by Jenna Brandt
Grace glanced over at the clock on the wall. “Can I leave early to get ready for the town social?”
“I have a few more notes to enter.” Wyatt gestured to the papers in front of him, “then I will be getting ready myself. I’ll see you there tonight?”
She nodded. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Grace retrieved her horse from the livery, making her way back to Oak Haven. Once there, she headed to her room, anxious to slip into her prettiest dress and put her hair up the way Wyatt liked it. Though nothing had happened between them romantically, she hoped that tonight that might change.
There was a knock at her door. “Come in,” she called out from her seat at her vanity table.
Aunt Tabitha entered the room carrying a large box. She placed it on the bed, then came over to her niece. “You should open that. It was just delivered for you.”
“What is it?”
“I have no idea, but it’s heavy.”
Grace stood and made her way over to the bed. She flipped open the lid of the box. To her pleasant surprise, it was the plum satin dress she had looked at in the store a week ago. She had no idea anyone knew she wanted it, let alone would be kind enough to get it for her.
“Did you do this for me, Aunt Tabitha? It’s so kind, but you shouldn’t have.”
Her aunt shook her head. “It wasn’t from us, my dear. You should probably read the note that’s inside.”
Grace picked up the folded piece of paper that was inside the box with the dress:
A bonus for all of your hard work.
I can’t wait to see you in it tonight.
Yours Forever, Wyatt
Tears formed in the corners of her eyes, threatening to fall because of the sweet gesture.
“Did it come from Wyatt?”
“Was it that obvious?”
“Dear, he’s been smitten with you from the moment you came back into town,” her aunt said, touching the soft garment. “It’s quite lovely. A gift like this says much about how he feels about you. I think he’d marry you right now if you would agree.”
Grace wondered if that was true. Did Wyatt care that much about her? At one time, she thought he was going to court her and they would end up together. That had been a long time ago. Could it be possible that he still cared for her? If he did, what did that mean for her? Should she return his feelings?
“I should probably put this on and get ready,” Grace said, pulling the dress out of the box.
Her aunt headed to the door and opened it. “We’ll be leaving in an hour. I’ll see you downstairs.”
Grace slipped the dress on and twirled in front of the mirror. It looked every bit as good on her now as it did the first time she tried it on. She made quick work of her hair, placing half her hair up in curls, and letting the rest cascade down around her neck. She added a dab of rouge before grabbing her black shawl and hat.
“Wow, you look so pretty,” Nancy gushed, rushing up and touching the edge of the dress.
“I didn’t know we had money for new dresses,” Ida accused from the corner of the room, crossing her arms with a look of envy.
“We don’t. This was a gift. I saw the messenger deliver it,” Nancy corrected. “And I think I know who sent it…Wyatt,” she taunted. “How romantic to buy you such a pretty dress to wear at the town social.”
Grace didn’t vocalize it, but she had to agree. The extravagant gift made her feel special. Even though he had said it was a bonus for her work, she suspected it was more because of how he felt about her than anything else.
“Are you both ready to go?” her uncle asked.
Aunt Tabitha nodded. “Yes, just let me grab my shawl.”
A few minutes later, they arrived at the livery. After checking in the wagon and horse, they made their way over to the town square. The social was already bustling, with the townspeople enjoying refreshments and talking in groups, while the band played music in the background.
“There you are,” Faith gushed, rushing up to her cousin, with Hope by her side. “We were waiting for you to arrive.”
“Your dress is gorgeous. Is it the one from the dress shop window?” Hope inquired.
Grace nodded. “It was a gift from Wyatt.”
“How wonderful is that. I had a good feeling about the two of you,” Faith said. Then glancing around, she asked, “Where is Wyatt?”
“I’m right here,” he said, coming up to the women with Nathan and Davis right behind him. “Your husbands saw me at the edge of the square and told me where you all were.”
“We were telling him how we barely got rid of the gophers in time for the social,” Nathan explained. “They sure seem to be smart little devils.”
“But we were smarter,” Davis added. “And tonight should be gopher free.”
The group of friends spent the next hour talking at one of the tables while they ate cake and drank punch. Grace would occasionally glance over at Wyatt, wondering when he was going to finally ask her to dance. Just when she was beginning to think it wasn’t going to happen, he stood up and came over to her side. He reached out his hand to her. “Would you care to dance, Grace?”
She nodded, placing her hand in his. He guided her over to the dancing area. He gathered her up into his arms, pulling her in close. They swayed to the music as he said, “You look beautiful in that dress.”
“How did you know I wanted it? I didn’t tell anyone.”
“I saw you try it on through the window of the shop. You looked so happy in it, I knew that I wanted to get it for you when the time was right.”
“Thank you, Wyatt, that was very sweet of you, but it’s so expensive. I hope it didn’t put you in a bad way.”
“Don’t worry about that. It was worth every penny to see that smile on your face.”
Grace felt her cheeks flush with warmth. “You have a way of making me feel like the most special woman in the whole world.”
