by Ashlyn Chase
“I should have just reported him for harassment.”
“The asshole sounds totally unstable, and you were scared. I don’t blame you for not knowing what to do. Shit. I wish I had been there.”
“And done what? Beat him up? He was jealous of you. That might have made it worse. He’d have an excuse to put you behind bars.”
He sighed. “I don’t know. It sounds like you wouldn’t have been in danger if I were with you. He’d never have tried anything if I were healthy.”
“Even healthy, you can’t be with me every minute of every day.”
Gabe realized soon he wouldn’t be able to protect her at all. “It’s probably a good thing he fired you. I’ll feel a lot better in my alternate form, if I can actually see you. Meanwhile…” He pulled from his pocket the ring that he had been waiting to give her. “Maybe showing the world you’re mine will help.”
She stepped back and gasped as she eyed the beautiful diamond solitaire.
“I wish I’d been able to go shopping with you and let you pick it out instead of ordering it online, but I was unable to leave the house. If you don’t like it—”
“No! I love it! It’s perfect.”
She grasped his shoulders. They weren’t bandaged and didn’t seem to be causing him any pain. Leaning in, she touched her lips to his.
“I think I’ve healed enough to give you a proper kiss,” he said.
He slanted his lips and deepened the kiss. Their tongues were happily reunited as they swirled together. When after several moments they broke the kiss, he said, “I love you, Misty. More than I thought I could ever love anyone.”
She looked down and smiled shyly. “Can you put it on my finger?”
“Oh.” He hadn’t realized he hadn’t given the ring to her yet. “Yeah.”
“Can you? I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”
“My hands are doing well. Actually, all of me is doing pretty well.” He slipped the ring on her finger. It fit perfectly. “It won’t be long before we can make this official. We should probably discuss the kind of wedding you want.”
“I haven’t changed my mind. Nothing big. Just family.”
“I thought you said nothing big,” he teased.
“Ha. Your family is my family. I wouldn’t want to leave any of them out. And if Parker can’t be here in person, I’d like him to attend by Skype.”
“I’d like that too. He should be my best man.”
“Not one of your brothers?”
He laughed. “Too many choices. How would I pick between them?”
“I see what you mean.”
“Jayce offered to take us out on his boat for the, um, other thing. Maybe we could find a nice beach nearby for the ceremony.”
She beamed. “Get married on the beach? I love that idea. When?”
“We have to figure that out.”
“Some of that depends on Parker.”
“And it would need to be a day when all my brothers are off duty, so we’ll have to coordinate their schedules. Thankfully, they’re usually free at roughly the same times. Do you want Julie and your other girlfriends to come? We’ll have to take their availability into consideration.”
“Just Julie.”
“Yeah, she’d probably appreciate it after we tore up her house.”
Misty groaned.
* * *
What could have been extremely complicated logistics worked out fairly easily, to Misty’s relief. They were able to reach Parker on Skype early in the morning while it was nighttime over in Afghanistan. He only had a couple more days at the base before his first mission. Then he’d be unreachable. Julie said she’d take the day off.
The Fierro boys were on the same shift all over the city, but they each double-checked their schedules and had the following two days off. It was a short window, but all they needed was fifteen minutes and a preacher.
Misty had gone shopping for a special dress and found something that fit perfectly, right off the rack. A simple white gown with the sweetheart neckline she loved, and silk, like gossamer, made up the décolletage and sleeves. It was exactly what she would have picked out had she oodles of time. She didn’t even need to buy Gabe a ring, since he couldn’t wear it when he shrank to the size of a bird and his fingers were talons.
Saturday, the whole family headed to the North Shore. Dante drove Misty and Julie in his Beemer so Gabe wouldn’t see her in her dress beforehand. Antonio drove his wife and two youngest sons, Noah and Luca. Jayce and Kristine sailed there on his boat. Gabe met up with Miguel and Sandra, so the whole gang was able to arrive in three cars. A veritable feat.
Coming from Ireland, Ryan and Chloe said they’d meet Jayce and Kristine at the Cape Ann Marina where Jayce had his boat docked for the day. Then they’d “pop over” together. Gabe took his laptop so he could bring Parker in via Skype.
All the family members agreed to stay overnight in a nearby hotel, except Ryan and Chloe. Ryan was still supposed to be dead, and though people this far from Boston might not recognize him, there had been a very public funeral, and his picture was in all the papers and on the news. He couldn’t tempt fate.
Gabe and Misty would have their wedding night and the following morning together. All the phoenixes and one dragon would tow a dinghy out to sea with Jayce’s fishing boat.
Antonio wanted them to wait a week, but Parker’s schedule required they move faster than that. No one knew how long his mission would last. Marines could be sent to some very dangerous places and be expected to stay for long periods.
Misty sat in the back of Dante’s car, enjoying the banter between him and her maid of honor seated up front.
“So, those toy parties you do, Julie. How did you get into that?” he asked with a wide grin.
“Oh, you know. I just sort of fell into it.”
“Ha! Do you ever do any product testing?”
