“They’re perfect,” Kaci whispers, blinking fast. “And such a thoughtful gift.”
Koren leans forward, studying the watches. “That’s so thoughtful and kind of ridiculously fancy.”
Her mom looks at her with a glint in her eye. “Well, I have a set for you too. Whenyou twofinally tie the knot.”
My gaze slides to Koren, and she’s already looking back at me. All the tightness and tension I’ve carried this last year in my chest finally releases. Seeing her family welcome me back makes the last piece click into place. “We’ll try not to make you wait too long,” she says with a smirk.
Laughter rolls around us again. Another present is passed to Kaci while her mom opens the porch door to start the grill for lunch.
It’s chaos.
It’s joy.
It’s the loudest kind of peace I’ve ever felt.
seventeen
Koren
It’s Sunday evening, and everyone has left to return to Mapleton. Elijah and I took a couple of extra hours at the lake for just the two of us. My whole life has changed in the best way these last twenty-four hours. I’m nervous to see how things go once we settle back into our routines. Now my car is packed with no sign of Elijah, so I cross the yard to his house and bang on his front door. When no one answers, I try the doorknob. It opens right up. “Hey,” I call up the stairs. “Did you fall asleep?”
No answer.
With a sigh, and the smallest hint of a smile, I pull a Goldilocks move and let myself in. The downstairs is empty, so I take the stairs two at a time and pad down the familiar hallway. Elijah’s bedroom door is cracked open, and I pause, peeking in.
His room is exactly the same as I remember it. Blue comforter. Random hockey gear next to his bed. My heart nearly stutters out of my chest when I spot the framed photo of us on the dock last summer, sunburned and grinning like fools in love. I doubthe had time to put it up in the last few hours. So that means he literally never took it down. I can’t believe I almost missed what was right in front of me.
I scan the room again, confirming Elijah is nowhere to be found. I’m about to pivot to check the bathroom, but my eyes fall back on his nightstand. A small black Bible sits on top, exactly how I place my Bible by my bed. My brows furrow together. He never used to have a Bible before. Not by his bed, anyway. We’re both Christians and have obviously shared with each other many times our beliefs, but it’s fair to say I was one more versed in the Bible than him.
My feet slide forward like some sort of string is tugging them forward until I’m standing in front of it, my fingers brushing over the cover. It’s beautifully leather-bound, and my curiosity is piqued as to why it’s here. Does he actually read it? Picking it up, the spine feels trained to open to a page, and I let it fall the way it wants.
1 Corinthians 13.
Love is patient.
Love is kind.
Disbelief floods my brain as my breath hitches in the back of my throat. Had he been praying our wedding verse? A coiled thread drops from the back cover and floats to the floor. I blink, and blink again.
It’s not a thread but a braided stem of lavender, twisted into a ring. It’s mostly dried and crumpled but not without recognition.
My ring.
The sight of it pulls me back in time to the day he proposed, every detail vivid and sharp.
The hike had started with butterflies.
Literally.
I don’t know if they were migrating that day or what, but dozens of butterflies followed us on the trail. Elijah had scoutedit earlier that week and said I had to hike it because it had wild lavender fields in bloom. Of course, I couldn’t turn that down. The sun was high overhead, and I hadn’t drunk enough water. I thought the dizziness in my head was normal, and I just needed to catch my breath. When we reached the peak of the trail, that’s where the lavender fields started, stretching out as far as we could see. It was stunning. I turned to make sure he was seeing what I was seeing, but then my world tilted.
My knees gave out.
It wasn’t the first time I had fainted. It’s just something that happens to me sometimes. Although, I had failed to tell him about my disorder.
The next thing I knew, I was cradled in his arms, and his voice panicked. “Koren! Look at me. Come on. Open your eyes. Please don’t die.”
I blinked, opening the world back up. My vision blurred for a moment, but I could make out enough to see his eyes were filled with absolute terror. He was shaking. His hand flew to cover his mouth, and he blurted out, “You’re alive!”
