Chapter Thirty-Five
Peterson Ranch
Sitting out on the porch, enjoying one of the first warmer days this year, Madelaine smiled as she watched Simon, Belle, and Buster run around the garden, chasing each other.
She inhaled deeply, trying to pick up the scent of the very first wildflowers, peeking through small leftover patches of melting snow.
The season was most certainly changing, and she loved every second of it.
Mrs. Keagan came out carrying a small tray with a pot of tea and several cups, while Evelyn brought out a small plate with freshly baked cookies. It was the middle of the afternoon, and all was peaceful and quiet.
Setting down the tray, Mrs. Keagan beamed at her, while Evelyn walked over to the children, asking them if they wanted a cookie. Simon ran back to the porch, cheering loudly, while Belle nodded with a big smile, walking toward Evelyn with her arms stretched out.
“Oh, it’s so wonderful to have you back home, Maddie,” Mrs. Keagan exclaimed, and Madelaine instantly got emotional again.
They’d come back here a little over a week ago, and it had been quite surreal to finally be back at her ranch, in her own home, seeing all the familiar faces again.
Wiping away a tear that threatened to escape the corner of her eye, Madelaine responded in kind, gifting the loyal woman with the warmest smile.
“I have missed it more than you can imagine,” she said as Mrs. Keagan busied herself, filling a cup with tea before adding a spoonful of sugar and handing it to her.
Evelyn held out the plate with cookies, and Madelaine picked one for herself before she broke it apart and shared it with Belle, who eagerly climbed onto her lap.
“So, will you finally tell me everything that happened?” Mrs. Keagan asked excitedly as she filled another cup and added another spoonful of sugar before handing it to Evelyn.
“You two have been keeping secrets for much too long,” Mrs. Keagan said to Evelyn with a knowing grin. “I need to hear a happy story.”
Evelyn nodded, but instead of speaking, she bit into a cookie.
“Which part are you most interested in?” Madelaine asked with a mischievous smile.
“All of it!” Mrs. Keagan exclaimed. “How did you meet your new husband—the sheriff? And why did you run away? And how did you capture Phineas? So much has happened! I am about to burst with all the curiosity I’ve been harboring,” she said, giggling, and all the women laughed.
“Just tell me what happened. Anything will do,” Mrs. Keagan said, her eyes wide as she sat down with a big sigh, blowing over the tea she’d just poured for herself to cool it a little.
“Luke saved me, quite literally,” Madelaine began, handing Belle another small piece of cookie. “After that day when Phineas locked Belle in that cold room, threatening me to make me marry him… I had to run away to find help.”
Mrs. Keagan listened intently to every word she spoke, uttering the odd “Oh” and “Ah” while Madelaine told her the whole story of how she’d ended up at Luke’s ranch—including her ruse with the amnesia, and how they got married in Luke’s living room.
Every now and again, Evelyn added her two cents to the events, particularly the part where Madelaine had been so paranoid that day at the general store, making them leave in a hurry. Today, both women could laugh about it.
When Madelaine got to the part where she’d joined Luke to capture the thieving gang, Mrs. Keagan inhaled sharply, nervously grabbing a cookie. “Oh, my! You are one brave young lady, I must say!” she uttered.
“That’s when I got shot,” Madelaine said, pulling her lips into a thin line.
“But God saved you,” Evelyn said as she took her hand, squeezing it.
“Luke rode Chester like the wind and took you back to Timothy’s ranch, which thankfully hadn’t been touched, while Alvarez took Tinsel back.
I remember how frantic Luke was before the doctor got there to examine you.
He didn’t leave your bedside the entire time you were unconscious.
Not once. All he did was pray over you. He didn’t even eat. ”
Mrs. Keagan choked a sob. “Oh, how heartbreaking. Poor thing. He must have been so frightened.”
Madelaine fought a grin as she exchanged a knowing glance with Evelyn. She knew all too well how much Mrs. Keagan loved Luke. To her, he was like the son she’d never had.
“We all were,” Evelyn added. “She slept for two whole days.”
Mrs. Keagan gasped.
“Maddie slept a looooong time. Like Cinderella did,” Simon added helpfully.
All the women turned to him with a frown. “Cinderella?” Madelaine asked as Simon looked at all of them, taking a hearty bite out of one of the two cookies he was holding.
“Yup! The one with the red apple. She slept for a long time until the prince woke her up,” Simon explained, grinning proudly from ear to ear. “Don’t you remember, Maddie? Mom told us the story so many times,” he exclaimed.
“You mean Snow White?” Madelaine said, giggling.
“Snow. Yes, there was snow,” he said, then Simon’s eyes went wide, and he dramatically put his hand to his forehead. “Must be my amesia,” he said, shaking his head with a mock serious expression.
Madelaine burst out laughing, and Evelyn almost choked on her tea. Mrs. Keagan laughed a full belly laugh until she had to wipe tears from her eyes.
“What’s so funny?” Caleb asked when he walked onto the porch from the other side of the house. Simon turned and ran to him, faster than lightning, jumping straight into his arms.
“They’re laughing at me because I have amesia,” Simon declared. Caleb bit his lip, not to grin.
“Oh, that’s very serious,” he agreed, as he put the boy down. “Hello, ladies! Oh, is one of these cookies for me?” he asked. Evelyn handed him one, and he sat on the edge of the porch, letting his feet dangle.
