by Jillian Hart
He sat on the edge of the comfortable mattress, holding his niece in his arms. He might be helpless to stop the pain that had a hold on her heart, but the solution to her problem was in sight. It was only a matter of a wedding. “I’ve left you longer than this before. Why the tears, sweet girl?”
She sniffled against his shirt. “Cuz I don’t wanna go back.”
“Go back where?”
“To Mrs. Thompson’s. Sh-she was n-nice, but I wanna stay w-with you.” She sobbed and burrowed into his shoulder.
“Who said anything about you going back into foster care? I told you, we’re together now. I promised you, didn’t I? No one’s going to take you away from me. You come live with me. It’s a done deal. You can’t change your mind now.”
“I c-can c-come with you and R-Rachel?” A sob shook her little body.
So that was it. The lightbulb went on in his head. Of course, why hadn’t he realized she would have worries of being left alone at this important change in his life? He pressed a fatherly kiss to her brow, because that’s what he was, not just an uncle, but her father figure too. “That’s why I’m marrying her. For you, princess.”
“Oh.” She gave a last sniff and smiled through her tears. “Okay.”
At that moment, Rachel padded through the door, her face shrouded in the room’s shadows. With the light to his back, he couldn’t see the expression on her face, but she froze, her slender form tensed.
Then he realized what he’d said. And how that might have sounded, as if the only reason he’d proposed was for Sally. While that was true, it wasn’t the whole truth. Not judging by the sinking feeling in his chest and the gathering fear like clouds before an impending tornado. Had she overheard him? Did she think he didn’t want her? He’d give his life before he’d want to hurt her in any way. It was as if his blood stalled in his veins and his lungs had forgotten how to draw in air while he waited for her reaction. While he dreaded her reaction.
“Oh, Jake.” Her voice sounded hollow.
He braced himself for the worst. Groped for the right words to try to fix this. Please, Lord, let me be able to make this right.
Then she kept talking. “I never thought this might be too much for Sally. Sweetie, do you want me to make you some cocoa?”
He couldn’t believe it. Relief left him dazed. Thank you, Lord. How could he not adore this woman who tried to make every hurt better with hot chocolate? Sally nodded against his chest, but she still didn’t look at Rachel. He held her tight. He had to wrestle down the weak emotions threatening to overtake him.
“I’m so sorry, Jake. I guess my sister figured out what we were up to.” Rachel’s ring shimmered in the shadows as her hands flew to cover her heart. “I didn’t want Sally to find out this way. My sisters meant well with this little get-together.”
“I know.” He studied the ring on her finger. His ring. “I want to marry you now. I don’t want to leave for Florida without you.”
“You’re leaving tomorrow.”
He swallowed. “I know. I have to report Monday morning, but after that I’ll know my schedule. I’ll be training some of the new students while I’m stateside. I’m putting in a request to stay at least through the end of the year. If we get married right away, we’ll have most of December together before I go away for, well, probably six to nine.”
Six to nine months. So much for the dream of marriage. She was jumping into the reality with both feet. “I won’t have time to plan much of a wedding. I’d always wanted—” She stopped the image forming in her mind, the one she’d envisioned more times than it was possible to count. The picture of the town church, where her parents were married and she was baptized, soft with candlelight and scented with roses.
Her sisters and cousins would be draped in pale-pink bridesmaid’s dresses and lined up at her side, and her family and friends would be gathered as witnesses. Pastor Bill would be standing before her, and she would be wearing her mother’s wedding dress.
But everything she’d ever wanted for her wedding was not as important as the man who would be at her side. It wasn’t the wedding but the vows, not the setting but the marriage that mattered.
“What’s best for you?” she asked. Those dreams of a wedding began to float away, but she didn’t mind, for the greatest dream of all was right in front of her. “Would it be better for you if I came down to Florida to get married? Don’t get me wrong, I would love to have you come here, but we could have more time together.”
“You choose. You tell me when and I’ll show up to marry you.”
