But her looks were nothing compared to her eyes, full and emotional and as intently aware of the significance of the moment as he was.

"Elizabeth..." He held out his hand and she came to him. "You look wonderful, John." Her steps were slow, but her smile spread from one cheekbone to the other. The bridesmaids passed by them, hurrying along with Cole out to the car, giggling and remarking about the limo and how fun the ride to the church would be.

Ashley was last. She took both his hands and Elizabeth's and looked from one of them to the other. "If I've never said this before, I need to say it now." She bit her lip and her chin quivered. "Thank you for putting up with me, for believing in me when I didn't believe in myself."

"That's what parents do." John leaned in and kissed her cheek. "You look stunning, sweetheart."

"Thanks." She squeezed their hands. "We have to go. I just had to tell you that.

Every time you prayed for me, God heard you." A grin flashed across her face and she gave a light shrug. "Can you believe it? I'm really getting married!"

She was gone in a flash, leaving John and Elizabeth alone. He angled his head.

"Look at you, Elizabeth. Mother of the bride again and still pretty enough to make the bride jealous."

"You always know what to say, John. You always have." A light blush came into her cheeks. "Let's go. I don't want to miss a minute of this one."

The final minutes felt like an eternity.

After all the time Landon had waited for Ashley Baxter, these last moments were almost more than he could take. He shifted 306 REUNION.

from one foot to the other, staring every few seconds at the back door, willing the music to start so he could finally see her.

The church was packed. Half the church was filled with his family, his parents'

friends, and two dozen guys from the fire department. There were people he and Ashley had attended school with and doctors who worked with John Baxter.

Every one of them was obviously aware of the circumstances. That despite the happy occasion, the wedding had been changed because the bride's mother was dying, luke had already ushered his mother in, and she was sitting serenely in the first pew. No matter the illness that ravaged her body, the look on her face was pure, untainted joy.

How long had he loved Ashley Baxter? Many guests were aware of their history, how he had pursued her even when she seemed not a little interested. There were doctors from the hospital who remembered his injury in the Bloomington fire, the way Ashley had stayed by his bedside, proclaiming her love to him, and then taking it back when he woke up.

Back then she was always so afraid to love.

But God had changed all that, and now, here they were.

The music changed and Landon felt his heart skip a beat. He swallowed hard and clasped his hands behind his back, the way Pastor Mark had instructed last night at the rehearsal.

The bridesmaids and groomsmen came first, each of them wearing a look that was deeper than mere happiness. These were people who had prayed for him and Ashley, people who knew what they'd been through and how far they'd come, the obstacles God had removed to bring them to this day.

Landon had thought about asking some of his buddies at the fire department to act as ushers, but with Elizabeth sick, somehow it didn't seem appropriate.

Instead he'd chosen the spouses of Ashley's sisters, and for his best man, Luke, the Baxter he'd gotten closest to during his time in Manhattan.

Erin and Sam were first down the aisle, followed by Brooke and Peter, and then Kari and Ryan. Luke and Reagan were last 307.

and since Kari was Ashley's matron of honor, she swapped places with Reagan so she'd be in the right spot. Luke caught Landon's eye and gave him a thumbs-up.

Landon grinned and looked at the rear of the church again. Cole was the ring bearer, and Maddie and Hayley were the flower girls. A lump grew in Landon's throat as he watched the tender procession. Cole pushed Hayley in her wheelchair. She was dressed in a white-and-pink dress identical to Maddie's.

Cole's pillow was on her lap, and the flower basket on top of that. Maddie walked alongside the chair, taking small handfuls of rose petals from the basket and sprinkling them along the aisle runner.

Hayley didn't hold her mouth open the way she had for months after her drowning accident. Watching her now-the smile on her face, the way her blonde hair fell in ringlets around her head-it was easy to believe she might actually make a full recovery one day.

When the children reached the front, Cole pushed Hayley to a place along the front row near Elizabeth. He waved big and said, "Hi, Grandma. Did I do good?"

A few feet away, Pastor Mark stifled a giggle as a round of quiet laughter fanned out across the first few rows. Elizabeth leaned close to Cole. She looked beautiful, much like Ashley. But she was too thin. Much too thin. "Yes, Cole,"

she said in a loud whisper. 'You did great.

