The 12 Brides of Summer Novella Collection 1

by Susan Page Davis

  “If things could be different,” he started, “and you didn’t have to leave here. . . ?”

  “Then there would be no question.” She blushed. She was being so very forward, but there was something different about Ian McGruer. He wasn’t like any man she had ever met. “If things could be different, would you. . . ?”

  He nodded.

  He wanted to kiss her; she could see it in his eyes. Yet what good would it do? It would only serve to break both their hearts. Right now they were a little bruised, but they would recover.

  He released her hands and shoved his into his pockets as if he didn’t trust them to be free.

  “Is this a test?” she finally asked. “Like God gave to Abraham? Is he testing my faith? Your faith?”

  Ian took her elbow and they headed back to the house. “I wish I knew. Oh, how I wish I knew.”

  “Grace?” Maddie’s whisper floated across the darkness. The door to Grace’s room swung gently inward as her sister filled the soft light filtering in from the hall. “Are you awake?”

  “Maddie?”

  Her sister flew across the room and jumped into the bed next to Grace, snuggling under the covers like they did when they were little.

  “What are you doing in here?”

  “I wanted to talk to you.” Maddie pulled the covers up under her arms and grinned at Grace.

  “You’re supposed to be with your husband,” she groused, though secretly glad that her sister was there. Oh, how she was going to miss her when the house was finished.

  “I know, but I wanted to see you. Ask you about Ian.”

  Grace’s heart gave a hard pound at the mention of his name. “What about him?”

  “Well, you love him, for one.”

  She sighed, unable to deny it. “It’s that obvious?”

  “Yes, but I’m in tune with love right now.”

  They lay there in the darkness, each one captured in her own thoughts until Grace asked, “Do you believe that God made someone out there for each of us?”

  “Yes,” Maddie said emphatically. “Do you?”

  “I would like to believe so. But what happens when your someone turns out to be someone that isn’t right for you?”

  “What are you talking about? He’s perfect for you.”

  Oh, how she wished that were true. “How can you say that? He lives in New York.”

  “I had forgotten about that. Whatever was I thinking?” Maddie’s tone dripped with sarcasm.

  “Will you be serious? If I were to marry him, I would have to move away from Calico Falls.”

  “And?”

  “Isn’t that enough?”

  Maddie pushed herself up onto her elbows, staring hard into Grace’s eyes. The look was incredibly intense for whimsical Maddie, and Grace shifted uncomfortably under its weight. “Do you think that if Harlan needed to move away that I would hesitate for a moment? I mean, I would miss you terribly, but I love him.”

  “But Pa—”

  “Doesn’t need you as much as you think he does. Without you he would simply do something else.”

  The thought washed over her, almost stinging with the truth. Was she necessary to her father’s church? Or was she only making his life easier? “Are you saying—?”

  “I’m saying that if you love him, you shouldn’t let anything stand in your way.” She stopped, then her tone changed, lightened as she continued. “If you want I could go down and work out a deal with Old Lady Farley.”

  “Maddie, be serious.”

  “I am serious.” But even in the dark bedroom, Grace could see her sister’s eyes twinkling. “There’s someone out there for you, Grace. Haven’t we always dreamt of getting married and having babies? That dream will come true,” she said.

  But as confident as her sister sounded, Grace had her doubts.

  Tuesday morning, Ian arose to another beautiful day in the Ozarks. Birds chirped, the wind rustled the green leaves, and the blue sky seemed to stretch on forever.

  But when he made his way downstairs, he found Easton limping around and Grace frowning.

  “I’m going to get Doc Williams,” she said, ignoring her father’s protests.

  Ian glanced at Easton’s ankle, still covered with his pant leg, then looked back to Grace. “Do you think it’s that bad?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know, but he’s been limping around here for days and it’s time to get the doctor.”

  “Just give me a couple more days,” Easton grumped from his favorite chair.

