Moment of Grace by P. Creeden

Author:P. Creeden [Creeden, P.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-04-25T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Four

Charles

Charles tossed and turned, plagued with dreams of Grace’s lips on someone else. And each time he turned, his ankle sent horrendous pain through his body. He’d hardly noticed it had been injured until he got home and sat still. The offending joint had swollen up through the night. If it didn’t get better in the morning, he’d need to have Edgar call for the doctor. He didn’t want to do that. His father had put a blanket on him as he lay on the sofa in the parlor and had made a solid fire in the fireplace. For a long while, he watched the embers, his mind clearing of anything but the crackling of the fire until it lulled back to sleep.

When he opened his eyes again, bright sunlight streamed through the curtains. No one had woke him. Frowning, he wondered how he’d even managed to sleep in. Had everyone left to tend to the farm and daily chores, assuming he simply needed rest? Then he felt her presence before he saw her sitting in the corner, quietly knitting.

“You’re awake, I see,” Grace greeted him warmly, setting the yarn and needles aside. “I helped out with most of the morning chores, and the doctor should be over about an hour. Are you hungry? Thirsty at all? I’ll go get something.”

She didn’t wait for an answer but headed toward the kitchen. Charles frowned and sat up slowly. The throbbing pain in his ankle made it hard to concentrate. He had told her he would come by her house in the morning, but she hadn’t waited. From the day he had met Grace, he could see her struggle for perfection, as if she could somehow earn the love and respect of those she cherished dearly. She didn’t need to earn Charles’s love. It was a seed planted in his soul on the day he met her and had bloomed into something powerful. Guilt coursed through him as he realized how quick he was to judge someone he knew better than himself. How could he let one moment destroy a relationship that they had spent years building?

When she returned, she had a glass of milk with her as well as a bowl of warm oatmeal with a swirl of molasses drawn on it, just the way he liked. She set it in front of him and then sat back in her chair, watching him intently. He took a sip of the milk and then met eyes with her. Her worried eyes let him know that she felt this peace was tenuous. She’d pulled her bottom lip into her mouth and chewed it in her anxiety.

“Grace,” he started gently.

“You don’t have to talk about it,” she said suddenly, her voice cracking as she shook her head. “We can figure this out later.”

“I want to talk about it,” he said slowly, folding his hands in front of him on his lap.

She breathed in slowly and nodded silently, her shoulders collapsing. “Before you start, Charles, I want you to know that I understand.

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