Betrothed to the Wrong Rancher – Extended Epilogue

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September – Two years later

Sarah sat beside Eli as they drove the buggy into Riley Springs for the fall harvest celebration. She couldn’t wait, knowing there would be dancing to the accompaniment of fiddles and guitars, friends and neighbors gathered, food aplenty, punch and lemonade to quench parched throats, as well as the likelihood of a hidden jug of whiskey for the men that would be brought out from time to time.

On her lap she cuddled her one-year-old daughter Rebecca, her arms gently wrapped around the toddler’s pudgy middle as her ever curious child tried to lean forward, eyes wide, a myriad of sounds and a few words escaping her mouth at the wondrous sights before them.

“Pitty! Pitty!” Rebecca cried, tiny fingers pointing.

Eli turned to glance down at his daughter with a grin and then smiled as he raised his eyes toward Sarah’s. “Yes, the view is very pretty, isn’t it Becca?”

Sarah smiled. The past couple of years seemed to have flown by, she and Eli so busy on the ranch working with his Morgans, increasing the size of his cattle herd little by little, and of course, having to add an extra room to his house when she’d told him she was with child during their first year of marriage. She had never seen such a look on Eli’s face as the one she saw when she’d told him. She would never forget it, not to her dying day.

She’d been in love with him when she married, but her love continued to grow and blossom to the point it encompassed every moment of her life. They rarely disagreed, but when they did, they solved issues together, and she knew that his devotion to her and their young daughter was limitless.

“’Bout time you got here!”

Eli pulled the buggy to a halt as Luke rode up on his horse, wearing a new shirt with a sheriff’s star pinned to his pocket. It was just after the Redstone Gang had been captured that Luke decided he needed to make a little change. He’d informed the town council that because Riley Springs was growing more quickly than anyone anticipated, it would be best to have a sheriff in town, rather than relying on a U.S. Marshal who could be gone often within the county, state, and even sometimes beyond state borders.

“Where’s Abigail?” Sarah asked, peering along boardwalks and the crowded street looking for one of her best and dearest friends.

“She’s at the church with Lila and the others.”

“And Matthew?”

Luke grinned and pointed toward the mercantile, where his son, Matthew, close to Rebecca’s age, sat atop a barrel with Walt hovering nearby to make sure the boy didn’t topple. “You know, Eli, Walt has made a lot of progress. Whenever I see him now, he’s always smiling.”

Eli agreed, pulling the buggy out of the middle of Main Street and parking it near the edge of the mercantile. “The past six months have gone quite well, if I do say so myself.”

“He’s a big help,” Sarah agreed. Walt had spent nearly a year and a half in Dallas, getting sober, learning how to live again, and now he lived with them once more, in the bunkhouse this time as one of the ranch employees, a role he had taken to with gusto.

“I think he feels he needs to make up for lost time,” Eli said. “Although I don’t think it’s necessary. We all have struggles in life and he had his demons, but I’m glad to see him living again and not revisiting every regret and disappointment with a bottle.”

Sarah quickly stepped down from the buggy without waiting for Eli to help her, Rebecca cradled against one hip. The child garbled happily when she saw Matthew sitting on top of the barrel. “I’m hurrying, Rebecca,” she said, laughing softly as she glanced at Eli and then Luke. “Are you sure Walt doesn’t mind watching after both of them for a little while?”

“Nope, he doesn’t mind, and the house is right over there,” Luke said, pointing. “Walt can see the goings on from there, as you very well know, Sarah.” He smiled. “I think between me and Abigail and you and Luke, we’ll be able to keep an eye on them easily enough. Walt promised he would stick next to them and make sure they didn’t get into trouble.”

Even though Rebecca had just learned to walk a few weeks ago, she could be quite a handful, and double for Matthew, who was an inquisitive, rambunctious child as well. The two got along very well together, but for a moment, she almost felt guilty leaving them with Walt, even for a short while. She looked up at Eli. 

“Maybe I should stay with them for a little bit, let Walt enjoy some of the festivities.”

“No need to worry about that,” Eli said, reaching for her hand. “We’ll enjoy a dance or two, stuff our bellies with beef and corn and cake and cookies, and then we’ll go relieve Walt, okay?”

She laughed. Luke touched a finger to the brim of his hat. “I’ll ride over to the church and let Abigail know that you’re here and that Walt’s got the children. I’m sure you’ll have time to visit with her for a while, Sarah, and I’ll be out and about as usual.”

They nodded. As they walked hand-in-hand toward Luke’s place, one of the first houses just past the corner of Main Street and First Street, she saw Walt preparing to leave the mercantile, reaching for Matthew and heading toward Luke’s house as well.

“Everything all right?” Eli asked. “You seem pretty quiet this morning.”

She looked up at him and laughed. “As compared to what?”

He grinned. “I didn’t mean it like that, and you know it.” His grin faded and he sobered. “But really, is everything all right?”