“Oh boy,” Misty interrupted. “You don’t know who you’re teasing, Dante. If you push her, even a little bit, she’ll give you a demonstration.”
Julie burst out laughing. “Hey, it sounds like a great idea to me.” Her eyes sparkled with mischief as she glanced over at Gabe’s handsome brother.
Dante’s voice shot up. “Wow! I lucked out. So, what did you bring?”
“Now?” Julie groaned. “I don’t have my goodies with me.”
“Damn. Oh well. I might have driven us right off the road. Can’t get distracted, since I’m transporting the bride.”
“Yeah, Gabe wouldn’t like that,” Julie said.
“Are you kidding? He’d kill me. So, without distracting me with demos, what kind of toys do you sell at these parties?”
“Oh, the usual. Vibrators, flavored lube, nipple clamps, blindfolds… You know, the kind of things that come in fifty shades.”
Dante gulped. “That stuff is usual now? Boy, I must be dating the wrong girls. Maybe I should venture out to the suburbs more often.”
Julie giggled. Actually giggled! Misty hadn’t seen her friend act like a girly girl, ever! Was there a romance brewing before her eyes? Probably not. Dante was a notorious flirt.
At last, they arrived at gorgeous Crane Beach. They timed it so she’d be the last to arrive and they’d have Gabe facing out to sea until they told him to turn around for his first look. She was surprised to realize her nerves were tingling. Is that the MS, or am I just nervous? Since her mouth was dry and her pulse was racing, she decided it was a case of nerves.
Dante jumped out and opened the back door for her. She ducked so she wouldn’t knock her short veil askew. The only real problem she’d had with her outfit was what to wear for shoes. A satin heel would be destroyed by the sand. So even though it was April and chilly despite the bright morning sun, she wore strappy gold sandals. If anyone gave her crap about wearing all white, she could point to her fee
t. Not that anyone would do that…except maybe her brother. No. Even as much as he enjoyed inappropriate teasing, he wouldn’t do it on her wedding day.
Standing still for a moment to be sure her legs weren’t going to give out on her, she took a deep breath of fresh ocean air. The see-through material covering her chest and arms kept the chill away surprisingly well. So far, so good.
Antonio met her at the wooden walkway that led from the parking lot to the beach. He smiled and crooked his arm. “Ready?”
“Yup.” That was about all she could say around the lump in her throat. I’m getting married. To Gabe! Her childhood dream was coming true.
She didn’t know how Gabe would feel about his own appearance. She hoped he wouldn’t be self-conscious about the hair and eyebrows that hadn’t grown back and the many scars he still bore. She didn’t care what he looked like. Only that he was there—willingly.
Dante hurried down the walkway to join the rest of his family. Julie lined up in front of Misty and her soon-to-be father-in-law. She didn’t realize how tightly she was clutching Antonio’s arm until he laid his hand over hers and whispered, “Relax. You’ll be fine.”
She nodded dumbly. He escorted her to about six feet behind the groom. Gabe’s bandages had been removed from his head and face. He was wearing a black tux and white gloves instead of compression bandages on his hands. Luca was off to one side, waiting with camera poised.
Antonio asked again, “Ready?”
She took a deep breath. “Yes.”
He stepped back and said, “Gabe. You can turn around now.”
When her groom took his first look at her in her wedding dress, his jaw dropped. She hoped it was because he liked what he saw and not that he realized what he was about to do. She’d have to wait and see if he took off in a panic.
Luca was taking pictures from different angles, and she hoped he got the huge smile that lit up Gabe’s whole face. She couldn’t believe how handsome he was despite the obvious remnants of his accident.
She was grinning too.
“You look gorgeous,” he said.
“And you look positively dashing.”
His gaze dropped to the sand, but he was still smiling.
She had been so focused on Gabe, she hadn’t even noticed the stranger among all her future in-laws. He carried a folder and stepped out of the crowd.
“Shall we begin?” the officiant asked.
“Wait a minute. We need to loop in the best man,” Gabe said.
“I’ve got him right here,” Noah said, holding up the tablet.
There was her brother’s smiling face. He was wearing his camo uniform.
“Sorry about my appearance. I forgot to pack my good suit,” he joked.
“You look great,” Gabe said. “I’m just glad you’re here. Well, there, but here too.”
Parker chuckled. “Come on, bro. Marry my sister already.”
She couldn’t have been more grateful for his change in attitude.
“Okay, okay. Reverend, we’re ready,” Gabe said.
“Dearly beloved…”
The preacher began with Genesis—and he could have been talking directly to Gabe. “Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.’”
Was she fit for him? She had plenty of faults and a degenerative disease, too. Could she really be all that he needed her to be? Misty couldn’t concentrate on what the preacher was saying.
She refocused her attention when he was reading from Corinthians. At least, that’s where she thought the part about “Love is patient and kind” came from. Had she been patient and kind? She hoped so. Had Gabe? Not always, but then the preacher got to the part about forgiveness. That sort of implied that people would mess up occasionally. Okay, so neither of us are perfect.
