Page 19 of A Letter to Carolina
“Nathaniel Pickett, will you marry me? It would be in name only until we have had time to get to know each other.”
He felt his eyes widening.That was what she meant.He wanted to go back two minutes and make this whole moment less embarrassing. “I will, only if you agree to be my nurse as well.”
“Great.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek as she picked up a cheese sandwich. “Tomorrow.”
“Fantastic.” Nate leaned back on an elbow, watching the sky move around. “Do you think God speeds things up when we’re failing miserably?”
“Do you think you’re failing?” She lay down, one hand propping her chin up as she chewed thoughtfully.
“I was floundering a bit. Now it feels like things are suddenly changing, as if the universe is playing catch up with my life.”
“Hmm, there is perfect timing for things. Sometimes it feels as if we are alone in the mire right before growth happens. Think about babies, how quickly they learn things or gain weight, and the periods where they just plateau for a bit.”
Nate’s fingers smoothed a stray hair back behind her ear. He saw her breath pause, and he smiled. She was nervous, too. He moved slowly, lowering himself further onto the blanket until they were nose to nose. “Whatever it is, I’m glad it brought you to me.”
Leaning forward, he placed the lightest of kisses along her jaw. He covered her hand, weaving their fingers together, as his lips settled over hers with a kiss rich with promise.
Slowly, Nate broke the kiss and moved away from her. “Tomorrow, you’ll be Mrs. Nate Pickett.”
A light whimper escaped her lips. “But we’re not going to rush things.”
“You can have all the time you need, darling, but you’ll take my name.” His fingers stroked the side of her cheek. “We should head back before I do something we will both regret.”
Nate rose smoothly and took several long strides to the riverbank to compose himself. He could hear Carolina packing up in the background. He said a silent prayer to God, asking for Him to bless their marriage and for his new wife to not wait too long, because Nate didn’t know if he’d be able to restrain himself forever.
Nate couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so unsettled at a church service. The sermon was based on the book of Ephesians, which was one of his mother’s favorites. Reverend Billings’ words echoed through the church as he spoke warmly about the importance of marriage and of the responsibilities of husbands and wives.
As if compelled by an unseen force, Carolina reached out and found his hand on the wooden bench between them. His strong fingers entwined with hers, and he glanced over, silently thanked God for the sign He had given Carolina. Nate knew she was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.
As the sermon continued, Nate’s mind kept wandering back to Carolina and the future he wanted to build with her. He could feel her warmth and energy radiating from her hand. Recalling the picnic, it surprised him that she proposed. Listening to the way the Reverend spoke, Nate knew he needed to rectify that.
He watched her lips move in a silent prayer as the Pastor continued, and he joined her with a lowamenwhen she finished.
After a hymn, they were bowing their heads once more for the closing prayer. Carolina kept her hand on Nate’s arm as they sang the last song together while the pastor made his way to the back of the church.
“I need to talk to you,” Nate whispered in her ear.
She turned to look at him, her eyes soft and curious. “Now? Or do you want to wait?”
He looked around to see who might be listening. “Now.”
“Alright.”
He pressed closer, placing his hand on her arm so he could pull her closer to him. “I thought about what you asked me yesterday.”
She furrowed her brow. “About Miss Marcy’s?”
“No,” he whispered. “When you asked me to marry you.”
“You aren’t changing your mind, are you?” She pulled in her bottom lip between her teeth and Nate tried not to groan.
“No. I want you to marry me.”
Carolina looked up at him, a puzzled look on her face. “Does it matter?”
“It matters. Carolina Andrews, will you marry me?”
She smiled, her eyes brightening with joy. “Yes, Nate. Yes, I will marry you.”
