The Way of Grace (Miller's Creek Novels) (32 page)

For dinner, J
ason took her to a reservations-
on
ly establishment
.
He steered his sleek
car beneath a burgundy
awning
and
strode
to the pa
ssenger side to
open her door
. A
young man
in black slacks and
burgundy jacket
seat
ed himself in the
car and pulled away to park
.

Once inside, Grace marveled at the surroundings. Several fireplaces divided the large
area into
intimate sea
ting arrangements. The fire hissed and popped
as it encased the room with a
woody
fragrance
. Candles flickered fro
m every table, where white linen tablecloths
provide
d the perfect backdrop for crystal goblets
and
gold-rimmed china
. “This is gorgeous.” She longed
for more eloquent words
, but
none came to mind
.

Jason laughed softly and placed a hand against the small of her back
. “My table is over here.”

His table?
Did he eat here that often? Who with
? All these questions and more invaded her thoughts as they traversed the
p
lush carpet, sudden fear sparking
in her mind.
Never had she felt so out of her league.

The handsome defense attorney
proved to be
the perfect gentleman all evening
, and
conversation flowed easily. Grace relaxed in his company and enjoyed the exquisite evening
.
Later, as
she finished o
ff a piece of
c
heesecake
,
she
leaned back in her chair and sighed. “Thank yo
u for a wonderful evening
. I’ve had such a
great
time.”

He smiled, both dimples showing. “I’m glad you enjoyed it, Grac
iela.
”

Her eyebrows
rose
at the use of her Spanish name
.

“
H
ope you don’t mind if I use
your full name. It’s
lovely
.”

She only nodded.
Normally she would have objected, but her name
did sound
rather
beautiful with his
smooth
British accent.

“I must sa
y
you’ve never appeared quite as
dazzling as you do tonight, and I’m feeling a little overwhelmed. Your beauty has cast a spell on me.”
His words flowed
like amber hone
y
.

Her heart pounded
,
and heat climbed from her neck
to her cheeks
. Did he really find her dazzling?
She gave her head a shake
to unclutter her mind
. “
May I ask you a question?”

Hi
s eye
lid
s
contract
ed
,
veiling his eyes beneath
dark brows
.
“Certainly.”

“Do you know Elena Delgado on a personal level?”

A
t first he appeared slightly taken aback, but he quickly masked it with a smile
. “We’ve spoken
of course
, but the answer
to your question
depends on
your definition of
‘
personal.
’”
He laugh
ed softly
,
leaned close enough
for her
to feel
the warmth of his breath on
her face
, and planted a
kiss on her lips.

A sudden awareness that they weren’t alone brought Grace to her senses. She pulled back
, her thoughts confused
.

“Well, fancy seeing you two here.” Andy stood at their table, Trish clutching one arm.
Neither
looked particularly happy.
T
he
n the
y moved to
one side, and
Matt stepped forward
. E
ven in the dim candlelight
his
eyes registered hurt
.

13

G
race grabbed two fists of
hair and pulled
. Where was that
file? It had been on her dresser this
morning whe
n she left for Sunday school
, but
s
he’
d searched
her
room
twice
, and it was nowhere to be found.

Panic squeezed her heart. It had to be here somewhere. She needed the file to give to Andy, to explain what she’d done and why she’d done it. The
sermon in church had been about Davi
d’s sin with Bathsheba
, about how people
tended to justify and rationalize
their wrongdoing. Convicted by her actions
of
the previous morning,
she
’d
struggled
through the rest of the service
.

Grac
e
rubbed a hand across her face
. Maybe Papa had seen the file
and moved it, b
ut it wasn’t
like him
to come in
to
her room.
Sh
e
scurri
ed to the
kitchen
, her shoes
a-clop
against the tile
. Where was he
anyway? She gl
anced around
, hoping to spy the missing folder, but ins
tead
glimpsed
a note scrawled in Papa
’
s handwriting
and
held to the
fridge
with a
magnet advertising the
number of a local pizza delivery.

