Two Hearts in Silence – Extended Epilogue

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Two Years Later

“Are you excited to be back?” Elijah signed, his hands moving so quickly that no one but Addie would know what he meant. 

Addie pressed her lips together nervously and nodded before looking out the window of the train. Almost a year had passed since Mrs. Wheaton had insisted that Addie take half the money her father had left them, leave Fairtown, and explore the country with Elijah. Since then, they’d taken just about every form of transportation possible, hopping on trains, boats, and riding on horseback across mountain passes. 

The most thrilling part of their adventures, however, was when they visited the Boston School for the Deaf. There, Addie perfected her sign language, finally having the opportunity to practice with people like herself. Though she missed her family dearly, she’d felt more at home at the school in Boston than she ever had anywhere else. 

It was strange seeing the ways Fairtown had changed since they’d left. Addie could still see the church on top of the hill where she and Elijah had gotten married, but there were dozens of new buildings that had popped up since then. According to letters from her mother, Fairtown was home to its very own goldrush, bringing thousands of hopeful men looking to make their fortunes. It wasn’t until Fairtown got a train station that everything really started to change, however. 

“Who do you think will be waiting for us at the station?” Elijah asked. 

“My mother and sisters, I’m sure of it. And if I’m lucky…Liza will be there too,” Addie replied, grinning at the thought of it. 

It was high time that Addie and Elijah turned their heads toward settling down. Addie was getting tired of the road, and they weren’t going to get much further without Elijah taking some work. There was a deputy position available for him in Fairtown, and rumors that the job of sheriff would soon be opening up again. Ever since Callahan had resigned and skipped town, no one had lasted in the position for longer than six months at a time. 

At first, Addie had been grateful for the rest from work and keeping the household going, but after so long away, she was nervous that her sisters had changed beyond recognition. Besides, she was starting to yearn for children of her own. Though she’d never thought she’d get to be a mother, life with Elijah made anything seem possible. 

It was Liza’s upcoming marriage, however, that was the ultimate catalyst for Addie and Elijah’s return to Fairtown. After a long courtship, Pastor Lowell had finally asked for her hand in marriage, much to the joy of Mr. and Mrs. Jean. Liza had been there every step of the way when Addie was getting married, so it was the least she could do in return for her best friend. 

“You’re right! She’s there along with everyone else, just as you suspected,” Elijah signed before pointing out the window as the train pulled into the station. 

Addie stood up sharply, excited to see her family for the first time in a year. Mrs. Wheaton was looking stronger than ever with her head held high and her arm around her second eldest daughter, Sarah, who was now looking like quite the proper woman. Surprisingly, however, Catherine had sprung up to become the tallest of all of them, towering over the youngest, Mary, who had just turned ten.

Then there was Liza, who looked exactly the same as if time had passed her by. Her black hair shone in the sun, and she waved eagerly toward the train without even knowing which car Addie was in. 

“You go to the door now. I’ll grab all the luggage,” Elijah offered sweetly without Addie having to even ask. She kissed him on the cheek before rushing out of the cabin and into the hallway, grabbing onto the wall for balance as the train finally lurched to a stop. 

The porter grinned at her as he opened the door, calling out the train number and destination after Addie jumped onto the platform. The station had been so recently built that the lumber still smelled freshly cut, filling Addie’s nostrils with the scent of clean pine. She ran full force toward her family until their arms were around each other, making one big pile of Wheatons with Liza and Addie in the middle. 

It only took seconds before the tears started streaming down Addie’s face, making her throat close up and leaving her unable to talk. Little did she know, but speaking wasn’t the only way to communicate with her family anymore. 

“How was the train? We all rode the train to Grafburg last month just to try it! The whole trip took less than an hour, but I loved every minute of it,” Mary signed eagerly. 

“I didn’t like how loud it was,” Catherine replied with her hands as well. 

It took about two minutes while the conversation progressed until Addie realized what had happened. Every member of her family and Liza had perfected their sign language while she and Elijah were away. When she’d left, their skills hadn’t progressed very far, but Addie didn’t blame them for learning slowly. Now, however, they were all going on and on as if they’d been born knowing how to sign.

“How did you…I mean, I only taught you so much before I left,” Addie said, looking down at everyone’s hands in astonishment. 

All the women laughed. “You didn’t think we had it in us!” Liza teased. “I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to learn either, but your mother is a stubborn woman. The credit goes to her.”

Mrs. Wheaton shook her head bashfully. “No, no, we were all in it together. If we hadn’t all been committed to learning, it never would have stuck. And, of course, we wouldn’t have gotten very far without the book Elijah sent us.” 

