Finding Stone (The Stone Brothers Series) (Volume 1) (19 page)

Jay took me to the jewelry store to help me pick out the wedding bands. They actually have a great selection here. Luckily, her mom told me her ring size. I was ecstatic to find that they have an on-site engraver here. I want to put something special on the inside of our bands. I explain the situation to the jeweler. I need this done now and am willing to pay whatever it costs.

Christ, I'm getting married tomorrow. I can’t believe I have changed so much in such a short amount of time all thanks to that brown headed, blue-eyed girl who tore into my life like a hurricane. I realize that every thing I have gone through in my life has brought me right to this moment, right where I'm meant to be. Crazy how so much beauty can come from so much pain. I'm lost in my thoughts when Jay nudges my arm. The jeweler is standing right in front of me.

"How does this look, sir? Is this what you wanted?"

I take both rings to inspect them. "Yes, they're perfect. This is exactly what I wanted. She will love this. Thank you."

The inscription on both rings is simply "No Regrets."

Mom, Kelly, and I went to the mall. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed. I need to catch my breath and sit down. What did I do? I was only joking when I said that about dad marrying us, crazy how everything seems to work out. Deep breath.

My dress is really pretty. It’s a simple, white, maxi dress with small-embroidered flowers on it. I knew it was the one as soon as I saw it. The top of the dress ties around my neck. I found a simple pair of white flats to wear.

Mom is going to make me a bouquet to carry. Luckily for me, even though she can't cook, she can garden. She has a green thumb when it comes to growing flowers. She has won many county fair competitions for her beautiful flowers.

Mom ran into some friends, so Kelly and I told her we had some other shopping to do. Even though we won't be celebrating our wedding night until we get back to Chicago, I want to buy something special for his eyes only. We head into a lingerie shop and I find some naughty things to buy. Mercy sakes, if I bought the things Kelly was picking out, someone may get hurt, literally. I'll stick with the lace; she can keep the leather.

Waking up in my hotel room this morning, I think about how this will be the last day that I have to be without Molly by my side. After today, I will be a husband and in a little over seven months a father. Everything has happened so quickly. What really surprises me is how easy this has been for me to accept. Once I admitted to myself that I love Molly, the rest came naturally. Shit, it just occurred to me that I haven't even told my brothers. I'm such an ass.

There's another reason why I love my brothers so much. Neither one of them had anything bad to say. Neither one of them judged me. Evan and I spent our life trying to protect Maddox. Evan and I got hit a lot. What Maddox got was worse. Yes, he got hit too, but sometimes it’s easier to take a punch than it is to hear, “You’re the reason your mom left.” I think he was afraid Evan and I blamed him. Neither of us ever did. I decide to call Maddox first.

“Hey, Noah. How’s Kentucky?” Maddox ask answering the phone.

“It’s good. Her parents are just like she said they were. Accepting. I called to let you know some big news. We are getting married today.”

“Congrats, brother. You better still have time for beers and the Bears.”

“Oh trust me, that’s not going to change.”

“I’m happy for you. Molly is a great girl. Crazy, but great,” he laughs.

“I know. I can’t believe I’m getting married. I’ll see you later today.”

“I can. I’ll see you later.”

Next, I call Evan. He doesn’t even know Molly is pregnant yet. I haven’t told him because we were a lot alike in not wanting kids or to be married. Maddox says he doesn’t want a wife or kids. Maddox is lying to himself. Evan isn’t.

“Hey. How is everything going?” Evan asks.

“It’s good. Actually, it’s great. I need to talk to you about a couple things.”

“Yeah. You’re going to marry that spitfire aren’t you?”

“How do you know that?”

“You had me take her to your place, you had me babysit her and make sure no other guy touched her. Clear clues you were whipped. She is definitely worth it though.”

“Well, we are getting married today.”

“What the hell, Noah? I’ve been thinking about bachelor parties for you. Did you know they have BDSM themed strippers? Dammit man.” I start laughing. I am not surprised he has put serious thought into my bachelor party.

“Sorry, maybe Maddox will let you do that.”

“True. Maybe I’ll throw myself a bachelor party.”

