When I reach the mantel, I gasp, pressing a hand to my mouth.
I remember this. The orca sculpture.
I narrow my eyes as a memory fills my mind. So clearly, I have to grab ahold of the mantel to steady myself.
“Whale families stick together,” I say. “Live and die, as a close-knit tribe.”
Jonah nods. “Yeah, I read they even mourn together. Crazy right? Through thick and thin, the pod sticks together. I’ve never experienced that kind of love.”
I hear a noise behind me. I turn, Jonah is there, in a towel, his hair wet. I choke on the memories as they swirl around me. I move toward him, my knees buckling — taking in the whale tattoo on his chest, I see myself tracing it with my fingertip at the water’s edge.
I reach out my fingertips to touch it. I trace the black lines. “Whales are known for their compassion and solitude, for understanding life and death.”
Jonah nod. “Exactly.”
“My story,” I say, my voice catching. “The one I’m writing has a working title.”
“Oh yeah, what’s that?”
“The Great Whale and his Golden Girl.”
“Truly?”
I nod, my fingertip still on his skin. I don’t want to pull away. Ever.
For a moment everything stops. The world. The waves on the water. My heart.
I reach for my journal, flip the pages. Show him my notes.
The Great Whale and his Golden Girl. My story.
“Can I show you something?” he asks me.
I need more. More. More.
Him.
I nod. “Please,” I say. “Show me everything.”
“Faith,” Jonah says now, reaching out to me as I grip the mantel2
0. He pulls me to him.
I look into his eyes. His eyes. Eyes that are as blue as the water. Eyes that could calm the storm.
“You remember?” he asks.
I nod, seeing it. Seeing it all. Seeing him all over again for the very first time.
In his bed, wrapped around one another. No second-guessing. No doubt. A life with him so crystal clear.
“I want to marry you, Faith.”
We both go still, the weight of his words between us. I stare at the whale tattoo on his chest. My novel about the great whale and the golden girl, seeming to take place in this small space.
“Alright,” I tell him. “I’ll marry you, Jonah Rye.”
His face breaks out into a smile as wide as the ocean, as bright as the star-filled sky. His arms wrap around me and I know I am his. Now and forever and always. His.
“I think I’ll make you a fine wife,” I say, rolling on top of him.
He laughs, big and wide and I laugh too. It’s crazy and beautiful and I don’t care what anyone thinks. This is real.
“I remember.” And I do. “I remember everything.”
He kisses me, knowing my words are true. You can’t fake real. He pulls me to him, his mouth crashes against mine, and I feel the weight of our forever. It is light. Bright. Ours.
“Take me all over again,” I ask between kisses. “Make me yours once more.”
“I’ll make you mine, forever, Faith.”
“I love you, Jonah Rye,” I whisper. Jonah never wavered in his love, his devotion.
He takes my hand, leads me to the bedroom. Ocean is sound asleep, and I’m grateful because right now I need to be with Jonah in a way I’ve never needed anything. He is my protector, my shield.
I strip out of my clothes. No shame, no worry, no fear.
In Jonah’s presence, I am safe. Here, I am home.
Chapter Nineteen
Jonah
She stands before me naked, her heart and soul bared to me. She remembers. She fucking remembers.
This was my deepest wish, my never-ending prayer.
Her body is so beautiful, a scar across her tummy, signaling her strength. She carried our daughter against all odds, she gave her life and now she stands here before me, so damn strong.
“I love you, Faith,” I say, my hand tangled in her hair, my mouth crashing against her lips. “I love you, I love you, I love you,” I whisper over and over. Words I’ve wanted to say to her day and night, words I wanted her to hear, words she can now accept because she knows my love is real, forever.
A towel is the only thing I wear, and I wrap her in my arms, her cheek against my chest, my heart beating against her ear. My cock lengthens as I hold the love of my life against me.
She tugs on the towel, it falls to the floor. She whimpers at the sight of me, her hand running over my shaft. “I remember,” she moans. “God, Jonah, I miss you.”
