United Under the Western Sky – Extended Epilogue

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They’d set a date for that second wedding about five different times over the years, but it wasn’t until their third anniversary that they managed to get it all together. Life had just sped by and they’d both been kept so busy with various responsibilities, that the notion of planning a giant party just seemed exhausting.

Sarah had been excelling at school, and at times it felt like she was smarter than both Annie and Josiah put together. Josiah had been doing his own studying, and was now so confident in his reading skills, that it was a battle between the three of them as to who got to read the bedtime stories. Annie always put up a bit of a fight, but really she just felt grateful that her husband and child both seemed as interested in the stories that she brought to them as she was.

She’d tried to keep in touch with her own family in Virginia, but it was difficult. It took so long for the letters to get across the country that every time she sent or received news, it felt like she was already behind the times. Abby, the sister closest in age to Annie, already had three children, and Annie hadn’t met a single one of them. From the sounds of it, her father had been growing ill, but was hanging on as long as he could. She didn’t get much news from her mother, who had never been one for sentiment, but occasionally she sent along a recipe she thought Annie might find useful. Though they were hardly messages of love, Annie appreciated them nonetheless. Her mother had never been one for fancy words, so any news from her at all was appreciated.

Josiah had been hard at work at the jailhouse. Jackson had been growing in population since Annie’s arrival, and therefore, the crime levels had also been spiking. He and Sheriff Hanks had been doing a marvelous job at keeping Jackson safe, but it was a wild country and it was impossible to keep outlaws from running through now and then. The station was growing, and they even had hired on a second deputy to help out. More than just clamping down on crime, Josiah had taken it upon himself to help out with the vulnerable populations around town, making sure that everyone had enough food to fill their bellies and roofs over their heads.

It wasn’t until Annie and Josiah discovered that they had finally been blessed with their own child that they decided it was time to turn their attention toward that second wedding.

“It’s perfect! The beading…the lace…I think this is the finest wedding dress I’ve ever made. Especially considering it’s for a woman who’s already married,” Mrs. McKee teased as she fastened the buttons on the back of Annie’s wedding dress.

“You don’t think it’s too tight?” Annie asked as she considered her reflection in the mirror, one hand over her small belly that contained her precious child. She was five months along, and the pregnancy had been going well thus far, though the advice she continued to receive from anyone and everyone who felt qualified to give it was quite overwhelming.

“Absolutely not. You look stunning,” Liza said, getting her two cents in. “I mean, you looked just as beautiful in my wedding dress, but this is…this really suits you. Besides, there’s no time to second guess it! The guests are already waiting, and we have to get going.”

“Mama…”

Annie turned around to see Sarah standing with a small bouquet of wildflowers in her hand, mouth agape as she looked at her mother. Now that three years had gone by, she was almost as tall as Annie, and even though they weren’t technically related, everyone said there was something uncannily similar about the two. Sarah had somehow inherited much of Annie’s mannerisms and as such, no one second-guessed that the two were family.

“Sarah, come here,” Annie said with her hand outstretched as she tried to ignore the tears that were already forming in her eyes.

“Mama, you look so beautiful.”

The ceremony passed by in a flash, and Annie felt almost as if she were watching the whole thing unfold from above. Josiah looked terribly handsome standing by the altar wearing his starched collar and long coat. He could not have looked more different from the shabby man she had married three years earlier with his dusty boots and unruly beard. Now he looked like quite the gentleman, with his shoes shined and hair combed back.

It wasn’t until the celebration afterwards that Annie felt herself fall back into her own body.

“Have the musicians arrived?” she asked Josiah as she looked around the town hall, distractedly wondering where Sarah had gotten to.

“The musicians have been here since the ceremony,” Josiah assured her quietly as he kissed the top of her head. “There’s another special guest that I thought you might want to see however…”

Josiah put his hands on both her shoulders and turned her around. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room, Annie saw who she thought was her sister Abby.

“Abby? Is that really you? What are you doing here?” Annie asked in shock.

“Yes Annie, it’s me!” Abby rushed forward and hugged Annie to her tightly. She looked just as Annie had remembered, only a bit older, and her hair was arranged in a distinctly different style than the plait braids Annie had grown accustomed to seeing on her.

