Epilogue

Ka’anapali Beach

They finished their walk and stopped on the beach near the finish line. The race was tomorrow, but the finish chute had already been marked off with flags. The sky blazed with swirling colors of pink, orange, and red --- a glorious Hawaiian sunset. Carly sighed with contentment as she leaned against her husband’s shoulder.

He kissed her head and whispered, “You nervous about tomorrow?”

“No, not at all. I’m ready.”

In the distance she could see the island of Lanai, the starting point for the 9.5-mile channel swim. Tomorrow morning the escort boat would pick Nick and Carly up around six and take them across the channel to the starting line. The gun would go off around eight, and she’d plunge into the water with the other swimmers --- most swimming in relay teams, but a few doing the whole distance solo like Carly --- to compete in a swim that would likely take several hours. But she didn’t consider herself to be swimming solo. Nick would be in her follow boat, watching, shouting encouragement, next to her the whole way.

“Not worried about sharks, jellyfish, or currents?”

She smiled, squeezed his waist, and then looked into his warm eyes. “Jellyfish may sting, but I’ll take my allergy pills to prevent a reaction. As for the current, well --- ” she shrugged --- “that’s what all my training was for, right? And sharks? I’ve got you in the follow boat. You’ll make sure I’m safe from any sharks. I trust you.”

He smiled, and she felt the warmth down to her toes. “You got that right. No sharks will come close to you. Enjoy the swim and do your best.”

They shared a kiss. As Carly hugged her husband of two days, she knew they were a strong and committed team. With God at the center of this new marriage, Carly found that trust was not an impossible action where Nick was concerned.