I run my hands gently over her breasts, they are tender and full, and she closes her eyes as I caress her. “You are so perfect,” I tell her. Every inch of her body is so enticing, every part of her skin begging to be licked, touched, explored.
“You’re so hard… so big,” she breathes, her fingers on my balls, my growing cock, she licks her lips. She is hungry too.
“Are you ready?” I ask. Ocean was born only a little over six weeks ago.
She nods. “The doctor cleared me, but we need to go slow,” she says.
I cup her face with my hands, our eyes meeting, glassy and full of promise. “We have all the time in the world, Faith.”
She smiles, a tear on her cheek. “We have a baby, Jonah. We are a family,” she says, the reality just sinking in.
“We are.” I smile, pulling her lips to mine. Kissing her softly. “And Faith, you were so beautiful pregnant. Your belly was huge, and I would sit with you, feeling our baby kick, imagining this moment. All of us here, whole, healthy. One.”
“My body looks so different now,” she says. “I have more curves, that’s for sure.”
“I love them,” I tell her. Her cheeks are pink, and I’m guessing she is both excited and nervous. It’s been so long.
“You are so good to me, Jonah. You never gave up.”
“I had faith in us.”
She wraps her arms around me. “Make love to me, please.”
I will never make her wait. We move to the bed, and I lay her down, on the edge. I spread her knees, kneeling before her. Kissing her thighs, her creamy skin. Kissing her gently, with care.
“Please,” she moans, and I pull her hips to the edge of the bed, standing before her, easing my cock inside nice and slow. I lift her legs, and she hooks them over my shoulders. It’s easier on her still-healing scar this way. Her tits are so big and round, and they bounce as I begin to fill her warm and ready cunt. She is eager and slick, and she needs this. Me.
“Oh, Jonah,” she purrs, her fingers gripping the blankets on the bed. “Oh baby,” she whimpers as I move in a rhythm that is made for her alone.
“You like that, golden girl?”
She moans in delight. “I love it.”
I fill her tight pussy up, the way she begs. My cock throbs as it moves against her pulsing need. “You feel so good, Faith,” I moan, my release coming to a head as I fuck her, my hands running over her bare legs, loving the way it feels to be so close to her. Connected. Finally.
She is so close to the edge, she has been waiting for this moment as long as I have, needy and desperate to be back here, in this bed, making love.
“Oh, Jonah,” she whimpers as my come fills her tight little channel, her own orgasm building, and washing over her as my hot seed warms her cunt. She is gasping, panting as we finish, her body trembling with pleasure as I pull my still thick cock from her.
I lie beside her in the bed, pulling her close. “You okay?”
She smiles, serenity written on her face. “More than.”
I reach into the drawer of my bedside table and pull out the one thing I have been waiting to offer her.
“Faith,” I say, running my fingers over her arm, gratitude swelling within me.
“What is it?” she asks softly.
“I asked you this once before, and you said yes, but now I am asking you again —
this time with a different understanding of the word love; a more complete definition of the word commitment sealed on my heart. Faith, will you marry me?”
Her eyes glisten, golden flecks dancing against the dark green. “Yes, Jonah, I will marry you.”
I offer her the ring, a rose gold diamond set on a gold band. “For my golden girl,” I say, sliding it on her delicate finger. It’s shiny and bright, just like her.
“It’s perfect,” she says, burying her face in my chest. “We are so lucky, Jonah, so lucky.”
I kiss her again, anxious to marry the woman I love. This time I already have her father’s approval, this time there will be no running away in cars. This time there will only be slow kisses and the steady beat of our hearts. We don’t need to rush into this — we know now that it isn’t the destination, it’s the journey.
I purchased the ring weeks after she entered the coma, knowing there were no guarantees, but I didn’t need guarantees.
All I needed was Faith.
