The Harvest (16 page)

“I
could stay here all day.” Grace cuddled up next to her husband of three weeks. Between his body heat and the thick down comforter, she was toasty warm.

“Me, too.” Nick’s eyes took on a wicked gleam and his arm tightened around her.

Though they’d been husband and wife for almost a month, Grace couldn’t help but blush. Such intimacy was still new to her. But the simple touch of his fingers against her skin reawakened her desire. Grace turned her face to her husband, eager for his kiss. If she’d known what she’d been missing, she would have eloped instead of waiting almost a year to become Nick’s wife.

Just as Nick’s mouth closed over hers, Grace caught a glimpse of the time on the bedside clock. Her heart skipped a beat. She jerked upright, ignoring his frustrated moan. “It’s eleven o’clock.”

“So?” Nick tugged at her arm, his eyes dark with promise.

“We have to be at Paul and Nellie’s in less than a half hour and we’re not even dressed.” Grace swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood.

“We can have turkey and stuffing any old time.” Nick patted the empty spot beside him on the bed.

His gaze slid over her body and Grace had to force herself to remember that this was Paul and Nellie’s first Thanksgiving as husband and wife.

“We can’t disappoint Nellie,” Grace said. “She’s been working on this dinner all week.”

“With your help,” Nick pointed out.

“It was a pleasure.” Grace smiled, knowing the words were true. Her closeness with her aunt was only one of many things she had to be thankful for this year. She also had a new husband, a new home and—her hand strayed to her stomach—hopefully a new baby on the way.

She and Nick had decided they wanted to start a family right away. And though she hadn’t taken a pregnancy test yet, all other signs indicated she’d conceived.

“And, even if we’d skip the dinner, which I’d never do,” Grace added, “we can’t skip church.”

Nick was silent for a long moment. “We
do
have a lot to be thankful for.”

“We’ve been truly blessed,” Grace said in a soft voice, grabbing her robe and pulling it on. “Last year at this time I was convinced I’d never have a love of my own.”

“I was starting to think the same thing,” Nick admitted. “And then I realized that love had been right under my nose all along.”

“‘To everything there is a season,”’ Grace murmured. The familiar verse had been going through her head all week as she’d reflected on the past year.

If she’d met Nick earlier, he might not have been ready to settle down. If love had come quickly and easily, she might not have appreciated it as much.

Her gaze settled on her husband and her heart warmed. She’d reaped a bountiful harvest, one that, God willing, would bear fruit for years to come. And for that, and so much more, Grace knew she’d spend the rest of her life giving God thanks and praise.