The Way of Grace (Miller's Creek Novels) (62 page)

Was he ready
for this? He opened the
black
velvet
box and
examined
the simple gold band with tiny diamonds
creating a heart
. W
ith this ring
, he’
d
promis
e
his
love and commitment to her
,
with the intention of one day asking her to be his wife
. Yes, the fact that he was still
at her side
proved his readiness. W
as
she
ready?

His shoulders raised and lowered
as he heaved a sigh
. The
re was only one way to find out, but first he had a few details to take care of.

A few hours
later, his heart
reinforc
ed with
newfound resolve, he strode down the
antiseptic-smelling
hallway to her room, knocked on the door
,
and entered. E
ncircled with flowers, stuffed animals, balloons, and other gifts from the peopl
e of Miller’s Creek
, the room bore testimony to the love others had for her
. Many folks
had made
a special trip
to see her, but even then, she kept a wall up, like she couldn’t quite bring herself to completely trust anyone’s friendship.

Gracie didn’t
face
him when he entered. Instead she kept her head turned toward the plate glass window, her eyes
unseeing
.

“How’s my girl?”

“Fine.”

Her
emotionless
response didn’t shock him in the least. Most of her answers nowadays were mono-syllabic.
But i
mpatience flared inside him
, a sleeping monster easily awakened
.
God, give me the words to say, and help me not to say anything I shouldn’t.
With quiet
determination
, he moved between her gaze and the window
. “I
need you to
come with me
.
”

She
said nothing.

Matt pull
ed the
wheelchair
from the corner, unfolded it,
and moved it closer to the bed.

Her face darkened in a scowl. “What are you doing?”

“I
already told you
.
I need you to come with me.
”

“Well, that’s kind of hard to
do when my legs don’t work,
isn’t it?”

Her sharp words stabbed holes in his fragile patience.
He calmed himself with a
nother
deep breath and stepped closer to the bed, raising it to an upright position. He punched the red button to call one of the nurses he’d just spoken to.

Bridget appeared a moment later
and
sent Matt
a conspiratorial wink as she bustl
ed
into the room
.
She
threw back the
sheet and blanket covering Gracie’s legs
. “Are yo
u ready for an adventure
?”

“That depends.” Her voice held an acidic undertone.

Bridget ignored the comment
and motioned Matt to Gracie’s other si
de with
her head.
In a moment’s t
ime, Gracie rested in the wheel
chair. Matt stooped to slip he
r fuzzy red house shoes on her feet and dismiss
ed the daggers she shot at him.

She didn’t say a word as he wheeled her down the hall to the elevator and down two levels to the room the nurses had helped him procure at the last minute.
But as he maneuvered the chair
through the door, she gasped.

Miniature twinkle lights sparkled from the faux trees he’d confiscated from several places. In the
ir
midst sat a small table fo
r two, wrapped in a white table
cloth and more ligh
ts. Two tall tapers flickered from
the table and soft musi
c played from a nearby boom box. The smell of grilled steak permeated the space.

Gracie’s jaw hung open, her eyes reflecting the lights. “I don’t know what to say.”

P
ure pleasure trickled through
him. Just the reaction he’d hoped for. “
And
this is just the beginning
, sweetheart
. I figured you could use a break from hospital food, so I arranged for a
catered meal
. Later
we’ll watch a movie.” He pointed to
the other end of the semi-darkened room to a big-screened TV
. In front of it
lounged
two recliners with small tables on either side to hold their drinks and popcorn.
“Just another one of those BFF things.”

Her eyes softened
momentarily, but then went stone cold
. “
Thanks
, but you don’t have t
o entertain the crippled lady.”

Flames of fury flashed, and h
is jaw
cinched into a hard knot
.
Lord, h
elp me to remember all she’s been through, but show me how to not let her get away with self-pity and rudeness.
Matt
squatted in front of her so she w
ouldn’
t lo
ok past him.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m about ready to pound some sense into that pretty little head of yours.”

Her
eyes widened
.

