The Way of Grace (Miller's Creek Novels) (47 page)

“Nonsense.”
Jason shov
ed a
crocheted
cushion behind his back.
“H
ave you been on the phone all day?”

Sh
e
joined him in the living
room and sat
in
Papa’s ratty recliner
.
“Not at all.
I
t was rin
ging off the wall
the other night
, so I unplugged it and forgot to plug
it back in.”

A brief frown crossed his face
, but
he
quickly whisked
it
away
with one of his killer grins
. “
Well, that makes it kind of hard for people to
reach
you.”

“S
orry. It was just an oversight on my part.” She hurried to the phone and plugged it in. If the anonymous calls
returned
, she could
always unplug it
again
.

“Good, I feel better knowing I can
reach you
. How’
s your father?” He glanced
down the hallway
.

“Fine.
I expe
ct him back sometime this week.
He’s visit
ing
my brothers and other family members.”

He crossed one leg over the other, the couch groaning its complaint.
“
I came
to see if
you’d
like to go
to dinner
with me
tonight
.”

“
Sounds wonderful
.”
The week had dragged by,
painfully slow
,
with no one to talk to except prospect
ive employers, all of which said “No
”
when she’d asked for a job. The bad economy made the
job
hunt incredibly difficult, especially in a small town whe
re there weren’t many
to begin with.

“I’ll wait here
while
you change.
You might want to d
ress warmly.
It’s a little nippy out there.
”

“O
kay.” Grace hurried to her room
and locked the door behind her
, frantically searching
the
closet for an outfit
to
complement what Jaso
n
wore
. She
finally decided on the
designer jeans and black boots Elena had given her, coupled with a creamy white turtleneck and fitted lambskin jacket she’d
purchased with her first credit card. The one she’d default on if she didn’t find a job.
And soon.
S
he zipped the boots, then sprayed a mist of perfume and stepped into it before
she sp
ed back to
the living room.

Jason
flipped
through a family photo album she’d put together for the purpose of remembering Mama.
He gla
nced up as she entered
. “You look nice.
”
He hoisted the album an inch higher. “
Hope
you don’t mind
.
I’m perusing your photographs
.
”

Not really asking permission, just stating a fact.
Grace didn’t answer.
She
did
mind, but why?
“I’m ready when you are.”

His gaze
once more
honed in
on the book. “You look very much like yo
ur mother.
At least, I assume this is your mother?”

“Yes.”
For some odd reason
, her eyes filled wit
h tears.

Jason cocked his head to one side, a frown at play on his forehead. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No.” The word
came out in a croak. “Mama
was killed in an autom
obile accident when I was
a child.”

He droppe
d the book
to the coffee table
and
strode to her. Then he placed
a hand on each of he
r shoulders and peered deep
into her eyes. “I am so sorry, Grace. I didn’t know.”

Sh
e nodded, still battling tears. “It’s okay.”

He engulfed her in
his arms
, her face pressed to his chest, as he rocked back and forth. He didn’t speak, but only held her close
, his scent and embrace comforting
.

The
tears
could no longer be controlled, but i
n fear
she’d mess up his
cream-colored
sweater with her eye makeup, she pulled away, wiping
the area beneath her eyes
with her fingertips. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to get so emotional.”

He placed one hand on her face and used his thumb to
caress her dampened
cheek
.
“D
on’t apologiz
e. I can’t imagine how hard
that must have been for you and your brothers and sisters.”

“No sisters.
Just brothers.
”
She traipsed to the tissue box
near Papa’s recliner
, and wiped her nose
.

“T
hat
must have
made it doubly hard on you
, being the only girl in a houseful of men
.”

She nodded.
Time
to change the subject before she
gave in
to the sobs
of self-pity hammering on
her heart.

In tw
o steps he stood beside her
. “You look so forlorn
, love
. Please accept my apologies again for bringing this on.”

Grace
stepped back and
gave her head a shake. “It’s not your fault. It’s just been a ro
ugh couple of weeks, and
I’m feeling a little sorry for myself. Can we just go?”

