by P. Creeden
Standing in the middle of the room was her dear, sweet Charles. Grace’s heart melted and even though her loved ones all stood as a crowd to both sides, it was as if she and Charles were the only two in the room. He knelt down to one knee as Grace continued to approach him. She tilted her head, confused. Hadn’t they already done this? Why make such a grand scene when he’d already proposed?
When Grace drew near, he gently took her hand and the room grew silent. He cleared his throat, his green eyes never leaving hers. “Grace Lynn, I fell in love with you when I caught you sneaking into my farm, positive you had been a thief. I didn’t even believe you at first, but nevertheless, I loved you. Just as I loved you when I heard the rumors and the truths of your past. I loved the girl who bent the rules not for the sake of breaking them or causing harm, but for the sake of helping others. I loved the girl who would help around the farm and not expect any pay in return, even though her family struggled. She didn’t value herself enough, and often still doesn’t. I fell in love even more with the woman who looked after her ill mother. The woman who carried the weight of the world on her shoulders. And for one brief moment, I made a mistake and forgot who that woman was—a mistake I could have spent years regretting, just as you could, but Grace, let us not do that. Because I love you now just as I loved you then and just as I always will. No matter who you are and who you become …”
When he paused for a breath, Grace’s heart felt as it was about to pound outside of her chest.
“Grace Lynn, you are quite the woman. And I know I asked you this once before, but I feel it appropriate to ask you again. Grace Lynn Adams, would do me the honor of taking me as your husband and becoming my wife?”
Grace opened her mouth as a tightness filled her chest. Closed it. Then opened it again, but a lump felt lodged in her throat. There was a collective intake of breath as she struggled to respond.
Charles
Charles began to wonder if he had made a mistake. Maybe he should have let her have more time. Or at least, he shouldn’t have been so foolish and prideful to assume that she would say yes. Grace had expressed several times that she would not let him marry a woman such as her. She expressed she was willing to turn her back on what they built, and here he was, not only publicly humiliating himself, but her as well. Just as he was about to stand up and pick up what remained of his pride and leave this gathering, Grace squeezed his hand.
“I forgive you, too,” she whispered so quietly that only he could hear her. Then louder, she said, “Yes. I will marry you, Charles James. I will marry you, and every day that I wake up, I will choose that. I will choose you. No matter who are you are as the years go by, because you are part of my soul.”
Charles breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s a yes?”
She laughed, her eyes filling with tears that spilled over once she blinked. “That’s a yes!”
“Oh, thank God.”
Edgar walked up behind him, patting Charles on the back and helping him back to his feet. “You had me scared there,” he said, looking over at Grace. “I thought I was gonna have to pick this man up off the ground.”
Grace giggled.
Then Charles offered her his elbow and gestured to the area by the empty wood stove where the pastor stood. He smiled at them.
Blinking, Grace asked, “Now? You meant you wanted to get married today?”
“You always said you wanted an Easter wedding. This is the day we’d planned on it, and I don’t want to change anything. I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you. And the rest of my life starts today.” He said, his heart tight in his chest, making him wonder if he’d been stupid to rush things along.
Finally, with tears still flowing down her face, she nodded. “I’m ready.”
Together they walked to the front of the fireplace and the pastor greeted them. They said their vows as the sunlight came through the window and played in the beautiful blonde braid around Grace’s hair and made it look as though she’d had a halo, just like it had the day when she’d jumped the fence and came into their orchard. He knew then that she wasn’t an angel, just as he knew it now. But she was his angel, and always would be, no matter the mistakes she made.
“You may kiss the bride,” the pastor finally said.
And just in time, because the temptation to kiss Grace had been plaguing Charles since the moment she’d said yes. He stepped forward and put a hand around her waist. He pulled her into him and swiped the tears from her eyes with his thumb. Then he leaned in and pressed his lips to her. The heat of her lips overwhelmed him, and he drank of them as someone who’d been parched for days. Then he remembered where he was and pulled back, breathlessly. For some reason, it pleased him that Grace panted afterward, as well.
The crowd of their neighbors cheered and threw flower petals into the air toward them as they turned to face them. The gentlemen patted him on the back while the ladies congratulated her. And for a moment, Charles’s heart was filled with love of friendship and family.
“Who is ready to eat?” Laura called out, her mother holding a great roast behind her. “We’re ready to start setting the table now.”
Grace called out, “I’ll help,” and the children eagerly ran after her while Charles turned his attention to the wood stove and began a fire to keep them warm as the wind picked up outside. His father came and rested a hand on his shoulder. “She’s a good, kind woman. I’m happy you both worked things out.”
Charles smiled and thanked his father, who nodded and stepped outside with his pipe.
The crackling wood, smell of roasted ham, spiced rabbits, apple pie and yams filled the air, luring Charles to the dining room where Grace and Laura were almost done setting everything in place with the help of the children. Charles smiled at them, realizing that one day this would be his life here on the farm with Grace, little ones running around. Grace took each of her nephew’s hands and headed back into the kitchen with them to help them wash up.