“I can’t believe that you came all this way! Who…how did you…?” Annie asked, bereft of words.

“Josiah told us about the wedding and invited us to come. He gave us enough notice that we thought it would be a good idea. It’s such a long way to travel, but it’s been the adventure of a lifetime, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

“Us? What do you mean by that?” Annie asked, confused.

“Well…I didn’t make the journey on my own.” Abby moved to the left, only to reveal their mother standing behind her. Knowing that her mother wasn’t one for overt affection, Annie was shocked and unsure as to what to do. Luckly, her mother stepped forward quickly and hugged Annie close to her, tighter than Annie ever remembered her embrace feeling.

“Annie, you look so beautiful. I’m so proud of you,” her mother said, and Annie almost fell backwards with surprise. Those were, without a doubt, the kindest words her mother had ever said to her.

“Do you really mean that?” Annie asked, hardly believing her eyes and ears. There had been a very large part of her that had thought she would never see another member of her family ever again.

“I do. I really mean it. Sarah is such a darling, and I’m so happy to see that you have another child on the way.”

Annie smiled. “I’m sorry, I’ve been so rude. Josiah, this is my mother Lamira, and my sister Abby.”

“We’ve met, but I appreciate the introduction nonetheless,” Josiah said as he put his arm around his new bride.

“Josiah got us all settled at the hotel after picking us up from the train station,” Abby revealed.

“Is that right? I’m very impressed that you all managed to pull this off without alerting my attention for a single second! How was your journey? Josiah, did you think of this all by yourself?” Annie asked, full of a thousand questions.

“I may have had something to do with it as well,” Liza admitted as she stepped forward. Annie felt so overwhelmed with gratefulness she wasn’t sure how she’d be able to continue through the evening. She took a deep breath and hugged Liza as if she were also her sister.

“Of course you had something to do with this, I should have known! Come sit, all of you. Mother, please tell me how the whole family is doing. Now that I have my own child to take care of and another on the way, I think I have an ounce of understanding as to what you had to contend with. You certainly had a lot of us little ones running around!” Annie exclaimed as she ushered them all towards one of the long benches in the corner of the long room. They’d considered having the wedding celebration out of doors, but the weather was getting colder, so they thought everyone would be more comfortable if they took over the town hall. Liza had done a wonderful job of decorating the place, having taken the entire week beforehand to put together floral garlands for the whole room. Mrs. Hanks had helped as well, though her eyesight was getting weaker by the day, which only made Annie appreciate the effort even more.

“Now she also has to find time to pay attention to all the grandchildren,” Abby interjected, smiling at their mother.

“Of course! I haven’t asked about all of your children. I’ve loved getting your letters with all your updates.

How are Richard and Frank getting along now that they have a new little sister?” Annie asked. She was enjoying herself so much, she realized she hadn’t even known how much she’d missed seeing her own family. It was like magic, seeing her sister and mother so far away from where she’d grown up.

“Oh, it’s almost as if they don’t realize she’s a girl just yet, though I’m sure they’ll figure it out eventually!” Abby gushed.

“The real question is…do you think you’re going to be having a girl or boy?” Lamira asked, reaching out an affectionate hand to stroke her daughter’s pregnant belly.

“I have no idea, but I’ll take any and all guesses! Thoughts?” Annie announced with a laugh.

“I think it will be another girl!” Sarah cried out, jumping up to sit on Annie’s lap, even though she was far too old to sit there comfortably.

“Oh, you’re too heavy for me now! Why don’t you go sit on your father’s lap?” Annie said, ushering the young child off to her father’s knee.

“The three of you are so sweet together,” Lamira whispered in her daughter’s ear.

“Do you really think so?” Annie responded, surprised at how much she still cared about earning her mother’s approval.

