The Way of Grace (Miller's Creek Novels) (43 page)

The phone rang only once.
“
Hey, Doc
.
Matt Tyler
here
.
How’s it going?”
He put his phone on speaker setting and opened the bag of chips, nabbing one and crunching it between his teeth.

“Great. T
o what to do I owe the honor of this phone call
?”

“
Actually a friend of mine
is going through
a rough time
, and I t
hought you might
share a little of your
professorly
wisdom.”

Justin laughed.
“Happy to help, but I’ll need
a few details before I make my di
agnosis.
”

A smile broke through on Matt’s face.
“
Figured you might.”
His smile dissipated as he thought of Gracie. “
This friend is a perfectionist, always striving to do better and to be better.”

“Ah, real conscientious, huh?
I know the type.
An overachiever to boot?”

“Yeah.”
He took a bite of the tuna salad
sandwich and followed it with a swig of Dr. Pepper.
“
She’s always been one to control her emotions, but here lately, she’s changed, done things I never thought she’d do.”

“Such as?”

“Well, she broke into my brother’s office for one. And her emotions have been out of control, like a yo-yo.”

“Has she experienced some type of trauma?”
Justin’
s voice held concern, and Matt
could almost see his
friend’s
accompanying frown.

“She lost her Mom when she was ten.”

“Hmm, that’s hard on anyone, but I meant something recent.”

His mind immediately flew to Gracie’s boss.
“The woman she works for sounds l
ike an adult version of the typical
playground bully. And since she’s new on the job, there’s not a whole lot of su
pport for her during her work
hours.”

Justin released a sigh. “Your friend is just the type that others prey on. A lot of people feel intimidated by over-achievers.”

Matt considered his words.
“I’m not sure that’s the case here. I think it’s more about dominance.”

“And your
friend lets it get to her
?”

“Yep.
She turns the words and actions of others against herself, so the
emotional
damage is multiplied. I’ve told her to put up a shield, and I’m sure she’
s trying
.”
But was it enough?

His former professor grew quiet for a moment. “Do you know if she’s experienced anything threatening
?
Something
t
hat might explain her unusual beh
avior?
”

Matt thought back to the last time he’d seen her in the jail cell. “She said something about weird thing going on at her house.” What was it?
A chair and her cat?
“But it didn’
t make a lot of sense
.”
His voice came out croaky, his fear for Gracie escalating.

“You
might want to
k
eep a close eye on her, Matt
. She could be in more danger than anyone realizes.” He paused. “But remember that sometimes the real culprit is
something or
someone that no one suspects.
”

Panic set in before he finished hanging up the phone,
ratcheting upward by the moment.
Matt immediately put a c
all through to Gracie’s house, but it was b
usy
,
just like it had been each time
he’d tried to call
during the past three days. He punched the ‘End Call’
button on his phone with more
force than necessary.
Andy
, he needed to call Andy
.

His brother picked up on the first ring.
“Hey,
b
ro
.”

“Thank goodness I caught
you.”

“You okay?” Andy’s concern
sounded through the phone.

“Not really. I’m really
worried
about Gracie.”

The line grew temporarily quiet. “Well, the way I see it, she brought
all
this on herself.”

Matt
strode across the small bedroom, one hand raking through his hair. “I understand why you feel that way, Andy, but I think there’s more at pl
ay than what we’re aware of
. I’ve tried to call Gracie to warn her, but the line’s busy. Can you go check on her?”

“W
hat?” Anger tinged his
voice. “You’re asking me to leave my family on a holiday weekend after the stunt she pulled?”

He stopped pacing, stared up at the ceiling, and sucked in a heavy breath.
“Yeah.”

Again t
he line grew silent. “You think she’s in some kind of danger?”

“I don’t know for sure, but I think it’s possible.”

“Who?”

“Maybe the Delgado lady.”

Andy chuckled.
“Elena’s
a handful
all right
, but I don’t think
she’s dangerous.”
His tone reinforced his words.

A heavy sigh escaped. “Look, Andy, I’m not just asking. I’m b
egging. Please
keep an eye on her while I’m gone. I’d do it myself, but these guys are depending on me. If I back out
,
they won’t be able to keep their commitments for the holiday season.”

Derek poked his head in the door and tapped his watch. “Rehearsal started five minutes ago.”