Epilogue 1
Faith
Nine months later…
The lake is calm, the sun glitters off the waves. As I walk down the aisle with my dad holding my arm, my heart beats hard. I am alive, I am here, breathing, strong, surrounded by everyone I love.
Our friends sit in white chairs, facing the lake, and I walk past them all, telling myself to keep it together — but it’s no use. Tears streak my cheeks as I take the beauty that surrounds me.
I see Harper sitting with her children, Cedar, Alder, and Spruce, and a daughter Violet, who is one year younger, and another year younger, her brother Riggs.
Buck and Rosie sit in another row, with their twins Clover and Poppy and their younger daughter Lola.
Wilder and Stella are here with their older twins Briar and Finn, and the younger set of twins Boomer and Brantley. Stella’s eyes meet mine and I feel her love for our family — everyone’s love, really.
Honor and Hawk sit opposite them holding hands, with their sons Timothy, Thomas and Titus and twin girls Ettie and Imogen.
James has his arms around his wife Cherish. Sitting next to them is their older set of triplets, Jamie, their daughter, and Jacob and Andrew. And their second set of triplets, just a year younger, are two girls named Magnolia and Maybelline, and one boy, Oakley.
Beau and Josie sit with their son Forrest and their twin daughters Hattie and Hazel. Josie can’t stop crying, and I feel a new wave of gratitude sweeping over me. Jonah and I have so much support with us here today.
Grace and Bear are here, too, with their twins Laura and Abel, and their triplets, two boys— Canyon and Ridge, and a daughter, Greta.
Colton and Laila are here with their quadruplets, Beatrix, Dorothy, Asher, and Bennett.
And Virginia, my step-mom, is in the front row with her youngest daughter Daisy in a sling, and Ava, sitting on my sister Willa’s lap. Beside them sits Levi, Lily, Clover, and Cash.
And at the end of the aisle stands Jonah, holding Ocean in his arms. She claps, so happy to see me. Her mama. The lake is behind them, flowers are wrapped around the arbor that surrounds us. The ceremony is beautiful — so many hands went into helping make this a perfect day — but the really beautiful thing is that we are all here together, everyone who makes Miracle Mountain such a special place has joined us here to watch Jonah and I commit to one another until death do us part.
“Oh, Daddy,” I say, squeezing my dad’s arm as he pulls me into a hug before giving me away. “I love you.”
“I’m so proud of you, Faith,” he tells me. And I know he is. I know this whole mountain is proud of Jonah and me.
Jaxon marries us, and Dad sits on a stool, playing the guitar and singing us a song he wrote for this day. It’s become a hit, having released two weeks ago. It’s been a Billboard top ten song. Every time our daughter hears it play, she starts bouncing up and down.
“I have faith that love will see us through, I have faith in me and you.
I have faith as deep as the ocean, as wide as a whale.
I have faith in our forever, and I know that time does heal.”
At the end of the ceremony, Jonah pulls me into his arms as Jaxon tells him to kiss his bride.
His lips are soft, firm. Our kiss is the start of another chapter in our story. A story that is turning into a series. And, gosh, when I look around the families gathered here for our wedding, I am reminded how our lives have woven together in so many ways. We’ve overcome obstacles — every single couple here. Fought for the love that we’ve found. We know they value family because it is family time and time again that has seen us through.
Everyone stands, cheering for us as we head to the tent where a dance floor is waiting, where a BBQ feast is all prepared — potato salad and corn on the cob, grilled meat, and watermelon. This mountain was built on more than love — potlucks are the backbone, and so our reception reflects that. Everyone pitched in, not because we couldn’t afford a caterer, but because the symbolism is what I want to carry into my marriage. That none of us can do it alone, and we don’t have to. Not when there is a mountain of people ready to pitch in and lend a helping hand.
There was a time where I couldn’t remember the most important person in my life. So now, I spend extra time memorizing everything.
These moments, the smiles, the laughter, the children running in circles, blowing bubbles. The friends and family gathered around Jonah and me as we celebrate. I close my eyes and hold these moments tight. I’ll never let them go.
