TITLE: Winter's Blessing
AUTHOR: Clairisant
FEEDBACK: Would love to hear both good and bad feedback but please try to be kind and constructive. Clairisant
CREDITS: A special thank you to my beta reader Qupeydoll.
Chapter 1
It was so very hard to believe that this day was here! She and Vincent were getting married, and everyone that she held dear was here. Jenny was her maid of honor, just as they had planned since college. She was standing next to her father, holding onto his arm, about to walk down the aisle to the man she loved more than life itself. She was just about to take that first step towards Vincent when the room went dark!
Someone had opened the heavy wooden doors and every candle in the room had been blown out. The surprising thing was that there were no protests, or complaints, or gasps of shock, except Catherine's. Her father leaned over slightly and whispered in her ear, "Don't be afraid, Cathy." Then he pulled out a lighter from his pocket and lit the candle he was holding, as well as hers.
The first person on either side of the aisle stepped forward and lit their candles from the ones Charles and Catherine were holding. Vincent had introduced the couple to her on one of her visits, as Kanin and Olivia. She also remembered that they had a young son named Luke. They seemed to know just what they were doing, almost as if this had been planned in advance. In turn they lit the candles of the person next to them in the line and so on down the aisle until there was a candle lit path for her father to escort her through.
Music started almost at the same instant Catherine's tears did. Vincent sensed this through their Bond and was instantly concerned. Charles also saw that his daughter was crying and halted the step he was about to take. "Cathy are you alright? Do you want to call this off?"
Vincent knew in a heartbeat that everything was alright with his beloved. The emotions of the day, mixed with the desire to have her mother there, as well as the hormones of her pregnancy, caused her to simply be overwhelmed with the emotions of the day.
Looking at her father, Catherine replied, "Marrying Vincent is the sanest thing I have ever done Dad. I love him with all my heart and you need to get used to having him in the family. Now are you going to walk me down this aisle, or should I make the trip alone?!"
He recognized the look of determination in his daughter's eyes, it was the same one he had seen in her mother's eyes many times. "I will walk with you Cathy. Your mother would never forgive me if I didn't. She would be so proud of you right now! All she ever wanted was for you to have a happy life, and I now believe that you have found that."
"I have dad! Shall we go?"
"Yes," he replied, and again offered her his arm.
As they took that first step together Catherine almost stumbled as the classical music that had been playing changed to "Love Me Tender" by Elvis Presley. Her mother, Caroline, had been a huge Elvis fan and the first songs Catherine had heard in her crib had been his. She had told Vincent when he asked that "Love Me Tender" had always been one of her favorite songs. That he would arrange for her to come down the aisle to him accompanied by that song brought tears to her eyes. His loving attention to her wants and needs was amazing!
Her father glanced over at her in concern, but when she gave him a beaming smile, even through her tears, they continued on their way. There was a sea of faces as they walked along, but Catherine saw none of them. Her eyes were focused on Vincent's beloved face.
They reached his side and vaguely Jenny, Father, and Devin registered in her mind, but as her father kissed her cheek and went to sit down Vincent took her hand and everything else slipped away. He smiled at her, and his deep blue eyes sparkled, she was lost. It wasn't until Father cleared his throat to gain her attention that her eyes turned forward.
To be continued…..