Climbing High (29 page)

BOOK: Climbing High

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Jake grimaced and pulled her on to his lap. “Behave yourself or your mother is going to see just how up it is,” he hissed.

“That one is so easy, I’ll leave it alone.” She kissed him.

“Generous. And thank you for doing so.” He kissed the giggle from her lips.

A honk drew their attention to the edge of the park. Thomas stepped out of the stretch limo they’d hired for the day. “Come on, gang, rescue is at hand.” Jake lifted her off his lap and stood.

With a few groans and hisses, the rest of them got to their feet and headed for the limo, not moving nearly as easily as before. “I’ll take the guys, you take the girls.” Ty tugged Sharon down on the seat beside him and wrapped his arm around her.

“What time shall we say for lunch?”

Siree settled into the curve of Jake’s arm and let a flurry of ideas of when and where flow over her. She left them to decide. Nestling her head on Jake’s shoulder, she breathed in the other half of her soul.

Epilogue

Jake and Siree married in August, the second anniversary of their La Verte ascent. The grounds of his Toronto estate, which the couple now called home, blossomed overnight. Huge urns of gladioli and angel’s trumpet formed a pathway to a wrought iron arch covered with purple morning glory and honeysuckle vine. Their sweet scent competed with the baby’s breath, golden pansies and white dahlias in baskets set around the base of the granite birdbath on which a rectangle of white marble had been laid to serve as an altar.

White and gold satin ribbons decorated the small grouping of chairs and fluttered in a light breeze. Bistro tables under a white pavilion lined the poolside and thousands of tea lights and amber dahlias floated on its surface.

They wanted an informal outdoor wedding with just their closest loved ones. When they started discussing details and Sharon and Ty agreed everything sounded just perfect, Jake had given Siree the look that bound couples together.

Her golden eyes streaming love, Siree had invited her mother and Ty to share the day by celebrating their own wedding, not yet planned. Sharon flew into her daughter’s arms, delighted with the idea. Ty dabbed at his eyes with a blue striped hankie, responding to the joy of two women he’d loved for years. He’d cried even harder when Siree asked him to give her away.

Because Jake couldn’t possibly choose between Sam and Josh, Siree had asked Janice, as well as Sharon to be her second attendant. Janice had followed her everywhere over the last year of pain and danger. Siree felt she deserved to be part of the happy moments. Janice accepted with some hesitation Siree suspected it might owe its existence to the fact that Josh would be there. Jake had told her about Josh’s accusation. When she’d tried to get Janice to see Josh in a better light, her ex-bodyguard had called him a judgmental elitist. Siree hoped the wedding would allow them a chance to shed their first opinions.

Once they had said their vows, the couples would switch. Sharon and Ty wanted only Siree and Jake to stand up with them. “It’ll be the holiest of holy days,” Siree promised, her eyes brimming.

Sharon’s dear friend, the bishop of the Kenora Diocese, said he’d be honored to perform the ceremony when asked. The only journalist present would be a highly-acclaimed studio photographer. He’d signed a confidentiality agreement, along with the caterer, the florist and the string quartet providing the music.

Late afternoon sun laid a golden glow across the treetops and a blush of pink on the outcrop of igneous rock that rose on the south side of the estate. Above it the sky began its transition from mauve to indigo to midnight blue.

They planned for their ceremony to end at sunset to commemorate the first time they’d held each other. Sharon thought the idea of a candlelight service to follow most intriguing and Ty backed her immediately. “I don’t care if we’re married in the back of a bus at rush hour,” he proclaimed. “As long as Sharon will be mine soon.”

Finchley sobbed from the front row on the groom’s side. Gribbs wore dark glasses to hide his eyes though the sun sat low on the horizon. Frankie, Lara, Sig, and Gretta had flown in two days earlier so as not to miss the Hen and Stag party Sam had insisted on throwing for Jake and Siree. Sam’s escort balanced the numbers on Jake’s side. Josh had elected to come alone, as had Janice. The bishop’s wife, a dear friend of Sharon’s and the Basquall’s, longtime friends of Ty’s, swelled the group.

Siree walked down the aisle to the beautiful strains of “Air from the Water Music Suite” by Handel, feeling that all of nature celebrated with them today. She had eyes only for the man standing so confidently by the altar. Her sleeveless dress made of chiffon sheath over a silk tube brushed her ankles and fluttered around her. A sweetheart neckline in silk clung to her breasts beneath the sheer chiffon bodice. She carried a simple stem of white orchids with golden throats, the same flower Jake had used to hide the ring he’d given her. She’d asked for an aquamarine stone to match his eyes and he’d found her a rare blue diamond cut like a trillion with a band of white diamonds curving along the base. The shape reminded him of the mountains they’d climbed together, he’d explained. He’d ordered a wedding band of the same blue diamonds to curve beneath the band of white.

She had kept her choice of wedding ring for him a secret, and felt some trepidation when she slipped it on to his fingers, her eyes searching his. She’d chosen the warmth of gold, a solid band with an emerald cut gemstone set into it sideways. The rare cinnamon diamond glowed the same color as her eyes. Jake looked up from the ring, his face stark with love. Thinking of how long he’d fought his way through life alone, she bent and kissed his hand, pledging with that silent gesture to stand by him always.

The bishop introduced them as Jacob and Desiree Ingles. To the uplifting strains of “The Trumpet Voluntary” by Jeremiah Clarke, they turned. They had triumphed over so much to reach this moment and the soaring melody lifted their victory to the heavens. Souls entwined, they had cheated death three times and climbed to a pinnacle of peace and pleasure. The setting sun painted the sky with crimson and gold as they moved into each other’s arms.

A word about the author...

Madelon Smid is nature's child and happiest when she's kayaking a river or skiing down a mountain. Her characters share her love of adventure, risk and living fully.

An avid reader, she discovered the romance novel at fourteen, then found writing them even more satisfying and sold her first romance in 1991.

She parted ways with her first love, romance, to build a successful career as a nonfiction writer, co-authoring the Canadian best sellers
Smart Women
and
Smart Women Get Smarter
. The desire to spin fantasy into gold for her readers drew her back.

She lives with her husband by Diefenbaker Lake in Saskatchewan, where she writes about the strength and passion women and men demonstrate when they conquer the trials of life and love.

http://www.underdesign.ca

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