“One more thing. I’m going to be a dad. Molly is pregnant.” All I can hear is silence.

“Evan?”

“Yeah. Sorry. I don’t know what to say. I’m excited for you. Really. Very excited.”

After I hang up with Evan I sit in front of the mirror looking myself over. Molly wanted to keep this wedding straightforward and simple. She had an arm full of stuff when she got home from the mall last night. She gave me a bag with the clothes that she wants me to wear today. Never did I think that I would be wearing khaki shorts and a simple white button up shirt. We decided to go back to that park we were at before, to the woods where I proposed. The only other people that will be there are her parents and Kelly.

This moment will forever be in my memory. 11:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning in August, I am standing with Kelly and Annie. I look up and watch Molly walking arm in arm with her father coming toward the exact spot where I proposed. The sun is shining through the trees. The light is shining on Molly in a way that almost makes her glow. She is wearing a beautiful simple long white dress. She’s clutching a beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers in her hand. It's the perfect setting; this is perfect for us. Seeing her smile warms every part of me. When they reach me, I shake Jay's hand and thank him for his daughter. He looks at me, with tears in his eyes, and says, "Be good to her." I nod and he takes his place in front of us. Molly hugs me, and then her father asks if we would like to say our own vows.

I didn't write down anything. I take a deep breath and start talking from my heart.

"Molly, the night before I first met you, I sat on my balcony thinking that there had to be more to life. I knew I was missing something. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what it was. I look back on my life and wonder how I made it to this moment. All I can see is a lifetime of heartache and bad decisions. I withheld parts of myself from everyone that I met. The thing is, you made that impossible because you see all of me, and you love me anyways. I wonder what I have ever done to deserve you, to deserve the love that you have given me. I never knew that the path I was taking, littered with detours and wrong turns, was actually leading me straight to you. All that I have been through, I wouldn't change a single thing, because it brought me here, to this moment, standing in front of you with no regrets. You have given me a life worth living. A life I never thought possible. I promise to be the man you deserve. I take you, Molly, to be my wife, for better or worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love you, to cherish you, from this day forward, for always."

"Noah, when I went to Chicago, I felt like I was being led to something, something new, something amazing. I didn't know what it was, but I was excited to find out. I could have never imagined in a million years that I would be finding my stone, you, my rock. I know that you will always be the person that I can turn to. We have many new adventures ahead of us. I am so happy that I get to experience them with you. I know that anything we face in life, we will face it together. When I look at you, I see the piece of me that was missing, the final piece of my heart. Noah, I also stand here today with no regrets. I love you. You are part of God's plan for me, the plan I never knew. I promise to be the wife and mother you can be proud of. I take you Noah to be my husband, for better or worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love you, to cherish you, from this day forward, for always.”

When we exchange rings, I show Molly the inscription. She smiles a beautiful smile. Finally, we share our first kiss as husband and wife. Her parents and Kelly, all have tears in their eyes and smiles on their faces.

The wedding was simple and just us. Molly doesn't know it yet, but Maddox and Evan have a surprise planned at Hansons, a little get together of our friends to celebrate with us.

On the flight home I just kept reliving every detail of the wedding. Everything went just as planned. I couldn't have asked for a better wedding. It was simple and sweet. It was perfect. I lay my head on Noah's shoulder. It's been a crazy week. When we left, dad hugged me and told me how much he loved me. Mom cried. I know though that everything is going to work out.

Once we land, we get a taxi and head home. When we got home, I couldn't help but giggle as Noah picked and carried me over the threshold of the door. "Welcome home, Mrs. Stone," he says as he sets me down.

"You're so sweet. Thank you, Mr. Stone."

He tells me to shower and get ready to go out. He has a surprise for me. I acted like it bothered me a little, but secretly I love surprises.

As he parks the car, I see we are parking near Hansons. Really, Hansons? I don't say anything, but this is not where I wanted to be tonight. I would have rather stayed home. With the whirlwind of this past week, I'm exhausted. As he opens my car door, I ask "Noah, why are we here? We can come here any time."

