by K. Leah
Brady and I stand at the end of the walk, waiting patiently.
“Clara Reese,” Brady states with a smile. “You are my favorite person in the world, and now you have my last name.” He kisses my forehead and all the chatter in the background fades in my ears.
Finally, the director gives the word, and one by one all the sparklers come to life. Brady grabs my hand and looks over at me, “Ready?” I laugh and nod my head enthusiastically. As we run past wedding guests, waving their sparklers to light the path, I hold the one hand I don’t ever want to let go. Everyone cheers as we stop in front of the door leading back to the estate. We turn around and wave at everyone and Brady sends off our guests with a final farewell.
“Goodnight everyone! Thank you for making this one of the best days of our lives, but I am ready to take my wife to the honeymoon suite. So if you will excuse us now…” He reaches down and swoops me up in one scoop. I yelp in surprise and everyone cheers and claps. Brady carries me through the door and the cheers fade as we make our way toward the staircase.
“Brady, there’s no way I’m letting you carry me up these stairs,” I say with a laugh.
“Don’t think I could do it, eh?” He smiles and puts me back on my feet; we hold hands as we climb the grand stairs as husband and wife. Once we reach the top, we make the turn to our room. Just before we enter the door, he stops and gently lifts my chin with his fingers, so we are eye to eye and turns me to look at him. He brushes his knuckles lightly across my cheek and says, “For the rest of our lives, my love. Now, let’s go make this official,” and winks. Opening the door, he picks me up once again and carries me into the honeymoon suite.
Now, I finally have the someday I’ve always dreamed of.
Epilogue
One Year Later
Exactly one year ago yesterday, Brady and I walked down the aisle, surrounded by family and friends, and became husband and wife. I knew my life was going to be blessed having him in it. And now, on our one year and one day anniversary, we are a family. I look over at my precious baby girl… Emory Elizabeth Reese…sleeping contently in her Daddy’s arms, while he dozes in the chair beside me. My heart is so full…of love, of happiness, of adoration, of gratefulness. How could we both be so lucky to find love not only once, but twice?
Tomorrow is never guaranteed…. a realization Brady and I both know all too well…but, I have found life is sweeter when you live in the moment. Cherish the times you have with the ones you love and be thankful for second chances.
Brady buried his first wife at the age of 28. I can’t imagine he will ever truly get over that. It doesn’t seem fair for someone that young to experience the death of a spouse, but those were the cards he was dealt. I remember Brady telling me, as they lowered her body into the ground that cold February day; he felt a piece of himself follow her into the grave. Hurt. Pain. Grief. Misery. Despair. Numbness. Those were the only things he allowed himself to feel for a decade, as he sank deeper and deeper into the sadness - not having the will or desire to climb out of it.
He told me it took him months to gather up the courage to speak to me that first time at the Corner Café. But when he did, and our eyes met, he said he knew there was no turning back. He decided at that moment life was worth living and he needed to move past what he held onto for so long.
As for me…. for so many years, I never imagined I would find love again. When Drew left, I felt like I had lost my soul mate. But I think what I lost was part of myself. Years of no closure lead to bitterness and hurt, anger and resentment, and the loss changed me in a way I never thought replaceable. Until Brady.
When Brady and I found each other, life changed for both of us. We found ourselves wanting to see each other every day, even before our first date. After we began dating, Brady admitted that in those early days he would put himself in the path of places he thought I might be on a daily basis. It was the same for me. Coincidental meetings at the café became my driving force. Neither of us knew where the other was in life, but I’m glad Brady kept pushing to find out.
Our first encounters were magical. That’s the only way I know to describe it. Each time he grazed my hand while handing me a coffee, or when he placed his hand on my lower back to guide me through an open door, a spark would ignite within me. I knew he felt it too each time he touched me. I could see it in his eyes.
From those first unofficial dates, I could tell we would be a work in progress. We were both guarded. But over time, after learning more and more about each other, I realized we both came from places of hurt; maybe in different ways but scarred nonetheless. Building our relationship took time, but I was determined to break down those walls because Brady convinced me he could break down mine. Over time, they slowly crumbled, and we built our foundation together. One piece at a time.
I grew to love him more than I ever thought possible. I knew his hand would be the hand I held and grew old with; the one I would spend my forever with. He was my saving grace in this life, and I his. Every trial and heartache we endured was worth it, as we moved from a place of pain to a place of healing. Now, as I sit here watching my daughter, sleeping soundly in the arms of the man I love, I understand why the cards fell as they did. And I would do it all over again to get to the place I am now.
Emory’s tiny little body begins to wiggle, and I hear the sweet sounds of her whimpers and cries. It’s music to my ears. Aside from her father, she is the most precious gift I have ever been given. I am a mother. Words I never thought I would utter. I have a handsome man who loves me unconditionally, and now we have a beautiful child. I never, ever thought I would see this day.
