Chapter Eleven #2
Lorna and Piper just looked at each other in the dressing table mirror, both sighing contentedly. Sunny was right—in the coming year, they were all going to be moms. The idea still gave Lorna goosebumps.
“Well, what do you say we head up to the cabin? We don’t want to keep the men waiting. I’m sure that poor Sawyer is worried that you’ve changed your mind,” Piper said.
“Not in a million years.” Lorna smiled.
Lorna walked down the makeshift aisle with Piper by her side, and Sawyer felt like the luckiest man alive.
Tag and Piper stood up as witnesses. A handful of friends from town made it to the ceremony, which was great since it was last-minute and Christmas Day.
Everything was perfect, from the vows that they exchanged right down to the kiss—the day was magical.
Sawyer wouldn’t have changed a thing. After they said their “I do’s,” Piper planned a beautiful Christmas dinner for everyone.
She thought of everything. Sunny even made a three-tier wedding cake that made Lorna tear up.
After dinner, they shared their first dance, and Sawyer couldn’t wait to get home and start their honeymoon. “I think we should head out, baby,” he whispered.
Lorna looked up at him and smiled. “Anxious to start our honeymoon?” she teased. He looked around the room to make sure that none of their friends could hear his next comment.
“I am, wife. Are you ready to hear about where I’m taking you?” he asked.
Lorna gasped in surprise, “Jonathan, you’re taking me on a real honeymoon?” He kissed his way down her neck, loving the way she melted into his arms. “How did you have time for all of this?”
“My boss has connections that are pretty high up, and well, she hooked us up,” he admitted. Lorna clapped and squealed at the idea of going away with him. He slipped the plane tickets from his jacket pocket and handed them to her. Her eyes flared when she saw their destination.
“You’re taking me to Paris?” She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. He released her so she could join Piper in jumping up and down and clapping, and squealing about their trip. He loved to see her so excited; she deserved it.
“I am taking you to Paris. If you look closely at the tickets, we leave tonight.” Lorna stopped jumping long enough to study the tickets.
“Tonight! How can I leave tonight? I haven’t packed, and it’s Christmas.” Sawyer pulled her back into his arms, wanting the overly excited Lorna back.
“I don’t want you to worry about a thing, baby. Piper has packed for you, and I packed my stuff earlier. We are all set. You just need to change out of this dress, and we can head out,” he said.
“You are wonderful, Jonathan. I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I plan on figuring it out. I want to keep you around.”
“You don’t have to do anything but be you, honey. You’ve made me the happiest man on earth—first by making me a dad and now, a husband.” He kissed her lips. “Thank you, baby.”
“Merry Christmas, Jonathan,” Lorna whispered.
He smiled down at his new bride, and she gifted him with one of her beautiful smiles. She truly was his Christmas miracle. “Merry Christmas, baby.”
Sunny felt completely miserable as she tried to help Piper with the cleanup.
She was pretty much useless, and feeling that way was starting to grate on her last nerve.
The baby was pressing on her bladder, making her run to the bathroom every other minute.
And forget about eating or sleeping. Two mouthfuls of food and she felt like she couldn’t eat another bite, even though she was constantly hungry.
She couldn’t get comfortable enough to sleep, so she was overly tired, starving, and miserable.
Toss in being completely alone and about to give birth, and she felt more overwhelmed than she ever had.
“Why don’t you go lie down and put your feet up, Sunny?
You must be exhausted. Torren can run you home later, or you are welcome to stay with us,” Piper said, rubbing her belly.
The baby kicked Piper’s hand, causing her best friend to giggle.
“I can’t wait to feel my baby kick. It must be magical.
” Sunny snorted at the way Pipe was romanticizing being pregnant.
She guessed that if she were in a loving, committed relationship, she would think that having a baby was a magical event, too.
But she was alone and scared, and that wasn’t going to change anytime soon.
She gave up on the fantasy that Aaron was going to swoop in and rescue her and her daughter.
She was through with wasting any more energy on that dream.
Her daughter would have her, and that was going to be enough; at least she would make every effort to be enough for her little girl.
“I am feeling a little woozy.” She knew that she needed to at least rest, even if she couldn’t sleep.
She only had a few more weeks until the baby was due.
Her daughter kicked as if on cue, reminding her to slow down.
Tag rushed in from helping Sawyer and Lorna load up their SUV with wedding and Christmas gifts.
They were heading off on their honeymoon, and the thought made Sunny sigh.
She would give anything to be whisked off to some place romantic.
Instead, she was stuck in Harvest Ridge picking out burp cloths and diapers.
Tag shivered and pulled Piper into his body.
“You’re not going to believe who’s here.
” He looked at Sunny as if he had done something wrong.
“I’m sorry that we didn’t mention it earlier, but I wasn’t sure that he would come,” Tag said.
Sunny could feel all the blood drain from her face.
She didn’t need to ask Tag who he was referring to because she knew from his expression that he was talking about Aaron.
“He’s here?” Sunny whispered, feeling as if her world was spinning a little too quickly.
She knew that she was overreacting, but honestly, she couldn’t seem to slow the room down.
She reached for Tag as if she were trying to keep from being pulled into the swirling vortex that surrounded her.
“Sunny,” she heard Piper shout as her entire world went dark and all she could think about was her baby and the man who stole her heart eight months earlier.
“Aaron,” she whispered as her legs buckled under her weight. She expected to hit the floor, even bracing for the expected pain, but it never came. Instead, she felt as though she was wrapped in a warm pillow, being lifted into the air, and whisked away.
She was afraid to hope that Aaron wasn’t a dream, but if he was, she didn’t want to wake up.
The End
Ready for book three of the Harvest Ridge Series? Line of Fire is coming November 27, 2025!