Chapter Nineteen – Reaffirm

Well, this is the end of the road, guys. Can you believe it? I can't, even though this story is so much longer and more involved than I ever dreamed it would be. I know I said we had two more chapters and an epilogue but we don't. I have one more chapter planned and it is sort of epilogue-esque. While I was writing this chapter, it felt final. It felt like where I wanted to leave these two. Hopeful and happy. I hope it leaves you that way too. I didn't want to leave them sad and scared and longing, which is what we all know is coming for them soon.

Thank you everyone who has patiently waited for this chapter and who has followed these two this whole way. I hope you've enjoyed them as much as I have. This chapter is only the first part of our goodbye. Next chapter, will be the final.

As always, thank you LightLacedWithBeauty for your editing, your eeeps, and your tears. Love you lots. XOXO

Enjoy!

There are a lot of things I expected when I told Mama 'bout Bella and me gettin' married. I figured she'd ecstatically scream and tell me it's "'bout damn time ya got yer head on straight, boy!"—which she did. I assumed she'd bitch at me for not givin' her enough time to plan a "proper shindig"—which she also did. What I did not expect, however, was how she cried, tears pourin' out of my mama's face like an overflowin' dam in the river after a summer storm.

"Mama," I say, wantin' to go to her and hug her but not knowin' if that'd be the safest bet right 'bout now. "Why you cryin', Mama?"

"Because, you damn fool," she says, wipin' her eyes with the edge of her apron and then starin' up at me with that look that would burn any knowin' boy's stomach. "Because I always knew it'd be Bella Marie. I always did. Even when you was messin' with that Alice back in school. Even when you claimed she was the one. I knew she wasn't. I knew it was Bella Marie."

I lower my face and grin to myself. Mama did always say I wasn't thinkin' with the right head back then. "I know, Mama. I shoulda listened."

"Damn right you shoulda," she says, pointin' her finger in my face. I glance up at her and her eyes soften. "Tell me how you did it. Tell me what she said? Did she cry?"

I swallow hard. "Uh, well . . . You see . . . Uh . . ." I lift my hat from my head and wipe my brow on my forearm.

"Quit yer stammerin', boy, and give your ol' mama the details!"

I let out a slow breath. "Well, thing is, Mama, I ain't the one that did the askin'."

Mama is silent, and after a few moments, I chance a glance up at her. Her expression is not what I expect. She's focused on the nearby field, a small, contemplative tweak of her lips the most prominent feature on her face.

"So . . ." she finally says after several long seconds. "Yer tellin' me that Bella Marie asked you?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Slowly, a large smile cracks her unreadable demeanor. "Well, I'll be damned. I've always loved that girl like one of my own, but never did I imagine she'd turn out to be so much like me."

My brows lift to my hairline.

Mama winks and waves her hand in front of her face. "Another time, dear, another time. Now come on. We got work to do if we're gonna pull this thing off today."

"How'd you know we were doin' it today? I didn't tell you yet."

She winks again. "A mama always knows everything, boy. When you gonna learn that?"

And as she turns away, her apron billowin' out in the slight summer breeze, I can't help but smile. Because she does, she really does.

.o.O.o.

After a couple of hours of makin' plans with Mama, I drive into the city to meet Bella at the courthouse. Luckily, because I'm active duty military, we don't have to wait the obligatory three days for a marriage license. I've also managed to procure someone to officiate on such short notice. There are several places in the Houston area that specialize in quick marriages for military personnel. Apparently, situations like Bella's and mine are not all that uncommon.

Parkin' in the vicinity 'round the courthouse is atrocious—like anywhere in the city—and I'm fifteen minutes late by the time I reach the front entrance. But when I do, I freeze in place when I see what's waitin' for me. Bella stands near the front doors, her body covered only in a pair of short-shorts and a tank top, her head bowed as she does somethin' on her phone, and her half-tied up hair lays over one shoulder, only partially hidin' her furrowed brow. She's got half of her bottom lip tucked inside her mouth, and the sun is hittin' her hair just so that the dyed streaks shine golden in the light. I can't help but smile as my heart pounds against my ribs. She's the loveliest thing I've ever seen, and she's goin' to marry me.

Me.

