“Well he is.”
“You need to go get him.”
“Go get him?” Grace’s heart tripped over itself. She couldn’t go get him. “Why?”
“So he can stay here, of course.”
Stay here?
“Go on now.”
Her father couldn’t be serious. But he looked serious enough.
Grace reluctantly stood and ran her hands over her skirt. She would never disobey her father. But her heart tumbled in her chest. With anticipation. With excitement. With dread. She cast one last look at her father, trying to make sure he really meant what he said, but he had gone back to his paper.
She let herself out the back way, held up her skirts, and made her way across the field where she had walked with Ian just a short while ago. Except they had walked around the field, not through the multitude of flowers. She should’ve changed clothes before she left, but she didn’t think about her skirts dragging through the plants until she got in the middle of the meadow. She hiked up her skirts a little more and continued on. Best get this over with quickly.
The house that Harlan was building fell somewhere in between modest and ostentatious. A large wraparound porch stretched across the front, disappearing around either side. Garret windows pushed through the roof, their real glass panes twinkling in the sun. Grace dashed up the steps and had only just gotten to the door when it opened.
“Oh!” she exclaimed.
Ian stood framed in the doorway, looking even more handsome than he had at the wedding. He had not forgotten to change clothes, and now wore workaday trousers and a shirt with suspenders, like any of the men in Calico Falls.
That made her both sad and anxious. Sad because she missed the kilt and anxious because she didn’t need him looking like any of the men that surrounded her. He was unattainable. Off limits. And despite the feelings of head-over-heels love she experienced the first time her eyes met his, he was not part of God’s plan for her.
“Grace.” His voice was low and husky.
“Pa sent me. He said you couldn’t stay here tonight. The house isn’t even done. You’ll have to come sleep with me.”
Heat filled Grace’s face, and she didn’t need a mirror to know she had turned an unbecoming shade of red. She was burning up. “I mean, us.”
One of Ian’s rusty brows shot toward his hairline.
“I mean, stay at our house.” She was only making this worse. “I mean you need a decent place to stay—this house isn’t done. When Maddie and Harlan get back, they’re staying with us. You can’t stay here.”
He looked pointedly toward her feet then cleared his throat.
Grace glanced down. She still had her skirts hiked up almost to her knees. Scandalous. What had she been thinking? She dropped her skirts and smoothed her hands over them as if somehow to take away the fact that she flashed him more than just her ankles. “Sorry,” she murmured. “This situation seems to have brought out the worst in me.”
“Think nothing of it.”
She shifted from one foot to the other, waiting for him.
He cleared his throat again. “I’ll be fine here.”
Grace shook her head. “Pa insisted.”
Ian seemed to mull it over for a few moments then he gave a quick nod. “Let me get my things.”
Ian felt a little like a puppy dog following behind his master, as he walked behind Grace all the way back to the preacher’s house. He’d never seen a woman move so fast, like her feet were on fire. It was as if she wanted to spend as little time with him as possible.
As badly as he wanted to spend every waking moment with her, those moments were limited. Still, he loved the way she blushed when she said that he was to come sleep with her, an innocent and honest mistake, but one he enjoyed all the same.
“Wait up,” he called, hurrying after her. Somehow his thoughts had taken over and stilled his steps. Now she was yards ahead of him instead of merely feet.
Whether she didn’t hear him or she was outright ignoring him, he didn’t know. But he quickened his pace again and caught her. He wrapped his hand around her arm and stopped her in her tracks.
“Why are you walking so fast? Is there a fire? Or something you didn’t tell me about?”
She shook her head. “It’s better this way, don’t you think?”
“What way? Sprinting across a meadow?”
“No, not being alone together.”
“I think it’s too late for that.” Ian chuckled.
She whirled on him. “It’s not funny!” She spun back around and marched toward home again.
He headed after her, this time catching her in three easy strides. “It’s hysterical.”
“I beg to differ.” She sniffed and raised her chin to a haughty angle.
“What happened to God playing tricks on us? I’m sure He’s laughing right about now.”
She shook her head. “God has more important things to do than mess with our meager lives.”
“Does He have more important things than providing us with love and companionship?”
“I’m not destined to have those things.”
“Who told you that?”
“It’s something I know. Something I’ve always known. My mother died when I was five. Since then I’ve been at my father’s side, helping him with the church. That is my calling.”
His humor dried up faster than a rain puddle in July. “I have a calling, too.”
She seemed to wilt right before his eyes. Her chin dropped and her jade-green eyes swam with tears. “What do we do?”
“First thing is not to cry.” He couldn’t stand to see a woman’s tears, especially when there was nothing on earth he could do to stop them. “And the next is to do what we can.”
“I don’t understand.”
He heaved a sigh. “We can only do what we can do.”
“Ian, stop talking in riddles.” She closed her eyes and twin tears spilled down her cheeks.
“We can only make the best of the situation. We can only spend a little time together and that’s all.”
