AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Adam,
I am returning these to their rightful owner. My heart, even on the page, belongs to you, and it always will. You told me once that you couldn’t read them because they would give you hope and something to look forward to... that you walked away from me once to save us both.
Well, there will be no more walking away after today but I want you to know I wouldn’t change one moment of our journey because it’s ours, and it has brought us to this day.
Our wedding day.
I will be your wife in a matter of minutes, and you will be my husband. I am happier than I ever thought possible, and you are the reason. You will always be my reason.
I love you more than... that’s it. Just more than. Nothing is vast enough to fill in that blank.
See you soon. I’ll be the one walking toward you in white!
F.
I dropped my hand with her letter and pinched the bridge of my nose with the other. I wanted nothing more than to run to her now, take her in my arms, and kiss her silly. This no seeing the bride thing was stupid. But she wanted tradition, so I’d gone with it. She deserved it. She deserved so much.
We’d made it past CJ’s arrest and his trial. He’d confessed to his part in everything in exchange for a lighter sentence. He’d also helped Mateo identify the mole in the department and a few other key players, including the other guy who’d been with him when he attacked Faith—some low-level Pittman goon I’d only met once—who were also arrested. Her bittersweet consolation, and the evidence that helped seal the deal, was finding her credit cards and the photo of her, her sisters, and their mom that she thought she’d lost forever in the attack in his apartment. A small solace, but it seemed to go a long way in helping her heal.
The biggest frustration for everyone involved was that Cyrus Pittman would never get his day in court.
Early one morning, several days after his arrest, he was found dead in his jail cell. It appeared to be a suicide, but I had my suspicions, and so did Mateo. Guess even the devil can play too close to the fire.
But that was done and in the past. That vileness had no place in our lives, especially today.
I tucked the letter back in the envelope and put the stack of letters back in the bag to read another time before glancing at the clock on the wall. It was nearly time.
I glanced out the window at all the cars in the lot, catching sight of all the changes Faith and Matthew had already made to the exterior with the bright new signage and landscaping. It was really something to be proud of instead of the oppressing place it used to be.
The door opened behind me, and I turned.
Matthew smiled at me in his dark suit, his long hair slicked back for the occasion. “You ready to do this thing?”
“I’ve been ready. Are you?”
He wiggled his brows. “Ordained and at your service.”
We found my brother in the lobby, then we followed Matthew down the hall toward the outdoor chapel area they’d created just for weddings like this. I gave a small wave to the crowd as we took our places at the front where I waited for her. My perfectly imperfect, beautiful bride.
Faith
I stood inmy dressing room that had once been a storage room but had been repurposed as a bridal suite with soft lighting, a makeup table, a large floor-to-ceiling mirror, and comfortable chairs. Two other closets down the hall were combined to make another smaller dressing area, which was where Adam was dressing.
It was getting harder and harder to picture things the way they used to be. More and more, the images in my mind of the church, the offices, the hallways I’d walked for as long as I could remember, were becoming this. Something reborn. Like Hope’s phoenix.
It was good.
“Okay, little sister,” Hope said, tilting her head to meet my gaze in the mirror. “You gonna just admire yourself all day or what?”
I pivoted dramatically on one white ankle boot and did a mock curtsy. “I might,” I said. “And you’ll just have to sit back and suck it up.”
“Like that’s something new?” she said sideways to Grace, who was rocking side to side with a sleeping Jax.
But Hope’s happy smile and relaxed body language said volumes more than her snarky retorts. Once upon a time, she wouldn’t step foot into this building at all. Grace, neither. Their combined experiences here as children were horrific. But now...
It was different, now. Matthew and I had created something positive over the past year. Happy. A place you just wanted to be. The classes we offered were gaining in popularity; the after-school program was a hit; this was the fifth wedding so far, and the food bank was really taking root. My brother was right. The place just needed a different perspective.
“Auntie Faith?” said Olivia, pushing up from where she was working in a puzzle book on the floor.
