The Harvest (9 page)

Tess rubbed her fingers along her temples to control the headache she felt coming on, then took a deep breath.

“First, Ryan, I hope you know how much I care for you. You stepped out of the woods and into my life, changing my world from lonely to complete. Even when I pushed you away with my hands, my senses pulled you into my heart.”

Ryan leaned forward, a look of concern growing on his face. “Don’t tell me you’re saying goodbye, Tess.”

A
ddled by his comment, Tess studied him. What had she said to make him think she wanted to say goodbye? More realistic, she wanted to say hello…by telling him the truth. The plain truth.

Tess shook her head. “No. I just need you to know where my heart has hit a road bump. A big one. I told you the story of Al’s infidelity and the way it made me feel. My well-organized life fell apart. My ability to judge and to trust crumbled into dust. After Al died I began to question everything. I wasn’t sure if my friends were really friends. That happens, you know, when your best friend deceives you.”

“And then I messed with your head again when I wasn’t honest about Donna.” Ryan rose to move closer and she raised her hand to stop him.

She nodded. “Please let me finish. All that was bad enough, but now I understand it all, Ryan. I felt in my heart that I was to blame for Al’s affair.”

“You? I don’t understand.”

“I told you I’d never had children. I didn’t tell you that I had a miscarriage. Not once, but twice. After it was over, Al changed. He’d wanted a family. Really looked forward to having children. The miscarriages took our excitement and hope to the pits. Can you imagine what that did to me?”

Ryan’s face was twisted with sadness and sorrow filled his eyes. “I can’t even guess.”

“I became filled with self-pity. I wanted to be a good wife, but I felt cursed. I encouraged Al to try again, but in my heart I feared I’d never get pregnant and if I did, I’d never carry a baby to term.”

“Oh, Tess,” Ryan said, rising and kneeling beside her. “I’m so sorry.”

“And you should be a dad, Ryan.” She lifted her fingers and brushed his hair from his forehead. “You’ll be such a wonderful father. I saw it with Davie and again with my nieces. You love kids. You need a wife who can give you children and a—”

Ryan captured her hand and lifted it to his lips. He kissed her fingers, her palm and wrist. “Tess. One—even two—miscarriages doesn’t mean you can’t have children. One confused husband doesn’t mean all men make bad mates. You are the world to me, Tess. We’ve already agreed that God has had His hand in our relationship. He’s pushed two people together in the northern woods. Two people who live near each other in lower Michigan. Two people who share the love of family and the love of the Lord. Please don’t let a faint possibility ruin something that’s a strong positive.”

“But I wanted you to know. I wanted to be honest…finally.”

“I’m relieved, Tess. Relieved and grateful that you trust me enough to tell me everything. Today we’ll make a pact. Honesty always. Never hold back.”

Tess nodded. “Honesty always.”

“And, Tess, if we never have a child, we could adopt. Or we could be happy just being together and loving our siblings’ kids. It would be what God wanted for us.”

She let his words settle in her heart. Maybe she didn’t totally agree, but his sincerity wrapped her in comfort.

Ryan rose and sat beside Tess. She nestled in his arms while soft carols drifted through the room. Today, Tess felt alive and whole again.

After moments of peaceful silence, Ryan shifted and lifted his hand to her cheek, then touched his lips to hers, like a feather first, before deepening the kiss, giving her the wonderful gift of trust and love. Her heart fluttered like a million butterflies. When she opened her eyes, a sweet smile glowed on his face.

“What? You’re thinking something.”

He nodded and slipped his hand into his jeans pocket. “I’m thinking this is the perfect time for my gift.”

He withdrew a small wrapped package and placed it in her hand. Tess gazed at the small box, unable to move.

“Open it, Tess. It won’t bite.”

“But I… It’s not—”

“Don’t worry. Open it.” He bent down and kissed her hair.

Her fingers trembled as she pulled the tissue from
the white box. Inside, as she suspected, she found a velvet ring box. “But I thought we—”

“Trust me.” He laid his warm hand on her arm. “Trust me.”

