A Thousand Tomorrows & Just Beyond the Clouds Omnibus (20 page)

W
ITH HER PARENTS
watching from a few feet away, Ali glided down the stairs. She held a bouquet of red roses, cut that morning from her mother’s garden. Cody waited on the landing below in dark jeans, a white button-down shirt, and a wool suit coat. He looked like the prince he would always be.

She didn’t have to ask him what he thought of her dress or of how she looked that day. It was written across his face, spilling over from his heart. However long she had left, she would never again look at Cody without seeing his eyes the way they shone as she came to him.

They embraced, Cody’s arms strong and protective, one around her waist, one along her upper back. She breathed in the smell of him, his cologne and shampoo and minty breath mixing in a way that was sweetly intoxicating, hinting at all that was to come that day, that night.

Before he released her, he whispered near her ear, “This is the best day of my life.”

The pastor and his wife were there also, not far from her parents. The pastor was thick and bearded with a guitar slung over his shoulder. His wife held a camera and a Bible. She took pictures, several of Cody and Ali, others of the two of them with her parents.

Ali pulled the woman aside before the group headed out. There was a song she’d remembered that morning. It was an old hymn, one of her mother’s favorites.

“Can you play it for us, at the end, when we’re married?” Ali kept her voice low. The song would be a surprise.

“Definitely.” The pastor’s wife knew Ali’s mother. The significance of the song was clear in her expression. “I’d be honored.”

“Thank you.” Ali found her father then and linked arms with him.

They led the way, with Cody and Ali’s mother next, and the pastor and his wife last. The procession took them over freshly mowed grass, past the tomato garden and rosebushes to the bluff, fifty yards from the house. It was a spot made of rock, covered with patchy grass, a place where she and Anna had dreamed of playing when they were little.

Everyone took their places. Cody and Ali in the center, her parents—the attendants—on either side. The pastor adjusted his guitar and tuned it for a few seconds. His wife stood near him and the first song began.

It was one that captured everything about the two of them. It spoke of a dream being like a river, the dreamer like a vessel, and how even when it was impossible to know what was ahead in the journey, the dreamer had no choice but to follow the dream.

A light wind danced across the ranch that afternoon, and wisps of Ali’s hair fanned her face. Without turning her head, she studied her father, tall and proud, stoic. He had stood by while she chased her dreams, paying the price of loneliness
and uncertainty, but always believing in her. How amazing that his frame was so like Cody’s, that they might test so similar in their blood types and compatibility.

The doctors were wrong. She would live far longer than three years with a set of lungs from Cody and her father. They were the strongest men she knew; their lungs would keep her going for a decade at least.

She felt a stirring at her right elbow, and her mother leaned in. Her voice was the softest whisper. “I’m so happy for you, sweetheart.”

“Me, too.” Ali kept her response low. “It’s what you asked for.”

“Yes.” Their eyes held a moment longer. “Exactly what I asked for.”

When the song was over, the pastor opened the Bible and read about love.

“Love is patient and kind…”

Ali looked at Cody. The words seemed to be coming straight from his heart to hers, as if what they’d found together was the picture of what love was supposed to be. She handed her bouquet to her mother and took hold of his hands. They had much ahead in the coming weeks, the transplant and a month of recovery. Dangers would always exist for her, but here and now, lost in Cody’s eyes, love—the type of love being spoken of now—was all that mattered.

The pastor was finishing the reading.

“Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” He paused and looked at them. “Love never fails.”

It was time for the vows. They’d each written something special and unique, and then together they’d written the last part.

Ali and Cody faced each other, and Cody went first.

“I take you, Ali Daniels, as my wife.” He drew a breath and steadied himself. “If I have ten years with you, or a hundred, our time together would never be enough. With you, I’m something I’ve never been before.” He paused. “I’m whole because you complete me. My love for you means I’m no longer sure where I end and you begin.” He ran his thumbs along the tops of her hands, his tone steady even as his eyes filled. This last part they’d written together. “Ali, I promise you everything I am, everything I have, as many days as we share together. No matter what tomorrow brings, I will be here. I will stand by you and stay by you. I will be strong when you cannot be strong, and I will hold you up when you cannot stand. My love, my life, is yours, Ali, from this day on.”

