He walked over to her, his eyes taking in every inch, and she went from boiling to necular meltdown hot with the heat in his own eyes. “Roxanne you are absolutely breath taking.”
She smiled demurely. “You aren’t to shabby looking yourself there hero.”
He offered her his arm, and she took it. Together they walked to the limo and climbed in with Clarice and Susan following them. They all chatted and laughed as they traveled through the strip on the way to the chapel. Roxy thanked Clarice several times, and her friend kept telling her she was happy to help. When they arrived at the chapel, the girls went inside, and Jackson helped Roxy out and snapped for Pinga to follow.
They walked up the stairs, and into the chapel. Roxy’s eyes filled with tears as the candlelight and flowers took over her view. Unless you knew that the wedding hadn’t been planned months in advance, there was no way you would have known it had been put together in less than twenty-four hours. Jackson kissed her lightly on the cheek and then turned to Pinga and pointed beside the entrance. “Pinga Post.” The dog sat beside the door to await their return.
Jackson took her hand in his and looked into her eyes. “Are you ready love?”
“OH YES!”
He nodded, and the music started, not the traditional wedding march, but Bryan Adams song “Everything I do.” Which Roxy thought was perfect. The song from the Robin Hood sound track that spoke of how the hero would do everything for the woman he loved. Just as her hero was doing. Jackson reached down and twined his hand in hers, and just as he promised they walked down the Aisle with each other to face their future as husband and wife. As they walked together Roxy began to realize there were people she knew there. All eight of the Reindeer brothers and their wives. Gordon and Evelyn sat where the groom's parents would sit. Her father and mother. Colette and Judy from AWSG. Several of Jackson’s search and rescue team. They’d packed the Resort jets to bring her family to her. She wiped at the tears trying not to ruin her makeup. This man she was marrying had pulled out all the stops. They arrived at the altar before the pastor still hand in hand. There, acting as best man and matron of honor stood Rudy and Clarice. Her real family here to help her celebrate her happy ever after. The preacher cleared his throat, and the ceremony began.
“Dearly beloved we are gathered here today in the sight of God to unite this couple in Holy Matrimony.” Then he changed things up. Normally, the bride is asked to make her pledge first, but that didn’t happen. “Jackson Hermies Cornilus, do you take Roxanne Dallas Kowalski to be your lawfully wedded wife? Do you vow to love her, honor her keep and protect her in sickness and in health, in good times and bad, in want and in plenty, forsaking all others until death do you part?”
Jackson stared straight into her eyes and with a fervor and intensity she had never seen before stated loudly. “I DO!”
She couldn’t hold back after that his love so openly and forcefully shown by having the minister ask him first broke the last brick holding back her heart and tears ran unashamedly down her cheeks.
“And do you Roxanne Dallas Kowalski take this man, Jackson Hermies Cornilus to be your lawfully wedded husband? Do you vow to love him, honor him, keep him and cherish him in sickness and in health, in good times and bad, in want and in plenty, forsaking all others until death do you part?”
She nodded, cleared her throat and answer. “OH I DO!
The minister smiled and then said We will now exchange the rings, but first I was told that Jackson wished to say something to his bride.”
Jackson turned to Rudy, who handed him two rings. Just simple golden wedding band but obviously aged. “Roxy these rings belong to my grandparents. They were married for fifty-two years. When my grandfather died, everyone said my grandmother would be devastated, but they were wrong. Because after he was placed in the ground, she went home, laid in their marriage bed and went to sleep never to wake again. They stated often that they lived for the love of the other. Without his love, she had nothing to live for. I asked Gordon to bring these rings because that’s the kind of loving marriage I pray we have. That we live for the love of the other fifty years or more and when that love is taken, we follow the other into the next life to continue our love.”
He handed the rings to the pastor who cleared his throat and wiped his own tear before blessing them. “I pray that we may all experience that kind of love in our marriages. Jackson placethis ring on your wife’s finger and make your vow. With this ring I thee wed my body and belongings all given freely to you.”
