Page 63 of Barbed Wire and Burglary
The minister chuckled at the policemen’s antics, waiting patiently on the steps of the rustic gazebo until they quieted down. White rose garlands circled the eaves above his head. A violin quartet and part of the church choir were seated behind him inside the gazebo.
At the base of the stairs, A.J. stood with Aurora’s hand curled around his arm. They’d chosen to keep their wedding simple. Or fuss-free, as Aurora kept calling it. She was so beautiful in a gown of ivory chenille and lace. At his request, she’d agreed to leave her gorgeous Rapunzel-style hair down. A light summer breeze sent several silken strands of it across her eyes and cheeks that he was going to enjoy smoothing away before he kissed her.
She tipped her face his way, her hazel eyes glowing into his like a thousand unspoken promises. For a moment, there was no one in the world but the two of them.
I love you.He mouthed the words to her.
She mouthed them back.
Then he tuned in to the ceremony, not wanting to miss a single word of it.
“There’s a story behind what I said.” The white-haired minister took the time to spin the heartwarming tale for his listeners. Most of them had heard it before, but no one minded hearing it again. It was about a retired soldier who’d confessed his love to his perfect partner with nothing but a grenade clip in his pocket to bend into a promise ring.
“She has refused to take it off for five months straight,” he concluded amidst a smattering of cheers and yet more clapping. “That kind of love is worth celebrating. I couldn’t be prouder or more honored to be a part of the joyful new chapter they’re stepping into…though her groom personally confided in me that he’s hoping she’ll finally trade in her promise ring for a wedding ring.”
The audience gave a collective gasp and leaned forward as Aaron produced a velvet ring box and handed it to A.J.
A.J. opened it and was rewarded by the sound of Aurora catching her breath.
“Oh, A.J.,” she breathed.
She likes it.Relief filled him. He reached for her hand, which had so faithfully worn the grenade clip he’d given her.
The minister proceeded to lead them in their vows, after which Aurora allowed him to remove the grenade clip and replace it with a perfect replica. The wedding ring he’d specially commissioned for her was an intricate twist of white gold with an elongated marquis diamond blazing from the center of it.
His own wedding ring was a matching white-gold grenade clip without the diamond.
Their kiss was a reminder that God was still in control. Though things would never be perfect on this side of glory, the woman in A.J.’s arms had transformed his life into the next best thing to perfect.
Who neededperfect,anyway, when he had a gorgeous crime-fighting partner like Aurora Pike by his side? He didn’t anticipate many dull moments being married to the newly crowned CEO of Diamondback Corporation, a firm that few people knew existed. Even fewer people knew that its home office had recently relocated from Wall Street to Main Street in Heart Lake.
Further shrouding the secret was the CEO’s small office in the back of Modello’s, not too many doors down from the auto body shop where he still pulled a shift now and then when he wasn’t subcontracting for Lonestar Security.
He was the first of his kind on staff at Lonestar, since no amount of wheedling on their part had been able toconvince him to give up his independence. If they hadn’t agreed to let him serve as a PI on a subcontracting basis, he might’ve turned in his resignation. He wanted a schedule that would allow him to be a husband, the faithful sidekick of his favorite CEO, and eventually a father.
Someday.
In God’s timing.
As soon as the minister finished the closing prayer, A.J.’s parents edged their way in front of Aaron and his deputy friends to gush over their son and new daughter-in-law. They’d prayed long and hard for this day to come.
“We’re so happy for you, son.” His mother cried happy tears all over him as she hugged his neck.
“And proud,” his father added gruffly, his eyes shining nearly as brightly as A.J.’s mom’s eyes.
In a few days, his parents would start dropping hints about grandchildren. He couldn’t wait.
Mixed feelings churnedin Halle Garrett as she drove past the brick sign welcoming newcomers to Heart Lake.
I’m home.
She’d never planned on coming back, but fate seemed to have other ideas. After her con artist ex had stolen the chicken farm that had been in her family for generations, she’d been forced to take him to court. And now that she’d won back the farm, she was finally going to move in and run it herself.
When you want something done right,as her parents used to say,you have to do it yourself.
She blinked away tears at the memory. She missedthem so much! For the life of her, she didn’t know how a kindergarten teacher like herself was going to run a chicken farm on her own, but she’d figure it out.
The lake came into view, and she momentarily forgot her troubles. The water was bluer than she remembered. Beautiful. Peaceful. She was tempted to pull over to the side of the road and run down the embankment to dangle her feet in the water. She and her friends had done it countless times as kids.
