Six months later…

 

                    After turning off the music, the D.J. said, “Announcing Dr.  and Mrs. Wade Ramsey!”   

                    Kelsey and Wade walked into their wedding reception hand in hand, sporting huge smiles.  The guests were whooping and clapping when Wade took Kelsey, dipped her, and kissed her.

                    When Kelsey got over her shock, she smiled and caressed his cheek.  “Well, that was unexpected.  I think I like being surprised.”

                    “Then I will endeavor to surprise you.”

                    Hannah giggled.  “Mama, everyone’s watching.”

Kelsey blushed and cleared her throat.  “We’ll have this conversation later.”

                    “I’ll look forward to it.”  Wade winked.

                    They greeted their guests warmly and they thanked them for coming and for their good wishes. 

                    One of Wade’s older cousins, Grayson Schroeder, slapped him on his back.  “Welcome to the club.  I wondered if you would ever get caught.”

                    “Well, I was just waiting for the right woman.”  Wade kissed Kelsey’s left hand and grazed a finger over her white gold engagement ring with a sapphire, surrounded by little diamonds and her white gold wedding band.

                    “Looks like our younger cousin, Elise, has set her eyes on your cousin, Kelsey,” Grayson said, taking a sip of white wine and pointed.  

                    Kelsey followed to where Grayson indicated, and sure enough, Elise, a tall blonde in a yellow dress, around her brother’s age, was talking lively, curling a piece of hair around her finger and batting her eyelashes.  Nick listened politely, but he fiddled with his tie, a tell he was annoyed.

                    Although, every time Kelsey saw Nick, she thought about how proud she was of him.  Kelsey knew that Nick still missed Fontaine and had moments of guilt that he couldn’t save her, but as Nick had told Kelsey, he didn’t want to put his family and friends in the same position Fontaine had placed him in.  Always wondering every time the phone rings if something had happened and you have to say goodbye a final time.  

                    Kelsey’s attention returned to Elise who was still prattling away, laughing at her own jokes and touching Nick’s forearm.

Poor girl. I hope she’ll realize he isn’t interested in her.

                    Wade leaned down near her ear and whispered, “Don’t worry.  Elise is just a flirt.  She won’t think about him after tonight.”

                    Her dad waved, signaling the caterers were ready to serve the food.

                    “We better be seated, and ask Pastor Kellerman to say the prayer.”  Kelsey laced her fingers with Wade's with a smile, and then made their way to the wedding party’s table.

                    When everybody had eaten and the toasts were finished, they cut the bride’s cake.  Kelsey grinned wickedly and smeared icing on the sides of Wade’s mouth. 

                    Chuckling, Wade put some on the tip of her nose.

                     They kissed, licking it off of their faces.

                     “I guess I should have warned you, but I wanted to do that to my groom since I was little,” Kelsey confessed.

                     “I don’t mind.”  Wade wiggled his eyebrows.  “I’ll get my revenge later.”

                     Kelsey’s insides warmed.  She yearned to start their honeymoon.  Tonight will be a long night.  Kelsey shook her head and silently told herself to be patient.  This is our special time, the start of our life together.

                     When they returned to the wedding table, she finally had time to glance around the fire station hall.  Her mom, Eve, and her good friends had transformed it into what she had always dreamed.  White cloths draped the tables, where lit candles in Mason jars and small vases of peach roses sat on silver table runners.   The large bouquet of peach roses sat as the centerpiece of the wedding table.  Besides her mermaid-style lace wedding dress with long sleeve and a chapel train, the roses for the church and for the reception had been her biggest splurge.  Thankfully, her parents had offered the table cloths, candles, plates, and silverware they used whenever they catered weddings.

                     Beautiful and simple.  Kelsey sighed contentedly.

                     Laughter made her turn her head.  Her heart leaped with happiness on seeing Wade and his father.  Things between them had been wonderful since Wade woke up.  When Wade got home, father and son were nearly inseparable.  Eve, Jordan, and Miss Millie stayed for another month to make sure he was okay, and during that time, Jordan and Wade talked about the old times.  Whenever his dad started to lament and berate himself that he had lost almost sixteen years of making more memories, Wade reminded him that they had agreed to start over. 
                    “The past is in the past,” Wade said.  “All we can do is to be better in the future.”

Jordan patted his shoulder.  “You’re right, son.”

                    After they left, Jordan or Wade would call every other day, and twice that summer, Wade had driven up to Arlington to watch the Texas Rangers play with his dad.

                    But what Jordan told Wade and her the evening before while they were waiting for the rehearsal to begin, had touched Kelsey’s heart.

                    Jordan had asked for a private moment with them before Pastor Kellerman came.

                    Kelsey nodded, smiling.  “We can go to the cry room.”  She motioned to her parents that they would be right back.

                   Glancing around the room, Jordan’s gaze stopped on the baby bed and he walked to it, caressing the side padding.  “It seems like yesterday you were in one like this.”  He turned around with a wistful expression.  “At first, you slept a lot, but around six months, one of us had to drive around our neighborhood until you fell asleep, and then you woke up when we put you in your crib.  Your mom and I were at our wit’s end on how to get you to sleep.  Finally, I wound up that stuffed white lamb that played “Brahm’s Lullaby” that your grandma Ramsey sent, and you quieted down, hugged it to you, and fell asleep.  We were amazed, and your mom mailed her a thank you note along with a pound of chocolate-covered cherries.  Until you were six, you took that lamb everywhere.”

