She was blindfolded, following me from the truck toward the porch of the new house we’d built for her. It had been a group effort, with Grant, Forrester, Grady, Lacey and of course, Sam, all pitching in. It looked great, the fresh paint glistening, the new porch shading us from the sun, the clay tiles of the roof reflecting the sunlight beautifully.
It was a beautiful home, fitting for a beautiful woman.
“I can’t see a thing,” Faith said.
“Keep it on,” I said, putting my hand on the blindfold. “It’s just a few more steps.”
I led her up the steps of the porch. Sam was sitting very still, very silently, on an easy chair on the verandah. I put my finger over my lips and he nodded.
“You ready, Faith?” I said.
“Yes,” she said. “Jackson, where are we?”
I took off the blindfold. She blinked a few times before opening her eyes fully. Then she threw her hand in front of her mouth.
“Oh my God,” she cried.
Her eyes filled with tears. I’d never seen her so happy.
“Jackson, this is beautiful.”
“I didn’t do it all by myself,” I said. “Sam helped a lot.”
“Really? When?”
“All those sports practices. We weren’t exactly playing sports.”
“I can’t believe it,” she said.
“It’s all yours, if you want it, Faith.”
She looked at me like she was about to burst. “Jackson, what are you saying?”
“This house, it would be the perfect place for you, me, and Sam to live as a family, wouldn’t it?”
She was crying so much she couldn’t answer.
I’d rehearsed it all a thousand times with Sam. I gave him the signal. He ran inside and turned on the music, Faith’s favorite song. I led her around to the back of the house where we’d strung dozens of lanterns from the trees. The sun was low in the evening sky and the firebugs were already out, shooting around the lanterns like meteors.
Faith gasped at the sight. Everything was perfect.
I got down on my knee.
Faith was shaking her head. She looked down at me, her eyes filled with so many tears she couldn’t even see clearly, and she just shook her head.
“You got the ring, buddy?” I said to Sam.
Sam nodded and stepped forward with the tiny, turquoise box. I took it from him and snapped it open. Inside was a Tiffany’s engagement ring, a diamond on white gold. When Faith saw it her jaw dropped.
“Faith,” I said, but she was already crying so much she couldn’t hear me.
I laughed. Sam laughed too. That relaxed her and she stopped crying.
“Faith Shepherd,” I said. “I love you more than life itself. I’ve loved you for so long I can’t even remember what it was like not to be in love with you. I adore you Faith. You’ve been mine since the moment I first set eyes on you, and I want the world to know it. Will you marry me?”
The shaking of her head changed to nodding.
“Yes,” she gasped, as if she’d been holding her breath. “Yes, of course I will.”
“I love you,” I cried, my own eyes filling with tears.
“I love you too, Jackson.”
I got up and grabbed her in my arms, lifted her off her feet, and put my mouth over hers. We didn’t even care that Sam was watching. I put my tongue against her lips and it slipped into her mouth, dancing with her tongue, just as it had the very first time we kissed.
The warmth of her lips, the softness of her hair, the brightness of her eyes, those were the things that mattered to me, and as my wife, she’d be giving them to me for ever and ever. Those were the true things I wanted. I wanted her heart. I wanted her love.
I didn’t want to possess her, so much as I wanted both of us to be possessed by a common love. The love of our marriage.
“God, I love you so much,” I gasped when our kiss ended.
“Then put a ring on it, silly.”
I slipped the engagement ring onto her finger. The diamond paled in comparison to the beauty of her eyes, but it still looked perfect.
Chapter 51
Faith
I ALWAYS THOUGHT IT WAS a cliché when girls said their wedding day was the happiest day of their life. I guess that’s because I was never married before. Girls, whatever you’ve heard about your wedding day, it doesn’t even come close to describing the happiness you’ll feel when you’re tying the knot with the man of your dreams. Only someone who’s experienced it can possibly know.
Marrying Jackson was the culmination of so many years of longing and striving that it felt like the pinnacle of my life. It was like finally having all my dreams come true. When I burst into that motel bar all those years ago, desperately searching for a man to step up and help me, I’d never in a million years dreamed that this would be the outcome. Jackson had gone so far above and beyond what I’d expected, he transformed my entire life.