Free For Better or Worse by Jennifer Johnson Page B

on the younger girls’ faces and the fact that all three of them were wearing the small diamond necklace, Harold believed their afternoon had gone well.
    Only one more girl to walk down the aisle, and he would see his bride.
    “Here comes my little munchkin,” Cam whispered beside Harold.
    His daughter, Ellie, wore a shiny white dress and held a small basket that was decorated with dark green ribbons and small red flowers. She dropped white and red rose petals on the white carpet. The girl looked like a smaller version of her mother, Cam’s wife.
    Ellie finally took her place beside Zoey, and the church doors were shut again. The music changed, and the congregation stood. Harold had to swallow the knot in his throat. He could hardly wait to see Kelly.
    The doors opened again, and his bride stood in the doorway. Her father stood beside her with her arm tucked into his. Unbidden tears welled in Harold’s eyes.
God, what have I ever done to be given such a beautiful woman
?
    Her dress was stunning. The church’s dimmed lights semmed to make it glitter. He couldn’t see her face, as a veil covered it. How he longed to see her face!
    What did a man want in a wife? A woman who encouraged him. A woman who respected him. A woman who made him feel like more of a man. And if she was as beautiful as Kelly on top of all that, well …
    Emotion threatened to overcome him. He wasn’t a crying man. He was simple. A forty-year-old bachelor. A heating guy, the plumber. He was happy working with his hands and living alone, until he met Kelly Coyle. Then everything changed.
    Finally, she and her father reached the end of the aisle. It was time for her dad to pull back the veil and give Harold her hand. Her father kissed her cheek; then she looked at Harold. Her eyes glistened with love, and Harold wanted to scoop her up and head out of the church with her. He wiped his palm against his pants before he took her hand in his.
    The pastor began to speak of love and commitment. He read scripture from 1 Corinthians about the meaning of love. “Love is patient, love is kind.” The words had been etched in Harold’s heart years before through Bible study and listening to his pastor. In the last year, Harold had lived those words, not just heard them, not just read them. Now he knew them. And nothing would change his love for Kelly. Nothing.
    “Do you take this woman in sickness and in health, for better or for worse …” the pastor’s voice continued on.
    Harold squeezed Kelly’s palms. This woman worried too much about the “for better or for worse” part. She worried over what the stress of having three girls would do to him. He’d have to spend the rest of his life proving to her how much he loved her and the girls … for better and for worse.
    When the pastor had stopped talking and it was Harold’s turn to speak, he squeezed her palms again. “I do,” he answered with his mouth. His gaze urged her to believe he meant those two words to the core of his being. They were true, and they always would be.

    Kelly took in the reception hall decorated in dark green and deep red. She’d had the most beautiful Christmas wedding she’d ever seen. It wasn’t overly expensive, nowhere near as ostentatious as a few weddings she’d been to over the years, but it was still the best she’d ever experienced.
    Her girls seemed to be having a good time talking with one relative or church member or another. Many of her colleagues from work had come to support her day, and Kelly was exhausted and overwhelmed by the many people who’d attended. More than she’d expected.
    “It’s time to cut the cake,” Sadie announced over a microphone.
    What would Kelly have done without her amazing sister-in-law? The woman had taken care of every loose end in addition to being in charge of the reception food.
    “I want cake, Aunt Kelly.” Her niece Ellie pulled at the bottom of Kelly’s dress.
    “Okay. Let Uncle Harold and me cut it first, then