remote in one hand as he flipped between various channels.
Offering
a
silent prayer for his safety,
she
saunter
ed down the darkened hallway toward the bathroom. The fluorescent light over the sink flickered on with its normal hum,
casting long shadows around the dark-paneled room. She twist
ed the hot water
knob
and plugged the bathtub drain.

A few minutes later, she soaked in the warm
sudsy
water,
the tension in her neck and shoulders slo
wly ebbing away. Her thoughts
turned to
Matt. How had she been so wrong
about him
? She brought fingertips
to her
lips
. T
he kiss th
ey’d shared had left her mind and heart spinning
, but in a good way
.

Grace
looked toward the ceiling, and
released a breath
. Maybe her planned meeting with Elena tomorrow would set the record straight, and she’d feel better about all
o
wing herself more time with him. But it wouldn’t be that easy. Something told her
Elena wouldn’t take kindly to her questions or comments.

The phone
sounded from down the hallway, but
sh
e didn’t move to answer it
. Surely whoever it was would call back lat
er. But what if it was Papa? On
the third ring, she stood,
wrapped
a
towel
around her
and
dripped
down the hall
.

“Hello?”

No answer.