“You two,” Laura said, setting down the apple pie, “are such an inspiration to all of us, you know that?”
“Why is that?” Charles asked as he lifted a brow.
“It seemed as if the odds were stacked against you both, what with your wealth and her reputation … and no one thought it would work.”
“Those are just words,” he said with a shrug.
“Exactly. They’re not about what’s inside here.” Laura tapped at her heart.
Peter said as he ran up, “Auntie Grace says that’s where grandma is. In my heart.”
Laura smiled. “Of course, she is!”
“There’s a lot that goes on inside the heart,” Peter mused.
“Indeed, there is, little one!”
Chapter Six
Grace
After supper, when Grace had a moment alone with her two sisters and her brother, she confessed to them about their mother’s final moments. Emma, her older sister, looked at her with tears in her eyes as Grace spoke. The sun had dipped just below the trees, lighting the area with the slightest shade of gold and gray while the rest of the sky had darkened its shade of blue. Grace had shot her glance toward the horizon as she finished speaking, afraid of what their response to her cowardliness would be.
“Oh, Gracie! Why didn’t you tell us?” Her younger sister, Catherine, pulled her into a tight embrace and Emma joined in. Grace had stiffened at first in response, but soon melted into the feel of their embrace. She’d not been close with her elder sister, who was only a year older than her. Both her older siblings had married and left home years before their mother grew ill. Though they had helped care for their mother as much as they could, it had been left to Grace and Catherine, her younger sister, to shoulder the largest of the burden because the older ones each had their own families to care for.
She swallowed the lump in her throat. “I didn’t want to admit it to myself.”
Her older sister pulled back and looked into her eyes. “You know it’s all right. I would hav
e done the same… if I was alone, I couldn’t.”
Her brother, Will, stayed silent, but his sad eyes let her know that he wasn’t mad or upset. Finally, he said, “Grace, you never had to carry so much weight on your own. We are always here for you. And I can’t say we forgive you, honey, because honestly, there’s nothing to forgive.”
I nodded solemnly. “Sometimes I wonder what Mama is thinking, though.”
Emma shook her head, tears spilling from her eyes. “She is proud, Gracie. She is so proud of you for being the woman you are. And you want to know a secret?”
“Hm?”
“No matter who is in that room with us when it is our time, we all die alone. And in the end, Mama is rejoining Papa in Heaven with Jesus.”
“You really think so?”
Her sister smiled. “I know so, Grace! We all have our burdens to carry and the memories of our mistakes, but know that you are not alone. As strong as you may be, you don’t get to carry any of this alone.”
“And what mistakes do you have?” Grace asked, trying to tease.
“If you only knew.” She winked and linked her arm through Grace’s. “Let’s go find that new husband of yours. He’s probably looking for you.”
Grace’s face heated as they headed back inside. Their neighbors still remained, faces alight with pride and love. And Grace realized she was no longer bitter about the name she’d been given. No longer did she feel like it was an ironic tragedy. Nor did she feel the need to live up to such a high standard for herself.
She had fallen short of grace, as everyone does from time to time. As she was sure to again. But for now, she was home, exactly where she was meant to be.
When she found Charles, he held out a hand toward her, and she accepted it with an assurance in her heart that though she may not have been able to hold her mother’s hand in her final moments, she would hold Charles’s hand for a lifetime and their future children’s hands in the times that it mattered most. She would grow to become the strong woman he believed her to be, and she knew herself capable of becoming.
As their gathering drew to a close, and most everyone had headed home, Charles hugged her tight. “I never want to let you go again.”
She leaned into him. “I hope you never do.”
He lifted her chin with a finger and kissed her again, igniting a fire in her core, warming her from her head to her toes. When he finally released her lips and her chin, the fire in his eyes matched the feeling deep inside her, as he said, “I love you, Mrs. Grace Lynn James.”
Those words sent a shiver through her body. With her new name, she could become a new and better person, for her own sake, for her mother’s sake, for her husband’s sake and for the future and family they would have together. With the Lord’s help, she’d finally do the name she’d been given justice.
About the Author
P. Creeden is the sweet romance and mystery pen name for USA Today Bestselling Author, Pauline Creeden. Her stories feature down-to-earth characters who often feel like they are undeserving of love for one reason or another and are surprised when love finds them.
Animals are the supporting characters of many of her stories, because they occupy her daily life on the farm, too. From dogs, cats, and goldfish to horses, chickens, and geckos -- she believes life around pets is so much better, even if they are fictional. P. Creeden married her college sweetheart, who she also met at a horse farm. Together they raise a menagerie of animals and their one son, an avid reader, himself.
If you enjoyed this story, look forward to more books by P. Creeden.
In 2018, she plans to release more than twelve new books!
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