The annual Christmas party held at the K-9 unit headquarters included several special guests. General Hall was there to award an official commendation to Stryker for his exemplary work in the field. The proud K-9 accepted his medal on four legs, one of them a custom-made prosthesis. Although it was Kyle Roark who paraded the dog up to the general, little Natalie accompanied them and carefully explained to all present what a hero her new best friend was. Applause rocked the building.
Rachel was so happy and proud she could hardly speak. If someone had told her a few weeks ago what was going to happen in her life, she wouldn’t have believed it. God had smoothed out the impassable road and was continuing to do so.
When General Hall followed Kyle, Natalie and Stryker back to the table where Rachel waited, he was all smiles. She mirrored his grin and swiped away a few happy tears as she stood tall and saluted. “Thank you, sir. Thank you for everything.”
Hall nodded. “As you were. I’d say it was my pleasure if I hadn’t had to pull so many strings to keep you out of trouble. You and the doc didn’t make my job any easier.”
“You went beyond the call of duty when you got Peter to sign over custody of my niece,” Rachel said. “I can’t believe he agreed.”
“I can be very persuasive when I have to be,” the general said.
Kyle laughed nervously. “I hope the same goes for me.” He dropped to one knee and took Rachel’s hand. “Will you marry me?”
“Yes!” Her eyes jumped to the general, then back to Kyle. “But, how can we? I can’t marry my boss without getting us both in trouble, especially you.”
“Don’t worry. My enlistment is up soon and I’m planning to resume private practice. If you want to stay in the air force we’ll just live off the base and you can commute.”
So happy she could hardly believe it, Rachel leaned on Kyle’s shoulder and sighed. “Okay, but are you sure? I know you love the air force as much as I do.”
“I rejoined because I was running away from life,” he said. “I had to have God’s help forgiving myself and finding a way to move on.”
“Sometimes we all do.” She snuggled closer. “I wonder if I’ll ever be able to forgive Peter.”
“He did do two good things,” Kyle reminded her. “He brought us together and gave us our first daughter.”
Rachel knew she was blushing. “First?”
“God willing.” Kyle pulled her into his arms and kissed her under the mistletoe. “Merry Christmas, honey.”
Thankful beyond her wildest dreams, she smiled up at him and said, “It certainly is.”
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