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CHAPTER 45
Callie
Two Weeks Later
* * *
I’m marrying Reed. I’m so happy I could burst into a giggle fit from sheer happiness—except the music is starting and that’s my cue. Reed and I put this wedding together really quickly. Then again neither of us wanted to wait. We’ve—I’ve—wasted enough time.
It’s a small wedding—very small. Reed’s band is here playing the music. Mr. Johnson is serving as best man, and Mrs. Johnson is my matron of honor. It’s the choice we both wanted. Katie is still a mess from her canceled wedding. Jake and Reed are barely speaking, and no one can still find Jeff after he left town when the wedding was called off.
Katie and Lennon are here, though. I see Jake in the distance leaning against the side of the barn. It’s clear he doesn’t feel comfortable enough to join us. I hope he and Reed can mend fences because it’s clear this is hurting them both. Reed loves Jake, and if there’s one thing that I know about my husband to be, it’s that he loves deeply and forever.
I move to stand in front of the white archway and smile at my gorgeous man who is standing by the creekbank with Pastor Kurt. Reed surprised me by asking him to officiate the wedding. He laughed and said this way Kurt would know I was off limits. It’s silly, but after a lifetime of feeling as if I’m not worth anything, having my man think I’m someone he can proudly claim as his feels really good. The only other guests are Reed’s friends, Ben and Junie. Reed has told me a lot about them, and I would be jealous of Junie if it wasn’t for the fact that she’s obviously in love with her husband and it’s more than clear he feels the same. Jeff’s mom, Barbara, is here, too—but that’s it.
I walk down the makeshift aisle in my simple ivory dress, clutching a small bouquet of pink lilies. I don’t have any doubts as I make it to the altar, and Reed takes my hand. This is how it should have been all along. I can’t change the past or the choices I made—no more than Reed can change what happened to him or the choices he made. Reed’s right. All we can do is go forward and make every single day count.
“You okay, Mrs. Lane?” he whispers.
“I’ll be better when I’m legally Mrs. Lane,” I whisper back. The light in his eyes is so bright it literally warms me.
I know he’s happy that I’m taking his last name. He made a point of telling me that he didn’t expect me to and wouldn’t care. I know he was worried because of Mitch. I was honest with Reed though. I told him what was in my heart. I want Reed’s last name because this time it means something to me. This time it’s forever.
“Let’s get this wedding done, Pastor. Callie and I have a honeymoon to begin.”
“That’s my boy,” Ben calls out from the crowd. Reed rolls his eyes, but he laughs.
“You’re wrong, sweetheart. We have forever to start,” I correct him. All humor leaves his face, but you can see his joy.
“That we do,” he says, his voice tender. He kisses me, and I kiss him back with everything I have—and I don’t even care that we’re not to that part of the ceremony. I plan on spending the rest of my life kissing my husband any chance I get.
Epilogue
REED
Six Months Later
* * *
I walk down the winding path to mine and Callie’s secret spot. I smile as I see her. She’s lying on the daybed. There’s a book lying against her very pregnant stomach. It doesn’t surprise me that she’s here. The later she gets in her pregnancy, the more she needs a nap. I’ve been working on new music for my next album, and when I come out to check on her, I usually always find her down here listening to the creek, reading, and more times than not, sleeping. We still have her place, but we haven’t done anything with it. Jake is crashing there for now. I have no idea what’s going on with him or with Katie and Jeff for that matter. Jake needed a place to crash, and I helped him out. Maybe someday we’ll get our friendship back, but for now at least he doesn’t want to beat my face every time he sees me and that’s enough.
I stare down at Callie. My heart feels as if it skips a beat. God, she’s so beautiful. It amazes me how she doesn’t know how gorgeous she is—inside and out. She steals my breath.
“Reed?” she whispers, yawning as her eyes open.
“Hey, Bluebird.”
“Did you figure out your song?” she asks, sitting up.
I move over to where she’s at, sitting on the bed, and gently pulling her into me so that her head rests on my lap. She grins up at me, her eyes sparkling with happiness. It makes me feel like a damn king because I know I’m the one that put that happiness back in her eyes. We still have some hiccups here and there, but Callie has healed so much. Her panic attacks are almost non-existent. If she feels them coming on, she’s learned to reach out and hold my hand, or fill her mind with good thoughts. She tells me that’s easy these days because life has given her so much. I personally think I’m the one life keeps giving to, but I’m not about to argue with her.