Jackson slid the ring on her finger snug against the engagement ring he’d bought her that morning. “With this ring I thee wed, my body and belongings all given freely to you.”
The minister placed the wider band in her hand Roxanne place this ring on your husband’s finger and make your vow…”
Before he could finish telling her the vow, Roxy was sliding the ring on Jackson's hand. “With this ring I thee wed, my body and belongings all given freely to you with all my love Jackson.”
“Yes well, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Jackson you may kiss your bride.”
Jackson didn’t even let him finish before he was pulling her snug against his body leaving no doubt of his love and desire had his hand cupped her cheek, and his lips claimed hers. He didn’t try to keep the kiss chaste; he drank deeply of her mouth and when he finally pulled away Roxanne knew she was going to be thoroughly and completely loved from that day onward for the rest of her life.
She was sure that the minister announced them to the people assembled to watch them wed, but she heard none of it as her husband took her lips again and kissed her so completely that everything else, but his mouth on hers disappeared. He scooped her into his arms still kissing her and headed down the Aisle without a slowing or breaking the kiss until they reached the doorway. He released her lips only long enough to say to word. “Pinga come.” Then his lips returned to hers where they belonged.
It wasn’t until they were back in the honeymoon suite that she realized she didn’t know what became of her parents. When she asked Jackson, he let her know that they’d been escorted to the charter jet by Gordon and Evelyn and returned to Disaster City. He didn't want them to miss the gender reveal and pregnancy photo shoot. Roxy laughed at the serious expression he held as he said it and then he began to show her his love. Neither of them even thought about the fact that they’d only agreed to try to see if they had a connection the day before. By the time they fell asleep hours later they had connected in every way a husband and wife were supposed to, several times over. Fully exhausted and satisfied they’d slipped off to sleep wrapped in each other’s arms.
Jackson
When he woke in the morning, Jackson just laid in his marriage bed marveling at the feel of his precious wife twined around his body with her own. He looked down watching the peaceful look on her face. He winced at the marks he’d inflicted on her in his excitement the night before. There would be no hiding that she had been well and truly claimed by her husband the day before. Slowly, he moved out from under her and grabbed a robe slipping it on before moving into the main room of their suite. There he ordered room service breakfast for them. Next he slipped quietly into the restroom and cleaned up a bit.
When he returned to the bed, she hadn’t moved, and he couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face looking down at his wife. He had a wife. He slowly lowered himself over her and started kissing her at her shoulder and up her neck to that place behind her ear. His hands stroked and touched loving the feel of her smooth skin. When he leaned up to claim her lips, he saw her eyes half open in awareness. “Good morning my lovely wife.”
The smile that crossed her face set his heart to racing. “I’ve ordered us breakfast it should be here soon. She wrapped her arms around him, and he leaned down to kiss her when she pulled back. “Wait morning breath.”
He took her lips and thoroughly kissed her. “I don’t care ,you are perfect no matter what to me. Then he kissed her rep
eatedly. Each kiss deeper and more amorous than the one before it right up until they were interrupted by a knock on the door. Jackson sighed. “That would be breakfast. I’ll take care of that you do what you need and meet me at the table.”
She nodded, and he placed a quick light kiss on the end of her nose. He went in and took the breakfast cart from the server and tipped him well promising to push the cart outside the door when they were finished. Soon they were sitting at the table replenishing the energy they had expended the night before. As they ate, they talked about their hopes and dreams, kids and the house on the Island they owned. They made plans for moving and consolidating their places once they were back in Alaska.
“We don’t need to leave for the airfield until five tonight. What do you want to do today my darling wife?”
Jackson smiled. “I just love saying that, my darling wife.”
Roxy bit her lip. “I think since we both will have full schedules starting tomorrow, we should just spend today here in the room getting to know each other better. Unless you’d rather go out and do something.”