Jasper Whitlock. Former shy, nerdy ranchin' boy with a scrawny, unsexy body and cliché tomboy best friend to boot. I've never been special. Never been the one other guys got jealous of. Never one to stand out in a crowd or to make much fuss about his life. But I'm makin' a fuss now, 'cause I've got her.

Makin' my way up the stairs toward her, I can't take my eyes off from her. My memory keeps flashin' these images of her throughout our lives together: when we first met and she was covered in mud and frog, when I first kissed her on the dock after the barn dance and she was wearin' that pretty yellow sundress, when she looked up at me in the seconds after we'd first parted the night that almost destroyed us, when she asked me to hold her after I'd first come back, and last night, when she'd asked me for forever. All of these things play like an old movie reel in my mind, and I can't help but want to make more. This is my life, every second of every moment with her. And I can't wait to make more.

Right now, I want to make more.

When I reach the front doors, Bella finally peers up from her phone, grinnin' quickly and tuckin' her cell into the back pocket of her shorts.

"Hey," she says, "I was just gonna text you—"

But I don't say a word or wait for her to finish. Instead, I dip my head and take her mouth right there in front of everyone and their mother. Her breath hitches and she stumbles back slightly. I catch her with a hand 'round the bend of her waist, her body goin' pliant under my touch. Her lips curve into a smile against mine, and I grin back, pepperin' her mouth with little kisses before pullin' back slightly.

"Hi," I say.

"Hi," she says in return, the word all breath. "What was that for?"

I brush a strand of hair away from her cheek and linger there, feelin' the softness of her skin against my calloused fingers. "'Cause I can."

"Oh, really?" She raises a brow, her smile infectious as it widens her mouth. "Who says?"

"I say." I lean in again and take her top lip between mine, drawin' against it gently as she shivers in my arms.

Her voice trembles in a breathy sigh when she speaks. "Better be careful there, cowboy. You're going to get us arrested for public indecency."

"There ain't nothin' indecent 'bout a man kissin' his fiancé in public, darlin'."

"No," she says, swallowin' hard. "But the way I'm feelin' right now is."

I kiss her once more, lightly, and grin as I press my forehead to hers. "I got somethin' for you."

"Oh, yeah?" she says, and I feel her brows rise against mine. "Didn't we just discuss indecency?"

"Yes, Bella Mia, but I ain't talkin' 'bout that just now."

She giggles. A cute, girly giggle that is nowhere near like her but so much like the new her.

Reachin' into my pocket, my fingers wrap 'round the small box I'd placed there before leavin' the ranch. I pull it out and Bella's breath hitches.

"I hope this is okay," I say, noticin' the way my breath catches too as I pop open the lid. "But I thought this would mean more to you than anything I could buy at a store." Holdin' the box up between us, the small diamonds and sapphires sparkle in the bright sunlight.

Bella's voice is nothin' but a whisper. "That's my mom's ring."

I nod. "Mama gave it to me just before I left to come here. She said you'd asked her to hold onto it for you 'til the right time. She thought this was the right time."

Bella reaches up and wipes a tear from her cheek, her gaze stayin' on the ring as she nods. "She was absolutely right. It is. It's the perfect time."

"You sure?"

She nods again and looks up at me. "I'm one hundred percent sure." Her eyes drift from one of mine to the other. "Would it be too morbid or weird if I ask you to wear my daddy's ring? It's okay if you don't want to, I just—"

I touch my finger to her lips, cuttin' off her words. "Of course it's not morbid. Your daddy was one of the best men I knew. I'd be honored, darlin'."

Without another word, I pluck the ring from the box and reach down to take her tremblin' hand in mine. It's not a big proposal in a fancy restaurant, surrounded by hundreds of people, clappin' and cheerin' as I get down on one knee. It's not a huge, expensive diamond she can show off to her friends and make them all jealous. But it's us, and I think that's all that matters.

I lower my head and kiss her empty ring finger, and then I carefully slide the circular promise over her knuckle and kiss it again, this time lingerin' 'til her other hand laces through the hair on my head.

"I can't believe this is real," she whispers, her breath warm against me. "I can't believe this is happening."

I straighten up and rest my hand against the side of her neck. Her pulse races against my palm. "You know I feel the same, Mia."

"Why did we wait so long? How did we not know for all those years that this is what was waiting for us? How did I look past you? How did I not know I was in love with you my whole life?"