Lamira nodded emphatically, a hint of a tear in her eye. “I do, I do mean that. I’m sorry if it ever seemed like I didn’t support you sufficiently whilst you were growing up. It was just that there were so many of you to care for…so I was just trying my best. Your father wanted to be here too, but he hasn’t been feeling well recently, so he didn’t think he was up for the trip. I want you to know that it wasn’t that we wanted to get rid of you all those years ago when we sent you here. We really thought that this would be the best for you. I’ve thought about it every day since you left and I’ve been wracked with guilt. I can only imagine what you thought about your father and I, just sending you away to the first man who would take you. It wasn’t what we wanted, really. I can’t tell you what a relief it is to see you now, surrounded by friends and loved ones as you celebrate your marriage. Josiah is a wonderful man, and I’m so happy that you’ve made such a happy life for yourself.” From the looks of it, Lamira would have continued to speak if not for the tears that had interrupted her. In her entire life, Annie had never seen her mother cry in front of her, and the sight made Annie start to choke up herself.

“Don’t cry, Mama,” Sarah said, jumping toward Annie and throwing her small arms around her neck.

Annie laughed, and promised the young girl that they were tears of joy.

“Come here and tell your grandmother what you’ve been learning about at school.” Lamira gestured for Sarah to come sit by her and Annie marveled at the sight before her. It truly felt as though worlds had collided as she saw her sister, mother, and daughter all sitting next to her. She’d never in her wildest dreams would’ve imagined that they’d all be in the same room someday.

“Tell me that you’ll come back to Virginia someday and see us all. It would mean the world to father if he got to see you once more, and all my children always ask about you. You’re this mysterious aunt who lives in the far off land of Wyoming!” Abby’s voice had a warmth to it that truly reminded Annie of home.

“I never really considered it a possibility, but now that I see you all here, I think we’ll have to make a point of it, won’t we Josiah?” Annie asked, turning towards her husband beside her.

“I absolutely think so. I might have to become a bounty hunter again just to afford the train fare for all four of us, but I think it would be worth it. I’ve always been a wandering soul after all, and I think Sheriff Hanks would be able to take care of things for a bit on his own, especially now that he has help.”

“Oh, don’t say that! Bounty hunting is far too dangerous. You’re a family man now, and I won’t have you galavanting off risking your life,” Annie protested, knowing that Josiah was only teasing her.

“Well fine, if you forbid me, then there’s nothing I can do about it. If it’s for your sake that I’m stuck here in Jackson, what do you say you reward me with a dance at the very least?” Josiah stood up quickly, clicked his heels together and held out his hand to Annie, who took it gratefully.

“I’d say it’s the least I could do,” Annie said as she jumped up. She knew there would be only so many days left when she’d willingly be on her feet, so she wanted to make the most of them before her stomach grew so big that her feet ached.

The fiddler who had been keeping up the pace of the party for more than an hour at that point changed his tune and started playing a slower song just in time for Annie and Josiah to hit the floor.

“Well Mrs. Bright, how would you say our second wedding compared to our first?” Josiah asked as he slipped an arm around her waist, stepping to the beat of the song.

“I’d say they keep getting better, but there’s probably no need for a third,” Annie replied cleverly.

“Agreed. I’d marry you again every day of my life, but I doubt we could improve upon this. Do you ever think about it sometimes…how much has changed since we met each other? I never really thought I would ever settle down. I think part of me truly believed I would spend the rest of my days on the road, tracking down whatever criminal would get me the biggest bounty. As soon as I saw your face however, everything changed.”

As much as Annie wanted to believe that that was how it had all happened, she knew it wasn’t true.

“Josiah Bright, you know as well as I do that everything changed for you when you found Sarah. I was just a byproduct. Please don’t misunderstand me, I was very happy to have been called in to your happy little family, but I was the last to join. You had already started a life with Sarah, and I just came to help it all make a little more sense,” Annie said with a smile.

“As usual, you’re quite right, though you underestimate your impact on us. I don’t know what might have become of Sarah and I if you hadn’t come to save us. You make my world go around, Annie Bright, and I can’t wait to go around it with you over and over again for the rest of my life.”

Josiah leaned down and kissed her. Between them, Annie felt the size of their baby growing and she smiled knowing that their future would be a happy one. Whatever the strange circumstances that had brought them together, they were a real family now.

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