Guardian of the Fountain (19 page)

      
Brant
turned around to look at his new father-in-law. “If you honestly have no ill
feelings toward anyone in this party or the garden, you’ll be fine.”

      
They all
reached the heavy door at the end of the tunnel. Arturo pushed it open, and
they filed in. Wayne was last to enter. He stepped tentatively into the garden,
and soon as his big toe touched the ground, he cringed, waiting for the lethal
punch from the garden.
When it didn’t come, he relaxed and walked in.

      
Dianne gasped. “This is
so beautiful,” she said in awe.

      
“You can’t
find this in Texas.” Wayne pointed to a tropical bloom that was nearly a foot
in diameter.

      
Marla stood
at the beginning of the path and swiped her finger across the screen of her
phone. Twinkle lights weaving through the garden danced in time to the
classical music cued by Marla’s phone. She beamed. “Let’s get this started!”

      
“I’ve
brought you all here tonight to renew my vows to Chrissie, since she doesn’t
remember them.” Brant gestured toward Wayne and Dianne. “And since you weren’t there
to witness the ceremony.”

      
“Oh, that’s
so thoughtful.” Diane’s eyes began to mist over.

      
Marla
handed Chrissie a bouquet of flowers and hugged her tightly.
“Love you, my bestie,”
she whispered.

      
“It’ll be your turn
next, Marla.” Chrissie smiled.

      
A string of
white Christmas lights lined the path down to the pool. The water lapped up
onto the shore. The sound of the breeze through the leaves calmed the air. At
the water’s edge, a large canopy of flowers framed the fountain.

      
Brant
pulled Chrissie underneath the canopy. He carefully handed the baby to María.
His eyes, soft and
loving, turned to Chrissie.

“I know that we’ve been
through hell and back. For a short time, we were separated, but we found our
way back to each other. You fiercely guarded this place and me with your life
more than once, risking everything to keep the people you love safe. For that,
you are also a true guardian. I love you, Chrissie. I fell in love with your
Texan accent, your strong will, and how you do things your way. Like going into
labor and taking down a drug cartel at the same time.” Everyone chuckled. He
reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a ring. Five large diamonds set
across the band sparkled under the white twinkling lights strung around the
garden. He slid it onto her left ring finger. “The hardest thing I ever
experienced was when the doctors handed me your ring. Now I have the pleasure
of returning it to you. I promise to guard your heart, love you till my last
breath, and keep you as a part of my soul forever.”

      
Chrissie stared down at the
ring. It fit perfectly, not just in size, but symbolically too. She had always
bought her jewelry from department stores. Nothing she had ever worn could
compare to the sparkler on her finger. The splendid feeling of being spoiled
lifted her spirits high as the sky.

She took a deep breath and spoke.
“Brant, my head may have forgotten you for a short time, but my heart never
did. It knew you the whole time and ached to be next to yours. You did
everything in your power to make sure we did survive this. You gave me back my
life, and now we get to share our happiness with our little Abby Rose. My
promise is to love you and stay by your side forever.” She squeezed his hands
and smiled. “I don’t have a ring for you, but it still holds true—I am
yours and you are mine. I commit to you and the garden.”

She knelt down, scooping up the
water with her hand, and drank from it. It tasted crisp, cool, and mildly
sweet. The water swished through her body, healing the leftover effects of
illness. She finally felt one-hundred-percent better. A breeze rushed down
through the volcano, picking up leaves and flower petals off the ground and
carrying them swirling up into the air. The pulsing magic sounded louder than
before. The exotic birds in the canopy squawked and called to their lovers.
Chrissie stood and faced Brant. The magic music calmed and softened.

 
He beamed at her, holding a simple gold
band between his thumb and forefinger. “Don’t worry about the ring. You already
gave me one, and I kept it.”

Chrissie took it from him and
slid it onto his ring finger. They both looked deeply into each other’s eyes,
content in the moment until Arturo cleared his throat. “Aren’t you going to
kiss the bride?”

“Of course. You don’t have to
tell me twice!’ Brant enveloped Chrissie in his arms and bent his head down to
kiss her.

Although the kiss was scaled
down for public view, it held all the same tenderness and love that Chrissie
could hope for in a wedding kiss. It was perfect. Cheers from the small group
erupted.

      
The life-giving water lapped
calmly against the dark soil of the bank. The future looked bright, happy, and
it could go on forever with Brant at her side. Maybe her parents would choose
to live here and drink the water too. The possibilities were endless.

      
The garden was safe, her family
was all here, she was healthy, she and Brant had found their way back to each
other—and that was all that mattered.

The End

More from the Author

“Haley’s Song” Western/Historical Romance, Published by Vinspire
Publishing

“My Big Hairy Romance” From the collection of short stories of
“Strange and Lovely”

“Bite Suit” Reflective Esay, Eastern Arizona College’s “Voice”

“Sunshine”
 
Reflective
Esay, Eastern Arizona College’s “Voice”

Many more stories in the works…

Facebook: Author Jennifer Bryce

Blog: [email protected]