Jonah and I cut our wedding cake. Josie made it for us as our gift. White buttercream frosting that gets all over Jonah’s face as I smash it against his mouth, pulling my husband in for a sugary sweet kiss. Later, I will pull him in for so much more.
Music plays for hours, lights are strung through all the trees. Dad has Ocean in his arms. Jonah pulls me in close as we slow dance. I blink back tears at the miracle that we have found in one another.
At the miracle that is our love story.
Epilogue 2
Jonah
Ten years later…
I’m in my office, working on my novel, when Faith walks in, carrying a tray with my lunch.
“This is a surprise,” I say, grinning at my gorgeous wife.
“I needed a break. Am I interrupting?”
I push away from the desk, watching as Faith bends over to set the tray on the coffee table. Damn, she looks so fucking hot today. Every day. Ten years later and I know I am the luckiest man on this goddamn mountain — she is my dream come true.
“Not interrupting anything.” I reach for her waist, turning her toward me. “You have writer’s block too?”
She groans, looking up into my eyes. “So badly. And my editor is waiting for the draft, but I just feel all anxious about it.”
I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “You know, I could help clear your head.”
She licks her lips. “Is that so?”
I grin, squeezing her round ass. “Yes, I can.”
She lets her head fall back. “I need to get Ocean and Emerson from school in an hour. And that’s when you need to leave. Cedar is expecting you to meet him at Rosie’s diner to go over his college application.”
I run my hand under her dress, a short skirt with nothing but a tiny pair of panties underneath. Perfect. “So, you’re saying we have plenty of time?”
She laughs, her laugh as airy and breathless as it ever was. Even after all this time — a decade — she is still the same girl I met all those years ago. Now we have a son, too; two years younger than Ocean. Faith has released two bestselling novels, I have published three books, including my memoir— which was a runaway bestseller. We tore down our cabin years ago and built a gorgeous lakefront home.
The guys on the mountain joke that I’ve turned this place into my little version of Walden, a lakeside oasis. But I’m still as much a mountain man as ever — I chop our wood in the winter, have calluses on my hand to prove I know the meaning of hard work and
true grit. If someone needs help putting up a house, cabin, or most often, a swing set for their kids, I am always the first to pitch in and help.
But I have a reason to stay home as much as possible. It starts and ends with Faith — my homebody of a wife who makes it hella hard to get out of bed most mornings.
Now, Faith unbuckles my jeans, and I groan as she takes ahold of my firm, stiff cock. “Oh, golden girl.” I run my hand over her back, unhooking her bra. Needing her big round tits in my palm, my other hand easing down her panties, needing to touch her slick cunt. Getting her nice and ready for my thickness.
“That feels so good,” she tells me as I press a finger in her tight little pussy, then another.
She’s is already so sweet and creamy as I begin to finger her. I smile. “Someone was horny.”
“I was,” she laughs softly, biting my shoulder. “God, Jonah, I was upstairs in my office, staring at the computer and all I could think about was you making me come.” She unbuttons my flannel, and I toss it aside. Her fingers run over my biceps, the tattoo that I got after Ocean was born, a whale tattoo for her, for our daughter, and later another one for Emerson.
“That’s fucking hot,” I tell her, loving that she was thinking about getting fucked by her one true love.
“Oh, Jonah,” she whimpers, as I stroke her faster, then she’s dropping to her knees, taking me in her mouth. Her lips wrap around my hard cock and she begins to suck my length, taking me deeper and deeper, looking up in my eyes as she gets me off.
“Fuck,” I groan, my cock throbbing as she swirls her tongue over my hard ridges. And I know she’s gonna make me come nice and hard, and soon.
“Come here, Goldie,” I tell her, easing her back up to stand, pushing aside the papers and folders on my desk, needing to fuck my wife hard and dirty.
FAITHFUL: The Mountain Man’s Babies Page 8