She nodded. “I’m fine,” The past year had been challenging, what with the trial and the testimony and everything, traveling back and forth from Dallas to the courthouse. As it turned out, Darius would spend much of the rest of his life in prison up in Leavenworth. Eli had never written, and vice versa. Hank had been sentenced to serve time down in Houston. Jed had been sent to jail in Louisiana.

Sarah’s heart skipped a beat as she looked at her husband. She knew it was time to say something. She pulled him to a halt, her hands tucked into his belt, the way she usually did when she wanted to keep him close, when she had something important to say or just to hold him in place a moment or two. She lifted herself onto her tip toes and kissed him.

It was a brief kiss, but one filled with love, as were they all, and Eli grinned down at her. “What was that for?”

“That was for being such a wonderful husband to me and father to Rebecca… and soon to another child.”

Eli eyed her for several moments, clearly not understanding what she was saying until, after several seconds, realization dawned. His eyebrows rose and a smile broke out. “You’re with child?”

Heat flushed her cheeks, and she nodded. “The baby will be due in early spring.”

Eli let out a whoop, lifting Sarah as well as Rebecca in his arms and twirled them around once before he set Sarah’s feet on the ground once more. “I can’t wait… Oh! I’ll have to build another room onto the house!”

“Another room?”

They both turned to find Walt approaching, Matthew tucked onto his hip much like Sarah tucked Rebecca against hers. He eyed them with a hesitant smile. Sarah knew the older man was still getting used to being part of something again; he was happy to be part of a growing family.

“Sarah’s going to have a baby in the spring!” Eli informed him.

Walt beamed. “Oh, that’s wonderful, Sarah, congratulations.” He stuck out his hand toward Eli. “Congratulations, son,” he said.

Sarah smiled. Lately, Walt had started calling Eli his son more often. At first, Eli hadn’t been so sure about that, but he was willing to give the man a chance.

“Thanks, Walt,” he said. “I was just telling Sarah I would have to make a new addition to the house.”

Walt laughed. “Well, it’ll go up just as fast as the last one did once word spreads.”

Eli paused, gazing at his stepfather with a slightly tilted head. “I’ve decided something else, Walt.”

What’s that?”

“I think it’s time you moved out of the bunkhouse. I was thinking we could build you a cottage down by the creek in that grove of live oaks. You think you’d like it there?”

Sarah saw the look that came over Walt’s face. His cheeks flushed and his eyes shone with tears before he bravely blinked them back. “I’d like that very much, Eli, very much indeed,” he managed to choke out. Embarrassed, he cleared his throat and glanced at Matthew. “You want to play with Rebecca?”

Matthew bounced up and down in Walt’s arms. “Becca! Becca!”

Eli and Sarah laughed as they reached the white picket fence that surrounded Luke and Abigail’s home. It was a pretty, small clapboard house painted white with black trim around the windows and a large yard. A small horse shed and corral stood behind it. Abigail’s vegetable garden crew riotously on the east side of the house, the west side filled with rose bushes.

After leaving Matthew and Rebecca in his stepfather’s care, Eli reached for Sarah’s hand and they joined the celebration in town. Greetings and well wishes on the news of Sarah’s announcement barraged them from every direction, and she received an especially joyful hug from Abigail, who whispered in Sarah’s ear that she too was expecting, but hadn’t told Luke yet.

She was ecstatic. To have their children so close in ages to one another was nothing less than a blessing. Thank you Lord, for bringing me here to Riley Springs and to Eli, she prayed, taking in the town, the landscape, and all the friends gathered nearby. Thank you for giving me such good friends, for keeping us safe and well, for the bounty you have given us in the past couple of years. Thank you and blessed is your name and that of your son.

Eli was talking to a couple of ranchers, Mr. Jasper Harrison and Mr. Samuel Wolcott. She sobered as she realized the topic of conversation.

“…you hear about Darius up there in Leavenworth?” Mr. Wolcott was saying.

Darius. After the trials, Sarah had done her best to not speak of Eli’s father, still a stranger to him and a relationship that Eli had no interest in pursuing.

“No,” Eli said.

“Got himself another five years tacked onto a sentence for bad behavior.”

“Serves him right,” Mister Harrison said. “I don’t think he’ll ever get out.”

Sarah felt guilty, but she couldn’t help but feel a bit relieved at that thought. Darius was a bad, bad man, one who didn’t seem to have any regrets for the life he had lived or the harm he had caused others. Hank, as far as she knew, had another five years in prison, but she very much doubted that he would ever return to the county. 

“Eli! Sarah!”

Mr. Wolcott and Mr. Harrison moved off as Sarah and Eli turned to find James and Hannah Dawson approaching, smiles on their faces.

“Oh my goodness,” Sarah exclaimed. “It’s so good to see you two!”

For the first year during the trials of the Redstone Gang, and specifically of Jeb, while busy with the rebuilding of their house, the Dawson’s hadn’t been seen much around town. While everyone tried to reassure them that no one thought less of them because of what had become of their son, she knew that the couple had taken it hard.

