Brazing (Forged in Fire #2) (26 page)

“I’ll never get tired of hearing it,” I whispered thickly.

He clutched me tighter to his suit-clad body. I brushed my hands over his seersucker jacket and then slid my hand under his pressed lapel to the crisp white cotton so I could feel his heart hammer away.

“Good,” he growled. “Because you’re going to be hearing it for a long time. A very long time.”

I pressed a kiss to his jawline and hummed my approval. “You’re right about that.”

And he was.

We had spent the last three months in Holland while he worked out his smithing job. It had been quite the adventure. I’d spent the days healing from my treatment and growing out my hair.

That’s right. Healing.

I had found out in January, that I was officially cancer free!

The treatment worked! And my cancer had gone into remission.

I sat in Dr. Master’s office with my family surrounding me and Bridger at my side, holding my hand. I had come to peace with the outcome, no matter what it would be. But I had been thrilled to find out I had life left to live.

Lots of life.

Bridger hadn’t wasted any time.

Three days later, he asked me to marry him on the porch of our future home. He presented me with the most beautiful ring I had ever seen. He made it himself with his endless stores of skill and patience.

The sparkling white gold intertwined together, seeming to be made out of two different pieces. A gorgeous blue sapphire blinked at me with perfect clarity and on the inside, he had inscribed our names.

I broke down into happy tears when I found out I was cancer free and then again with his sweet proposal.

He promised me forever. He promised to love me, to cherish me and to never waste one single day with me. He promised me in sickness and in health. In richness and in poorness. He also promised that he would have asked me no matter the outcome of my treatments.

I knew that it was not possible to love him more.

He had been created for me.

And I for him.

We had struggles to look forward to; we had tough times that would eventually come. We had vows to make and then promise not to break.

But we also had each other

I had lived a lifetime of hardship, and I knew that my future was completely different than anything in my past.

It would never compare. It would never echo the difficulty of my past. Even if the cancer came back and we were as poor as dirt. It wouldn’t matter.

Because I had Bridger. I had someone to go through this with me. I had someone to take care of me and hold me through the suffering.

I also had someone to make every day good.

I had to go in for my six-month checkup in four weeks, the middle of June. And I was nervous. So nervous.

But not afraid.

Sure, I wanted to be cancer-free for the rest of my life. And I never wanted to go through chemo or radiation again. But I also knew that I could face it again with Bridger at my side.

I could face anything with him.

We’d been married tonight, May fourteenth, in our own backyard. The spring had blessed the woods with a vibrancy that spoke to my soul. Green grass had sprouted and the trees burst with fresh green leaves or fragrant blossoms. The air was warm and the breeze caressing.

Bridger and his brothers had built a trellis that we stood beneath as my granddaddy married us in front of God and all our witnesses. Carter, Willa, Cami and Macey had stood at my side while Bridger had his brothers standing with him, as well as my brother and a cousin I had only just met.

My daddy gave me away with the proudest smile on his face and my mama wept happy tears through the entire ceremony. Grams hadn’t stopped smiling in months. And even Cary and Dr. Masters had driven all the way from Nashville and attended the ceremony.

I had never felt more loved.

Bridger and I had promised each other no more secrets, but then he’d surprised me by hanging all the bottles he’d buried in his childhood around the perimeter of the backyard. He’d wrapped each bottle in a strand of white twinkly lights so that the rolled up message could be seen clearly. They made a beautiful decoration that everyone attending our wedding commented on.

But only we knew the truth of what was hidden inside those decorative bottles.

He had made our wedding day beautiful.

He had made my life beautiful.

It was unfortunate I was going to have to rip apart all his hard work so I could read those notes. Every last one of them.

Don’t worry, I planned to keep the letters and make him hang up all the bottles again.

I could do that now. I was his wife.

“I love you, Bridger.” My rain cloud. My rain cloud that had brought so much sun and warmth into my life that I had been changed irrevocably.

“I love you too, Tatum.” He paused for a long moment before asking, “So, you’re happy to be my wife?”

“It’s not possible for me to be happier.” My voice was a whisper of truth and conviction. I blinked through hot tears and tried to swallow back the pressure of overwhelmed bliss.

“Then, can I kick all these people out yet?”

I dissolved into laughter. “You can’t kick anybody out!”

“I can,” he swore. “It’s my backyard. I can do whatever I want.”

I pulled back and framed his handsome face with my hands. Behind him, the most beautiful house I had ever seen stood as the backdrop to everything I didn’t know I wanted. A five bedroom log cabin that displayed Bridger’s talented eye for detail and his complete love for me. The wrap around porch and the hand-crafted porch swing beckoned to my sore feet, but the master bedroom, that had so far remained untouched, called to my body and soul.

“Okay,” I whispered. “You’re right. Kick them all out.”

His green eyes sparkled with mischief. “You’re serious.”

“I’m serious,” I whispered. “I want to be your wife, Bridger, in every way.”

His excited grin stretched across his face and my stomach flipped with anticipation. His eyes promised a night full of adventure and a lifetime that would follow suit.

I had jumped into this wanting to change Bridger, to give him back himself. But in the end, he was the one that changed me.

He gave me back myself.

And he promised to help me keep her for the rest of my life.

I loved this man with all that I was and that would never change. This was my happiness.

This was my happily ever after.

Instead of making a big scene, Bridger simply swept me up in his arms. My mermaid-style ivory dress swished with the movement and the pretty lace overlay got caught in his buttons. We giggled at each other, but he made no attempt to untangle us.

I brushed my short curly hair out of my eyes and settled some. I stared into his gorgeous emerald eyes and promised silently that he could do whatever he needed to in order to untangle us. As long as we were alone, he could rip the damn dress off if he needed to.