He nodded, proud of himself. Then he took the ring pillow and the flower basket from Hayley, handed the basket to Maddie, and led her to her place in front of Brooke, the way he'd been taught to do the night before.

Finally he spotted Landon-as if maybe he hadn't actually noticed him before because of his responsibility of pushing the wheelchair down the aisle. Cole gave a big wave, rocked the ring pillow under his arm, and took a few running steps toward him. Just then, Ryan gestured him over, and Cole stopped short, gave another wave to Landon, and went to stand with Ryan.

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The music changed again, and 'The Wedding March" rang out through the church.

People stood and faced the back door, and Landon watched Elizabeth. She didn't have anyone sitting near her to help, but she was able to stand on her own. The look on her face was one Landon would remember all of his days.

And then, like a vision, Ashley was there. Holding gracefully to her father's arm, she started down the aisle. Landon had been to weddings-even Baxter weddings-where the bride glances at the guests while she walks down the aisle, taking in the family and friends who were there in support.

But Ashley did nothing of the sort.

She found Landon's eyes the moment she stepped into the aisle, and her gaze didn't waver once while she walked alongside her father. Even from seventy-five feet away, he could read her look, feel how the truth was hitting her, the way it had been hitting him all day.

They were really here, really getting married.

Though she had run from him, hidden from him, refused his ring the first time around, and told him to fall in love with someone else, here they were. In love and determined to share every day of forever, thanking God for allowing them to find a way to be together. And now-looking more beautiful than she'd ever looked before-she was about to become his wife.

He prayed he could make it through the ceremony. Because the look of love and awe and adoration in Ashley's eyes was enough to bring him to his knees.

The entire walk down the aisle, Ashley couldn't stop thinking about the past.

Yes, there was Landon, standing at the front, shoulders squared, eyes locked on hers. But at the same time he was coming into a coffeehouse, spotting her and telling her she should call him sometime. He was playing Frisbee with her on the shores of Lake Monroe and sitting beside her at a canpfire 309 kingsbury smalley listening to her tell him details about her past that she'd never told anyone.

He should've been long gone by now, right? Wasn't that what people did when they found out someone they cared about had a sordid past? They disappeared-fast.

But not Landon. She blinked, her steps slow and in time with her father's.

The image in her mind changed, and Landon was lying in a hospital bed, half dead, and her father was telling her to say something to him, to give him a reason to live, a desire to hang on; and then he was recovered and she was telling him she wasn't sure, didn't know if she could love him the way he wanted her to love him, and he was telling her he was leaving for New York City.

The pictures in her head blurred, but Ashley kept her eyes locked on Landon's.

The same eyes that had loved every painting she'd ever created, the eyes that had held hers that night in Manhattan and asked her to be his wife. How was this happening after she'd told him no, after she'd rejected him so many times?

And it was Landon at Luke's wedding last December, dancing with her, telling her he loved her no matter what happened with her health; Landon coming up behind her at Irvel's funeral service and telling her he'd taken the matter out of her hands. He was back in Bloomington, and there was nothing she could say to make him go away. Landon... picking her up and swinging her around and around when he got the news that she wasn't sick after all.

Always Landon, every time. Loving her and bearing with her, putting up with her when no one else would've. What kind of love was that, anyway? A crazy, life-defining type of love that would see them through whatever the road ahead held. Even her mother's sickness.

They reached the front of the church, and her father tightened his hold on her.

She gave him a quick squeeze and looked at Pastor Mark.

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"Who gives this woman to be married?" He smiled at Ashley and then at John.

Her father stood a little straighter. "Her mother and I do." He lifted her veil just long enough to kiss her cheek and whispered, "Love you, Ashley.

"Love you, Dad."

He circled behind her and took his place beside Mom. At last, Landon stepped forward, took her arm, and the two of them stood together in front of the pastor and faced each other.

This was the part where Pastor Mark would talk, and Ashley was sure he did a great job. Every now and then she caught something he was saying, something about knowing the Baxters and learning from the Baxters and realizing that they defined the way a family was supposed to be.

But she didn't catch every word; she was still too busy looking at Landon. He mouthed the words, his whispers jusl loud enough for her to hear. "Did anyone ever tell you ..."