"I think . . ." I say, brushin' my thumb along the edge of her jaw, her brown eyes studyin' mine like I hold the answers to the universe. When I'm pretty sure it's her. "I think maybe 'cause we weren't ready to see it yet. I think we needed to experience the things and people we have to finally see that what we needed was here, was right here, all along."

"I think," Bella says, lowerin' her voice to a whisper once more, "that I can't wait to marry you. I want to do it right now, right here, without a second thought about those who would be disappointed. Of course we won't," she stammers, and it makes me smile. "But I just . . . I never, ever thought that this would be me. That I'd want something—someone—so much that I'd take this leap. But I want this. I want you that much."

"Then marry me, darlin'," I say. "Marry me today."

She smiles. "I thought the fact of that was already established."

"Indulge my male ego, sweetheart."

Her eyes soften, and she touches the line of my jaw lightly with the tips of her fingers. It's silly to ask a question that's already been answered, but she accepts that I want to hear her say yes as much as she wanted to hear me. "Yes. Of course, yes."

I smile as I take her hand and lead her toward the entrance to the courthouse. As I pull the door open for her, she tugs against my arm and I turn back to meet her chocolate gaze. She grins mischievously.

"Just don't you forget I asked you first."

I shake my head and trace my finger in a cross over my heart. "Don't you worry, Bella Mia. I never will."

.o.O.o.

The sun has dipped to the western side of the sky, and my heart has kicked into overdrive. It's almost time. I can feel it in every inch of my body. This tinglin', unreal sensation that hasn't let up since I climbed out of bed this mornin'.

This whole day has been surreal, things movin' at pace that doesn't feel possible. So much has happened—things that shouldn't happen in as little time as we've had—and the minutes have ticked by like hours. I just want to be there already, be lookin' down into her eyes, seein' our our past unfold in the depths of her brown, feel our future in the warmth of her arms, seal our promise with circles of metal.

Rose lingers at the hastily made arbor, the sticks and twine and wildflowers starkly out of place but strangely perfect against the backdrop of the stream and woods. Bella doesn't know this is where I've chosen to say our vows, but I honestly couldn't picture us doin' it anyplace else. This was our first beginnin'; I want it to be our last too.

Rose glances over her shoulder at me, her eyes wide and sad, yet happy at the same time. She doesn't say anything, but I can see everything she wants to say in her expression. Words aren't needed at this point anyway. I feel it, she feels it, we all feel it. This beginnin' is the best one yet.

This is the start of everything.

My stomach tightens with the realization that within hours, I'll be standin' under those sticks and flowers, and I'll be holdin' my best friend's hand, acceptin' her as mine for the rest of forever. And there is nothin' in me that's nervous or afraid of that. Maybe I've always known she was my endgame. Or maybe I haven't, but I'm not really sure it matters. I know now.

Mama barks orders at Emmett and Peter as they lug bales of hay out of the back of my truck.

"Now be careful you two, this ain't like chuckin' hay normally. We need these bales intact so we got someplace to sit!"

Charlotte covers her widenin' smile with her hand and tries to hold in her laughter. My lips pull into a grin too, 'cause Mama is still Mama, no matter how stressful the day might be.

Emmett grunts as he sets the bale down lighter than I've ever seen done before. He slides it slowly into the spot designated by Mama's gesturin' hand. His palm swipes across his brow as he watches Rose drape the fabric of a feed sack over the top and tie the ends with another thick band of white fabric. Mama directs Charlotte on exactly where she wants the plant hangers posted and rushes over with mason jars filled with wild sunflowers from the field that separates our ranch from the old Swan property.

Bella didn't want nothin' big and fancy, nothin' that cost more than an afternoon's work, so we used what was here: hay bales, feed sacks, old fabric from Mama's sewin, cannin' jars, sticks and logs from the yard and flowers from the fields, Christmas lights draped across the "aisle," and a generator Pa keeps in the barn. I honestly couldn't have planned it better if I'd spent tens of thousands of dollars.

This is her. This is us. This is perfect.

The peaceful sound of the gurglin' water from the stream is interrupted by Emmett's sharp curse. Turnin' toward him, I notice the crease in his brows and the tightness in his grip on his phone.