“That’s a promise?”
Was that a note of worry he heard? Jake wondered. Somehow it made it easier to open up a little. To see that they both had so much riding on this. So much to lose. He fought down the wave of emotion trying to hook him like a riptide. “Not only is it a promise, but I’ll give you my credit card. Plan a wedding for here, or fly down there and we’ll have a quick ceremony. You decide. I just want you to be happy. From here on out, that’s what I live to do.”
“That’s what I plan to do, too. To make you and Sally so happy. I—” She swiped at her eyes before her emotions gave her away. She was so in love with this man. More than she’d ever thought anyone could be. The thought of spending the rest of her days with him filled her with such gratitude. How could she ever ask for more?
“Come here, gorgeous.” Jake held out his hand and pulled her close. Sally yawned against his chest, her eyes barely open.
Everything seemed to click into place. Tomorrow, she would have to say goodbye to these two people who were now the most important people in her life. She would start packing up her life, talk Amy into taking this house, and book a ticket to Florida. She was ready for this beautiful new start the Lord had given her.
As if Jake felt the same way, he leaned to press a kiss to her cheek. Sweet as could be, infinitely tender, there was no mistaking the love between them. And a great love it would be, she vowed. She couldn’t wait to stand before God and say the blessed vows that would make her Jake’s wife.
It was decided. “Then we’re going to have a Florida wedding. Sally, are you going to be my maid of honor?”
“With flowers ’n stuff?” The little girl perked up, rubbing her still-wet eyes.
“Any kind of flowers you want. Is that a deal?”
Sally nodded, her curls bobbing.
I want to hug you, little girl, until all your hurt is gone. Rachel knew it wasn’t her right yet, but she laid a hand on the child’s tiny shoulder, so fragile to the touch, and willed all the comfort she could from her heart to Sally’s.
“Thanks, Rachel.” Jake’s baritone warmed when he said her name. As if he loved her as greatly as she loved him.
The Lord had given her a great blessing, two for the price of one. A sacred gift she would cherish for all the days of her life. She would never be able to thank God enough for these two people or this beautiful day. A bright, loving future stretched out before her, one spent taking care of them, and maybe a baby or two to come. Joy bloomed through her as she promised to be back with two cups of cocoa. She couldn’t help glancing back as Jake settled onto the bed and reached for a child’s book left on the nightstand.
Now, to face Paige. This wasn’t the way she wanted Paige to find out about this either. She owed her older sister so much. If Paige wasn’t happy, then Rachel didn’t know what she would do. How could she turn her back on her sister? How could she give up this bright new future?
Paige was in the kitchen at the stove, stirring the contents of a saucepan. So tall and lovely and looking so like their mother, Rachel did a double-take. The past felt close enough to touch on this night when she could see her future so clearly. Help me to say the right things, Lord. Never would I want to hurt my sister.
But Paige was as happy-looking as she’d been earlier when Rachel had walked through the door with Jake. “I should leave, so you and Jake can have some time alone, but I have something to say to you. I don’t t
hink it can wait.”
“This just happened so fast, Paige. I didn’t mean for it to be like this. I wanted to talk to you first, because if you aren’t okay with this—”
“—I’ve been giving it a lot of thought—”
“—then you need to tell me the truth. Because I can’t leave here if it’s not all right—”
“It’s all right.” Paige wrapped her in a brief hug. “No one expected this to happen. You and Jake fell in love. This is your turn to live your dream, Rachel. To really grab hold of what matters in life. So don’t waste this chance. Forget about the diner.”
“But what about your plans?”
“I’ll figure something out. Maybe one of the cousins would be interested in taking over. Do you want some hot chocolate?” Paige returned to the saucepan to give it a few more stirs.
Mom’s secret cocoa recipe was the cure for all heartaches, and the memory of being young in this kitchen with Mom at the stove and warming chocolate scenting the air made her throat burn with tears. “I always thought I’d be raising my own kids in this house.”
