Forever's Embrace (Forever In Luck Series Book 2) (27 page)

“It
means you’ll be a cheesehead. No more Bears, baby, its Packers all the way.”

More
cheering from his dad and brothers.

She
busted out laughing, then turned and walked out of the creamery, giving his dad
and brothers a thumbs up as she walked on by. “You know,” she said, moving
along, “leaving Chicago has given me some time to ponder my team commitments. I
don’t think it’s fair of me to ignore my Scandinavian roots. I think the
Vikings are my new favorite.”

“Oh,
hell no they aren’t!” he bellowed. “No way, not happening. That’s worse than
the Bears. This will result in the less than lady like treatment for sure,” he
threatened.

Laughing
more, as she walked out into the hall, she challenged him. “Promise?”

“Hell
yeah, I promise,” he said, in consternation as he followed her along.
“Absolutely, positively promise.”

Stopping
at the barn’s main entrance, she turned and looked at him deviously. “So, what
you’re really telling me is that by my liking the Vikings, you in turn promise
to behave like a Viking. You know, like by throwing me over your shoulder and
carrying me off to some unknown location, to do with me whatever you so choose,
is that right?”

Holy
hell, all manner of thoughts and ideas danced through his head, as all his
blood headed south. Loosening his collar and swallowing hard, he said, “You’re
playing with my head again.”

Stepping
up to him, she ran a hand up his chest and onward, weaving her fingers in his
hair. Pulling him in, she kissed him with determination, then nuzzled and blew
in his ear. “Yes, Jake,” she whispered. “I’m definitely playing with your head,
and in case you’re wondering, I love all things Viking.”

 
“God, I love your mind.” Swinging her up into
his arms, he said with a shake of his head, “A promise is a promise, Precious,
and you…are all mine.”

Epilogue

“Oh
Jules, that’s lovely,” Nate’s mom, Bev Sanders, said, as she and Linnie helped
Jules put on her wedding dress.

“Thank
you, it was Nana’s. It is pretty, isn’t it? It was important to me that we
waited to get married till I was done with the back brace so I could wear it.”

“It
sure is,” Linnie said. “It’s got that glitz and glamour feel of the nineteen
twenties. Nana sure had style back in the day. Now what’s this all about?”

“Oh
that’s a crown of myrtle leaves. It’s a Swedish tradition indicating the
bride’s innocence and virginity.”

Bev
and Linnie both stood staring at her.

“What?”

“Oh
nothing,” Linnie said, looking amused.

“Linnea
Sanders, I’m still a virgin! Your brother and I haven’t been getting it on for
heaven’s sake. Between my back pain, the meds, and that annoying twenty-four
hours a day, seven days a week back brace that literally went from neck to hip,
there simply wasn’t any incentive to be ambitious.”

Linnie
giggled. “Testy, are we?”

Jules
took a deep cleansing breath. “Be nice, it’s my special day and I’m a bundle of
nerves.”

Bev
sat down on the bed and patted the spot next to her. “Honey, I don’t mean to
pry, but do you have any questions?”

Jules
sat. “Not really, I’m just nervous and a little afraid.”

“I
understand the nervous part,” Linnie said, “but what are you afraid of?”

Another
deep breath. “That it will hurt.”

Bev
put her arm around Jules and gave her a squeeze. “It may, a little at first,”
Bev answered, “but talk to Jake, tell him. He’ll make it okay, then it will get
better, give it a little time.”

Jules
looked at the two of them and nodded. “Okay, I will.”

Linnie
sat on the other side of Jules and put her arm around her too. “Come on,
nothing to worry about, this is Jake we’re talking about, remember? He’d do
anything for you.”

Jules
smiled. “You’re right, I know. It’s just kind of daunting is all.”

Bev
and Linnie nodded as Linnie held out a garter. “You better get moving or you’ll
be late for your wedding.”

After
slipping on the garter, Jules leaned over and put a gold coin in her right shoe
and a silver one in her left, then slipped her feet into her shoes and stood.

“Ahhh,
what was that?” Linnie asked.

Jules
smiled. “Another Swedish tradition, a gold coin from your father and a silver
coin from your mother, put in your wedding shoes to ensure you never go
without. They belonged to my parent’s, Nana saved them for me for today.”

