Chapter 12 - Ash

I"d grown accustomed to the reality that change had become a way of life over the past couple of years, and while I didn"t enjoy the fact that Jesse would be leaving my employ, I looked forward to having a bit more of his attention at home at night once he no longer had to study for hours on end.

It had taken several weeks, but after conducting many interviews together, we finally settled on a new assistant. Jesse had proven to be far more particular about who would replace him than I was. He'd insisted it was someone large and skilled enough that if something like the incident with the giant ever occurred again, they'd be able to help.

I doubted that would be necessary, as it had never happened before, and at least for the time being, I'd stopped taking new clients, even by referral. If I had to put in a few more years in order for both Jesse and I to feel comfortable while I was at work, that would be just fine with me. Besides, it left me with more energy to keep Jesse satisfied.

The week before Jesse's graduation was a whirlwind for us both. Jesse still had courses and we both still had work, yet we managed to find time to move the final few belongings he'd still had at his dorm into our home.

Jesse also worked hard to train his replacement, who was to start full-time when I returned to work after our time off together. With so much going on, we decided it didn't make sense for us to expend our energy on wedding plans, and we'd agreed to let his family make all the arrangements as it was to take place on the farm anyway.

I had no one to invite other than Kim and Casey, but it didn"t matter. They had become close friends. I'd taken to scheduling Casey as my only client on the days of his appointments, and the four of us would often head to the diner after Casey and I spent our time together.

Even though I had no family to attend, Jesse's family had treated me like one of their own from the moment they'd met me, and I didn't feel that I was missing anything with them in attendance. After twenty years on my own, the amount of love and acceptance I suddenlyfound in my life astonished me.

As I gazed through the bedroom window into the yard behind the farmhouse, the multitude of warm colors felt vibrantly surreal. With the afternoon sun shimmering brightly in the distance behind pale green fields, it felt like gazing into a painting, and I was glad we'd decided to do this so soon.

It was just early enough in the fall that the weather was a bit cooler than during the sweltering summer months and the crops that hadn't yet been harvested stood tall and beautiful around the large swath of grass upon which chairs had been set up. Distant laughter drifted up on a light breeze that carried the scent of earth, and leaves, and life.

I could hear the shower running in the room next door as I dressed. Jesse and I had decided to shower separately, as being late for our own wedding because we'd gotten lost in ravishing one another in the shower seemed inappropriate even for us. It was to be a casual affair and I'd chosen light tan linen pants paired with a dark forest-green shirt that reflected up into my eyes, making them appear to almost glow with a rich emerald light. I was pulling my hair back into a ponytail at the nape of my neck with a leather tie as Jess stepped into the room with a towel around his waist.

"Jesus, Ash." He stopped just inside the door as it shut behind him. I grinned at him in the mirror.

"Likewise."

As he tossed the towel onto the bed, I turned to lean against the dresser and take in the show. He dressed in charcoal dress trousers and a simple white shirt. Though I wasn't typically one to compliment myself, we made quite an attractive pair together. His bronze skin, brown hair and golden eyes effortlessly contrasted with my pale skin and hair. Our differences seemed only to highlight how well matched we were for one another.

As he pulled the shirt over his head, he walked toward me, eyes burning brightly. Those eyes said they wanted nothing more than to pull me into his arms and take me right there against the dresser. Instead, he tucked a stray hair back into my ponytail with a loving smile.

"Ready?"

"Definitely."

We made our way to the yard hand in hand. His family had done an amazing job with little time and even less money. A few dozen chairs were placed in a half circle in front of a wooden arch, an aisle running through the center. Greenery and flowers of all sorts elegantly draped the arch and chair backs, bringing life and connection to the whole scene.

As marriage was uncommon these days, it wasn't a legal or formal affair that required anyone of a specific rank or faith to perform the ceremony and his mother had agreed to do it, just as she had for his siblings.

Everyone was gathered; some already seated, some milling around conversing. It wasn't a large group, as neither Jesse nor I had many friends to speak of. He'd been too busy on the farm and in school to have time for them.

His old roommate Bethany was in attendance, as well as a few people he'd gone to school with, but the majority of the group was his family. Casey and Kim had enthusiastically agreed to come, and I was thankful for their support and friendship.

As we made our way toward the group, a petite, strikingly beautiful woman with pale blond hair separated herself from a group that had been chatting and took several steps in our direction, apprehension clearly written on her face. She was holding the hand of a small child that looked just like a miniature version of her. I didn"t know her, and her out-of-place expression on such a cheerful occasion confused me.

I glanced at Jesse who smiled broadly but offered nothing else. I turned back to the woman to introduce myself as we approached her, assuming she was one of Jesse's old friends. As the sunlight behind me caught her eyes, they flashed bright emerald green, and I knew in an instant. Abbie.

Tears filled my eyes, and I dropped Jesse's hand as she closed the gap between us and threw herself into my arms. I wrapped my body around her small frame, holding her as delicately as one might an orchid. Simultaneously afraid she might break in my embrace, and terrified to let her go. Her hold on me was tighter than I'd have thought someone of her size capable of.

"I"m so sorry." she sobbed into my neck.

"It doesn't matter." My reply came without thought as I pulled back to search her gaze; so identical to my own. "How?"

She grinned broadly through her tears. "I panicked when you didn't send a gift for my birthday. I thought maybe something had happened to you. I couldn't handle the idea that I may have lost you for the second time. So, I looked up the return address that's always on the label and just showed up a couple of weeks ago hoping for the best."

She lowered her eyes. "I should have come years ago. For so long I"ve been ashamed of the way I left; so embarrassed by the way I treated you. You've done nothing but care for me. Even after I left, you made sure I was never out there alone; that I always knew where to find you if I needed you."

The glistening emerald orbs met mine once more. "Jesse was the only one home when I showed up. We talked for a long time, and he invited me." Worry crept across her face. "I hope that's ok."

I said nothing, instead scooping her back into my arms and clinging to her; spinning us around so that I could see Jesse. He stood with a soft loving smile, obviously hopeful that he had done the right thing.

"It's perfect," I managed in a shaky voice.

When I eventually let her go, she brushed a hair from my forehead the same way Jesse so often did.

"Plenty of time to catch up later." She grinned through tears of joy. "Go get married."

I smiled happily as I kissed her cheek and reached for Jesse's hand. Everyone took their seats, and together we made our way down the aisle to the arch where his mother stood waiting.

"There is little of permanence in this world." she began. "Everything in life has a beginning and an end. For the brief moment we are gifted consciousness in this place, the best thing we can do is hope to find love, and if we're lucky enough to find it, to never let it go."

She turned to Jesse. "Jesse, will you allow this man to be your partner? To walk beside you, whatever may come your way?"

We turned to face one another; our hands clasped tightly between us. I had expected tears from us both in that moment, but there were none. Instead, there was a confident sense of calm that revealed this was what we had waited for our entire lives.

"I will." His voice was strong and sure.

She turned to me. "Ash, will you allow this man to be your partner? To walk beside you, whatever may come your way?"

"I will," I heard my own voice as if it came from another. Just as strong and sure as Jesse's had been.

"Then it is my deepest honor to see the two of you joined for all of this life."

Short and simple. As it should be. Our kiss was intense and slow, and it held everything that we were, everything that we would continue to be together.