And, as promised, Tyler and his crew of construction workers and tradespeople had finished the renovation of Daniel's Cougar Lake house just before Thanksgiving.
Daniel and Margaret had hosted Thanksgiving dinner there for the Cougar Lake Pride and the Grizzly Creek Ranch Swansons. Margaret had then spent the next two weeks moving out of her Queen Anne Victorian and into Daniel's house. It had felt a little bittersweet to leave her home of many years, but it also felt like a fresh start with her new mate, away from the ghosts of her past.
And in parallel to all these things, she and Daniel also worked on wedding arrangements. When they had announced their mating and engagement, Eddy had promptly offered to host the ceremony and reception at the resort. And Daniel had told her that his kitchen staff had volunteered to cook all of the food for the reception as their wedding gift to him.
Now Margaret was standing face-to-face with the man she loved, listening to her sister ask, "And do you, Margaret Einarsson Swanson, take Daniel Langlais as your husband, to cherish and to love, promising to stand by him in good times and bad, in sickness and in health?"
"I do," breathed Margaret, feeling joy well up inside her as Daniel's fingers tightened around hers.
"The rings, please," announced Elle.
Chris, looking sharp in his own tux, stepped forward eagerly at the prompt. He held a lace-trimmed satin pillow to which both wedding rings had been pinned.
Margaret felt Daniel lift her hand and slip the simple gold band on her finger. Her hands were shaking with unaccustomed nerves as she unpinned his ring from the pillow and put it on his finger.
"By the authority vested in me by the State of Idaho, I now declare you married. Daniel, you may kiss the bride!"
The guests broke into cheers and applause as Daniel swept her in his arms and dipped her low for a lingering kiss.
Margaret was laughing and breathless when he finally drew back and helped her up.
"Here's to new beginnings and a long and happy life together," Elle said warmly. "Congratulations!"
Holding Daniel's hand in hers, their fingers entwined, Margaret turned to face the smiling faces of her family and friends.
The End
Thank you so much for reading my book! If this is your first Bearpaw Ridge Firefighters story, check out Bearpaw Ridge Firefighters: Boxed Set #1 - The Swanson Brothers, which contains Books 1 - 6 of the series at a special discounted price.
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I'm currently working on the next book in this series, tentatively titled Inferno. If you're wondering about what's going to happen when Pete Langlais is finally paroled, stay tuned!
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Books by Ophelia Sexton
Bearpaw Ridge Firefighters:
Heat (Bearpaw Ridge Firefighters Book 1)
Smolder (Bearpaw Ridge Firefighters Book 2)
Ignite (Bearpaw Ridge Firefighters Book 3)
Flame (Bearpaw Ridge Firefighters Book 4)
Burn (Bearpaw Ridge Firefighters Book 5)
Ash (Bearpaw Ridge Firefighters Book 6)
Smoke (Bearpaw Ridge Firefighters Book 7)
Blaze (Bearpaw Ridge Firefighters Book 8)
Ember (Bearpaw Ridge Firefighters Book 9)
Inferno (Bearpaw Ridge Firefighters Book 10) – coming soon!
Beast Warriors (co-authored with Bliss Devlin)
Fugitive: A Werebear + BBW Paranormal Romance (Beast Warriors Book 1)
by Bliss Devlin and Ophelia Sexton
Hunter: A Werebear + BBW Paranormal Romance (Beast Warriors Book 2)
by Bliss Devlin and Ophelia Sexton
Leader: A Werebear + Dragon Shifter Paranormal Romance (Beast Warriors Book 3) – coming soon!
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