"What's wrong?" Rose says, comin' over to him and lettin' out a few choice curse words when she peers at the screen of the phone. "Jesus, she just does not give it up, does she? She wasn't supposed to come home until tomorrow."

Ice spreads across my chest when I realize exactly what's happenin'. Alice is back. Rose glances up at me, her eyes determined and hard.

"Don't worry, Jasper. We've got this covered. I'll call Edward and have him head her off. We won't let her ruin your day, I promise."

But I shake my head just as Rose reaches into her pocket to retrieve her phone. "No."

She raises a brow. "No? What do you mean, 'no'? You know exactly what she's aiming to do. You know she's going to show up here and-"

"Yeah, I know," I say. "Let her come."

Rose and Emmett stare at me in surprise.

"Dude," Emmett says. "I don't think that's such a good idea. I mean, I never realized how crazy Alice was until all this came out. Are you sure you want to subject yourself to that on your wedding day?"

I let out a slow breath and peer up at the blue sky. "No. I don't want to subject myself to that or her. But I'd rather it be me than Bella." I turn to Rose. "Could you go stay with Bella and make sure Alice doesn't get to her before I get to Alice?"

"Of course," Rose says. "Ally may be my cousin, but I will cut a bitch. I'm serious."

I smile and lean in to kiss her cheek. "No cuttin' necessary, sweetheart. I'll handle her. You just keep my girl happy and calm."

And then I turn toward where my truck is parked and start toward it.

"Wait," Rose calls. "Where are you going? Alice just landed. She won't be anywhere near here for at least an hour."

"Yeah," I say. "There's somethin' I gotta take care of, though."

Rose raises a brow.

I grin. "Don't you worry, I'll be back before Alice has a chance to get anywhere near Bella."

Rose's expression relaxes and I turn back toward my truck, my own face hardenin' in determination. I won't let Alice Brandon ruin Bella's—our—day. She's done ruinin' anything even remotely related to my girl.

.o.O.o.

It's been a long time since I've been here.

A low breeze moseys over the lot, dancin' in the too-tall grass and whistlin' through the remainin' charred shards of the Swan family home. I'd spent many days hangin' out in the fields between mine and Bella's houses, many evenin's playin' baseball with Charlie—since my own Pa had no time for such things—and laughin' as Renee burnt yet another batch of cookies. So many days and nights right here . . .

In the wind I hear the sounds of Charlie's gruff voice, of Bella's girlish giggle, of Renee's playfully scoldin' tone. In the bright light of the sun's rays I see the ghostly outline of the two-story house that once stood, feel the banister under my hand as I made my way up the stairs to Bella's room that last night . . . the night.

There are so many memories and so many emotions wrapped up in this now-empty plot of land.

It doesn't feel like they're gone. Not here. And I can see why it's so hard for Bella to step foot back on this property. Here her life had been whole, complete, happy. When that fire had swept through and robbed Charlie and Renee Swan of their breath as they slept, it'd robbed Bella of the honor of watchin' her parents grow old, of havin' her daddy hold her up as she walks down the aisle, of seein' her mama cry when she is blessed with her first grandchild. And it kills me.

It kills me.

Drawin' in a breath, I make my way up the overgrown path to where the front door used to stand. Most of the debris has been cleared away, but the ground is still discolored, and the scent of ash permeates everything 'round me. The old oak tree that once provided a ladder to Bella's bedroom window still stands tall and proud against the bright blue sky. The side that faced the house is scarred from the heat of the fire, but the front is unblemished and strong, and it reminds me so much of Bella that my throat tightens.

She has lost so much. Too much. But she is still here, she is still beautiful, and she is still strong. No matter how deep her scars go, she will always outshine them.

I reach up and draw my hat away from my head, clearin' my throat as I peer into the emptiness of where Bella's home used to be.

"I know it's a bit unconventional, me comin' here instead of goin' to the cemetery like a normal person would. But if I know you, Mr. Swan, I know this is where you're most likely to be."

The wind picks up a little, and a shiver races up my spine.

