She whispered her one-word answer into the phone. God had lavishly bestowed His grace and forgiveness on her. How could she do less?
Gracie turned and moved back inside, Jake and Julia’s gazes locking with hers as she entered. “Looks like I’m headed back to Miller’s Creek.”
23
Dr. Stevens stared at him. Hard. “I mean it, Matt. You need to take it easy for at least a couple of weeks.”
“I’ll make sure he stays away from all types of amplification.” Andy grinned as he spoke the words early Sunday afternoon.
An unstoppable laugh gurgled in Matt’s throat. It wasn’t just his brother’s joke that brought it on, but joy in knowing at last he could see Gracie and make sure she was safe. He rose from the hospital bed and stretched a hand toward his new friend. “Thanks for everything, Doc.”
The white-coated man clasped his hand with both of his own. “My pleasure, Matt. If you ever get knocked in the head again, you know where to find me.” He waved as he left the room.
Matt hoisted the duffle bag to his shoulder and glanced at his brother. “Ready?”
“You better believe it.” Andy held up his car keys as proof and jangled them, already headed toward the door. “Ready to see my wife and kids.”
They strode down the hallway, and they reached the elevator, it opened and they stepped inside. As the doors slid closed, the events of the past week marched through Matt’s thoughts. “I really appreciate all you’ve done for me, bro. Don’t know how I would’ve made it through this without you.”
“No prob, but I’m pretty sure you’d have busted outta this joint a couple of days ago had I not been here.”
The elevator opened into a parking garage, with the Z parked a few steps away. “I’m pretty sure you’re right.” Matt deposited his duffle bag in the back and climbed in.
After starting the car, Andy adjusted the rearview mirror and backed out. “I’ve been meaning to ask how your call to Gracie went the other night.”
“It didn’t.” Matt’s voice flat lined. “I got hold of her dad, but he said Jason found her a job in Bellview. Think we could swing through there on our way to Miller’s Creek?” The incredulity that covered Andy’s features might have been funny under different circumstances. “Please, Andy. I know you’re ready to see Trish and the kids, but I have to make sure she’s okay.”
Andy gave his head an exasperated shake and pulled into the far right lane for the upcoming turn that would take them through Bellview. “I wouldn’t do this for just anybody, you know.”
Later that day, after yet another failed attempt at finding her, Matt climbed back into the car at Bellview Burger & Fries Drive-In and slammed the door behind him. He ran a hand across his mouth. No one he’d spoken to had even heard of Grace Soldano. Had she disappeared? Had Jason rigged the job to get her out of Miller’s Creek and then done away with her?
His fear escalated. A burning sensation moved from his stomach to his throat and dumped a sour taste in his mouth.
To his right, the driver’s side door opened, and Andy folded himself into the seat, his eyes full of compassion. “Sorry, Matt. I know you’re disappointed.”
He couldn’t speak. Couldn’t find words to express what he was feeling.
Andy peered out the front window, searching the clouds. “Looks like quite a storm we have rolling in. We’d better hightail it back to Miller’s Creek before it hits. Forecast is calling for ice and lots of it.”
As they left the dusty streets of the town behind, Matt stared out the window at the gathering clouds. God, You know how much she means to me. Please let me find her. They passed a quaint and picturesque country church, just the kind of place that would appeal to Gracie. “Stop!”
Andy braked hard and steered to the shoulder. “What?”
“Turn around. We have to go back.”
His brother sighed. “Matt, we looked all over Bellview already and with this front pushing though—”
“Go back to that little church we just passed.”
“Why?”
Matt made eye contact with Andy, praying he’d understand. “I know this sounds crazy, but her name is on that church. I have to look there.”
Andy sent a ‘you-gotta-be-out-of-your-mind’ glare, but pulled a U and headed back to the church.
As they pulled into the grass-covered parking lot, an elderly couple walked hand in hand toward them from a small house behind the church. Matt opened the car door and stood behind it, the wind beginning to blow strong from the north, whipping through the brown leaves still clinging to the trees.
