Chapter 40
Ten months later
IT’S BEEN JUST over a year since Grandma Kay passed away, and I miss her every day.
I’ve decided to keep her memory alive by quoting her as frequently as possible.
I’ve also taken up the habit of never being the first to let go in a hug.
It’s been an enjoyable experience, although with Nick I have to force him to let go first or we’d never part.
He insists we attend mass at a church downtown on Christmas Eve.
Cooper and Gwen come with us and shuffle the kids to the car after mass.
Nick tells me there’s something he wants to show me, and we sit patiently inside as the people clear the pews.
I glance around at the ornate stained-glass windows.
They don’t make them like this anymore. When the church is finally empty and the lights dim, he turns to me.
“This church is special to me. Do you know why?”
I shake my head no as I stare at his lips.
His stubble has grown into a beard and he’s even more attractive, if that’s possible.
Cooper insists he did it in an attempt to try to be as hot as him.
They still compete over everything and are as close as Gwen and I are.
The four of us have developed a bond that is dear to my heart.
“I want to tell you a story.”
“Okay,” I say warily with a nod of my head.
“I’ve never been big on church,” he begins.
“Even though I was raised that way, I just never went on a regular basis. When I moved here almost four years ago and found out you were married, I was distraught. I hoped that somehow I’d find you again, and when it became clear that wasn’t going to happen, I found myself walking with nowhere to go. ”
I listen carefully as I remove my glove and take his hand in mine.
“I happened upon this church. It was a Saturday morning and it was empty. I sat in this exact pew and I asked God to give me a sign. I missed Wisconsin and my family, and I was ready to pack up and go home. I sat here for a long time waiting, and I got nothing. I sighed to myself because I realized how dumb I was being. I waved up to God before I stood and somberly weaved my way out of church.”
He stands and lifts my hands into his, leading me out of the pew.
“Oh, is this a moving story?” I ask playfully.
He smiles. “Yes, yes it is. Now be quiet and let me talk.”
I giggle as he leads me down the aisle and out the door.
We stand outside as the snow falls gently around us. It’s beautiful. I glance over at him wide-eyed and laughing, and the heat from his gaze stops me in my tracks. I love him so.
“I shuffled out this door and stood here for a moment, not knowing where to go. I turned to my left and then decided to go right instead. Guess who bumped into me?”
“Cooper?” I ask.
“No,” he says with a shake of his head. “Kay.”
“What?” I still and my chest begins to ache. “Did she recognize you?” I ask with astonishment.
He smiles. “She did. We talked for a few minutes and she asked me how long I would be in town. I told her I’d moved to town over a year ago but that I was thinking of heading back home.
In typical Kay fashion, she insisted I tell her why.
I don’t know what it was about her, but she made it so easy to just pour your heart at her feet. ”
I smile knowingly and he grips my hands in his.
“I told her I was ready to go home because I realized I’d never get another chance with you. She told me, and I remember her exact words because I replayed them in my head whenever I had any doubts. She said, ‘Nick Rowen, don’t you dare lay down your cards and fold.’”
I feel tears in my eyes. I can picture her speaking those words. I’d heard them myself a few times. I miss her and everything about her.
“She said, ‘That girl deserves a man like you, and I promise you, someday, you’re gonna get that chance again. Don’t you dare stop believing. You play those cards and you wait for her to be ready to play her own.’”
“She said that? Really?” I ask through my tears.
“She gave me my sign and I stayed. I didn’t go home, and two years later, there you were.”
“There I was,” I repeat.
“Ever, there’s something here between us. Do you feel it?” he asks as he motions back and forth.
“Yes,” I whisper.
“From the first moment I saw you, it was like I knew. I was young and stupid and I made a lot of mistakes. I lost you.”
“But you didn’t,” I interrupt.
“Shhh…” he whispers as he lifts his finger to my lips. “Let me finish.”
I smile and he smiles back. It’s my smile.
“Then one day, I found you again and I knew from the moment I saw you that I would never take you for granted. That I would always wait for you and that if I was lucky enough to have you, I would never, ever let you go again.”
“Never ever?” I whisper.
He takes my face in his hands. “Never, Ever.”
His hands slip down my face and he takes a large breath before he bends down on one knee in front of me. I gasp.
“Everly, you are my everything, my everywhere, my everlasting, and my evermore. I love you, and if you’ll have me, I promise to give you every part of me and everything I have for every day of the rest of my life.
Will you do me the honor of loving me forever and becoming my wife?
” He raises his hand to mine, and a very large diamond ring glistens in the snow.
I gasp as tears flow down my face. “Yes,” I cry as I fall to my knees next to him and take his face in my hands. “Absolutely, yes.”
He kisses me as the snow falls around us, and just when I think he couldn’t be more to me, he’s more than I ever dreamed possible.