“Nice,
I like that,” Bev said. “I like how you and Jake are incorporating your
heritage and tradition into your day. Anything else you’re doing?”

Jules
nodded. “Yes, in Denmark it’s tradition for the bride and groom to walk down the
aisle together, as opposed to the bride being escorted by her father. This made
Jake really happy, considering it meant I would otherwise walk down alone, and
he didn’t like that idea at all. He’s afraid I’ll lose my balance wearing these
shoes. So, we’ll enter the church together.”

Bev
reached out and squeezed Jules’s hand. “That’s so sweet. I can’t wait, how fun.
How about the old saying something old, something new, something borrowed,
something blue? Are you observing that tradition?”

Jules
shook her head. “Darn it! I forgot. But I want to if I can.”

“Okay
then, let’s see where we’re at. Your dress is old, your shoes are new, your
garter is blue, do you have something borrowed?”

Thinking
about it, Jules answered. “I don’t”

Grabbing
her purse and rifling through it, Bev pulled out a small delicate handkerchief.
It was finely embroidered with little white pearled beads and tatted edges.
Handing it to Jules, she said, “Here, for you to use, but feel free to keep it
if you like it.”

Jules
threw her arms around Bev and squeezed her tight. “Thank you, I love it.”

Linnie
went to the window. “Jules, the limo’s here to take you to the church, you
ready?”

Jules
squealed a little. “I think so, I think I’m ready.”

“Where’s
your bouquet?” Bev asked, looking around.

Linnie
giggled, “Wait till you hear this one.”

Jules
pointed and shook her finger at Linnie. “You’re lucky you’re going to be my
sister, and that I love you so much. Now behave. You’re making me nervous.”
Then turning, she looked at Bev and explained, “It’s a Danish tradition for the
groom to select and buy the bride’s bouquet.”

Bev
put her hand to her mouth trying to cover her amusement, then tried desperately
not to laugh. “That’s nice, dear,” she managed to choke out.

Jules
put her hands to her cheeks and shook her head in horror. “What was I thinking?
I hope it’s not a handful of weeds.”

They
all busted out laughing.

“Too
late now,” Linnie said, smiling. “Let’s go, Jake’s probably beside himself
pacing a path outside the church by now.”

Standing
outside St. Peters Lutheran Church, Jake waited for Jules to arrive. He’d
picked this church because in the dark of night, they’d be able to see the
cross on the spire when lit up from the front window of the house he was
building for her. Looking off in the direction of the farm, he wondered if
she’d left yet, and remembered back to Thanksgiving when he stood waiting for
her at the airport. At the time, he’d wondered what it would’ve been like if
she’d been coming for him, to see him. Well, now he knew.

His
heart leapt when he saw Linnie’s car turn at the corner and head his way.
Walking, to his truck, he pulled out an average sized bouquet of flowers,
consisting of the palest, softest, pastel colored assortment the florist could
find. He didn’t know a damn thing about flowers, but his stipulations had been
somewhere along the lines of something nice, something old-fashioned, nothing
embarrassing, and absolutely no carnations. He had to admit the florist had
done a nice job. The bouquet looked pretty amazing, and he felt certain Jules
would like it. On the off chance it didn’t work out though, he’d ordered a
dozen pink roses that he’d had tied with a ribbon as a backup, just in case.

As
Linnie pulled in, he checked his pocket one more time, yep, the rings were there.
She was wearing the engagement ring he’d bought her, but there were two more. A
Swedish tradition, three rings, one for the engagement, one for the wedding,
and one for motherhood. Taking a deep breath, he headed over and gave Linnie
and Bev a hug before they entered the church. Resuming his pacing, he noticed
the sun going down in the west. His thoughts were bouncing all over the place,
but the biggest one…that that damn back brace was finally gone. He couldn’t
wait to hold her. Turning, he saw the limo making its way towards him.

Walking
over, he waited for the driver to open the door for her. When he did, Jake held
out his hand. As she stood, his breath left him. She…she…she looked like an
angel, she was so beautiful. Her gown was form fitting with a small train in
the back, and it glittered from zillions of teeny, tiny, sparkly beads all over
it that caught the setting light. No back brace here he thought, and the cane
was gone too. Her hair was mostly up, with long loose ringlets hanging down the
back, and a delicate gold wreath of leaves was on her head. She literally
looked like an angel. Wow! His vision swam.