Sarah had gone out of her way to visit them often, to silently reassure them with her presence and her visits that she held no hard feelings or judgment toward them. They had been wonderful parents to Jeb and everyone in town knew it. The fault lay with Jeb, not them. Eventually, the older couple had begun to realize that and had returned to their weekly visits to town to attend church and the fellowship.

“How have you two been?” Hannah asked, reaching for Sarah’s hand. 

“Fine, Hannah,” she said, gesturing. “Rebecca and Matthew are over their playing.” As they all turned to watch the toddlers, Walt lifted a hand in greeting and the Dawson’s waved back. James cleared his throat and turned first to Eli and then Sarah and then back to Eli as he spoke.

“Eli, we have news. Hannah and I have been discussing it for quite a while now, and we’ve made a decision.”

Sarah waited, glanced at Eli, but received nothing more than a slightly lifted eyebrow. He knew nothing either.

“As you know, Jeb is serving his five years in Louisiana, his home state, where he was born,” James said.

“But we’ve been exchanging letters for the past year,” Hannah said tentatively, glancing at Sarah and Eli with a somewhat worried expression.

Sarah put her at ease. “Well of course you have, Hannah. He’s your son. Nothing will ever change that.” She knew that for a certainty. “Parents are supposed to love and support their children, especially through difficult times.”

Hannah’s eyes filled with tears. “Thank you for saying that, Sarah,” she said, reaching for Sarah’s hand. “You’re such a wonderful woman. If things had turned out different, I would’ve been proud to call you my daughter-in-law… no, my daughter.”

James seconded the comment. “But we have news.” He turned again toward Eli. “Hannah and I have decided that we want to return to Louisiana, to be closer to Jeb, and to be there for him when he gets out.” He paused and huffed out a breath. “Therefore, I’m planning to put the ranch up for sale.”

Eli looked surprised. Sarah was stunned. “You’re leaving?”

“Yes, dear,” Hannah said. “Jeb has learned a lot of hard lessons these past two years. He’s determined to make a fresh start when he gets out of jail, to live a decent life. He’s apologized to us up one side and down the other about his behavior, knows that he took us for granted, for thinking that we…”

“That we were somehow holding him back,” James continued. “We spoiled him, we know that, and while that part isn’t his fault, what he did, well, he’s paying for it, and he’s learned a lot from it. We want to be there for him when he gets out, to help him start over and hopefully make a good life for himself in the future.”

Eli nodded with understanding. “For one though, I’ll be sorry to see you leave.”

“Me too,” said Sarah.

“Good. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about, Eli, you and Sarah both. Before I put the house up for sale officially, I want you to know, that if you’re interested, I’d sell it to you first; the house, the outbuildings, the land, all of it. My property already adjoins yours, so it would mean doubling your acreage. The cattle that I own will come in the price, but the horses, I’ll get them shipped back to Louisiana and raise them there.”

Sarah glanced at Eli, who gaped, speechless. “But I—”

“I’m selling cheap, Eli,” James said. “At half the price of the going rate, and like I said, the cattle will be absorbed in that cost. I’ll give you some time to think about it, but can you let me know by the end of the week? And if you decide you’re not interested, I will still have time to post it in the county newspaper and put up posters.”

Eli glanced at Sarah, who looked at him with raised eyebrows. Over the past two summers they’d gotten very good prices for their cattle. They had sold nearly half the Morgan horses, with more colts and fillies in the stables flourishing and nearly a half a dozen new breeding stock added over this past year alone. Along with the near top prices for last year’s corn and wheat crops, in addition to the sale of the Morgan horses and the cattle, they could probably afford to buy out Dawson.

“I’ll think on it, James,” Eli said. “I’ll think on it real hard. Thanks for giving us first dibs on it. Sarah and I will talk about it tonight and I’ll let you know in the next day or two.”

“That’ll be fine, Eli,” James said. He reached for his wife’s hand. “Come along, Hannah, let’s go kick up our heels a bit.”

After they left, Eli was deep in thought as he reached for her hand and led her toward the stable barn where the dancing was taking place, the sounds of fiddles, a violin, and laughter and conversation filling the air around them. He wrapped his arms around her as they swayed to a slow hymn-like song, one meant for a less spirited dance, but one that Sarah was very grateful for. Other couples joined them on the dance floor, murmured voices ebbing and flowing around them.

Finally, Eli spoke. “What do you think, Sarah?”

“Well, their new house is bigger than ours, and what with a growing family…”

“And maybe we could talk to Luke and Abigail. Maybe they’d like to have more room too and they could live at the house. I’d charge them half the rent they’re paying now. It’s not so far out of town.”

She smiled as she looked up at Eli. “It’s a secret, so you can’t tell, but Abigail is expecting again too.”

Luke glanced down at her and smiled, then lifted his head and laughed. “Boy, the Lord sure does work in mysterious ways, doesn’t he?”

She laughed softly, wrapping her arms more tightly around his waist, her head pressed against his chest so she could listen to his heartbeat, her favorite place in the entire world. “That he does, Eli. That he does.”

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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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