“Can we help you, son?” The old man’s white hair practically glowed from a shaft of afternoon light on the western horizon.
For some reason, the word ‘son’ sent peace spiraling in and around him. Matt nodded and stepped to where they stood. “I think you can. Do you, by any chance, know Gracie Soldano?”
At the mention of her name, the man and woman shared a smile before the man spoke again. “We know her. Had lunch with her just a while ago.”
Relief washed over him, and he offered up a silent prayer of thanks.
“You must be Matt.” The woman’s voice held natural friendliness mixed with more than a little curiosity.
He glanced back at Andy—who stood behind his car door with his mouth hinged open—then turned his attention back to the couple. “That’s me. Is Gracie here?”
The man shook his head. “She’s gone back to Miller’s Creek. Got a phone call from a friend needing her help.”
Matt half-walked, half-ran back to the car, his heart a-dance in his chest, and called back over his shoulder. “Thank you, both. I can’t thank you enough.”
“God bless!” The man shouted out the words as Matt reached the car.
“You, too!” He gave a final wave, then ducked into the vehicle and snapped his seat belt into place. “Miller’s Creek, please, and step on it.”
Andy looked somewhat dazed as he backed out and pulled the Z onto the two-laned road, quickly picking up speed. “I’m not believing what just happened. Think that guy was an angel or something?”
Matt shrugged, a grin spreading across his face. “He was to me.”
An hour later they pulled up outside the Miller mansion, its giant two-story columns standing at attention like they’d guarded the place for him while he was gone. Never would he have imagined missing this place so much. Matt jumped from the car with his bag in tow, then leaned in through the open window. “Thanks again, bro. Go on to that family of yours, and give Trish and the kids a big hug from me.”
“Don’t have to tell me twice.” His brother smiled and put the car in gear. “Are you sure you’re up to finding Gracie on your own?”
“You know it.” Matt slapped the top of the car as Andy pulled away. He looked up at the ever-darkening skies as fine pellets of ice began to fall, then took the front steps two at a time and dropped his bag to the marble floors in the foyer. Time to make a run into Miller’s Creek to find Gracie.
As he made his way to town, he put in a quick call to her house. Mr. Soldano answered again, and it soon became apparent the man was surprised by the news that Gracie was back in town. “She is not here, Mr. Matt, and she hasn’t called.”
With a promise to call if he found her, Matt said good-bye. Where could she be? The old man at the church had said something about her helping a friend. But which friend? Jason?
Creekside Park spread out in front of him as he left downtown Miller’s Creek. A thin coat of ice already blanketed the telephone wires. He pulled into the park’s gravel lot to think through his options. One by one, street lamps flickered on around him. He’d just about decided to make his way home before the full brunt of the storm hit when three blocks ahead, on the main highway, a familiar white pickup drove by, headed toward Morganville.
Matt punched the accelerator—hoping Ernie was nowhere around—and maintained a safe distance behind Gracie. When she turned off onto a private drive a few minute
s later, he pulled onto the grass at the side of the road. Now what?
He didn’t have to think long. The misery of the past few weeks proved he cared about her too much to let her put herself in danger. If nothing else, he’d make sure she was safe. Then if she made it clear she didn’t want him around, he’d leave.
As he traversed the tree-lined drive, Gracie appeared in front of him, silhouetted against an expensive-looking rock house. She held a hand up to shield her eyes from the glare of his headlights.
His heart thudded in his chest. He parked quickly and stepped from the car, holding back, afraid of making a fool of himself again.
“Matt!” Her face aglow with a giant smile, Gracie raced toward him and wrapped him in a big hug. “I’m so glad to see you!”
He stood there a moment, unsure of what to do next. His resolve quickly melting as he glanced down at her, he put his arms around her, and enjoyed her nearness and the scent of her soft perfume, at least for a brief moment.