“You’re
absolutely stunning,” he said, his voice cracking as he did.

She
blushed and smiled a little. “I feel beautiful. You make me feel beautiful.”

Putting
his arm around her, he handed her the bouquet. “Here are your flowers. I hope
you like them.”

Taking
them, she looked them over. “Oh Jake, they’re perfect!” Then she smiled that
charming little smile of hers. “I love them.”

“You
ready?”

She
nodded. “I’ve been ready for months.”

His
heart sang. He helped her into the church and down the aisle, to the applause
of their family. It was an extremely small church, so she didn’t have far to
go, another reason Jake had picked it. With Linnie standing up for her, and
Nate for him, they said their vows.

“Ladies
and gentlemen, I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Jakob Albrecht. Jake you may kiss
your beautiful bride.”

Turning
to her, Jake took her in his arms and held her, kissing her sweetly. “I’ll love
you always Juliet Rose Albrecht.”

She
smiled widely, then answered, “And I you, husband.”

Oh
man, he loved the sound of that. In the mood to celebrate, he turned and shook
the hand of the pastor, thanking him, then looked to everyone and said, “Its
six months late, but I owe my girl a night of dancing. Party at the Dalles
House in St. Croix. Let’s go.”

As
they sat around the reception table sipping on drinks and eating appetizers,
Jake decided it was time to break the news to his dad. “Hey Dad, remember that
girl you told us about, the one who out milked all you boys at the county
fair?”

His
dad snorted. “She cheated.”

“Really,
how?”

His
dad thought about it, then started chuckling. “She caught us making some
comments related to her udders getting in the way when she milked cows, so when
it came time for the competition, she put on the tightest shirt she could find
and stuffed it full of tissues. All us boys were distracted by the sight and
ogling to get a peek. We lost, she cheated.”

There
was laughing all around the table.

“Sounds
like you got what you deserved,” Jake responded, wanting to stir the pot a
little more.

His
dad snorted again. “Well, good thing no one asked you.”

“It’s
interesting, because remember that instructor I told you about, the one who arranged
for me to get training in Albany?”

His
dad nodded. “Yeah.”

“Well,
the first day of class, she knew who I was by my name, and she asked me to pass
a message on to you. She said something like, tell Karl I can still out milk
him, and that he still owes me a pair of hair ribbons. Then when I called to
thank her and invite her to the wedding reception today, she said she’d love to
let Karl buy her dinner. I told her there’d be music and dancing, and that you
loved to dance. She said she’d be sure to wear her dancing shoes.”

“That
so,” his dad answered nonchalantly, picking up his beer and taking a drink.
Then he cracked the biggest grin. “So the ole broad’s still kickin is she?”

Jake
nodded, “Yep, should be here anytime now.”

His
dad sat back smiling, then shook his head. “Well, what do you know…Michelle
Engebretsen…haven’t seen her in years.”

“Don’t
worry dad,” Nik piped up, “we got you covered.” Reaching in his pocket he
pulled out a pair of hair ribbons. “Picked these up for you just in case, you
know, should she be cute or something.”

Laughing,
his dad grabbed the hair ribbons. “I’ll take those. She always was cute.”

There
was hootin and hollerin all around.

“Dad,
you old dog,” Kris said, as he smacked him on the back.

“Hey,
I ain’t dead yet,” his dad answered with a smile. Then he turned and began
watching the door.

*****

Thank You!

Thanks
so much for reading. I hope you’ve enjoyed Forever’s Embrace. If you did, I’d
love for you to:

-Consider
posting a review at
Amazon:
Forever’s Embrace

-Email
me at [email protected], I’d love to hear from you.

-Lend
the book to a friend through the Kindle lending program.

-Watch
for book four coming out later 2014.

-Enjoy
a little something from Jules.

-Read
the first two chapters of Forever’s Affection, Book Three of the Forever In
Luck Series.

Swedish Snow Drift

1 ½ cups milk

3 ounces white chocolate, chopped or chips

1/8 tsp almond extract

Dash of vanilla

Ground nutmeg to taste

Whipped cream

Whisk milk, chocolate pieces, vanilla, almond
extract, and a dash of nutmeg in a saucepan constantly until blended. Serve hot
with whipped cream, and a sprinkle of nutmeg.