A moment of uncertainty passed as Grace digested his words. Another awkward moment almost passed as she handed the ring to him. Surprise and pain crept into his eyes until she said, “Nolan, would you put this on me? I have enough schoolgirl romance in me to think it’d be special to have you put it on for me.”
As Nolan slipped the ring on Grace’s finger, a cheer went up from the crowd. Surprised, and more than a little embarrassed, Nolan and Grace hurried back to the car and drove toward Mike and Traci’s. They rode in a sweet silence until Grace finally spoke. “What will your friends say? Will they approve of me?”
Nodding, Nolan traced the outline of her hand with his fingers. “Mike knows that I planned to propose. Now I know why he told me to bring you in the back way. He thought you might want a moment to yourself.”
“I guess Traci cried when he proposed.”
“I guess so. I think I remember my mom saying she laughed and stalked out of the restaurant.” Nolan parked the car in Mike’s driveway.
“You’re kidding! What did your dad do?”
“Followed her, stopped her, pulled her into a nearby doorway, and kissed her. Apparently, that kiss changed her mind.”
Grace gave him a sidewise glance. “Maybe I should have said no.”
~*~*~*~
“I’d like to make a little announcement. Well, maybe it’s not so little, but Nolan asked Grace to marry him tonight, and she has accepted!”
Mike’s announcement was received with cheers and warm wishes. The women surrounded Grace, hugging her and commenting on her unique ring. The men laughed and clapped Nolan on the shoulder. Nolan reached Grace’s side quickly. With his arm around her shoulder, it was obvious to the entire room the pride he felt as Grace’s fiancée.
Hours later, as Nolan bid goodbye to his friends, Grace and Traci cleaned up in her kitchen. “I can’t tell you how happy we are that Nolan found you. He’s been so alone in the world since Mom and Pop Burke died. The women at church, you met them, they’re wonderful women, but Nolan was always looking for someone like Mom Burke, and our ladies are too sophisticated for that. You’re real.”
“I can’t believe he chose me. The women here—they’re beautiful and intelligent and—”
“And completely uninterested in creating a home. Mom Burke and Mother Finch spoiled our men with excellent home lives. These men of ours love home and family more than anything else. I wasn’t trained for homemaking like you were, but I’m learning. Fortunately, Mike loves me anyway.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The next day dragged by as if being played through slow motion. Grace waited anxiously all day for ten lords to leap into her life. She racked her brains trying to figure out what Nolan would do. She imagined Russian Cossacks dancing in a foreign film and rabbits jumping across her lawn with names like Sir Bunnyhad or Lord Bouncewood.
She found herself twisting the ring on her finger and reliving the prior evening. “Engaged. Grace Lynn Buscher, you are engaged!”
A letter arrived in the afternoon mail. Grace opened the missive to discover instructions for Grace to be ready to depart to the city at three-thirty. She read the note.
Grace… this is somewhat of a dressy occasion. Bond Street is holding a dress for you, should you choose to accept it. They’re ready to deliver at a moment’s notice. Please feel free to have the dress sent, but don’t feel obligated. I’m sure you own many pretty dresses but thought it might be fun to have something new as well.”
Grace hesitated before picking up the phone. As she started to dial, she switched the last four numbers and waited for Melanie to answer. “Mel? I have a dilemma.”
Encouraged by Melanie to ring for the dress, Grace showered and readied herself for the evening. Seeing the dress that Nolan sent, Grace sighed. Purple. She should have known it would be purple.
Nolan risked a low wolf whistle as Grace invited him inside. Her blush told him that she wasn’t offended. He hadn’t seen her since walking her to the door the night before. Craig and Melanie had been waiting at Grace’s home to congratulate them. Nolan had mentally kicked himself as he walked to his home. No privacy after your engagement—not a man’s dream.
From the moment they became engaged, until the moment that Grace opened her door dressed in the beautiful dress he’d provided, the couple had hardly spent a moment alone, unless navigating the freeways between Brunswick and Rockland counted. As he looked at his fiancée, he realized that he needed to make a few plans—immediately. Excusing himself to the restroom, Nolan made a call to his credit card company, requesting a card in the name of Grace Buscher be overnighted to his house. A wedding would be in the works in the matter of days.
