When Hearts Know No Boundaries – Extended Epilogue

When Pearl stepped out on the porch of the home Tom and Hart had built, she pulled in a deep breath of the spring air. She rested one hand on her growing belly and lifted the cup of hot cocoa to her lips with the other. It was early in the morning and her husband was off in the fields, taking care of the early morning chores.

Since their marriage, relations between the Dillons and Langstons had calmed considerably. They were all friends now. So much so that Lowell and Tobias had carved out several acres of land directly in the middle of their properties and given it to Tom and Pearl. That was where they had built their house. The corral that had started the whole thing for them was now theirs. They left it in place and put their own cattle there. Tom worked his land and helped out with his father’s and father-in-law’s.

Pearl heard the sounds of a horse being broken in. She didn’t have to check to see who it was. It was Suzie. In the two years since Pearl and Tom had been married, at the age of sixteen Suzie was an accomplished cow-girl and could round up cattle as well as any man. She also worked wonders with horses and so far hadn’t found a horse yet she couldn’t tame. She had a way with them.

Pearl walked to the side of the porch and rested her hands on the railing, looking out over the horizon. The sun was behind her, casting its bright rays over the land, bringing out its beauty. In the distance, the mountains rose up to meet the sky, covered with green that waved like water in the ocean as the wind passed over.

She could see Suzie from where she was, holding her own as the horse under her bucked to get her off. She called out to the horse but her words drifted through the air and became lost as they neared Pearl.

Pearl didn’t know anything about breaking in horses. She was glad it wasn’t her job.

She looked down at her pregnant belly with a bubble of happiness in her chest.

“Good morning, dear.”

She turned to see Hester coming up the porch steps, smiling at her.

“Good morning, Auntie,” she replied. “Would you like a cup of cocoa or coffee? I made some coffee for Tom. There should be some left over. I can heat it up for you.”

“If you have some cocoa, I’d much prefer that,” Hester replied. Pearl nodded.

Hester followed her into the house. “You’ve made this such a lovely home,” Hester said. “I’m just so happy for you.”

Pearl laughed, glancing over her shoulder. “You’ve only said that every single time you come in here. I’m beginning to suspect you want my house. You can’t have it. It was built just for me.”

Hester joined her in laughter. “My dear, you are entitled to have a beautiful home. And I doubt I will ever leave the ranch. I expect to die there.”

Pearl was at the stove in the kitchen and turned to frown at her aunt. “Don’t even say that. I don’t want to think about that.”

Hester pulled out a chair and dropped into it as if she had been working hard all day. “Oh, I expect to be around for a long time. I’m in good health and feel fine. I have my aches and pains but that comes with age. Have you heard from Hart?”

“Should I have?” A measure of anxiety slipped through Pearl. It was going to take longer than a year or two for her to stop being afraid for Hart. He had worked hard to stay away from the saloon and gambling. He’d made one mistake just one time and from what she had heard, Ellen put him in his place. They had married six months after Pearl and Tom.

By that time, Hart was able to purchase his own home in Miles City, where he and Ellen now lived. As far as she knew, he loved his job at the newspaper. For her part, Pearl had a scrapbook with the articles he had written and planned to keep a copy of every single one, to give to his firstborn when the time was right.

Hester shook her head. “No, it’s just that I know he was going out of town for several stories and… well, you know how I worry about that boy.”

Pearl thought it was cute that Hester still referred to her thirty-something brother as a “boy”.

“I’m quite sure he’s fine.” She set the cocoa on to heat up and went to the table to sit with her aunt.

Hester leaned over the table, giving her niece a direct look. “How are you, Pearl? Is everything good here? With you and Tom? Are you feeling all right with your baby?”

Pearl nodded. “Yes, Auntie, you really don’t have to worry about me. Things couldn’t be much better than they are. I’m so looking forward to this little guy, though.”

Hester lifted her eyebrows. “Little guy? You want a boy, do you?”

“I don’t mind either,” Pearl replied. “But I went to a woman Ellen knows in town who says she can tell if it’s a boy or a girl and she said it’s a boy. We picked out girl names, too, just in case. But I have a feeling she was right.”

“Don’t set yourself up for disappointment, my dear.”

Pearl smiled, shaking her head. “Oh no, I won’t be disappointed. As long as he is healthy… or she… and I am healthy, too, I know I’ll be happy.”

“And will Tom?”

The mention of her husband’s name flooded Pearl with an intense feeling of love. She had grown to love him more and more every day since they got married. He treated her like a delicate flower but gave her room to make decisions and take charge. She was working for her father and her father-in-law, handling much of the business end of both businesses.

She was proud that Tobias praised her so often to Tom, telling him he’d never seen a woman work a deal like she did. Many of their business partners agreed, finally letting her negotiate and discuss deals with them.

