The Way of Grace (Miller's Creek Novels) (64 page)

A flick
er of hope ignited in Matt’s ches
t. “So if I were to ask Gracie to ma
rry me, we’d have your blessing?
”

“A thousand times
,
yes.” He momentarily lowered his gaze to his hand
s which
rest
ed
on the table. “I know at one time I was not very kind to you. I underestimated
you
and didn’t think you were good enough for my daughter. I was wrong. Please accept my apology.”

Matt sent up silent
thanks to God
.
Only He could have brought about this change in His timing.
“Of course.
G
lad to know that your opinion of me has changed.”

The older man reached over and patted him on the back. “I’d be honored to have you as my son. Now we’d better get back to work, eh?”

“Yep.”
He stood and followed the older man back inside, his nervousness returning.
Somehow he ha
d to find a way
to make this
whole experience
easier for Gracie.

U
nbridled panic
coursed through Gracie
as
Dani
and Trish
made certain her wheelchair wa
s secure
d
with safety straps
, and
Mama Beth
scooted closer to the window to begi
n building her nest
for the trip
back to Miller’s Creek
.
These were some of the very people who
shunned
her
before she left
for
Bellview
. And now
, on this beautiful April morning,
she had
at least a two
hour’s drive with them in a confined space. Would they once more make her feel condemned
and worthless
?

She
used her arms to pull herself to a more upright position.
Just a couple of hours
and then she’d be
home. The first thing she’
d do was
call Matt and invite him over, even if she were still a tad bit disappointed that he hadn’t come to pick her up.

Dani’s
blond
head bobbed up to her right
, a happy light in her clear blue eyes
. “There. That should keep you from sliding
around in this big old van. I’ll
try not to weave in and out of this horrible Dallas traffic.” With her baby bum
p just starting to protrude, the mayor’s wife
e
ased out of the van’s side door
and made her way to the driver’s
seat
.

Now Trish
stood, but unlike
Dani
, stooped
to keep from hitting her head on the
van ceiling
. She flashed her brilliant smile
which
always seemed especially bright in contrast to her dark skin.
“Ready to roll
, Gracie
?”

“That depends on your definition of roll.”

Trish laughed. “Spoken like a true lawyer. Maybe we should make you sign a disclaimer
first
.” She winked
and backed out of the van
, slamm
ing the door shut behind her before she crawled into the front passenger seat and buckled her seat belt.

“Okay, ladi
es, here we go,
”
Dani’s
cheery voice called out.

As they pulled
away from the
hospital parking lot,
Mama Beth reached over and patted her leg. “We’re so glad to finally have you back, Gracie. We’ve all missed you.”

Sh
e nodded, unsure how to respond.
“Thanks. I’ve missed y’all, too.” Though they might not believe it, s
he meant every wor
d. The time in
Bellview
and
the hospital had
honed her appreciation of them, in spite of how they’d treat
ed her. But would she eve
r truly fit in
?
Lord, please tear down these walls. Help
me do what I need to do to
not just
feel
comfortable around them, but connected to them.

Gracie peered out the window as the skyscrapers of downtown Dallas came into view. A scripture she’d read earlier
th
at morning popped into her head—something about being humble and considering others as better
than herself
.
Yes, that sh
ould help remove at least part of the wall
s
.
“Thanks to
all
of you
for coming
after me.
I really thought Papa or Matt would do it, but I know they have things to do, especially with all
the time they’ve both spent at the hospital
with me.”

“Our pleasure, Gracie.”
Trish turned her head and
flashed another
vivid
smile
.

Dani
made eye contact
via the rearview mirror. “
Your
Papa and Matt
both
wanted to be here
.”
Her expression oozed sympathy.

Hurt raked long claws throughout her insides
.
She d
idn’t want anyone’s pit
y! I
s that why they were here?

Mama Beth leaned over and
gave her a sideways hug. “I, for one, am glad they couldn’t come, so we get the chance to spend time with you. I think we all need a nice long chat.”

