Page 12

Eighteen months later

I've faced down angry bulls, ridden broncos that wanted to kill me, and was nearly run over by a cattle stampede. But standing at Snowflake Falls Community Church, waiting for my bride, has me more nervous than all of those combined.

“Quit fidgeting with your tie. I promise you Bruno, she’ll be here soon.” Wilder murmurs from beside me, straightening his own groomsman suit.

“I know it.” I adjust my grandfather's cowboy boots under my dress pants, the worn leather a comfort against my calves. "Doesn't make the waiting any easier."

The church is packed. Half the town showed up, along with Everly's parents who flew in yesterday.

Her father had been skeptical when we first met, but after seeing how I've set up the cabin for his daughter, expanding it with a proper study for her teaching materials and lesson plans, he'd given us his blessing with tears in his eyes.

Elena Howl holds court in the front row, resplendent in purple silk and enough jewelry to stock a store, nodding beadily at everyone who passes.

After that day Everly said yes to my proposal in her tiny apartment, everything changed. She transferred to a university near Snowflake Falls to finish her education degree, moving into the cabin with me while she completed her final year of coursework.

Watching her transform our mountain sanctuary into a real home has been one of the greatest joys of my life.

She kept my books and photographs, but added her own touches; colorful prints, plants that somehow thrive despite my best efforts, and a reading nook by the big windows where she grades papers while I whittle.

Her first year teaching third grade at the elementary school has been everything she dreamed of.

The kids adore her, and she comes home every day with stories about their latest adventures.

I've built more bookshelves and craft storage than I ever imagined possible, but seeing her face light up when she talks about her students makes every single splinter worth it.

I’ve been teaching her to ride, gently coaxing her onto Ranger’s back first of all. She trusts him and is now able to take him on a slow trot around the corral.

The organist begins the wedding march, and I have to swallow a couple of times, my throat suddenly dry.

Mila appears first, dressed in a peach-colored dress, followed by Everly's college roommate who made the trip to be a bridesmaid. But when the church doors open fully and Everly steps into view on her father's arm, everything else disappears.

She's radiant in white lace and tulle, her veil crowned with tiny wildflowers that her students brought her yesterday. The nervous energy I've been carrying all morning evaporates at the sight of her smile, which is full of pure joy and love directed right at me.

This is the woman who challenged me at the fair, who stood up to me when I acted like a caveman, who chose to build a life with me despite every logical reason not to.

The woman who makes coffee almost as strong as mine, who talks to Ranger like he's a baby, who fills our cabin with laughter and light.

When she reaches the altar and her father places her hand in mine, everything makes perfect sense.

“You look beautiful,” I whisper as the preacher begins the ceremony.

“You clean up pretty well yourself, cowboy,” she whispers back, and I have to fight not to grin like a fool.

The vows pass in a blur of promises and rings. But when the preacher pronounces us husband and wife, when I kiss my bride for the first time as her husband, it’s like I can suddenly see for miles.

Later, at the reception in the church hall, I watch my gorgeous wife laugh with our guests, her sparkling wedding ring catching the light as she gestures. She's changed out of her formal gown into a shorter cream dress, but kept the veil with its crown of wildflowers.

When the song ends, Everly makes her way back to me, slightly breathless and glowing with happiness.

“Dance with me, husband,” she says, and the word sends satisfaction through my chest like a shot of good whiskey.

As we sway together to the soft music, our friends and family around us, my heart swells with happiness. The evening winds down and we prepare to leave for our honeymoon cabin in the mountains.

“Are you ready to go home, Mrs. Castelli?” I ask as we walk to my truck, now decorated with white ribbons and trailing tin cans courtesy of the fire department.

Everly squeezes my hand. “Wherever you are, that's my home.”

As we drive up the familiar mountain road toward our honeymoon retreat, her hand finds mine across the center console. Her wedding ring clicks softly against mine, a sound that will never get old.

I glance over at her. “Thank you for saying yes. For taking a chance on a stubborn mountain man who didn't know he was lonely until he met you.”

She gazes back at me, her blue eyes wide. “Was it a good bet?”

I bring her hand to my lips, pressing a kiss to her knuckles as the cabin comes into view, lights glowing warm and welcoming in the gathering dusk.

“Best bet I ever made. Winner takes all, right?”

She winks at me. “And you did!”

Read Everly’s cousin Mila’s story of how she met her firefighter here: His Flame