But they both nailed the next part the preacher read. “It does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.”
He had always been truthful with her. Even when he was in conflict, he was honest about it. Could she believe his declarations of love now? Absolutely. She relaxed enough to enjoy the rest of the sermon and say the appropriate words in the appropriate places.
“Do you, Misty Mary Carlisle, take Gabriel to be your wedded husband? Do you promise to love, comfort, honor, and keep him? For better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, be faithful only to him so long as you both shall live?”
“I do.”
“And do you, Gabriel Peter Fierro, take Misty to be your wedded wife? Do you promise to love, comfort, honor, and keep her? For better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, be faithful only to her so long as you both shall live?”
“I do.”
Misty couldn’t help breathing a sigh of relief. She didn’t know what the future would bring, but at least they were in it together.
Chapter 18
After the ceremony, the family got together for a luncheon at a local restaurant. It resembled one of their Sunday dinners, with a lot of teasing banter but sincere congratulations, and then they went their separate ways. No first dances. No wedding cake. Just the way Gabe would have planned it if he’d had a choice.
“You know, Gabe,” Misty said back in their hotel room, “you don’t have to go through with this. Not on my account.”
He was startled. “Go through with what? Our marriage? Do you regret it already?”
“No!” She stumbled on her way over to him, and he grabbed her, then guided her to the bed.
“Are you okay? Are your legs tingling or numb?”
“No. There was a bump in the rug.”
He looked down at the old oriental carpet. Sure enough, it tented up in the very spot she’d tripped. He fixed it by pulling one corner.
“I meant you don’t have to go through with the whole transformation thing,” she continued. “I don’t care if you have scars or even if your hair never grows back.”
He laughed, partly with relief. Now that the wedding was over, he was happy they did it. Sitting beside her, he took her hand gently. “I love you, Misty. I know you just promised to take me in sickness and in health, but if I don’t have to be scarred and in residual pain, why would I choose to be?”
She sighed. “I understand.” After gazing into his eyes for a moment, she whispered, “I’m just going to miss you. That’s all. Are you sure it takes two whole months?”
“At least. About one month as a bird equals ten years as a human. I should actually wait about ten weeks. If I come back earlier, I’ll look even younger. Ryan got away with it, because he moved far away with Chloe. They look about the same age.”
“How long did he wait?”
“Only a few days past two months. He looks twenty-five at the most, instead of thirty-three.”
“But you’re only twenty-six now.”
“I’ll be turning twenty-seven in May. May fifth.”
“Oh! While you’re in bird form? But how can we celebrate your birthday?”
He smirked. “Just give me some special bird food. Maybe some pumpkin seeds already hulled. It will be just like cake to me.”
She rested her head on his shoulder. “I guess so.”
“I’m sure you’ll agree with the family’s decision after I return. Instead of worrying about whether I’m fully healed and able to do the job, I’ll be in top shape. All pain and scars gone.”
She sat up straight again. “Whoa! Two things. First, won’t that be suspicious? I hear it takes months and sometimes years to fully heal from third-degree burns. And second, do you have to be a firefighter? I know you said it was all you wanted, but—”
“But what? If you could dance again, wouldn’t you?”
“Of course I would. There’s no question about it. Okay. I ge
t it. I think.”
“Misty, there’s nothing to think about. My mother has always been able to handle her husband and sons being firefighters because she knows if the worst happens, we’ll reincarnate, lay low at home for a while, and come back healthy. It’s only a couple of months. After that, we’ll have a lifetime together.”
She smiled and nodded. “I do love you, Gabe. I want you to be happy.”
“And I will be. I’ll watch our baby grow inside you, and I’ll be back in human form long before the birth. Do you have any important appointments lined up that I’ll miss?”
“Yeah. The ultrasound. Do you want to know the sex of the baby?”
A slow smile spread across his face. “The only sex I want right now has nothing to do with the baby.” Other than how it got here in the first place.
“I guess our wedding night is starting early.” She grinned.
“It will if you want it to.”
“Yes. Gabe, I want you so much. You have no idea.” She rose and turned her back to him. “Would you mind unzipping my dress?”
“Ha. Mind? Not even a little bit.” He stood behind her and slowly lowered her zipper, taking the time to kiss a path down her spine.
She shivered.
“Are you cold, hon?”
“No.” She turned enough so he could see her smile. “That was the first time you used an endearment for my name.”
“Is it? Well, it won’t be the last…although it might be the last for a while,” he said sadly. What a terrible boyfriend I was. I’m lucky she wants me at all.
When he reached the bottom of her dress, he let it fall and pool around her feet. “Let me help you.” He moved around to face her and held her hand as she stepped out of the silky fabric. She was wearing a white lace corset under it all. He swallowed hard. “You’ve really seemed to be a little steadier on your feet lately.”
“I am. I was hoping MS was a misdiagnosis, but the doctor said it’s more likely the pregnancy. MS improves temporarily during that time.”
“Well, we’ll have to keep you barefoot and pregnant,” he said, hoping to lighten the mood.