Page 51 of Return By Fire

I hold out my arm for my sister as a string trio plays an instrumental version of “Never Stop” by SafetySuit. For the moment, I avoid Jed’s eyes so I can absorb every nuance of this moment. On my deathbed, I want to remember how the waves of the sea act as a fourth instrument to the haunting sounds. The smell of the flowers. The way the tears won’t stop flowing down Kara’s smiling face as she glides next to me in the direction of my forever.

About ten feet away, Kara stops us. She turns me to face her. Taking both my hands, she rises on the balls of her feet and presses a kiss against my cheek. “Despite what’s about to happen, one thing won’t change, Dean.”

I can see Jed out of the corner of my eye. He’s dabbing at his cheeks. Damn him for already crying, I think as I reach up to wipe my own tears, but Kara beats me to it. I inhale and my breath releases on a shudder. “What’s that?”

She turns and faces me so I have nowhere to look except at Jed before she says the words I’ve said to her over and over back to me. “Know I’ll always be behind you but take a chance on what could be in front of you.” Then she murmurs, “Embrace your happy, Dean. You deserve every single second of it.”

She nudges me slightly toward my fiancé, the man I’ll love for the rest of my life.

I move forward, choosing my future—our future.

I reach Jed and take his hand in mine. Even as our eyes meet, lock, hold, our fingers tangle, twist—just like our lives have, I think wondrously.

The minister conducting the ceremony waits for Kara to take her place before speaking, “We know here as we stand as witness to the vows Jedidiah and Dean are about to speak to one another that love is precious in whatever form we are fortunate enough to experience it. Jed, Dean, your hearts led you to stand here today to vow eternity to one another. Do you both come here with clear hearts and open minds?”

“We do,” we say in unison.

Our vows are simple, poignant. Kevin comes forward at his appointed time, holding up the pillow for us each to detach our rings. I slide Jed’s over his finger, vowing, “With this ring, I thee wed...”

Moments later, he does the same.

“It is by the power vested in me, I pronounce you husband and husband. Misters Malone, you may each kiss your man.” He snaps his folder shut with a beaming smile.

Jed’s lips crash onto mine. His lips demand entry and I immediately part them. As his lips score my soul, I can’t help but give thanks for the future we have ahead of us.

Later that night, we take turns driving each other insane with our mouths and hands and filling each other to the brim with deep thrusts. I whisper, “I’ll never be so grateful that fate stepped in and you answered that phone.”

He rolls me to my back and presses his lips against mine. “Me either. I’ll never stop kicking my ass for wasting so much time to confront your sister.”

I hum my agreement right before bursting into peals of laughter when he warns me, “But don’t think I won’t use your sister’s guilt to get something I want from her—something I think she’s ready to give.”

“Are you going to tell me what that is, husband?”

He cocks his head to the side. “Later. Right now, I have more pressing issues on my mind.”

I’m breathless as his hand skims over my reawakening cock. “Such as?”

“The fire I’m about to set in our marriage bed.” He smiles that smile that causes my gut to twist. “Any objections?”

I pull him close for a kiss that leaves us both a little punch-drunk. “Not a one.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

I bump along the long gravel road in the cool mountain air with a load of groceries bouncing around in the trunk of the SUV I rented. “If they’re flipping around as much as my stomach is, Jed’s going to have nothing to eat this week. I’m not making this drive twice.” I wince as I go over a particularly nasty bump, my teeth snapping together. I shout my frustration to my absent husband. “I’m a Florida boy, born and bred, Jed. We consider a speed bump a hill. You have me driving on cliffs.”

The phone rings. I read the Bluetooth display before snapping, “What?”

Maris’s smooth voice comes through the speaker, “You haven’t made it yet?”

“What your brother forgot to tell me is this place is harder to find than Woodpeckers Barbecue in Orangedale. Christ, and you said that place might as well have been in Deliverance. Nuh-uh, Maris. This is... holy crap.” I slam on the brakes as my torment ends and I land in one of the most beautiful places on earth.

Her laugh rings through the car as I gape at the beauty of the stone and log structure that consumes my vision. “Welcome to Nature’s Song.”

“I thought it was a stupid ass name. I’m going to have to eat crow for a month with Jed.”

“Are any of the Jacks outside?”

I scan the area and, though I see four rentals parked near the main garage, don’t see another two-legged soul, though I do spot a few deer at the edge of the tree line. “Not a one.”

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