The Way of Grace (Miller's Creek Novels) (24 page)

Immediate peace
cascaded
over her,
soothing her battered spirit.
She
swiped at tears
with her fingertips. “I’ll do better. I apologize for being so emotional. I’m just tired.”

“More excuses?” Elena clicked her tongue. “Go wash your fac
e and come back
.”

Gr
ace didn’t hesitate. Even a rest
room was a welcome escape. As she wet a paper towel and pressed it to her face, she prayed
once more
.
Lord,
thank You for Your peace and for answered prayer. H
elp me
underst
and why Elena is like this. Show me
how to help her and to figure out
what
she’s
up to
.
But most importantly, help me respond to her in a way that’s pleasing to
You
.

A minute later she
traipsed
back to
Elena’s office, not feeling
especially
better
, but
more prepared to h
andle whatever Elena unleashed.

But she
wasn’t
prepared for the immediate difference she saw in the other woman.
Instead of the dragon lady, she was met with a very contrite Elena.
“I’m so sorry, Grace.
Please forgive me.
I really shouldn’t have come unglued on you like that.”

Forgive her.

God had forgiven her so much, how could she not do the same?
From somewhere deep inside her, Grace found a strength she didn’t even know she possessed.
“
It’s
okay, Elena. I need
to do a better job than
I did today, and I promise
I’ll do better in the future.”

Elena
pulled her toward the stylish sofa near the window
. “I want you to understand how I sometimes can be when I’m under a lot of pressure. Please don’t
take it personally. T
his will sound like an
excuse
, but I’m really worried abou
t
Jessie. She
hasn’t been responding w
ell to a new medication she’s on,
and since I have to be at work here, Mama is under considerable strain. T
o make it worse, the
Simmons case is eating up my time and energy.”

Another prayer answered. She
’d
prayed for understanding, and He’d given it.
“What can I do
?”

Elena’s
eyes softened. “I knew you’
d be willing to help.”

“Anyway I can.”

“
Thanks,
Grace. I appreciate it more than you know.”
Elena
moved
to
her desk
, suddenly chipper, like nothing had happened
. “
If you c
ould, I’d like you to call the
people
on this list
.
”
She snatched a piece of paper from her desk and brought it over. “These are some high school classmates of David Simmons. Maybe they can give some insight into his character.”

Grace
nodded and accepted the paper
.
More homework.
Quiet resolve stiffened her spine.
Difficult?
Yes.
But also her best opportunity to uncover any wrongdoing on Elena’s part.

The petite attorney smiled
in such a kind way, it made Grace question if Elena’s earlier outburst had been nothing but a huge
mis
understanding
. “You go on home.
Oh, and leave that ticket with me. I’ll see what I can do about it
to make up for my
blunder
today.”

Blunder
? Is that what she called it?
“You don’t have to—”

“
See you tomorrow.”

Dismissed again.

Before she left the building, Grace stopped by the restroom once more to wash her face, then glanced over her shoulder to mak
e sure Elena was nowhere around
before she de
scended to the mail room
in the basement.

The typical
musty smell
of the basement greeted her. An elderly man locked the mailroom
as
she arrived. A
disgrun
tled expression descended on his
face
, and h
e cleared his throat
loudly
.
“Just closing up shop.
Need something?”

“Um, no, but I’m looking for Peg. Is she still here by any chance?” If nothing else, maybe she could meet the woman for coffee to glean more
information about Elena
.

“Sorry, you’re a little late.”

Grace smiled and nodded her thanks. “That’s okay, I’ll catch her tomorrow.”

He shook his head. “No, I don’t think you understand.”

“Understand what?”

“Peg was fired earlier today. She won’t be coming back.”

Grace exited the building
in a daze
and made her way to the
pickup. T
he street l
amps buzz
ed
awake
. Why had Peg been fired? Did Elena have anything to do with it?

She thought through the bizarre incidents of the afternoon, especially the dramatic change in Elena’
s behavior
and the
way in which
the woman
ordered
her life and then dismissed her
when she was through, much like someone wadding up a candy wrapper to throw in the garbage.

Grace crawled in
to the relative comfort and security of the
truck
and
turned the key
.
The pickup responded with a churning noise, but no motor sounds.
N
ot again. She leaned back in the seat, trying to decide what to do.

