Pieces Of Us: Missing Pieces Series, Book Three

by Walker, N. R.

  I kissed him again. “And I’ll be yours.”

  Juss’ eyes filled with tears and he began to cry. “You’ll really marry me?”

  “Yes, baby. A thousand times yes.” I thumbed away his tears. “Why are you crying?”

  “All I ever wanted was a family of my own.”

  “Oh, Jussy.” I pulled him into a hug. “We are a family. Married or not, you and me, we’re a family.”

  He sobbed and sniffled. “And Squish.”

  “Yeah, baby. And Squish too.”

  He inhaled deeply and settled into me, like he could finally relax. I held him until he fell asleep, and even then I still didn’t get up. I let him sleep with his face smooshed into my chest, his hands tucked in between us, and I wrapped him up in my arms and let the realisation of what just happened settle over us like a warm blanket.

  We were gonna get married. He wanted to marry me, to make it official, to make it real. He still seemed to think he wasn’t worthy, so obviously I would need to spend the next fifty or sixty years proving to him that he was.

  He asked me to marry him. And no, I didn’t need any fancy proposal or grand romantic gesture. That wasn’t who we were. We were just two knock-around blokes trying to make sense of life, together. All we needed was each other.

  Squish chose that very moment to join us, jumping up onto the couch, already purring and looking for the best place to curl up with Juss. “Yes, you too.”

  Epilogue - Two Years Later

  Justin

  “Are you ready?”

  “I am so ready.”

  Dallas grinned. “Me too. You nervous?”

  I inhaled deeply and let it out real slow. We were dressed in matching navy dress pants and white button-up shirts and shined dress shoes. It didn’t hurt that Dallas’ shirt was tight and showed his muscly chest and biceps. And how his pants hugged him in all the right places. His hair was freshly cut, his beard trimmed, and he was handsome as hell. “Nope. I’m excited. Why? Are you nervous?”

  “A little bit. Just about speaking in front of people, that’s all.”

  “Don’t be. We’ve got this.”

  He shook his head, smiling. “Since when did you become the expert?”

  “I had a good teacher.”

  That was true. The last two years had been amazing and sometimes hard, but mostly great. If we could call it a climb, then the view from the top was spectacular. It hadn’t all been easy. I’d had ongoing physio but my leg was as good as new now, and there’d been ongoing neuro follow-ups, scans, appointments, and therapy sessions. I still had to watch stress levels, and doing too much and overworking my brain would put me back on my arse for a while. And, of course, the headaches were still a thing.

  I never did get all my memory back. I got some random bits and pieces, some flashbacks that hit me out of nowhere, but there were still holes in my timeline, but there was nothing I could do about it. I had to accept that. I could either spend time and energy being mad about it, or I could put that time and energy into making new memories. It wasn’t really a choice.

  I hadn’t had another episode. I hadn’t had any worrying downfalls or major setbacks. And that was, without any doubt, for me at least, because of Dallas.

  He’d disagree with that and say it was because we knew how to address stress now, but we all knew it was the truth.

  My prognosis was good, though I would always be a traumatic brain injury survivor. The likelihood of me having issues later in life was always a possibility, but we were aware and proactive with my health. The truth was, Dallas was right, like he usually was. We were in this together, always, no matter what life threw at us.

  I’d come up with a plan for my money, and that was to let it sit earning interest until Dallas and I were ready to sell the business and move on. That wasn’t going to be for a long while away, another twenty or thirty years, God willing. We debated over buying a house somewhere close to the shop, but we loved the flat upstairs. We loved being close to work, and it meant I could easily go home if I needed to rest, without driving. But maybe one day we would move, when we were looking to retire, and the money was my safety net. And if that had to include funds, should I need medical care later in life, then so be it.

  It was just what we’d have to do. Like everything, we’d do it together.

  Together, forever.

  “I think they’re waiting for us to start,” Dallas said.

  I held out my hand for him to take and looked down at myself. “Do I look okay?”

