The Way of Grace (Miller's Creek Novels) (11 page)

She raised her gaze to his while she stirred a pot on the stove.
“Would you like a glass of
sweet
tea while you wait?”

“Sure, but let me get it. You’v
e
got your hands full
.” He moved
to a nearby
whitewashed
cabinet to grab a
glass and
added a few
ice cubes before pouring his tea.

Wit
hin a few minutes, Mama Beth
placed
f
ried chicken, mashed potatoes,
home
grown g
reen beans, and homemade bread
in the middle of the oversized farm table.
“Would you bless
it for us, Matt?” S
he
wiped her hands on her blue-checked apron.

“I’d be honored.” He bowed his head. “Lord, bless this meal and the one who prepared it. Ma
y we be better servants for
You
.
In Christ’s name,
Amen.”

As they fixed their plates, Mama Beth
jump-
start
ed
the conversation. “So what’s on your mind
,
Matty
?”

He
reached for a chicken leg.
Did she mean in addition to downing a piece of her homemade fried chicken?
“
Not sure
where to start.”
He chomped into the meat
, the warm juices trickling down his throat.

“How about with Gracie?”

He almost choked
.
Leave it to Mama Beth to cut to the chase.
“How’
d you know I wanted to talk about Gracie?”

“You’ve been in love wi
th her for a couple of years
, right?”

A
heat wave crept up
his neck.
“Well, love’s a strong word—”

She sent
a “you’re-not-fooling-me” look.

Matt
switched his gaze to the
plate. “I do care about her an awful lot.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“Well, n
ow that she’s finished with
school and the bar exam. I
ho
ped
she and I could, well . .
.
”
He squirmed in
the ladder-back chair
. This was harder
than
expected
.
“I need to know how to go about this. How to . . .” Words
failed him
.

Mama Beth
’s face lit with amusement
.
“
I’ve never known you to
be at
a
loss for words
. I
t must be love
.
” She patted his hand. “My best advice is to be
yourself
. You and Gracie are good friends. It’s not too much of a leap from there.”

“But what if she doesn’t want a guy like me?”

White wispy eyebrows furrowed over
clear blue eyes. “
Good gravy, Matt.
W
hat makes you say
such a foolish thing
?”

Which reason should he give first?
He
forked
potatoes
in his mouth
an
d chased it with a sip of
tea.
“Gracie’s a planner.
I’m not sure I fit the image she has in that brain of hers.”

“
Image
has nothing to do with
true love
.”

“I know that, but I’m
not sure sh
e does.”

“Hmmm.
”
Mama Beth gazed into space
a moment
then
faced
him. “You’
ve
got
a point, but I wouldn’t change who you are to fit what she thinks she wants. She’s a smart girl. She’ll figure it out.”

Matt released a sigh of relief. Mama Beth
had a knack for
discerning what
was really bothering
someone
. “Glad to
hear you say that. I can’t be
someone I’m not.”
Even if it was for the purpose of winning
Gracie’s
heart.

“
Nor should you
.
You both b
elong to God. If this is
His plan
,
it’
ll work out.”

Mama Beth
was right
. He did belong to God, but what if God had other plans for both of them?
Could he accept that possibility?
“Well, i
t’s a little more complicated than that.”

“What do you mean?”

“
Jason
Dent. He’s everything I’m not
. Just the sort Gracie could fall for if given the encouragement.”
Just the sort to break her heart and make her gun-shy for the rest of her life.

Mama Beth’s blue
eyes
cloud
ed. “Jason’
s a wonderful man, Matt. Gracie could do
worse.”

“Are you
sure
?
”
If she had the same opi
nion as Andy, it proved he was way off base
.
He cast
her
a
questioning
glance
.

Her lips drew
up tight. “That man has done so
much for this community
. I don’t doubt his inte
grity at all.
”

Matt nodded.
“I’m sure you’re probably right.”

“I know I’m right.”
She
lifted her chin ever so slightly
. “
So what are your plans over the next few weeks
?”