  Grace propped her hands on her hips, and Ian was convinced she had never looked prettier. “I have. Now it’s time to get some professional help.”

  “Do you want me to walk with you?” Ian asked.

  She shook her head. “I’ll be fine.”

  But something in her tone said that she was distancing herself from him. As much as his heart ached at the thought, he knew it was for the best. They had tried ignoring their love. They had tried being friends. Neither had worked. Staying away from each other seemed to be the only solution they truly had.

  Grace returned with the doctor in record time, sweeping into the parlor with the gray-haired man trailing in her wake.

  Doc Williams had a thick moustache, wire-rimmed spectacles, and a string tie that bobbed when he talked. He folded up Easton’s pant leg and gave his ankle a thorough examination. Everyone looked on with furrowed brows.

  The doctor straightened and shook his head. “Well, Easton, I can’t see anything wrong. But if it’s hurting you, give it a couple days rest. Maybe stop by the office on Friday.”

  Easton pulled down his pant leg and crossed his arms as he surveyed his family. “See? Rest. That’s what I need.”

  “And breakfast,” Prissy called from the door to the kitchen. “Y’all come and get it.”

  Sitting around the table with Grace on one side and his best friend across from him, Ian wondered what it would be like to stay here in Calico Falls. Would every day be like this? Or was this just part of the visitors’ trip and once he left things would go back to how they normally were? How was he even to know?

  “Ian, would you mind going out to the Dursleys’ this morning? Grace can go with you.” Easton wiped his mouth on his napkin and looked at each of them in turn. Going out to another farm today was not the way to keep his distance from Grace, but how was he supposed to refuse?

  “Harlan, why don’t you go with Ian?” Grace asked. “Maddie and I have plans to start new dresses today.”

  “We do?” Maddie asked.

  “Yes.” Grace said, her jaw tight. “We do.”

  Ian felt the brush of her skirts against his calf, then watched as Maddie jumped across the table.

  “Ow,” she mouthed and he knew that Grace had kicked her sister in order to gain compliance.

  “I can drive out there with you,” Harlan said. “What’s needed at the Dursleys’?”

  “Mrs. Dursley’s twins have been under the weather. They could use some prayers. And probably someone to play with for a while.”

  Harlan looked back to Ian. “Twins?” he mouthed.

  Ian hid his smile. It looked like they were in for an eventful morning.

  Eventful was not the best word to describe the morning at the Dursleys’ farm. As far as Calico Falls went, the Dursleys had to have been one of the wealthiest families. Fences stretched for miles and livestock dotted the green fields in between. The two story house was well-kept, white-painted, and stood majestically to one side of the large red barn.

  The Dursleys didn’t need the same kind of care and attention that the Daniels had, but Ian enjoyed himself all the same. The twins were rough-housing, six-year-old boys just recovering from the chicken pox. Thankfully Ian and Harlan both had already had them. They spent the better part of the morning playing with the boys and generally getting them out of their mother’s way for a while.

  They ate lunch on the farm then headed back to the pastor’s house. All the way there, Ian kept thinking ab
out the church in Albany.

  He had visited a couple of times before accepting the position. But now he wondered if he had been a little enchanted, maybe even overwhelmed with the thought that they wanted him, Ian McGruer, to be a pastor there. What in his humble training had made him worthy of such a large and prestigious church?

  It was a big church and everyone dressed to the nines every Sunday. At the time, he had been impressed with all the fancy ties and hats, but thinking back, he realized now that a lot of the members were more concerned with how everyone looked instead of the Good Lord’s message.

  He needed to be fair, there were a lot of people who came for the Word, but it still wasn’t like Calico Falls. The tiny town was filled with people who loved the Lord, their country, and their preacher. They pitched in when something needed to be done. They depended on each other in a way that he had never seen before. And then there was the countryside. It was so beautiful and remarkably reminded him of his beloved Scotland. Of course it had been a great while since he had lived there, but just being near the lush green fields made him nostalgic for something he couldn’t even name.

