by Rebecca Deel
“Is this a way to ease me into early retirement?” Trent knew he’d been injured more than most of the other operatives aside from the members of Durango. Then again, he’d been on many of the most dangerous missions Fortress had carried out. He was team leader, didn’t know to do anything different than lead his teammates into battle.
Maddox snorted. “It’s a way to keep from losing one of my best operatives. If you keep working at the same pace as the last few years, Grace will be a widow before she’s forty. I’m not letting that happen.”
Relief swept through him. Maddox wasn’t easing him out. “And when I am ready to stop taking active missions?”
“PSI is your permanent assignment until you retire, period. You have too much experience to waste it. Your training will keep our future operatives alive. Think about it. Talk to Grace. If you both agree this is the best decision for the two of you, I’ll inform your teammates of the assignment change.”
“What if they don’t want to make the transition?”
“I’ve already touched base with them, sounded them out. Your team will follow wherever you lead, Trent. Remember, they’re about the same age as you and have similar battle scars. I don’t think there will be a problem.”
“If there is any push back, talk to Adam about taking my place.”
A nod.
A knock sounded on the door to the hallway. Maddox placed himself between Trent and the door, Sig in his hand.
“It’s Rio,” said the medic. He pushed open the door and waved Darcy and Grace inside the room. His eyes narrowed as he studied Trent’s face. “Everything okay, Trent?”
He looked at Grace. “I need to talk to Grace.” An unspoken demand for the rest of them to get out of his room. His decision concerned her as well. He could guess what her answer would be, though. Their conversations and texts throughout his last deployment reflected the increasing loneliness each of them felt at the separations.
“We’ll wait in the hall,” Maddox said and herded the other two out the door.
When he and Grace were alone, Trent held out his hand. “Come here, love.”
“What’s wrong?” She sat on the chair by his bed.
“Nothing. You’re too far away, though.” He patted the bed. “I need to ask you a question.”
Grace sat by his hip. “You already asked and I said yes.”
Trent grinned. “I remember. Should have made you do the asking.”
“Don’t think I wouldn’t have done just that. I can’t wait to be your wife. Now, tell me what’s going on.”
No point in prolonging his news. “What would you say if I told you Maddox offered me a permanent job at PSI?”
She stared for a long moment. “You would be in Otter Creek all the time?”
“My team and I would be sent out on short-term missions like Durango. In fact, we would be switching off missions with them. Maddox wants us to help train new teams for Fortress. This decision concerns you, too. What do you think, baby?”
A slow smile curved her lush lips, lips he wanted to nibble and kiss for a long time once he got out of this bed. “I want that more than anything. To be able to see you more? Nothing could be better.” Her smile dimmed. “Don’t take the job just for me, love. I’ll survive whatever your decision. If this job is what you want, then accept Maddox’s offer.”
“I love my job, Grace. My team and I provide valuable aid to victims across the globe.” He lifted his uninjured arm and brushed her bottom lip with his thumb. “But I love you more than my job. I can’t be apart from you for weeks at a time anymore. I’m only half alive without you now. I want this job for me. I want it even more for us.”
She leaned down and kissed him. When she drew back, her eyes sparkled. “I love you, Trent.”
“Enough to marry me in a few days?” Please say yes, he begged silently. Trent’s heart pounded against his rib cage as he awaited her reply.
“As soon as we can obtain a marriage license.” When Grace drew back the next time, her lips were swollen and her cheeks flushed. “I want to marry you in Otter Creek. Our wedding might be thrown together fast, but I want our friends and family there to witness our marriage.”
Perfect. Trent needed time to buy Grace’s engagement ring and their wedding bands. “Do you want Marcus Lang to marry us?” Cornerstone Church’s pastor was a friend to both of them and had performed the weddings for each of the members of Durango. Seemed to be a tradition now to have Lang’s participation.
“I can’t think of anything that would make me happier.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
One week later, Trent pulled Grace into his embrace while their rapt audience watched. Her long white dress gleamed under the lights of Cornerstone Church’s sanctuary, her eyes lit from within. He’d never seen any woman more beautiful than his Grace.
