Chapter 11

Fisher

Five Years Later…

"They're our friends,"Vera tells our son, Owen, as we all watch the wolves. "But they're still animals, and we need to be mindful of that. We need to respect them and listen to them the same way we would each other."

He nods, watching as the wolves run around together out in the field. Owen is transfixed, and I smile at my wife over his head.

"We should get going soon," I tell her, and she nods.

"Ready to head back, Owen?" Vera asks him, and he shakes his head.

"No! I want to stay here."

"You're supposed to be heading over to Aunt Cameron's place to have a play date with—" She explains, but Owen cuts her off as soon as he hears play.

I laugh, scooping up our son as Vera stands. We start to walk back down the path to the house.

We got married a week after we said I love you, in a small ceremony here at the wolf sanctuary. It was a great day, the best. Vera had some of her friends from town there, and I invited Bishop and his wife, Alba, to come down from Clearwater. It was great to see and introduce him to my Vera. We've been meeting up at least once a month ever since and it's been awesome to get to see my best friend so much.

I moved in with Vera officially after the wedding. It took a few months for us to go through her parents' things, and then we started renovating the place. Vera said the renovations helped with her grief and made this place feel more like ours instead of just her childhood home.

The renovations took six months, and it was a bit chaotic. We were both looking forward to some peace and calm and that's when we learned that Vera was pregnant.

To say that our first year of marriage was a whirlwind would be an understatement. I wouldn't change anything, though. It only made us closer.

The Wolf Valley Resort has been open for close to three years now, and it's doing great. It's brought in a bunch of tourists for the town and has helped out the wolf sanctuary by bringing in more visitors who, in turn, donate money to help keep the place running. Even if they didn't, I would be more than happy to spend all of our money on keeping this place going. I would do anything to make Vera happy.

The increased business has also allowed Vera to hire a few more people to help out around the sanctuary. That means that she can actually take some time off when she wants. That's handy because I want to show Vera and our son the world.

So far, we've been to Hawaii, Mexico, New York, and Australia. We have another trip planned for Greece later this year, and I can't wait for it. Two whole weeks with just my wife and son. No work for either of us.

Being with Vera and having Owen has really helped me step back from the business. I used to be a workaholic, but when I met Vera, she became the only thing that could pull me away from work. I used to be all go, go, go, but she made me want to stop and just enjoy life. Live more in the moment.

Thank God for that.

Tonight, we're celebrating our fifth wedding anniversary, and Cameron and Ford are going to be babysitting for us. We're supposed to be there soon so I unlock the car and pick Owen up.

"Ready to have some fun tonight?" I ask him as I buckle him into his car seat.

"Uh-huh! Do you think that there will be ice cream?" He asks, and I laugh.

"Yeah, I'm sure they'll have some ice cream for you."

He grins, happy with that news and I kiss his forehead before I close the door and move to open the passenger side door.

"Are you ready to have some fun tonight?" I ask Vera as I open her door and she smirks up at me.

"Uh-huh. Do you think that there will be some sexy times?" She whispers, and I laugh.

"Oh, I'm sure there will be," I promise her.

She smiles as she slides into the car, and I grin to myself as I close the door and head around to the other side.

I'm so happy that I decided to come to Wolf Valley five years ago. It brought me to Vera and this life that we've built. I know that without her, I would be miserable and stressed out. With her, I finally have something to look forward to each day. She and Owen are my everything, and they always will be.

I climb behind the wheel and take my wife"s hand as we head out to celebrate our anniversary. I have a few surprises planned for us tonight, and I know that Vera is going to love them.

I grin as we head out, eager to get tonight started.

* * *