Finding You

by Kelly Elliott

  Letting out a halfhearted laugh, I said, “What are you going to do, Daddy. Carry me down the aisle.”

  Giving me a wink, he said, “Not down the aisle, but to your chariot. Well, a makeshift one anyway.”

  Standing in the living room, I watched as Taylor, Meagan and Ellie all headed out the front door. Making their way to where everything was set up. My heart was pounding and my hands were sweating so bad I had to keep wiping them on my father’s jacket. Each time I did it he looked at me and frowned.

  Libby handed Mireya the basket filled with rose petals as Mireya jumped with excitement. I couldn’t help but laugh at my precious little niece.”

  Daddy leaned over and said, “Hard to believe she’ll be two in November. I miss her being a baby.”

  Biting on my lower lip, I realized Luke and Libby hadn’t told my parents about the new baby.

  “Yeah, me too. But she is so much fun at this age,” I said as I looked over at my father and Mireya.

  Libby called out and told Mireya to follow behind her. Giving me a wave, she took off out of the door

  Inhaling a deep breath in, I slowly blew it out. “Ready?” my father asked.

  Turning to him, I smiled and said, “So ready.”

  Reaching down, Daddy picked me and held me as tears filled his eyes. He slowly made his way out the door and down the steps. “Jesus, Daddy. Don’t fall. If you break your leg you’re going to screw up my whole wedding day.”

  My father looked at me with a stunned look as we both busted out laughing. When he turned the corner, I glanced up and saw Jack, one of my horses saddled up in a beautiful white saddle. Wiping my tears away, my father lifted me up and helped me climb up onto Jack. “I can’t believe I’m walking you and a horse down the aisle. I’m sure Noah is loving this.”

  Laughing, I looked over to where everyone was and the first thing I saw was the love of my life standing at the end of the aisle. The song “Giving It All (To You)” played as Daddy slowly made his way down the aisle as he led Jack. Trying to pull my eyes from Noah so I could look at everyone else, I couldn’t help but notice how freaking handsome he was.

  Damn I’m a lucky girl.

  I quickly glanced around as I smiled and said, “He’ll be offering guided kiddy rides after the ceremony for anyone interested.”

  Laughter erupted and I could feel my father’s eyes on me.

  “Funny,” he whispered. When we got to the end of the aisle, my father helped me off of Jack and slowly set me down. The pain immediately pounded in my ankle and I let a small whimper slip from my lips. Noah was by my side and had his arm wrapped around my waist before my father could even react.

  “I’ve got you, baby,” he said as he gave me a drop-dead gorgeous smile. My heart melted on the spot and I fell in love with him more. If that was even possible.

  “I’ve got this, Noah,” my father said as he gave Noah a small push away.

  Giggles could be heard all around me as I looked between the two favorite men in my life. “No, really, sir. I’ve got it from here.”

  Feeling my cheeks blush, I turned to my father who was glaring at Noah. Pointing a finger at him, my father said, “You’re only borrowing her, Noah.”

  Noah nodded and said, “Yes, sir. Got it.”

  My father pointed again. “I know people, who know people who will take you out.”

  Noah’s eyes widened as he slowly nodded his head and said, “Yes, sir. You’ve mentioned that a time or two.”

  Grandpa Mark let out a chuckle as he said, “Paybacks. Oh man I love paybacks.”

  “Oh Lord help this family.”

  My eyes snapped over to Pastor Roberts. I hadn’t even seen him standing there. Letting out a chuckle, I wondered how Colt ever talked this poor man into doing another one of our family’s weddings.

  My eyes then caught the little teal and brown bench I’d found at an antiques store in Fredericksburg. It had been in the front display window of Wild Flowers. Turning to Noah, I asked, “What’s the bench for?”

  Noah’s eyes moved to it as he smiled and took my hand. Alex and Libby helped with my dress and train as I sat on the bench. I was looking back at everyone and my heart was overcome as my eyes looked over my friends and family. Matt sat next to my mother holding a painting that was wrapped up in wrapping paper. I lifted my hand and waved to him as he waved back and shouted. “Hey, Grace! Want to go fishing?”