“I would love to spend time with you, but—”
“I know.” She didn’t have to finish. Spending time together would only make the longing worse. “But the time we will spend together, that’s all there is. Are you willing to accept that?”
She nodded.
What choice did they have? “Me, too.”
Her jade green eyes opened once again, this time clear with understanding. “And come Tuesday, you’ll leave.”
He nodded.
“Until then?”
“We can be friends. We can do that, right? Just enjoy what time we have.”
“And then it’s gone.”
He swallowed the lump in his throat. “Yes.”
She sent a trembling smile his way. “If that’s all we have, then we need to take it.”
“So we’re agreed.”
She nodded.
He took her arm in his hand and together they walked across the field, back to the white clapboard house at the edge of town.
The feel of her walking beside him, the building of love, and the knowledge this would be all they could have, stilled his words in his throat. Silently he prayed.
Why now, Lord? Why did I have to find a woman like Grace now, when I can do nothing about it?
Chapter 3
Sunday morning dawned as perfect a day as the one before it. Grace had enjoyed eating dinner with Ian. Of course her father and Prissy were there as well, but it was much easier to relax and enjoy herself when she wasn’t looking to the future, but living in the moment as it were. Afterwards, her father had his pipe in the parlor while Grace played church hymns on the piano. All in all, it had been a good evening. She even managed to sleep, knowing that Ian was just down the hall and Maddie wasn’t.
“We walk to church,” Easton explained. After breakfast the four of them set off down the packed-dirt road that led to Calico Falls and the little white church at the end of t
he lane.
They got there early as usual, and Grace took the position standing next to her father greeting his flock as they arrived.
This was her job, her calling, as she had told Ian. Her place in the world. She caught him looking at her as she hugged the Widow Barnes and could tell from the sad mist in his eyes that he understood.
But she got to sit next to him when her father took to the pulpit.
She loved to hear him preach, and today was no exception.
“It’s simple to understand God’s will for your life. All you have to do is answer three simple questions.”
Funny, but her father looked straight at her when he said the words.
“Is it in the Bible?” He turned just enough to fix his gaze on Ian. “Is this the desire of your heart? And is there a need?” He turned back to look at Grace. “If you can answer no to any of these, then it may not be God’s plan for you.” Gaze back on Ian.
Then he turned to his Bible. “The book of Jeremiah tells us in Chapter twenty-nine, verses eleven through thirteen. ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.’ ”
Pray, that’s what she needed to do. But for what? For patience? Understanding? None of those would change the facts: her life was in Calico Falls and Ian’s was in New York. No amount of prayer could change that.
There had been many a sermon Ian had listened to that seemed as if the preacher was speaking straight to him, but there was no mistaking that Easton Sinclair had singled him out for his subject today. God’s will and knowing what God wants from your life. Yesterday morning he thought he knew, but today, he wasn’t so sure.
All morning Grace hugged parishioners and greeted everyone as they came to worship. She was the perfect preacher’s daughter, Ian had thought as she smiled and shook hands. The congregation loved her as well, chatting with her about everything from apple pie recipes to how beautiful the wedding had been. He just stood to one side and watched, just as he was watching now, as she and her father said their farewells.
The perfect preacher’s daughter would make the perfect preacher’s wife, that little voice inside him whispered.
Why now, Lord? Of all the people in the world he could fall for, why her? It was true what they said, the good Lord did work in mysterious ways, but for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out why God would want him to fall for someone he couldn’t have.
But the Lord only answered with one word Ian seemed to hear from Him all too often. “Patience.”
Ian continued to watch as they turned down several offers for a Sunday meal, reminding everyone that they had company. And soon they were walking back to the pastor’s house.
After a dinner of wedding leftovers, Easton suggested they all go for a walk.
Everyone agreed. After all, it was a beautiful day and considering all the food he had eaten during the last two days, Ian could use a bit of exercise.
Together the four of them, he, Easton, Grace, and Prissy, headed across the field of wildflowers.
“Is this a good idea?” Grace asked. She and Ian had dropped behind her father and Prissy, allowing the other couple to move farther ahead.
“What? Going for a walk?”
“No, spending this much time together.”
“I thought we had settled this. We’re friends right?”
She nodded, but he noticed she hesitated before agreeing.
“Friends can go on a walk.”
“You’re right, of course.”
He was reaching for reasons, but she had agreed to spend time with him and that’s all that mattered.
He wanted to grab her hand so badly, entwine their fingers, but that wasn’t friend behavior, so he had to settle for her simply walking at his side.
“The flowers are beautiful.” Grace trailed her fingers along the higher petals and Ian remembered her saying this very field was where Maddie’s wedding bouquet had been picked.
He stopped, the urge to gather Grace her own flowers taking hold. He picked as many different colors as he could, wishing he had a ribbon to tie them all together for her.
She turned as if she had only then realized he wasn’t by her side.
“For you.” He used a long stem to tie the bundle together and presented them to her.
