The Way of Grace (Miller's Creek Novels) (27 page)

The glint of envy in
Gracie’s
eyes softened somewhat.
“I
’ll
bet Mama Beth’s elated.”

“That’s an understatement,” drawled Steve.

Coot—
the
guy who always wore brightly colored suspenders to hold his pant
s up
over his pot
belly—
holler
ed
from the other table. “Mayor, you’d better get over here and place your order before this Granny throws us all out on the street.”

Steve tipped his hat. “Guess I’d better mosey on. See y
’
a
ll
later.”

Once he left th
e table, Matt
glanced
at Gracie,
who
sat with h
er head lowered
.

He
rehashed
the
earlier tension between them
, trying
desperately
to see
himself
through her eyes
.
Obviously she held
some preconceived
notions about him, which
kept
a
wall built
between them.
How could he show her
he was capable of being the man she needed him to be?

Gracie wakened from her reverie and
checked
her wr
istwatch. “I’d better get going
so I
can get to bed at a decent hour
.” She scooted out of the seat, her purse in tow.

Matt followed her
to the counter and
paid
the ti
cket
.
Soon they were back on t
he street, making their way
back to
the church.
He
longed to reach over and grab her hand again, but didn’t dare. In her current frame of mind,
she’d only lash out at him
, and he wasn’t sure his bruised
ego
could take it at the moment.
“
You
wanna
help out with the equine therapy ministry
on Saturday
afternoon
?” At least until her date with Mr. Perfect.

“
I’d love to
.
”

“You would?”

“Don’t sound so surprised. I lo
ve to be around the kids
.”

“Right.”
No mention of wanting
to hang out with him.

They walked the rest of the way in silence.
Just as they
reached the church,
Gracie sucked in an audible
breath and halted
, her gaze frozen on a car
ahead of them, park
ed in the middle of the road.

Matt’s eyebrows wrinkled
. Wasn’t that the same
one
they’d seen earlier?

In an unexpected move, the car peeled out,
the air now reeking of burned rubber
. The tires screamed and screeched as the car careened down the road.

“Who is that jerk?” Matt groused
the words without even thinking
and
then turned back to Gracie.

What he saw reflected in her stoic face paralyzed him with fear. She knew the driver
.
Of that much he was certain.
But that wasn’t what scared him
most
.

W
hat
sent terror coursing throughout him
was the
compassion
and sheer sorrow swimming in her
dark
eyes
.
With a heart like hers, she was sure to get it broken.

11

A
storm had blown in during the night,
and now
frigid
temp
s chilled Grace to the bone
early Friday morning
. She
hurried
from the parking lot to the courthouse
, tugging
on t
he collar of
her
new
trench coat
to ward of
f
icy
winds
that ripped between buildings in downtown Morganville
.

Sh
e darted across the street, a car horn blaring down the
block
. What was going on with
Elena
? Earlier that morning, she’d
waited
patiently at the office for
her boss
,
eager to share the results of her research,
but as
time for
the
proceedings inched closer, it became apparen
t
Grac
e was on her own.

The sports car
she’d seen
last night
belonged to
Elena
, of
tha
t she was convinced. But was she
intentionally following them
?
The woman
had made her opinion of a friendship with either Matt or Andy very clear, but surely she wouldn’
t resort to s
talking
.

Her lips clamped in a resolute line
. Well,
whatever Elena’s
motivation
,
perhaps
she
’
d change her mind
with
the information Grace had
un
covered
in her phone calls
to high school classmates of David Simmons.

As she climbed th
e long expanse of concrete steps
to the courthouse
,
her mind rolled through
last
night’s
time with Matt
.
They’
d strolled along
mo
onlit streets in total quiet
,
with
a
contentment she couldn’t discount
.
Yes,
Matt sometimes got on her nerves,
but
with no one else did she experience such
a comfortable
peace
.

Time with him
was like wearing a favorite pair of sho
es. They might be a little worn
and frayed around the edges
, but they fit
like none other
.
His
comment about God’s sovereignty
had sent chill bumps down her spine
,
once more
impact
ing her heart
with his profound
word
s.
Her cheeks warmed
as she recall
ed
how he’d wrapped his
jacket around her shoulders.
Never had she felt so cherished.
But how could she allow herself to have feelings for someone who didn’t have a plan?

The enormous w
ooden door creaked as she leaned her weight
against it
and stepped in the wooded warmth of the
stale
-smelling
historic building.
In spite of the
building’s warmth
, Grace
shivered,
her body’s react
ion to yet another day of
the
Simmons case
. T
his time
she’
d be on the opposite side of the courtroom. H
ad it
only been two
short week
s
since
she’d wished for this
?
How
ironic
that
her
desire
to be a prosecutor had been granted, yet
now
she’
d give
anything to be sitting
behind
Andy.

Grac
e
inhaled a breath
to steady her
frazzled
nerves before she entered the courtroom.
As expected, Elena
was already there
. Grace
gulped
and made her way to
the table. “Good morning
.”

Her boss didn’t
acknowledge her presence or
greeting
, but continued to write.

Lord, help me. How do
I
deal with this?

Love your neighbor as yourself.

Her mind flitted
back to last night’s
Bible study. What was it Brother Mac
said? Something about believers
being
most like
Christ
when they love
d those who we
re difficult to love.

After
she removed
her coat, Grace
took a seat nex
t to
Elena
,
o
pened her brief case
,
and pulled out
the
notes.
The
paper
s
hissed
as she slid them across the table
. “I think this
might help
y
our case
. It
appears
Mr.
Simmons
had a
similar
prior charge in high school. He s
erved time in
juvy
to expunge
his record.”

Elena
laid her pen on the legal pad
and
calmly picked up the notes
without saying a word or making eye contact.

Grace continued.
“I
fou
nd a couple of people who remembered the incident. Their names and contact info are listed, and both said they’d be willing to testify if needed
.”

The attorney
fingered
the
d
ocument
and leaned back in her
chair
while she read it
, her exp
ression remarkably calm
.

The
back door swung open.
Andy and Jason
entered
,
shoes a-tap
on the parquet floor
.
They moved through the swinging
gate
which
separated them from the gallery.
Jason
sho
t
her
a brilliant smile
, but Andy sent
only
a tight-lipped
nod
.

An unexpected
knot
of emotion we
dged in her throat
at Andy’s lack of greeting
.
How she missed
him
.
Missed the camaraderie they’d shared.
Maybe one day
he’
d
understand why
she made this
decision,
but even if he didn’t, she took comfort in knowing
she’d done the right thing for the right reason.

T
he jury
members
arrived
, and e
veryone stood as
the
bailiff and Judge Clark made their way into the courtroom
.
“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
”
The judge
peered out
over the gallery as he took the bench
.
“
At our last session, the
prosecution rested
. Defense
,
are you ready
?”

Andy
nodded
.
“Yes,
Your
Honor.”

“Very well, you may call your first witness.”

“
We call
the defendant,
David Simmons
,
to the stand.”

W
ith every hair of his blonde head
in place
, and dressed in a
conservative n
avy blue suit, Simmons walked to the stand
.