THE PERFECT DAY FOR A WEDDING. The clouds hung high, the air crisp, and a flock of birds had just returned to the budding maple and oak trees around the Marshall family winery. The late-afternoon sun poured through the eyelet curtains of the second-floor double bedroom.
Okay, not quite a wedding, but a re-wedding. The kind of wedding that Ham had always wanted.
After fifteen years, Signe called it a vow renewal. But she felt like a bride the way Mama J—as Jenny Calhoun called her—had fixed her hair.
Signe wore a white dress, which she wanted to protest, but maybe they were starting over. Besides, she was giving him a brand-new heart. One without the scars and wounds.
One that God had healed when Ham asked her if he could adopt her son.
God had brought her back to the beginning, to her silly dreams of belonging to Ham.
And he belonged to her, right back.
“You’re gorgeous,” Jenny said. “Ham is going to flip.”
It wasn’t a fancy dress, just to her ankles, and she wore a pair of white Uggs, thanks to the snow still patchy in the yard. The dress had long lacy sleeves, and she wore her hair down, curled, just the way Ham liked it.
Jenny had put her hands on her shoulders and looked at her through the mirror, and now Signe noticed the ring.
She took Jenny’s hand, sizing up the diamond in the simple setting. “He proposed?”
“Again, yes. Last night at the same pizza joint. You’d think he wouldn’t want to be seen there again, but Orion likes to fix the past, so . . . yeah.”
“Fancy.”
“He’s just trying to keep up with your boy,” Jenny said.
“And then some,” Signe said. She liked Jenny. They shared similar experiences.
Similar PTSD.
In fact, she liked his entire team.
They’d stood beside her over the past two months as she testified before Congress about her experiences with former vice president Jackson.
Orion and Ham had joined her in the Oval Office when Isaac White presented her with the National Intelligence Medal for Valor.
Ham and Orion each received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Pavel Tsarnaev’s trial was still months ahead, but she’d given her sworn testimony.
The time for mourning was over. It was time for joy.
And when Ham suggested heading out to the Marshall winery to renew their vows . . . well, she’d do anything for the crazy romantic in Ham.
“I think he’s ready for you,” Mama J said, poking her head into the room. “Your daughter and son are adorable.”
Yes, they were. Aggie was the perfect older sister to a brother who needed time and attention. She’d given him almost all of her zoo—keeping back the unicorn and the fuzzy rabbit—and Ham had converted the third bedroom into a room for a little boy, complete with superheroes on the wall, too many Lego sets, and enough sports equipment to turn the kid into a running back for the Minnesota Vikings.
More, Ham was the perfect father, making up for every moment his stepmother had wounded him.
She couldn’t wait to re-marry this man.
Jenny handed her a bouquet of lilies, and Signe followed her down the stairs.
The winery hosted tastings and weddings in a small portico area, and now, despite the chill in the air and the twilight hour, twinkle lights lit up the area. Massive heaters lined the outside of the portico. Their friends stood around Ham—Jake and Aria, Orion, his teammate North, who she remembered from Chechnya, Scarlett, and Mr. and Mrs. Marshall.
Ham wore a gray suit, slicked up and handsome, his hair freshly cut. Oh, the man did every look well.
He had one hand on Aggie’s shoulder, the other on Ruslan’s. Her son wore a matching suit, his dark hair wet and combed back. Aggie wore a pretty pink dress, a girlie-girl down to her bones. Signe hadn’t a clue where she got that, but Ham pampered his daughter like a man smitten.
Signe walked into the center of the circle and it closed around her, Jenny taking Orion’s hand.
Ham held out his hands, his eyes in hers. “Hey, Shorty. Thanks for coming.”
“Thanks for the invite, Hamburglar.”
A chuckle went through the circle. Signe handed her bouquet of lilies to Aggie, who beamed at her.
Ham ran his thumbs over the tops of her hands. “Signe, I can’t remember when I started loving you. You were just always there, in my heart. The fabric of my life. Every good memory I have of my childhood includes you.”
A few of those memories rushed through her, and her body heated.
“When we were apart, I think my heart simply couldn’t beat. I tried to move on, tried to make peace with the fact that you were, um, gone . . .” He glanced at Aggie, back to Signe. Right. No need to make their children relive the dark years.
“But I couldn’t. You were imprinted on my heart. And when I found you, I finally understood the great love God has for me. For you. For us. The idea that we cannot be erased from his mind. I love you, Signe. I will never stop loving you. You are my yesterday, my today, and my tomorrow. And I will cherish and honor you the rest of the days of my life.”
Oh Ham. Sheesh, he could make a former spy cry.
The sun was sinking behind him, a glorious display of gold, amber, magenta, and copper spilling across the horizon. A flock of geese honked overhead, returning to the north. Buds dotted the apple trees in the fields nearby.
“Ham, you were my hero from the first day you walked into my life. My heart always knew it, but my head couldn’t believe it. Thank you for not giving up on me. For not letting go. For sacrificing and believing in us. I believe God loves me because he gave me you.” She looked at her children. “And Aggie and Ruslan.”
Ruslan had lost a tooth, and when he grinned up at her she could barely speak.
She looked back at her husband. “Ham, you showed me love. You showed me hope. You showed me God. And I am never leaving your side again. I am yours, for the rest of my life.”
He grinned and moved to kiss her but she backed away. “Not quite yet, number three.” She turned to Jenny and held out her hand. Jenny put the black titanium wedding band in her hand.
Signe held it out to Ham. “Just in case people wonder if you’re taken.”
He put it on. “Very, very taken.”
Then he kissed her, sliding his hand behind her neck, and she laughed while their friends clapped.
“That was beautiful,” Aria said, wiping her cheeks, and she hugged Signe.
Ham clapped Jake on the shoulder as Jake shook his hand. Ham whispered in his ear and Jake laughed. “I know.”
Aggie tugged on his jacket, and Ham looked down at her.
“Now do we get to roast marshmallows?”
“Anything for you, Aggie.”
“Ham, you’re so going to spoil her,” Signe said.
He looked at Signe and grinned. “Oh, Shorty, that’s the point of being a father. To delight in your children. I’m just getting started.”
She pressed her hand to her stomach. Smiled. “Yes, Ham, you are.”
His eyes widened.
She winked, grabbed Aggie’s hand, and went to roast marshmallows.