The Way of Grace (Miller's Creek Novels) (20 page)

T
he
way
grew
crystal clear, like fog disintegrated by pure sunlight.
Matt would be proud.
For once her
decision
was
n’
t
based on what others thought
of her
, but
for the purpose of
doing what
she could to protect Andy
,
e
ven if it meant going to work, at least in the short term,
for Elena
.

In one smooth fluid movement
, Jason
placed one arm along the back of her chair and
lea
ned closer,
his
lips inches from her face
as he whispered in her ear
. “Interesting turn of events, wouldn’t you say?”

8

I
t was all Matt cou
ld do to keep from screaming
the word “No!” Instead he crossed his arms
and leaned back against the wall to
see how this scenario played itself out
.
A
t least
he
had to give
Gracie
credit for moving past
trying to please everyone
.
Unfortunately
her decision also made it more difficult for him to protect her.

Was she finally growing a backbone or was something else at play here?

She stood
rooted in
one
place,
an
arm crossed around her waist and the other tw
itching nervously at her side, her eyes glued to
the
floor
. “I
know this is short notice
, but it’s somethin
g I
have to do.
Being a prosecutor is so
mething I’ve always wanted
.
”

Matt switch
ed his gaze to Andy. He
didn’t
seem the least bit surprised
, but his eyes held disappointment
. . . and disgust? There
was
more going on here. Something he wasn’t privy
to.
A slow shudder ran
down
his neck.

Andy
raked one hand through his curly hair, pivoted
,
then paced across the room and
back. “
I guess you have to do what you think is best, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Warn her? Warn her about what?

Gracie still didn’t
make eye contact
.
“I’ll
get my things out of my desk
.”
She spoke the words quietly and
left the room
. T
he
door closing behind her sounded so
final.

Andy must have felt it too, because he
resumed the pacing
and
looked read
y to punch something. “I
gotta
get outta here before I blow.”

Matt mov
ed
from leaning
to standing
.
The only way he’
d ever figure out w
hat w
as going on was to ask Andy
, but
now was obviously not the time.
“How ‘
bout lunch?
My treat.”

Andy
stopped a
nd brought a hand to his abdomen
. “Make it some place
with non-spicy food
, ‘cause I don’t feel too
well
.”

“That’s understandable.” Truth be told, h
is sto
mach felt a little punchy, too.

A few minutes later
the two of them were in Andy’s car headed
out of town
. Maybe a steak from Montana’s w
ould make them both feel better, not
just
for the food, but to
reach
some sort of peace over Gracie’s deci
sion to leave
the firm.
A
t least one good thing had come o
f all this. She’
d no
longer be in close
proximity to the James Bond of Miller’s Creek.

H
is eyes obscured behind his Ray Bans,
Andy
remained
silent and withdrawn
,
making it difficult
to get a read
. At long last he spoke. “I still can’t believe she did this.
Ben thought it
would happen, b
ut I didn’t think she’d
go th
rough with it
.”

“Ben?”

His brother
a
waken
ed
from his catatonic
reverie. “Ben Snodgrass, the older attorney in the firm.”

Matt though
t back to his first day in town
. What was it Gracie ha
d said
about the man
? He s
truggle
d to retrieve
the
conversation, but nothing came.

They wheeled into the parking lot at Montana’s a
short while
later.
With several minutes remaining before the normal lunch crowd hit, t
he hostess
immediately
seated them at a table near the front
on the east side
, t
he tantalizing aroma of freshly-
grilled steak
in the air.

Andy took a
seat facing
away from
the door
and opened his
menu. “You
okay?”

“Not really
.
Gracie’s announcement kind
of knocked the wind out of me.
I don’t even know why, except that I won’t see her as often as I’d like.”

His brother raised a hand to his forehead, eyes closed, an
d rubbed at the furrows
gathered there. “I feel
the same way
. I’m hurt, angry, and honestly
a little worried.”

“Why
worried?”

Andy continued to study the menu, but gave his head a shake. “Not sure I can really say why.”

Couldn’t or wouldn’t
? Matt
studied him
.
He
wanted to push for an answer, but one
glimpse at the fatigue
on Andy’
s face
kept him from following through.
Maybe after lunch.

Though the
delicious
steak dinner didn’t completely erase the unease Matt felt, it did help somewhat. By the end of lunch, Andy looked better, too.

His brother tossed the
linen
napkin to the table in the now-
bustling restaurant. “It’s amazing what
a little food therapy can do for
my disposition, though I must admit I feel like a glutton for putting away that huge steak so quickly.”

“Same here
.”

An apology flickered on Andy’s face
. “
Sorry to get so bent outta shape
earlier
,
b
ro
. I just hate to lose her.”

A wad of emotion lodged in his throat at his brother’s choice of words. Had they lost her?
A sigh
burst ou
t.

“You too?”
Andy’
s expression
held understanding.

“Yeah, I just don’t know how I’ll have
tim
e to spend with her
now that she’s
working in Morganville.”

“Guess you’ll have to do it th
e old-fashioned way and call to ask her out
.”

“Yeah
.”
That, and find a way to do most of his business in Morganville. A mental image of himself doing paperwork at a café close to the courthouse popped to the front of his mind.
Definitely something to consider.

He did a quick check of his brother’s mood, before launching into the question he’d been holding in. “You mentioned something earlie
r about warning Gracie. M
ind me asking what
that was
about?”

For a few seconds Andy said nothing. Instead his jaw worked like he couldn’t quite decide what to say and what not to say. “Please don’t repeat
this
to anyone, especially not to Gracie.” He leaned for
ward and lowered his voice. “I have
suspicions about the woman she’
ll be working with
.”

Matt’s heart pounded faster.
“What do you mean? Is sh
e in danger?”

“
I don’t think so
.” Andy must have
seen the concern on his face. “
It’s
okay,
Matt.
Gracie’s a big girl and can take care of herself.”

“I
f she’s in danger, I
wanna
know. And s
he deserves to know.”

Andy
clamped his lips in a taut line
. “I c
an’t say
more than I’ve already said. P
robably shou
ldn’t have said anything at all, so please,
stay out of it.”

Matt gl
ared at him incredulously.
Stay out of it? How c
ould his brother
knowingly put
her
in danger?

“Oh, man!” Andy
jerk
ed
his head down
ward
to check
his watch. “I just remembered an appointment I have here in town. I hate to drag you along.”

O
ver Andy’s
left
shoulder
,
Gracie and a
n attractive
wo
man he’d never seen before
entered and were
seated on the opposite
side of the
restaurant
.
“
No prob
.
I’ll just hang here
until
you get through.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah
.
It’ll give me a chance to clear my head.
” Matt sipped his
iced
tea nonchalantly
,
eye
s
on Gracie
, who had now headed toward the restrooms
. It was best if Andy had no
clue
what he was up to.

“Okay. It
shouldn’t take more than an
hour.”

“Take your time. I’ll be fine.”

Andy
strode
from the table and o
ut the door,
totally oblivious to the plan formulating in Matt’s head
.

Grace stared at her
pale
reflection in the
bathroom
mirr
or
at Montana’s Steakhouse
later that day
and
crunched down on an antacid tablet
. Though the chalky peppermint flavor cooled her tongue, it did n
othing to counteract the slow burn
in her stomach
, which
had
started
the moment she’d shar
ed the news
of her imminent departure
with Andy
.