The Way of Grace (Miller's Creek Novels) (48 page)

“Why did you break into
the
office?”

She swallowed the bite she was chewing
and laid down her fork. “I heard a rumor and wanted to see if it was true.” Grace
turned her head to
listen
to the peaceful sound of the lake
lapping at the shore.
“
I should’ve handled the situation differe
ntly
.
I did the wrong
thing for the right reason
.”

He didn’t answer.

“I
t sounds like an excuse, or like I’m tryin
g to shirk the blame, but
I’m not. I’ve kick
ed myself ever since
. I just hat
e how everyone’
s reacting
,
almost as if they hate me
.
The crack in her heart deepened.

“I believe you.”

A weight disappeared from her shoulders. “Thank you. That means more than I can express.”

Jason
leaned in closer,
his breath warm on her face, and rested
an arm along the back of her chair.
He briefly lowered his gaze to her lips, and then stared into her eyes.
“
I think you and I
shar
e a common
connection
.”

Grace
batt
led to disengage herself from
the penetrating intensity of
his gaze, but something about his eyes hypnotized her.
Her heart pounded in her chest and her breath came in short spurts.
“How so?”

His entrancing gaze still had her pinned down, like a butterfly on a piece of cardboard. “
Well, as I see it, we’re both attorneys with a stronger-than-n
ormal desire for justice
.”

Her eyes widened at the
accuracy
of his words.
At least it was
true for her. “
Sometimes I think it’s easier for
people to
disregard wrongdoing than it is to do what they can to stop it.”

“And that bothers you.”

“Yes.”

He took another drink from his glass, never breaking e
ye contact. “
Is that why you went to work for the DA’s office?”

How had he figured that out? And how much should
she reveal? H
er brain zoom
ed
in
high-speed pursuit of answers, though i
t sounded like he already knew the truth. “Yes.”

“So you had
suspicions and you attempted to achieve jus
tice by proving them
true.”

Gra
ce nodded, willing her spastic breaths
to an even pace.

“And did you find anything?”

“Nothing that can be proved
.
At least not yet.
”

At last he bro
ke eye contact, his gaze
moving past her for several minutes. When he
once more focused
his attention
on
her, a calm and cool demeanor
had
settle
d
over him
like a familiar cloak
. “I’m guessing Ms. Delgado set you up for the purpose of silencing you.”

“That’s what I think
, but I could be wrong
.”

“Always trust your instincts.” Jason fingered the stem of the glass. “It will serve you well in life and as an attorney.”

“If I ever get to be an attorney.”

He plac
ed his hand atop
hers. “It will happen. I’ll see to it.”

Grace searched his
face
,
only his chiseled jaw hinting at
staunch determination
. “
It would mean so much to me if you could put in a good word for me with Andy.”

“That,” he said, leaning back in his chair, “could be problematic. Right now, he sees you as the enemy. Your best bet would be
to find a job in another
place
a
nd work your way up from there.
I have a friend
in
Bellview
County
who
could probably use
your services. Would you like me to check with him? I th
ink he would
be understanding
when it comes to
your situation.”

She thought through
the offer. Never had she
imagined working
anywhere other than
Miller’s Creek, but a job was a job,
and her financial situation grew
more desperate by the day. “Tha
t would be wonderful.
”

His head tilted ever so slightly and he smiled.
“My pleasure.
It’s near enough that we c
ould still see each other on
weekends.”

“I’d like that very much.” Now how to turn the conversation back to El
ena?
“W
hat
do you know about Elena Delgado?
”

Jason’
s cool mask
morphed momentarily
to a startled o
ne, but he quickly lowered his head
. “I’
ve a confession to make, one
I hope you understand. You asked
earlier about Elena, and I dodged the question.” H
e raised
his gaze to hers
.
“
I apologize f
or not being truthful.
I
guess I
feared
she’d already poisoned you against me.” He swal
lowed
. “El
en
a and I were once married
.”

Now it was Grac
e’s turn to be surprised—so surprised she had no idea what to say.

