Three weeks later, John and Patience stood at the front of Reverend Bing’s church in front of a small crowd of well-wishers. Toria wiped her eyes with a handkerchief as Mortimer stood by proudly. Beatrice, Arthur, and Sally sat toward the back of the church with Reverend Bing’s sister, Millie, in case the toddler began to fuss and needed to be taken outside. Willie was there with his mother in his finest suit, beaming happily at his boss. And best of all, Lydia and Robert Graham blinked back tears from the front row.

Patience still couldn’t believe how quickly they’d changed their mind about John once they had heard the truth about what had happened. Since then, they had been nothing but warm and welcoming to their soon-to-be son-in-law.

Everything had come together perfectly. Toria had already had most of the preparations ready from the first time they had tried to get married, with one special addition.

As a surprise to Patience, Toria had ordered yards and yards of lace fabric and worked with Beatrice to create a stunning wedding gown. Together they created a lovely, flowing masterpiece. On Patience, the dress made her look like royalty, and she felt incredible in it.

John couldn’t stop staring at his bride. Not only was she breathtakingly beautiful, but more importantly, she was kind, honest, and generous. He couldn’t believe how lucky he was to be able to end up with a woman like her.

Patience also couldn’t believe her luck. John was a good man, and he came from a good family. She was not only gaining a husband, but a second set of parents in Toria and Mortimer. She and John had already gone through some difficult times, and she knew that they would be able to face anything that would be put in their way in the future.

Reverend Bing gave a speech about how happy he was that Patience and John had found each other and about how the church would help them in the years ahead, individually and as a couple. Patience waited impatiently for Reverend Bing to get to the end of the ceremony. Normally, she loved his speeches and sermons in church, but today, she was waiting for something new for a change.

Finally, Reverend Bing declared, “I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”

In front of the small assembled crowd, John Jackson tipped Patience Graham’s head back, pressed his lips to hers, and gave her the sweetest kiss she could have ever imagined. Patience kissed John back with passion until she heard Reverend Bing cough discreetly, certainly a signal that they should end their embrace.

John and Patience instead turned to the congregation, smiling and laughing. Patience was so glad that they had made it to this day. When she had first started spending more time with John, she hadn’t been sure if marriage was the right next step for the pair. Now, she couldn’t imagine her life any other way.

After the ceremony, the group adjourned to Graham’s Grub for food and dancing. The Grahams had posted a large sign on the door letting people know that they were closed for the evening.

Inside, Lydia and Toria had placed dozens of candles and red roses in vases on each table, and the tables themselves had been arranged in a large circle.

One of Mortimer’s friends sat down at the piano in the corner of the room and began playing one of Patience’s favorite songs. Together, she and John danced to the music and stared into one another’s eyes.

From one of the tables, Toria watched the newlyweds, her eyes shining with fresh tears. She was thrilled for her stepson and his new bride.

“Are you all right, dear?” Mortimer asked gently.

“Yes,” Toria replied. “I’m so happy for John and Patience.” She squeezed her husband’s hand.

Meanwhile, Arthur and Beatrice looked at their daughter, Sally, as Patience and John danced.

“Being here with you and Sally, my heart is so full, Arthur!” Beatrice exclaimed. “I just know that one day, Sally will be the one getting married. I know we have a long way to go before that point, and I want to enjoy every moment of it, but think of how nice that will feel for our family to grow and change.”

Arthur smiled and put an arm around his wife’s shoulder. She looked like an angel holding baby Sally. Although the young girl had been set on their doorstep without any explanation or information, Beatrice and Arthur had taken her in and raised her as their own. Now, Arthur couldn’t imagine his life without either one of them. He thanked God for allowing Beatrice and Sally to come into his life, and he couldn’t wait until the baby Beatrice carried was born.

The Reverend Callum Bing eagerly ate the cake Toria had carefully baked. Each bite was more delicious than the last. The cake was rich and buttery, and the frosting had the exact right amount of sweetness.

“Don’t eat so fast; you’ll get a stomachache!” Callum’s sister, Millie, scolded.

“You haven’t tried this cake yet, Millie. I don’t think anyone could eat this cake slowly,” Callum replied.

Millie took a bite of her own cake, which she had been saving for later, still full from the dinner Robert and Lydia had served. “Oh, my,” Millie said as she chewed each delicious bite. “This is incredible.”

On the dance floor, John leaned in for a kiss. Patience kissed him back, surprised at how natural it felt to be in his embrace. She was still a bit apprehensive of the other activity married men and women were able to do, but she trusted John, and she knew that he would make sure she was comfortable. Even though she was nervous, she was also excited about it. She wanted to demonstrate to John that she was his wife in every sense of the word.

Patience excused herself to go to the powder room. She had perspired a bit from the dancing and wanted to pat down her face and cool off. When she stepped into the room and looked in the mirror, she was shocked to find not only herself in the mirror, but Sarah’s reflection staring back at her.