His words washed her in faith. She lifted the lid and inside found, not a diamond, but a round gold ring etched with a wreath of daisies. “It’s beautiful.”

“It’s a friendship ring. We agreed to take our time, so I thought—”

Tears sneaked from beneath her lashes. “It’s beautiful…and fitting. We are the dearest friends.”

“Only friends?” he asked, his eyes teasing.

“Deep, serious, loving, nearly committed friends.”

“That’s more like it,” he said, catching her chin with his thumb and finger.

She gazed into his loving eyes, overwhelmed by the tender sweetness. With abandon, she met his eager lips, letting her last fear drift away like an autumn leaf.

After Christmas, Tess waited in the Realtor’s outer office. Today was the day. She’d put everything into Ryan’s hands. All she had to do is sign the final sale papers. Not only the cabin, but its contents would be gone. It had been her decision. Keeping the furniture would only serve as a sad reminder of the place she loved so much.

In her coat, she had kept one memento. She slipped her hand inside her pocket and ran her finger over the smooth edges of the heart-shaped stone Ryan had found on the Mackinaw beach. The heart
held a special meaning for her, recalling the days spent there with Ryan.

Already the emptiness filled her. She crossed her legs, and her nerves rattled with such intensity, she placed both feet on the floor to steady herself. Selling the cabin was like burying a dear friend. At times she thought about withdrawing the offer, especially now that Ryan was in her life, but she’d made an agreement and she decided to follow through no matter how much it hurt.

Sensing she was being watched, she raised her head. Ryan stood in the doorway and beckoned to her. She rose, then gathered her coat and shoulder bag. He led her down a short hall, and while she walked, she wondered about the couple who was buying the cabin. Would they love it as much as she had?

When Ryan stopped, he stepped aside and motioned her into an empty meeting room.

She stood in the doorway. “Where are the buyers? Did something happen?” Her heart wavered with a mixture of emotions. She didn’t have the courage to start over again. Having the sale complete, once and for all, was easiest on her rattled nerves.

“Have a seat, Tess. Everything’s fine. The sale will go on as planned.”

She scowled at him, unable to understand.

He motioned to her. “Please, sit.”

She sank into the chair, holding her coat and bag on her lap. “I don’t understand. Where are they?”

“The buyer is right here.”

“Here?”

His face flickered with emotion, and he rose and caught her hand in his. “I’m the buyer, Tess.”

“You? But I don’t understand.”

“My dearest Tess, you don’t want to sell the cabin. You love the place, and I love you. How could I sell it to strangers when I know how you feel? I told them you’d changed your mind.”

Unable to find the words, she stared at him, dumbfounded.

“But…”

Before she could speak, he slipped a box into her hand.

“What is it?”

“It’s for you,” he said, his voice a whisper.

Her heart knew. Tearing off the lid, she gazed into the tiny box. Ignited by the sunlight from the window, the diamond shot flames of red and blue into the air. “It’s beautiful, Ryan.” She pressed the ring to her heart. “But I thought… You gave me this ring.” She extended her friendship ring toward him.

“That’s for friendship, Tess.” He caught her left hand. “This ring is different. It’s for love. Will you marry me, Tess? Weeks, months, years—time doesn’t matter. I love you. My life won’t be complete without you at my side.”

Speechless, she extended her hand, and he slid the ring on her finger. Colors flickered from the ring matching the happiness shimmering in her heart. “Yes,” she whispered as her lips met his.

Ryan eased away and reached across the table for the papers lying there. “Now to this other matter.”

“Other matter,” she said, her head swimming.

He handed her the documents. “The cabin is my wedding gift to you.”

Her heart fluttered in confusion, and unable to find words, she stared at the papers.

“You’re not happy?” he asked.

Her confusion melted to a smile. “I can’t believe you did this for me.”

He drew her into his arms, nuzzling her head against his chest.

She brushed his cheek with her finger. “Thank you. You’ve turned my most dreaded day into utter happiness.”

He looked into her eyes. “Remember when we talked up north about autumn’s promise and Thanksgiving blessings.”