“Of course.”
He took
her hand
in his
and escorted her out the front door, pausing only long enough for her to lock up.

Soon they zipp
ed
down the road toward the
far side of the
lake
, Jason leaning on the curves like a fearless racecar driver
.
“H
ope you feel up to something a little different. I have a very special evening planned
for you
.”

She swiveled to peer
out the window at the blur of trees and
pressed her lips together
. He’d made plans
just as
suming she’
d
agree
to the date
?
On one hand, it was nice to
have everything arranged
,
b
ut it
was also disconcerting,
like overkill.

Half an hour later, they pulled into the circular driveway of a very large e
state
. A
steel-spiked gate towered
over
them
with dark rock columns on either side
.
Jason
braked quickly
,
lowered
his window, and punched buttons on a keypad.

Uneasin
ess trickled through her
. “
This looks interesting.”

He
released a short laugh
as he raised the window and drove through the open gate. “You haven’t seen anything yet.” Jason
cast a sideways glance
. “Don’t look so frightened, goose. I’m not going to eat you.”

Grace
attempted a
laugh, but it
came out sounding
high-pitched and nervous
.

As they made the curve in the driveway, a dark house loomed from behind tall evergreens.
Jason parked in front of
the
massive double doors and came around to the passenger side to help her from the car.
The wind blew eerily through the tops of the trees.
“Welcome to my house.”

“It’s lovely.” She inhaled deeply to
quiet her out-of-control nerves. Why hadn’t she thought to let someone know her whereabouts?

“I still sense fear.” He chuckled and led her away from the front door, around the right side of the house on a rock pathway.

When they finally cleared the dark stone, the view
that unfolded
before them stole Grace’s breath. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen an
ything so breathtaking.” The
words
were hushed
.

An expansive and tastefu
lly-
landscaped patio overlooked the lake, every tree and shrub lit with miniature Christmas ligh
ts which twinkled off the water, and mimicked the sky
.
A
flag
stone
terrace
stepped
in tiers to the lakeshore
,
a table decked with a white tablecloth and candles
i
n the midst of it all
. A white-coated serv
er stood near a hewn-stone fireplace, a crackling fire within,
and a
guitarist strumm
ed soft, relaxing music
.
B
lanketing it all was the fishy stench of the lake.

Jason laughed, obv
iously pleased by her
awed
reaction. He
took
her hand
in his, escorted her across the terrace,
and
seated her at
the table
like a perfect gentleman.

Grace viewed h
er surroundings once more.
A
nother fairy tale.
“I don’t mean to sound rude, bu
t why are you doing
this?”

“Isn’t it obvious?
I like you, Grace. I want to spend time with you,
to see if there’s a future for us.”
Ice clinked in
their glasses
as he filled them
with wat
er from a nearby pitcher
. “I must confess
,
i
t bothers me that you
question
my motives.”

S
he
placed a hand on his arm
. “Don’t be upset
.
I’ve never been treated so royally
, and I
just
wanted to understand why.”

H
is eyes bore through her like a laser beam in search,
and
her discomfort grew.
She fidgeted, struggling to maintain eye contact.
A slow,
one-sided smile curved the
corner of his mouth
. “So
you enjoy
the princess treatment
.
I’ll
keep that in mind.
”

Grace
longed
to explain how she’d
served as
little more than a
housekeeper for her family
her entire life, never
feeling
fully loved or
accepted by anyone. Who wouldn’t have their head turned by fineries and attention wit
h that kind of background? I
nstead she simply nodded and focused on the meal set before them
by the man in the white coat
.

S
hrimp cocktail,
pan-seared fish
, twice-baked potatoes
,
and lightly steamed vegetables
were set before her
,
but she reached for a steaming hot roll,
so light it dissolved like sugar in her mouth
.
T
he conversation
grew
more amiable
during dinner
, and Grace relaxed into her surroundings.

After dinner, Jason moved his napkin to the
plate and took a sip from his glass. “Mind if I ask you something, princess?”

“No, what?”