“I do have some news you might not know about,” Hester said in a conspiratorial voice.

Pearl lifted her eyebrows. “Oh?”

Hester grinned. “Yes. I’ve just come from Ellen’s. I actually came to see if you knew and would tell me first but if you knew, it would have been the first thing from your mouth.”

“All right, all right, stop teasing and tell me what it is. Is Hart going to win a prize for his journalism?”

Hester shook her head. She dropped her eyes to Pearl’s bulging tummy and looked back up at her niece. An abrupt large smile brightened Pearl’s face.

“She’s going to have a baby? She’s going to have a baby!”

If she hadn’t been so big and bulky Pearl would have jumped to her feet, clapping and bouncing in place. But all she could do was giggle hysterically and clap her hands from her seated position.

“Oh, Auntie Hester! That’s wonderful news! I know Hart has to be so happy.”

“He is. I was afraid for him for a long time, you know. I felt like he was going to be lost in the wind if someone didn’t come to save him.”

“And that’s what Ellen did,” Pearl said in an elated voice. “I’m so happy for him. We must have a big dinner to celebrate.”

“Your child will only be a few months older. Isn’t that something?”

Pearl nodded. “Yes, definitely something. I’m so happy. Oh, I just want to run out and tell Tom right now.”

“He’s really stepped up. I’m so proud of him.” Hester’s voice was soft and content.

Pearl thought about all her brother had been through. It would take a long time for her to forget the pain he’d caused himself; the drinking, the gambling that nearly cost their family everything. It seemed like such a tremendous struggle now that it was all over and there was peace in their lives.

“Anybody here?”

They both turned when they heard Suzie calling from the front door.

“We’re in the kitchen!” Pearl called out.

She could hear Suzie’s boots as she walked to the kitchen. The girl poked her head in the door and blinked innocently at them. “Can I come in?”

“Of course you can. Come sit down with us. Do you want some hot cocoa or coffee?”

Suzie curled her nose as she came in and took a seat next to her aunt. “I need something cold. Do you have any Coca-Cola?”

Pearl nodded. “Just brought some home. I’ll get it for you.”

She moved to push herself to her feet but Suzie stopped her. “I know where the icebox is. You stay seated, fat lady.”

“Hey!” Pearl narrowed her eyes. “Just because you’re right doesn’t mean you have to point it out.”

Suzie laughed as she went to the icebox. “I’m teasing you, sis.” She lifted the top of the icebox and reacted to the cool air that came from inside. “Aaaah,” she said as she pulled out a bottle of Coca-Cola and used an opener to pop the top off.

“Thanks for this. It’s getting hot out there already. It’s gonna be a hot week, I think.”

“I’ll keep lots of Coca-Cola handy for you. You can come in and get some anytime.”

Suzie tilted the bottle in her sister’s direction, sitting back in the chair and taking a long drink. “See that you do. As big as you are, you’re gonna need it yourself. No hot cocoa. You don’t want to get overheated.”

“No, I really don’t. I’ll stock up on the cold drinks. Did you hear about Hart?”

A brief look of worry crossed Suzie’s face and she moved her eyes from her sister to her aunt and back again. “No, but I’m willing to bet it isn’t something bad or you two would look a lot unhappier than you do. Let me guess. He’s gonna have a baby, too?”

Pearl straightened up in surprise. “Why yes. How did you know?”

Suzie shrugged with one shoulder. “Lucky guess. God made me that way. I’m good with animals and good with guessing.” She laughed.

“Well, you’re right. Let’s see if you can guess this. What am I going to have, a boy or a girl?”

Suzie dropped her eyes to Pearl’s stomach and stared for a moment. Just before she spoke, she lifted the bottle to her lips and said, “I’m thinking a boy.”

Pearl moved her eyes to Hester. “See? The expert guesser says a boy, too.”

Hester laughed softly. “I just think you should be prepared for a girl, also. You just can’t tell from a swinging ring or an expert guesser.”

“So is that why you came here? To guess the gender of my child?” Pearl asked. “Or did you have something else in mind?”

“I had this in mind.” Suzie tilted the bottle toward her sister. “Like I said, it was getting hot out there. I think we should all go see Ellen. I’m done breaking in the new horse. Nobody will have a problem with him from now on. Thinking I might make him my own personal horse, if I’m honest with you.”

“You like him that much?” Pearl asked. “He seemed like such a big horse. So much bigger than a small girl like you can handle.”

Suzie scoffed, shaking her head. “I guess you didn’t see me out there breaking him in then.”

“I saw you being thrown all over when he was bucking. That’s what I saw.”

Suzie lifted her eyebrows. “Did I fall?”

Pearl pursed her lips and shook her head.

Suzie grinned. “Nope. I didn’t fall. I broke him in just like all the others. That’s my destiny. What God made me for. I’m telling you, it’s my passion.”

