Page 48 of Wrecked By You

My mom hugged them both and gave me a warm look.

It struck me again that my mom was in her element when we were all together. She had once confided in me that she liked it best when the family was together, whether we were messing up her kitchen and she was cleaning it up or making things for us, or we were using all the rooms in her home.

We spent the next couple of minutes getting breakfast ready, and as my mom dished up the boys, I went to go check on Isla. We had church in an hour and a half, and I wanted to make sure she had time to go to her place and change.

I turned the doorknob and was about to just peek in when I heard her say, “Come in.” When I walked inside, she was smiling at me, still cozy in the blankets.

I jumped onto the bed. “Tidal wave.”

She giggled, and I tickled her. It ended in us kissing.

I was just getting lost in the kiss when she pulled back and said, “I don’t think we should be doing this in your parents’ house.”

Even though she was under the covers and I was on top, I agreed with her. I sat up. “You’re probably right. We need to do something more official before we can do that.” I didn’t know why the words came out, but they did.

Her eyes widened. “What?”

“We’ll talk about that later.” I didn’t want to get into that right now. I got off the bed and reached out a hand. “We gotta get ready for church, and I assume you need to get to your house to change. My mom and the boys have some breakfast ready. Ifyou’re hungry, we can grab some before we take you back to your place.”

She reached for my hand and got up. She was just wearing what she wore yesterday, and her hair was all messy. I pulled her in and hugged her, thinking about how I wanted to do this for the rest of my life. It just felt right. More right than anything had ever felt.

She giggled again. “We have to go.” We started to walk out, and then she hesitated. “Did you get the cameras installed?”

I nodded. “If I can borrow your phone, I will download the app that Noah had his old security team put together for us.”

She grabbed the phone off the dresser and handed it to me. We walked downstairs, and while I was installing the app on her phone, she got some French toast and said hi to everyone.

Canyon and McCrae were up now. Noah and Ella had just moved into their own house, even though they were still working on part of it.

My mother gave Isla a hug. “Yesterday was amazing.”

Isla hugged her back. “It was amazing, and thank you for everything, and thank you for letting me stay here last night. After the parade and boating, I was exhausted.”

My mother patted Isla’s cheeks. “It sure feels good to have you back with the family. I assume Damon’s taking you home to change, and then we’ll see you at church. And then you can come over for dinner.”

Isla hesitated. “I feel bad. What can I bring?”

My mother waved a hand through the air. “Nothing. Just yourself. I’ve been preparing dinners for a long time. I just have to pop something in the crockpot, and everything else is ready in the fridge.”

I finished with Isla’s phone, handed it back to her, and said, “Come on, boys, we are going to drop Isla off and then go get ready for church ourselves.”

The boys put the plates in the dishwasher and said, “Thanks, Grandma. See you in a little bit.” They gave her quick hugs, and then we all took off.

Twenty-Three

Isla

Sitting in church with the whole Armstrong family, I felt like I was finally home. I remembered feeling this way when I used to hang out with him and his family while we were growing up. I remembered how their house was the only place where I’d felt safe and happy.

The pastor got to the stand and looked around the congregation. His expression was serious. “Freedom,” he began. “On this July Fourth day, we all have freedom in our minds and in our hearts. We are so blessed to live in a land of freedom. Freedom from persecution, freedom to worship any way we please. This was something very important to the founding fathers of our country. This is something many in our congregation have fought for. We are so very grateful to all of them.”

I noticed he glanced at the Armstrong family when he said that part. All of them had served. Damon hadn’t officially served, but he was now serving as police chief.

“Jesus Christ freed us from bondage in so many ways. He took our sins upon Him. He died for us, to give us the freedom tobe able to be redeemed. To go back into the presence of our Lord. I stand before you today so grateful for our Savior Jesus Christ and His atonement.”

A chill washed over me, and I felt something I hadn’t felt for a long time. Yes, I felt the spirit in my life. I felt it when I prayed, and I felt it when I needed help. But I had this intense feeling that this was where I needed to be. Right now. In this town. With Damon.

As if he could feel it too, Damon reached over and took my hand. The boys were sitting on his other side, sandwiched between him and Kayla. All the Armstrongs were here in church, and I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed that they were such an amazing family.