Tess nodded.

“This is it, Tess.”

“All good gifts come from the Lord,” she said.

He kissed her hair. “And you are one of my greatest gifts. I love you, Tess.”

“I love you,” she whispered.

Through the window, the drab December sun had brightened, and a stream of light radiated from a cloud like a promise. Home, family, love—God’s gifts bound together in one man’s arms, and that’s exactly where she wanted to be.

Summer, two years later

A
light August breeze blew across the water and ruffled Tess’s hair. Ryan gazed at her as she plucked wisps of cotton candy from the paper cone and dropped them into her mouth.

Today their trip to Mackinac Island was leisurely. Earlier in the day, they’d taken a carriage ride around the nine-mile periphery of the island. Knowing they weren’t in a hurry, they sat on the hotel porch, watching the tourists parade past, and when the last ferry of the day carried away the crowd, they rose again to amble through the quieter town.

“I like the island better now,” Tess said, licking a strand of sugar candy from her lower lip.

“It’s quieter. Less crowded,” he said, admiring the way her skin glowed in the setting sun.

“More like our first visit here.”

“It is.” He caught her hand and threaded his fingers through hers. That day, nearly two years ago, filled his senses. Even then, some deep feeling had assured him that he and Tess would be together someday.

“You kissed me the next morning in the ferry parking lot. Remember?” She tilted her head to the side, nuzzling it against his shoulder.

“Remember? How could I forget that?”

Tess lifted her head slowly and peered into his eyes. “And we spent the night together…without any monkey business.” Playfully, he wiggled his eyebrows.

His teasing aroused Tess’s senses and she lowered her hand to feel her large rounded tummy, remembering their first night together in the cabin after the wedding.

Wrapped in joyful completeness, Tess shifted her gaze to the distant bridge and was captured by the sight, aware the Lord had granted them one more special gift. “Look, Ryan, the sunset.” The colors spilled along the horizon in coral, gold and lilac, like an artist’s palette, swatches of spreading color.

“Almost as pretty as you,” he said, sliding his arm lower on her waist and caressing the growing child inside.

When she tugged her focus from the horizon, a familiar tourist shop came into focus. She grabbed his hand and pulled him down the street. “Ryan, look. The shop where I bought my sweatshirt.”

He hurried alongside her and tugged open the
door. Inside, she wandered down the rows, browsing through the merchandise.

A salesclerk left the counter with an armful of T-shirts and hung them on a nearby rack. She smiled at Tess, then nodded to Ryan. “Is this your first overnight visit to the island?”

Ryan faltered, hearing her words.

Tess gave her a shy grin, unwilling to tell the woman the long story of her last visit to the island.

The salesclerk chuckled when she saw Tess’s belly. “I thought you looked like honeymooners. Guess I was wrong.”

Ryan’s heart warmed at the woman’s comment. Like an old song stirring warm memories, his thoughts drifted back to nearly two years earlier. Taking Tess’s hand in his, he kissed her fingers and grinned at the clerk. “No. You’re right…sort of. It’s our second honeymoon.”

Tess chuckled, and Ryan squeezed her hand, sending the Lord his deepest thanksgiving for his wife and healthy child-to-be…and for every good gift.

Cynthia Rutledge

To my daughter, Wendy.

—CR

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding.

—
Proverbs
3:5

D
r. Nicholas Tucci shrugged off his lab coat with a tired groan. Though he enjoyed the one evening a month he volunteered at the free clinic, he’d started the day with an emergency surgery at 6:00 a.m. and it was now almost midnight.

“How many patients do you think we saw tonight?” Dr. Larry Fowler collapsed on the wooden bench in front of the row of lockers that made up the doctor’s lounge. “A hundred?”

“Felt like it,” Nick said. “I’m sure ready for some downtime.”

“Know what you’re doing for Thanksgiving yet?” Larry asked, casting Nick a sideways glance.

“As a matter of fact, I’ve decided to go home with what’s-her-name for Thanksgiving.” For some reason, saying the words out loud solidified Nick’s impulsive decision. “I’m in the mood for something different this year.”

