Read Online Her Wedding Wish by Jillian Hart - Free Book Online Page B

waiting. He was sort of nervous about this date. He wished the sound of her voice could tug at some recognition, but no, nothing. He turned his attention to the page in front of him. It was all done up with pink-and-gold ribbons and lace, and a wedding invitation with a date and their parents’ names. The next page was full of personal snapshots someone had taken—maybe Danielle, as the caption read, The Morning of our Wedding.
    He glanced at photos of Danielle in her robe, laughing with her sisters. Hugging her mother. Standing in her wedding dress looking so happy. He’d never seen a more beautiful sight.
    That was his wife. His throat closed. If she had known what was down the road for her, would she still have married him anyway? Failure beat at him, and he closed the album. Set it on the bedside table. Fighting back the terrible sense he had failed his family. One bullet had changed the course of their lives; he feared that old life—and the old Jonas—were gone for good.
    “There. I’ve got everything squared away. Rebecca broke up with her boyfriend so we had some serious stuff to talk about. Thanks for waiting.” Danielle—Dani, as her family called her—swept into the room wearing a knee-length pink dress and it made her look so beautiful that he could not believe his luck.
    What a blessing she was. He pushed away his nervousness. Her smile lit him up like hope as she reached for his hand.
    “So, do you want to go out to dinner with me, handsome?”
    Did he ever. He rose to his feet shakily, wishing he was stronger, the way he used to be—for her. But she didn’t seem to mind as he transferred his weight to the walker. “I’m a married man, lady. Not sure what my wife is going to do if I say yes.”
    When something amused her, little sparkles flashed in her wide brown eyes. “I think she’ll allow it this one time. But if you try to make off with any other women, watch out.”
    “What women? All I can see—will ever be able to see—is you.”
    “There you go, being charming again.” She grabbed her purse—a smaller one than the one she usually dragged around with the kids—and escorted him to the door. “No wonder I fell for you.”
    When she looked at him like that, as if she knew him to the soul, he had to believe everything would turn out all right. That the Lord would not have brought him this far in vain. He just had to keep working hard and believing.
    And getting to know his incredible wife.
    There was a young woman settled on the couch reading a book with brown hair and quiet eyes. She looked up with a shy smile. “Hi, Jonas. You’re doing so great.”
    That was Rebecca, Danielle’s baby sister. He was starting to keep all the sisters straight. He took another step forward. “I’m doing okay. Thanks for watching the kids tonight.”
    “It’s my pleasure. Besides, I owe Dani.”
    Beside him, Danielle shook her head, tugging him gently in the direction of the garage door. “You know that’s not true. I’m here anytime for you. Heaven knows you’ve been there for me, kiddo.”
    The sisters exchanged emotional looks, as if in silent understanding before Danielle opened the door to the garage. “Becca, Spence will be back with the kids in ten minutes tops. He took them to Mr. Paco’s Tacos. He said he’d bring enough food back for you, too.”
    “That brother of ours. He needs his own family. What are we going to do with him?”
    “I don’t know. We can’t marry him off. No woman in her right mind will have him. Not that we haven’t tried to set him up.”
    “To no avail.” A loving joke, apparently, as the sisters nodded knowingly together.
    He hated the walker because he had to struggle to use it. It slowed him down. It made him look less…less than able and less than the man he’d been. All right, so he was less these days, and it was a painful reminder, one he didn’t need. He could see that enough for himself.
    “Call if you have any troubles,” Danielle