Lee

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“You did what?” It wasn’t Mom, or even Dad who yelled the question when I walked in the door and told them why I was home. It was Glenn. “Are you crazy? What happened to my sister? The super cool girl I used to look up to?”

Mom and Dad stared open-mouthed at him.

“You don’t understand, Scutt.”

“Don’t call me that,” he snarled at me.

“Okay, then, Glenn.”

“What’d he do? Treat you too good?”

“Glenn, honey, Lilou, must’ve had a very good reason for doing what she did,” Mom said, coming to my rescue.

“Well, Lilou, what’s your very good reason?” Glenn asked. My little brother who had always been my greatest ally was now one hundred percent against me.

Shame filled me, but I couldn’t pretend anymore. “I told him the truth. That I couldn’t be with him not knowing where he was and worrying about him constantly while he was gone.”

Glenn’s glare made me fidget worse than ever. “You’re forgetting something. We didn’t walk away from you. We went through everything you just did when you were in Afghanistan. And we didn’t leave you! What happened to you? So you gave him a verbal Dear John letter. Just like the one Great-Granddad got.”

“No, I didn’t do …” But when I thought about it, that’s exactly what I did. I left him because I didn’t have the balls to stay. I was a coward. A spineless candy-ass. Oh fuck. I royally fucked him over. How could I have done such a thing?

“Shit!”

“Lilou, watch your language.”

“Sorry, Mom, but I just … I gotta go.”

I turned around and headed back out the door. My car should have auto-pilot by now. Berating myself the entire way back to Rusty’s, I prayed he’d let me in when I got there. What had I been thinking? What kind of woman was I? Yeah, it would be difficult, but what did I expect? I would have to rely on a network of friends to get me through when he was gone, but I’d do it. For him. For us.

His apartment door came into view and I barely gave my car a chance to come to a complete stop before I threw it into park. I ran—if you could call it that—to his door and banged on it with all my might. When he opened it I flew at him, almost knocking him down.

“Whoa there, girl, take it easy.”

“I’m sorry. I’m an idiot. I don’t know what got into me. I was a fool, a moron—” but I couldn’t say another word because his mouth crashed into mine, stopping any other words from coming out.

He didn’t push me away as I’d feared. He took me back without hesitation and when he stopped kissing me, he said, “I was wondering how long it would take you.”

“You knew?”

“I figured once you got over the shock.”

“Can we go to bed now?” I asked.

“Lee, it’s the middle of the day.”

“When has that ever stopped us?”

“Don’t you think you should turn your car off first?”

I looked out his open door and heard my car running. Then I threw my head back and howled with laughter. “I sort of forgot.” I walked outside and shut the car off.

When I got back in the door, he had a serious look on his face. “Lee, I want you to understand something. Nothing’s going to change about what I do.”

“I get that. It’s risky and dangerous.”

“And you won’t ever know where I go.”

“I understand that too. It’s who you are. And that was you when I met you.”

“I don’t want this to come between us later. It’s high pressure. There’s no denying it. But maybe you should talk to one or two of the guy’s wives. They might be able to shed some light on how they deal with it.”

“Maybe. I only know once I got home Glenn gave it to me good. Told me I was just like the woman who sent my great-granddad his Dear John letter. And he was right. I’m not that person, Rusty.”

“Who are you, Lee?”

“I’m the one who will always be waiting for you.”

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Ten Months Later

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The cafe was strung with tiny white lights and I never imagined it could look so … wedding-like. Jackson had placed an arbor in the corner and decorated it with a gazillion white flowers. All the tables had been pushed to the side in order to make room for seats. We hadn’t invited many people, mainly family and friends. We had to keep it small enough so it could be held here. That was number one. Even though I had moved to Virginia Beach, there wasn’t anywhere else I could imagine getting married.

And I’ll Be Waiting … after the newspaper article appeared, the cafe took off so that now you had to have reservations a month in advance. That food channel on TV was even going to do a special on it. Jackson had hit it big. She was even opening up another restaurant here in town and Drummond was growing because people were coming here to eat and see the town.

Jackson had to enlist the help of another caterer because as my best friend, she was my maid of honor and no way was she going to be working the event. It was tough pulling her out of the kitchen that day, but I managed.

We had hair and makeup appointments that morning but then had to be back at the cafe to meet the wedding planner. The cake was arriving at noon. Wedding cake had always been my thing, so I had to be there just to make sure that went well. Afterward, we went to Mom and Dad’s to get dressed.