At least
he’d gotten her attention
.
Matt
rose to his feet
and
rolled
her to the table.
He lowered himself to the chair next to her and snapped open a napkin to place in his lap. “
I can’t begin to imagine what it’s like to go through what you’re experiencing right now, but I can tell you what it’s been like for me and the other people from Miller’
s Creek
.”
He stared her down
. “We hurt, too, Gracie. Maybe not in the same way
, but we still hurt. It hurts
to see you so dista
nt and aloof. It hurts us
that none of our efforts to
help
seem to af
fect you in the least
.”

Her facial features tightened, but she still didn’t speak.

“I have something I’d like to give you. Regardless of your r
esponse, I want you to know
I’m
gonna
stick to you like glue until you make it through this. But you get to decide what happens after that.”

Her dark eyes, so big in her pale face, held questions. “I
don’t u
nderstand
.”

“You will
.”
Matt
reached in his pocket and
removed
the
box of candy hearts
he’d bought at a ridiculous price in the hospital gift store
.
All
but one
heart had been removed,
and
he’d
cushioned it in white tissue paper so the message showed through
the cellophane window
. It simply read, ‘Be mine.’
H
e dropp
ed
it
to
the table
and slid it across to sit directly in front of her
. “
Read it, and
then open the box.”

She
star
ed at
it
for a moment
,
then
moved her gaze to his
, still silent. After what seemed like an eternity, she picked up the box and
gingerly
opened it
, the ring
roll
ing into her cupped palm
.

“It’s a promise ring
,
Gracie
.”

Her face twisted and contorted, then heavy sobs racked her body.
Matt
scooted
his chair closer and took her in his arms to stroke
her long dark hair, praying
her tears would be the catharsis she so desperately needed.
The sound of her sobs and the soft scent of her soap sent an ache through his chest.
“
I
t’s
okay, Gracie. Let it out.
”

The tears she’d held back for the duration of time she’
d been in the hospital
now
flow
ed
with no end in sight. For a good half hour, Matt held her
. Finally, and much to his regret
, she pulled away
.

With a sniff,
she wiped
her face
for the millionth time
and peered
at him
through puffy eyes
. “I
t’s lovely, but I
can’t accept it.”

The
softly-spoken
words
gouged into tender flesh
. “Why?”

“You think I want to
be promised to
someone
just
because they feel sorry for me?”

Fatigue forced his impatience
to a quick angry boil.
He
leaned back in the folding chair
and
struggled to control the
edge to his words.
“Is that what you think? You really believe I’ve put up with you and your foul moods for the past two
months because I pity
you?”

“You can’t deny that you feel sorry for me.”

“You’re right. I can’t. But I can say with all honesty that I didn’t give you
the ring
because of pity. I bought it after that Friday night at the lake house.”

Her mouth fell open. “You did?”

“Yeah.
I planned to give it to you for Christmas, but there were other things more pressing at the time. Since then, you’ve done nothing but push me away. And honestly, I’ve had a
bout all I can take.” His voice rais
ed
in volume with each word.

T
ears pool
ed in her
sorrow-filled
eyes. “But why would you want to marry me?” Her gaze
dropp
ed to her lifeless legs. “I have not
hing to offer
. I can’t walk, and I can’t—” She buried her head in her hands, the tears flowing freely once more.

Matt’s heart broke for her
, and he
pulled her wheelchair to face him
and
took her in his arms. “Oh sweetheart, don’t you understand? I fell in love with you, not your ability to walk or have children. I love you.”

She p
ulled back and searched his face
, her
long eyelashes clumped
with tears. “But that night when Dr. Jackson told me I couldn’t walk or have kids
,
you
kept your head down and
w
ouldn’t look at me.
”

He brought a finger to her face
to catch a stray tear that wandered down her
left
cheek.
“
Because
I was praying for you.
I kne
w how much yo
u want to be a mother
and
how especially hard that news would be for you
to take
.
”
Matt
reached for
the ring. He
brought her left hand
to his lips
,
and
then
placed
the ring
on the finger that would one da
y hold a wedding band. Holding her hand in his, he brought
it
to rest
on
his heart
.
“I promis
e to love you always, Gracie
. I promise to cherish you and help you in every way I possibly can. I promise to be with you through
good and bad, thick and
thin.
And
I promise to faithfully commit myself to you with the intention of one day making you my wife. Will you accept this ring as a token of my promise?”