Rebel Princess - Book 2 (The Hope Saga) (23 page)

I gushed with emotion. “I’ve dreamt about this moment my entire life.”

Her eyes gleamed. “I know! You’re gonna be Mrs. Brett Panders!” she squealed.

I couldn’t stop grinning. “I’ve never loved anyone the way I love Brett.” Tears welled in my eyes, and I tried to fan my face to keep my mascara in place. “This is the happiest day of my life.”

She reached for a tissue. “Stop! If you start bawling, I won’t be able to quit.”

“I-I can’t help it,” I said, sniffling. “I’ve never ever been this happy and excited.”

“This is only the beginning,” Rachel said. “You two are gonna have a fabulous life together.”

I smiled. “We are, aren’t we?”

“Definitely!” she said, squeezing my hands in reassurance.

I had never been more elated in my life. The ceremony began, and I walked down the aisle, with friends and family smiling at me from both sides. The priest read some scriptures, and some of our friends sang romantic songs for us. It was a touching and beautiful ceremony. I only wished my parents could’ve been there to see it. I longed for my dad to walk me down the aisle, for my mother to see me in her dress. Even though they couldn’t be there with me, I was sure they’d be proud of me, and I planned to tell Daddy all about it when I saw him again someday, when his grandbaby was all grown up.

The priest cleared his throat and opened a thick, leather-bound book. “Brett Panders, wilt thou take this woman to be thy wedded wife? Wilt thou love her, honor her, keep her, and guard her, in health and in sickness, as a husband should a wife, forsaking all others? Wilt thou cleave only unto her, so long as ye both shall live?”

Brett met my eyes and smiled. “I will.”

“Sky Hammons, wilt thou take this man to be thy wedded husband? Wilt thou love him, honor him, keep him, and guard him, in health and in sickness, as a wife should a husband, forsaking all others? Wilt though cleave only unto him, so long as ye both shall live?”

Brett looked into my eyes deeply, and I held his gaze. I moistened my lips and tried to speak, but my breath caught in my throat. Finally, with my lips trembling, I blurted out, “I will.” 

The priest continued, “Do you take Sky Hammons to be your wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness, and in health, till death do you part, if the Holy Church doth ordain it? And thereto plight her thy troth?”

Brett smiled. “I do.”

The priest turned and repeated the same vows to me.

“I do.”

The priest then said a blessing and joined our hands. He turned to Brett. “You may pledge your allegiance, love, and undying devotion.”

I smiled as Brett pulled a ring from his pocket and cradled it in his palm. 

“Put the ring on Brett’s finger,” the priest whispered.

With trembling hands, I slid the ring on his finger, then gazed up at my groom’s beaming face.

“I love you so much,” he said.

“I love you too,” I said, feeling like the luckiest girl in the world.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife. Brett, you may kiss your beautiful bride.”

I’m married! Oh my gosh. I’m a wife! I have a husband.

In slow motion, Brett’s face lowered onto mine, and he took my mouth in a sweet and gentle kiss. His hand wandered to the low of my back, drawing me closer, my chest pressing against his as his lips came down harder. I’d read many fairytales in my life, but nothing could compare to being caught in one of my very own. 

Chapter 36

I laughed as Brett carried me over the threshold of our new home. The suite wasn’t very big, as none of them were, but it was perfect for us. The occupants had returned to the surface, and no one had lived here for months. We would have to clean and dust the place, but it was our newlywed paradise. It made no difference to me where we lived, as long as we were together. I just wanted to be with the man I loved, the guy who’d stolen my heart the very second I’d met him, when he moved into the suite next door when I was five. Even then, I’d told my mother that I was going to marry him someday. She had laughed, but now that prophecy had come true, and it made me the happiest girl in Asha. 

He kissed me, then set me down. “Home sweet home,” he said.