And he would probably need to.

I was making that prediction right now.

“Ready?”

I smiled at him. “Ready.”

Without saying goodbye or acknowledging our small number of guests, Bridger bounded up the porch stairs and into our house. His intentions couldn’t have been more obvious, but I was beyond caring.

And why would I? I was with my husband.

And we were on our way to start our life.

Our life that held a very promising future.

A very promising, very long future.

The End.

West’s Book, yet untitled, will be coming soon.

Acknowledgements:

Lila:

As always, first and foremost, I thank God for this crazy life.

My husband and kids are the breath to my life and I wouldn’t be able to do this without them. Their pride in what I do floors me day after day.

To Rachel: Wonder Twin powers, activate. That is all.

To the Rink Rats: Mess with my rats and you will get the claws! Y’all are the best street team on the planet. Hands down.

Monique O’Connor James: I missed you on this one, kid. I’ll miss you on every one.

Mandy IReadIndie, Ashleigh Russell, Eden Butler, Candace Selph, and Jamie Magee and so many more, thank you for listening to me complain and fuss and then telling me to suck it up and write on.

To the Hellcats: Eye of the Tiger, ladies, Eye of the Tiger.

To the reader: Thank you for reading Bridger and Tate’s story.

Rachel:

I thank God, who gives me the strength and the coherence to do this thing. Most days I am lost. It’s a miracle when I can put two sentences together. And especially when they make sense.

To Zach, who will always inspire the love in my love stories. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for putting up with me. And thank you going on this epic adventure with me.

To my little brother, who’s not exactly little. Robbie, you’re amazing. Watching you get diagnosed with Hodgkins and going through what you did was one of the scariest times of my life. I am so thankful for your treatment, for your wise doctors, for nurses that helped give you a purpose and for your incredible persistence to survive and move on. You are amazing. I’m sorry I got annoyed with you when you had mono. Also. I love you.

To my Hellcats, Shelly Crane, Amy Bartol, Angeline Kace, Lila Felix, Samantha Young, Quinn Loftis, and Georgia Cates. Ladies, you are the best there is. I would be lost without you. I love you all. To pieces.

To the Reckless Rebels, the best group of girls in the world. I love you all. And I am convinced it doesn’t get better than you girls. Thank you for being awesome. And for putting up with me. I appreciate everything you do!

To Lila, thank you for this book and for the opportunity to write with you. You had to put up with so much from me this time around. Thank you for still wanting to be my friend. I can’t wait for West. It’s going to be our best yet.

And to you, the Reader. Thank you for downloading and enjoying Brazing. We appreciate every single second you spent with Bridger and Tate. Thank you for your support! We hope you come back for West’s love story. That boy needs a woman.

Please keep reading for a sample of Lila’s book, and Rachel’s new adult contemporary, The Five Stages of Falling in Love, coming January 27
th
, 2015.

Other works by the authors:

Lila Felix:

www.lilafelix.com

www.facebook.com/authorlilafelix

Twitter: @authorlilafelix

E-mail: [email protected]

Emerge

Perchance

The Love and Skate Series

Love  and Skate, How It Rolls, Down ‘N’ Derby, Caught In A Jam, False Start

The Bayou Bear Chronicles

(Burden, Hearten)

The Lightning Series

Sparrows For Free

AnguiSH / HeartBREAKER

Hoax

Forced Autonomy (A Dystopian Serial)

Coming Soon: Doves For Sale, The Second Jam (The Second Generation Roller Derby Series), and Love Mercy

Rachel Higginson:

Rachel Higginson was born and raised in Nebraska, but spent her college years traveling the world. She married her high school sweetheart and spends her days raising their growing family. She is obsessed with bad reality TV and any and all Young Adult Fiction.

Look for more from Rachel in 2014.

Other books by Rachel to be released in 2014 are The Redeemable Prince, the seventh book in The Star-Crossed Series, The Heart, the third book in the Siren Series and look for The Five Stages of Falling in Love, and adult contemporary romance, coming early 2015.

Other Books Now Available by Rachel Higginson

Love and Decay, Season One, Episodes One-Twelve

Love and Decay, Season Two, Episodes One-Twelve

Love and Decay, Volume One (Episodes One-Six, Season One)

Love and Decay, Volume Two (Episodes Seven-Twelve, Season One)

Love and Decay, Volume Three (Episodes One-Four, Season Two)

Love and Decay, Volume Four (Episodes Five-Eight, Season Two)

Love and Decay, Volume Five (Episodes Nine-Twelve, Season Two)

Reckless Magic (The Star-Crossed Series, Book 1)

Hopeless Magic (The Star-Crossed Series, Book 2)

Fearless Magic (The Star-Crossed Series, Book 3)

Endless Magic (The Star-Crossed Series, Book 4)

The Reluctant King (The Star-Crossed Series, Book 5)

The Relentless Warrior (The Star-Crossed Series, Book 6)

Breathless Magic (the Star-Crossed Series, Book 6.5)

Fateful Magic (The Star-Crossed Series, Book 6.75)

The Redeemable Prince (The Star-Crossed Series, Book 7)

Heir of Skies (The Starbright Series, Book 1)

Heir of Darkness (The Starbright Series, Book 2)

Heir of Secrets (The Starbright Series, Book 3)

The Rush (The Siren Series, Book 1)

The Fall (The Siren Series, Book 2)

Bet in the Dark (An NA Contemporary Romance)

Striking (The Forged in Fire Series) a co-authored Contemporary NA

Follow Rachel on her blog at:

www.rachelhigginson.com

Or on Twitter:

@mywritesdntbite

Or on her Facebook pages:

Rachel Higginson