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Five Years Later
“Bridget! Bridget, stop trying to bite your brother’s head!” Eliza squawked. The stew was bubbling, and she didn’t dare step away from it for even one moment, in case it burned. Their guest deserved a little more than burned stew.
“I’ll separate them!” Sammy offered quickly, slipping down from his seat at the kitchen table and rushing over to his siblings. “Bridget, Toby, stop it!”
The twins separated at once, staring up adoringly at their older brother as he lectured them sternly on proper behavior. Eliza bit back a smile. The twins, just short of three years old, already followed Sammy like a pair of little worshippers. It was sweet to watch, and she hoped that their strong relationship would carry on as their childhood progressed.
The twins returned to their seats at the tables, suitably chastised, and Sammy returned to his spot. He’d found a book in the parlor and was slowly working his way through it, sounding out the words he could not quite read yet. Eliza glanced at him and smiled. He sat hunched over, his dark little head bent over the book, with his red-headed siblings on either side of him, staring down at the pages with equal intensity.
“Ma,” Sammy said aloud, after a moment, “What is F-R-A-N-T-I-C-A-L-L-Y?”
“Frantically,” Eliza repeated. “It means to do something quickly, in a panicked sort of way. Like Pa when we thought the chimney was going to blow down.”
Nathaniel giggled. “But the chimney didn’t fall down.”
“No, it didn’t. But that word is what Pa was like.”
Sammy nodded solemnly. “I see.”
He shifted in his seat, tugging at the collar of his starched Sunday-best shirt.
“Don’t rumple your clothes,” Eliza told him gently. “Remember, we have a guest coming today.”
Sammy bit his lip. “Is it Aunt Abigail and Uncle Edwin?”
“No, not today. Uncle Edwin has gone to help a lady in town have a baby, and Aunt Abigail has gone with him. You know how busy they are.”
Busy and happy, Eliza thought with a small smile. In the four and a half years since their marriage, both Aunt Abigail and Doctor Fletcher had been so happy it made her smile just to see them. They deserved it, after all.
“Would it be Aunt Margaret with Sybil and Finn?” Sammy enquired hopefully.
“Not today.”
Margaret and Thomas were expecting a third child, and the baby was due in several months’ time. Their children, four and three years old respectively, often played with Sammy and the twins. It was good to see the children together, growing up and learning with each other. Eliza considered herself lucky to have friends around her, people there for herself and her children.
“It’s not Mrs. Rutherford and Sally, is it?” Sammy asked, frowning.
Eliza bit her lip. Lillian had been Mrs. Rutherford for close to three and a half years now. Her husband, a gold prospector from the other side of the country, was known in town as a cheerful, chatty sort of man, exactly the kind of man that Horace would have disapproved of. Her little girl, Sally, was a quiet, serious little thing who had somehow made firm friends with Sammy.
Lillian and Eliza were certainly not friends, but they were on nodding terms in town, at least. Better than nothing.
“It’s not Mrs. Rutherford and Sally,” Eliza responded firmly. “No, you haven’t met this man before. He was a friend of Pa’s, a long time ago. After he finishes at the store today, Pa is going to the train station to collect him. He’s going to stay at the boarding house in town, but he’s coming here for supper first. He wants to meet you.”
Sammy blinked. “He wants to meet me?”
“Yes, just to say hello,” Eliza responded, tilting her head. “Would you like that?”
“I like guests,” Sammy answered, honestly enough. “But I like them once I know them.”
She nodded, turning back to the stew. Sammy’s hunger for books and new experiences seemed to make him older than he was. Sometimes, that made Eliza’s chest ache.
They really do grow up so fast. In the blink of an eye, he’s five, and the twins are three. How did that happen?
Oh, look at me, getting all maudlin. If Nathaniel were here, he’d laugh at me.
At that thought, Eliza glanced up at the clock. He should be arriving from the station soon enough.