  Grinning, I said, “I’d love to, but we’ll have to wait a few days.”

  Matt gave me a thumbs-up and said, “Okay, Grace!”

  As my eyes scanned everyone sitting, I saw my grandparents . . . all of them . . . smiling back at me with tears in their eyes. I saw my friends and family as they each looked upon me with loving eyes.

  My eyes soon found Emily and her husband. They had flown in a week ago to spend time with Noah and me. Emily’s hands rested on her swollen belly. She was six months pregnant with twins. She wiped a tear away as her husband, Mitch, took her hand in his.

  Finally, my eyes focused back on Noah. He was standing in front of me with the goofiest smile on his face. He peeked over to Alex who walked up and pointed to my bouquet as she said, “Can I trade your bouquet for something else?”

  She was holding her hand out for my bouquet. I held my flowers away from her and said, “Hell no.”

  Laughing, she pulled out a single sunflower and held it in front of me. My heart felt as if it had skipped a beat as I sat there staring at the sunflower. Slowly reaching up for it, I handed her my flowers as she winked and stood back in line next to Libby.

  Glancing back to the front, I let out a gasp as I watched Noah sit on the ground as Will handed him the teal guitar Noah had bought off the street vendor.

  Tears flowed freely now and I didn’t give two shits about my makeup. Noah was bringing me back to the day I knew my heart would forever belong to him.

  Best. Day. Ever.

  Noah

  A lump formed in my throat as I watched Grace begin crying. Meagan let out a gasp as I heard her say under her breath, “Thank God I used waterproof mascara!”

  Chuckling, I shook my head as I dragged in a deep breath. I couldn’t believe what I was about to do. Not only was I about to speak in front of everyone, I was also going to sing to my beautiful bride on our wedding day, but in front of everyone else as well.

  Clearing my throat, I dug deep inside and found my voice.

  “Once upon a time, I met a beautiful princess. She ran into me so hard, she knocked herself down to the ground.”

  Small chuckles played around me as I watched Grace smile even bigger.

  “If only she had known, I was the one who was knocked off my feet. But she got up, dusted herself off and quickly walked away. I stood there like a fool and watched her leave. Then I ran into the beautiful princess again. This time, I was smart enough to get her number.”

  Everyone laughed again as a small sob escaped Grace’s lips as she shook her head at me.

  “It was hard winning the princess over. It was obvious; she’d been hurt before. I wouldn’t give up on the idea of us though. We spent countless nights texting back and forth. At the time I thought it was odd she didn’t tell her friends about me, but I soon learned this was her way of keeping me just one step away from being too close.”

  Grace wiped her tears away as she pressed her lips together. “But I made a promise to myself—I wouldn’t let her go. She pushed me away and for a brief time, I was a stupid fool and let her. Until one day, she ran into me again. Third time is the charm my mother always said.”

  Small giggles let out around me as I stared into Grace’s eyes. “I knew this time, I was not ever going to let her push me away again. I loved this girl and I knew I had loved her from the first moment she ran into me. Knocking us both off our feet.”

  “Noah,” Grace whispered as she started to cry.

  “Then, I lost myself. I lost myself to a dark world after my mother passed away.”

  Emily’s cry
ing could be heard from my left side. Turning, I gave her a wink and she barely smiled as Mitch wrapped his arm around her. Glancing back toward the front, I captured Grace’s eyes. “I pushed you away, Grace. So many times I pushed you away, but you never left my side. You were the one to find me again, Grace. You brought me back to life. Each morning I wake up to your beautiful smile is a testament to the love that we share. We might have taken the long road getting here, but I’m so glad that road was traveled with you, Grace.”

  Grace and I had picked out an oldie but goodie for our wedding song, Tim McGraw’s “My Best Friend”.

  I started playing the cords to the song and said, “Since our wedding day has been far from the normal side of things, and since you can’t really dance to our wedding song,” Grace and I both looked at Alex.

  Alex dropped her mouth open and said, “It was a just a small push!”

  Winking at Alex, I looked back at Grace. “I thought I would do our wedding song a bit differently. Take us back to that day in the park. Do you remember that day, Grace?”