“Jake lives in Florida. Sounds like you’ll be raising them there.”
“Yeah.” The thought made her sad and blissful at the same moment. How could so many polar emotions be inside her at once? “I’m really leaving.”
“Don’t say that out loud because you’re breaking my heart.” Paige kept her back firmly turned as she reached down a set of mugs. Her voice sounded thick with unshed tears. “If that man doesn’t make you happy, all you have to do is tell me and I’ll put some sense into him. Okay?”
“Okay.” Rachel grabbed the marshmallow fluff from the refrigerator door and twisted off the lid. “You can stop being my big sister now.”
“I’m never going to stop being that. What are we going to do without you?”
Rachel couldn’t speak. She spooned fluff onto the cups of steaming cocoa that Paige poured. Amy had taken off for the West Coast instead of graduating from high school and had been gone for several years. Ben had joined the air force, never to return for more than a brief stay. And although Rachel had gone to college, she’d come back.
But not Paige. She’d stayed to do the tough work of holding the family together, making a small-town diner do a good enough business to support all of them, all while raising her own wonderful son. “I’m going to be gone for a long time.”
“This is just occurring to you?”
She nodded. “The reality is starting to sink in. I’m getting married. Finally. He’s such a wonderful man. I know he’ll be good to me.”
“Of course he will be.” Amy burst into the room. “Or we’ll kick some sense into him. I don’t want you to leave, Rache. What are we gonna do without you?”
“I—I don’t know what I’m going to do without both of you. This is supposed to be happy, getting engaged. I always thought of getting married as adding to my life. Not changing it.”
“Marriage is like nothing else. It changes everything.” Amy grabbed the chocolate syrup from the fridge and popped the cap. She joined Paige, who’d returned to the counter. “Then again, marriage is one of God’s great blessings.”
“Well, so are sisters.” Paige’s eyes were filling with tears, but she was always so strong, Rachel had never actually seen a single tear fall. Never. “Here. Take these to that man of yours and that sweet little girl. You belong with them now, but know this. Your home will always be here, too.”
Love and hot chocolate, the family cure-all. Rachel couldn’t speak as she took the cups in her hands, trying hard not to spill them. This is a beginning, not an end, she told herself firmly as she disappeared down the dark hall. Everything she knew and loved was here.
No, not everything. She paused in the doorway, mesmerized by the low murmur of Jake’s voice. How was it she could love this man even more than her life? He was her family now, and little Sally her daughter. Already she had them to love. And it made the pain of knowing she would leave this place vanish. Her own husband and a child to care for.
Contentment spread through her, sweet like the warm rich cocoa she carried until nothing remained but gratitude. Jake grinned at her over the top of the book he was reading out loud. Her soul sighed, and she was fulfilled.
She was truly loved, at long last.
Chapter Fourteen
Florida was hot, even in the winter. Rachel squinted into the foggy mirror in the hallway off the base’s chapel, afraid sweat was beading on her forehead and her veil would be in danger of becoming plastered to her face.
She so wanted this short ceremony to be perfect, although nothing so far had gone to plan and she felt weary from struggling to right it. The last week she’d spent in Montana, after Jake and Sally had left, had been a whirlwind of packing and making arrangements and saying goodbyes. She’d given up her whole life to be here with Jake.
If Jake hadn’t sent her roses every day they were apart, she wouldn’t have made it this far, because the obstacles had continued to mount. Her plane had been diverted due to a thunderstorm and she’d spent hours circling over Tampa, gazing down at the incredible scenery and feeling so out of place. She’d left four feet of snow behind and near-blizzard conditions that had almost kept the plane from taking off in the first place.
Add lost luggage, traffic jams, Jake being called at the last minute into the field for training and she’d seen him only at the courthouse to get the marriage license.
“Don’t worry, you look lovely.” Cadence, who had stepped in as a true sister over the last few tough days, smoothed the back of the veil. “Jake is going to take one look at you and he won’t believe how lucky he is.”