Nathaniel was never late home, never. Even when he worked alone at the store – long since fixed up and now twice as big as before, as if the fire had never happened – he made sure to get home as early as he could. For the important things, he’d said once. His family. The ones who mattered. It was only a ten-minute walk from the store to their little ranch house with a modest strip of land, and she knew that Nathaniel sometimes ran the distance at the end of the day, so as to get home sooner. She’d seen him once, jogging down the road, a pleased smirk on his face as he headed home.
Eliza allowed herself a small smile at this memory.
Even after three children and five years, he still makes my heart skip a beat. I’m a lucky woman.
At that moment, wheels sounded in the courtyard outside, along with the rhythmic clip-clop of hooves. Eliza hastily lifted the stew pot off the stove, setting it aside. The children leaped up at once, eyes wide.
“Why did Pa take the horse and cart?” Sammy enquired, ever curious. “He always walks to the store”
“Ah, but today he went to pick up our guest, remember?” Eliza responded, wiping her hands on her apron. Why was she so nervous? Her heart thundered in her chest, making her breath flutter. Swallowing, she made the decision to remove her apron altogether, hanging it on a hook behind the door.
The children rushed out into the hallway, eagerly waiting at the door. They eyed her expectantly, waiting for it to be opened so that they could go out and greet their father.
“Just wait a minute, you three,” Eliza responded, following them into the hall. “I know you’re excited, but let’s wait inside for Pa and our guest to come in when they’re ready. He’s probably nervous, you know.”
“Pa?” Sammy responded, screwing up his nose.
“No, silly. The guest. Going to a new place with people you don’t know can be frightening, don’t you think? So, let’s stay here and let him come in when he’s ready. Go on into the parlor. Bring your book.”
Sammy sighed, but obeyed, retrieving his book from the kitchen table and padding off into the parlor. The twins followed him adoringly, of course.
Eliza stood in the hallway, twisting her fingers together.
What if something has gone wrong? What if he’s not here? What if…
The door inched open, and she took a step back, letting out a long sigh.
Nathaniel stepped inside first. He met Eliza’s eye and smiled, reaching out an arm. She went to him, burying her face in his shoulder.
“How has it been?” she whispered.
“Good,” he admitted. “Much better than I thought.”
He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, and that was all they had time for before the door was creaking open again, and a man stepped inside.
There was a brief moment of silence before Eliza spoke.
“Hello, Silas,” she said.
Silas smiled nervously back at her. He was thinner than she remembered, with pale skin from years spent indoors and dark circles carved under his eyes. He carried only a small bag, slung over his shoulder.
“Hello, Eliza,” he responded, clearing his throat. “I’m glad to see you. You look well. So does Nathaniel, I said as much on the way here.”
“Thank you.”
A brief silence opened between the three of them. In the silence, they could all clearly hear Sammy’s soft voice in the parlor reading aloud to his siblings.
Silas’ face tightened.
“I don’t know if I ever told you both,” he said abruptly, gaze fixed on a spot on the floor beneath his boots, “but those letters you sent me were a lifeline. They were so detailed, so real, I… well. It meant a lot. I used to read them over and over again and count the days until I was likely to get another letter. I appreciate the time you took in sending them.”
Eliza nodded, swallowing. “I’m glad. And I’m glad to hear that you got out of prison as early as you did. You’re lucky.”
“Ah, luck has nothing to do with it,” Silas responded wryly. “That marshal friend of Nat’s had an eye on me for a while. When he gave me the opportunity to work for them in exchange for the last five years of my sentence, I jumped on it.” Pausing, he glanced at Nathaniel and lifted his eyebrows. “Don’t you think it’s odd? Me being the bounty hunter, while you’re retired?”
“It is a little strange,” Nathaniel confessed. “So, you have another five years of work to do before your sentence is paid off?”
“That’s about the long and short of it. It’s more than I deserve, I know.”
