Seeking her Daughter in the West – Extended Epilogue

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Two years later

“Did you get the eggplant that Mr. Tate requested?” Rose stuck her head into the pantry as Wyatt was unloading the parcel of goods from the General Store. He looked up and, for the millionth time since they’d met, was struck by her beauty. When that combined with the look of adoration on Rose’s face, Wyatt knew he was the luckiest man in Valliant… no, make that the whole world. 

“I did!” he said, holding up the eggplant. “All the way from Egypt. I didn’t know they grew eggplants in Egypt, but I suppose I have been wrong once or twice before.”

Rose laughed. It was one of his favorite sounds in the whole world. “Well then, I suppose we’ll just have to go there on our next trip!”

“Sounds perfect to me,” Wyatt said, handing her the eggplant and then sweeping her into his arms. “What shall we call it… our third honeymoon?”

“Exactly!” Rose exclaimed, then kissed him passionately. The day he and Rose had gotten married had been the happiest day of his life. As they kissed, he remembered how breathtaking she looked in her white dress, how their mothers blubbered into their handkerchiefs in the front row, and how Annie and Rich looked on approvingly from their spots at the front of the church as their witnesses. When Wyatt swooped Rose up into a standing position, they drew their lips apart from each other but pressed their heads together.

“I love you so much,” Wyatt whispered to her, then placed a gentle hand on her lower stomach. “And I can’t wait until I can love our little one just as much as I love you.”

“Wyatt, what did I say about–”

“WHAT?! YOU’RE HAVING A CHILD? WHEN WERE YOU GOING TO TELL ME THAT? WHEN YOU DECIDED TO MAKE ME GODMOTHER?”

Wyatt cringed apologetically at Rose. “I’m so, so sorry, I didn’t think she could–”

Suddenly, Annie was in the pantry with them. “OH SO YOU DECIDED TO COME IN HERE AND WHISPER ABOUT YOUR SECRET–”

Rose put her hand over her friend’s mouth. “Annie. My dearest, sweetest friend in the whole world. I love you so, so much, but would you please, for the sake of the secrecy of this pregnancy, be quiet?”

Annie froze. She looked from Rose to Wyatt and back again. Then, she sighed dramatically. “Fine,” she mumbled behind Rose’s hand. “I suppose you’re allowed to decide when you tell people, but ME? You couldn’t tell me?”

“We wanted to,” Wyatt chimed in, “but we didn’t want to jinx anything. After what happened with our darling Beatrice…” Wyatt didn’t even have to finish his sentence. Annie put her hand up. 

“I’m so very sorry, you two, I spoke out of turn,” she said seriously, taking Rose’s hands. “No one should have to go through the loss that you went through with that child, and I should have known you would want to keep this one to yourselves until it was time. I’m just… I’m just so excited for you!”

Annie pulled Rose into a hug once more, then did the same thing to Wyatt. Annie had been such a wonderful support to the both of them through the loss of their first child at birth, and she understood better than anyone what they were going through from being there for so much of it.

“What was all that screaming about? Are you all right, my darling?” Alfred peeked his head around the corner and Annie turned and kissed him.

“Yes, my sweet dear, I just… dropped this eggplant on my foot, but I’m fine.” She offered the eggplant to Alfred, who took it up and scowled at it. 

“Foolish vegetable!” he cursed it, then slammed it to the floor in anger. Rose and Wyatt both gasped. When they did, Alfred looked up at them in alarm. “What’s wrong? Can I not punish a vegetable for hurting my wife?”

Wyatt sighed and patted Alfred on the arm. It had taken Alfred and Annie some time to get used to running the Orchard Inn, but they were now quite capable, even when Rose and Wyatt weren’t around to lend a hand. “No, you just destroyed something we’ve waited months for for your highest paying guest.”

Alfred’s eyes widened. “That was for Mr. Tate, the salesman who inherited all of his mother’s riches? You’re kidding!”

Wyatt shook his head. “It’s all right. Come along, let’s go see if we can find an eggplant in the garden that will suffice as a replacement. He might not know the difference!”

After the men had fetched an appropriate replacement for the Egyptian eggplant and Mr. Tate was none the wiser, Wyatt and Rose bid farewell to their dear friends and returned to their home. They lived in a small but comfortably appointed home right in the center of town. On the bottom floor was Rose’s seamstress shop called Carp’s Creations and in the attic was Wyatt’s writing studio… where he’d finished writing his first book.

When Rose had read it, she’d wept with joy. He’d put so much of their story into his story that it now made the whole thing flow together so well. He’d even managed to find a publisher… with the help of his mother’s new beau, that was. Mr. Oscar Yellowstone was a book publisher who stayed at the Orchard Inn for all of one night and had fallen madly in love with his mother. The two were married less than a year later and they now lived in a handsome house just outside of town with a big, beautiful orchard that it looked out over. His mother still kept a few rooms in the back for select guests to come and stay with them, but now that she was well taken care of, she never had to work another day in her life.

When Oscar had agreed to publish Wyatt’s book, titled The Rose of Valliant, he’d warned him that it might not perform very well. 

