Page 32 of Winter's Kiss

When we reached the end of the aisle and my father stepped away, I remained still, lost in the man before me. He was mine. He had picked me.

He had opened his heart again for me. How could I have gotten so lucky? My entire life, nothing made sense until I met him. Once I was this girl, woman, who made fun of those that said love, at first sight, was real, and yet I stood before a man I had known such a short time completely taken over by him.

“I understand the bride and groom have their vows they want to speak.” The pastor spoke, his head a motion towards Rowland. “Rowland.” Rowland, with a smile, cleared his throat before he spoke.

“I never thought I would be able to open my heart again until I met you. There was something about you I felt that first night, as though you pulled me in. I tried to stop it, to fight it, yet with each attempt, I felt as though something was missing. Watching you drive away was one of the hardest things I’d ever had to live through, and I swore to myself that if I were lucky enough to get you back, I would never let you go again. I know this happened fast and normally I’d be the guy warning someone of such a reality. Yet, I feel as though I’ve known you all my life. As though you were sent to me, and I was sent to you.” Tears filled in my eyes as I smiled at his words.

“I make this vow to you now. I will never cause you pain. I will never allow you to walk this world alone. I will always cherish you, protect you, and love you until my last breath in this world.” It took everything I had not to jump on him, kiss him and hold him as tight as I could. I smiled with my gaze lowered as tears rolled down my cheeks, and our hands rested softly in the others.

“Natasha.” The pastor spoke my name and with a brief minute of silence, I brought my gaze back to Rowland’s.

“Love at first sight. It had always sounded insane to me. How could you love someone quickly? It wasn’t possible. My entire life, I lived with the belief that you didn’t just take chances. You made plans. You weighed the pros and cons of an act, but before you set forth motion, you always ran through the what-ifs. This way, there were no surprises, no pain, no regret. It took me thirty years to realize how much bullshit that was.” Rowland, along with every guest, including my parents, laughed at my phrased comment.

“I chose to leave the safety of the bubble I’d been living in, fear of the unknown the biggest feeling I had.” I continued. “Yet, I pushed forward and allowed a path to open in front of me regardless of the obstacles which seemed to try to reroute me. Nothing bigger than the snowstorm that covered my path. It was that storm though that brought me to my true destiny. You.” Rowland grinned, that perfect grin, his thumb a soft caress at the top of my hand.

“That night you saved me, much more than you could have realized.” I continued with a soft smile. “From an act that seemed just in your nature, I began to see and experience the pleasures that came with knowing you, from being in your orbit. I fell in love with you. All of you. From your painful past to your scared heart to the bright future you were destined for. The man you are is glorious and I’m honored that you’ve picked me.”

Tears filled my eyes, “I promise to always love you, to remain by your side forever. I will protect you, honor you, cherish you. I love you, forever.” Rowland brought his thumb along my cheek, his lips curled to a smile.

“Do you take this woman to be your wife? To have and to hold from this day forward?” The pastor asked Rowland with a smile and a nod.

“Always.” He slid his mother’s ring along my finger.

“Do you take this man to be your husband? To have and to hold from this day forward?” The pastor asked, my lips curled into a wide smile.

“Forever.” I pushed on a ring Theo had given me that was passed down in the family. Our hands rested in one another’s for a mere second before the pastor spoke with a loud and joyful tone.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.” Rowland brought his hand to the side of my neck, his other along my waist with a slow step toward me. Applause exploded from our guests as they stood, yet it all faded with three words that fell from his lips.

“I love you.” He whispered.

“I love you,” I replied. Our lips pressed into the other with a soft, sensual kiss. The first of many in our life together.

Epilogue

Two years later…

Yet another snowstorm fell over Muddy Waters. I finished the fruit tray I had prepared for the party that afternoon. A sharp pain moved through my stomach, and my eyes closed with a short exhale when I felt his hands move over my growing stomach. I smiled at his touch. His hands rested over mine, and the pain faded.

“She’s so going to be a daddy’s girl.” I teased with my head turned and lifted to glance back at him. Rowland smiled and shrugged his shoulders with a slow, lean forward, and soft kiss.

“You say that like it’s a terrible thing.” He replied.

“Daddy, up.” We both glanced down at the small girl who stood at our legs, her small arms stretched out for Rowland.

“Not a terrible thing at all.” I teased. Rowland, with a quick step back, bent down and picked the young girl up.

“Give mommy a kiss.” He said with a turn toward me. The little girl stretched her body over, her small lips pressed against mine with a giggle. “Get in here. Can’t have a party without the birthday girl.” He winked and smirked before he grabbed up the tray. With a quick step, he moved from the cabin kitchen.

So much had happened over the last two years and although I lived it, I still couldn’t wrap my head around the facts. With a smile, I grabbed another tray of cheese and crackers before I made my way into the archway of the living room. My steps stopped while I took in the beauty that filled the large room before me. My gaze slowly moved from one person to the next.

My sister smiled as she laughed with our father, a relationship I never thought I would live to see repaired. Theo, always the lady’s man, sweet-talked my mother as they stood in the distance of the room. He showed her the layout for the expansion Rowland, and he worked on with the cabin. My parents had moved to Muddy Waters just a year after the wedding, their efforts to repair our relationship and be a family.

My hand rested over my growing stomach. My eyes shifted to Anna as she played with a small boy, who looked more like his father every day.

It wasn’t but a month after the wedding we found out I was pregnant, our surprise I carried twins. A boy, Edward, and a girl, Destiny. I smiled as the young boy laughed with his grandmother tickling him before my eyes shifted to Rowland.

It’s still hard to believe I married Rowland, not just in general, but so quickly. He had proven to be everything I had always dreamed of. A wonderful husband and an amazing father. Each day I thanked the universe, I made the choice I did two years ago. It brought me to him, to a life that I would have never had otherwise.

I was no longer simply Natasha, or Cookie as my sister called me. I was a daughter. I was a sister. I was a wife. I was a mother. All because I risked everything I knew, everything I had been taught. A man who had lost everything allowed me in and together we created the most glorious life together. Had two of the most beautiful children, with another on the way.

I remained still in the archway; my watery gaze set on him as he gave our daughter a piece of fruit. He glanced over at me; a smile pulled along his lips. I loved him so much more than I ever thought I could. And it all started on a snowy night, with a Winter’s Kiss.

The End…