“Anytime. Anyplace. Anywhere,” she answered laughingly, pulling him up to a standing position so that they were on equal footing. Although it was a sweet gesture, she didn’t need to see Caleb on bended knee to know he loved her. They’d been put through the fire too many times to count, and through it all, they’d survived the challenges. No, she thought wisely, she didn’t need Caleb on his knees. He’d given himself to her, heart and soul. That was more than enough for her.
“What are you doing here? Haven’t you heard that old superstition about brides and grooms seeing each other before the wedding?” she asked with a mock frown on her face, her finger pointed at him disapprovingly. “Are you trying to jinx this thing?”
He lowered his head and planted a kiss on Sierra’s lips, a sweet, joyous kiss that she knew conveyed all the tenderness and adoration inside of him. He'd told he that sometimes he felt he might burst with happiness or that he’d wake up to find that he’d been dreaming one long, miraculous dream. But, as each day passed Caleb became more comfortable with their newfound happiness and he'd accepted that they deserved such blessings. He’d finally realized that their new life wasn’t going to disappear in a puff of smoke.
“I laid all my fears to rest the moment I knew you loved me,” he whispered against her cheek, his lips nuzzling her ear and neck before he pulled away from her. “I came to give you this,” he said in a formal tone as he pulled an envelope from the inside of his tuxedo. “It’s been something I’ve been meaning to do, but I wanted to wait until the timing was perfect. And in my humble opinion, there’s no better time than the present.”
“What is it?” she asked as Caleb placed a small, manila envelope in the palm of her hand.
Caleb nodded his head at the envelope, silently urging Sierra to open it up so that she could see the contents for herself. He was standing there smiling at her, and she couldn’t help but smile back, knowing instinctively that there was something wonderful inside the envelope. Filled with impatience, she slit the envelope open with her freshly manicured nail, her fingers trembling with expectation as she removed the piece of paper from the envelope.
“Caleb, it’s the deed to the Diamond Lil,” she whispered, her voice suddenly made hoarse with emotion as she stared in wonder at the faded piece of paper. It was more than a wedding gift, she thought dazedly, it was the purest act of love she’d ever seen. It was love and hope and faith all wrapped up into one. And she loved him for it, more than she ever thought was humanly possible.
“I give it to you this day, Sierra, to do with what you may, along with my heart and my eternal love,” he said as he gently cupped her face in his palm, his eyes filled with worship and tenderness.
Sierra’s eyes grew misty upon hearing Caleb’s words and she blinked away the tears that were welling up in her eyes. “Whatever I have, Caleb, I willingly give to you. My heart, my love, the Diamond Lil...it all belongs to you.” She rushed toward him and wrapped herself in his arms, clutching his tuxedo jacket so tightly that he feared she might rip it in her exuberance.
“That’s sweet, darlin. But no thanks,” he said as he gently untangled her from his tuxedo. “That would take all the fun out of having competing ranches.”
“What? We can’t have competing ranches! People will think we’re crazy!” Sierra sputtered, her hands automatically moving to her hips in a challenging gesture. “Are you nuts?”
“Why on earth can’t we?” Caleb said with a wide, easy grin. “It’ll sure make life interesting.”
“C’mere.” Sierra crooked her finger at Caleb and motioned him closer. When he stood in front of her she reached out and tugged him downwards so that their faces were almost touching. For a moment she stared into his eyes and for that instant they needed no words. Right here, right now they were exchanging silent vows and promises of love and commitment that would last a lifetime.
“Forever,” she whispered as she brushed her lips against his, her kiss a subtle promise of their future.
“Forever,” he vowed as he kissed her back with equal measure.
A loud pounding on the door startled both of them, and they jumped apart, their faces betraying deep anxiety as they heard the the booming voice from the other side of the door.
“What are you doing in there, Sierra?” Minnie barked from the hallway. “Is that you I hear in there, Caleb?” she asked as she banged on the door.
“Can’t I even get a break of my wedding day?” Caleb asked with a groan. “Whatever you do, Sierra, don’t open that door.”
“Don’t tell me you’re scared of little old Minnie,” Sierra teased, amazed at the sight of the rugged cowboy she loved quaking in his boots.
“Little old Minnie she’s not. She’s liable to knock me upside the head for seeing you before the wedding. Is there another way out of here besides that door?” Caleb asked as he frantically looked over the room for a way out.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Unless you’re going to shimmy down the trellis I think you should just take your medicine and face Minnie.” Sierra tried in vain to hide her smirk behind her hand. “Her bark is worse than her bite,” she reasoned.
“Yeah, and judging by the way she’s barking out there she’s raring up to bite someone.” Caleb headed towards the window and carefully inspected the trellis outside, silently calculating the distance between the window and the ground. “It’s not gonna be me!”
“Get back here!” Sierra whispered, not wanting Minnie to hear her calling out to Caleb. Although she’d joked with him about being afraid of Minnie, Sierra had to admit to herself that the thought of Minnie’s wrath made her a little nervous. Minnie was still banging on the door like a madwoman and ordering Sierra to open the door. If she didn’t open the door in a few seconds Minnie might just decide to take matters into her own hands.
“It isn’t worth breaking your leg!” Sierra pleaded.
Caleb took a deep breath and hoisted one leg over the window sill, turning towards Sierra and blowing her a kiss before he disappeared from sight. “I’ll take my chances on the trellis, thank you very much. It’s a lot safer.”
Sierra ran to the window and watched as her husband-to-be scrambled down the white trellis, which had looked a lot sturdier before it had to endure the weight of a grown man. Sierra watched from the window, as the trellis swayed and creaked underneath him. She exhaled as Caleb safely landed on the grass
A half hour later Sierra began to walk down the aisle, proudly escorted by her daddy who couldn’t seem to stop grinning at his breathtaking baby girl. Jacey and Marissa were resplendent in lavender dresses that skimmed the top of their knees and hugged every curve of their bodies.
Sierra clung tightly to her father’s arm as they walked through the front door of the Homestead and down a path of rose petals, heading straight towards the flower garden that her grandmother had lovingly created and nurtured over her lifetime. The same flower garden that had been the site of the doomed wedding of her grandmother and Jock. But this day, Sierra thought dreamily, the flower garden would be filled with an incredible amount of love.
The garden was filled to capacity with all their loved ones. Her eyes brimmed with tears as she saw her mom, Jason, Aunt Simone, Hollis, Yancy, Caleb’s family, and countless other friends.
Once again, a gazebo had been lovingly built and placed in the area, decorated with lace, pink and white roses and ivy. As she walked down the aisle Sierra shot Jock a look of gratitude and silently mouthed her thanks. Everything had come full circle, and in the deepest part of her soul Sierra knew that her grandmother was smiling down on them, no doubt urging them to get on with the ceremony and make it official.
Then she caught sight of Caleb standing at the altar, with Cruz and Drew at his side, his face filled with a look of wonder and such tender, tender love. Sierra couldn’t stop smiling as she walked toward him. Caleb winked at her and thumped his chest three times, their secret code for “I love you.” Her heart was bursting with joy. All the shadows had disappeared a
nd now there was only sunlight.
She was walking toward her destiny.
THE END
Through The Fire (Guardians, Inc. Book 2) Page 24