“Well, Andy asked if I’d
help out w
ith the equine therapy ministry
.”
And he was still no closer to reaching a decision.

She
sipped her
tea and looked at him over the rim of her glass. “
I think tha
t’s
a
perfect
job for you
.
”

Matt hoisted a shoulder.
“
Maybe for
the short term.
”

“Short term based on how things go with Gracie?”

Th
e woman had a sixth sense.
“Yep
.”

Mama Beth
stood and
bustled
to the
farmhouse
sink to rinse her plate.
Matt
joined her.
He
placed
his dishes
in the
dishwasher,
and
then
face
d
her. “Thanks for all your advice and
the meal
. A
s much as I’d like
to stay, I’d better
git
.
”

She reached up and hugged his neck.
“
I
’ll be praying for you,
Matty
. Y
ou
’re facing
a lot of tough decisions
.
”

They walked together
, arm in arm,
toward the front
. As he let himself out the squeaky screen door o
nto the
wraparound
porch
of her two-story charmer
, Mama Beth
tugged on his arm
. “
Come back anytime
.
Our door is always open.
”

On the drive to the ranch, Matt’s thoughts
centered once more
on Gracie.
B
y the time he
reached
Andy and Trish’s house, he alread
y felt the need for more advice
. He glanced toward th
e garage. Andy’s car was gone. M
aybe Trish had time.
But first he needed to call Gracie.
After parking, h
e
powered on his smart
phone and
tou
ched
the number to her house
.

“
Soldano
residence.”
The male v
oice let Matt know upfront his plan
for
time
with Gracie
wouldn’t
come without a price.

“Hi,
Mr.
Soldano
.
This is
Matt Tyle
r. Could I
speak with Gracie
, please
?”

“What business do you have with my daughter?”

Be
fore he could answer,
muffled talking
sounded
in the background
.
“Papa, please hand me the phone. I don’t need
you to screen my calls
.
Hello?
”
A
breathless Gracie answered.

“Hi, Gracie, it’s Matt.
”

“Hey
.
Thanks for
the
surprise party. I
t was
very
thoughtful
.”

He lower
ed his head and chuckled,
joy trickling over his heart
.
“My pleasure
.”
He paused to catch his
breath.
“
Would you
like to
go
for a cup of hot chocolate sometime this afternoon?”

“Um, sure, I mean, I guess so.”

His
confidence
deflated
like an unknotted balloon
. She didn’t have to sound so excited about it.

“What time?”

He glanced at his watch. Already 2:30?
“How about
I swing by and pick you up
in an hour?”
That should give him plenty of time to talk to Trish and get
back
to town.

“I’ll see you then.
”

Matt pocketed the phone,
climbed
from
the Pinto
,
and
ambled down the front porch between Austin limestone and
cedar
posts to
rap
on the
massive
wooden
doo
r
Trish had imported from Mexico
.

It
swung open. “It’s about time you showed up!”
His sister-in-law
spit out the words in a frenzied rush as she enveloped Matt in a s
plit-second hug. “I hoped you’d be here earlier
.”

“
Didn’t Andy tell you I was having lunch with Mama Beth?”
He followed her into the house.

She gave her dark pony
tail a shake. “
No, he
stayed in town after church
to do some work at the office
.
”

“S
orry.”

Trish
sent a sheepish grin. “
Not your fault. W
ith a newborn in the house, some things just
don’t get communicated
.” She
shut the door behind them. “
Sorry if I sound
ed
frantic. Bethany finally fell asleep a few minutes
ago, but then Brady woke up.
Bo just called. I need to go pick him
up
at a
friend’s house just down the road.
I won’t be gone long.”

Gone long? S
he was leaving him with a four-year old and a
newborn
? He scratched his cheek. “Um, go on, Trish. Gotcha covered.” He tried his best to sound convinced.
Him?
Keep kids?
Not exactly in his comfort zone
.

Trish
snatch
ed her purse from the hallway table, blew him a kiss,
and
quietly shut
the door behind her on the way out
.