Sunny swallowed away the disappointment. “Well, I’m glad you could make it, even if it’s for a short while.”
“Me too.” He led her outside to the canoe waiting at the dock.
Her mother had filled the inside with flowers, leaving just the space for her and Tiikâan open. He helped her get settled onto the bench, then pushed off from the dock. Sunny’s heart pounded in her chest, her palms sweating. She tried to let the fragrance of the flowers and the steady splash of the oars calm her, but it didn’t help.
Scanning the small crowd of people waiting on the other side of the lake, she couldn’t find Davis. Her siblings waited on the left of the willow arch her dad and brothers had thatched together. Davis’s friends from the Stryker team lined the right side of the arch, but her parents blocked Davis as they stood before him.
Were they warning him? Threatening him with life and limb if he hurt her? That would be just like Dad. She bunched her fists in her dress, then quickly smoothed it out.
Her mom pulled Davis into a hug, and Dad followed suit. When they stepped away, they both brushed their hands across their cheeks. Oh, dear. Before Sunny could worry too much over their tears, her eyes caught Davis’s.
He took a step forward, stopping when Rafe’s hand clamped over his shoulder. Sunny thought there was laughter, but her pulse pounded so loud in her ears, it was all she heard. Everything else blurred until all she saw was Davis.
Dad helped her out of the boat, and she fairly floated toward her future. Tears streaked Davis’s cheeks, and he dashed them away. She licked her lips and tasted salt. When had she started crying?
Her dad answered the pastor’s question about who gave her away and handed her to Davis. Before he turned her to the pastor, he stepped close. His hands squeezed hers.
“Thank you for finding me in my darkness, Firefly.” He kissed her, the laughter of those watching hitting her ears and making her smile.
“Hey,” Bjørn hollered from behind her. “Save that for the end.”
“Sorry.” Davis’s smirk was anything but repentant.
“Well, then—” Pastor Jerry cleared his throat, his eyes sparkling with mirth. “Dearly, beloved.”
Sunny held Davis’s gaze the entire ceremony, her vows breathless as they pushed past her tight throat. She never imagined she’d trust again, never imagined the loneliness that had weighed her down would be nothing but a wisp of memory. Yet, in her darkest moment, love had found her and led her home.