                    “Yes, Lamby.” Wade smiled.  “When Christina was born, I gave Lamby to her.”

                     Tears welled in Jordan’s eyes.  “You were a wonderful brother.  You were there for her when I couldn’t be.”  He looked from Wade to Kelsey and back again.  “Tomorrow you’ll be a husband to this amazing woman and I have no doubt you’ll be a kind and loving one.”  Jordan swallowed hard and shut his eyes.  “In spite of the way I treated you all those years, you turned out wonderful.  I thank God that you had John to turn to for comfort and advice.”

                     Wade frowned.  “Dad, didn’t we agreed to leave the past behind us?”

                     “Yes.”

                     “You know, Dad,” Wade said, walking toward Jordan, “yes, John was there for me during that time, but it was you that shaped me.  I remembered the man you were for the first eighteen years of my life, and I wanted to be like you.”

                     “Oh, son.” Jordan hugged Wade.

                      Feeling like an interloper, Kelsey wiped her tears and started backing out of the door.

                      Jordan saw her retreating and called her back.  “You should be in this hug, too.”  He lifted an arm to allow her in.  “I have my son back, but I’ve also gained a beautiful daughter and a wonderful step-granddaughter.”

                      Kelsey cried anew at his kind words.  When she saw Wade’s concerned face, she whispered, “Happy tears,” and smiled at him.

                      A knock on the opened door made them break the hug.

                     Kelsey’s mom stood in the doorway wearing a white sequined top and a black skirt.  She smiled.  “Pastor Kellerman is in the sanctuary.”

                     “Thanks, Mom.”  Kelsey wiped her eyes with her knuckles.  “Please tell him we’ll be right there.”

                      “Okay.”

                      “Well, enough of this.”  Jordan cleared his throat and blinked back tears.  “Let’s go.  I can’t wait for the rehearsal dinner.  I have a couple of funny stories to tell about you, son.”

                      “Dad!”Wade exclaimed in mock horror.

                      The touch of Wade’s hand on her upper arm snapped Kelsey back to the present.  “Um?”

                      “It’s time for our first dance.”  He held his hand out.

                      “Oh!”  Kelsey rose and took Wade's hand.  She had been looking forward to their first dance as man and wife.  For years, watching her friends and relatives dancing with their spouses at their wedding, Kelsey wondered if she would ever be brave enough to fall in love again and have a real wedding where she could dance in her husband’s strong arms.

                     Now, looking into Wade's love-filled eyes as he led her to the dance floor, Kelsey’s heart skipped a beat.  It was better than she could have ever dreamed.  Wade loved Kelsey, faults and all.  He had been patient, knowing she needed time to find out if she was willing to risk her heart again. 

                     We’ll be okay.

                     The lights dimmed and the D.J. played Tracy Byrd’s The Keeper of the Stars.

                     As they swayed to the song, Kelsey’s eyes locked with Wade’s.  She couldn’t wait to see what God had planned for them.  Kelsey had learned that as long as they trusted in Him than they would be fine.

 

***

                     “Hannah, behave for your meemaw and papaw while we’re away.”  Kelsey hugged her one last time.

                     “Yes, Mama.  Remember to buy me a shirt with the English flag on it.”

                     “Union Flag.”  Kelsey smiled.  “It’s on my list.”

                     “Have fun in England, but watch your money,” Her dad said.  “I heard there are pickpockets there.”

                     “I will, Dad, but I’m sure we’ll be okay.”

                     He grunted.  “Just watch out.”

                     Kelsey shook her head, amused her dad still worried about her.  But parents always worry about their children.  She enveloped her dad with a hug.

                     Nick rapped on the already opened front door.  “Hey, I’m glad you’re still here.  I wanted to say goodbye and enjoy England.”

                     Kelsey hugged him after he walked further into her parents’ house.  “Thanks.  I believe we shall.”

                     Pulling back, Kelsey noticed Nick was smiling more than usual, and his dark blue eyes sparkled.

                     Kelsey arched an eyebrow.  “What’s going on, Nick?  You look like you’re bursting with news.”

                     “I could never get anything past you,” he said, chuckling.

                     “Nope.  So, what’s your news?”

                     Her dad leaned in.  “Yes, don’t keep us in suspense.”

                     “Well, I’ve been thinking about this for a couple of months and I’ve decided to sell my car repair shop, go back to college and get my bachelor’s degree in psychology.”

                     “You’re going back to school?” Wade asked when he returned for the last suitcase.  “That’s good, man.”

                     “Thanks.”  Nick cleared his throat.  “Then hopefully I’ll get hired at Redemption Ranch as a counselor.”

                     “The one that helps at-risk kids that's ten minutes away?” Kelsey asked, glancing at her dad, wondering what he thought.  “I think it’s great you going back to school, but-.”

                     “We just don’t want you to get so involved in their lives that you relapse.”

                      Nick held up a hand.  “I understand y’all's concerns, my parents had the same ones, but I’ll keep it professional.”

                      Kelsey prayed that would be true, but Nick had such a compassionate heart.

                      “Kelse, really I’ll be fine.  I want to help troubled pre-teens and teens before they get addicted to drugs and alcohol.  The early they can nip it in the bud, the better.  I know R.R. is fairly new, but they’re seeing successes.”  He sighed.  “If the program had been around when we were in high school, then maybe Fontaine would still be here.”

                      Kelsey hugged him.  “I want you to be happy.”

                      “This will make me happy.  I promise I know what I’m doing.”  

                      Wade touched her arm.  “Honey, we’d better go if we want to make our flight.”