  “Got something on your mind?” Harlan asked.

  Ian stirred himself from his thoughts and faced his friend. He had been so lost in his own mind that he hadn’t realized they were over halfway back to the parsonage. “You could say that.”

  “Do you need to talk about it?”

  It was on the tip of his tongue to say yes, but he realized that talking about it wasn’t going to change a thing. He needed to pray and pray hard that the Lord would give him the answer he needed.

  Chapter 6

  The next morning Pa came limping down the stairs. Grace bit back her sigh and her worry as she watched him slowly make his way across the parlor toward the kitchen. Something wasn’t right.

  “That’s the wrong foot.” She turned toward her father, feeling a bit surly as she pointed to him. Lack of sleep could do that to a person. And though she pleaded a headache and retired for the evening early in the afternoon, she hadn’t slept much at all.

  “What?” Pa stopped.

  Ian and Harlan turned to stare at the two of them, and Grace immediately regretted her outburst.

  “I—I mean, your limp,” she tried again.

  “Oh. Oh,” her father said, continuing on his way. This time both ankles were stiff, confusing Grace to whether she had been seeing things in his misplaced limp.

  “I’ve hobbled around for so many days, both my legs are giving me fits now.”

  Surely lack of sleep was starting to play tricks on her mind. After all, she hadn’t slept much since the wedding, not just the night before.

  Ian and Harlan swung their gazes toward her, and she could do nothing but paste on a concerned look and try to cover up her shrill accusations. “Has anyone seen Maddie?”

  “She’s in the kitchen helping Prissy with breakfast,” Harlan explained.

  Grace nodded. “I’ll just go check on everything then.” She fled the room to the relative safety of the kitchen.

  The interior was warm and smelled spicy and inviting, but Maddie shooed her out, stating that she had everything under control.

  Grace had no reason to doubt her, as breakfast was on the table in record time. Soon the blessing had been offered and all that could be heard was the clink of silverware against the plates as everyone devoured their pancakes.

  “These pancakes are delicious,” Ian said, holding up a bite and examining it a moment before he stuffed it into his mouth.

  Grace had to admit they were extra delicious this morning.

  “It’s a special recipe,” Maddie explained, her green eyes sparkling.

  “Bravo,” Harlan said, shoveling in his own huge bite.

  Soon everyone had finished their breakfast. Prissy waved the girls out of the kitchen.

  “Grace?”

  She closed her eyes at the sound of Ian’s voice close behind her. She opened them again and turned to face him. “Yes?”

  “Walk with me?”

  She shook her head.

  “Please,” he pleaded. “It’s important.”

  How could she refuse him a second time? “Okay.”

  Together they walked out into the field of wildflowers between the pastor’s house and Harlan’s. She had a feeling she knew what this was about. He was leaving. There would be no more speculation on what was the right thing to do.

  Maddie’s words rattled around inside Grace’s head. Was she being unreasonable to think her father needed her? Should she take the chance on Ian and see what adventure might lie in her future? Was that what God wanted from her? Was that what He was trying to tell her?

  She turned to Ian, these questions seeking a voice. All she had to do was tell him that she had changed her mind. She had thought about their situation, and if he would still have her, then she was willing to take the chance that God had something different in mind for her than she had originally thought.

  But as she turned, he was there. Close. So very close. And then he was closer, cupping her face in his hands, his lips pressed to hers.

  Grace’s eyes fluttered closed and she swayed toward Ian, loving the feel of his fingers on her face, his lips on hers in the sweetest kiss she could have ever imagined. A kiss much, much better than the one Davey Miller gave her at the spring hoedown when they were thirteen. She had slapped him then, but she couldn’t raise her hand against Ian. She was too far gone in love with him. She could admit that now. God really had intended him for her and her for him. Her place was at his side, wherever that might be.

  He gave her one more little kiss then dropped to one knee.