Midnight, Rusty’s sister, was also in the wedding. Rusty had asked me if she could be a part of it. As the only member of his family, and because they were so close, I wanted her in it too. Not to mention, over the last few months, she and I had gotten quite close. She met us at my parents’, along with her daughter Harley, who was the flower girl. We had a party getting dressed, but Harley was the center of attention. At four years old she was adorable and the show stealer.

Once Mom and Jackson helped me with my dress, I spun around to check myself out with a critical eye. I’d chosen a plain gown of ivory crepe that was sleeveless with a jewel neckline. It had lace illusion panels at the side that actually flowed around to create the entire back of the gown. Then it had tiny satin covered buttons that ran the length of the dress. I laughed at first because Rusty was going to have a devil of a time getting me out of the damn thing.

“Well?” I asked.

Mom started to weep. “Oh, Mom, is it that bad?” I joked.

“Just hush, Lilou.”

“You look stunning,” Midnight said.

“Love the shoes,” Jackson said.

“Me too,” I giggled. They were fancy sneakers covered in satin, lace, and had sparkles all over. I had them custom made since I couldn’t wear heels or any other kind of shoes on account of my prosthesis.

“Mommy, I want some of those,” Harley yelled.

“I’m sure you do,” Midnight said.

“All of you look gorgeous. And Harley, I’ll save these shoes for you. I guess we’re ready then?” I asked.

They all agreed so we went out to the waiting limo. Rusty and I decided against the first look. We wanted each of us to be surprised when I walked down the short little aisle in the cafe.

We had a small three-piece string orchestra playing for the ceremony, then we were having a DJ for the reception. Dad was waiting for me when we arrived.

The wedding planner lined us up. Rusty went down first with Harrison following as best man, and then Glenn went last. Then Midnight walked down with Harley following her. We were afraid if Jackson went before her, Harley would shoot down the aisle, chasing after her mother. When Jackson was next to the arbor, the wedding planner cued the orchestra, and Dad raised his brows. We were standing in the back and couldn’t see everyone.

“You ready, pumpkin?”

“Never been more ready, Dad.”

“Then let’s go.”

We stepped forward and that’s when Rusty caught his first glance of me. Since it was summer, he was in his full dress whites, and he looked hot and sexy as hell. But he only had eyes for me and it was obvious he was pleased. He mouthed, “I love you,” as I made my way toward him. My heart swelled more and more with each step I took.

At last, when Dad and I arrived, the minister asked the age-old question, “Who gives this woman in marriage?”

Dad answered, “Her mother and I.” When he handed me off to Rusty, Dad said, “Take care of my baby.”

“That I will, sir.”

Then my hand was encased in both of Rusty’s and he brought it to his lips. “You look too beautiful for any words I can express.”

Stephen leaned over and said, “You’re supposed to save that stuff for later.”

We all chuckled.

The minister said, “I believe this couple may be in a bit of a hurry to become husband and wife.”

“You bet we are. I’ve waited my whole life for this woman.”

“I’ll always be waiting for you,” I said.

“Not anymore. I’m here, standing by your side, where I’ll always be, in this world and the next.”

The strangest thing happened then, I felt an arm go around me, but when I looked, no one was there. Only Rusty stood next to me holding my hand. The minister spoke the vows as we said our I dos and he pronounced us husband and wife.

“You may kiss your bride.”

“Thank you, God,” Rusty said to the ceiling.

Everyone clapped as we kissed. Then I turned around and held my bouquet in the air as the music played. Rusty and I walked down the aisle and then greeted our guests, one by one.

It was great to see everyone, but hard to contain my tears when Mark, Will, and Jared, along with their wives came up to us. The spouses all cried as they greeted me and I told them I understood how much their husbands meant to them. It wasn’t until I had Rusty in my life that I truly knew that. We hugged and chatted a bit while Rusty talked with the men.

Later, we made our way around the room, visiting with everyone when suddenly Rusty stopped. “Did you see him? The old man?”

“Where?” I asked.

“He just walked out the door.”

“No.”

“It was the old guy from the woodworking shop. Your great-granddad.”

Then I knew. It was my great-granddad whose arm had been around my shoulder during the ceremony.

“He came to tell us goodbye, Rusty.”

“Why?”

“Because we don’t need him anymore. We found each other. Don’t you see? He only helps those who need him.”

Rusty nodded. “Yeah. He was waiting all this time, wasn’t he?”

I leaned into him. “He was. And now he’s off to wait for someone else.”

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