Actually going off for a weekend with a woman he barely knew was more crazy than different, but Nick didn’t care. The way he saw it he had two choices: fight off his sister’s friend all weekend or spend the holiday with a virtual stranger.

“Who are you talking about?” Larry tilted his head and stared as if Nick were speaking a foreign language.

Nick couldn’t figure out why Larry was being so obtuse. After all, his friend was the one who’d told him earlier in the evening that the woman desperately needed a fill-in boyfriend for the weekend. Nick frowned and tried to recall her name. Kathy kept popping into his head but that didn’t sound right. “You know very well who I mean. The redhead at the front desk.”

“Grace Comstock?” Larry lifted a sandy-colored brow. “The clinic director?”

Grace.
Nick smiled. The name had a classic elegance and rolled easily off his tongue.

“That’s the one,” Nick said. “I’ve decided to help her out and go home with her this weekend.”

Larry laughed out loud, the sound echoing all the way to the exposed rafters. “Let me get this straight. You don’t even know her name, but you’re willing to pose as her boyfriend for four days?”

“I do know her name,” Nick said matter-of-factly, hanging his lab coat in the locker. “It’s Grace Connors.”

“Comstock.”

“Whatever.” Nick grabbed his jacket and shut the
locker door. He fastened the combination lock and gave it a spin.

“It doesn’t make sense.” Larry’s brows drew together in a puzzled frown. “Why would you want to spend your four days off with a stranger when you have a perfectly nice family right here in St. Louis?”

Nick had to concede that point. He did have a perfectly nice family, and Thanksgiving had always been one of his favorite holidays. Even now, thinking about his mother’s turkey and stuffing, candied yams and pumpkin pie made his mouth water. And after they were all nice and full, he and his brothers would play some football before settling down in front of the tube to watch a few games.

But this year would be different. He’d known it the minute his brother Sal had told him what their sister had planned. “Because this year Raven is bringing one of her sorority sisters. She seems to think this woman would be a perfect fit for me. It’s supposed to be a surprise, but my brother thought he should warn me.”

“Is she in the medical field?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Nick raked a hand through his hair. “I don’t want to date one my sister’s friends.”

“Why not?” Larry stared curiously at Nick. “I’ve seen your sister. She’s gorgeous. Chances are her friend is going to be hot.”

“I don’t want to date anyone remotely associated with my sister,” Nick repeated, more forcefully since
it appeared Larry was having difficulty getting the message.

“Hmm. That is a problem.” Larry thought for a moment. “I’ve got a radical idea. Tell her you’re not interested.”

Nick smiled. He supposed it did sound ridiculous…to someone who didn’t know his sister. “That wouldn’t stop Raven. She’d be convinced that, given time, I’d change my mind.”

“But it’s Thanksgiving. You don’t want to be with a stranger,” Larry said. “Why don’t you call up Alicia or Melanie or one of the others you’ve dated recently? I’m sure they’d be thrilled to cook you dinner or take you home to meet Mom and Dad.”

Nick could spend the next ten years explaining to Larry that it wasn’t much fun dating women like Alicia, who’d already decided she loved him before she knew him, or Melanie, who’d started talking about rings after the third date. But Larry would never understand. Although Larry was a good guy, women never seemed to find him attractive.

“What can I say?” Nick shrugged. “I’m in the mood for something different. And it sounds like this woman, this Grace, is desperate.”

“Not desperate enough to take you.”

Nick thought he might have heard Larry wrong. But the hint of satisfaction in Larry’s eyes told Nick, he’d gotten it right. “What do you mean by that?”

“She told me she doesn’t like you,” Larry said.

Nick raised a brow and briefly considered the thought. “That’s because she doesn’t know me.”

Larry laughed. “I bet she says no.”

“She’ll agree,” Nick said with a confident smile.

“Maybe so,” Larry said after a long moment. “But ten bucks says you won’t get so much as a single kiss from her this weekend.”