"You don't know how much I wish I could do this proper," I say. "I wish I could come up to your porch, face the probability of your gun, and beg you for her hand. And I would beg, Mr. Swan, I would beg, 'cause Bella's worth beggin' for." I pause and swallow against the tightness threatenin' to stop my words. "But I can't ask permission 'cause you can't give it to me anymore. So instead, I wanna make you a promise." I swallow again. "I promise I will give her everything—not just comforts and money and things to survive, but everything. Everything I got in me to give. She won't ever go without my care, and my compassion, and my heart. I will treat her with more respect than you could have ever hoped, and I will love her harder and softer than she ever thought possible. I will give her a home wherever she wants it and babies when she says she's ready for them. I will give her more than you could have ever dreamed for her. I promise you." My voice lowers to a whisper, and I close my eyes. "I promise."

"Jasper?"

The callin' of my name startles me, and I whip 'round, my eyes widenin' and my heart stumblin' to a stop inside my chest when my gaze falls on her. Bella stands at the end of the walkway, her hair dyed back to her natural dark color and styled in large waves that tumble over her shoulders, the sides tied loosely to the back of her head. She's dressed in a simple, very pale yellow sundress that goes to just above her knees, and in her hands she holds an old wooden sign with a piece of bent wire stickin' out of the top.

"Bella?" I say, takin' a step forward. "What're you doin' here—"

"You know he would have given it to you."

I stop. "What?"

"His permission," she says, a lone tear makin' its way down her cheek as she smiles. "He always liked you. He would have been secretly happy about this twist in our story."

I shake my head and let out a snort of a laugh. "Charlie didn't like anyone."

"That's true. Except for you." She looks up at me, her eyes glistenin' in the sun. "He always said you were the son he never had. He'd be so proud of you now, Jasper. So proud of you, just like I am."

The catch in my throat grows, and my own eyes start to sting and blur. "You think he'd say yes? You think he wouldn't chase me with his gun?"

"Oh, he'd chase you." Bella says, and I laugh through the tears. "He'd have to—that was his law. He'd have to let you know who was boss." She moves closer, her cowboy boots and the end of her dress swishin' against the tops of the grass. "And when he had you good and scared, he'd pretend to be all gruff and say, 'What're your intentions for my daughter, Mr. Whitlock?'"

I look down at her, really look at her, and in her deep, dark eyes, I can see Charlie, and I know she's right. I lift my hand and cup her cheek. "And I'd say, 'My intentions are just to love her, sir. Love her with everything I got in me. I will give her every last shred of my heart, and if that's not enough, I will figure out how to grow it bigger so she can have more.'"

More tears fall over Bella's cheeks, and I brush them away with my thumb. "Are you ready to go now, darlin'?"

"More ready that I'll ever be, baby. Just had to get my daddy so he could walk me down the aisle." And she twists the sign she's been holdin' 'round for me to see. Etched into the wood are the names Charlie, Renee, and Isabella Swan, and in three different shades of fadin' paint are three handprints: one large blue one, one small yellow one, and one red one in between. "Now I can hold his hand all the way down the aisle, just like it should be," she whispers. "And my mom can sit in the front row like she always dreamed she would."

My eyes sting again.

She is the most incredible person I've ever known, and I am humbled by the fact that she's promised to be mine. "Come on, sweetheart," I say. "Let's go start forever."

And when Bella looks up at me and smiles, there is none of the sadness that's been just under the surface since we connected again. There's none of the lingerin' torture or pain. There's only happiness, calm, and peace.

And I make another promise to Charlie in my mind, one I know he'd want more than any of the others I've made before: those will always be the only things anyone can see in her eyes from this point on.

.o.O.o.

The moment Bella and I pull in front of the house, the one thing I didn't want to happen today seems inevitable. In the drive, parked a few feet in front of me, is Alice's unmistakable car. Climbing out of my truck, I hold my arm out to catch Bella as she tries to pass.

"Let me handle this, darlin'," I say as I stare down into her eyes.

"Baby, I love you, but I don't need you fighting my battles for me."

The screen door to Mama and Pa's house bangs against the wooden frame. Alice steps out onto the wrap-around porch, and Rose is hot on her tail, her hand reachin' out and grabbin' Alice's arm. Alice jerks to a stop and whirls 'round, givin' her cousin what I'd assume to be a piece of her mind.

My eyes shift from the scene in front of my parents' house to Bella. I bend slightly at the knee to make myself closer to her height. "I'd never insult you that way, Mia. You know that. I know you're strong enough to take care of your own business. I just don't want you to have to fight this one today."