  “You’re sexy as fuck,” he said, stepping in for a kiss.

  “Okay, you two, Jesus H Christ,” Sparra said, interrupting us. “We’re all over here waiting and you two are here making out.”

  He said it loud enough so people could hear, and, of course, they laughed. I chuckled and took a deep breath and held out my hand. “Okay, Mr Muller. Let’s do this.”

  Dallas grasped my hand, holding on tight. “It is my honour to walk down this aisle with you.”

  He made my heart skip a beat, or ten. God, we were finally getting married. And yes, we chose to walk each other down the aisle. We didn’t exactly have willing parents, but we also wanted to begin our married lives as equal partners.

  We’d asked just our closest friends and family to attend our wedding. Becca and the girls were there, of course, but my mother most certainly never received an invitation. I don’t even know if she knew about the wedding.

  I’d seen her once since I’d cut her off. I ran into her downtown and she was as surprised to see me as I was her. She looked around for Dallas and smiled when she realised he wasn’t with me. “Boyfriend not leeching off you today?” she’d sneered.

  “You mean fiancé?” I’d replied with a bright smile. “He’s always with me. He, unlike you, would never abandon me.”

  Her expression turned sour, but I was done with it. I was done with her. I was about to remind her that I’d call the cops if I had to, to keep her away from me, but instead I turned and walked away.

  I hadn’t seen or heard of her since.

  Becca hadn’t spoken to her much over the last two years either, so it was more than likely that my mother didn’t even know I was getting married.

  And for that, I was glad.

  I had my found family, and today I was making it official.

  Davo and Lauren sat at the front with little Elliott on Lauren’s knee. Elliott was dressed in a little vest and pants outfit that matched Davo’s as if it wasn’t the cutest thing ever. Davo becoming a dad was the best thing to ever happen to him, and he was full of advice for Sparra, because he and Carissa were expecting their first baby any day now.

  That made me and Dallas uncles, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love it.

  Kids weren’t something Dall and I wanted, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t love and spoil them rotten.

  Jimmy and Nancy were in the second row, dressed up all fancy and beaming like proud parents. Dallas’ dad and step-mum were there, and Mark, one of his brothers. They didn’t have an overly great relationship, but the fact they’d come today meant a lot to Dallas.

  Our wedding was on Dixon Park Beach, overlooking the Pacific, where Dallas had brought me a few times since the accident to relax and soak up some sun. When he’d suggested it as a location, I couldn’t think of anywhere better.

  There was a small congregation of white chairs and a celebrant who stood at the end in between two tall stands of white flowers. Everything looked so simple and perfect, and admittedly, I’d had a lot of help from Toni with everything. I think she took pity on us and did most of the organising.

  But the whole thing was perfect. It was a beautiful spring day, the ocean was sparkling, the sun was shining, and some passers-by had gathered a safe distance to watch. We met the celebrant at the front and the ceremony began.

  “I’d like to thank everyone for coming today to witness the union of Dallas and Justin,” the celebrant said. “And don’t worry, everyone. I’ve be
en told they wanted the ceremony short and sweet because, and I quote Dallas on this, ‘No one likes that drawn-out, boring stuff.’”

  That earned us a chuckle, but honestly, it was true. So the celebrant gave a quick spiel about the sanctity of marriage and love and acceptance, and before we knew it, it was time for our vows.

  Dallas and I turned to face each other, our hands joined between us, and I’d never seen him so nervous! I rubbed the backs of his hands with my thumbs and he gave me a thankful smile. “I’m supposed to be going first,” he said. “That was a bad idea, oh my God.”

  I chuckled. “You’re okay,” I whispered. “Just breathe.”

  He held my gaze and he must have seen something in my eyes because he nodded. “Justin,” he began. “The last two and a half years have been a helluva road we’ve travelled. Some would call it hell, and some wouldn’t have survived. But not us. We’ve come out better, stronger. Because steel has to go through fire to come out stronger.” He let out a shaky breath. “Every day with you is a gift, and I promise to cherish you always. I will never take you for granted, not for a single second. I love you, Juss. Always have, always will. And I am proud to call you my husband.”

