Trusting His Promise (Love on Sanctuary Shores #5)

Epilogue

“I think that’s everything.” Jo glanced at the overflowing wagon on the front walk, piled high with everything she and Sam would need for the day.

“I’m pretty sure you forgot the kitchen sink,” Dad joked.

“Very funny.” Jo pressed a hand to her stomach, trying to quiet the whole school of minnows that seemed to be flapping their fins simultaneously in there. She took a deep breath, the lilac-scented air calming her. God had blessed them with a perfect late May day.

“Should we head over to the church then?” Dad asked.

Jo nodded, reaching for Sam’s hand.

“Ew, Mommy.” Sam pulled her hand away. “Your hand is all sweaty.”

Dad chuckled. “Nervous?”

Jo shook her head, then nodded. “Incredibly.”

Dad laughed. “Don’t worry. That’s normal. The day your mother and I got married, I threw up three times.”

“Ew, Opa.” Sam wrinkled her nose. “That’s not romantic.”

Jo laughed. “And where did you learn that word?”

“Mr. Beckett taught me,” Sam said proudly. “I asked him where you were going on your honeymoon, and he said somewhere romantic.”

“Oh really?” Jo raised an eyebrow. She hadn’t been able to get a word out of Beckett about their honeymoon. “What else did he say?”

“That I couldn’t tell you anything,” Sam said cheerfully. “I wish I could have a honeymoon.”

“What do you need a honeymoon for?” Dad growled. “You’re going to have a granddaughter-moon with me and Karen. It’s going to be way more fun than any honeymoon.”

“Even funner than your honeymoon?” Sam asked.

Karen elbowed Dad. “She got you there.”

Dad’s face reddened, and Jo laughed. He and Karen had gotten married last month, and she had never seen her dad happier. When she and Beckett got back from their honeymoon, they would move into Beckett’s house—which would also serve as headquarters for the filming of Beckett’s sequel starting at the end of summer.

They turned the corner, and there, standing right in front of the church, was Beckett, already in his tux.

Jo’s heart leaped, and the minnows in her stomach all folded their fins and stopped flapping.

This was right.

She never could have seen it coming, but in Beckett, God had given her everything she could ever hope for in a man. In a husband.

A thrill ran up her back at the thought that in a few hours that was what he’d be.

“I like him,” Dad said, as if he’d read her mind. “I never would have put the two of you together in a million years. Just goes to show I’m not as smart as God.”

Jo laughed. “No, I suppose you’re not. But you’re the one who told me that people can change. That Christ can change them. And you were right about that. So I guess that makes you pretty smart.”

“That it does.” Dad acknowledged. “And don’t you forget it.”

“I won’t.” Jo stopped walking as they reached the path that led to the church doors. She swallowed past a sudden lump in her throat. “I love you, Dad. Thank you for . . . everything.”

Dad stopped too. “I love you too, Josephine.” He pulled her into a hug.

“And I love you both,” Sam declared, wrapping her arms around their hug.

“Me too.” Karen joined the embrace.

“Now.” Dad cleared his throat as he let go. “I think we’d best get you to your groom. He’s looking mighty impatient.”

Sure enough, Beckett stood halfway down the path, as if he’d stopped to give them a moment. But as soon as their hug broke apart, he charged toward them and scooped the running Sam into his arms. He held out a hand to Dad and shook it. “Sir. Thank you.”

Dad nodded. “You know—” He stopped and cleared his throat. “You can call me Dad. If you want to. No pressure.”

“I— Uh—” It was Beckett’s turn to clear his throat. “I would be honored. Dad.” His eyes shone, and Jo pressed a hand to her chest.

If this day got any more perfect, her heart might just burst.

“What about me?” Sam asked.

Dad looked at her. “You already call me Opa.”

“No, I mean, can I call Mr. Beckett dad?” she asked shyly.

“Oh, Sammycakes.” Tears choked off Jo’s words, as Beckett squeezed Sam so hard that the girl grunted, then giggled.

“That would be perfect,” Beckett said. “If it’s okay with your mom.”

Sam looked at her. “Would that make you sad, Mommy?”

Jo laughed, swiping at the tears on her cheeks. “That would make me happier than I’ve ever been.”

“Good.” Sam turned to Beckett and pressed his cheeks between her hands. “Because I think you’re going to be a very good dad.”

Beckett sniffed, and Jo saw the tears in his eyes too. “I’m going to try my best.”

“Okay.” Jo gave her eyes a final swipe. “Sam and I had better go get changed. Is anyone else here yet?”

“Looks like it.” Beckett nodded over Jo’s shoulder, and she turned to see Lisa and Alex coming up the path. The two had finally smartened up and started dating, and they were both going to be in the wedding, along with Sadie, who had flown in for the wedding. Sam would be Jo’s maid of honor. And Andre would be Beckett’s best man.

The next hour was a flurry of activity as the women rushed to get ready and the guys—well, Jo didn’t know exactly what the guys were doing, but she knew she couldn’t wait to see Beckett again. And then Dad was knocking on the door, telling them it was time.