Bella's eyes soften and she reaches up to lay her hand on my face. "I'm okay. I promise. She's not gonna get under my skin."

"How do you know? That's what she wants. It's why she's here."

"I know. But I also know what I want this day to be about. And, I think, in order to truly have that, I need to deal with this. I need to put this and her in the past." She eyes me. "I need to, Jasper."

I lift my hands to cup her face. "You amaze me." I hold her eyes with my own. "Every single day, you amaze me."

She twists her face and kisses the palm of my hand. No words pass between us 'cause they don't need to; we already know everything the other would say. But as she moves to turn away from me, my fingers slip from her face and wrap 'round her wrist instead. Bella glances back, her forehead creased in question.

"Just 'cause you need to do this doesn't mean you need to do it alone. We're a team now, darlin'."

Again, Bella doesn't speak, but she does wiggle her wrist free of my grasp and thread her fingers between mine. Together, we cross the driveway and meet Alice and Rose on the porch of the main house. Mama's chimes tinkle in the background and the breeze lifts Bella's hair and pulls it across her collarbones.

"So, this is really happening. You're really going ahead with this?" Alice asks, crossin' her arms in front of her chest.

Her face is pinched, eyes fierce and beady. I'd always thought she was the prettiest thing. It's amazin' how easily somethin' beautiful can become ugly. Bella squeezes my hand, and I'm not sure if it's her takin' strength for me or her givin' me some of hers.

When neither of us answers right away, Alice shakes her head and stares off into the distance over my shoulder, before meetin' my eyes. "I can't believe you'd be this stupid, Jasper. I can't believe you'd fall for this. Out of all of us, I always thought you had the most common sense."

I draw in a breath. "Obviously not, Alice. I fell for your lies a long time ago."

Her mouth opens and closes a few times, then she turns her glare to Bella. "Do you really want to do this to him? Saddle him with you for the rest of his life? Haven't you learned anything over the past few years? Haven't you learned anything about being impulsive and the damage you cause to yourself and others when you are?"

"Yes, Ally," Bella says, her voice warm and calm, when mine would be spittin' fire and ice. "I've learned a lot about myself and the people around me over the last few years." She continues to hold my hand, her thumb caressin' circles against the fleshy part between my thumb and pointer finger. "I've learned that I've made mistakes. Colossal mistakes."

"That's putting it lightly," Alice says, a slight bit of gloatin' in her voice.

"It really is. Would you like to hear all the things I've learned, Alice?"

"Enlighten me."

"I've learned that I've made mistakes," she repeats, and Alice nods with a huff of arrogance. "But I've learned that the things I thought were mistakes were not really the mistakes I'd made."

Alice's brows furrow, and she opens her mouth to speak. But Bella continues without allowing her a word.

"I've learned that there are some people in this world who are just determined to make their unhappiness everyone else's. I've learned that people like that don't even know they're unhappy, because they're too busy focusing on ruining everyone else's. I've learned that sometimes I do stupid things, and I hurt people. And I've learned that sometimes people won't forgive me, and that's okay. Because the most important thing I've learned is that the only forgiveness that really matters is my own. And I've learned that once I give myself that, I can move on from the things I thought I couldn't before."

To my surprise, Bella shakes her hand free from mine and steps closer to Alice. Alice's eyes follow her every movement, her head tippin' up as Bella towers over her. There is something there in her cloudy eyes—fear, maybe. Defiance, definitely.

"And I've learned, Ally, that some friendships are not meant to be forever." She glances over her shoulder at me. "And some are." Turnin' back, she reaches for Alice's hand. "Our friendship, if there ever really was one, isn't meant to last beyond this moment. I am truly sorry for the hurt I caused you four years ago, Alice. I really am. But I'm done letting it rule me. I'm done letting you rule me. What you think and what you feel can no longer matter to me. It doesn't matter to me."

Steppin' forward once more, Bella wraps her arms 'round Alice and hugs her tight. Alice stays still, stiff as a board, and her eyes lock with mine. My lips twitch at the corners. I am so proud of this girl. After a moment, Bella lets go and steps back to my side, fingers tanglin' with mine once more.