Gracie pulled back part of the way and studied his face. She gasped at the dressing on the side of his head, her face awash in compassion, and brought tentative fingers to the bandage. “Are you okay?”
Matt battled against losing yet another part of his heart to her. “Better now that I’ve seen you. Whose house is this?”
She pulled from his arms, turned her gaze away, and pulled her coat hood around her face to protect it from the freezing rain. “Elena’s.”
“What? Are you crazy?” Had she learned nothing?
The all-too-familiar stubbornness revealed itself in her eyes and the tilt of her chin. “Her mother called. She needs me.”
“Why? So she can chew you up and spit you out again?” Matt reached for her fingers, ice-cold in the freezing weather. “She hurt you over and over and then threw you under the bus to protect herself. Haven’t you had enough?” The look on her face proved the theory he’d just spouted was true.
Surprisingly, Gracie didn’t pull her hand away. Instead she looked him square in the face, her eyes lit with conviction. “I’m doing this because it’s the way of grace. It loves and forgives even when there’s no reason to do so.” She blinked rapidly, on the verge of tears. “At one time I couldn’t fathom how I was supposed to show grace, but now I know. I can’t go back to how I used to be no matter how much my earthly side would like to.”
He had no answer. Nothing to refute her heartfelt words. Clearly the recent ordeal had strengthened her faith.
She stepped closer and raised a palm to his face, her eyes soft and pleading in the light of the nearby lamp. A wisp of smoke drifted from her mouth in the frigid air. “Remember all our talks about grace?”
He nodded. How could he forget?
“I think part of grace is doing for someone what they can’t do for themselves.”
A frown pulled his eyebrows together. “Even when they’re your enemy?”
A tender smile lit her face from the inside. “Especially then. Isn’t that what we were to God when he demonstrated His grace to us at the cross?”
Matt lowered his gaze, drawing a circle in the dirt with the toe of his shoe. She had a point, but just how far was she willing to go to demonstrate grace to someone who probably only throw it back in her face?
He looked up to see Gracie peering into the darkness and followed the direction of her gaze. Jason’s jet-black car sat almost obscured from view behind a giant oak. What was he doing here?
She tugged her hand away and stuffed it in her coat pocket, her gaze not meeting his.
“Do what you want, Gracie, but I’m coming with you. I can’t stand idly by while Elena or Jason or anyone else stomps all over you.” If that comment didn’t let her know how much he cared, nothing would.
“Jason? Why bring him into the conversation?” Her dark eyes smoldered.
Matt puzzled over the question. She’d seen Jason’s car and knew he was here, but for some reason wanted to keep the information from him. How could he get the point across that the man she fancied wasn’t what she believed? If he brought up that his name wasn’t Jason Dent, he’d also reveal that he’d had the guy investigated. Better to play it safe, at least to begin with. “I know you don’t want to hear this, Gracie, but I believe with everything in me that Jason has a serious problem.”
“What are you talking about?”
He pressed his lips together and searched for words that wouldn’t incite her Latin temperment. “There are several pathological disorders that—”
Gracie laughed. “Oh boy, here we go again.” Her full-lipped smile faded as she peered into his eyes, almost as if she were seriously considering the possibility.
Please, God. He wanted to say more, but didn’t dare. Instead he had to trust that the Lord would take care of it. “Just please be careful around him. Are you . . . ?” He swallowed against the fear that crawled up his windpipe. “Are you still seeing him?”
She looked away for a long, silent moment. Finally she faced him, her eyes lit with determination. “Yes. We’re pretty serious. I think he might propose.”
His heart crumbled, and he sucked in a gulp of the ice cold air until it burned in his lungs. So this was how it felt to be totally broken. He felt the need to say something to end the awkward silence, but what? Finally he simply nodded, unable to make eye contact for fear of breaking down. “Well, I guess I’d better be going.”
“Yes, that would probably be for the best.” Her voice hitched in a strangled sort of way.
