I close my eyes and let myself be lost to the words.
To the hope.
To the knowledge that God is here with us always.
“Peace be with you,” Pastor Reeves says.
I open my eyes and smile as I say, “And also with you.”
The choir begins singing, so we get to our feet and start toward the exit. As we go, we’re stopped at least a half a dozen times by people asking to see Anastasia’s ring or congratulating us on the engagement.
Engagement.
We’re getting married.
It still doesn’t feel real.
In less than three months, Anastasia will be my wife. My partner. We’re planning on me moving into the coffee shop right after the wedding, then spending a week on Zane’s boat. Just her, me, and the open ocean.
This time, we won’t be running away from something but sailing toward our future. I can’t wait.
The sun is bright overhead as we step outside. “That was such a great service,” Anastasia says as she wraps her arms around mine and leans against me. “Wasn’t it?” She glances up, her now long blonde hair in loose waves around her face.
“It was.”
The physical evidence of what Jack tried to do to her is long gone, but every now and then, I see that bruise. Over the summer, when we’d spent time at the beach, I’d seen the scar left behind by the bullet hole in her side.
Just thinking about it has the anger coming back all over again.
Jack was sentenced to life in prison without parole. They’d charged him with Violet’s murder, as well as the murders of the twelve women in Georgia, and the whole slew of charges he racked up while being here in Stormwatch Landing.
Last I heard, they’d moved him into solitary confinement because he had a massive target on his head. It shouldn’t have made me happy to know that he’s suffering behind bars, but it did, and that’s something I’m working on.
“You feel a million miles away. You okay?” she asks as I open the door to my truck so she can climb inside.
I step up toward her and lean in to press my lips to hers. “Baby, I’m doing just fine.”
“Yeah?” Her hazel eyes glitter with the same love I feel every time I look at her.
“Oh yeah. Now, how about we go get the shop open for business?”
“Sounds good.” She grips her wedding binder in her hands and grins at me. “Oh! I already know what cake we’re going with.”
“Yeah?”
“Chocolate with peanut butter frosting.”
“A woman after my heart,” I tell her. “But you don’t have to try so hard; you already have it.” I kiss her again.
“I want you to have everything you’ve ever wanted, Sawyer Maddox,” she says, reaching up to run her hand along my jaw.
“Don’t you know that I already have it, baby? Because you’re sitting right here.”
She laughs, and I step away to close the door, but when Anastasia’s eyes go wide and her face pales, I still. “Oh boy,” she says.
“What is it?” My system reacts before my mind can decide whether or not there’s danger. Adrenaline surges, and my fight response kicks in, but Anastasia puts her hand on my arm.
“It’s okay, it’s just—do you see her?” she asks, pointing to a woman who just stepped out of a car in the church parking lot. Her red hair is bright beneath the brilliant sun, but her gaze is shielded by dark glasses.
