Page 137 of Left Behind

He stopped to flip on the lights and, for a moment, felt as if he’d just been hugged.

“We’re here, Aunt Ella. Thank you for the gift. We’ll fill this house with so much love and laughter, and keep the home fires burning. I promise you.”

***

School began before the remodeling, and it was just as well. Too many new things could have been a problem, but Ava soon found out that being Mrs. Pope’s little sister was all the cachet she needed to fit in at her new school. And once Mikey informed all of the cousins at school that Ava was Uncle Wiley’s little sister, she had her own built-in security squad without even knowing it, and she thrived.

Her giggle became commonplace. Her fears about everything began to recede. She hadn’t known there was a world like this, with people like this. Bubba and Linnie were her touchstones to sanity, and school was her safe place to be, but she still feared night in the city and had worn out two questions. “When will we move to the mountain?” and “When are you getting married?”

And then finally the day arrived.

***

It was the first week of October, and Linette’s parents arrived two days prior to the wedding. They had been taken aback by the news of the location of the venue, and then finding out Wiley and Linette were moving to the mountain.

And then they saw the locations.

They were in awe of the ancient Church in the Wildwood.

And even more so by the remodeled house Wiley had been bequeathed.

After that, they settled in at their hotel and, on the day of the wedding, drove up the mountain to the church, where the entire bridal party was getting dressed. The mountain was ablaze in color. The sun was bright, but this high up, the day was cold.

Wiley, who was usually wired and bordering on tense, was calm to the point of placid. It was the first time in his life that he knew this was exactly what he was supposed to do, and he wore what he’d been told to wear—a black suit, a white shirt, and a bolo tie with a large turquoise stone in the setting. His black boots had silver tips on the toes, and as always, his hair was brushing the edge of his collar.

His brothers were all getting ready to stand with him at the altar. Aaron as best man, and Sean and B.J. as his groomsmen. Cameron was in the room with them getting Mikey dressed, but this time his son was old enough to be trusted not to bolt down the aisle, and Ghost wasn’t needed to keep him in line.

“Be still a minute, Son,” Cameron said as he was fastening Mikey’s tie.

Mikey stilled, but his gaze was focused on his daddy’s face, and he was full of questions.

“Daddy?”

“Hmm?”

“How old do you have to be to get married?” he asked.

Cameron paused. “Old enough to have a job and money enough to take care of the woman you marry.”

“How old is that?” Mikey asked.

“Older than twenty-one, for sure,” Cameron glanced up. “Why?”

Mikey was counting on his fingers. “Then in fourteen more years, I can marry Ava.”

Cameron stared, shocked that his son had that grasp of numbers, and that, at the age of seven, he’d already picked a girl.

“You can’t just pick someone out and marry them. They have to agree to marry you. They have to love you and want to spend the rest of their life with you, too.”

Mikey frowned. “Daddy. It will be fine.”

Cameron frowned back. “And how do you know that?”

Mikey shrugged. “I just do. Sometimes you just know stuff, right?”

“Right,” Cameron muttered, but he was bothered. Mikey was starting to sound like Aunt Ella.

“It’s time. Is everyone ready?” Aaron asked, and when they nodded, he motioned to Wiley to get in line. The moment the pianist began playing music, they filed out in order and walked to the altar, then looked up the aisle.

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