As Emory stirs in her sleep, Brady wakes to see me staring at them. He smiles a sleepy smile and says, “I think it’s time for someone to eat.”
I nod, and he stands to place her in my arms. She grunts and wiggles until she’s nestled into my breast. After we get comfortable, he leans over to kiss my forehead. “I’m going to step out into the hallway to stretch my legs. You good?”
“Mmm hmmm,” I tell him.
“I’ll be right outside if you need me,” he says before he steps out of the room.
The hospital nursery is across the hall from my room. Through the open door, I watch Brady pause to look through the nursery window at the other babies. I smile and then lay my head back on the pillow as I cradle my nursing daughter in my arms. I vaguely notice another man’s voice as he strikes up a conversation with Brady.
“You have one in there?” I hear the man ask.
“No, mine is nursing with her mom right now. We just had her yesterday,” Brady says.
“So a girl, then?” the man questions.
“Yes… we named her Emory, and she’s perfect.” I can hear the adoration in Brady’s voice as he speaks of our daughter.
“Is she your first?” the man asks.
“Yes - born on our one year wedding anniversary,” Brady tells him.
“Wow. You couldn’t have timed that any better if you tried,” the man laughs. “We had a girl too. She’s our third… third child, and third daughter.”
I listen as he and Brady chat a little more about babies. Something about the man’s voice seems familiar, but I can’t quite place it. I lean forward to see if I recognize him, but at that moment Emory unlatches and starts to cry, and I forget about the man as I try to comfort my daughter.
“That’s mine,” I hear Brady say. “I guess she’s done eating so I’d better get back in there. Good luck, man. It was nice to meet you. My name’s Brady Reese, by the way.”
“It was nice to meet you too,” the man responds, “I’m Drew Cason.”
THE END
To my readers:
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my words! This story is near and dear to me and I appreciate you taking a chance on this new author.
If you would take the time to leave a review on Goodreads or Amazon it would help me out so much!
About the Author
K. Leah
is Southern born and raised and lives in NC with her husband and 3 kids. A hopeless romantic and a sucker for a sweet love story, she never imagined she would one day be writing her own stories. K. Leah wears a lot of hats in her life, but thankful for every opportunity she is given.
To stay up to date on K. Leah and future releases, connect with her here:
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Acknowledgments
For several years I had the inspiration for this story while I constantly thought about what would happen if and when my friend would finally find her mate. This story drove me crazy thinking about it until I finally put my fingers on the keyboard. I probably would have never typed the first word had I not read a post on Facebook from another author encouraging anyone who ever had a story to tell… to write it. So, I did. I wrote in the wee hours of the morning while littles were sleeping in their beds. I wrote sitting in my closet with the door closed because I had a scene idea. I wrote listening to my favorite songs and watching TV shows. Sometimes I would write every day and other times it would be months before the words would flow again. And for two years I kept it a secret. This has been a very long journey, but exciting nonetheless.
There are quite a few people I need to thank, and I really hope I remember them all.
I need to give a HUGE thank you to Tyra Silvers. You have not only been my friend and one of my biggest cheerleaders, but had it not been for you, I would have never taken the plunge to publish this book. You were the very first person to ever read my story. You’ve been my sounding board, my rant listener, my voice of reason, and SO much more through this process. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for believing in me.
Levi Gale… girl, this would never have happened had it not been for you. I was ready to put this thing on a shelf to collect dust. Who knew that a random conversation in the hallway would have led us to this. You have helped me make this book so much better with your words and ideas. Through allergy season and the end of a semester, we did it! Thanks for lots of great laughs through the process too. I so appreciate all the work you have put into helping me with my first book. And for coming up with this great, new title!
I also need to give a big thanks to Willow Aster & L.B. Simmons for your patience, guidance, advice, and time. You have both been such a huge support through this, but also you have helped guide me so much more than I could have imagined with my endless questions. From the bottom of my heart… thank you!
To Cheryl Shuffler… you were a tremendous blessing by editing this book in the beginning stages. You took the time to read through my first manuscript and help me make some progress toward a finished product. When I was stuck and thought I hit a road block in this process, a girls weekend trip to the beach gave me so much more than I could have ever imagined. Thank you!
To my first readers, Mary, Nicole, Tricia, Beth, and Lori… you ladies gave me your time and insight. Thank you for reading my words.
Kelsie Rae… you saved the day! Thank you for your encouragement and willingness to help a friend out.
To my friends and family who have encouraged me and shared my posts… Thank you so, so much!
And last but not definitely least… to my family…I love you guys with all my heart. To my husband and kids…I’m sorry I kept this a secret for two whole years, but thankful that you’ve been supportive for the last leg of this journey.
I am thankful to be saved by God’s grace and for the Lord allowing me another day to see this project come to fruition.