  I got a little teary and had to wave my hand in front of my face so the tears wouldn’t fall. A few people laughed, and then it was Dallas who squeezed my hand.

  God, now it was my turn . . .

  I took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. “Dallas. You have been, without a doubt, a mountain of strength. Through everything, every procedure, every ordeal, you never took a backward step. And because of you, every step I’ve taken, no matter how small, has been forward. And I’m more in love with you than I thought was ever possible.” I smiled at him. “After my accident, I spent a lot of time wishing for my memories to come back. I was missing pieces of my life, and pieces of myself were gone. But there was always you. And through it all, I realised the pieces of us were what kept me together.” I squeezed his hands. “I promise you, Dallas, that I will love you forever. You are the reason I get up in the morning and the reason I try to be a better man than I was the day before. And I am proud and honoured and lucky as hell to call you my husband.”

  The celebrant smiled. “Dallas, do you take Justin to be your husband, to love always—”

  “Yes,” he blurted. “Yes, I do.”

  I laughed, and our guests laughed too. But then he slid my wedding ring over my finger and another piece of my heart slotted into place.

  “Justin, do you take Dallas to be your husband—”

  “Yes! I do.”

  The celebrant laughed, and I took Dallas’ ring and gently put it on his finger. His smile, the tears in his eyes, stole the breath from my lungs.

  “Okay then,” the celebrant said. “I now pronounce you married. You may kiss your husband.”

  Dallas cupped my face and kissed me, not like we’d planned and not like we’d practised, but there was so much emotion in that kiss . . . his hands were trembling, and when he pulled back, his eyes were glassy.

  I nodded, because I knew. I felt it in my heart, in my soul.

  We were married. Legally, our very own little family. I was so happy, so full of love and hope, I just could have burst.

  We were hugged and congratulated and hugged some more. We had a casual reception at the surf club, which was basically just lunch with our nearest and dearest. We didn’t want anything super fancy. We just wanted it to be official.

  And as I sat with Dallas by my side and listened as he talked and laughed with everyone, the weight of the ring on my wedding finger settled something deep inside me. I turned the silver band with my thumb, feeling the smooth glide against my skin. It felt so right. It was as though something lost was found. I couldn’t explain it or why it made me feel so content.

  “You okay, Juss?” Dallas asked.

  I must have zoned out. Everyone was looking at me. “Yeah, I’m great. Just . . . happy, daydreaming.”

  Sparra shot me a look as though he’d been trying to get my attention. Shit. I leaned in and spoke in Dallas’ ear. “Babe, can I have the keys to the ute. I want to get a pill.”

  He was immediately concerned. “Are you okay? Today’s been a lot . . .”

  “I’m fine, Dall. Honestly, never felt this good.”

  He studied my face for a second, as though he was looking for a tell or sign that I had a headache. Seeing none, he handed over the key and went back to the conversation. Sparra followed me out, and not a second later, Davo joined us.

  I handed them keys. “Be quick, but be careful. Drive safe.”

  They grinned as they ran off and gave it a few minutes before I went back to the table. Carissa and Lauren smiled because they were in on our little plan, and I took my seat. Dallas put his arm around my shoulder as he laughed with Jimmy and Toni’s husband, and he was none the wiser at their absence, and thankfully he never asked for his keys back.

  But, about forty minutes later, it was time for us to go. Dallas paid the tab while I thanked everyone for sharing our special day with us, and I saw him looking around for Davo and Sparra. He’d noticed they were gone.

  When he was done, he made his way to Lauren and Carissa, no doubt to ask them where the boys had gone, and I was beginning to think something had gone wrong. They were taking too long and Dallas was going to find out . . .

  “Where’s Davo and Sparra?” he asked Lauren and Carissa. “I thought they must have been at the bar. Or in the bathrooms? Did something happen?”

  “No,” Lauren said quickly. She tried to smile and her gaze darted to me, something Dallas didn’t miss at all.

