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“Yeah, I know.”
“Really?”
“Yes, it’s obvious. Apparently to everyone but you.” I elbow him. “Now can we get back to my wedding?”
He nods. “Yeah, sure. Sorry.”
The music wafts through the air from the trio playing by the barn. My eyes stay fixed on my flower, my honeysuckle, my Delilah, her shoulders exposed as the lace hangs down on the sides. The dress flows around her, and the flowers circling her head make her look like a goddess. My goddess.
“Do you think Shelby likes me?” Billy starts in again. “She flirts with me, and we hung out a few times, but—”
“Shut up, Billy.” I laugh. Right before the girls reach us, I whisper to him, “She likes you, or she wouldn’t give you the time of day. You guys need to seal this deal, once and for all. Make your move at the reception. Chicks love weddings.” I turn back in time to take the hands of my sweet woman. “Hi.”
She whispers, “Hi.” Her hands aren’t shaking, and her voice is steady. She’s confident like the girl I always knew her to be. The difference is, she’s not that girl. She’s a woman who acknowledges the challenges of her past and is choosing to focus on the future. She’s as kind as she is beautiful, accepting me with open arms despite my past. I begin to tell her all the reasons I love her, but it’s the last one that means the most to me. “When I think of love, I think of you, Delilah. Home is where the heart is and my heart is wherever you are, my wife and soul mate. You gave me a reason to stay, and in return, I pledge to you my love in this lifetime and every life after.”
Emotions trickle across her face but end in a smile just for me. “You showed up here on a motorcycle in the pouring rain. If that wasn’t a love song in the making, I don’t know what is. There you were, Jason Koster, looking at me with eyes that carried the years’ worth of burdens, breaking my heart. What you didn’t know is I had a broken heart, too. You carried half of my heart with you all those miles you traveled and all the seas you sailed. We didn’t have to be together to know we were no good apart. Two halves only make a whole when the puzzle pieces fit, and we fit. Forevermore, our souls will be whole because we found our way back to each other.”
“I always did enjoy a good love song. Care to finish this melody together?”
“I do.”
34
Jason
“Then what did he say?” Delilah asks, drawing figure eights in the sand.
How am I expected to finish a story about a minister when she’s dressed in a skimpy bikini? She’s way too distracting, and some guys were eyeing her earlier. I almost kicked their asses for ogling my wife like that.
I’ve discovered it doesn’t matter what she’s wearing, though. Whether she’s wearing a fancy dress in Paris or she’s mostly naked on the beaches of California, they stare everywhere we go.
Makes me miss the privacy of the farm where I’m the only one who gets to ogle.
Lounging back on the sand, her baby belly is barely a pooch. I actually think that’s from the hot dog she had at lunch, along with the salad, the large glass of water, and two scoops of ice cream. I don’t argue though. She’s insisting it’s what our baby boy needs.
I’m kind of hoping for a girl. She’ll be a badass like her mom and learn to throw a football like her dad. Guess we’ll find out in about five more months. In the meantime, it’s been one long honeymoon. Shelby took a leave of absence to handle the farm while we’re gone with the help of Billy. He and Paul manage the fields like they always have. Billy is happy on the farm with Shelby for now, but Paul and Lorraine are going to love the vacation to Hawaii we’ve booked for them. They’ve been friends to me and parental figures to Delilah. It feels good to be able to give back to the people who have given us so much.
The floor plan for our home on the other side of the lake is approved, and the construction is underway. We’ll be able to settle in before the baby comes.
There’s a lot to be grateful for, and I owe it all to the woman next to me. “Who?”
“The minister, Jason.”
“He said I’m exactly where I’m meant to be.”
Waggling her finger at me, she says, “Come over here.” She’s irresistible.
I kneel between her legs and then drop my hands on either side of her head. I’ve traveled the world with this woman. Nothing compares to her natural beauty. “What is it, sweetheart of mine?”