“Good, that’s what I want to do, for the rest of my life, if you’ll let me. I was so stupid, Grace, to not see you before I left to go to war. I should have come and told you how much I cared for you and asked you to wait for me. I didn’t want you to worry about me or mourn for me, if something should happen. I thought you would be better off without me complicating your life.”
“You would never be a complication for me, Wyatt. I care about you, too, and I only pretended not to when I came back to Myrtle Grove because of how you hurt me.”
“Can you forgive me? Are you willing to give me a second chance?”
Grace nodded. “Yes, Wyatt, I want us to try again.”
“I will come to Oak Haven tomorrow and ask your uncle if I can officially court you. I would ask you to marry me, but I know you’re still recovering from a painful past. I don’t want to rush you.”
Her heart filled with joy. Not only did he want to be with her, he was willing to take it slow. It was exactly what she needed to hear. She placed her head on his shoulder, allowing herself to relax into his embrace. The moment was perfect, until she got the same uneasy feeling that she had a week ago. Grace jerked her head up, her body stiffening with fear.
“What is it, Grace?”
“I think he’s here,” she whispered, her eyes filling with frightened tears as her eyes darted around the town square. “I can feel him watching us.”
Wyatt scanned the area before saying, “I don’t see anyone that isn’t from Myrtle Grove.”
“You don’t know what it’s like to have someone follow you, to keep you from feeling safe in your own skin,” Grace snapped out, her body starting to shake uncontrollably. “He’s here; I just know it. If he sees me here with you, if he knows how much I care for you, he’ll do bad things to both of us.”
“Listen to me, Grace. It’s going to be okay. I’ll never let anything happen to you.”
“You can’t promise that,” she mumbled, shaking her head in denial.
“We should go sit down,” he suggested, guiding her over to one of th
e tables in the corner of the refreshment area. “I’ll walk the entire square just to make sure he isn’t here.”
“Please, don’t go,” she begged, reaching out to grab his arm. “You don’t know what he’s capable of; he’s dangerous.”
“If you’re worried about me, I’ll take Nathan and Davis. They’re both soldiers. If he is here, he won’t be a match for the three of us.” Wyatt gestured for their friends to come over. “Faith, Hope, do you mind keeping Grace company while I walk the square with Nathan and Davis? We need to check for gophers.”
Both men gave him a puzzled look, but didn’t say a word. Grace was relieved he didn’t tell any of them her secret.
“What was that all about? I thought the gophers were taken care of?” Faith asked in a perplexed tone.
“Oh, they probably just wanted to go off and talk about us for a few minutes,” Hope said with a roll of her eyes. “Men.”
“Wait, something else is going on,” Faith observed. “You’ve been crying, Grace. Did Wyatt say something to hurt you?”
Grace shook her head. “This has nothing to do with Wyatt.”
“You can tell us what happened,” Hope coaxed, reaching out to pat her friend’s hand.
Grace debated whether or not she wanted to talk about it. On the one hand, she would have to tell them everything. On the other, if Elijah was there, any of them could be in danger. If something was to happen to any of the people she cared about, because she didn’t tell them, she would never forgive herself.
She took a deep breath, then made the decision to tell her cousin and friend what happened.
When Grace was finished with her story, Faith gave her cousin a sympathetic smile. “I can’t believe you went through all of that, Grace. I’m so sorry.”
“We’re here for you, no matter what,” Hope added, giving her a reassuring grin. “After all, I have a feeling we’ll be family soon.”
The men returned and Wyatt took a seat next to Grace. He reached out and took her hands in his own. “You have nothing to worry about. There wasn’t anything out of the ordinary,” he reassured her. “I promise you’re safe.”
“Do you want us to take you home?” Faith offered.
Grace nodded, standing to her feet. “I don’t want to be here anymore. I just want to go back to Oak Haven and get some sleep.”
Wyatt stood, too. He looked like he wanted to reach out and pull her into an embrace, but he refrained. Instead, he said, “I’ll be by tomorrow to check on you, and to talk with your uncle.”
As Grace left the social, she realized that even without seeing him, Elijah still managed to ruin the best night of her life. When was she ever going to finally be free of him?
Chapter 10
The loud cracking of gunfire filled Wyatt’s ears, vibrating through his entire body until he was shaking from it. The air was filled with the thick smoke from the last round of cannon fire, and he knew it wouldn’t be long until the next one. He needed to move now if he was going to do it before it was too late.
Wyatt couldn’t see through the dark gray clouds, and it felt like he was breathing in fire. He choked on it, coughing several times, before he pulled his handkerchief from his pocket and covered his face with it. The only sound now was of his fellow soldiers around him crying out in pain. He needed to get to them, but he couldn’t. He crawled along the ground, hoping he could find all of them, any of them, in time to make a difference.
He could feel the panic welling up inside him the longer he went without finding anyone alive. Dead, they were all dead.
“Wyatt, help me,” he heard Michael call out. “Where are you? I need you.”
He crawled towards his friend’s voice, praying he would find him in time. When he reached him, though, he knew it was too late. As he looked down into Michael’s lifeless eyes, he realized he had failed him. He had failed them all.
