For Emery

by J. Nathan

  Or even better…

  “Fine,” I said. “I know what you can do for me—and Em.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  Emery

  Raquel had lent me her car, which was a lifesaver since Jordan was nowhere to be found. The big game was that weekend, so I knew he was preoccupied.

  I drove off campus, pulling down the visor to protect my eyes from the brutal setting sun as I drove through town. My mom was moving into her new place the following day, and I promised to go shopping with her to help decorate to make her condo feel like home.

  The sun had set by the time I pulled onto my old street and parked in the Gradys’ driveway. I hurried up to the door, knocking once on the side door to let them know I was there. I stepped inside the kitchen. “Hello?”

  “In the living room,” my mother called.

  I made my way through the kitchen and into the living room. My mom sat in the corner chair while Mr. and Mrs. Grady sat on the sofa. “Hi.”

  They all greeted me.

  “You ready to go?” I asked my mom.

  My mother smiled. “I changed my mind. I think I’ve got everything I need.”

  I let out an incredulous laugh. “You do, huh? Why didn’t you call me then?”

  They all smiled, almost too happy I’d driven from campus for no reason.

  “Am I missing something?” I asked, feeling like I was the last one to the party.

  “Maybe,” Mrs. Grady said as she stood from the sofa and wrapped her arm around my shoulders. “Come with me.”

  I glanced to my mother as Mrs. Grady led me out of the living room and to the back door. I stilled as soon as I saw it. My insides became light and airy. “It’s so beautiful,” I whispered as I took in the tiny white lights twinkling like stars in the big tree out back.

  “It’s for you,” she said.

  My head shot to her. “For me?”

  She lifted her chin toward the tree and pushed open the door. “Go out there.”

  I stepped outside, the cool night air prickling the skin on my arms. I glanced back and realized she wasn’t following me out.

  “Go ahead,” she urged.

  I turned back to the tree and made my way over to it. It was beautiful before it had been filled with lights. Now it was exquisite. I stood under the long branches and looked up. The only thing I could see were lights. Thousands of lights creating a magical canopy. A wonderland. A place I never wanted to leave.

  Huh. That was exactly the way I’d felt about Jordan’s house when I was growing up.

  Music began playing softly. Instantly, I recognized the song. Jordan had played it when we danced under the same tree so long ago.

  My head swung around, knowing he had to be nearby.

  He stepped out from behind the large trunk wearing khaki pants and a white button-down shirt. He looked gorgeous—the way he always had in my eyes.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  He walked over to me with a smirk, kissing me soft and slow. He pulled back, leaving me breathless. “I will never get sick of doing that.”

  My eyes flashed up to the lights above us. “This looks beautiful.”

  “It was time.”

  My face wore my confusion. Time? Time for what?

  “You told me on our first date that you would follow me anywhere. Did you mean that?”

  I tilted my head. “Do you even have to ask that?”

  He nodded. “Yup. I need to know.”

  “Of course I’d follow you anywhere. I’ve been doing it since we met, haven’t I?”

  His smile turned my insides mushy. Every time.

  I watched as he slowly lowered himself down onto one knee.

  Oh. My. God.

  He pulled out a small box and looked up at me. “I know we’re young and we have our whole lives ahead of us…”

  I clasped my hand over my mouth.

  “But there’s not another person in this world I’d want to be on this journey with. I don’t want you following me anymore, Emery. I want you right by my side. I love you more than I ever thought possible. I know you may want to wait until you graduate and open your shelter, but I need to put a ring on your finger so I’ll know, without a shadow of a doubt, that you’ll be mine forever.”

  Tears tumbled out of my eyes and down my cheeks. “I’ve always been yours,” I assured him.

  His lips quirked in the corners. “I’m gonna need a more definitive answer. It’s good for the ego, you know.”

  I laughed through my tears. “Yes. Yes. Yes.”