I glanced around. The far wall was made of glass, so we could watch countless species of fish swim in and out of the colored reef. I flicked the light switch on, flooding the room with bright light. The suite was furnished with a couch, a coffee table, and a nice dining room table, with a vase of silk red roses for a centerpiece. The walls were brown and worn but I couldn’t help but admire the beautiful portraits of the ocean. “I love it!” I squealed.

“I love
you
,” he said, wrapping his arms around me.

“Who would’ve known two people could be this happy down in a dome deep underwater, trying to survive an apocalypse?”

“Are you kidding? I’d be stuck down here all over again if it meant I’d meet you.”

I cupped his face. “You are the sweetest husband in the whole, wide world.”

“And you are the best wife in the universe.”

I kissed his lips softly.

“How does it feel to be Mrs. Sky Panders?”

“It’s freaking awesome!”

“How does it feel being officially married?”

“Hmm. I feel…wiser, smarter, and more balanced, now that I have the perfect partner. it’s like…I could wake up looking an absolute mess, but I don’t have to worry about it.”

He stroked my hair. “I don’t think you ever look like a mess. You’re gorgeous no matter what.”

“You have to say that. You’re my husband.”

“I mean every single word.” He kissed my lips. “I’m just wondering why we didn’t do this sooner.” Then he scooped me up, and our lips met in a passionate kiss as he walked to our bedroom.

Chapter 37

A month had passed, and I was still enjoying our wedded bliss. I started dinner while I waited for Brett to come home from work. When he walked in, I smiled.

He ran over to me and swung me around.

“How was your day?” I asked.

“The cow had a calf,” he said.

“Aw. That’s so sweet.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty intense to watch a new life come into the world, even if it is just cattle.”

I grinned. “In that case, you’re gonna love the news I have for you.”

He raised a brow.

“We’re gonna have a baby, Brett!” I shouted, so loud that all of Asha probably heard me.

“What!? I’m gonna be a…dad?” He immediately teared up, and I could instantly tell how touched, happy, and amazed he was.

There was no way to hold back the flow of emotions between us. We had created a beautiful baby out of perfect love, and neither of us could stop smiling. We were both overwhelmed by a happiness we couldn’t even explain. Even though an asteroid had wreaked havoc in our world, and even though we were temporarily forced to live underwater, nothing could take that beautiful moment away from us. That horrible disaster might have destroyed our planet and atmosphere, but it wouldn’t destroy our love. I hoped beyond hope we could raise our child on the surface. We’d been told that the scientists were working on it nonstop, but we never knew how much of the propaganda we could really believe. The air seemed fine to me but I wasn’t sure of long term effects.

My hands caressed my stomach. I was awed by the fact that I had a tiny human being growing inside of me. I wondered what our child would look like, if he or she would have hazel eyes like mine or brown ones like Brett’s.
Will the baby’s hair be wavy like Daddy’s or straight like Mommy’s?
The amount of love I felt for the infant already was nothing short of amazing. “Yes!” I squealed. “You’re going to be a father.”

He flashed me that big, bright grin. “I can’t believe it! This is the happiest moment of my life!” He smiled, laughed, and then spun me around; he almost seemed happier than I was, if that was even possible. Brett touched my stomach, then kissed it. “I’m your father,” he said, “and I already love you with everything I’ve got.”

More tears welled up in my eyes as I listened Brett talk to our unborn baby. “I think it’s a boy,” I said.

“Whatever nature decides to give us is fine. A girl will be just as beautiful.”

“I couldn’t agree more, but I have a feeling it’s a boy.”

“We’ll know in nine months.”

I smiled. No matter the gender, I knew our baby would be beautiful and perfect in every way. I wanted to hold him in my arms, rock him, and tell him how much I loved him. I wanted to see my child, kiss him, hug him, touch his palm and watch his tiny fingers curl around mine. I’d never loved somebody so much, and I hadn’t even met him yet.

“We have to tell the elders,” he said.

“I already did. I’ve been granted official permission to stay down here and raise our child.”

He stroked a strand of hair out of my eyes. “So we’re together for the next ten years?”

I could hardly contain my excitement as I hugged him. “Yes! We did it, Brett.”