Jo smoothed a hand down the simple satin A-line wedding dress that Sam said made her look like a movie star, took a breath, and looped her arm through Dad’s. They followed the others out of the dressing room to wait in the lobby.

“Mommy.” Sam turned around right before it was her turn to walk down the aisle, the pink chiffon of her dress swirling. “I’m really happy for us.”

Jo laughed. “I am too, Sammycakes.”

The bridesmaids made their way down the aisle, followed by Sam, who walked with beautiful poise to the front of the church. And then Dad was leading Jo into the sanctuary, and everyone was standing, and the music was swelling. But Jo could only focus on Beckett—her future husband—whose face glowed as he watched her walk toward him.

When they reached the front of the church, Dad hugged them both, and then Beckett took her hand and led her to Pastor Olsen. Jo tried to soak in every moment of the ceremony: the hymns, the readings, the prayers, Pastor Olsen’s message that their promise to each other was built on an even greater promise—God’s promise of salvation.

Jo couldn’t help the tears that came to her eyes at that. Over the past several months, she had dug deeply into God’s Word and studied his promises. There were so many—and he had kept them all. It was mind-boggling and soul-filling at the same time.

And then it was time for the vows. Jo’s heart fluttered as Beckett turned and took both of her hands in his. “Jo—” His voice cracked, and he cleared his throat. “I’ve pretended to fall in love a lot of times for movies. And as I read those lines and went through those motions, it seemed nice enough. For other people. But I was certain it wasn’t for me.” He smiled ruefully. “So imagine my surprise when I came back to this island, where I had experienced so much hurt. Where I had hurt you so much.” He squeezed her hands, his eyes tearing up again, and Jo squeezed back to remind him that she forgave him. “And the first person I saw was you.” He shook his head. “Proof that God has a sense of humor.”

Beckett paused as Jo laughed along with their friends in the pews.

“And imagine my surprise when I found myself falling for you—completely, totally, irrevocably. Even when you didn’t want anything to do with me.”

Jo laughed again, shaking her own head at her foolish stubbornness.

“And imagine my even greater surprise when eventually you started to let me in. Started to let me be your friend. Started to welcome me into your family.” He glanced toward Sam. “Let me get to know your amazing daughter.”

Sam waved, and everyone laughed, but the tears streaked down Jo’s cheeks again, as she considered how much this man loved her daughter.

“I even got to know your dad. And the woman who would become his wife.” He looked over and smiled at Dad and Karen. “Those days were . . .” He blinked a few times. “I didn’t know having a family could be like that.” His voice was thick. “And knowing that I get to have this family at my side every day?” He shook his head. “That’s greater than anything I ever could have imagined.” His voice grew stronger, and he took a step closer to her. “I love you, Jo, and I promise you that I will love you, and I will love our family, all my days.”

Pastor Olsen turned to Jo, and she wiped her eyes and then began her own vows. “If you think you’re surprised to be standing up here with me, imagine how surprised I am to be standing up here with you,” she started, and Beckett and the congregation laughed.

Jo smiled, feeling her voice steady. “When you first returned to the island, I was determined to have nothing to do with you. And I would have been successful at it too, if it weren’t for your persistence. It seemed like you kept popping up everywhere I went. At first I was annoyed. And then I was curious. And then, before I could figure out how it had happened, I wanted it. I wanted to be with you. To talk to you and laugh with you. To hold your hands and kiss you. And I think that scared me more than letting go of the past. Because I wasn’t sure I could trust in the promise of the future.”

She managed a wobbly smile. “But you are the one who has shown me what it means to trust. What it means to surrender myself to God’s will. What it means to know his forgiveness covers every one of my sins.” Her lips trembled, and she had to take a moment to get her emotions under control. “I thought I would never—could never—know what true love was. But you show it to me every day. In the way you say it, yes. But also in the way you live it. In the way you listen to me and encourage me. In the way you play with Sam and laugh with my dad. In the way you worship the Lord with us. I can’t wait to spend every day of the rest of my life with you. And I promise I will love you, and I will love our family, all my days.”

Jo let out a breath as she finished her vows. Now the tears could come if they wanted to. But instead of crying, Jo found she couldn’t stop smiling. Couldn’t stop as she and Beckett exchanged rings. Couldn’t stop as Pastor Olsen pronounced them husband and wife. Couldn’t stop as they walked back down the aisle to the applause of their friends—their big island family.

The moment they stepped out of the sanctuary, Beckett turned and swept Jo up into his arms, spinning her in a circle. Her smile gave way to a laugh as she lowered her lips to his.

When he stopped, she tried to wiggle out of his arms to greet the guests starting to file out of the sanctuary. “Beckett, let me go,” she laughed, when his grip didn’t loosen.

But he shook his head and caught her lips in another kiss. “I’ll never let you go. I promise.”

Thanks so much for reading TRUSTING HIS PROMISE! I hope you loved Jo and Beckett's story. Return to Sanctuary Island in the next book in the series, as widowed schoolteacher Tom Fuller finds his happily ever after in Wishing for Mistletoe by Robin Lee Hatcher.