The Way of Grace (Miller's Creek Novels) (21 page)

At first, she’d rejo
ic
ed to see Matt there, overjoyed that
she’d have someone
to cheer her on
, but once she started speaking
,
his smiling eyes had turned
battery-
acid
brown
.

Her chest heavy,
she brought a hand up to ease the hurt. The
disappointment
displayed on
their faces
had been
almost unbearable
, and she’d finished
her carefully
rehearsed
speech with her gaze to
the floor.
It had been
a difficult d
ecision, but also
an easy
one. How could she not
make an attempt to bring about justice in a situatio
n where foul play was likely
?

A
heada
che built
behind her eyes
.
A
pparently Matt had been right about h
er ‘
disea
se to please,’
as he’
d called it
. R
ight now it
wreaked
havoc
in her stomach
—partly because of the new job—
but mostly
because
she’d let her friends
down.

It’s for a good cause, Grace.
A sigh slipped between her lips
.
Her pep talk
fell flat, and did nothing
to improve her outlook.
W
hat if her plan backfired in some way? Who would she have to corroborate her side of the story?
She closed her eyes
. All this worry would get her nowhere. S
he’d
just
have to
trust God to help her
.

After one more check
in the mirror
, she pivoted on one heel of the stilettos Elena had given her last Friday and moved through the door to join
her mentor
.

The woman flashed a bright smile as Grac
e approached the booth
. “There you are. I
was beginning to think you weren’t coming back
.”

Grace forced a laugh.
“Just dealing with an upset tummy.”

Elena glanced over
the top
her menu. “Are you
all right
?”

“Yes, I think the antacid is finally working.”
Big
lie.
Normally, the aroma of grilled beef would have her salivating, but today it only worsened the churning in her stomach.

They
studied their menus in silence,
Grace struggling with how to bring up questions in a way that sounded natural and didn’t arouse Elena’s suspicions.

A
familiar voice intruded
into her thoughts
. “Well, well,
if it i
s
n’t
Gracie Mae.”

Her gaze flew to Matt’s face.
W
hat was he doing here? “Hi
.”
Her tone held a
n intentional chill
.
She continued to peruse her menu, willing him to take the hint.

Elena’s
feline
eyes z
oned in on
him
. She scooted
in
and patted the seat beside her
. “Why don’t you join us? Any friend of Grace is a friend of mine.”

Matt was all smiles. “Thanks. Think I will.”
He plopped down in the seat across and
extended a hand to Elena.
“Nice to meet you.”

Grace came to her sense
s
. “Forgive my lack of manners. Matt, this is Elena, and this,” she gestured toward him, his sloppy attire registering
in her brain
, “this is Matt.”

Elena smiled and returned to reading her menu.

Grace did the same, but in her peripheral vision she
noticed Matt lean
to one side to eye her new shoes with a frown.
Sh
e shot him a glare
, resisting the urge to grind the point of her shoe into his shin. “Elena, I’m having trouble deciding what to order.
Any recommendations?”

“You can’t go wrong with the filet mignon.”

Grace scoured the menu
. S
he could indeed go wrong at
that price.

“Don’t worry, Gracie
Mae
. Lunch is on me.”
His eyes half-lidded, Matt
spoke the words matter-of-factly, like it was a daily ritual for him to spend lavish amounts of money on a meal.
And s
ince when did he have enough money to spend thirty dollars on a steak?

“That’s very generous of you.” Elena smiled her gratitude.

“No problem.” He returned
her boss’
smile,
and
then
faced
Grace, t
he set of hi
s jaw issuing
a
subtle
challenge.

Fine.
S
he’d enjoy every ju
icy, tender bite of that thirty-
dollar steak
, thank you very much
.

A few minutes later, the waitress arrived
with a basket of fresh bread, ready
to take their order. Surprisingly, Matt ordered nothing but a glass of tea.

A frown wriggled onto her forehead.
Was he going hungry in order to pay for their food?
She toyed with the idea of ordering something
less expensive
, but the
insolent
glint in his eye urged her forward.
“I’ll have the filet mignon, cooked medium, with a
salad and
baked potato
.”
She held up one finger like she’d had an epiphany. “Oh, and I’ll probably want dessert.”