~*~*~*~
Grace laid her head on his shoulder as the Sugar Plum Fairy danced across the stage. Whispering, she tried to express her delight in the evening that she’d had. “It’s so beautiful. Thank you.”
As the audience filed out of the theater, Nolan suggested dessert and coffee at a local restaurant. “We have plans to make, you know.”
An hour later, they poured over Nolan’s pocket calendar, trying to determine a wedding date. Grace worked through March, April, and May, desperately trying to find a date that would work around Nolan’s most important business needs. Near tears, Grace looked up at Nolan. “I don’t want to wait until June. What will we do?”
Nolan flipped back to February. Grace started to make a sound of protest, but when she saw that there were three open weeks in February, she sighed. It would be a lot of work, but she couldn’t afford an expensive, elaborate wedding anyway. “Let’s do it. Think about it. Our rehearsal dinner can be at the church, and it’ll still be decorated from the Valentine Party on Wednesday. With our anniversary one day after Valentine’s day, surely you won’t forget one of them!”
The date was set. On February fifteenth, Grace Buscher would become Mrs. Nolan Burke. Looking up at Nolan as he walked her to her door, Grace smiled. “It truly is a wonderful life, isn’t it?”
~*~*~*~
“A Blu-Ray player? What does that have to do with piping—and, Nolan; I’ve been calculating expenses. These are an extremely expensive twelve days you’ve given me.”
Nolan laid aside the electronic cables he had been arranging and drew Grace to the couch. “We have to talk.”
“About…”
Hoping she wouldn’t build her usual wall before he could say what he thought needed to be said, Nolan murmured, “Your frugality is commendable, really. Some of it is your upbringing, but I think naturally you are a frugal person, and that is a wonderful thing. I don’t think I ever have to worry about you bankrupting me, but, Grace—”
The look on Grace’s face alarmed him. She seemed ready to bolt. “What did I do wrong?”
“Grace, I can afford to spend what I’ve spent this week without missing much of it. My business is good, and I’ve rarely touched a dime of my inheritance. It’s invested well and earning healthy profits even in lean quarters. I need you to learn to trust my judgment on what I can afford to spend.”
Grace nodded. Just as Nolan felt like he was getting through, her face changed again. “But…”
Sighing, Nolan waited for Grace to continue. “Go on.”
“Why buy a DVD player? In about seven weeks, we’ll be married. I can use yours!”
Nolan went back to work in silence. Grace wondered if he was angry, frustrated, or perhaps he realized that he could have prevented double buying and didn’t appreciate being reminded of it. His voice startled her minutes later. “Grace, I don’t own a Blu-Ray. I just use my laptop on the rare occasion I have time for a movie. I bought this for us to enjoy. If you really don’t want it, I’ll take it back.”
“I didn’t say that! I was just trying to help—”
His frustration boiled over. “Grace, it hurts to try to do something for someone only to have the decision questioned as a waste.”
An unusual bite came to her voice. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to question your impeccable judgment. I just asked!”
He looked at her angry face and sighed. He started to pick up his tools to go home, but Grace stopped him. Grabbing her coat, she opened the door. “Don’t bother, Nolan. Finish your project. I’ll go.”
Nolan prayed fervently as the door slammed shut behind her. “Lord, of all the stubborn, self-reliant women, I had to pick her! I don’t understand. She’s being completely unreasonable. If she doesn’t trust that I can make a decision about a silly piece of electronics, will she trust me when it’s something major? Did I let my love—”
Grace. Nolan knew he loved her. He’d taken her questions personally instead of looking at what was behind them. She loved him and wanted only the best for him.
He grabbed his jacket and rushed out the door. Looking up and down the street, he couldn’t decide which way she had gone. Did she go to Verily Wirth’s? Seeing her footprints in the snow, he tracked them as faithfully as a bloodhound. He followed them around the corner to the bench that a kind neighbor had set behind his fence for the schoolchildren to use. Alone on the bench, weeping, sat Grace.
He slowed his jog down to a walk so as not to startle her. Several feet away, he called her name. She didn’t seem to hear. Reaching her side, he pulled her up into his arms. “I didn’t think we’d have our first ‘real’ argument and have to make up in public like this, but perhaps it is best.” She sniffled as he whispered apologies. “I didn’t think, Grace. I took it as you rejecting my surprise for you. I should have known better.”
