Page 123 of Quinton's Quest

He winked at us. “Best wishes.”

I hugged my fiancé. “Thank you.”

“Hey, we’re family.”

As I gazed over the room—friends, coworkers, and people I’d yet to meet—I felt settled in a way I hadn’t for a very long time. “Yeah. Family.” I turned to Quinton. “Forever, right?”

“You bet.”

Our lips met, and we sealed the deal.

Epilogue

Quinton

“Holy crap. Did we seriously invite all of Mission City?” I gazed over the rows and rows of chairs set up facing our makeshift wedding arch. Our backyard felt full of everyone we knew and a few I was pretty certain I didn’t.

“Your mother was in charge of the guest list.” Leo sipped his champagne. “I can’t believe we actually made it down the aisle.”

I chuckled. “Mama wanted things the way she wanted things. I’m amazed she pulled this off.”

We were in the final week of August. In the middle of a heatwave, but that couldn’t have been predicted when we agreed to this date back in April. We went back and forth on many potential dates, but we wanted to wait until Archer and Gideon were married first—which they’d done back in June. Leo and I had been invited, but a collapsed grandstand in Langley had meant every single medical personnel available from everywhere had been called in.

Being the professionals we were, we apologized to the men and hustled to the hospital. We’d both been disappointed to miss theceremony—but we’d also saved a number of lives. The choice we made.

Mama had even come to the hospital—helping comfort panicked relatives. She was sorry to miss the wedding of her othersons-in-law. She and the Chamberlains had grown close over the last few months. Shared grandchildren tended to bond people.

Leo suggested inviting Archer’s family today. I’d pointed out the sheer number of them and we’d agreed we’d have a party in the autumn for all them.

“Papa?” Melodie stood before me. She was growing like a weed, and my heart ached for the childhood that was passing.

Leo knelt. “Yes, darling?”

She leaned in. “Trevor’s giving crackers to Puff.” Clearly, she was hesitant to get her brother in trouble—but she also understood the rules about overfeeding our gregarious puppy. Puff resembled a caterpillar. With the low-to-the-ground dachshund body and the white frizzy bichon fur, she truly looked like a bizarre creature. She also had us all wrapped around her little paw.

I scanned the crowd.

Puff and Trevor were, in fact, under the food table and—yep—he was giving the puppy crackers.

Mama must’ve sensed trouble, though, because she was already hustling that way. She knelt and gently removed the crackers from Trevor’s hand. Then she coaxed him out from under the table. She dumped the crackers into the garbage and directed him to the dessert table. She offered him a Nanaimo bar with a clear reminder that dogs weren’t allowed chocolate.

Trevor nodded solemnly.

Melodie sighed. “He’s chaos.”

I held in the snicker. Barely. Trevor had truly come into his own, and we were all greatly looking forward to him startingschool next week. A way to get him with his peers. How his poor teacher would handle that bundle of energy was an entirely other issue.

Finn jogged over. “Sorry, got a call. I have to go.” With that, the firefighter took off at a run.

Leo met my gaze. “Didn’t he say he was off work today?”

“Yeah.” I shrugged. “But he also said he wasn’t going to have a beer.Just in case.”

“Does Mission City always have so many fires?”

I held out my hands as if I could grasp the answer. “It’s been a long, hot, dry summer.”

“True.” He turned his attention back to Melodie. “Would you like a slice of cake or a Nanaimo square?”