A Warrior’s Heart by Misty M. Beller
Epilogue
Brielle’s heart was fuller than seemed possible. How could it be that less than a month before, she’d first laid eyes on this man in nearly this exact spot? It felt as though she’d known him her entire life.
She was a different person now, better for knowing him and his love. Stronger standing beside him, with his strength shoring up her weak places. His prayers gave her more understanding of their heavenly Father.
Evan paused as they walked side by side, hand in hand down the path outside Laurent’s gate. As he turned to her, a weight of emotion clogged her chest.
Not yet. It couldn’t be time to say good-bye yet.
His eyes shone with as much emotion as she felt. He cleared his throat. “I wish I didn’t have to leave so soon, but my superiors expect me back by the end of the year. I’ll return as soon as I can. Four months at the most, less if I can manage it.”
She nodded, but the burn rising up her throat and stinging her eyes wouldn’t let her speak.
He lifted her hands and pressed a kiss to first one glove, then the other. Then his eyes found hers again. “Is there anything you’d like me to bring you back?”
You. Only you. Her heart cried the words, but if she tried to speak them aloud, she would lose the fingernail grip she had on her emotions. Instead, she shook her head. She wanted nothing to slow down his return. Things didn’t matter. Only this man.
Evan pressed her hands flat on his chest and lowered his forehead to hers. “I love you. More than I can say.” His voice roughened, but he pushed on. “I will come back to you. Wait for me. Please.”
He didn’t even have to ask. She would never stop waiting for him until he returned, even if that was until her very last breath.
He lowered his mouth to hers, a kiss so achingly sweet it shattered the last of her defenses. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she kissed him back, her hands gripping his shoulders. How could she let him go?
Lord, protect him. So many things might harm him on the journey, and she had control over none of it.
Only their Father did. Before, God had charged Evan with praying her to safety. Now would be her turn. Prepare the way for him, Father. Station angels on every side to protect him. Bring him back safely to me.
With the peace that settled over her, she eased back from the kiss and took Evan’s face in her hands, so he would have no choice but to see her heart in her gaze. “I love you, too. And I’ll be praying without ceasing for your safe return. There is one thing I’d like you to bring back, but please make sure it doesn’t slow your return.”
A tear glimmered in one of his eyes to match those still flowing down her face. “Anything.” The husky timbre of his voice nearly made her lose control again.
She swallowed down the new surge of emotion and smiled. “A wedding ring.”
His grin was slow in coming, but the joy spread across his face like a spring sunrise after a long cold winter.
He dove in for another kiss, this one not the tender caress of moments before, but a heart-throbbing, blood-rushing promise of much more to come.
When he pulled back, he was laughing. A laugh that bubbled inside her to form an image she would cling to in the months to come.
He locked her gaze with his, his eyes making a solemn vow. “I will. No matter what. And I have a feeling my life with you, Lady Warrior, will never lack adventure.” He leaned in and brushed his lips against the tip of her nose. “And I can’t wait for it to start.”
Keep reading for a sneak peek of A Healer’s Promise, the second book in the BRIDES OF LAURENT series!