A bemused smile curved the corners of his lips, and his tongue moved inside his left cheek.

“Okay.”
The waitress scribbled on her pad.
“And to drink?”

“Coke
, please
.”

His eyes grew small beneath his furrowed brows
. “You don’
t drink sodas
.”

“I do today. W
hy aren’t you eating?”

He shrugged. “Not hungry.”

Elena
also
ordered
the filet
mignon
, and
then
turned her
attention to
Matt
as the waitress hurried to the kitchen
. “So how do you two know each other?”

Matt
faced
Grace
, his eyes doing a slow
, but methodical
study
of her face
, his answer
thankful
ly vague. “My b
rother lives in Miller’s Creek
,
and
he
introduced us. We’ve known each
other a few years now.” He snagg
ed
a
piece of bread from the basket and took a bite,
intentionally chomping with his mouth wide open,
his gaze never leaving her face.
Matt
swallowed and
addressed
Elena.
“And w
ha
t d
o you do for a living?”

Grace licked her lips and pretended to focus on
drinking her soda
. Surely Matt already knew who she was, since he’d been privy to her conversation with Andy earlier that day. What was he up to?

“I work for the
Miller County DA’s office
.”

Matt
maintained
his poker face.
“
I see. L
ived
in the area
long?”

One of the questions she wanted answered. Grace straightened. Who needed to
pry
with Matt here? This potential disaster had turned into a potential plus. All she needed to do was close her mouth and open her ears.

“My mother and daughter and I moved h
ere last year.”

“Daughter?
Does
she
go
es
to school
in Morganville?” Matt leane
d back while the waitress slid
plate
s with delicious-looking food and
equally enticing smells
in front of both
women
.

“No, she’s a special needs child
.
A
specialist come
s each day to help
with her physical and educational needs.”
A pained expression crossed Elena’s face
as she moved a napkin
to her lap.

Matt’s eyes and voice now held genuine concern.
“I’m sure t
hat must be difficult for you.”

“At times.”
She carved off a piece
of steak
.

Grace followed suit,
the tender steak
practically
melt
ing
in her mouth.

“I don’t mean to pry,”
offer
ed Matt, “but is your daughter’s father still in the picture?”

Elena coughed uncomfortably. “No. He took off for greener pastures once he realized her condition.” Her tone oozed bitterness and resentment.

Grace’s heart rose to her throat
, making it difficult to swallow
. How difficult it must be
to struggle with a
child’s physical ailment
,
bearing the weight alone
, as well as dealing with her husband’s
abandonment. A newfound appreciation for Elena built in
side her
. In spite of it all,
she
had persevered and overcome, now providing the nicest possible life for her child.

Across from her, Matt moved his head up and down
. “In my
line of work, it’s common to find one parent shouldering the responsibili
ty for a handicapped child
.”

Elena
took
a sip of water
then
returned the glass to the circular coaster
. “And where do you work
, Matt
?”

“A
place that provides equine therapy.”

Grace
closed her eyes
.
Please don’t let him sa
y anything about Andy
.

A small frown landed between Elena’s perfectly manicured eyebrows.
“The one at the Miller family ranch?”

“Yeah
.
I’m
helping my brother and his wife with the ministry—
at least for a while
.”
He glanced at Grace, his expression sullen and dark.

Elena’s eyes narrowed perceptively.
“Your brother?”

“
You probably
know him since
you’re an attorney
.
Does the name
Andy Tyler
ring a bell
?
”

Grace
’s breath froze momentarily, but quickly thawed as she
watched
Elena’s response
with interest.
The woman’s
face visibly hardened
,
and she stab
bed at
her meat with a
ferocious
fie
rceness
.

Matt, on the other hand,
maintained his normal unassuming expression, though he studied Elena,
analyzing her every move and expression.
Did he suspect something, too?

For the remainder of the meal
, Elena d
idn’t direct another word to
Mat
t, and Grace could tell that the intentional snub wasn’t lost on him.

By the time the waitress arrived with the check, the tension in the air was more in need of a knife than the steak, and Grace could
n’t
wait to
escape to the fresh air
.