The Way of Grace (Miller's Creek Novels) (53 page)

His brother’s eyebrows scuttled up his forehead
.
“Sure, but you’d better lose the ‘
tude
.”

Matt pressed his lips together.
Andy was only trying to help.
“Sorry. I’m just worried about Gracie.”

“Worrying won’t help you get better any faster
, Matt
. I’m sure
she’s fine. She’s got
a pretty good head on her shoulder
s
. Well, except for the breaking and entering episode.” Andy raise
d
the head of the bed.
“What has you so bothered
anyway
?”

Matt
sipped the
water while he
relayed the information the priv
ate detective had given him. “Anyway, w
hoe
ver you have working for you isn’
t
really
named
Jason Dent.”

Andy
stood with hands
akimbo
, his mouth
at work
like he wanted to say something, but wasn’t sure he should.

“What is it? Tell me.”
Matt didn’t care if he sounded demanding and curt. He had to know.

His brother raked both
hands through his curly hair
.
“Okay, but
promise me you won’t do any
thing stupid.”

“Okay.
I promise I won’t do anything stupid.
”

“I’ve known for some time that Jason wasn’t who he claimed to be, but I haven’t been able to say anything. I’ve been work
ing with the FBI while they keep
tabs on him.”

Matt’s jaw went
slack.
“FBI?”
His mind raced, immediately honing in on the conversation he’d h
ad with his professor buddy
. “Do they think Jason’s dangerous?”

“N
ah.
They think
he works with some political powerhouse for the purpose of affecting the outcome of various cases. That’s about all I know.”

“Do they suspect Gracie, too?”

“I think t
hey were afraid she’d get involved.”

Matt
brought a hand up
to gently massage
his forehead
.
While sh
e wouldn’t
intentionally get
involved
,
her insa
tiable desire for
justice coul
d be a problem
.
He closed his eyes and
groaned.
“I’ve
gotta
make sure she’s okay
.”

Andy moved to the window and opened the curtains just enough to let in natural light, his
jaw
cemented
. “Not
gonna
happen
, so don’t even go there. We’ll go only when the doc says it’s safe, and not a minute before. Got it?”

Matt nodded weakly,
too tired to protest.

The day
crawled by, with hi
s
tormented
thoughts
never far from Gracie. When he wasn’t making conversation with Andy, he
pretended to watch TV, but
used the time to pray
that
God would protect her
.
A
s the day passed, a
frenzied r
estlessness
surged
within,
a
ccompanied by a
burning
desire
to
hear her voice
.

T
he following
morning, a nurse
delivered
a
real breakfast, but
Mat
t
could only eat a
few bites
at a time.
Too much
made him
nauseous.
By
Saturday
, the solid food
had renewed his strength
, so
when
Dr. Stevens
stopped by for a visit
—this time with an elderly nurse
who hummed incessantly
—
Matt was ready to impress him with his improvement.

“Hey, Doc.”
The doctor reached
out a
hand. Matt
leaned forward, ignoring the pain in his head, and
squeezed a little harder than necessary to prove his strength. “I’ve
kept
solid food down
yesterday and today and
walked to the bathroom
on my own
.
Think I’m good to
go?”

“No
t yet
.” He leaned
against the wall at the foot of the bed
. “Just because you’re doing better doesn’t mean you’re ready.
Yesterday’s
C
T scan
still showed
a little swelling
, and to caution you, t
rying to do
too much won’t
get
you
o
ut of here any faster
. If anything, it could hold y
ou back. Try
to do too much too fast, I’ll keep you here two
more
weeks if necessary. Understand?”

Beneath the covers, Matt’s hands curled into tight balls, and his clenched jaw pulsed erratically. He
released a slow breath to keep his anger in check
and simply nodded, unable to
verbally agr
ee
.

The doc checked the chart
. “I’ll pr
escribe more sleeping meds
f
or you tonight, and w
e’ll wheel you down for another CT scan
in the next hour or so
. If that looks good, I’ll have a physical therapist stop by to take you through your paces. Prepare to be worn out. If you do well
today,
and have no
setbacks, I might let you go
home
tomorrow
, emphasis on the word ‘might.’”