“It is difficult for a first time writer to gain much acclaim very quickly in today’s publishing climate,” Oscar had told him when they’d sat down to look at the first copy of the book. “I think it will sell a fair number of copies, but if you keep at it, I’m sure you will write something that the whole country will be quite taken with.

Wyatt’s book, however, had been a huge success. It sold thousands of copies almost immediately, and he was achieving the success that he’d only ever dreamed was possible. He was already working on his second book and couldn’t wait to share it with Rose. He was, however, slightly nervous about the content.

When Wyatt opened the door for his gorgeous wife, she giggled as she walked over the threshold. “What is it?”

“Oh, I just always feel a little thrill any time we walk through that doorway together,” Rose told him, draping her arms around his neck and gazing into his eyes. He felt his knees go a little weak, but he managed to stay standing upright. Rose was just so beautiful. “That was the threshold you carried me over on our wedding night, how could I not?”

Instead of answering her, Wyatt simply wrapped her in his arms and kissed her. He couldn’t believe how lucky he was, and how beautifully everything had worked out. After the confrontation on the ridge, Emiline, his now mother-in-law, revealed that she had lied about what she’d said.

“I already sent all of the information I compiled to the sheriff before I came here,” she told them all with a grin on her face. “The sheriff, his deputy, and a great many of the sheriffs and deputies from the towns they’ve robbed before are waiting for them at the bottom of the ridge.”

“WHAT?!” Rose had exclaimed in surprise. Then, she’d hugged her mother so tightly and said, “You’re the most hardworking, brilliant mother in the world.”

That was all it had taken for Emiline to start weeping again, and the two women stood there, crying and hugging for a long, long time. Wyatt was just so incredibly happy to see Rose reunited with her mother. 

After Rose and Wyatt had wed and moved into their home, Emiline had moved into the home next to theirs. She now worked some of her time with her daughter in their dressmaking shop, and spent the rest of her time helping out at the inn. Wyatt had tried to convince Emiline that she didn’t need to work so hard anymore because his book had done so well, but Emiline had just rolled her eyes and patted his arm.

“You’re very kind, Wyatt,” she’d said to him, “but do you think I’m going to leave Annie and Alfred alone to run the inn? They’d burn it to the ground in a week!”

 Emiline, Rose and Alfred had a great deal to catch up on, so they spent many nights sitting together and talking and laughing as Wyatt tried not to listen from his writing room upstairs. He wanted to give the family time and space to get to know each other, without him interfering. It seemed they were all getting along very well, and it delighted him to no end to see his wife so happy with her newfound family. 

Now, Wyatt and Rose moved to the parlor and sat down together. Wyatt knew he wanted to talk to Rose about his new book, but he wasn’t sure how she would react. He decided to summon up his courage and tell her anyway.

“Rose,” he began, “I’ve begun writing a new book.”

She gasped in excitement. “Have you? Oh how exciting! Do tell me all about it, I can’t wait to hear!”

Wyatt smiled at her lovingly. “I will, but I… I’m worried that the content might upset you.” His heart was beginning to pound in his chest, and he wasn’t sure if he could, or should do this. Could be back out now?

Rose cocked her head to the side and looked at her husband, very confused. “Whatever do you mean?”

Wyatt sighed. “The book… it’s about children going on adventures…. Our children going on adventures.” The young man watched his wife’s face closely to see any signs of upset.

Rose smiled delightedly. “Whyever would that make me upset, my darling? That sounds wonderful! Our future children, going on the most wonderful adventures together, just like we have!”

Wyatt took his wife’s hands. “Yes, our future child… but also our lost child. I’m writing about the adventures that Beatrice and our new baby would have gone on together, had Beatrice lived.”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Wyatt wished that he could put them back in. How could he have told Rose that? She’d been utterly destroyed by Beatrice’s death, as he had been. But to his surprise, Rose looked indeed very sad, but also quite happy.

“I think that is the most wonderful idea you’ve ever had,” she told him, taking his hands in hers. “I think that’s the perfect way to honor our Beatrice and provide us with hope for our future little one,” she said, stroking her stomach with one hand. 

“I’m so relieved to hear you say that,” Wyatt said, the relief flooding his body. “I was so worried… I didn’t want to upset you… and I worried you might think I was jinxing our chances of having this child, this beloved little one, live long enough to be loved by us as it should.”

Now, tears were streaming down both of their faces. Rose took her husband’s face in her hands and gazed deeply into his eyes.

“Oh my dear,” she whispered softly to him, “I just know this little one is going to grow up and be big and strong, just like they will be in the book. There isn’t a doubt in my mind.”

With that, Rose leaned in and kissed Wyatt. They were both so scared, yet so in love with each other and with this child that had been so hoped for and prayed for for so long. Yet secretly, they each knew that this baby was going to be just fine, and they would spend the rest of their lives doting on it and loving it just as much as they loved each other. 

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OFFER: A BRAND NEW SERIES AND 2 FREEBIES FOR YOU!

Grab my new series, "Hearts of the Untamed West", and get 2 FREE novels as a gift! Have a look here!

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