“We’re pleased for you,” Eliza said firmly, and Silas threw her a grateful look.
There was another moment of silence. Eliza knew that she should invite Silas further into the house and suggest that he go into the parlor. She couldn’t understand why she wasn’t taking the lead here, but neither did Silas ask if he could be invited in.
He’s afraid, she realized. Can I blame him?
“It was good news to hear about the adoption,” Silas said abruptly, not meeting her eye. “I know it’s been years now, but I still think of it as a great piece of good luck. Sammy couldn’t want better parents than the two of you, I can say that now.”
“Thank you,” Eliza murmured. “You should know, Silas, that we haven’t told Sammy anything. We will, when he’s old enough, but now he’s a child.”
“No, I understand. Really, Eliza, I’m just grateful to be here,” Silas responded, lifting his head and meeting her eye.
A few seconds ticked by. Eliza stared back at him, not entirely sure what she was looking for. At last, she nodded slowly.
“I know you are. We’re glad you’re here. Now, shall we go in?”
Silas nodded tightly, shoulders hunching. Eliza led the way, gingerly pushing open the door to the parlor.
Sammy had seated himself in the middle of the settee, with a twin on either side and his book open on his lap. He broke into a wide smile.
“Hello, Ma,” he said, and the twins chorused a greeting, too.
“Our guest is here,” Eliza responded with a smile, leaning down to pick up Bridget. Nathaniel followed suit, sweeping Toby up into his arms.
Silas inched into the room behind them. His gaze fell on Sammy right away. His breath seemed to catch in his throat.
“It’s Sammy, isn’t it?” Silas managed. “The last time I saw you, you were a baby, sleeping soundly. You’re a little man now, aren’t you?”
Sammy lifted his chin. “I am nearly grown-up.”
Silas gave a small smile. “You certainly are.”
He glanced at Eliza, as if for permission, and she gave a tiny nod. Stepping forward, Silas crouched down, putting himself on eye level with Sammy, and extended his hand.
“My name is Silas Crowe. You can call me Uncle Silas, if you like.”
“Hello, Uncle Silas,” Sammy responded seriously, taking his hand. “Are you staying here for a long time?”
“No, not a long time. A couple of days, perhaps, and I’ll come and visit you and your parents and your siblings. Only if you’d like, of course. Then I’ll be off somewhere else, and I don’t know when I’ll see you again. But that won’t matter, because you’ll be safe and sound here with your family.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Sammy answered, tilting his head curiously. “Do you want to see my book?”
“I should like that very much,” Silas responded, getting to his feet and sitting gingerly on the edge of the settee.
Eliza turned away to give them a little privacy, fiddling with a crooked picture hanging on the wall.
“Do you think I did the right thing, inviting him to stay here?” Nathaniel asked, voice hushed.
Eliza smiled affectionately up at him, lifting her hand to cup his cheek. “I think you did the kind thing. I think you always do.”
He placed a hand over hers, smiling down into her eyes. “I have the luxury of being kind since I’m lucky enough to be married to a woman like you. I love you, Eliza. I love you as much as I did the first day I met you. More, if that’s possible.”
She stood up on her tiptoes to press a quick kiss to his lips.
“Well, if possible, I love you more,” she whispered back.
OFFER: A BRAND NEW SERIES AND 2 FREEBIES FOR YOU!
Grab my new series, "Brave Hearts of the Frontier", and get 2 FREE novels as a gift! Have a look here!
My dearest readers, I would love to hear your thoughts on this book and the extended epilogue. Looking forward to your comments! 💗
I enjoyed this book very much. It was full of twists and turns. I loved the EE very much. It was nice to see how everyone. Got married had children came along.
Thank you so much! I’m really glad you enjoyed the twists and the extended epilogue—it’s always special to revisit everyone’s lives and see how things unfold. 💛
I enjoyed it. Thanks
So glad to hear that—thank you for reading and taking the time to say so! 💛