Nick shook his head. Larry still didn’t get it.

He wasn’t looking for kisses.

All he wanted was a nice weekend with some turkey and pumpkin pie.

Nothing more.

“Do you have a minute?”

Grace Comstock’s heart skipped a beat at the sound of the deep voice. She’d often thought that with such a smooth, rich baritone, Nick Tucci could have had a successful career in radio. She raised her gaze from the evening’s schedule and amended her thoughts. Sticking such a man behind a microphone would have been a waste. “Dr. Nick”—as the children who visited the clinic called him—was too handsome
not
to be seen. Even now, with lines of fatigue edging his eyes and the five o’clock stubble darkening his cheeks, the sight of him made her pulse quicken.

Dressed casually in a gray sweater that accented his broad shoulders and navy pants that emphasized his lean hips, Nick looked more like a
GQ
model than a pediatric orthopedic surgeon. It was easy to see why he’d been named one of St. Louis’s top ten most eligible bachelors.

Though Grace acknowledged his good looks, she
wasn’t impressed. She didn’t like handsome men. It had been her experience that attractive men tended to be arrogant and proud instead of praising God for the blessing of physical beauty. From what she’d seen of Nick Tucci, he fit the mold.

“What can I do for you, Doctor?” Grace used her most professional voice.

He shot her a smile and the dimple in his cheek flashed. “You can start by calling me Nick.”

“O-kay.” Despite her resolve to keep him at arm’s length, she found herself wanting to smile back. Instead she lifted a brow. “What can I do for you,
Nick?
”

Nick hesitated, and for a moment a hint of uncertainty crept in his gaze. But then the dimple flashed in his cheek once again and he gestured to the chair next to her desk. “Mind if I sit?”

“Of course not.” Grace grabbed the pile of charts off the seat and set them on top of the stack on her desk. “Have a seat.”

This time she made her tone more approachable. After all, part of her job as director of the free clinic was to keep the physician volunteers happy. It wasn’t always easy to find doctors willing to lengthen their already-overextended workday by several hours. Specialists were especially hard to find. Most tried it a couple of times and never came back. But Dr. Nick had been volunteering once a month at the specialty clinic for almost a year.

Though Grace had been the clinic director for the entire time, she couldn’t say she really knew him.
Unlike Larry Fowler and some of the other doctors who’d hang around after clinic hours to talk, Nick Tucci always arrived right before his shift began and left immediately after seeing the last patient.

Once, when he’d raced by her yet again without even a hello, she casually mentioned his aloofness to Larry. Of course, Larry stood up for his colleague, mumbling something about Nick hating to keep patients waiting. Grace didn’t buy that phony excuse for a minute. She knew if she looked like Cindy Crawford, he’d have found time to stop and talk. But a skinny redheaded thirty-year-old didn’t rate a second glance.

“Busy evening,” he said conversationally, his broad hands folded loosely in his lap.

Grace nodded. Every appointment slot had been filled this evening and most had been double-booked to cover the no-shows. Unfortunately every patient had shown up, which meant the staff were all getting out a lot later than usual.

Though Nick had never complained about working late before, she’d overheard him tell one of the nurses he’d been in surgery all morning. Her blood ran cold.

What if he wants to quit? What if that was why he’d stopped to talk?

“I’m sorry about the patient volume, but there’s so much need in this neighborhood.” Grace leaned forward, fear making the words tumble out one after the other. “You’re doing a great job. And we appre
ciate it. I don’t ever want you to think we take you for granted.”

He sat back in his chair and stared at her for a long moment. Grace realized for the first time that his eyes weren’t hazel as she’d thought, but a mesmerizing blue-green color with flecks of gold. Feeling the need for some air, Grace took a deep breath and inhaled the spicy scent of his cologne.

“…giving back.”

Grace widened her eyes and realized that while she’d been staring at him, he’d been talking. Heat rose up her neck and she mentally kicked herself. No wonder handsome guys were arrogant, with women like her hanging on their every word. Or in her case, too busy gawking to hear anything at all. It was almost laughable. She, who’d always insisted she didn’t like handsome men, was acting like a hormone-charged sixteen-year-old. Her lips twitched.