Pearl was glad her sister was able to focus her hyper energy on something productive. After the accident, they had all noticed a significant change in her younger sister. Many times, Lowell had told his daughter that Suzie was becoming more and more like their mother. It was a shame the youngest daughter had never known her mother but she had definitely gotten many traits from the woman.

“Do you really want to go see Ellen?” Pearl asked.

“Yeah, I think it would be a nice break from the ol’ ranch,” Suzie replied casually. “You want to?”

Pearl nodded, pushing herself to her feet. She held up one hand when the other two women went to stand up.

“I want to go tell Tom where I’m going. He is very worried about me right now. He thinks I’m going to pop any moment, but I think I have at least a month or two left. Doctor Baker said two months, but it’s hard to pinpoint it exactly.”

“He’s been worried about you since you were a child,” Hester said with a laugh. “You were just too stubborn to see it.”

“Well, thank God I’ve seen the light,” Pearl replied as she walked to the door. “You can go to the parlor if that’s more comfortable. I’m going to walk out to where he is. It might take me a few minutes until he sees me coming. Then he will come my way.”

“I’ll go out in a few minutes and get the buggy ready.” Suzie turned to her aunt. “You want to sit in the parlor, Auntie? Probably would be more comfortable than these old chairs.”

“Hey, those are new chairs that Tom built for me.” Pearl pursed her lips at her sister.

Suzie grinned with the bottle in front of her smiling lips. “Teasing, Pearl. You’re getting ornery in your old age.”

“Good Lord, if she’s old what does that make me?” Hester asked as she pushed herself to her feet. Suzie looked directly at her.

“Dusty?”

Hester gasped and swatted one hand in the air toward Suzie, who ducked out of the way, laughing.

Pearl shook her head at them. “I’m going out now. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“Okay, Pearl.” Suzie held out her arm to her aunt, who took it, and they followed Pearl through the door into the foyer.

The sun was hot on her face and Pearl wished she’d at least put on a bonnet before coming outside. She shaded her eyes with one hand as she walked across the field toward Tom. It took him a few minutes but she noticed when he turned his head toward her and then his horse. She waved.

He waved back and started across the field toward her.

She was glad to see he was going to meet her. She hadn’t realized how far away he was.

She found a shade tree and stood under it, waiting for him to get to her. When he did, he slid quickly out of the saddle and hurried toward her, his hands extended.

“Pearl, are you all right? Everything okay? Baby all right? You need the doctor?”

Pearl laughed and shook her head. “No, no. I’m fine. It’s not going to happen for a while, Tom. Don’t be so nervous.”

Tom breathed a sigh of relief. “I can’t help it. If you’re all right, what are you doing walking out here in the hot sun?”

“I didn’t know it was this hot already,” she replied, waving one hand in front of her face, which blew hot air toward her. “Are you sure you should be working out in this heat?”

“I’m fine. I’ve been doing this all my life. When it gets too hot, I’ll take a break and get back to it when I can. So what, you just wanted to see me?”

She nodded, giving him a loving gaze. “That, and to tell you that we’re going to see Ellen. Me and Auntie and Suzie. She’s going to have a baby!”

Tom lifted his eyebrows and a smile crossed his face. “Well, that’s wonderful news! Tell them congratulations for me.”

“I will.” Pearl moved closer to him. Despite the heat, she wanted to be in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his chest and pressed her cheek against him. She could hear his heartbeat against her ear. She was comforted when he put his arms around her, too.

“You make sure you are really careful, Pearl,” he said in low voice. “I don’t want anything to happen to you. I don’t think I could bear it.”

“I’ll be fine, husband,” she replied just as softly. “I just wanted to see you before I went. Being in town, someone will be able to fetch the doctor quickly. And I might just go to the clinic, since it’s closer than staying at Ellen’s. But that’s not going to happen anyway. I’m not having this baby today.”

“You know how I worry about you.”

She pulled away, looking up at him with an affectionate grin. “I certainly do. But I’ll be fine. I just wanted to come and give you the good news.”

The look on Tom’s face changed. She was curious as he turned his eyes and let them roam across the land.

“You know what, it is getting hot already. Maybe I’ll come with you. Congratulate Hart on his success at becoming a father.”

Pearl was delighted to hear it. “You want to come too? I think that would be lovely! I don’t know if Hart is home but I know Ellen wouldn’t mind hearing congratulations from you and me both.”

“That man better be there or I’ll go find him.” Tom threw back his head and laughed.

“I’m so glad my brother is your best friend. You really saved him a lot from himself, didn’t you?”

Tom shrugged. “He’s come into his own. Just like we have.”

He leaned down and kissed her.

“Let’s go see your brother, sweetheart.”

“Yes.” Pearl squeezed him tight one more time. “Let’s do that.”

THE END

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