Uh-oh, here it comes.
Grac
i
e held up both hands before this went any further. “Look, I know how you all fe
el about
what I did. All I
can say is how very sorry I am
. It was wrong and I shouldn’t have done it.”

The van grew uncomfortably quiet
for several minutes, the only sound the noise of passing cars and eighteen-wheelers
.
Hmm, maybe she’d spoken too soon.

Trish
finally
broke the
awkward
silence
as they drove past Six Flags theme park in Arlington
. “You’re not the on
ly one who needs to apologize.
I
should ‘
ve
handled things a lot differently.
I judged you without knowing the full story.
”
She turned around in the
seat, her tawny brown eyes full of tears
. “Please for
give me, Gracie. I know now
that you were
only
trying to help Andy
, and I’m very grateful
.
”

“That goes for me, too.”
Mama Beth, her
voice cracking with emotion,
snatched her purse from the floorboard, rifled through its contents for a tissue, and dabbed at her nose and eyes.

“Me, three.”
Dani’s
face
held
sincerity
.
“I kno
w how
it feels
to be an
outside
r in Miller’s Creek, so
I should’
ve known better. I treated you shamefully, and
I’m so
sorry.”

Tears flowed unbidden down Grac
i
e’s cheeks,
and her throat closed
,
making it impossible to speak
.

Mama Beth glanced over
and noticed the
tears,
then
began to
cluck around like a mother hen, going
through her earlier
routi
ne to procure a tissue for Gracie
.

“Thanks
,” she
at last
managed to squeak out
with a
sniffle. “
Your friendship means more than I can say, and it feels
good
to have
everything out in the open
.
” But would the rest of Miller’s Creek follow suit?

Ma
ma Beth reached across and patt
ed Gracie’s left hand.
“Just so you know
,
w
e were all very hurt and confused by what happened.”
The older woman
paused, her pale blue eyes questioning.
“I know it’s none of my busine
ss, but what happened
to make you
act in
such a way
?”

At last! Someone finally asked the right question. All the words of defense and
vindication
and justice
she’d harbored inside over the past few months
rush
ed to the tip of
Gracie’s
tongue
.
B
ut she clamped her lips together as the Lord’s still small voice sounded in her head.

Love God and lov
e people, my child
. T
hat’s all you ne
ed
to fulfill
My
commands.

She lowered her head until
the angry feelings abated. How she’d longed for this moment! But all that really mattered was doing what God’s Spirit led her to do. Grac
i
e gave her head a
slight
shake and raised her gaze to Mama Beth’s
kind face
. “It no longer matters. I won’t say one more word to defend my actions or to damage another person’s reputation. End of subject. If that makes me look guilty, then so be it.”

The older woman’s face glowed with wisdom gained only from a rough life and a close walk with God.
A
sad smile
appeared at
the corners of her mouth
.
“I’ve never met a young woman as wise as you, Gracie. I’m as proud of you as if you were my own daughter.”

Her heart once more in her throat,
Grac
i
e lowered her head
. “
Thanks
. I know y
ou all care for Andy very much, and I’m sure to y
ou it must have seemed like I’
d betrayed him.”

Mama Beth nodded. “
And
I’m sorry we hurt you in return. It was a knee-jerk reaction to the pain we were feeling. The
entire
situation
wa
s one of the most difficult things I remember
ever
going through.”

Regret plunged its razor-sharp blade
deep into her soul
. Mama Beth had endured so much. The
whole town
knew how
Big Bo Miller
had been the
love of her life and had married someone else. S
o for her to
say it was one of the hardest things she’d
ever
faced
was almost
mor
e than Grac
i
e could
bear
. She lo
wered her gaze to her lap, her right hand fiddling
with the
balled-up tissue. “I believe
Satan
’s
had
a field day with all of us.”

Dani
pounded a palm against the steering wheel
, effectively bringing all eyes her way
. “Steve and I were
just
talking abo
ut this
over breakfast. Isn’t it just like the enemy to cause discord and strife among God’s people?”
H
er
cornflower
eyes flashed with
a warrior’s light.