“You find that amusing?”

“Yes,” she said. “I mean no.”

Grace groaned to herself. Could she come across as any more of a blithering idiot than she did at this very moment? It hardly seemed possible. She brushed a piece of hair back from her face and tried to regain her composure.

Grace forced the disturbing images from her thoughts.

“I hear you’re looking for a boyfriend.”

She tilted her head, sure she’d misunderstood. “What did you say?”

“Larry told me you need a date for Thanksgiving weekend,” he said. “Is that true?”

By now Grace’s head was spinning. The doctor’s ability to change the subject had her totally perplexed. “That’s right. What about it?”

“Have you found anyone yet?”

She shook her head. Last month when she’d decided to bite the bullet and go home for the holiday, she’d started looking for a date. At the time she didn’t think she’d have any trouble finding someone. After all, she had a lot of guy friends and she didn’t care who came with her.

Unfortunately, one by one, the men she’d had in mind turned her down. Oh, they’d all had good reasons, but the fact was she was stuck. She’d told her family she’d be bringing her new boyfriend. How could she say she was coming alone? Again.

Turning thirty was bad enough. But to show up all by herself when her little sister, Holly, would be there with her husband and new baby? No way.

Grace knew she was being silly and immature. She had so many things to be grateful for: good health, good friends and a rewarding job. Not having a boyfriend was such a minor thing in the grand scheme of life. So many people had so much less. She saw it at her job every day.

But still, all she’d ever wanted was to be a wife and mother. And she couldn’t understand how her sister had ended up with her dream life. It was as if God had gotten the two sisters’ prayers mixed up. Holly had been determined to have a career. But
she’d fallen in love while she was still in college and married shortly after graduation. Anna had been born on Holly’s fifth wedding anniversary.

Grace, meanwhile, had a career, but no husband or family. And last month she’d hit the big three-oh with no Mr. Right in sight.

“Grace?”

Once again the deep voice beckoned her back to the present.

“I apologize,” she said, rapidly collecting her thoughts. “Where were we?”

“I asked if you’d found someone to go home with you for Thanksgiving,” he said with an indulgent smile. “You said you hadn’t.”

Grace raised a brow.

“The point is, I’ve found someone to go with you,” he said.

Grace tried to still her excitement. Thanksgiving was only two days away and she’d almost given up hope. Grace leaned forward, resting her forearms on the table. “Who is he?”

“Me.” Nick sat back and smiled. “I’ll go with you.”

Grace’s cheeks burned like she’d just been slapped. Hard. She tried to stem her embarrassment, but when she spoke, humiliation made her voice harsh and tight. “What kind of game are you playing? Did Larry put you up to this?”

Nick met her gaze with a puzzled look. “I’m not playing any game.”

“
You
want to go with
me?
” Grace shook her head. “I don’t get it.”

“It’s true,” Nick said lightly. “I’m at loose ends this weekend, and getting away from it all sounds like just what the doctor ordered.”

Grace stared, wondering what kind of bet he had with Larry. She could just imagine the two laughing their heads off in the back room, thinking she’d be stupid enough to snap up the bogus offer.

She pressed her lips together to still the trembling. She’d never had someone play such a cruel trick on her before.

Nick’s smile faded. He pushed back the chair and slowly rose to his feet, staring at her for a long moment. “If you don’t want me to go with you, just say so.”

He met her gaze head-on and his tone was so sincere Grace wondered if she’d been mistaken. After all, though he’d been aloof, she’d never known him to be mean. She took a chance and offered him a tiny smile. “It’s not that. It’s just it’s hard for me to understand why you would give up your Thanksgiving to come to Iowa with me.”

“My sister is playing matchmaker again,” he said, resuming his seat. “I’m not in the mood. It’s been a hectic couple of months and I just want to relax. Eat some turkey, have some pie…” He stopped suddenly and frowned. “Your parents aren’t vegetarian, are they?”