He slid a delicate white gold band onto her finger and covered her hands with his.

She hesitated, his words still washing over her. Finally she swallowed and found her voice. “I take you, Cody Gunner, as my husband.” Everything faded but the man before her and the connection she felt with him. She waited until the lump in her throat relaxed. “I was not looking for love, but you came into my life and brought it. You opened my heart to feelings I’d never known, my eyes to colors I’d never seen. You taught me that love is measured not in years or decades, but in smiles and dreams and shared bits of laughter, in quiet
walks and tender embraces and late-night talks.” Her voice cracked, but she continued. “Cody, I promise you all of me every day, as many days as we have together. No matter what tomorrow brings”—she touched the place over his heart—“I will be here.” Behind her, she could hear her mother sniffling. Tears blurred her own eyes, and she blinked so she could make out his face, his eyes. “I will stand by you in your dreams and stay by you in spirit. I will be strong in heart when you cannot be strong, and I will hold your hand when neither of us can stand. My love, my life, is yours, Cody, from this day on.”

She slipped a thicker matching band onto his finger and in the distance she saw a blue jay, just like the one she’d seen that morning. And suddenly she knew her prayer had been answered. Somewhere up in heaven, Anna was cheering for her, cheering and waving her hands and dancing because of what Ali had found with Cody Gunner.

The pastor said a few words about marriage and the commitment it involved. He closed with another reading.

“And now, these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” He paused, his smile lifting the mood. “It is my pleasure to pronounce you husband and wife. Cody, you may kiss your bride.”

Again a gentle breeze played in her hair, sending fine wisps of blonde across her cheeks. Cody brushed them back, taking her face in his hands. Then, in a way that mixed delicate tenderness and smoldering passion, he kissed her.

The pastor took a step back and smiled. “Mr. and Mrs. Gunner, I’d like to be the first to congratulate you.”

Her parents circled them, hugging them and making the moment last. In the background, the pastor picked up his guitar and started playing. His wife’s voice rang full and clear across the place where they stood. The song grew and built and filled Ali’s heart with hope and possibility.

Ali caught her mother’s eyes. She leaned close and whispered near her ear, “I love you, Mama. I do.”

Her mother hugged her, rocking her, the two of them swaying in the breeze. “Everything’s going to be okay, honey. Keep believing.”

“I will.” She drew back and returned to Cody’s side. It was time for the part Ali had asked for, the part that made both her parents and Cody nervous. She was supposed to be using these weeks as a time away from horseback riding.

But Ali wanted this, and none of them could refuse her. Not on her wedding day.

She nodded at Cody and smiled. He hesitated, then broke away from the group and headed for the barn. A few minutes later, he galloped out on Ace, cowboy hat in place, headed for Ali. When he reached her, he extended his hand, and with the help of her dad and the preacher, Ali climbed onto Ace and pressed herself snug against Cody’s back. She sat sidesaddle, her long dress flowing just past the white lace-up boots she’d chosen for the day.

“You ready?” Cody adjusted his hat, his eyes bright with emotion.

“Ready.” She turned and the pastor took their picture. She waved to her parents, and they were off, Cody at the reins.

He took them slow and steady, and she melted into him,
enjoying the feel of his body against hers. After several minutes, they were out of sight of the others, and Cody slowed Ace to a stop.

She faced him. “Congratulations, Mr. Gunner.”

He tipped his hat to her. “And you, Mrs. Gunner.”

“See”—she gave a light giggle—“I was right.”

“About what?” He ran his fingers along her spine.

“You
were
chasing me.”

“Yes.” His eyes caressed her, held her. “And now I’m not letting you go.”

The sun was warm against her face, splashing bright rays over a moment that was already brilliant. She worked her hands around his waist and leaned her head on his chest. “I can’t believe we’re married.”