She lowered her chin so no one would see her giggling beneath her veil.

"You have the most beautiful hair." He gave her hands a gentle squeeze and mouthed one last thing. "We're getting married"

She felt chills down her spine, and her arms. The moment was surreal, like something she might've painted. Here they were getting married and whispering like schoolkids. "I love you, Landon.'

Finally it was time to say the vows. Like most of her sisters before her, Ashley had chosen to write her own. Landon, too.

He went first. 'Ashley, you are my other half, the part God gave me before I even knew your name.' He looked deeper at her. "Come with me, stay with me, dance with me, play with me. Love me all the days of our lives. No matter what happens, be my wife and my friend, the piece my heart can't live without."

Seconds passed, and she couldn't speak, couldn't think of what to say or do.

Landon loved her. They were here, getting married. What more was there to say?

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kingsbu ry smalley Pastor Mark made a quiet coughing sound and gave her a pointed look. It was enough to snap her into action. She caught Landon's look again and began reciting the lines she'd written the day he gave her the ring.

"I belong to you, Landon Blake. God directed my steps even when I was running, so that one day you would find me and you would find my son, and we'd never, ever be apart again." She paused and out of the corner of her eye she saw Cole take a step closer. "I see life as a painting, a picture to be savored. And you, Landon, are my reds and oranges and brilliant golds. In my life you are the sunrise and this is only the beginning. My heart was locked up tight when you came to me, and now you will forever hold the key. Be my husband, Landon, and walk forever with me and God Almighty."

"And me!" Cole spouted the words before Ryan could slip a hand over his mouth.

Again a tittering worked its way across the church.

Ashley grinned at Cole and gave him the okay sign. "That's right. And Cole, too.

Because we both love you and we always will."

Landon's eyes shone and he let loose a quiet chuckle. He wanted to kiss her; his eyes told her that much. Instead it was Pastor Mark's turn again. He led them through the various statements, the promises to be true in good times and bad, the exchanging of rings. Finally he pronounced them husband and wife and gave Landon permission to kiss her.

The moment was brief, with only a hint of the passion they would share with each other later. The guests clapped, and Pastor Mark said the traditional words Ashley had asked him to say: "I'd like to introduce to you... Mr. and Mrs.

Landon Blake."

Ashley spotted her mother sitting in the front row, looking straight at her. And somehow she knew that God had answered their prayers after all, that he'd given them a miracle the last time she had cancer all those years ago. That she'd been living on bor 312.

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rowed time ever since, going along year after year so that she might be here to see each of her children get married.

She felt Landon take her hand and lead her down the aisle. And though the clapping came from the family and friends that filled the church, she was sure she heard a distant clapping, too. A clapping of all the angels in heaven and earth who knew that a moment like this could only come from one source, Their loving, faithful Almighty God.

313.

CHAPTER.

TWENTY-EIGHT.

The end was coming. John knew better than he let on. But since Ashley and Landon had postponed their honeymoon, the reunion continued unabated. There were picnics in the backyard, game nights, and conversations that lasted until all hours of the morning.

Elizabeth was there through most of it.

She hid her pain as best she could and did most of her coughing into a handkerchief, which she kept with her. But on Tuesday morning, three days after Ashley's wedding, he could see in her face, in the whites of her eyes, how quickly she was fading.

"You aren't feeling well, are you?" He walked around the bed to meet her.

She looked almost green, as if she might not survive the effort it took to get out from underneath the covers. "I'm... I'm a little queasy."

He helped her into the bathroom, but before she could reach the sink, she called out his name and collapsed in his arms.

"Elizabeth!" he shouted at her, suddenly terrified that the end , had come without any traditional warning, without any parting 314 words, or last-minute chances to tell her how much he loved her, how much he would miss her.

She was limp, so he stretched her out on the bathroom floor. Adrenaline coursed through him and his heart raced. He had to force himself to stop shaking long enough to feel for her pulse. "Elizabeth?" His fingers found the spot on her neck. It was slow and thready; she needed immediate help. 'Honey, wake up. We need to get you to the hospital."

When she didn't show any signs of responding, John raced into the bedroom and dialed 9-1-1. God, let them hurry. Don't let this be it ....