  Grace nodded her head as I sung the words to her. I fought like hell to keep my voice strong and steady as I heard sniffles and cries erupt all around me.

  Focusing only on Grace, I kept my eyes locked on hers. In this moment, it was just the two of us.

  Finding Grace was truly finding my life . . . my very existence.

  By the time Grace and I finally stood in front of Pastor Roberts, my nerves were settled and I had fallen in love even more with the breathtaking woman standing beside me. Pastor Roberts’ cleared his throat and said, “Never a dull moment with this crowd.”

  Laughter erupted as he continued on with the ceremony. I wasn’t even sure I heard a word he said as Grace and I stared into each other’s eyes. The only thing I was sure I heard was, “I know pronounce you Mr. and Mrs. Noah Bennet. You may kiss your bride.”

  Cupping Grace’s face gently with my hands, I brushed my lips against hers as I whispered, “I have just one little bit of bad news.”

  Grace laughed and said, “Hit me with it.”

  “The hotel messed up our reservations. We don’t have rooms booked until next week.”

  Closing her eyes, Grace inhaled very slowly through her nose before opening her eyes again and giggled. “Looks like we’ll have to find something to do before then.”

  “Kiss her already!” Luke shouted.

  Giving her a wink, I said, “Oh, I can arrange that.” Pressing my lips to hers, Grace wrapped her arms around my neck as we quickly got lost in our kiss. Feeling someone tap my shoulder, I pulled my lips back.

  “Dude, my dad looks like he’s ready to step in and break y’all apart, so I’d wrap it up.”

  Pushing Luke out of the way, I kissed Grace quickly on the lips again. Pastor Roberts motioned of us to turn around. Facing our friends and family he said, “Ladies and gentleman may I introduce, finally, Mr. and Mrs. Noah Bennet.”

  Everyone stood up and started clapping. Seeing my sister standing there with her hand on her stomach caused my heart to feel as if it had stopped for a moment. I glanced over to Luke who was clapping. I could see how happy he was just by the smile on his face. He told me this morning that he and Libby were expecting another baby. My eyes then fell on Grace.

  God she was beautiful. And mine. She would always be mine.

  Grace turned to me and said, “Should I hop down the aisle or have my father carry me again?”

  Frowning, I said, “He won’t give you back.” Leaning down, I scooped her up into my arms and walked down the aisle with her. As we neared the end of it, I took a deep breath and decided to be honest with Grace. I wasn’t sure if now was the time to spring this on her or not.

  Walking Grace up and into the house, she looked back and said, “Noah we need to do pictures!”

  Setting her down in the living room, I dragged in a deep breath. “Grace, now might not be the best time to talk to you about this.”

  Narrowing her eye at me, Grace said, “Holy hell. You better hope what you’re about to say is not more bad news.”

  Letting out a nervous chuckle, I said, “No. It’s just, well I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately and seeing Emily and then Luke telling me that him and Libby are pregnant.”

  Graces eyes lit up and she smiled the brightest smile I’d ever seen. My heart pumped hard and fast in my chest and I was too scared to even hope that she might feel the same way.

  “Keep going,” Grace said.

  Lifting my hand up, I pushed a loose strand of hair behind Grace’s ear. “Grace, I want to have a baby. Like now. I mean I know we can’t have one right now, now. I mean like can we start trying for one . . . now.”

  Grace’s emerald eyes were filled with a pool of tears. “Now now? You want to start right now? Like you want to have sex right now?”

  My body came to attention as I watched Grace lick her lips. “Holy fuck, if you can make that happen, I’d give you anything you want.”

  Grace’s eyes turned dark as she grabbed my hand and hobbled through the house. “Where are we going?” I asked.

  “To the barn!”

  Pulling her to a stop, I asked, “The barn? Are you insane? There are people all gathered up outside waiting for us and you want to sneak off to the barn to have sex!”

  Placing her hands on her hips, Grace tilted her head at me. “Hold up. You were the one who just said if I could make sex happen right this minute you’d give me anything. I want sex right this minute.”