Alice's gaze moves from one of us to the other. "Are you serious with this shit?" she half-screeches after several moments of silence. "Do you think any of that makes what you two did better? Do you think it makes the last few years of you being a giant whore disappear?"

Bella shakes her head and takes another step back. "I don't think anything. I just don't care. We're done now, Alice. If you want to stay for the wedding, you can, but when it's over, we're over. I don't need or want friends like you in my new life."

And with that, Bella turns to me, smiles, and says, "You better get ready, cowboy. You're all mine in twenty minutes." Then she twists to Rose and gestures to her with the tip of her head, "Coming?"

"Yes, ma'am," Rose says, her lips pullin' against a smile she's fightin'.

I watch them as they walk away, hips swayin' and dust billowin' up from under their boots. And I can't wait for more. More minutes. More time. More life, with that girl.

"I can't believe you're falling for this," Alice says.

Slowly, I turn back to her. Her eyes are rimmed in red, as is the tip of her nose. It makes me feel nothin', though. Nothin' but pity and remorse for ever thinkin' she was the one I could've spent my life with, when I so clearly never even knew her.

"Fallin' for what, Ally?"

"Her act. You know this is what she does, right? This is how she manipulates people into doing what she wants. She's using you, Jasper. She's using you to get back at me."

I tip my head back and laugh. Holdin' my hands out to my sides, I say, "For what? You admittin' you did somethin' she should be gettin' you back for?"

"No, I . . . I . . ." she stutters, and I nod.

"Grow up, Ally," I say, as I turn away, but before I get too far, I look back at her from over my shoulder. She is a small, sad little girl, and for some reason, I still feel . . . something for her deep inside myself. Maybe it's pity. "Go find happiness somewhere, Alice. It's out there, even for you, but you've got to earn it without stealin' it from someone else."

When I turn 'round once more and start to walk away, Alice calls.

"You're going to regret this, Jasper. She's not the girl she used to be anymore!"

I shake my head and keep walkin', callin' out to her as I continue to move toward my future. "You're right," I say, "She's better."

.o.O.o.

When the sun dips just behind the horizon and the sky is only shots of orange, pink, and purple blue, everything is ready.

Mama flits from one place to another, checkin' the strands of lights strung up above the hay bales to light the scene, lightin' candles placed everywhere from our makeshift alter to the aisle where Bella will walk, while Rose tears petals from sunflowers and sprinkles them over the ground. Emmett has been tasked with bringin' a blindfolded Bella out to the site, so he's still back at the house. Peter is snuggled up to Char, his head on her shoulder and her fingers in his hair. He swears weddin's don't make him sentimental, but I saw him wipin' away a tear earlier when Char was standin' under the arbor, helpin' Rose attach flowers. He can deny it all he wants, but I know he's a big ol' softy, and I will never let him live it down, 'cause that's what baby brothers are for. Edward and Kate have already sat in the second row of hay bales, and even they look happy and cozy here in mine and Bella's spot.

Alice is conspicuously absent. Apparently, she realized how unwanted her presence really was, so she, for once, chose to do the right thing and left. Maybe there is hope for her yet. Not that I'm holdin' my breath.

I stand at the front, takin' everything in, still not quite able to grasp what is happenin' here. I'm happy. Happier than I think I've ever been but still harborin' a giant dose of disbelief, 'cause who would've ever thought that the girl with the dirty knees, boyish hair, and love of all things green and slimy would someday want the stick-thin, clown-curly haired, pale little nerd next door. But she does. She does. And I know how lucky that makes me.

I will always know.

After several moments, Mama comes up the aisle toward me, Pa just behind her. She reaches for my hands, and when she looks up at me, there are tears in her eyes.

"Bella Marie's on her way," she says, and all I can do is nod through the lump in my throat.

In the distance, I hear the crunch of tires on the dirt path.

Mama pulls me into the curve of her arms. She buries her face in my shoulder, and I peer over her head to meet Pa's gaze. Even his eyes have a glassy sheen. He reaches out and puts his hand on my shoulder, and that gesture alone means more than any words he could say.

A door slams and then another opens, and Mama and Pa take their seats on the first row of hay bales right in front of me. The bales just across from them stay empty, in honor of Bella's mama and daddy. Another door closes, and I hear Bella's soft voice float in over the soft rustle of the leaves in the wind.

"Don't let me fall, Emmett."

