“You’re making a mistake,” the woman accused.
“I’ve lived by two rules in my life—never cheat and never ever regret anything. If I walk out of here now, I will regret this for the rest of my life.” Cally looked to the cop. “And if you try to stop me, I’ll hate myself forever. This is my life, and I’m going to live it the way I want to, and none of you are going to stop me!”
She didn’t have to look behind her to see the eyes staring at her because she could feel them—all of them—boring into her with their shock. It didn’t matter anymore. She was going to do this, and that was going to be the end of it. She turned to see everyone looking at her shocked at her outburst. The one face that she wanted to see, she couldn’t, but she knew he was there. She could feel him closer now. Her Dakota was close, and she needed him right now more than ever. Her eyes met his mother’s, and she nodded just before the other woman disappeared.
She didn’t know how it had happened, but whatever had taken over her body in that moment also gave her more strength and power than she ever knew she had. She heard the words and let them over take her as the music started playing. Everyone seemed to just take their places as though they had done this before. With each word, her heart filled anew, and she knew this was the right thing to do. This was everything she felt and everything she could ever feel for him all rolled into one song. Because “I Swear” she would love him with every beat of her heart, and she would always be there.
The rest of the ceremony was lost when her eyes landed on Dakota. Nothing else mattered as he stood there, smiling at her like she was the only thing that mattered in this world. And when he took her hands in his, there was nothing to think about, nothing to hold her back. She was going to spend the rest of her life with him, and nothing would ever come between them again.
The First Year Is Always the Hardest, No Make That the First Three Months Are the Hardest
Cally had no idea how they had gotten to the car, but here they sat with the world oblivious to anything that had just happened to them. Dakota looked at her with his heart-melting smile and asked, “Did you mean what you said?”
“What did I say?” she softly asked with her head still in the clouds.
He watched her, and she knew this meant more to him than she could ever understand. “That you would regret not marrying me.”
Still filled with the power to do anything, she smiled. “I meant every word of it.”
He kissed her again. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” she said as he started the car.
Nothing seemed to matter anymore; the fear was gone and was replaced with something strange and filling. For the first time, she felt like nothing could ever hurt her again. Nothing could ever touch her as long as she had Dakota. The world was different; somehow, it wasn’t as large and scary as she had always thought. It was easier to manage, easier to accept.
“So why did you pick that song?” he asked.
She closed her eyes as she heard it playing in her head. “Because that’s how I feel about you. Why?”
Cally snuck a peek at him smiling as he laughed. “I was hoping you hadn’t let our sisters pick it out.”
Yeah, she had let them pick a song, but not the one she was going to use. “They picked their own, but that was the one I wanted.”
“So you finally have a voice of your own,” he mused, and she just made a face at him as he explained. “You never chose anything for yourself, and in two weeks, you pick out your own dress and music. A dress that is absolutely gorgeous on you, by the way.”
She wasn’t sure he would like it, but she loved it, and even though she was sure he would be a little disappointed that it wasn’t the traditional wedding dress style, she had really wanted it when she had first seen it. “You like it?”
“I love it. You should trust yourself more,” he encouraged.
She knew he was right, but she wasn’t sure she could. They pulled into a parking lot, and she looked at him. “What are you doing?”
When he stopped the car, he looked at her, a little off. “We’re having a wedding lunch with everyone. Don’t tell me you didn’t know.”
With so much going on and so many things being said and done all at once, she hadn’t remembered half of what was said. “I don’t think I can remember anything before this morning at this point. So don’t blame me for being so overwhelmed with marrying the man I love that I don’t remember every detail.”
He just laughed, clearly accepting that as a good enough answer for her lack of caring what they were doing outside of being together.
The day seemed to fly by, and the only thing that she could see was Dakota. They were getting back in the car when she decided to show him what she had gotten him for a wedding present. “I want to show you something.”
He looked at her, wondering, “What do you want to show me?”
“It’s a surprise. Now you need to go…” After she gave him the direction, he seemed just as curious. After everyone at work had found out that they were getting married, one of the girls had offered her a chance that she couldn’t refuse.
They pulled up to a small cottage-style house. A few feet away stood a garage with a loft above it, a wedding present of sorts. Now she was excited as she got out and waited for him. She pulled the key out of the little white purse Savannah had given her.
“What is this?” he asked, half laughing.
Cally pulled him up the outer steps of the garage. “A friend at work offered it to me. I thought it was perfect when she brought me over.” She opened the door to show him a small open space with sunlight streaming in the windows. On the far side was a half wall that met up with a full wall that lead to the bathroom. Behind that half wall was a bed and dresser.
In front of them was a living room that had an older flower sofa and love seat with a white wicker coffee table. To their left was a small kitchen that was only separated from the rest of the space by the lower cabinet and bar. The walls were all a bright white, and the light pine floors gave the space warmth.
Dakota looked at her and asked, “What is this?”
Cally smiled. “This is our place. Somewhere that’s not my parents or yours, somewhere that is ours.”
He shook his head. “We can’t afford this.”
She looked up at him. “I don’t go anywhere but school and work and I take every shift I can just to get out of the house. I don’t really spend the money I make, so yes, we can.” She turned to him. “I paid the full six months of rent, and I just have to cover the utilities.”
He looked down at her. “Are you sure about this? I’ll be staying at the base most of the week. You’re going to be here alone.”
She reached up and kissed him. “I’m the one that wakes everyone up in the morning and makes coffee and breakfast. I go to work, I come home, and go to bed. I don’t get in trouble, I don’t go out, so what’s the difference between what I do every day and what I would be doing here?”
“You’re fifteen. You shouldn’t be living on your own,” he argued.
“Now I’m fifteen and just a kid? Even though I was old enough and mature enough to marry you this morning? You need to make your mind up. You can’t have it both ways,” she argued.
She knew he didn’t like this, but she wasn’t going to live with his parents, and he didn’t want her living with hers, so it was this or fight over this. He shook his head. “What if something happens and I’m not here?”
She shrugged. “Baca lives in the main house. I can talk to her.”
“Does