Jason
spoke again
. “Please don’t sh
are that information
. It could cause unnecessary probl
ems as I’m sure you understand.
Jessie
is my daughter. I moved to the
area to be closer to her and hopefully convince Elena to let me see her, even though she has full custody.”

“Why did the judge grant her full custody?”

He
inhaled a deep breath that noticeably raised his broad shoulders. “I suspect foul play
, but like you, I have no way to
prov
e it. A
nothe
r point of connection—E
lena
has
duped us both
.
”

Her emotions twisted inside
,
and
his sorrow beca
me her own. How
sad
to
be
un
able to see his
child
because of Elena’s ability to m
anipulate situations
to he
r advantage. “I’m so sorry
. This makes what she did to me seem small in comparison.”

H
is
Adam’s apple bobbed
beneath his sweater.
“In response to your
original
ques
tion
, all I can say is that in my dealings with
her
,
she’s proved
to
be
rather
eccentric,
hyper-sensitive
,
and unstable.
It drives me crazy that she’s the one raising our daughter.
” He
rose to his feet and heaved a frustrated
sigh, staring off into the distance.
“A
fter Jessie was born
she changed and
then punished
me
.
Our marriage disintegrated in spite of everything I did to keep it going.”

Overwhelming compassion
cracked open her heart removing the walls between them
. I
n less than a bea
t of her heart, Grace
wrapped her arms around him.
Lord, help him through his grief. Show me how I can help.
“
Do
you
want
to talk about it
more
?”

“Not
at the moment.” H
is voice sounded hoarse
.

“
I understand.”
Grace’
s
cell phone buzzed withi
n her purse. She reached
to silence
it, but noticed the number
.
Consuela.
W
as she in
danger
? “Sorry,
but
I need to take this call.”

He nodded his consent
, his eyes distant and dark
.

She stood and
moved a few feet away, intentionally
keep
ing
her voice low
. “
Consuela
?
Are you okay?
”

“
Si.
I am so glad to have caught you.”
Relief sounded
even through
woman’s
Hispanic acc
ent
. “I
need to speak
with you
.
T
omorrow if possible.”

Jason strolled
closer, both hands in his pockets
, his gaze focused on the lights of a nearby boat.

Grace feigned a cheery tone since he was within earshot.
“Of course, w
ill
ten
work for you
?”

“Yes, that will be good
. I must go now.”

“
Bye.” Grac
e
clicked the phone off
and
hurri
ed to where Jason stood staring out over the placed lake
.

He turned at her approach and smiled slightly.
“Anything important?”

“Just meeting a friend tomorrow.”

Jason clasped
her hand
in his own
and headed back to the table.

She
dropped the phone in her purse
. “May I use your rest
room?”

“Certain
ly.
James will show you the way.” Jason snapped his fingers and the white-coated gentlem
an
stepped quickly.

“Yes, sir?”

“S
how Miss
Soldano
to the rest room.”

“Yes, sir.”
He
headed
toward the house.

Grace
sent
Jason an encour
aging smile
and followed James
.
When she left the restroom a
few minutes later, she gazed around the
lavish
interior of the house
, her jaw agape
. The
great room faced
the lake
and
soared
at least three stories
high
, lit by the larges
t chandelier she’
d ever seen.
How could he afford
this?

Just as she was about to
explore the area
a little more carefully, a voice sounded behind her.
“Mr. Dent is waiting outside, Miss
Soldano
.”

She brought a hand up
as she twirled to face the
butler
. “Oh
, you scared me!”

His
face revealed no
thing
. Instead he merely
pointed the way with one hand.

Grace obeyed and rejoined
J
a
son on the terrace
.
She trailed a hand along the nubby fabric of his sweater.
“
Feeling
better?”

He
latched onto
her fingers and
brought them to his lips
. “Seeing you
always
makes me feel better.”

How was it that he always knew the perfect thing to say? She searched his face.
No trace of
his previous sorrow remained.