A
shadowy
figure moved in front of the pickup and stopped,
star
ing right at her. Matt!
She rolle
d down the window as he neared.

A comforting smile crossed his face. “You got away so fast earlier
today
that I didn’t get a chance to t
ell you that you probably need a new battery. So I
waited for you to get off work.
I thought you might just need more rescuing.”

His words choked her up, and she had to wait a moment before she could speak.
“Boy, is that the understatement of the year.”

His smile disappeared
, replaced by
concern
. He reached a hand inside the window and turned her chin to face him. “You’ve been crying.”

“A little, but I’m better now.”

“
Wanna
talk about it?”

“No, it’s over, and I’m
gonna
be okay.”

“You know when people unload on you it says a lot more about them than it does about you, so find a way not to take it personally.”
He pressed his lips together momentarily. “
Your new boss
brought this on
?”

Grace contemplated telling him everything—the odd mood swing, the way the woman had of ordering her around—but thought better of it. For better or worse, the woman was her boss, and for the sake of her career
, and her mission,
she needed to re
member her place. She
face
d
him and shook her head. “I
t’s just been a rough day.
The
Singles
’
Class Thurs
day night Bible study
is tonight
.
Wanna
come?”

He looked hesitant
at first
,
but
then nodded. “Sure, but only if I can treat you to
a cup of hot chocolate
afterwards.
” The plea in his sandy brown eyes made it impossible to refuse.

“Sounds like a plan
, but we’ll have to cut it short
.
I have some work to do.
”
She held up the sheet of paper Elena had given her.

His smile returned
. “F
irst
let’s
get this old truck running again, so we can get you home safely.

10

T
he
Single
s Bible study group finished with prayer and head
ed from the church sanctuary to a nearby home for fellowship.
Matt
moved closer to
Gracie, who strolled in silence beside him. The weather was a good parallel to the storm raging inside him, and from
the looks of it, inside her as well
.

The November night
was uncharacteristically muggy
with gusty south winds, which more than likely meant a cold front was about to push through, bringing with it thunderstorms and cooler temps.
One of those nights pressed between the changing of the season
s
.

Matt lowered his
head
to the ground, the sound of crunching leaves beneath his feet
, the smell of pumpki
n pie drifting from a nearby
window
.
D
uring
prayer requests
Gracie ha
d
asked for prayer over an unspoken concern. N
ot too surprising. All the time
he’d known her, she
had the tendency to stuff her emotions and problems in a well so deep, it would take years to dig to the bottom of it.

If only
she would let him in.
Lord, show me how to reach her.

A
s
if
discerning
his thoughts, she
faced
him momentarily.
A smile
appeared
, but
didn’t erase the sorrow
in her eyes.

His heart ached for her.
She needed
to
verbalize
what
was bothering her. He was
afraid to even consider what might happen if she continued to bury all her hurts.

T
hey moved inside,
and
Gracie
rest
ed
a
hand on
his ar
m
. “
I don’t want to stay long, but d
o you mind waiting just a sec? I need to
ask
Mar
c
y about
next month’s Christmas party
.”

Yes, he did mind waiting.
Very much.
He wanted every second alone with her he could man
age, if for no other reason than
get
ting her to open up
. But it wouldn’t be smart to shar
e those
thoughts at this point. Instead he nodded. “Sure.”

While Gracie
traipsed
across the room,
Matt leaned against
the brick fire
place
.
His eyes
land
ed
on
Jason Dent who
now made his way to where Gracie and Mar
cy stood
.

Matt
pressed his lips into a line
. How long
had
Jason
been a part of the group?
And hadn’t h
e already intruded enough in the
brief time
he had with Gracie? The guy
made a beeline to them the minute he arrived, stationing himself in a seat on the other side of he
r.

Mar
c
y wiggled her fingers at the other two and
moved to the back of the house
. Now
only Gracie and Jason
remained
, both completely oblivious to anyone else in the room
.
Gracie’s face lit with
a
smile and her
laughter sounded across the space.
S
he nodded
at something Jason said
.  Then
another girl wandered
up and joined the conversation.
What was that all about?