The Way of Grace (Miller's Creek Novels) (9 page)

Elena visi
bly stiffened, her face
starched crisp and hard
. She lowered her head and
scribbled furiously
on a legal pad.

Meanwhile, Andy moved to stand behind David Simmons. “
I have to admit
Ms. Delgado i
s right on one account.
” He paused for effect.
“
You
do
have a
tough job. You have to decide
who’s
lying and who’s telling the truth. The evidence we present
will prove
this man’s innocence
, w
hich brings us to a different
crime being
committed here.” He placed both
hands on David’s shoulders. “Being accused of something you didn’t do.”

That afternoon
,
Grace leaned against
the
polished
panels
of wood that lined the
hallways
in the courthouse
and massaged both temples, hoping
to
relieve not only the throbbing ache in her head but
also
her churning stomach
.
Everyone
deserved
a fair trial,
but
it was sometimes
a hard pill
to swallow
when it came to people like David Simmons
.

She gazed down the crowded foyer. Attorneys, clasping their expensive leather attaches,
grouped together, laughing and conversing.
Her whole motive for becoming a
lawyer
was to ensure that guys like
Simmons
were put away
t
o keep them from hurting anyone else.
And now, by
virtue of the fact that Andy
played such an instrumental part in her education
, she found herself working the wrong side of the courtroom
.
What she wouldn’t give to be
in
Elena Delgado’s
uber
-expensive high heels.

Across the hall, Andy emerged from the men’
s
room
and
made his way
through the crowd
to where she stood
.
“You look
beat
, Gracie.”

She cringed at the use of her
school
girl name
and glanc
ed around hoping no one
heard him
.
“I a
m pretty tired. Just observing t
his case is exhausting.”

“I’ll second that.
Try doing it with a newborn at home.
I know this is a hard one for you to watch right out of the gate, but I can explain
.” He latched on to her elbow and guided her toward the door
, looking back over his shoulder
. “
Where’s Jason?
I wanted to talk to you two about something.
”

Talk with
both of them?
About what?
“He
already
left.
S
aid something about needing to get back
to Miller’s Creek
.”

Andy frowned and fell silent for a few steps. “Yeah, I h
ope
d to
get
back
to
meet Matt for lunch
.
Maybe there’s still time.
”

Grace struggled to keep distaste from her expression
and her tone. “Guess he’ll be here
a few days before he’s off chasing another rainbow.”

Andy’s face h
ardened
. “Actually,
he might help
Trish out with the equine ministry while she’s home on maternity l
eave. He
could
be here
several
month
s
.”

Help
with the equine ministry? Ma
tt hadn’t mentioned it, nor had he let
let
her know he’
d graduated and
started
on his doctorate.
What else had he omitted?

Sh
e spied a
small
puddle of water—
most likely the resul
t of someone’s drippy umbrella—and tried to dodge, b
ut Andy crashed into her just as her foot hit the
wet spot
.
Both
feet slid out from under her, and she la
nded smack on her bottom
.

Heat blistered her face as
the room quieted and
all eyes turned her way.
Well, she’d made herself known to the legal community
all right
—just not in a good way.

At precisely that moment,
Elena Delgado,
as pretty and intimidating up close as she was from a distance
, rounded the corner, coming face-to-face with Andy
. “
Trying to run me
over
,
counselor
?”
She glanced down at Grace for a brief moment before
she faced
Andy
again
.
Her
perfectly made-up
lips took on a smirk
. “G
uess that’s one way to win a case.”

“I’ll stick to doing it fair and square,” Andy returned lightly
as he helped Grace to her feet
.
“Sorry about that. You okay?”

Sh
e struggled to
stand
, piecing together her wounded pride
. Of all
times to fall
,
it
would
have to be in front of Elena Delgado.

Musical l
aughter floated fro
m
the pretty attorney
.
“Sarcasm doesn’t suit you
, Mr. Tyler
.”

“Yet it drips so easily from you. If you’ll excu
se us, we were on our way out
.” He made an attempt to move around her, but s
he latched onto his arm with
a well-manicured hand
. “You haven’t introduced your friend.”

“Sorry. T
his is our newest attorney
, Gr—”

“Grace
Soldano
.” Grac
e
smil
ed broadly and
interrupted before
Andy
uttered the dreaded
schoolgirl
name.
“T
hrilled to meet you, Ms. Delgado.
I’m a
big
fan of your work.”

Elena looked t
emporarily taken aback, but returned the
smile
.
“Nice to meet you, Grace.
A
re you still in law school?”

“Actually I just took the bar
exam i
n July.
And passed.
”
Don’t sound so stupid, Grace
.
Elena woul
d know she took the bar in July,
just like all
Texas
law school graduates.
And she wouldn’t be here if she hadn’t passed.
She
somehow
managed to keep
her smile pasted in place
and resisted
the urge to check her appearance
in a nearby mirror
.

“
Con
gratulations
.
I’d be happy to show you the ropes on this side of the legal fence
some time
.”

“I’d love that!” Grace
ignore
d
the sour look that descended on Andy’s face. “I’ve always dreamed of being a prosecutor.”

Andy’s expression
changed
from sour to so
ber. “
See you in court, Elena.” Without a chance for Grace to protest,
he steered her toward the
door and out into the overcast
fall
day. “What was that all about?” he groused
as they strode toward the car
, the air still
scented with
recent rain
.
“I’m your biggest fan, Ms. Delgado. Let me kiss the ground you walk on, Ms. Delgado.” He donned a prissy look and raised his voice a few notches.

Grace couldn’t help but giggle
. “Was I really that bad?
I was more than
likely distracted by the fact that you
tripped me
.
”
Oh man,
she’
d
just
made a
colossal
fool of he
rself in front of Elena
.

Andy
opened
her car
door
without a smile
.
She scrambled inside,
while he
moved to the driver’s side
.
Her boss was clearly miffed.
He
climbed in
, started the car
,
and pulled out into
traffic. “So you really
wanna
be a prosecutor?”

“
I
enjoy working for you.”

“But?”

How did she say it without sounding ungrateful or
hurt
ing his feelings?
“
I’
ve dreamed of being a prosecutor
my entir
e life.”
At least ever since Mam
a
died.

The ensuing silence was suffocating. Finally, he s
poke. “Just so you know
,
Elena
’s not the saint y
ou made her out to be.
Not going into specifics
, but
watch your step
.
”

Grace
fingered the seat belt strap
to keep it from rubbing against her neck
.
“You’ve been so
good to me
.
I would’ve never
made it through
my und
ergrad work or
law school if it h
adn’t been for you. That’s why I decided to
at least start my career with Tyler, Dent
,
and—”

“
Don’t
feel obligated
. The scholarships came with no strings attached.”
His words were curt and clipped.

“I appreciate that
.
” She pressed her lips together while she gathered the courage to continue. “Honestly, I don’t see how someone as nice as you can represent
some
of
the
people that come into your office.”

His eyebrows
ratcheted
up.
“
Well, t
hat’s an interesting observation
coming
from an attorney
.
I’ll admit s
ome of ‘
em
are
guilty
as all get out
, but that doesn’t mean they don’t
deserve fair treatment under the law.”

“You think David Simmons is innocent?”

“
Y
ou don’t?”