Epilogue
Tate
“Mrs. Wright,” my new husband murmured against my temple. “I’ll never get tired of saying that.”
I closed my eyes and let him hold me while we danced. Had life ever been this perfect? This blissful? I couldn’t even speak because of the fullness of my heart. It manifested itself into fierce emotion that was desperate to pour out of me.
“I’ll never get tired of hearing it,” I whispered thickly.
He clutched me tighter to his suit-clad body. I brushed my hands over his seersucker jacket and then slid my hand under his pressed lapel to the crisp white cotton so I could feel his heart hammer away.
“Good,” he growled. “Because you’re going to be hearing it for a long time. A very long time.”
I pressed a kiss to his jawline and hummed my approval. “You’re right about that.”
And he was.
We had spent the last three months in Holland while he worked out his smithing job. It had been quite the adventure. I’d spent the days healing from my treatment and growing out my hair.
That’s right. Healing.
I had found out in January, that I was officially cancer free!
The treatment worked! And my cancer had gone into remission.
I sat in Dr. Master’s office with my family surrounding me and Bridger at my side, holding my hand. I had come to peace with the outcome, no matter what it would be. But I had been thrilled to find out I had life left to live.
Lots of life.
Bridger hadn’t wasted any time.
Three days later, he asked me to marry him on the porch of our future home. He presented me with the most beautiful ring I had ever seen. He made it himself with his endless stores of skill and patience.
The sparkling white gold intertwined together, seeming to be made out of two different pieces. A gorgeous blue sapphire blinked at me with perfect clarity and on the inside, he had inscribed our names.
I broke down into happy tears when I found out I was cancer free and then again with his sweet proposal.
He promised me forever. He promised to love me, to cherish me and to never waste one single day with me. He promised me in sickness and in health. In richness and in poorness. He also promised that he would have asked me no matter the outcome of my treatments.
I knew that it was not possible to love him more.
He had been created for me.
And I for him.
We had struggles to look forward to; we had tough times that would eventually come. We had vows to make and then promise not to break.
But we also had each other
I had lived a lifetime of hardship, and I knew that my future was completely different than anything in my past.
It would never compare. It would never echo the difficulty of my past. Even if the cancer came back and we were as poor as dirt. It wouldn’t matter.
Because I had Bridger. I had someone to go through this with me. I had someone to take care of me and hold me through the suffering.
I also had someone to make every day good.
I had to go in for my six-month checkup in four weeks, the middle of June. And I was nervous. So nervous.
But not afraid.
Sure, I wanted to be cancer-free for the rest of my life. And I never wanted to go through chemo or radiation again. But I also knew that I could face it again with Bridger at my side.
I could face anything with him.
We’d been married tonight, May fourteenth, in our own backyard. The spring had blessed the woods with a vibrancy that spoke to my soul. Green grass had sprouted and the trees burst with fresh green leaves or fragrant blossoms. The air was warm and the breeze caressing.
Bridger and his brothers had built a trellis that we stood beneath as my granddaddy married us in front of God and all our witnesses. Carter, Willa, Cami and Macey had stood at my side while Bridger had his brothers standing with him, as well as my brother and a cousin I had only just met.
My daddy gave me away with the proudest smile on his face and my mama wept happy tears through the entire ceremony. Grams hadn’t stopped smiling in months. And even Cary and Dr. Masters had driven all the way from Nashville and attended the ceremony.
I had never felt more loved.
Bridger and I had promised each other no more secrets, but then he’d surprised me by hanging all the bottles he’d buried in his childhood around the perimeter of the backyard. He’d wrapped each bottle in a strand of white twinkly lights so that the rolled up message could be seen clearly. They made a beautiful decoration that everyone attending our wedding commented on.
But only we knew the truth of what was hidden inside those decorative bottles.
He had made our wedding day beautiful.
He had made my life beautiful.
It was unfortunate I was going to have to rip apart all his hard work so I could read those notes. Every last one of them.
Don’t worry, I planned to keep the letters and make him hang up all the bottles again.
I could do that now. I was his wife.
“I love you, Bridger.” My rain cloud. My rain cloud that had brought so much sun and warmth into my life that I had been changed irrevocably.
“I love you too, Tatum.” He paused for a long moment before asking, “So, you’re happy to be my wife?”
“It’s not possible for me to be happier.” My voice was a whisper of truth and conviction. I blinked through hot tears and tried to swallow back the pressure of overwhelmed bliss.
“Then, can I kick all these people out yet?”
I dissolved into laughter. “You can’t kick anybody out!”
“I can,” he swore. “It’s my backyard. I can do whatever I want.”
I pulled back and framed his handsome face with my hands. Behind him, the most beautiful house I had ever seen stood as the backdrop to everything I didn’t know I wanted. A five bedroom log cabin that displayed Bridger’s talented eye for detail and his complete love for me. The wrap around porch and the hand-crafted porch swing beckoned to my sore feet, but the master bedroom, that had so far remained untouched, called to my body and soul.
“Okay,” I whispered. “You’re right. Kick them all out.”
His green eyes sparkled with mischief. “You’re serious.”
“I’m serious,” I whispered. “I want to be your wife, Bridger, in every way.”
His excited grin stretched across his face and my stomach flipped with anticipation. His eyes promised a night full of adventure and a lifetime that would follow suit.
I had jumped into this wanting to change Bridger, to give him back himself. But in the end, he was the one that changed me.
He gave me back myself.
And he promised to help me keep her for the rest of my life.
I loved this man with all that I was and that would never change. This was my happiness.
This was my happily ever after.
Instead of making a big scene, Bridger simply swept me up in his arms. My mermaid-style ivory dress swished with the movement and the pretty lace overlay got caught in his buttons. We giggled at each other, but he made no attempt to untangle us.
I brushed my short curly hair out of my eyes and settled some. I stared into his gorgeous emerald eyes and promised silently that he could do whatever he needed to in order to untangle us. As long as we were alone, he could rip the damn dress off if he needed to.
And he would probably need to.
I was making that prediction right now.
“Ready?”
I smiled at him. “Ready.”
Without saying goodbye or acknowledging our small number of guests, Bridger bounded up the porch stairs and into our house. His intentions couldn’t have been more obvious, but I was beyond caring.
And why would I? I was with my husband.
And we were on our way to start our life.
Our life that held a very promising
future.
A very promising, very long future.