Where We Found Our Home by Natasha Bishop

 

Lincoln

8 months later

“Stop fidgeting, asshole. You’re making me nervous.”

Dom stops messing with his cufflinks to flip Isaiah off. “Shut up, asshole. I’m just straightening them out.”

“What do either of you dumb shits have to be nervous about? Are you getting married?”

“Just tell me the truth. How long until you tell her the story? I need to be prepared for my future sister-in-law to give me shit for the rest of my life.”

This damn fool.

“I’m not gonna tell her the story of how this band of idiots came to be. We made a deal. She knows that and judges me mercilessly for it. But some poor unfortunate souls have to settle for you jackasses for the story to come out.”

“Good, so it’s never coming out then,” Shane adds.

“That was the plan. Now back to important shit. You ready for today, man?” Kai asks.

“I’ve been ready since the day I proposed.”

The moment my mom and Angela heard we were engaged, they went into wedding planning mode. It’s been exhausting. I had no idea there were so many options for centerpieces. Ciara and I almost ran away to elope, but neither of us wanted to suffer through the shit storm our families would rain down on us for that.

I would take the craziness of the past eight months over the months of Eddie’s bullshit any day though.

We’ve come a long way in the past eight months. Ciara released her debut novel, and it was a huge hit. Sales definitely increased even more when a news article connected her with the story about Eddie Brighton. At first, she shied away from making any statements to the public about it. She wanted to move on with her life, but then she realized that there are probably a ton of women and men out there who are suffering at the hands of unstable psychopaths like him, and she wanted to help them in any way she could. I’ve never been prouder of her.

The man who gave Ciara’s therapy file to Eddie was arrested. Ciara still admires Dr. Goodwin and would recommend her to anyone, but after everything that happened, she felt more comfortable finding a local therapist here to start over with. She still had a lot to work out with her need for control and feeling unworthy of saving. She also had to cope with the fact that she killed Eddie. I felt no remorse whatsoever for the fact that he was dead, and I know she didn’t either, but she struggled with the fact that she was responsible for a loss of life. She’s come a long way in that regard, and her nightmares are almost non-existent at this point.

I started seeing a therapist myself. I needed to speak to a professional about my guilt over everything with Erica. A lot of my insecurities about that situation came back with a vengeance when I almost lost Ciara. The guys all supported me in my journey with therapy, another reason why I’m proud to have all of them stand by me today.

Michael and Carter make their way into the room. They were wrangling the kids together for their duties. Nevaeh insisted on being the flower girl, as if there was another option. Malcolm and Niecy are the ushers, and they are taking their roles very seriously.

“Okay, everyone’s set,” Michael tells me as he adjusts his tie.

“Let’s go get me married.”

“You nervous?” Isaiah asks, standing by my side as my best man.

“Not at all.” It’s the truth. I’m excited to see Ciara walk toward me, but I’m not nervous at all. I’m just ready to get started with the rest of our lives.

Nevaeh skips down the aisle, making a show of tossing the white flowers on the ground. She almost manages to steal the show, and I have the biggest smile on my face as she skips toward me. She stops in front of me and motions for me to bend down to her level. I do and she plants a big kiss on my cheek.

“I love you, Linky. I can’t wait for Ciara to be my auntie.”

“I can’t wait either, Short Stack.” She bounces off to her seat.

Ciara’s bridesmaids make their way down the aisle, one by one. Reggie, Nina, Sasha, Simone, Sarah, and Brittany last. Ciara refused to decide who would be her maid of honor so she told them they had to decide amongst themselves. They decided to have a battle of movie knowledge—Nina’s idea. Brittany won, and on a Harry Potter question no less. I’d expect nothing less from my beautiful bride and her band of misfits.

Finally, Ciara steps out arm in arm with her mom, and I’m stunned speechless. She looks absolutely stunning. Her dress has a V-neck cut that exposes the curves of her breasts. The top of her dress hugs to her body perfectly before fanning out to a floor length gown, covered in lace that makes her look like a goddess. I’m a lucky-ass man.

She makes it to me and grabs my hand. Angela kisses one of my cheeks and pats the other one with her hand before turning to hug Ciara and sitting in her seat by Nevaeh.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

“You look beautiful.” Her brown cheeks blush.

My dad is officiating the wedding for us. He was ordained online and is very proud of himself for doing so. He takes us through the ceremony and then, just like that, we’re married.

