Miles Away

Epilogue

“Jag...what are you doing?” she asked, her voice clearly heard as the fans and the band remained silent, waiting for my next move.

“Let me finish,” I exclaimed, holding up a hand in protest. “Without you, I wouldn't have Roan, the definition of a perfect little boy. I can't imagine where I would be if you weren't there by my side. You're perfection, Ms. Montgomery,” I said, slowly getting on one knee. "And I'd like you to do me the surreal honor of being my wife so I can make you all mine,” I finished, taking in a heavy, much needed breath.

The silence following the only lasted a few seconds, but those seconds felt like years as I watched her face for any signs. At first, her wide and bambi-like eyes just stared at me, with her mouth slightly gaping open. Her hands were raised in front of her lips, but she remained frozen. She didn't seem to notice the crowd behind me, and I had blocked them out the moment I'd gotten down on one knee. All that mattered in that instant was her agreement.

It was all I wanted...all I needed.

And then she nodded.

I felt all of the air I had been holding, escape my lungs. I widened my eyes at her gesture and asked, “Yes?”

“Yes,” she whispered, nodding her head frantically.

I bounced off the floor as fast as I could and wrapped her tightly in my arms. I had my head resting the crook of her neck, breathing heavily and laughing with pure happiness. I'd never experienced something like this. The feeling of security. All of the money in the world that I could acquire didn't mean a thing to me. I'd spent my entire life letting down the people who were supposed to be my biggest supporters. I spent days scared to see what they would say, walk around the house like I didn't belong to the family I'd unwillingly come into.

Ella was my security.

I wasn't scared to walk around the house. I knew I belonged here, with her by my side. I was no longer scared of letting her down, because I knew I wasn't going to let her down anymore. I'd promised her that I would never let this break, and I was going to keep that promise for the rest of my life. No matter what, her and Roan were my number one priority.

We had gotten married that summer, with only our closest family and friends around to support us. Wyatt was my best man, while Charlee was Ella's bridesmaid. Her and Matty kept exchanging cheeky glances towards one another the whole ceremony, I'd later learned from Wyatt. I was too focused on my blushing bride before me. The way the breath was knocked out of me as she descended down the isle in that long, white laced gown, hiding her face beneath the thin sheer of the veil. Roan, in his tiny suit and disheveled brown locks that matched my own, was walking at the simple age of one and a half, and was the ring bearer of the ceremony. He'd spent the remaining of it by my leg, lightly gripping on my pant leg as he patiently waited for the attention to come back to him.

It was easy to tell that Ella Montgomery was his mother. He was so patient and gentle with everything and everyone around him that it shocked me that I was his father sometimes. He would speak quietly and learned to focus on the new things that Ella taught him daily. But, he tended to favor me over anyone he'd come into contact with. He'd run up to me and look at me with those large, brown eyes and I'd melt on the spot. He was just another lucky one that could wrap me around his finger.

I couldn't imagine where I would be with the two of them in my life. I didn't have a purpose before those two, and now I dedicated this all to my son and her. I'd written a song a few weeks before the current show I was playing, hoping I could play it for Ella on our one year anniversary. Wyatt would accompany me on dual vocals, and I'd sing it for the first time ever on this stage, in front of these 6,000 or so fans in front of me.