Jackson kissed her and started moving the dishes back onto the cart to shove outside the room. “I think your plan is perfect Roxy. Let’s just spend time loving each other and talking to each other. I agree, come tomorrow the next thirty days will be busy. Hey, do you think your folks will still want us to come to Sunday dinner while we're in town now that we invited them to the wedding?”
“I don’t know maybe not, but if they do, we should go. I know you don’t want to and neither do I but they are my parents.”
He pulled her into his arms. “Yes, they are and you’re right if they want us there, we should go. But I gotta tell ya love they irritate me the way they treat you.”
Roxy climbed on his lap and kissed him. “I know you don’t, and I didn’t like the way they treated you either. However, we live a six-hour direct flight away from them. We won’t have to see them often. We’ll just do our duty eat dinner and excuse ourselves and leave. Also, if my sister and Winslow are there don’t go after either of them. I’m honestly over what they did. I agree it was cruel and intentional, but if they hadn’t run off together you, and I wouldn’t have met or married. We’d have never realized what God had in store for us.”
He kissed her thoroughly before pulling back. “I agree. We do sort of owe them a big thank you don’t we? I’m not going to give them one, but I’ll thank God daily for letting us find each other.”
Roxy nodded to him. “Me too. It’s only been a couple of days, and already I can’t imagine not having met and falling in love with you. I am you know falling in love with you.”
He kissed her again. “I’m falling in love with you too, and I look forward to many years of falling deep and deeper in love with you. Just know I’m always going to be here for you Roxy. When you need me, I’ll be there, always. To cheer you on when you're succeeding, to help you up if you fall. To love you, comfort you. If you’re lost, I’ll find you, and if you’re afraid I’ll slay whatever is causing your fear.”
Then he picked her up and carried her back to bed until it was time for them to head back to Texas and the next month of their lives.
Seven
Roxy
The next three weeks spent working with the instructors at Disaster City was deeply fulfilling. Roxy was exhausted every night, but Jackson was there to give her a massage or run her a warm bath. Some days he was later getting in than him but most of the physical work in his time was done by Pinga, who was the top of her class.
Roxy loved showing off the products for the different environments, and she spent part of each day touring and making notes on the law enforcement and firefighting sides looking for ways to develop new product streams for AWSG. She was excited to take those notes home to the research and development teams. She’d spent time showing off the quality of the gear that Rudy developed and put together a comprehensive rescue kit for urban use, one for desert use, forest use, mountain use and winter/arctic use. They also developed a kit for those trainees who would have to be able to operate in all the environments like Disaster City Search and Rescue itself. The fact that each kit was saving the center between 10 and 15% over their old supplier was a matter of personal pride for Roxy.
Not only were her days full of enjoyment and satisfaction so were her nights. Unless he had a night, training Jackson was home with her every evening, and they were growing closer every day. She was learning his likes and dislikes, and he was spoiling her rotten. Not a night went buy that he didn’t bring her some little trinket or bobble that he saw that made him think of her. He woke her each morning with fresh coffee and a kiss before telling her he loved her and how beautiful he thought she was. It hadn’t taken many days before she realized that she believed him. Before she’d seen herself as plain and overweight now, she saw herself as he saw her. Curvy and Beautiful he told her, and then he proceeded to worship those curves in ways that not only brought her great pleasure but had changed how she saw her own body.
The only bother in her happiness was her parents. They wanted her to come to Sunday dinner, but they didn’t want her to bring her husband. As far as her mother and father were concerned, they saw Jackson as rude and judgmental and every time her mother called and asked her to Sunday dinner it was made plain that Jackson wasn’t welcome in their home. So, every time Roxy informed them that if her husband wasn’t welcome, she wasn’t either, and she’d refused to come. She hated that they were making her chose but the choice itself was easy. Jackson was loving and supportive of her in everything. Her parents were still pushing her to see her sister and Winslow and let them off the hook for how they’d treated her. Add the attitude toward the man she loved and married, and Roxanne began to realize that she really didn’t have any family in Texas. Her real family, the ones she loved and missed were up north in Alaska. As she was wrapping up her time at Disaster City her longing for time with Evelyn, Clarice, Colette and the twins was growing. At the same time, she hated the thought that her business in Texas was going to be done sooner than Jackson's was going to be done. She at the most had two days left then she had no reason to remain in Texas. She was sure that Rudy wouldn’t begrudge her an extra week, but at the same time he was still stuck in the southern hemisphere shoot Lone Survivor. She wanted to show one more idea to the guys at Disaster city and then honestly; she'd have to return to Alaska without her husband.
