Page 20 of Rescued By the Guard

“Really?”

“Really.”

I smile wide and kiss him with a quick peck on the lips, then I kiss him all over his face as we laugh. Then Dale grabs my face and pulls me into a proper kiss, and he gets ready for round two if the member rising in between my thighs is anything to go by. But fortunately, I’m wet and ready for him. After all, we need to get started on making this dream into a reality, don’t we?

“I love you, Captain Dale Mitchell.”

“I love you, Ameila Grace‘Bella’soon to be Mitchell.”

“Oh, about that…”

Dale lifts his brow.

“You, mister, have to do an actual proposal. From the heart. I need to be asked.”

Dale smiles. “Of course, baby. I’m going to blow your socks off.”

I giggle and lie against him. “You already did that.”

EPILOGUE

DALE

A Year And A Half Later

The new shuttersI’ve sanded and painted are now on the beach house Bella and I purchased several months ago. The place is a fixer upper, and it’s been slow going, but it’s livable and Bella gets everything she’s ever wanted.

We stayed in Forbidden Falls because it’s dear to our hearts. It’s where we met and fell in love.

My brother Eric tried to convince us to settle in Evergreen Lakes and they have an impressive body of water there, but it’s nothing like the ocean with its salt air. But it doesn’t stop the visits and we’re only a day's drive away.

Bella comes out holding the baby monitor and looks around the porch. “Babe, this is amazing. Thank you.” She gives me a kiss and wraps her arms around my waist as she takes in our home.

She wanted to go American traditional— so white house, blue shutters and a red door where the American Flag is always properly displayed.

It didn’t take long for my retirement papers to get filed, even though I thought about it, per Bella’s request. I respected her wishes and once things settled down, I resumed work for a bit after my prolonged leave and the first week back, I was miserable. I worried about Bella, and how she was doing. My head and my heart weren’t there anymore.

We got married right away in a lovely ceremony on the beach, with only my brother and his family in attendance. Then Bella went straight into therapy, as nightmares plagued her when her memories resurfaced. She still has some memories locked away and sometimes the dreams remind her, and she needs to talk them over.

I tried to be the man for her with that, but it put me in a murderous mood, and I hated how much stress it put on Bella. So she works it out with a therapist and shares it with me when she’s ready.

I even started seeing a therapist to handle what she tells me so I can be what she needs and not react to everything she tells me what she’s been through.

It’s also helped us manage our first year of marriage like champs since we jumped in head first. We’ve had some difficult moments, but the learning curves have been worth it. We’re ready to take on whatever else comes our way since we learned how to communicate with each other. Because we’re a team and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Aaron sound asleep?”

“Yup. He was exhausted and didn’t give me too much of a fuss, but I’m definitely not producing enough milk anymore. I had to also give him a bottle.”

It took a couple months before Bella got pregnant, but boy, it didn’t stop us from trying enthusiastically. We were elated when it came up positive, but the pregnancy had been tough, and hewas a huge boy. I swear when he was born, he looked more like a three-month-old baby instead of a newborn.

Watching Bella with him is the best thing in the world. She’s a fantastic mother with the patience of a saint and I’m grateful she picked me for her partner.

“What left do you have to do out here?” She asks as she looks around.

“The railing needs to be redone and painted and then the outside will be done.”

Bella smiles and jumps around. “I can’t believe it. You’re amazing.” She wraps her arms around me and squeezes me while I lean down so we can kiss. “But we need to get on top of the guest rooms. We need at least one of them done asap.”

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