Shaking her head violently, she murmured, “No, you were right. I needed to trust you. You tried to do something special for me, and I didn’t accept it graciously. I’m discovering that I might find submission more difficult than I thought. It might have been a mistake to live alone this past year. It encourages a very independent spirit. I thought it would foster a deeper reliance on the Lord, and in some ways, it did…”
Nolan nodded as she talked through her thoughts. He led her home, trying to understand the differences between their worlds. He’d grown up with any need, and many wants, satisfied almost before they became needs or wants. As he returned to his electronic mess, he smiled at Grace as she fussed about trying to help him. “It’s ok, Grace, right? We’re ok. We talked about something, and we’ll need to talk about it again, I’m sure. But we handled a problem, and we can handle the next one.”
Just after the Blu-Ray player was set up and ready to use, Craig and Melanie arrived with Gracie-Anna. Rolex went wild at the smell of the baby and promptly snuggled down at the base of her car seat. “He got us a DVD—Blu-Ray, whatever— player. Isn’t it neat—hey, Nolan? What does that have to do with eleven pipers?”
Nolan pulled a disk from his jacket pocket and inserted it into the player. Grace watched carefully as he pushed buttons and started the machine. The swelling of bagpipes filled the room and Grace sighed. “How’d you know that I love the bag pipes? I’m sure I’ve never told you.”
“Lucky guess, Grace. Lucky guess.” Grace missed the wink he threw at Melanie as everyone settled down to watch the rugged loveliness of Scotland’s countryside and the beautiful steps of Scottish dancers.
~*~*~*~
Christmas Eve dawned with a fresh powdering of snowfall. Nolan watched anxiously for the FEDEX truck to bring him the credit card he’d ordered for Grace. After yesterday’s discussion, he knew that she’d resist using it, but Grace deserved the wedding of her dreams, and he was determined to provide that for her.
Grabbing the CD he’d purchased the night before, Nolan walked across the street to deliver his final gift for the twelve days of Christmas. When he realized that his gift giving had become overwhelming, he’d canceled his plans for twelve live drummers drumming, in favor of a CD with a military band playing
Little Drummer Boy.
Craig and Melanie arrived simultaneously with Nolan, and everyone crowded into Grace’s house eagerly. Nolan was amazed. Overnight, Grace had transformed the house from the average decorated home to a Christmas Wonderland. Stockings hung from the mantle looking shelf that ran along one wall. Candy and cookies were everywhere, and the smell of baking ham already permeated the entire house.
The festivities began in earnest. Nolan played the song for Grace as she scooped her little niece up in her arms. Craig pulled out an old turntable as well as his parents Mitch Miller albums, and the foursome sang and laughed until lunchtime.
Craig excused himself for a short while as the rest of the party ate a light lunch. When he returned, Craig called the room to attention. Sitting next to Grace on the couch, he handed her an envelope. “I didn’t want this gift to get lost in the shuffle tomorrow, so I’ll give it to you now. I have a little story to tell. He cleared his throat before continuing. “When Dad got sick, he knew he wasn’t likely to be here for your wedding. He asked me to do two things for him. First, he wanted me to protect you from men who would only break your heart. I hope I’ve done that. I’m sure Nolan wouldn’t and I don’t think anyone else has.”
Grace silently wept at the picture of her father handing the reigns of protection over to her brother. How she missed the man who had shaped her notion of what a Godly man should be. Craig continued, his voice husky with emotion.
“The second thing he did was to give me this. It’s an account, Grace. I changed it to your name today and there is a debit card in there. Dad wanted to be sure you had a nice wedding. There’s also a letter from him that I was supposed to give you the other night, but I had it in the bank vault.”
Grace accepted the envelope as she hugged her brother. Her wedding was something she hadn’t been willing to think of yet. She knew that there was little money in her accounts to cover basic expenses, and while Melanie and Craig would love the opportunity to provide her with a nice wedding, Grace didn’t like to think of the money being spent on her when Graceanna would need so much over the coming years.
Nolan watched the scene, understandably moved. He thought of the card in his wallet that bore Grace’s name. Once again, he’d jumped the gun. He moved to sit near her feet and looked up into Grace’s eyes. “I think it’s wonderful of your father to provide for you like that. I only hope I am as thoughtful with our—”