  His smile reached his eyes as he opened the box and pulled out a diamond ring. The stone sparkled almost as brilliantly as the lights above us.

  I held out my shaking hand and he slipped the ring onto my finger. I didn’t even look at it. I was too taken by the way he stared up at me with the kind of happiness only attainable when you found “The One.”

  Jordan pushed himself to his feet and lifted me right off mine. I wrapped my legs around his hips and our lips collided. I was marrying Jordan Grady. I’d told him a long time ago we’d get married someday. He didn’t believe me back then. But I’d been right. I’d been right all along.

  When Jordan pulled away, I was breathless as usual and floating on cloud nine. “Let’s go show our parents,” he said.

  I laughed, loving his enthusiasm. He placed me down and grabbed hold of my hand as we walked toward our parents, who were all smiling in the doorway.

  A light shining in a nearby bush caught my attention. “What’s that?”

  Jordan glanced to where I peered into the darkness. “Oh, that’s just Flip.”

  My voice squeaked incredulously. “Flip?”

  “Yeah. I needed someone to record the moment. Figured Flip was the best one for the job.”

  Leave it to Jordan to make his point clear. I threw back my head and laughed then stopped completely, holding Jordan back with me. I reached up and pulled his mouth down to mine and kissed him. He wasn’t the only one happy to drive the point home to Flip. I was Jordan’s girl. Always had been. Always would be.

  FINALLY

  Three Years Later

  Emery

  I pulled in a deep breath, feeling calmer than I’d ever felt in my life. Why wouldn’t I? My dream was about to come true in front of the people I cared most for in this world.

  “You ready?” my mom asked.

  I glanced over my shoulder. She stood there in a beautiful purple dress. You’d never know she’d once endured such trauma. Her wounds had healed. The sparkle in her eyes had returned. So had her smile.

  I had my mom back.

  “Yes. I’m ready.” I stood from the stool in front of Mrs. Grady’s dresser. My strapless, fitted, white dress hung to the floor and covered my bare feet. My veil, with its edges steeped with sparkles, hung down my back covering my hair, which was curled in flowing waves.

  “You look breathtaking,” my mom said as I stepped beside her and kissed her cheek.

  “Thanks, Mama.” I walked through the Grady’s empty house until I stood in the door, gazing out at the yard aglow with sunshine—the way I always remembered my childhood. Only a few chairs filled the lawn area beneath the tree. We both wanted to keep the ceremony small. The Gradys sat beside Uncle Cal. Sabrina, Crosby, and Abbott sat behind them. Raquel and Vanessa, my friend from Arizona, sat across the aisle beside an empty chair for my mom.

  My eyes moved from them to the one person I really sought.

  Jordan, wearing a black suit, was speaking to Father Hall, who had been our priest when we were kids. Jordan’s back faced everyone. Professional football looked good on him. His arms were rock hard, and he’d kept off the weight. I was so proud of the way he’d taken over as a leader so quickly on his team. He had the respect of his teammates and the coaching staff. And people were beginning to take notice of him as a real threat on the field. And, though I’d just finished my senior year, I’d made it to
every one of his games. Because when I promised Jordan Grady I’d do something, I always made good on that promise.

  “It’s time,” my mom said as she pushed open the door and stepped outside.

  I followed her, slipping my arm through hers as we moved across the yard toward the tree.

  Soft music began to play.

  Everyone stood.

  Jordan finally turned. He pulled in a sharp breath as a huge smile spread across his face.

  And in that moment, it was as if everyone else just disappeared. And all I saw was Jordan. Always Jordan.

  My mom and I stopped once we reached him. She released my arm and hugged him. “Be good to her,” she whispered.

  “You know I will,” he assured her.

  She stepped away and sat beside Raquel and Vanessa.

  Jordan took my hands in his big bear claws. “Hi.”

  “Hi,” I said, trying to suppress the grin that fought to take over every part of my face.

  “You look—” we both said, laughing at our sudden awkwardness.

  “You look beautiful,” he said.