Matt nodded and pointed to the phone.

Andy let out a frustrated breath.
“Okay. I’ll
drive by her house occasionally to c
heck on the place, a
nd I’ll
see her at church.”

One more question. If he could get it out. “Um, do you, I mean, c
ould you give Gracie her
old
job back?”

A curt
laugh sounded
. “Y
ou’ve
gotta
be kidding
.”

“Please, Andy, f
or me. I’d feel better knowing that during the day she’s in a safe place.”

“I wish I could, but I can’t. And it’s not that I don’t want to. There are other issues involved.
Things I can’t
discuss
at this point
.”

“Got it.
Thanks.” Matt
hung up,
more frustrated with his brother than
ever before
, and plopped down on the bed, his head in his hands.
He somehow had to come to grips with the fact that
, like it or not,
he was apart from her for the next several weeks. The sooner he faced the facts, the better.

Lord God, help me. Keep her safe while I’m away. Give her
Your
supernatural wi
sdom and guidance, and h
elp Andy
have a change of heart.
No other words came to his prayer, only a groaning
from deep within, accompanied with anguished
thoughts.
He slid
from the bed and onto his knees.
Never had he felt so torn and afraid
.

Grace slipped in the back doo
r of the court
room Monday morning just as
proceedings began. While she couldn’t keep an eye on Ele
na in an official capacity, she
could at least keep tabs o
n what went on during
public
trial
s
.
It mattered more
now than ever. The only way she’d ever regain
her standing in the community wa
s if she could prove what a snake Elena really was.
As she took a seat on the back row, a thought stuck in her brain. Never would she h
ave imagined sitting in a trial when she should be out looking for a job
, but when
everything
she cared for
hung in the balance, she’d do whatever
necessary
to make it right.

The mo
rning drug on, but nothing
Elena
did brought on further suspicions. Grace’s
mind wandered to the knotted me
ss of questions concerning the woman
, as she once more tried to make sense of it all
. O
nly
when people began to stand and leave the courtroom did Grace snap out of her reverie. She tried to wiggle into a gap
to exit
, but the crowd was too thick.

Elena spotted her on the way out the door, the shock on her face bringing great satisfaction
.
The woman stopped in the middle of the aisle
,
and forced those
behind
her
to move around her
to exit
.
“What are you doing here?”

A tremble began in Grace’s
feet and wor
ked its way up, anger unleashing
its fury through
out
her system.
Her hands balled into fists.
She didn’t have to explain her actions to anyone, especially not Elena. “
I’m on to you, and I won’t rest until I can prove it to the world.
”

The woman’s eyes took on
a haughty sneer
.
“A
s if anyone will believe you
.”

So she’d been right about
Elena
discredit
ing
her
. She didn’t back down.
“
If you thought you could get rid of me that eas
ily
,
you’
re sadly mistaken
.”

Andy and Jason
walked up
in time to hear
the comment,
and her former boss’
face
grew
dark and foreboding. “You okay?”

She
released a shaky breath
and nodded.

W
ithout another word
Andy
slipped past her
and
exited
the courtroom, Elena on his heels.
The door
swung
shut behind them.
Only Jason remained, and he sent a kind smile. “Sounds like you’ve had a rough go of it
here lately
.
Andy told me what happened. I’m so sorry.
”

His thoughtful
words wrapped around her
wounded spirit like a fuzzy blanket on a cold, dark night, t
he first comforting words she’d heard since before Matt left.
Why was it that a virtual stranger was more
gracious
than people she’d known and loved for years?
Tiny needle-like jabs watered her eyes
. “Yeah, but I’ll be okay, at least e
ventually.”

“I have depositions all afternoon here in Morganville, but would you allow me
the privilege of taking you to dinner
tonight
?”

A brief moment
of indecision battled inside
,
as her thoughts
flew to Matt. He’d left without saying
good-bye
. While it w
as true she hadn’t
give
n
him a
ny encouragement
for fear of putting him in danger, he’d been mighty quick to go on the road
without once mentioning
it
. Obviously his feelings
for her weren’t as deep as he’d professed at the lake
house
. She
smiled into
Jason’s handsome face. “I’d love to.”
If nothing else, it would provide a
nother opportunity
to
see if
a connection
existed
between Ja
son and Elena
.