Forsaking Truth (30 page)

The
September wind cut across the lake like a gentle bluff,
teasing the tails of Tristan’s linen shirt. He didn’t expect to be this
nervous, but he was. His palms were sweating. Trying not to fidget, he ran his
hand over his hair, again reminded that it was st
ill
quite short compared to what he was used to.

From his hidden
location behind the dunes, he heard the low voices of his family. Yeah, they
were his family. All of them.

Sheilagh had changed
and the McCulloughs were slowly coming to see she was her own
person, no longer the baby or an extension of what she once
was, she’d become her own masterpiece.

It was good. She was
happy. Not in a put on rambunctious way meant to entertain, but in a soul
shifting way everyone experienced only a few times in life if
they were lucky. Tristan knew what that was like.

It was the moment one
finally gave up all pretenses of pretending to be someone else, gave up trying
to please others despite one’s innate nature. It’s the moment one realizes
they’re cheating everyone by
forsaking the truth.
He’d learned this in the weeks that followed their return home from the
hospital.

He and Luke had slowly
settled into their home. Theirs. The curtains no longer had to remain drawn and
the door could, for once, rest unlocked. Those we
eks
had brought about a world of emotion. The realization they were both lucky to
be alive made life a bit more extraordinary.

They had this one
life, this one moment in time, to live and they wanted to live happily.
Embracing that mindset made all the st
ruggles of
their past seem suddenly small and inconsequential. They were tired of wearing
masks, and once they took them off for good, their relationship bloomed like a
wild garden.

They’d been set free.
Of course they’d stumble into an impasse here and th
ere.
The world was still a dangerous and flawed place for people like them. The
difference was, they now had the love and support of their family. They’d cut
out their own little corner of the world and finally made a home.

As their bodies healed
so did all the old wounds on their hearts. Trying to compensate for society’s
shortcomings had taken a toll on both of them. But they’d found their
sanctuaries.

O’Malley’s was so
dominated by McCulloughs that it offered a safe haven
.
Now, they could smile openly at each other, sit close, and even dance from time
to time without worrying about outsiders hassling them. Kelly kept a close eye
on the patrons at the bar and anyone who started trouble was no longer welcome
there, plain and
simple.

It was amazing how
much their lives had changed. Tristan was now Uncle Tristan. No, Pennsylvania
did not pass the vote, but that was no longer a prerequisite for others to
recognize their loving and committed relationship for what it was. If it ev
entually happened, yes, he and Luke would be one of the
first in line. But they’d given up waiting for the world to catch up. The
approval of the legislatures offered nothing in forms of validating a couple’s
love. It was a piece of paper they’d probably a
lways
covet, but they no longer
needed it
to move on.

“Tristan? You ready?”

Tristan turned at the
sound of Kelly’s voice. His throat was suddenly tight. “Yeah. Let’s do this.”
He took a step and paused. “How do I look?”

Kelly grinned and
tipped his head to
the side. “I’d do ya’.”

He laughed. “I’m sure
the wife would have something to say about that.”

“You look great. Come
on. He’s waiting.”

Tristan followed Kelly
to the edge of the dunes. He wasn’t sure what exactly lay ahead. Neither he nor
Luke was the fr
ou-frou type, so they’d let the women
handle all the details.

Kelly’s hand closed
over his shoulder, halting his steps. “You wait here. When the music starts,
head to the water. He’ll meet you in the middle.”

Drawing in a deep
breath Tristan nodded and Ke
lly disappeared. He
shifted and stilled when he caught the first plunking notes of a piano. He’d
expected the sound of canned radio music, but this was live. How the hell had
they gotten a piano to the beach?

He slowly took his
first step out of the dunes
and the song being played
by Kate, Luke’s eldest sister, took form. Holy shit, it was an actual grand
piano, pearl white and open, the soft keystrokes echoing over the still lake
and into the distance.

Tristan’s jaw dropped
as Colin stepped forward and be
gan to sing. His voice
was deep and melodic. Beautiful.
“When I find myself in times of trouble,
Mother Mary comes to me…”

Tristan’s breath
caught. Not only did Colin have a dulcet voice, he was singing
Let
It Be,
by
the Beatles. Shit. It gave him chills.

When the chorus kicked
in he was done for. Every McCullough stood and sang,
“Let
it be, let it be. Let it be, let it be…”

Through a blurry sheen
of tears he caught movement in the distance. His heart pinched. There he was.
Luke. His love.

Swallowing hard
on the lump of emotion clogging his throat all the way to
his chest, he smiled. Luke met his grin with the most brilliant smile ever to
be bestowed on him.