Addie spun around to look at Elijah. He waved cluelessly from the stairs, his arms full of luggage. He must have sent them a sign language textbook from Boston without telling her!

“We wanted it to be a surprise. Mother thought that if we all learned sign language properly, it would make you more likely to want to stay here in Fairtown,” Mary explained. 

Addie thought her heart was going to explode from all the goodwill coming her way. “You’re all too kind! You didn’t need to…I was going to come back either way, but this…this means the world to me.” 

Mrs. Wheaton gave her a warm smile. “We ought to have learned years ago. We’re just making up for lost time. There’s that handsome husband of yours!” Elijah put down the luggage to embrace everyone. The girls were full of questions for them, and he had candies he’d saved all the way from Maine to give them, leaving Addie the chance to properly greet Liza.

“Two days until the wedding. Are you feeling ready?” she asked gleefully.

Liza’s eyes sparkled with joy. “I’ve never been so ready! Who would have thought I’d end up being the pastor’s wife? Me, of all people! I’m not looking forward to all the church politics, of course. All the old ladies have so many opinions. I don’t know how Kirk handles it on his own. But anything will be easier than cleaning floors and dishes all day.”

“I suppose your parents are upset they’ll finally have to pay someone properly for the work we used to do,” Addie noted.

“Why do you think my mother’s so eager that I start having children? She’s hoping I’ll produce plenty more cleaners and dishwashers to help out around the place. I’m being cruel. Both my mother and father are thrilled to finally have me out of the house. This way I won’t be such a burden to them,” Liza joked. 

The two of them laughed heartily, not because anything particularly funny had been said, but more to make up for all the laughs they hadn’t been able to share in Addie’s time away. 

The days leading up to the wedding passed by in a hazy rush of dress tailoring and reminiscing. Seeing as the Wheaton cottage was too small now to host both Addie and Elijah, they stayed in the boarding house again. Every second of being there served as a reminder of their early courtship, back to the days of sitting outside as Elijah patiently taught her the basic tenets of sign language while trying not to stare at her for too long. 

The wedding itself was everything Liza wanted it to be, which brought Addie great joy in turn. Everyone danced together to the fiddle and banjo music as the sun set behind the mountains in the summer sky. 

“I hear you’re back for good now. Or, is that just my Liza speaking wishfully?” Pastor Kirk Lowell asked Addie and Elijah as the three of them recovered from a particularly sprightly jig. 

“For the foreseeable future, anyway. The town has grown so much since we were last here. I’m going to be starting with the sheriff’s department next week, and we’ll have to find a more permanent place to live sooner or later,” Elijah told him. 

“And you, Addie? What does your new life in Fairtown look like?”

Addie opened her mouth to respond before realizing she wasn’t all too sure what the answer was. Her family was now sufficient without her, and seeing as they didn’t own a house yet, she couldn’t exactly take on her normal wifely duties. When she had suggested going back to cleaning, Elijah had made it very clear that she didn’t have to if she didn’t want to. In a few months, he’d be able to save enough money himself to at least start building them a place to live. 

“Oh, I’m sure I’ll…I’ll find a way of keeping myself busy.”

“Well, if it’s not too much of an imposition, there was something I wanted to propose to you myself. Since the town has grown so much, we now have three deaf children living here, and no one to teach them. I could offer up space in the church if you were willing to take on their education and teach them sign language. And there would be a salary for you too, of course,” the pastor added.

Addie didn’t have to think about it for a single second. All at once, it was as if her purpose had been explained to her in one simple sentence. After everything she’d learned about in Boston, Addie had dreamed about opening her own school for the deaf, but she never thought it was possible in a place like Fairtown. Maybe this wouldn’t be the highly funded, state-of-the-art school she had in mind, but it was a start.

“Yes! I would be honored to pass along what I know. Thank you for trusting me,” Addie managed to get out. 

“Oh, that’s wonderful news. Come see me next week and we can discuss the details. Ah, my wife is calling to me. Enjoy the food!” Pastor Lowell said while waving to Liza across the way.

Addie turned to Elijah, her eyes filling with tears of joy. “It’s perfect, isn’t it? More perfect than I ever thought…I get to do exactly what I want and be right here, with you and my family right by my side.”

He smiled, lifting her hands to his lips and kissing them firmly. “You will be the best teacher those kids ever could have hoped for.”

“Thanks to everything you taught me along the way.”

Elijah shook his head. “It would have been nothing had you not opened my heart the way you did.”

He pulled her out into the mix of swirling dancers, stomping to the rhythm that she could feel vibrate through the ground into her bones. 

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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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