And those words make my heart clench, because from now on, that's goin' to be my job. My job to hold her up, to keep her safe, to keep her whole. And I'm ready. I'm so ready.

Moments later, she appears at the end of the aisle, and even though I've already seen her in her dress with her hair all done, the vision of her still hits me square in the stomach. She is lovely. She is pretty. In her simple, light yellow dress, brown cowboy boots, dark hair flowin' like the water behind me, and the sign with her parents' handprints and a simple bouquet of wild, mini sunflowers tied with a piece of twine hangin' from her fingers, she's the most beautiful I've ever seen her.

Her pale skin glows in the light of the candles and the strands of Christmas lights, but even in the dimness and though part of them are hidden by the blindfold coverin' her eyes, I can tell her cheeks are pink. With a deep breath, I start toward her, my eyes on her alone and not the people 'round us. Emmett nods at me as I approach and he takes his seat. For a few moments, I just look at her, standin' there in front of me, hands tremblin' slightly, chest risin' and fallin' in an easy rhythm beneath the fabric of her dress.

Leanin' in, I whisper in her ear, "You ready, darlin'?"

In an instant, Bella's hands stop shakin' and she reaches out for me, her fingers tracin' the line of my wrist 'til she finds my fingers.

"Are you?" she says.

"Every day of my life, Mia."

Liftin' my other hand, I carefully remove the blindfold from her eyes, and when she can finally see, she gasps. Her gaze sweeps the scene, takin' in everything we've prepared for her, and tears fall over onto her cheeks.

"Our spot."

I take her hand and thread it through the loop of my arm. "Our spot," I repeat.

And as we start to move forward, she looks up at me, her wet eyes gleamin' in the low light. "I think I love you even more than earlier today."

I peer down at her, no words findin' their way to my lips, 'cause I don't think any exist to describe the way I feel right now. So, instead, I do my best to show her by moving us forward, closer, closer, to a future of provin' it over and over and over again.

When we reach the end of the aisle, Bella stops and pulls her arm from mine. She hands me her bouquet, and then she turns slowly, the sign from her old house held in both her hands. Silently, she bends and places it on the empty hay bale in the front. Liftin' her fingers to her mouth, she kisses them as tears roll over her face, and then she touches them to her parents' names and whispers, "I hope I'm making you proud."

And then she turns back to me, slips her arm back through mine, and together, we step up to where the officiate stands.

With our hands clasped and eyes on each other, we say everything we're asked to say, but through it all, it isn't the words I hear or the things 'round us I see: it's all the moments with her through my whole life. From the time she was a little girl and we made mud pies and caught tadpoles in this very stream, to elementary school when people teased us for bein' so close, like boys and girls weren't supposed to be, to middle school when she stuck up for me, and I kissed her behind my hat, to high school when she cried over losin' her virginity to the wrong guy and I held her all night 'til she finally fell asleep. These are the moments—these and the future ones of building a home with her, holdin' her hand as we laze 'round in the hammock I'm goin' to put up in our yard, to takin' her up against the wall, our bed, out in the rain, and for when she's too round in the belly to stand and I have to help her up—that I see.

I see it all, and I'm impatient to start but eager to prolong every second of the time I'm allowed with her. And I know already that I will do anything to make her happy. I will do everything.

The officiate asks for the rings, and we get them from Rose and Peter. Bella cries when I slip her mama's ring back onto her finger, but not as hard as she does when her daddy's ring fits me just right. The metal is heavy with responsibility, but I want it more than I've ever wanted anything in my life.

And when the officiate finally says "husband and wife," I don't wait for his permission to kiss my girl, my bride. My wife. I take her face in my hands and my tears mix with hers when I press my lips to hers, and I feel the weight of the world lift from my shoulders and Heaven settle there instead.

When I pull back, and our family stands, clappin' and hootin' behind us, I can see that she feels it too. That freedom. That release. The promise of so much more to come. And even though the next few months are goin' to be rough, she's ready for that journey, ready to live it all with me, and I'm ready too. Because this, this right here, her eyes on mine, her face in my palms, her body nestled into me, fittin' perfectly everywhere, her promises still fresh in my ears, her daddy's ring safely circlin' my finger, this is what it's all about. This is life. This is home.

This is where all our beginnings start.