His burly shoulders
were clad in a smart black tuxedo jacket that nipped at his waist. His legs
were
bare, except for his dress socks and the
McCullough tartan that made up his kilt. If it was possible, his smile
stretched wider.
Oh, tonight was going to be lots of fun!

He wanted to rush to
him, but took his time. With slow, staggering steps, Luke’s hand
pressed into his cane as he made his way over the sand to
where they would meet in the middle. Partners. Equal.

The table in front of
the chairs where their family had congregated was dressed simply in white with
a candle surrounded by soft green flowers
. This was
it.

The song came to a
close as Luke took his last step. They each let out a sigh of relief at the
same time. The family sat and Colin moved to stand, back to the lake, at the
other side of the table.

Colin opened up a
bible and Tristan saw he
had notes written on a slip
of paper. “Marriage is a union, a blending of two souls that are no longer
complete without their other half. It is as children that we come into the
world, thinking we are the universe. But as we grow, we come to see all of our
human traits and know, we are but one piece of a whole.
Love is the recognition of that other piece of our soul, and marriage is the
binding of two people into one.

“When I asked Tristan
about the moment he recognized Luke as the other half of his soul, h
e told me it was the first time he held Luke in his arms
and realized he never wanted to let go. He explained it as an epiphany, that
there had always been this hollow part of him only Luke’s love could fill. He
said it was Luke’s heart and he wanted to ta
ke it
into his keeping and protect him forever.

“I asked Luke the same
question and he told me it was more complicated, noticing something present
that hadn’t always been. He said he knew Tristan was his soul mate through
absence. On the days Tristan wasn’
t there, the sky
seemed a little duller and the sun wasn’t quite so bright. Music didn’t sound
the same without Tristan there to sing beside him. Days lasted too long and
time became a company he didn’t enjoy if he wasn’t with his other half.

“Today we are
here to celebrate the binding of these two souls as
Tristan and Luke vow before family and friends to love each other completely
and irrevocably, for the rest of their lives. They shall forsake nothing as
they confirm their true love.”

Placing his cane ag
ainst the altar, Luke took Tristan’s hands in his and
squeezed. Colin closed the book and turned his gaze to them. “Luke, do you take
Tristan to be your husband, from this day forward, in equal love as a
reflection of true self, a partner on your path, to
honor
and to cherish, in sorrow and in joy, until death shall part you?”

Luke met Tristan’s
gaze. “I do.”

“Tristan, do you take
Luke to be your husband, from this day forward, in equal love as a reflection
of true self, a partner on your path, to honor and
to
cherish, in sorrow and in joy, until death shall part you?”

Tristan smiled at Luke
and tightened his hands around his. “No. I promise to love him from this day
forward, in equal love as a reflection of my true self, a partner on my path to
honor and to
cherish, in sorrow and in joy
far
past
my last breath. He will be my husband
for all eternity and I will love him beyond any man made law, any earthily
plane, because he
is
the other half of my soul.”

Luke’s wide grin was
more brilliant than any sunset.
He quietly said, “Me
too. Put that down for me too, Colin.”

The family laughed and
Colin did the same. “Tristan and Luke, you have proclaimed your commitment to
each other, before your family and friends, as a symbol of your undying love
and devotion.” He
folded a strip of tartan over their
hands. “In love and in loyalty, now and in all time to come, may you be joined,
forever, as one, in a bond so true, no man shall ever have the power to divide
you. You may kiss the groom.”

Luke gripped the back
of his he
ad and pulled him close. “Come here,
cowboy.”

His firm lips pressed
into his, softening and opening as his tongue stole across his mouth. The
family stood and cheered and the two of them smiled against each other’s lips,
laughing, tears of joy in their ey
es.

And that was how he
became Tristan McCullough, a Texan orphan who loved so boldly and so true, he
never would forsake his true self or face the world alone again.

The End

About the
Author

www.LydiaMichaels.org

Bestselling author, Lydia Michaels, writes
all forms of hot romance. She presses the bounds of love and surprises readers
just when they assume they have her stories figured out. From Amish vampyres,
to wild Irishmen, to broken heroes, and heroines no man can match, Lydia takes
readers on an emotional journey of the heart, mind, and soul with every story
she pens. Her books are intellectual, erotic, haunting, always centered on
love. Lydia Michaels loves to hear from readers! She can be found of Facebook
or contacted by email at
[email protected]

Other
Titles by Lydia Michaels

Sacred
Waters

Skin

Chaste

Faking It

Forsaking
Truth

Breaking
Perfect

Simple Man

White
Chocolate

All 4 You

To Catch a
Wolfe

Chasing
Feathers

Call Her
Mine

Secret Cravings Publishing

www.secretcravingspublishing.com