When it’s time to kiss the bride, I take full advantage. There are cheers everywhere, and I keep going until Nevaeh yells that we’re gross. I laugh and pull away.

“You’re starting off this marriage by being extra, I see,” Ciara smiles.

“I’m just starting it the way I want it to last, Mrs. Cole.”

“I do like the sound of that.”

Ciara

Holy. Shit. I am a married woman. If you would’ve told me a year ago I’d be celebrating my wedding right now, I’d have told you you were crazy.

As much as the entire wedding planning process overwhelmed me, I have to say the moms did their thing. Everything is so gorgeous, and I’m honored to be here with these people who own my heart and this man who owns my soul.

The moms set up a cocktail hour just for Lincoln and me so that we could eat in peace before having to mingle all night long. We used that time to do umm…other things. So now I’m starving, but I’m in too good of a mood to be hangry.

I spot Nina across the room, checking in on Jada and Logan. I turn to Lincoln and kiss him on the cheek. “I’ll be back.”

A lot has happened over the last eight months. I’m an actual published author now. My mom moved to Austin to be closer to me and her “future grandkids,” who don’t exist. Not that we don’t want them. We talked about it and we definitely want kids, but now that we’re not living in fear anymore we want to just enjoy each other, drama free, for a little bit.

A lot of good has happened, but a lot of sad too. Both of Nina’s parents tragically passed away in a train accident on their way to New Orleans. Nina became the sole guardian of Logan and Jada, and it’s been a tough adjustment for all of them so far.

I can’t imagine what they’re going through. I know they all held resentment for their parents for being gone so often, but now that they’re not coming back, I’m sure they have no idea how to feel. Nina does a good job at putting on a tough front for the kids, but she is stressed beyond belief. Logan has become even quieter than he was before. It’s like he thinks if he just blends in with the wall and doesn’t cause trouble, nothing else bad can happen. Jada never wants Nina to leave her sight.

“Hey, gorgeous.” Nina turns around and hugs me. I ask Logan and Jada if they’d be okay if Nina steps outside with me for a minute. Logan just nods, and Jada looks worried, but she says it’s okay.

We step out onto the venue’s patio, admiring the gorgeous flower wall the moms had put together. “How are you doing?”

She shakes her head and wags her finger at me, rejecting my concern. “Uh-uh. No you don’t. Today is your day—you don’t need to check on me.”

“You are my sister, Nina. I don’t just push you to the side.”

“I’m fine, really.”

She’s not fine. She’s absolutely not fine. But I won’t completely call her out on it right now. I’ve been where she is. I’ve been the one carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders, refusing to share any of the burden with anyone else. “Okay, sure. But I have a surprise for you anyway.” Her brows rise in question. “Sasha is going to keep Logan and Jada for the weekend so that you can have some time to decompress.”

“What? No. No. I can’t do that. Jada will freak out.”

I grab her hands in mine. “We talked it through with her earlier today, and she’s excited to hang out with Nevaeh. Reggie and Michael are gonna bring Malcolm and Niecy by, too, so I think she’ll be distracted enough. If it gets to be too much for her, you can cut your weekend short, but you deserve to try. We are going to get you all through this. Together. Take the break, Nina.”

I won’t take no for an answer, but I do give her the time to process the idea. She sighs and looks away wearily. She makes eye contact with someone across the room, and the look on her face has me turning to see who she’s looking at. I turn in time to see Isaiah break eye contact with her and walk away. Hmm. The tension between those two is bound to come to a head. If anyone can pull her from the brink of despair, I think Isaiah and his joker personality might be the one. But she’s not ready to hear that so I leave it. Baby steps.

“Okay, okay. I’ll do it. Thank you, Ci. Really.” She squeezes my shoulder and heads back inside.

When I come back inside I see Lincoln dancing with his mom, and the sight puts a smile on my face. He sees me and whispers something to his mom before heading over to me. He holds out a hand, and I grab it to join him on the dance floor.

“So. This is our life now,” he says.

“Yep. What do you think so far?”

“I think this has been the best ride of my life, and I can’t wait for the next wave, Angel.”

“Good answer.”

“I thought so.”

I lift my head from his shoulder and stare into those warm brown eyes. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For loving me when I didn’t love myself enough. For setting me free. For being my home.” I realize that I was beyond lost when I left Baltimore. I was wandering without a home. I found my true home here, not just in Austin, but in Lincoln. As long as I have him, I’ll never be lost again.

“Always, Angel,” he promises.

I seal that promise with a kiss.

The end