  My cheeks warmed, never immune to the power of his words. “You do too.”

  “Well, Sabrina said I look hot,” he teased.

  “I’m never living that down,” she mumbled from her chair behind us.

  I laughed as I glanced toward her. “Can you stop boosting his already massive ego?”

  She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

  I looked back to Jordan. “I think you look hot too.”

  “Obviously.”

  I snickered.

  “Should we begin?” Father Hall asked.

  I nodded.

  “Father, the shorter you make this ceremony,” Jordan said. “The sooner I get to hold my wife.”

  My belly rippled at the sound of ‘wife’ rolling off Jordan’s tongue. I was minutes away from being Jordan Grady’s wife. Mrs. Jordan Grady.

  Holy. Freaking. Cow.

  “We are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony,” Father Hall began, his voice a bit shaky with age.

  I stared into Jordan’s eyes, remembering every important moment we’d shared. He was my first everything. The first boy I kissed. The first boy I slept with. The first boy I loved—the only boy I loved. Those moments, and so many others, were engrained in my brain and heart forever.

  As Father Hall continued with our brief ceremony, Jordan’s blue eyes gazed at me. Someday our children would have the same blue gaze. Because we would have children. And they’d be as outgoing, funny, and loving as Jordan. And hopefully as strong, committed, and passionate as me.

  Father Hall’s voice broke through my thoughts. “Do you, Emery Pruitt, take Jordan Grady to be your lawfully wedded husband? Do you promise to be faithful to him in good times and bad, in sickness and in health, and to love and to honor him all the days of your life?”

  Jordan’s eyes riveted between mine, as if he didn’t already know my answer.

  “I do,” I said, my heartbeat quickening.

  Father Hall looked to Jordan. “Do you—”

  “I do,” Jordan said.

  Everyone laughed.

  “You have to let him finish,” I whispered.

  His thumbs brushed over the backs of my hands. “Fine.”

  Father Hall tried again. “Do you, Jordan Grady, take Emery Pruitt to be your lawfully wedded wife? Do you promise to be faithful to her in good times and bad, in sickness and in health and to love and to honor her all the days of your life?”

  “Oh, hell, yes!”

  Everyone laughed.

  Jordan’s eyes shot to Father Hall. “Sorry, Father.”

  Father Hall winked at him.

  “Can I kiss her now?” Jordan asked.

  “Not yet,” Father Hall said. “Do you have the rings?”

  Jordan dug into his pocket and pulled out my ring.

  I turned to my mom who handed me Jordan’s wedding band.

  Father Hall blessed the rings and then looked to Jordan. “Jordan, repeat after me. Emery, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love.”

  Jordan held a beautiful diamond wedding band between his thumb and index finger and slipped it onto my extended ring finger as he said, “Emery, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love.”

  I stared down at the exquisite ring on my finger. Jordan had picked it out on his own and wouldn’t let me see it. I glanced up at him. “It’s beautiful.”

  He smiled as he eagerly held out his hand.

  I held his band between my fingers. “Jordan, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love.” I slipped the ring onto his ring finger.

  Jordan smiled. “I hope you give me babies, too. Lots of them.”

  Everyone laughed again.

  Jordan glanced to Father Hall. “Now, Father?”

  Father Hall shook his head with amusement in his eyes. “One more thing. It is with great pleasure, before your family and friends, that I pronounce you husband and wife. Now, you may kiss your bride.”

  “My wife,” Jordan whispered, before lifting me right off my feet and kissing me.

  Applause and laughter surrounded us, but all I saw was Jordan.

  My husband.

  EPILOGUE

  One Year Later

  Emery

  A lump formed in my throat as I stood behind the door, waiting to see all the smiling faces. My mama stood beside me, her hand gripping mine like a vice. I knew she didn’t like to be the center of attention, but I couldn’t think of anyone I wanted by my side in this moment more than I wanted her.

