Epilogue
Five years later . . .
Mae
I don’t agree that a woman’s worth should be measured by who she is to others. Somebody’s daughter. Somebody’s mother. Somebody’s sister. Somebody’s wife. Each woman is her own person. Has her own identity. Her own worth. Full stop.
Yet, as I watch my kids and the loves of their lives mingle and my grandchildren run around, I’m immensely proud to be their mother. Their foster mother. Their mother-in-law. Their grandmother. Their step-grandmother.
They’re all here because I was somebody’s wife. Darin’s partner. He’s been gone for years, but I’m still his. Always will be. I love these moments twice as hard for him.
I rock in a fancy camp chair Tate and Scarlett got me for Christmas a couple of years ago. The shop is open and my kids stand in groups, often changing members, roaming from pod to pod. They’re closer than ever, and even better, they’re all in Bourbon Canyon.
Teller and Madison returned from Brazil last week. I watched their twins while they were on a working vacation. The way Madison has opened up Teller’s world is more than a mama could ask for. Next year, they’re taking their four-year-olds, London and Phoenix, to Peru. Madison blushes and Teller grins at her every time someone asks where they got the names. Teller says it’s the two places most important in their journey together.
Gideon’s dad, Hank, rocks in his chair next to me. He’s become a good friend, someone to commiserate with when the kids are going through a rough time, and a buddy who knows what it’s like to want to stay single. Darin isn’t here anymore, but my heart is his. Hank’s been without his soulmate longer than me, but he knows.
“We throw parties all the time, but I can’t believe it,” he says. His chair creaks while he’s rocking. “They’re growing up on us.”
“If I ever forget, Chance just needs to come home from college again.” I have a grandkid who’s a legal adult, and in case I doubt it, his size and deep voice will change my mind. With shoulders as wide as his dad’s and a mop of dark hair on his head to match, he made me a grandma, but now he can pick me up and walk a couple of miles if he wants to.
Chance chases after his sister, Brinley, and she darts away, screeching, a giant smile on her face. Darin’s a year younger than Brinley, but he tries to interfere with his sister, giggling. The nine-year-old is no competition for Chance. He gets tickled for his efforts.
Scarlett beams at him, and Tate wraps his arm around her while they watch their kids play.
Sawyer skids to a stop in front of Hank, her auburn hair in two rows of Dutch braids. “Grandpa?”
Hank stops rocking. “Yes, my girl?”
While she bargains with her grandpa to lead her around on a horse, his little namesake runs to them. Hank Jr. skids to a stop next to his sister and waits for an answer. Killian, Autumn and Gideon’s foster son, hangs in the back, trying not to look excited about riding a horse. The fourteen-year-old has been with them for four years, and he’s really opened up. The adoption is nearly complete. We’ll have another party then.
Their grandpa gives them the most indulgent chuckle and looks back at me. “Mind if I saddle Tenpin and take these kids for a spin?”
“Knock yourself out.” If he thinks he’s going to get away with only leading his grandkids around, he’s mistaken. But knowing Hank, he’s planning to lead kids around for the next two hours.
Summer and Jonah’s oldest, Eliott, watches them. He scowls just like his dad, but he lights up like Summer when he’s excited about something. And he’s the best older brother to his little sister, Mae.
Eliott looks around for his parents. Summer’s already watching and she nods. Eliott grins and darts away.
“Three, two, one,” I say to myself.
“Dad!” Elsa shouts to Myles, who’s already following Hank with his youngest, Devon.
There it is. I smile.
Wynter walks past me. “It’s going to be a horse parade, Mama.”
I chuckle. “Often turns into one.” Now that the grandkids are older, we can do more than hopscotch.
Junie puts her hands to her mouth. “Horse parade!”
Junie’s stepdaughters are both home from their latest photography trip with their mom. In the fall, they’ll both be out of the nest. Bethany will return to college, and Hannah will head into her freshman year.
Emma is going to have a hard time seeing her big sisters leave, but her little brother, Jonathon, will keep her busy.
Emma and Jonathon run to follow the group. Gideon and Autumn break away from chatting with Rhys to go with them. Rhys’s gaze goes right to Junie. That guy has the same look he’s always had when it comes to Junie. The first day she brought him home, I knew they would be forever. They made me worry for years first.
“Wanna ride?” Teller asks Madison. He’s gotten her on horseback again and they’ve ridden enough over the years that she’s finally able to enjoy herself. I didn’t have to ask if her parents had ruined the activity for her. They were tough people, and Madison’s a tough girl, but she didn’t turn out hard like them.
Madison grabs the twins and they follow the group.
Gabriel sprints to his dad. Tenor pushes up his glasses and swoops Gabriel onto his shoulders. Gabriel already has glasses. He’s on his third pair, taking after his rambunctious uncles more than his mellow parents.
“You coming today?” Ruby asks.
I watch the rest of the group walk to the barn. Hank’s already inside, passing out saddles, blankets, and lead ropes. Myles has the oats bucket. London and Phoenix fall in line behind Teller and Madison.
I can see most of the pasture from here. The horses hear the commotion. A few are already coming for their treats. The others are putting distance between them, but they’ll fall for the bribes. Eventually.
I smile at Ruby. “I’m going to enjoy the show. The best money can buy.”
She laughs and starts after Tenor, who’s stopped to wait for her.
“Come on, Mama!” Gabriel shouts and Ruby starts jogging.
I rock in my chair. Two shadows tower over me.
Cruz squats down. “You aren’t out riding, Mae?”
I don’t get on a horse too much these days. “Maybe later. How’s Huckleberry Springs?”
Myles has finally pinpointed the area where he wants to start his second distillery. Now he has to secure it. And when he does, Lane and Cruz will run it.
“I don’t know.” Cruz puts a knee on the cement. “Myles is tracking down the oldest Hennessy.”
I recall the three Hennessy boys. They weren’t under my roof for long, but they left an impression. They were close and it broke my heart when I heard about the environment they’d had to live in after their dad died.
“Myles will find him,” I say.
“Doesn’t mean Iverson Hennessy will deal,” Lane says as he sprawls in Hank’s chair.
“He’ll deal. Those boys know what’s good for them. Just like you two did.”
Almost ten years ago, I was introduced to Lane and Cruz Foster. Spitting images of Myles, but eighteen years younger. Now Lane is just over thirty and Cruz is just under. The boys have grown into hardworking men.
I’ll miss them when they move to Huckleberry Springs permanently. They won’t be coming and going like they did when they worked at Foster House in Denver. Huckleberry Springs is a little over two hours southeast. My boys chose to make a home in Montana.
“We’ll need more employees,” Lane says. “Know any of your foster kids who want a good job?”
“I’ve got some names,” I reply.
Myles already asked. But first, he needs to find the Hennessys. Then Cruz and Lane can make their own mark in the spirits world. And maybe I’ll get to see them find the type of love their brother did.
I can’t wait. Until then, I’ll sit back and enjoy the bourbon sunset.
_______
There’s a new distillery in a new town that Lane and Cruz will run with the help of more guys who also fostered at the Baileys. Iverson Hennessy, the oldest of the Hennessy brothers, finds out the woman he took home from the bar last night is his boss’s very much off limits daughter in Whiskey Cowboy .