Jack grins. “Good. I’m glad you guys figured that out before you wasted years being apart.”
“Me too.” I think about how hard those few days were and know that Oliver is who I want and need. “Me too.”
Thirty-Four
OLIVER
~One Year Wedding Anniversary~
She’s been blindfolded for the last thirty minutes and pissed off the entire time. Maren hates surprises, and I can only imagine how crazy her overactive imagination has been as we drove here. However, today matters more than she can ever know, and I want things to be perfect.
“This is ridiculous,” she complains as we approach the farmhouse.
“I know.”
“No, you don’t because unless you’re blindfolded, which I really hope you’re not since you’re driving, you can see where we are.”
“It’s called a surprise.”
Her head whips toward mine. “I loathe them.”
“Really? I couldn’t tell. You’ve been such a ray of sunshine this whole trip.”
If she could glare at me, I’m pretty sure she would be. “How much longer?” Her voice isn’t full of vinegar.
“Just a few more minutes. I promise that this is a good surprise.” I lean over, taking her hand in mine. “Trust me.”
“I do trust you, I just want to know.”
“Hence, the trust.”
Maren sighs heavily and leans her head back. I allowed Stella to tie the blindfold on me so I could make sure I couldn’t see anything through it. I couldn’t, which means Maren can’t either, so that has probably been the biggest point of frustration for my wife.
We take the twists in the road and arrive at the farmhouse. It’s a beautiful property with green hills, a little bridge that goes over the small creek that cuts across the fields, and a modest house that overlooks it all.
Anyone can understand why this farm was worth keeping. Maren and I came here for a week after my second round of chemo. It was exactly what we both needed—peace and quiet. I love my family, but they’ve been a pain in the ass. At least once a day, someone from my bloodline came to the cabin.
One of those days was one Stella regretted very much as Maren and I weren’t dressed when she walked in without knocking.
The last few months of our lives have been focused on making it work and finding the balance between working and spending time together. I am tired of it. We both are. It’s been hard, but in the end, Maren is worth all the hardship. Before her, I never knew love like this, and I am going to hold on to it with both hands.
Today is the start of that. It’s a celebration of where we are and what we’ve overcome. I’ve been cancer free the last six months, and we got through it stronger than ever before. Maren has been at my side the whole time, never wavering. She has shown me what true love is, and I never want her to wonder how I feel about her.
I park the car, and she smirks.
“What?”
“I know where we are.”
“And you couldn’t let me think I surprised you?”
She bites her lower lip. “I could, but then that wouldn’t be fun.”
“You may know one thing, but I promise, you have no idea about the rest.”
At least, I hope she doesn’t.
Her arms cross, and she harrumphs, which is confirmation that she doesn’t.
I help her out of the car and lead her up to the porch. “It smells like the farm.”
“Nothing says romance like manure.”
She laughs. “I love it here.”
“And I love you.”
“I love you, babe.”
“Good. That makes this so much easier.”
I remove her blindfold, and she looks out. Everyone we love is here. Her aunts and uncles, my brothers and sisters, even Alex who flew in from Egypt when I told him I could’ve died and he wasn’t here. I’m not above using guilt to get what I want. They are all here to witness what should’ve been our beginning.
“What is . . . Aunt Eileen? Uncle John? Devney? I don’t understand . . .”
Her eyes meet mine, swimming with a million questions. “Today is our anniversary.”
She shakes her head. “I know that, but what is our entire family doing here?”
I take her hands and sink down to one knee, pulling out the ring I should have bought for her a year ago. “Maren Parkerson, the last year has been a rocky road. We didn’t start out like most couples. You came into my life, turned it upside down and made me a husband when we weren’t even dating. Then I fell for you. I fell harder than I knew I was capable of. Now, I would give up my own life before letting you go. I love you more than any man has loved a woman. More than my heart can even contain.” Her tears are streaming, and I can hear others catching their breaths. “I married you one year ago without really knowing that I wanted to spend the rest of my life beside you. So, I’m asking you today, as the woman I love with everything that I am, will you marry me?”
She falls to her knees, taking my face in her hands. “You beautiful, wonderful man, I would marry you every day of my life.”
I lean in, kissing her softly, and we both smile, breaking away. I slip the ring onto her finger. “Was this a good surprise?”
“The best.”
“It’s not over,” I tell her.
“There’s more?”
I glance at Stella and Devney, who come rushing up. They give us each a hug and then pull Maren toward the house. “Come on, today is your wedding day, too.”
I wink and watch the woman I love walk away to get ready for what is our true wedding.
“I can’t believe you did all this,” Maren says as I close the door to the master bedroom.
Today has been a really long day, but seeing her in her wedding dress brought me back to our first wedding. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”
“Yes, but . . . it was so sweet, Ollie. I’m so happy, and now we’re married without any lies.”
I pull her into my arms. “No lies.”
Three months after I found out I had cancer, we came clean to all of Maren’s family. We felt it was the right thing to do. At first, they were really upset at the level of deceit, but as we kept explaining, they settled on a lot of laughing.
That day, I promised myself that I would make sure her family knew the truth about how I felt about her.
“I wish . . . I wish my father could’ve seen this one,” Maren says hesitantly.
“I do too, but I like to think he was here.”
She plays with my collar, which she loves to do when she’s deep in thought. “This house was his and my mother’s, and when we’re here, I like to think they’re smiling down on us. Did you invite Linda?” she asks before meeting my eyes.
“I did, but I knew she wouldn’t respond.”
“Yeah, I don’t know why I asked.”
I tilt my head, forcing her to look up. “Because you still care.”
Linda shut out the entire McVee family from her life as though they never existed. No one other than Maren seems to care, and she still reaches out to the woman once a month, hoping that she’ll have a chance to ask for a few of her father’s belongings. Linda has ignored every phone call.