“My mother. She came to see me. I thought Soleil had left. She must have come back and I’d already left.”
The light turned green.
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
Ginny turned her head toward Willa. “Don’t be. It wasn’t much of a loss.”
Ginny caught sight of Gavin running into the church.
“Drive back! I just saw Gavin.”
Willa turned around, pulling into the parking lot.
Ginny opened the door and got out.
“I’ll call everyone and tell them you found him,” Willa called out as Ginny shut the door.
Wary of the slick sidewalk, Ginny walked as fast as she could to the church entrance. Inside, Ginny went to Pastor’s Dean’s office. Seeing it was empty, she was about to go toward the kitchen when she heard a voice coming from the chapel.
As she drew closer, Ginny heard Gavin. “I don’t deserve her, but I’m begging You, anyway. I swore I would never beg to You again. You undo what You’ve done, I will praise Your name every day for the rest of my life.”
Ginny saw where Gavin was as she came into the chapel. He was kneeling in front of the statue of Jesus on the platform where Pastor Dean gave his sermons. The room, other than Gavin’s voice, was eerily still.
“I love her. She’s having my child. Take my life for theirs. I was too stupid to appreciate what I had. Is that why You took them away from me? I wasn’t even brave enough to tell her I love her. Why would she love me after the filth I did?”
Ginny couldn’t bear it anymore. She went to his side, dropping to her knees to place her arms around him.
“Gavin … I’m here … It was just a terrible mistake.”
Reaper abruptly raised his head. When she saw his face ravaged with grief, she leaned into him. Turning around to sit, she pulled his head to her chest and began slowly rocking him.
“I’m here … I never left you … I could never leave you … ever. I love you.”
Gavin’s heartrending sobs tore at her heart.
“I thought I lost you and the baby.”
“Your son is fine. Snug as a bug in a rug,” she crooned, continuing to rock him.
“I love you.”
“I love you, wild man.”
“I spent nine and a half years in what I considered hell. It took me one hour thinking I lost you forever to find out what true hell was. Every minute, every second I spent in that hole was worth it to have you. I would do it over a hundred times over if that’s what I have to do to deserve you.
“God didn’t punish me by making me suffer through the years; every single thing was preparing me to love you, and I will cherish you for the rest of my life.”
Ginny wiped her tears away when she gasped in awe. “Gavin … look.”
Reaper raised his head, and he saw the woman he loved more than breathing holding out her hand. Placing his hand in hers, Reaper realized what she was staring at so reverently.
The statue of Jesus caught the sun’s rays as it lowered in the sky, and as it did, the statue glowed in an ethereal light. Their linked hands were covered in the light spreading across their arms.
Before today, Reaper would have said it was a trick of the light. Now Reaper knew, without a doubt, what they were being given … a blessing.
Reaper reverently lowered his head, accepting the healing power of God’s and Ginny’s love. The lighting, the blessing he was being given, cut with the skill and finesse of a laser to where he needed it the most—Gavin’s heart and soul, which had been locked behind the steel door of Reaper’s heart.
The steel door opened, and the light targeted the soul buried beneath years of pain and humiliation. It barely stirred as the pure light of God’s and Ginny’s love lightened the darkness, then it began slowly opening like a flower unfurling in the first rays of sun. Still, the frightened soul fought to remain hidden, afraid. Reaper intuitively understood why.
While he would always need God’s and Ginny’s love, he had to love himself.
Reaper concentrated and reached down with an imaginary hand, pulling Gavin out of the ashes and into the bright light of his and Ginny’s love and into God’s loving arms.
Opening his eyes, Gavin found himself staring at his and Ginny’s intertwined hands as the bright light faded away, returning to its home—heaven.
“Did that just happen?” Ginny asked shakily.
“Yes, it did.” Gavin would never doubt love again.
A movement had Ginny and him looking to see Paster Dean standing in the aisle. Behind him were Willa, Viper, Silas, Trudy … everyone who was important in his life was there to share his new beginning.
Pastor Dean spoke as he walked down the aisle toward them, the others following after about him. “Mathew 5:15-16: Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Thank you, Father, for letting us witness your miracle. We all are truly blessed.”
Gavin stood, helping Ginny to her feet. They immediately found themselves in the middle of a circle that would offer them a lifetime of love and support to draw on in times of need and give back when others needed the same.
Gavin lay his hand on Ginny’s belly. “This isn’t the miracle God has given me. He gave me one the day you were born, a second when you told me you loved me, a third when my son was created, and today … when He carried me home.”
Chapter Fifty-One
Gavin made sure his shirt was neatly tucked into the waistband of his pants before he entered the diner. Striding to the counter, he didn’t sit down, just stood there until Marty noticed him as he waited on the customers.
Seeing that he wasn’t taking a seat, Marty rumbled over to him with his notepad and pen at the ready. “What in the fuck do you want?”
“I love Ginny very much. I promise to love and cherish her each day. I am going to marry Ginny if she will have me. May I have your blessing?”
Marty’s eyes crinkled at the corners, and his jowls wobbled as if he didn’t know what to say.
“You going to keep staying away when she comes to the diner?”
“Yes.”
“Then you have my blessing … fuckwad.”
Gavin knocked on Silas’s door.
Silas opened the door with a friendly smile. “Why did you knock? Come on in.”
Gavin stepped inside, seeing all Ginny’s brothers were there for their Sunday dinner. They were lounging in the living room.
Silas looked at him curiously as he stood there formally.
“I love Ginny, and I know how much Ginny loves you. If I can convince her to marry me, I will no longer have one brother but eight. I promise Ginny won’t never need for anything, and I promise to provide for her and any children we may have to the best of my abilities. May I ask Ginny to marry me?”
Silas looked to each of his brothers, receiving their nods, before he walked toward Gavin and held out his hand. “You have our blessing. Welcome to the family, brother.”
Ginny’s brothers all shook his hand in the order they were born. After Fynn’s handshake, Gavin excused himself and went outside. With Suki following, he walked across the property until he came to a fenced-off area. Unlatching the gate, he walked in until he knelt at the grave of Ginny’s father.