Patience whirled around and stared at Sarah. “What are you doing here? I did what you asked.”

“Yes, and I’m very glad that you made the right choice,” Sarah said. “This is our last visit together.”

“It is?” Although Patience had sometimes been annoyed by Sarah, she had grown accustomed to her visits and actually found herself liking the woman’s personality.

“That’s how guardian angels work. We are here for you when you need us, but once you don’t need us any longer, we must move on to the next person who needs our help,” Sarah explained.

Patience nodded. “I think I understand. So does that mean I don’t need help anymore?”

“That’s right. You just married the love of your life, and soon, you two will start a family. Now—” Sarah began.

“How do you know that? When? Will our first be a boy or a girl?” Patience asked her questions in rapid succession.

Sarah shook her head, smiling mysteriously. “I’m afraid I can’t tell you all those details just now. They’ll come to you when you need them most.”

Patience sighed. Sarah was still being cryptic as always. “Will John and I be happy?”

“Oh, yes,” Sarah nodded. “That, you can be sure of. You two will be very happy together for many years to come.”

Patience smiled happily. Hearing that from her guardian angel was certainly reassuring. “Thank you for all that you’ve done to bring John and me together. I know I probably wasn’t the easiest person to be the guardian angel for, but I’m glad you kept at it until I changed my mind.”

“You were perfectly fine, dear,” Sarah said. “Now, there is something else I need to tell you.” She looked off into the distance, her eyes clouding over.

“What is it?” Patience felt nervous. She had felt so exuberant during the wedding and dancing with her new husband. Why did she feel like Sarah was about to give her awful news?

Sarah turned her gaze back to Patience. “By marrying John, you have avoided a very bad event that could have happened to you. I’m so glad you chose John and married him as quickly possible. But . . .”

Patience felt her heart sink. What was Sarah about to say?

“Trouble is coming to Creede, Patience. A very bad sort of trouble, the kind even I likely can’t protect against. There are some things we can do to try to prepare you, and some precautions you can take, but most of all, you and John will need to do everything in your power to keep your family safe from harm,” Sarah said, her words taking on an ominous tone.

“When is this trouble coming?” Patience asked. She knew she should be scared, but it was hard to be frightened of something so vague.

“That’s the thing. We don’t know,” Sarah admitted.

“Then how do you know anything bad will happen?” Patience was so confused. She wanted to get back to dancing and eating cake with her new husband.

Sarah sighed. “Patience, Creede has turned into a very dark place. Many people come here for less than honest reasons, and they make poor choices here. Whenever a place like that exists in this world, it’s only a matter of time before the darkness creeps in.”

Patience frowned. She still didn’t understand how this related to her and her coming family.

“I need to go, Patience. But I wanted to warn you about the darkness that’s coming. Just remember to always do what is right and what is kind,” Sarah reminded. “Goodbye, Patience.”

Patience threw her arms around Sarah to hug her in farewell, but she ended up wrapping her arms around herself instead. Sarah was gone. Patience laughed to herself. Maybe Sarah was being a little overprotective, like her parents. Then again, everything else Sarah had said so far had turned out to be true.

In either case, Patience wanted to return to her husband. She practically skipped down the hallway into the dining area. She found John sitting at a table next to his parents.

Patience joined them, and John kissed her as soon as she sat down.

“Congratulations again, Patience,” Toria said, squeezing Patience’s hand. “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you, Toria, for this incredible dress. I feel wonderful in it,” Patience replied.

“It was all Beatrice,” Toria said modestly. The dress had been a gift of love, happily given to her new daughter-in-law and sewn with love.

“Welcome to the family, Patience.” Mortimer smiled. He was excited to have a new daughter-in-law. When his first wife had died, he had worried about John’s ability to get married one day. He was worried that the pain of losing his mother might harden John from other relationships. Instead, and likely due to Toria’s patience and kindness, John was now able to open up and have meaningful relationships with others.

“Thank you, Mortimer.” Patience smiled. She could see where John had gotten his streak of kindness and generosity from. At first, she had thought Toria was a little young for Mortimer, but now that she knew them both a little better, she could see that they were a perfect fit for one another.

“You can call me Father, if you’d like,” Mortimer said with a big grin. “I won’t tell Robert.”

Patience threw her head back and laughed. “That might take me a little getting used to, but I’ll keep it in mind.” Patience loved how this family could joke and chuckle with each other for hours. It was a difference from her own family, where things were usually quieter and more serious.

Just then, Robert and Lydia approached the table and checked to see if anyone needed more cake, punch, or water.

“I’m stuffed,” Patience protested, and Toria agreed.

“We’re so proud of you, darling,” Lydia said to Patience as she looked down at her daughter, sitting at the table with her new husband.

“Glad to have you in the family, son,” Robert said, extending a hand to John. John accepted and shook Robert’s hand, smiling up at the man.

Just three weeks before, John had thought this day would never come. Now that it was here, he knew it was a day he would remember for the rest of his life.