He just smiles at me and says, "You'll see..."

As we walk in, I hear, "Congratulations!" There's a big sign above the bar that says 'Congrats Mr. & Mrs. Stone.' Everyone is coming up to us giving us hugs. I hear many people saying they couldn't believe Noah is a married man now. The whole gang of friends is here. Kerrigan is working behind the bar. I see Noah's brothers, Lani, and Jessica. Even Missy and Brayden are here. There are several people from the hospital. I can't believe this.

I look at Noah and he says, "Don't look at me. This is all Maddox and Evan's doing. I called them this morning to let them know what was going on. I didn't even know until I got a text telling me they wanted to surprise you. Welcome to the family."

Everyone is clapping and whistling at us. I hear Evan tapping his beer bottle. Everyone goes silent.

"Who would have ever thought that my big brother would settle down? I can stand here in front of you all and say that Noah is the best big brother. We have been through a lot together. Now we have Molly to add to our family. I want to thank Molly for seeing all the good inside my brother. May you have many years filled with love and happiness.

Please raise your glasses to Dr. and Mrs. Noah Stone and the bundle of joy that will soon grace this world."

You could hear a collective gasp among the crowd. Noah and I just smile at each other and the crowd explodes with cheer and congratulations.

I see Maddox walking up to us grinning. "Well, what do you think Molly? Were you surprised? I have another surprise for you. One I think you will like even better."

Noah stops Maddox before he gives me his next surprise and says, "Maddox, I know you and Evan are sore about not having a bachelor party. This better be a good surprise. I mean it. What is it?"

"Kevin Mason."

I look at him confused and ask, "What about Kevin Mason?"

Evan jumps in on the conversation, "The kid took a deal, life plus forty years. No possibility of parole. He wanted to avoid the death penalty. He knew he had no way of beating this with your testimony and a camera from the outside of the hospital that caught the whole thing on video. It's over. You don't have to worry about any more threats. It's a done deal."

All the feelings I’ve buried inside me come crashing down. "Excuse me, I need to head to the bathroom real quick."

I hear someone following behind me to the bathroom. It's Lani. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I just needed a break for a minute. This has been such a trying week. Everything is happening so quickly. I'm happy that I don't have to testify. I'm happy it's all over."

"I'm happy it's over for you too. We've all been worried about you. You know even though Kerrigan has been out of the loop, Jess and I'd would still like to remain friends with you."

"I'd like that very much. How do you guys know each other?"

"Kerrigan and I went to the same high school together. She was the beautiful girl every girl wanted to be. The one every guy wanted. I was jealous. Jessica and I met in college, even roomed together for awhile."

Lani is beautiful, killer personality, fierce. Blonde hair just passed the shoulders, dark eyes. She's tiny, maybe 5'1 and seems a bit mysterious. She's seems to have a story that I would love to learn more about.

"Whatever. You're totally gorgeous."

"Not in high school. Pipsqueak, that's what I was called in high school. God, I hated that nickname." She laughs.

"At least you were cool enough to get a nickname." I've been average Molly all of my life.

"Let's get back. I need a drink," she says.

"Dammit, me too. Guess I'll be having water."

"Add that to my ever growing 'Reasons to not have children list'." We both laugh. "Seriously though Molly, if you're happy, then I'm happy for you."

"Thanks, Lani. I am really happy. Just a little overwhelmed. Come on. We better get back before Noah comes looking for me."

As we make our way back to the table. I see Kerrigan standing there.

"Kerrigan!" We yell as we greet her.

"Hey. Congratulations. I've only got a few minutes left of my break, but I wanted to come say hi."

"We miss you. Maybe we can have a girls night soon?"

"Sure. I'd like that. I've been really busy lately. It's been hard to find a free moment." She seems uneasy. I catch her looking around the room like she's watching out for someone. I haven't seen Aaron this evening. That's a blessing all by itself.

"You alright?" I ask. I notice Maddox hasn't taken his eyes off of her.

"I'm alright. I had better get back. I'll try to find some free time soon. I'll call you."

"Sounds good. You've got my number, let me know." Kerrigan waves then walks back to the bar.