Graciela, I have decided to
go away for a while to
visit
your brothers and
other
family
over Thanksgiving
.
Mr. Cates
is
taking care of the animals
,
and
I’ve left control of
the restaurant
to the assistant manager
. Love, Papa

With shaky hands, s
he
re-read the note
. No mention of
her joining him
or when he’d be back. No number where he could be reached. How like him to let her know in such an impersonal way. Now what?

Sh
e laid the note on the counter and brought both palms to her face.
The best us
e of her time was
to
call Andy and ask to meet him.
S
urely he’d understand and wouldn’t
think she’d gone completely bonkers.
H
ands still shaking, she
lifted
the phone to
her ear
. It rang several times, but no one answered. She’d just have to try again later.

Grac
e drifted to the couch and plopped d
own, her thoughts
on
Matt.
Guilt
drip
p
ed through her
like a leaky faucet
.
She hadn’t meant
to hurt his feelings, and hadn’t expected Jason’s kiss
. All of it was beyond her control. So why was she still so bothered?
Sh
e traipsed back to the
phone and dialed Matt’
s cell number
.

“Hello.”
Even through the phone line, he
sounded dismal.

“Hey
, Matt, it’s Gracie.”

“Gracie?” H
is voice
changed
. “Is something wrong?”

“No, why
?”

A huff of exasperation sounded.
“Well, it could be because you never call me.”

“Well,
n
ever’s
a pretty strong word.
I
call
ed
to see
if you
wanted
t
o get together this afternoon for a
talk.”

The line
silenced
for a minute
. “Sure, I guess so.”

Sh
e grimaced. Judging by the sound of his voice, he was still hurt.
“It’s a pretty day.”
Sh
e glanced out the window at
blue skies and puffy
clouds.
“How about the lake?”

“Great idea!”
The
excitement
in his voice
escalated
. “
I found an awesome trail out there not too long ago that’s
really pretty this time of year
. Without the leaves on the trees you can
see the bluffs on the
opposite
shore
line
really well.
You s
till remember t
he way to Andy and Trish’s
lake house
?”

Just the mention of the place brought a smile to her face. “How could I forget? Some of my happiest memories took place there.”

Again the line grew quiet. A more sober
-sou
nding Matt finally spoke
, a new hesitancy in his voice
. “I
s
it okay if I just meet you
there
? I might decide to stay for a few days since the holidays are coming
up and Andy took his family on
vacation.”

“V
acation?”

“Yeah, he
took them
to Florida for Thanksgiving.”

“When wi
ll
he
be bac
k?
”
She nibbled
her fingernail.

“Sorry, he’ll be gone ‘
til next weekend. Poor guy needs it, too.
S
aid something about having to work ove
r the holidays
.
”

The guilt returned, only trip
led. Even in her attempt
to protect Andy
by taking
the
prosecutor position
, she hadn’t
thought through how
the decision
woul
d
affect
him
in the short term
.
S
he was responsible for the extra work he now
shouldere
d when he should be relaxing and enjoying his family.
“What
time do you want to meet
?”

“
Gimme
an hour.”

“Okay.”
Grace hung up the phone and
went
to change clothes.
She’d just finished tying her
shoes when the phone jangled.
Probably Matt.
What had he forgotten
this time?

She raced down the hallway a
nd answered
the phone
.
“Hey, Matt.”

“This isn’t Matt.” Even through th
e phone, Grace
discern
ed
the anger in Elena’s voice. “Apparently you s
till haven’t learned
.”

Normally, she would have apologized immediately, but she’d had all the back and forth behavior she could take from this woman. “
Matt and I are friends, and
i
t’
s none of your business.”
Let the chips fall where they may.

“I’ve already told you it is if you intend to work for me.”

Grace
bolted
her jaws
shut
to
resist a comment about
losing her job and the
false allegations against Andy. Until sh
e could talk to him personally
, she’d best not play that hand.