  “Juss, what’s going on?”

  And just then, thank God, Dall’s blue ute came around the corner. And not only that, but our bikes were loaded onto the back.

  Dallas spun to me. “What? Justin? What the hell?”

  “Surprise,” I squeaked. God, was his reaction good or bad? “I booked our honeymoon.”

  “Our bikes?”

  I nodded. I’d ridden a little over the last twelve months. I’d even driven the ute a few times, but I was ready to get back into it. Starting now. “Yeah. A week at the beach house in Hallidays Point. The one we stayed at years ago. It’s all organised. The boys are taking care of the shop, and Toni’s got everything sorted.”

  Dallas looked over at Toni, and she gave him a bright smile and a nod. Then he looked at Lauren and Carissa. “You all knew about this . . .”

  Oh God. This was going bad. “I wanted to surprise you with something special, Dall. Somewhere that meant something to us. Because I remember that place. When we went there last time. And I wanted to ride with you again. We haven’t really had a chance to do that. Not since the accident—”

  He took two huge strides and collected me in his arms, lifting me off the ground and kissing me. “Are we really going riding?”

  I nodded. “We have a week. No trails, but maybe an easy circuit. Small steps, right?”

  Dallas hugged me, tucking me into his side as Davo and Sparra got out of the ute and threw the keys to him. “You’re welcome,” Davo said, wearing a shit-eating grin. “It was just the one bag by the door?”

  “Yep,” I answered. “Beauty of having just one wardrobe.”

  Sparra put his arm around Carissa but he smiled at me. “Oh, and Squish is fed. I’ll check on him every day, I promise.”

  “He likes fishing shows on TV,” I said.

  “Jusso,” Sparra said flatly. “I’ll feed him; I’ll even pat and cuddle him. But I ain’t watching fishing shows with him.”

  I laughed and looked up at Dallas. “Husband?”

  He put his forehead to mine. “Yes?”

  “Are you ready to go?”

  “We’re leaving for our honeymoon right now?”

  “Yep. Everything’s taken care of.”

  We got into the ute, waving goodbye to our friends and family, and Dallas took my hand. I brought our joined hands to my lips and kissed the wedding ri
ng on his finger. “Husband. I really like the sound of that.”

  “I really like you saying that,” he said with a heated look in his eyes.

  “Then we better get going. There’s a certain sofa I remember in that beach house, and I remember what you did to me on it. I want to see if it’s still there.”

  He laughed and started the engine. “I can’t believe you planned this without me knowing.”

  I smiled as we began the drive north. I turned my wedding ring with my thumb and watched as the sun caught the gleam. “I can’t wait.”

  “Can’t wait for what?”

  “Everything. Being married, beginning our lives as husbands, being happy forever.”

  Dallas grinned. “Me either, baby.”

  Exhaustion settled over me. A tiredness I hadn’t felt in a while. I yawned and tried to shake it off. “Dunno why I’m so tired.”

  “Because you can finally relax,” he offered with a smile. “After all the build-up and excitement of the wedding, it’s over. Have a nap, baby.” He gave me a wicked smile. “You’re gonna need your energy later.”

  “Hmm, sounds promising.” The truth was, I was tired, and a nap sounded pretty good. Especially if he intended to wear me out later . . .

  I kept hold of his hand and closed my eyes and allowed the warmth through the windscreen and the hum of the tyres on the highway lull me to sleep.

  A gentle hand on my arm woke me. “Juss, baby, we’re here.”

  I sat up straight and took in my surroundings. I was still in the ute, but we were stopped out the front of a familiar house.

  Oh my God.

  I got out and looked around. The trees, the sand, the smell . . . No one ever prepares you for the missing senses of memory loss. It’s not just the memory itself, it’s how it feels, how it smells and sounds, how it tastes.

  But I remembered this place.

  I turned to the house and followed Dallas up onto the front porch decking. He opened the glass sliding door and inside was a pale cream kitchen, a dining table, and a sofa . . .