Wyatt jerked awake, sweat pouring from his skin from his horrible nightmare. It took him several moments to realize he wasn’t back in the war; that it was over, and he was back in Myrtle Grove, safe in his own bed.
“Calm down, Wyatt, it was just a dream,” he whispered to himself, trying to let it go.
He wondered what time it was, and rolled over to look out the window. Light was just starting to peek through the glass, which meant dawn would be here soon.
“Stop being so stubborn; you need to take your own advice, dummy,” he chastised himself, remembering that he told Grace it helped to talk to someone. If he got up now, he could head over to Nathan’s house and catch him before he went to work on his farm. If anyone could understand what it was like being in the war, it would be his friend. After all, he’d been taken prisoner and nearly lost his life because of it.
A quick splash across his face at his wash basin, followed by throwing on a pair of pants and a button-up shirt, and Wyatt was heading out the door. He arrived at his friend’s farm a half hour later and headed to the barn.
Nathan was inside, hitching his ox to a plow. He looked up from his task, and asked, “What are you doing here, Wyatt?”
“I was hoping you could spare a few minutes to talk with me.”
Nathan stopped what he was doing, brushed off his hands on his pants, and came over to Wyatt. “Sure, why don’t we go sit on the front porch?”
They made their way over to the main house and took seats on a set of wooden rockers.
“What’s going on, Wyatt?” Nathan inquired after a few moments of silence.
“I debated about coming over here, but figured you would understand better than anyone, what I’m going through. I remember when you spoke in church after you returned. You talked about how God was with you, how he never left you. I’m having a hard time of my own right now, and need to find the peace you did.”
“I’ve noticed that you’ve been struggling since your return. Don’t get me wrong, you’re good at hiding it, but since I was an expert at trying to hide what the war did to me, I know what to look for. I’ve been praying for you, and was hoping when the time was right, you would reach out.”
Wyatt gripped his hands in his lap, not wanting to look up. He didn’t want Nathan to see how upset he was. “I’ve been having a lot of nightmares since returning home. It’s always the same. I’m surrounded by smoke from cannon fire. I’m looking for my fellow soldiers to help them, but I can’t find any of them. I get more and more frantic, and finally I hear my friend, Michael, calling out. By the time I get to him, though, it’s too late.”
“Even though my experience during the war was different, I understand being haunted by the past. I didn’t really tell anyone, besides Faith, how hard it was for me after I returned. All I can say is that you did the right thing coming here. Having someone to talk to and pray with me made a world of difference. If you want, I can do that for you.”
“You’d be willing to do that?”
“Of course; you’re my friend, Wyatt, and I’d do anything for you.”
“I haven’t told anyone about what I went through during the war. I feel like it’s my job to pretend to be the brave soldier for everyone else.”
“I get that, but you don’t have to be that way for anyone else, Wyatt. You have a right to feel what you do, and you shouldn’t have to hide it.”
“I just keep seeing Michael’s death over and over again. I mean, I lost nearly my entire unit, which was hard enough, but then Michael died right in front of me, too. We went to medical school together; planned to work at the same hospital after graduation, and served in the war together. I just thought he would always be there, and now he is gone.”
“That’s a lot to carry; you shouldn’t have to do it alone. God tells us we can give all our burdens to him. He’s willing and able to take them from us, all we have to do is ask.”
“It’s my fault they’re all dead. I should have saved them. I deserve to feel bad about that.”
“That’s not true, Wyatt. You shouldn’t blame yourself for what happened to those soldiers. I k
now you, and I’m certain you did everything you could to save them. Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, bad things happen. We can’t control everything, no matter how much we want to. You need to ask God to help you with this. He’s the only one who can.” He reached out and patted Wyatt’s arm. “Why don’t we pray together now?”
Wyatt let out the breath he’d been holding, grateful that Nathan didn’t judge him about his nightmares. “I’d like that.”
The two of them spent the next several minutes praying together; asking God to help Wyatt with his anxiety and fears. By the time they ended, Wyatt felt better and headed back to town as if a small piece of his burden had been lifted. He knew it would take time to fully heal, but he knew he was finally headed in the right direction.
Chapter 11
Grace was giddy with anticipation. Tonight she was spending her first official evening alone with Wyatt, since he asked her uncle if he could court her. Though they spent every day at work together, this was different. She was certain tonight he would try to kiss her, and she was going to let him.
“You look perfect,” her aunt said, coming into her bedroom. “I always had a good feeling about you and Wyatt. He’s a good match for you.”
“I know. He’s exactly what I need in my life.” Grace turned to face her aunt and asked, “Do I need anything else?”
She shook her head. “You look perfect. He’ll love that you’re wearing the dress he gave you.”
“It was the most thoughtful gift I’ve ever received. I want him to know how much it means to me.”
They made their way downstairs where the girls and her uncle were waiting by the front door.
“You look so pretty in that dress,” Nancy gushed. “I think it’ll make Wyatt propose tonight.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” her uncle corrected. “This is only the first of many social outings they will have before it’s time for that.”