“Me neither.” He kissed the top of her head. “Okay, so this is when you tell me what you want for your wedding present, right?”

“Right.” She eased herself up, studying him. “Now’s the time.”

She watched his face, checking for his reaction. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. She didn’t want anything to mar the moment, to cast a shadow on their wedding day. Not even something as important as this. She leaned up and kissed him, a kiss that promised more for later when they would drive to the secluded resort in the Rockies, the place where they would spend three nights before coming home and facing the transplant.

He brushed his nose against hers, shading her from the sun with the brim of his hat. “I’m waiting, Mrs. Gunner.”

Her smile faded as she found his eyes. “This is serious, okay?”

“Okay.” He brushed his knuckles against her cheek, the way he’d done from the first time they kissed. A grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. “I’m very serious.”

He wasn’t, but he would be. “Okay, this is what I want.” She took a slow breath. “I want you to forgive your parents. That’s what I want for my wedding present.”

She watched her words work their way from his heart to his head and back again. He chuckled, his tone thick with disbelief. “Ali…”

“I know you don’t want to, but it means so much to me.” She took hold of his jacket lapels, hoping her words would breach the walls he’d built in his heart. “I want them on our side, Cody. They’re my family now, too.”

The muscles in his jaw flexed and for a moment he looked to the side, across the sloped fields and foothills that ran toward the Rockies. Finally he unclenched his jaw and caught her eyes again. “That one… might take a while.”

“Fine.” She kissed the tip of his nose. As long as he was open to the idea, reconciliation was bound to come. A sweet sense of victory flooded her veins, victory and a peace she’d been searching for since that conversation with Cody in the competitors’ area the day she had her last barrel race. “Just try. That’s all I want.”

He searched her eyes. “You know what I want to give you?”

“What?” She put her hands on his knees, steadying herself.

“Time.” His lips were tight, his chin strong despite the sudden storm in his eyes. “I want to wake up with you in my arms tomorrow morning and find out that CF was only a bad dream.” He ran his fingers lightly down her side. “That you’re as healthy on the inside as you look on the outside.” He cupped her face in his hands. “I want time to have babies and raise them and grow old with you.”

She leaned her shoulder into him and rested her head against his heart. “I want that, too.”

They talked for a while longer, about the transplant and her fear that he wouldn’t ride again. “You have to, Cody. You have to win another championship.” She tugged on his hat. “Win it for me this time, okay?”

He nodded, but his look didn’t fool her. It would be a long time before Cody climbed back in the chute with a bull. Not because of a missing lung, but because he didn’t want to lose a minute of their time together.

Ali couldn’t blame him. As much as she wanted him to ride, she wanted him with her more. They were about to head back home when Ali stopped and turned to him. “I almost forgot your wedding present.”

“Mine?” Cody cocked his head. “That’s crazy, silly.” He lifted her chin, meeting her eyes straight-on. “I have you, that’s all I need.”

“And something else.” Ali gathered the reins and handed them to him. “Here.”

“Ali, I don’t…” Confusion clouded his eyes. “I don’t understand.”

“I’ll still ride him. As long as I can walk I’ll ride him.” She
smiled through her tears. “But after today he’s yours, Cody. I’m giving you Ace.”

He didn’t say anything. Rather, he folded his arms around her and held her for a long time, moving only to pat Ace on the neck now and then. She was giving him Ace? Her most precious possession? Her friend? It was more than Cody could take in.

When they started back toward the house, it was in the silent understanding of all they’d shared that day, all they would share in the days and months to come. There would be pain, yes. But first there would be love. A love that would always protect, always trust, always hope, always persevere.

A love that would never fail.

Chapter Eighteen

T
he weeks flew by in a blur of unspeakable passion and tender moments, until finally the lung transplant that would stave off Ali’s death was only minutes away.

Cody lay on a hospital gurney, prepped and waiting. Ali and her father were ready, too, in separate nearby rooms. The doctor had promised he could see Ali once more before the surgery. Not because he had fears; he didn’t. He was convinced the operation would be a complete success. But because he wanted to make sure she wasn’t afraid.