“Madelaine was telling Mrs. Keagan what happened,” Evelyn explained. Caleb nodded.
“A lot has happened,” Caleb confirmed. “We just got word that the last two of the men who escaped have been captured. The entire gang is finally behind bars. We can all breathe a sigh of relief. It’s been a long time coming.”
“I am so glad to hear it,” Madelaine said. “What’s happening with Ezra and Phineas?”
“Phineas and Ezra will both serve a life sentence, because we were able to prove that they were directly involved with the murders. But I’ve got even better news,” he announced as he shoved a whole cookie into his mouth, chewing it with relish before he continued, “These are exceptional, by the way. All the money Ezra claimed he had? He built his little empire on selling stolen horses, but before that, he’d been stealing money and gold, robbing wealthy people over in Missoula and all along the Bitterroot River.
Since the western part of Stevensville’s Main Street was almost completely destroyed, the money is being allocated to rebuild all the damaged buildings.
Even your ranch, Madelaine. Whatever was destroyed by these men living here for all these months, you can get repaired, and he has to pay for it. ”
Madelaine’s lips formed a silent O as she heard the good news. Since she’d come back, she’d definitely noticed a lot of things missing, broken, and worn down. “This is all great news!” she exclaimed.
“And the other thing I was supposed to tell you,” Caleb said, “Luke is at the lawyer’s office right now to set up the papers for your ownership.
Ian Sterling is copying the originals because they always have to have one of these documents on file for legal reasons, and in case something happens to them—like what happened to yours.
Apparently, he’s been working on it for weeks to get them replaced for you. ”
Madelaine released a huge sigh. She thought those documents would have been lost forever, but now she could be sure that the ranch would remain safely in her name.
“What a string of events,” Mrs. Keagan said, as she got up from her chair and began to collect the cups and the now-empty cookie plate.
“You should write that down, Maddie. Make it into a story or a book. It could be one of those sensational romance novels. You are so good with words, my dear. It would be a fantastic story with a wonderful, happy ending.”
Madelaine paused for a second. Since she’d lost her mother’s Bible and her journal in that fire, she hadn’t written a single word. Now that Mrs. Keagan mentioned it, she could feel a tingle in her fingertips.
“Time to make dinner,” the cook said as she lifted the tray.
“I’m going to help you,” Evelyn offered and followed Mrs. Keagan inside while Caleb took over the chair his wife had vacated.
“I can see why you fought so hard to save this place,” Caleb said to Madelaine. “It’s a beautiful ranch. Your father really knew what he was doing. I have never before seen such a clever water irrigation system for the horses.”
Madelaine smiled appreciatively. “You would have liked him. He was just as funny as you are.”
They sat in silence for a while, idly watching the children play in the warm glow of the sun.
Madelaine could see Tinsel in the background, running at a fast pace across one of the larger paddocks.
She was probably stretching her legs, happy to finally be home, kicking and bucking like a one-year-old filly.
“What have we missed?” Luke’s voice appeared from the other end of the porch as he and Timothy joined her and Caleb.
Madelaine had a newfound appreciation for her husband.
He was not only the most handsome man in the entire Bitterroot valley—granted, she was a little biased—but this man had also saved her from a life of utter misery and despair.
As the sheriff, he had saved the entire region from the most notorious and violent gang in the history of Stevensville.
As a man, Luke had rekindled his love for the Lord, and whenever they showed up in church, she felt so very proud and in love with him; her heart was ready to burst.
Her heart was racing now, as she watched him walk toward her with long strides, before he bent down, pulled her up from the chair, and straight into his arms, swinging her around in one big circle as he planted a kiss on her mouth.
“Mrs. Cross, you look stunning today!” he exclaimed, and Madelaine giggled at his exuberance.
She was discovering yet another completely new side to him—the fun Luke.
The one who could joke with her uninhibitedly, laugh with her at silly comments, stay up to watch the stars on a moonless night.
Since that night in the freezing schoolhouse, they hadn’t had a single fight.
It was almost as if that part of their relationship had died with that very last flame in the bucket.
“I’ve missed you, you know?” he said, nuzzling her neck as she laughed.
“Well, I‘ve missed you more. Clearly,” she argued, pushing her fingertips around the back of his neck into the soft curls just below the rim of his Stetson.
“Oh, is that so?” he asked, and as he smiled at her with all the love she never thought she would find, her heart melted like ice cream on a hot summer’s day.
“May I interrupt you two for a moment?” Timothy asked as he handed Madelaine some crisp papers, neatly rolled up and tied together with a red ribbon bow. “I think you’d like to have these.”
“Are these the documents?” Madelaine gasped. Her hand flew to her chest as soon as Luke put her down. “The ownership papers?”
Timothy shot Caleb a deadpan glance. “You told her? It was supposed to be a surprise!” Timothy exclaimed, but when Caleb merely shrugged, he grinned, and all was well.
Carefully untying the ribbon, Madelaine reverently unrolled the papers, as her eyes filled with tears.
This was what she’d been fighting for, and while she’d gained so much more than just her ranch—a new family, new friends, and a new husband—she knew in that instant that her mother and father were proudly looking down on her, safe in the arms of the Lord.