“I’m the lucky one.” The Lord knew it was true. She pinned on her mother’s cameo, the one Paige had given her as a goodbye gift. Once the delicate clasp was secure, she took a steadying breath.
Jake was waiting to marry her. This moment was everything she’d ever wanted and prayed for. It seemed as if heaven were smiling, or maybe that was just the joy bubbling within her soul, as she took her first step on the plain brown carpet that would lead her down the aisle and to her groom, to the man God had found for her.
The ivory silk of her mother’s wedding gown whirled and whispered as she took another step following Cadence. Jake was there, looking like a promise made and kept in his dress blues. He stood solemnly before the simple altar with Sally leaning against his side, her eyes wide with uncertainty. All eyes turned to Rachel, but it was Jake she saw. Jake she felt deep in her soul.
I never realized how deeply sacred a wedding was. As she stood there, poised at the aisle where simple wooden pews marched the length of the small chamber, Rachel felt it. More than the dreams of a little girl wondering and wishing for this day. More than the committed, emotional ties of a woman to her man. It was as if heaven waited, too, watching to celebrate the blessed gift of true love, a victory in a wide world that included heartache and cruelty.
The opening notes of the bridal march filled the chapel as sweetly as grace.
Ben offered his arm. “Are you ready for this, little sister?”
“Without a doubt.” She slipped her arm in his and they moved forward together. Every step brought her closer to Jake. She was not nervous. She was certain.
As the minister asked, “Who gives this woman?” and Ben answered, “I do,” she accepted her brother’s kiss on her cheek and his good wishes, knowing she would not need them. The blessing of Jake’s love was enough. Their love would be strong enough. Jake held out his hand, and there was no need for words. She knew he felt the same.
“Dearly beloved,” the minister began those time-honored words, the ones she knew by heart. The words she’d been waiting to hear like this, at Jake’s side.
Then the sound of the minister’s voice faded away and it was like being underwater in a warm and clear ocean. There were the two of them—her and Jake—his hand steady and sure, and his gaze fastened on hers. It was as if an unseen current flowed between them,
beyond the physical, to their spirits within.
She realized true love was greater than two people. More powerful than both man and wife combined. It was a force that also connected them to a greater love, a greater purpose. And she felt awed by the calm that filled her. She repeated those sacred vows to love and honor and cherish.
The surge of love that overtook her was unconditional and infinite and there was nothing that would ever diminish it. Not sickness. Not hardship. Not even death.
As Jake slipped the ring on her finger, a diamond band to match the solitaire, she saw the emotion gathering in his dark eyes. He might stand warrior-tough, but he had a good loving heart. There was no mistake about that. When he lifted her veil and his kiss sealed their vows, happiness like no other filled her. Now they were two hearts and one soul.
It was surreal carrying Rachel through the doorway of his modest town house. After a celebration supper with Ben and Cadence and Sally at a fancy seafood restaurant not far off base, he left Sal with his good friends, promising to pick her up bright and early in the morning. Here he was, carrying a silk-clad bride into his very beige living room.
No visions of grandeur and luxury, just a comfortable couch he’d bought secondhand from a squad member who’d gotten out, and battered-looking end tables. He hadn’t realized just how shabby his things were.
Please don’t be disappointed, he thought. She’d spent last night with Ben and Cadence to save the cost of a hotel room, and training had run late, so there had been no time to show her what she was getting into.
“Oh. You have a view.” Her eyes were shining. “And there’s the beach. I could get used to this.”
“Yeah?” That was good, because he’d be stuck in Florida for some time to come. “I’ve got three more years left. I know this isn’t what you’re used to, but I sure hope I can make you happy here.”
“I’ll be happy anywhere as long as I’m with you. You are my everything now.” She blushed rosily and she’d never looked more amazing. This woman was his wife now, this incredible lady, and he couldn’t stop the rush of affection that would take him over if he let it.