  She could only stare at him as he pulled a ring from his pocket. “Will you marry me?”

  Her mother’s ring sparkled in the palm of his hand. The ring her father had saved for her. “You’ve talked to my father?”

  He shook his head.

  Something wasn’t right.

  “How did you get that?” she asked.

  “Maddie gave it to me.”

  Then she knew. Her heart sank in her chest and she bit back her tears as she pulled Ian to his feet.

  “What’s the matter?” A confused frown pulled at his brow.

  “I’m going to kill her,” Grace stormed. She whirled on one heel, nearly tripping as the flowers tangled beneath her feet. Such a waste of good wildflowers. Heat filled her cheeks as she started back for the house.

  “Killing is a sin,” Ian said from somewhere behind her. Poor man. He had no idea what had been done to him. But she couldn’t stop to explain now. He wouldn’t believe her anyway.

  “Then I’ll just maim her.” Grace marched into the house. “Maddie!” she called. Then louder, “Madeline Joy!”

  Maddie pushed through the kitchen door to stand in the foyer, all wide-eyed and innocent. “Yes, sister?”

  “What did you trade for this time?”

  “I don’t believe I know what you’re referring to.”

  Grace opened her mouth to refute the claim, but closed it again as Ian came into the house.

  He drew her gaze like a magnet draws metal and her heart broke all over again at the confusion and hurt on his face. “Grace, would you please tell me what’s going on?”

  “Yes, Grace,” Maddie echoed.

  Harlan cleared his throat but didn’t say anything.

  “It’s a long story,” she started, resisting the urge to pinch back the headache that was starting between her eyes.

  “I have time.”

  She turned toward him then, wanting to explain but not knowing where to begin.

  “I thought we had something special,” Ian said.

  “We do. We did. I mean it might have been special if Maddie hadn’t. . .”

  “I didn’t do anything.” Maddie held up both hands in surrender, though her eyes sparkled with that mischievous light Grace knew all too well.

  “I don’t understand,” Ian said.

  Harlan intervened, s
aving Grace from having to come up with a suitable answer. “Maybe we should all go into the parlor.”

  The last thing she wanted to do was drag this out, but knowing Maddie, she would hold on to her innocence for as long as possible.

  For once Pa wasn’t sitting there reading the paper or smoking his pipe. For that, Grace was grateful. She didn’t need another witness to her sister’s shenanigans.

  “Now,” Harlan started, “what’s this all about?”

  “I haven’t the faintest idea,” Maddie said demurely.

  “Madeline! It’s a sin to lie! You know very well what you did.”

  “Since you seem to be so confident as to my actions, why don’t you share it with us all?”

  Grace took a deep breath and reminded herself that she was a lady. No matter how badly she wanted to pull her sister’s hair, like she did when they were younger, the coercion wouldn’t make her admit her wrongdoings any more now than it had then. “You went down to Old Lady Farley’s and got a love potion to put in the pancakes.”

  “I thought you didn’t believe in such things. Isn’t that you told me last Christmas?”

  Grace faltered. “Well, maybe this time it really did work.” Why else would Ian kiss her, like there was no tomorrow, and propose marriage after all they had discussed?

  Maddie shot her husband a knowing look.

  Harlan chuckled.

  “Will someone tell me what’s going on here?” Ian looked from one of them to the other. Grace couldn’t blame the man. After everything he had been through. And he was just about to leave all the madness behind, when Maddie had to go and do something like this.

  “Will you, darling?” Maddie asked, with a smile to her husband.

  Harlan explained about the gingerbread cookies from the Christmas before. How Maddie, in her desperate attempts to get him to fall in love with her, had traded her second-best dress for a pouch of herbs guaranteed to make Harlan fall madly in love. “What she didn’t know was that I was already crazy about her.” He tapped one finger against her cheek. Maddie blushed and returned his smile. Somehow Grace felt like she had just witnessed an intimate moment between the two of them.