“Obviously. That
is
how babies are made, Sky,” he said, winking.

“Shut up!”

“And you’re okay about being down here that long?”

“You know I hate being down here, but I won’t leave without you. I know the plan isn’t perfect, and we’ll have to figure something out later, but we’ve got a while yet.”

After dinner, we cuddled on the couch and stared through our glass wall at all the beautiful fish and the lights that we could control from inside our room. 

“One day, we’ll be able to look at the stars instead,” he said. 

“It will be so beautiful,” I said. “My mom used to tell me it was like diamonds on black velvet.”

“I imagine it will be mind-blowing.”

“Like you?”

He chuckled. “Like
you
.”

“We’re both lucky, Brett. We found true love, and now we’re having a baby.”

He placed his hand on my belly again. “What should we name the baby?”

“Christopher.”

“And if it’s a girl?”

“Hmm. I like Melinda or Belinda.”

“Really? Do you think we could name her after my grandmother, Jennifer? We could call her Jenny for short.”

“I’d love that.”

He gripped my hands. “We’re gonna have a beautiful life, and I’ll be the best dad there ever was. I’ll teach our child to play football and baseball and—”

“Little Jenny’s gonna be a quarterback, huh?”

“Like I said, I’m gonna teach our child how to play football and baseball.”

I laughed. “So our daughter will be a tomboy?”

“No, but she should know how to play sports. I want our daughter to be well rounded, like her mama.”

I laughed. “What do you think she’ll look like?”

“Beautiful, just like you.”

I grinned.

“This just feels too good to be true,” he said.

“I know. We’re married, living in our first home, having our first child. I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am. It feels like a fairytale.”

“I’m gonna work hard to be the best husband and father I can be,” he vowed.

I kissed his lips. “I know you will, and I’ll be the best wife and mother too.”

“I just hope our child doesn’t inherit your clunky dancing feet.”

I laughed and playfully slugged him. “Hey! I’m a great dancer.”

He shot me a look.

I couldn’t help but crack up laughing, because I knew he was right. “Okay, I suck,  but at least I can sing.”

“Like an angel.”

“Aw. Thank you, baby.” He then felt my tummy and talked to our baby again. “Can you hear me, little one? I hope so. Though we haven’t met, I love you more than anything. You’ll be joining our family soon, and I can’t wait to see your beautiful face and hold those little fingers and play This Little Piggy with those tiny toes.”

I put my hand on top of his. “I love you too, little baby. I can’t wait to see you smile, to hear your tiny giggles. I know we haven’t met you yet, but Mommy and Daddy will always be here for you. We’ll never, ever stop loving you, Christopher or Jenny.”

Brett stroked my stomach lovingly.

I continued, “No matter what challenges we face as a family, I promise to love you and help you through them. I’ve heard that once a mother holds her baby in her arms, the love that swells in her heart is overwhelming. I know my love for you can only grow, and that makes me smile. I cannot wait to meet you!”

“I can imagine his little, tiny fingers wrapping around mine,” Brett said.

“And I can imagine him looking up at us with eyes as brown as his daddy’s.”

Chapter 38

I spun in a slow circle and admired all the greenery and flowers around me. One thing stuck out in my mind:
Gardens sure are beautiful.
I toiled away, planting fresh herbs. It was always nice to be in the greenhouse, where I had a little alone time, and I loved getting dirty. There was something very special about watching things grow, transform, and change, and providing food for our community gave me a sense of purpose. The citizens appreciated that they had fresh lettuce, peas, green beans, and tomatoes, juicier and tastier than anything they could buy in the market in the past before disaster stuck. Whether it was a beautiful flower or a tasty vegetable, there was just something exhilarating about watching something magnificent emerge from a tiny little seed planted deep in the dirt, and nothing gave me greater pleasure than seeing the fruits of my labor. Carla and many of the others made fun of me for the dirt under my nails, but I immensely enjoyed digging, weeding, harvesting, watering, and pruning.