It would be the first time since their marriage that they would be apart longer than a day, but it really couldn’t be helped. So, the next morning she called Colette and told her to arrange a ride home for her on the following Monday. She’d give her parents one last opportunity to allow her and Jackson for Sunday dinner. Today she’d show her idea for a miniature rescue kit for the law enforcement side of Disaster city and see what the powers that be thought, and then she’d spend the weekend loving hard on her husband to get her through the week without him. Then she’d fly home.
Colette promised that the charter company would have her a flight home on Monday, and she would be happy to see here friend and hear all about her amazing new husband. That made Roxanne smile, because she did have an amazing new husband. She placed one last call to her mother who again informed her that Jackson wasn’t welcome in their home until he apologized for the disrespect, he had shown them on the way to her wedding. When Roxy demanded to know what he’d done that was disrespectful besides standing up for her? Her mother was at a loss for words and told her if she hadn’t seen it for herself, then maybe they hadn’t raised her the way they thought they had. All Roxy could do was tell her mother, she was sorry she felt that way, but she was honoring her marriage vows by supporting her husband then she told her mother good-bye. All she could do beyond that was pray that her parents would have a change of heart one day toward Jackson.
The next day the instructors at DCSR threw her a good-bye reception. They were impressed by her knowledge and professionalism, and they loved the mini emergency rescue ki
t she had put together and added several of them to their order. Once the day was done, she went back to the bungalow she’d shared with her husband for almost three weeks. Anxious to spend one more weekend in his arms, before she had to leave him to return to Alaska. Thankfully, he’d be following her just six short days later if Pinga passed her certifications. The two of them loved hard all weekend long, and he drove her to the airfield Monday morning and kissed each of her tears as she boarded the plane that was taking her away from him temporarily. Then she watched out the window as he sat in his rented jeep watching her taxi the runway and take off. She was so distraught at leaving him and so worn out from her weekend that she slipped asleep soon after take-off and didn’t wake until Susan was telling her to strap in because they plane was going to make a crash landing somewhere in the frozen north either in the Canadian or Alaskan wilderness. They weren’t sure because lightening had fried all their instruments. But instead of being scared or worried Roxy felt her heart filled with peace as Jackson's words the day after their wedding came to her mind. “When you need me, I’ll be there, always. To cheer you on when you're succeeding, to help you up if you fall. To love you, comfort you. If you’re lost, I’ll find you, and if you’re afraid I’ll slay whatever is causing your fear.”
She knew beyond a doubt it was going to be true she just had to stay alive because her husband was a hero, and he wouldn’t rest until he’d brought her home safe and sound.
Eight
Jackson
This was the worst Monday in the history of Monday’s Jackson decided. First, he’d had to put his beautiful wife and all her gear on a plane for home without him. It had all but shredded his heart watching her cry as she got on the plane. Yes, it was only for six more days, but it wasn’t the time apart that had made the day suck it was how she’d been so broken to leave him behind. Then to top it off there hadn’t been any coffee when he got to the center and by no coffee, he didn’t mean none made nope they were completely out as in none to be made either. The final straw to cap off this terrible Monday was the fact that Pinga had picked up on his mood. While she’d still performed well, she didn’t score as high as she normally would have. It was high enough to certify but not nearly as high as she was capable of. Thankfully, it was her urban certification, the one they would use the least often, so it was the least important one for her to be the best on.
The Reject Rescue Page 6