Without another glance in her direction, he turned and walked away, his feet crunching the frozen grass. He reached his car, not quite sure how he got there, then crawled in and drove away. Only as he neared the trees that lined the driveway did he find the strength to look in the rearview mirror.
Gracie was nowhere to be seen.
Her feet heavy as lead, Gracie trudged through icy semi-darkness to Elena’s blood-red door, but waited in the shadows to allow the ache in her heart to recede before she faced Jason and Elena. She’d lied to Matt again, but she had no choice. As soon as she’d seen Jason’s car in the shadow of the oak tree and allowed Matt’s comment about pathological disorders to register, she knew what she had to do.
She momentarily zoned out, her mind on Jason’s odd behavior the last time they’d been together, her brain immediately accessing information from college psych class. His possessiveness and on-off behavior—how could she have missed it? The answer came in a split second. Because she’d turned him into a living, breathing illusion of what she wanted him to be—an idol built not with her hands, but with her thoughts.
She brought her palms to her mouth and released a heavy breath, both a sigh and a way to warm her frozen fingers. As much as it had hurt to get rid of Matt, it had to be done, especially with his head bandaged from whatever had happened to him. Neither Elena nor Jason held a high opinion of Matt, and he would only be prey for them in what could possibly be a volatile situation.
After gathering her courage, she rang the doorbell on the beautiful rock house, a sudden insight washing over her. No longer did the earthly trappings of this life enthrall her like they once had. It was almost as if a veil had lifted from her heart and her eyes. Now she could see what was truly important. A fancy house, a great career with great pay, nice clothes, and a nice car could never replace peace of mind, something both Jason and Elena obviously lacked.
The door opened, and Consuela appeared, her face lined with anxiety. “You couldn’t have come at a better time. Hurry, there’s no time to waste.” She latched on to Gracie’s hand and pulled her through the house toward Elena’s suite of rooms. “She just went into her office.”
In a blur of movement, one of the wooden double doors swung open, and Gracie found herself once more in the presence of her enemy.
Hair disheveled and unkempt, and her face stained with tears, the woman she once feared now seemed shriveled and small as she raised her gaze to Gracie’s face. An almost maniacal laugh sounded from her throat. She brough
t the shot glass she held in one hand down to the desktop with a bang. The amber-colored contents sloshed over the side and sent the unmistakable odor of hard liquor throughout the room. “You! Of all people to see me like this it would be you.” The crazed cackle continued for a minute more, then turned to sobs. “It’s all a stack of cards.” She broke into fresh tears and lowered her head to the intricately-carved desk.
A compassion she didn’t expect erupted in Gracie’s chest, and she moved quickly to Elena’s side and knelt. “It’s okay. I want to help anyway I can. What can I do?”
Her former boss sobbed even harder.
Gracie eyed the woman and struggled to make sense of the situation. Yes, she was in serious trouble, but nothing that should cause this type of reaction. Her thoughts flitted to the night she found Millie dead. In retrospect, her own response had been over-the-top, but only because of her heightened fear.
Alarms rang in her head, and sent a slow shiver down her spine. Was Elena experiencing something similar, or was her behavior based on one-too-many drinks? As Gracie considered the possibilities, Jason’s dark face filtered through her consciousness. The torn-up fence, the mailbox ripped from its post. All this time, she’d suspected Elena, but it had never quite added up. How could someone as small as she—someone so polished that she always looked like she’d just stepped out of the salon—be responsible for such destruction? Now Jason’s car was parked outside, almost invisible in the shadows. Grace glanced around the room. Where was he?
Elena lifted her head, her eyes red and swollen. “Why would you want to help me after what I’ve done to you?”
Why indeed? The woman had destroyed her life and left her dreams in a pile of ashes. “I don’t know how to answer that question. I just know that we all go through rough patches, some of our own making and most beyond our control. I want to help. Believe it or not, I care about you.”
The Way of Grace (Miller's Creek Novels) Page 26