“I love you, Grace St. Claire,” he murmured and took her mouth in a long, deep kiss that had several women in the audience sniffing, including Grace’s adoptive mother. When Trent lifted his head, he threaded the fingers of his hand through hers and turned with her to face the auditorium filled with friends and loves ones. So much for a small wedding. Zane’s wife, Claire, snapped picture after picture from a distance. When Grace had worried about her face being so bruised, the photographer promised to retouch the photos. Their official wedding pictures would be taken when both Trent and Grace were healed enough to do them justice.
Lang said, “I present to you Trent and Grace St. Claire.”
The audience burst into applause as Trent and his bride started down the aisle, followed by Mason and Nicole, their only attendants. Once they cleared the sanctuary doors, Trent stole another series of kisses from the woman who was his heart.
“Hey, now,” Rio said, amusement filling his voice. “Save some of that for the honeymoon.”
Without breaking the kiss, he slugged the medic in the arm. When he came up for air, he made himself step to his wife’s side. He and Grace greeted their well wishers.
Having opted to have a meal catered by Serena Blackhawk assisted by the best cooks in Cornerstone Church, Trent escorted Grace to the table arranged for them at the front of the fellowship hall. He kept an eye on the clock, willing time to go by faster.
Finally, it was time to leave. “It’s time, honey,” he murmured in her ear.
Despite the bruises slowly fading, her face glowed with happiness. “I’ll be ready in ten minutes.” Another kiss from his wife and she retreated to the room she’d used to dress for the wedding. Trent slipped out as well to change. Didn’t want to wear dress clothes for hours on the plane.
Ten minutes later, she returned to the hall, this time dressed in clothes suitable for their flight to Hawaii. Trent’s heart turned over in his chest. He could barely believe this gorgeous woman had agreed to spend the rest of her life with him. “Ready, baby?”
Rio and Darcy walked toward them. “SUV is loaded,” the medic said. “The Fortress plane is fueled, pilot is already doing the final pre-flight check.” The use of the company plane was a gift from Maddox, his contribution to their wedding day.
With a nod, Trent turned toward the friends and family watching them. “Thank you for sharing this day with us. We’ll see you in two weeks.”
Darcy hugged them both. “Have fun.”
“That’s the plan.” Trent shook Rio’s hand.
Holding hands with Nicole, Mason caught the keys Trent tossed him one handed. “Let’s go, Mase.”
An hour later, Trent escorted Grace up the stairs to the Lear jet’s cabin while Mason loaded their luggage. After hugs from Nicole, the other couple left the plane and the pilot taxied down the runway.
Trent looked at the woman who was now his. “This is just the beginning, you know.”
“The beginning of what?”
“Our journey through life together. Now comes the most important part. Creating a bond that can’t be broken, one of laughter, trust, and love.”
She leaned close and kissed him with soft
tenderness. “We began forming that bond the moment we met, love.”
Yes, they had, he realized. No other woman understood him like Grace. She owned his heart. “I love you, baby.” More than he could ever express in this lifetime. She was home to him and always would be. “Thank you, Grace.”
“For what?”
“Giving me you.” A gift he didn’t deserve but would never take for granted. He’d spend the rest of his life making sure Grace never regretted choosing to share her life with him.
About the Author
Rebecca Deel is a preacher’s kid with a black belt in karate. She teaches business classes at a private four-year college near Nashville, Tennessee. She plays the piano at church, writes freelance articles, and runs interference for the family dogs. She’s been married to her amazing husband for more than 25 years and is the proud mom of two grown sons. She delivers occasional devotions to the women’s group at her church and conducts seminars in personal safety, money management, and writing. Her articles have been published in ONE Magazine, Contact, and Co-Laborer, and she was profiled in the June 2010 Williamson edition of Nashville Christian Family magazine. Rebecca completed her Doctor of Arts degree in Economics and wears her favorite Dallas Cowboys sweatshirt when life turns ugly.
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