Red hot heat rocketed from Matt’s feet to his head.
Didn’t
anyone
realize
how badly he needed to get to Gracie?
As soon
as Dr. Stevens
left the room, Matt looked
at Andy
,
struggling to keep
frustration
from
his tone
. “Can you bring me my pho
ne?
”

“Sure.” His brother
shuffled
through the
duffel
bag in the
bottom of the
closet
.
“Calling Gracie?”

“Yep.”
If he could get through.

“Okay
,
I’m
gonna
step out to the waiting area and call Trish. Need anything before I go?”

“No thanks.
” Matt waited for Andy to exit the room,
and
then punched the power button.
Nothing.
Dead as a doornail.
His head fell back against the pillow and he stared at the
acoustical
ceiling
tiles
.
Now what
? He could either wait until Andy came back from calling Trish, which could take a half hour or better, or he could get the charger himself.

He contemplated the doctor’s words
of warning
, but in the end decided he was up to the challenge.
Matt sat up slowly and
waited till
the lightheadedness
to
pa
ss
,
then
carefully
swung
his l
egs over the side of the bed and
pushed
himself
to a standing position
.

He g
ripped the bed rail, and
w
ith small shuffling steps
,
made his way to the closet
and peered down at his duffle bag. Why did it seem a million miles away? He
stared
at it for at least a couple of minutes, trying to determine if he had the stamina to stoop over without passing out.

The door sw
ung open without warning, and the same
nurse
, with the same annoying hum,
entered with a
dinner tray. Her eyes took on schoolteacher sternness. “What
in
the world
are you
doing?” She
laid the tray on the table
and
rushed
to him.
“
Dr. Stevens will not be happy about this.”
With bo
th hands on his arms
, s
he turned him
around and steer
ed him back to bed
.

He had to find a way outta this mess
, and quick
. Matt glanced at her name tag. “You’re not
gonna
tell
on me
, are you
, Mar
gie
?”

“Hmmm.”
A
hint of a smile played on her lips.
“I suppose that depends on why you were out of bed after you’d already been given very specific instructions.
”

Matt lean
ed
back against the pillows she
’d
plumped. “There’s
a
girl I need to call—”

The woman’s face softened and her lips lost the
ir
vert
ical lines
. “Say no more.”

Leave it to a woman to fall for the sappy stuff.
“But if I don’t say more,
how am I
gonna
get my cell phone charger?”

She laughed and headed to the closet. “
You’re a regular riot, aren’t you?
I’m guessing the charger i
s in your bag?”

“Yes
ma’am
.”

Within a minute,
Margie
had the phone plugged in
and within reach
. She sent
a smile and wave
as she hummed her way out of the room
.

At last.
Matt made the call
, happy to hear the phone ringing on the ot
her end, instead of the monotonous
busy signal.

Juan
Soldano
answered.

“H
i, Mr.
Soldano
.
This is Matt Tyl
er.” He tens
ed
,
expecting
opposition
.

But no lecture came. Instead the man practically bubbled
over
. “How are you,
Mr.
Matt?”

“Been better, but I’m
gonna
live. Is Graci
e available
by any chance
?”
Just one sound of her voice.
That’s all he needed to determine if she was okay.

“No
. She
is working in
Bellview
now
.”

Matt’
s heart
landed at his feet, and he lowered his head to one hand
. H
ow he needed to hear her voice.

Mr.
Soldano
continued.
“
Jason Dent found her a job there.”

At the mention of Jason’s name,
his pulse
careen
ed into overdrive
and his spine straightened
. Why would Jason find her a job
?
And in
Bellview
of all places?
“Is there a way I can reach her? I really need to speak with her.”

The older man
hesitated. “She does have a cell phone, bu
t
made me promise not to give
out the number
.”

Why would she keep the number a secre
t unless she didn’t want him
to
call?
“Mr.
Soldano
, I don’t know how to say this, so I’m just
gonna
come out and say it. I
care about
your daughter
,
and I’m very concerned about her right now. If you hear from her
,
please tell her I called.
”
The phone went
quiet
for a brief moment. Had he revealed
too much?