Her smile let him know just how much he would miss her when he left. She held the flowers close to her face, breathing in the sweet scent. “Thank you,” she murmured. But her joy at the simple gift was more than enough thanks.
They started to walk again. Up ahead of them, Easton had stopped and picked a single wild daisy and presented it to Prissy. She curtsied and tucked the flower behind her ear.
“Are they. . .” Ian nodded toward the couple, leaving the rest of his sentence unsaid. It wasn’t really his business, but it was a strange relationship to be sure.
Grace shrugged, and he let the matter drop. It was too beautiful of a day for speculations.
Two more steps and Ian watched as Easton crumpled into a heap.
Grace stifled back a scream as her father fell. She hiked up her skirts and raced to his side.
“I’m all right. I’m all right.” Her father chuckled embarrassingly and pushed to his feet. He brushed himself off as he continued to laugh.
But his good-natured grin turned to a grimace when he put weight on his right foot. He nearly crumpled to the ground once again, but managed to catch himself before he actually fell.
“Oh dear.” Prissy grabbed one of his arms while Grace caught the other and together, with Ian bracing him from behind, they managed to get him safely back to the house.
“What happened?” Grace asked once they had Pa in his favorite chair, his right foot propped up on a small, cushioned stool.
“Stepped in a hole, I guess.”
“Let me take a look, sir.”
Grace stepped aside as Ian came forward. He gently pulled up her father’s pant leg while she peeked over his shoulder.
“What is it?” she asked.
“I don’t know. I’m not exactly a doctor.”
“I’ll get a cold rag and some ice,” Prissy said and hustled toward the kitchen.
“I’ll be fine,” her pa blustered, pushing his pant leg back in place. “No sense flashing my ankles all over creation.”
Grace straightened, and Ian did the same. He caught her eye and she was instantly taken back to the day before, standing on the porch of her sister’s new house with her skirts up to her knees.
Her face filled with fire at the light in his eyes, a light that said he was thinking the same thing.
She turned away before she completely burned up, thankful then that Prissy bustled back into the room, carrying a large pan and a hunk of ice, half wrapped in a kitchen towel.
“Move back,” she admonished, stirring Grace to action.
She stepped out of the way, and Ian followed suit.
“No sense in you young folks hanging around. Go on out and finish your walk.”
“Yes, Pa.”
Together they stepped from the room, but the desire to laze about in the bright summer sun was replaced with concern for her father.
“I hope it’s nothing serious,” she said.
From the tight set of Ian’s mouth, she couldn’t tell how he felt about the matter. Or maybe he was frowning over her scandalous exhibit yesterday. Surely he knew that she didn’t go about like that all the time. Or even often.
“It’s hard to say,” Ian finally said, his sky-blue eyes giving nothing away. “I guess we’ll have to wait and see how he is tomorrow.”
But Monday dawned with Easton still unable to walk. Frankly, Ian was concerned. There didn’t appear to be anything wrong with Easton’s ankle. But Ian wasn’t a doctor, he was a pastor. How was a man of God supposed to know about
invisible injuries?
They ate breakfast, each lost in their own concerns about Easton’s mysterious injury. Afterward, they helped him to the parlor, where he took up his spot in the same place as the night before, pipe at the ready, newspaper at hand, foot on the stool, and frown on his face.
“I’ll be fine, I tell you.” He shot his oldest daughter a pointed look that brooked no argument.
Ian had a feeling the spirited Maddie would have fought her father over the matter, but Grace was more reserved. He could practically see her calming herself, biding her time to make the most of her arguments.
“Very well,” she said, but Ian knew the matter was far from over. “I guess I’ll get Maddie and Harlan’s room ready for their return.” She nodded toward Ian as if to excuse herself.
Helplessly he watched her head for the parlor door. He wished he had some reason, any excuse to call her back and have her spend the day with him.
“Oh, I almost forgot.”
Ian turned to find Easton’s eyes sparkling with something akin to mischief. He wasn’t sure the look could be trusted, but it was there, all the same.
Grace turned as well. “Yes, Pa?”
“I almost forgot that Tom Daniels has been sick. His neighbor asked for me to go out there today and pray with the family. And now. . .” He waved a vague hand toward his injured foot. Then he snapped his fingers, the action too deliberate to be anything but planned. “I know. How ’bout the two of you go out there in my stead.” It wasn’t quite a question.
“But Maddie’s room. . .” Grace trailed off as Easton shook his head.
“Prissy can handle that.”
“And who will take care of you?” She winced as she said the words, as if she could hear how weak they sounded before they even left her lips.
“Bah, I’m fine, I tell you. I have my pipe and the paper.” He patted his Bible sitting on the table next to him. “When I get done with that, then I can work on my next sermon.”
Ian could almost see Grace crumble. She really was a delightful soul, willing to help. So beautiful. And so out of his reach. You’ve already decided this, McGruer. Get your head right and your priorities straight. Tomorrow morning he would be on his way back to Albany. And that was that.
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