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I’d pledged a significant portion of my newfound wealth to the very charity my mother had noted in her will. I’d never known how much she cared about animals, but it gave me a sense of peace in choosing to work for the sanctuary.
My life was exactly where I wanted it to be, and I had a sense my mother was smiling from heaven.
Since I had no father to walk me down the aisle, straws had been selected from the men who’d been on the mountain with Maverick. Five men who’d sworn their friendship to each other, struggling yet maintaining their pledge. They’d suffered a significant loss, forced to endure countless years of guilt, but they remained strong and caring.
I was honored to now call them my friends as well.
As the music of the harp player began, all five men crowded around me. They would be walking me down the aisle together.
A path of flower petals guided my way as I took careful steps through the green pasture toward the man I loved. As he turned, I was forced to take a deep breath from the sight of him.
He’d shaved his beard, allowing me to see his gorgeous, chiseled face for the first time. As the sunlight twinkled in his eyes, his adoration clearly seen on his face, I realized I was the luckiest woman alive.
And when he took my hands into his, tingles scattered across my skin, I knew in my heart I’d found my forever.
My love.
My home.
My life.
We said our vows in reverence, words chosen that meant something to both of us.
Then the crowd cheered as Sam sauntered down the aisle. In his mouth was a small basket with the rings. He was so proud of himself, even if he couldn’t keep his eyes off Sophie and Apollo.
When Maverick placed the ring on my finger, I could see tears in his eyes.
As the minister announced we were married and that Maverick should kiss his bride, doves were released, soaring high in the sky.
“I love you, my perfect princess,” he whispered.
“I love you, my gorgeous mountain man.”
As the crowd watched the birds seeking freedom, the words he’d told me slipped into my mind, a mantra that he’d never forgotten said together as the Missoula Bad Boys.
Brothers in arms.
Bad boys, cowboys, soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines.
They’d been labeled delinquents, incapable of redemption.
And they’d gone our separate ways.
Heroes. Monsters. Sinners and saints.
Above all they’d been men honoring our country even while a terrible secret loomed just below the surface.
There were those who would never forget, praying they’d never return.
Others would stop at nothing to prevent them from doing so.
They were intent on finding salvation by protecting those they loved.
But demons from a single act would never allow them to forget.
Six men determined to right the wrongs from their past.
Six men prepared to do what it took.
No matter the cost.
Together in life.
Together in death.
And now, together in love and salvation…
The End