  Swallowing hard, I thought about Jeff and Luke just right outside. “What if we get caught?”

  Grace placed her hands on my chest as she slowly moved them out and wrapped her arms around my neck. “We’re married now, Noah. There is nothing they can do about it.”

  Letting her words soak in, I leaned down and picked her up as I carried her through the house and out the back door. Grace looked around. “Stop!” she said as I came to an abrupt stop. “Fuck a duck. Luke and Will are headed to the barn. To the trees!”

  Giving her a dumbfounded look, I whispered, “What? To the trees?”

  “Noah. I want you now. You have no idea how much I need to come right now. It’s been a stressful day, baby,” Grace said as she gave me a pout.

  Licking my lips, I headed to the trees as Grace giggled. “Don’t mess up my dress, or my hair, or they’ll know what we’ve been up to.”

  “Right,” I said as I carried my bride through the trees and deep enough in where no one could see us.

  Stopping, I gently set Grace down. Her chest was heavy as the anticipation built up. Cupping her face with my hands, I kissed her with everything I had as I pushed her up against an elm tree. Dropping to my knees, I lifted Grace’s dress as she hissed through her teeth, “Oh God, Noah yes.”

  “Mother of God”, I whispered as I saw her lingerie. My hands moved up her thighs as her whole body trembled with anticipation.

  Lifting her leg with the sprained ankle, I put it over my shoulder, as I pushed her white lace panties to the side and licked all the way up her pussy.

  Jesus she tasted like heaven. “Oh hell,” Grace panted out as she pushed her hips out and said, “More.”

  Smiling, I spread her swollen lips apart and buried my tongue inside of her as her hips fucked my face.

  Slipping two fingers inside of her, I massaged the inside of her wall, bringing her closer and closer to release. Moving my lips up, I sucked and flicked her clit with my tongue. Grace called out my name as her entire body shook with her orgasm.

  “Yes, oh God yes! Noah!”

  My dick was throbbing so hard, I about came in my pants. Lifting Grace’s dress over my head, I stood up and unzipped my pants as Grace’s hands shook as she helped.

  She went to drop down on her knees when I took her by the arms and said, “Fuck that. I want inside of you.”

  Her eyes lit up as she lifted her dress. Positioning myself at her entrance, I pushed in as we both let out a moan.

  “Fuck
I’m not going to last long,” I said as I pulled out and pushed back into her.

  “Noah, don’t stop. Move faster.”

  Doing as my bride asked, I pulled out and pushed back into Grace over and over until I felt my balls sucking up. Grace grabbed my shoulders and said, “I’m going to come again!”

  The moment she clamped down on my dick, I lost it. It felt like I came forever as I closed my eyes and watched as stars danced behind my eyelids.

  Slowly pulling out of her, I took the hankie from my jacket and went back under her dress where I cleaned her up as we both attempted to get our breathing under control.

  Standing back up, I looked at Grace and we both started laughing. “You horny bastard!” she said as she launched herself into my arms. Picking her up, I held onto her tightly as I said, “Being with you is like the first time every time, Grace.”

  “Grace? Noah? Where in the hell are you two?” Meagan called out.

  “Noah! Asshole where are you?” Grayson said.

  Grace lifted her eyebrows and said, “That’s an unlikely search party pair.”

  Laughing, I placed my hand on the back of Grace’s neck and pulled her to me. Kissing her fast and hard, I said, “I love you, Grace Bennet.”

  Giving me a smile that made my knees weak, Grace replied back, “I love you the most, Noah Bennet.”

  This. Life couldn’t get any better than this.

  As we made our way out of the trees, we came face to face with Meagan and Grayson. The two of them glared at us.

  “Oh. My. God. You had sex, didn’t you?” Meagan asked as she looked between us. Smiling, I glanced over to Grace who wore a beautiful shade of pink on her cheeks.

  Grayson laughed and said, “You lucky son-of-a-bitch. I want your life.”

  Meagan shot a look over to Grayson. I wasn’t sure how to read it. She quickly rolled her eyes and pointed to Grace. “Slut!”

  Turning on her heels, she started off toward the house again as Grace called out, “Whore!”