  The doors opened and we stepped out, greeted by a round of applause. I glanced to Jordan standing behind a podium, having just introduced us to the attendees. He walked over and kissed my mom on the cheek before pulling me into his muscular arms. “I love you,” he whispered. “And I’m so proud of you.”

  I smiled, trying to push my nerves aside as he moved me to the podium. I looked out at the sea of women sitting there. So many of them had escaped difficult lives and the abusive men who had made it that way. They finally had a place to call home until we could find them a new place. A new job. A new happiness.

  “Thank you,” I said into the clump of microphones, waiting for their applause to subside. “This is a true dream come true for me. It’s what I’ve dreamt about since my mother and I escaped an abusive home and didn’t know where to go to start over.”

  I glanced to my mama. Tears glazed her eyes. She was so proud of what Jordan and I had created. So very proud.

  “If we were able to escape our situation, then I am confident that any woman who finds herself in a situation that is unsafe or unhealthy can too.”

  I looked into the television cameras in the back of the room. Thanks to Jordan’s appearance, along with a few of his teammates, we had quite the turnout and media coverage. “To any woman out there who knows she doesn’t deserve the life she’s living. To any woman out there who is scared from the moment she wakes up until the moment she goes to bed. To any woman who wants better for not only herself, but for her children too. There is a place for you. A safe place. Here at The Safety Net, we want to help you. No. We will help you.”

  The room burst into applause and Jordan stepped up beside me, wrapping his arms around me. When our gazes met, I saw so much in his eyes—love, pride, happiness. I smiled. Jordan had been my safety net. I wanted nothing more than to give that to women out there who didn’t have a Jordan Grady to catch them. Luckily, I had him, and I’d never let him go again.

  THE END

  If you or someone you love is in need of assistance,

  there is help available.

  National Domestic Violence Hotline

  1-800-799-7233

  http://www.thehotline.org/

  If you enjoyed For Emery (Book #4 in the For You Standalone Series),

  be sure to check out:

  Book #1 For F
inlay, Caden and Finlay’s story

  Book #2 For Forester, Trace and Marin’s story

  Book #3 For Crosby, Sabrina and Crosby’s story

  PURCHASE LINKS

  Here’s an excerpt from the book that started the series.

  For Finlay:

  Finlay

  I stood on the sideline under the unbearable August sun. There was no reprieve from an Alabama summer. Pool water turned to bath water, and lakes were overcrowded. So unless you were brave enough to jump into a cold shower, you dealt with the heat. And out there in the open stadium, the sun beat down like a mother.

  A couple players ran over to the sideline, pulling off their shiny red helmets revealing damp hair and sweaty red faces. The once menacing black paint trailed like tear drops down their cheeks. They grabbed the water bottles I extended to them. “Thanks,” the shorter one uttered, while the taller downed the contents of his without taking a breath.

  They tossed me back the empty bottles. I grabbed two more from the bench and searched for anyone else looking for sustenance. When no one caught my eye, I hurried to my back-up supply in the big jug behind the bench and filled the empty bottles.

  “Hey, sweetheart.”

  Ugh. That freaking voice.

  “Get your ass over here.”

  I turned, eyeing the asshole approaching me with nothing but disgust. And while I had a million comebacks for his inappropriate comments, I held my tongue—at least for the time being. I needed to be there. A prick like him wasn’t going to drive me away.

  “Didn’t you see me motioning for you out there?” he growled.

  Yup. I shook my head. “Sorry.”

  “Well, give me a damn drink,” he ordered, colder than usual.

  I bit down on my bottom lip as I handed him the bottle, wishing I’d spit in it first.

  He ripped it from my hand. “Coach might’ve gotten one with tits this time,” he said to no one in particular. “But she’s sure dumb as dirt.”

  I sucked back a sharp breath.

  “Grady!” a deep voice shouted. “That’s enough.”

  I froze, startled that someone actually had the balls to stand up to the three-hundred-pound brute.