Page 69 of Wrecked By You

Everyone laughed at that. I laughed too, although I didn’t want to wait either. All I knew was that I was ready to be married to Damon forever.

Thirty-Seven

Damon

I couldn’t look away from the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. All I could do was silently say another prayer to God.Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

She grinned at me. I grinned back. I could vaguely hear the pastor reciting the vows.

Suddenly, Noah gently nudged me. “That’s you.”

I jerked back to the present. “I do,” I said automatically.

The audience laughed again.

I thought about everything that had happened in the last four weeks—all the hospital visits and the prayers and how this hard thing had brought my family and the community together. The townspeople were no longer gossiping that I was marrying Isla. Everyone in the community had told me in some way that they were rooting for us and praying for us.

The pastor finished the ceremony. “I now pronounce you Mr. and Mrs. Damon and Isla Armstrong. You may now kiss the bride.”

I took her into my arms and dipped her.

She laughed, smelling like fresh roses.

I pressed my lips against hers. “I love you, I love you, I love you.”

She kept me close. “I love you, I love you, I love you.”

Everyone cheered.

We stood tall and lifted our joined hands into the air. I took off my hat and threw it. “I’m married, y’all!”

My family swarmed us, with Trent and Jason bouncing around on either side of me.

I bent and picked them up. “We’re married!” I shouted again, making them giggle.

My mother and Ella and Kayla circled Isla. This day was so perfect. All I knew was that I would go through anything for this woman. I was so grateful that we hadn’t been wrecked. We would be together and build a life now.

Thank you, Lord!

Epilogue

Two yearslater

I was seated on the back porch of the new house, which had just been completed. It overlooked a gorgeous view of the falls, and I was waiting for Damon to get home from work. The boys had been taken down to their grandparents’ home. It was so nice to have Noah and Ella next door and their grandparents just a bit farther.

The sun was just barely beginning to set. I kept my hand on my tummy, feeling all kinds of excitement. What would he say?

I heard his cruiser pull up on the gravel, and for a flash of a moment, I thought of that fateful day with Kyle. Dang. Why was I even thinking about that day? Of course, I’d been through way too much counseling about the whole incident and my past. I was done with that.

I pushed the incident with Kyle out of my mind. I was not a victim. The past was my past.

My eyes misted, and warmth filled me. I had a very important future to move on to.

Suddenly, the sliding glass door to the deck opened and Damon walked through. “Hey, beautiful. How was your day?”

I stood and hurried toward him, unable to stay away from this man another minute. “So good. How was your day?”

He opened his arms, and I slipped inside them. The smell of soap and sandalwood overwhelmed me—the scent of everything Damon.