Epilogue
One Month Later…
Desi started down the wide dirt path leading to the Hyde estate. Though Caleb’s grip on her hand was firm and reassuring, a tremor coursed through her, setting her knees to quivering, despite her best effort to steady them.
A salty Caribbean breeze lifted loose strands of her hair and swept across the open field before them, rippling the tall grass like the surface of the sea.
Ahead stood a plantation-style home perched upon a rocky cliff, its wide verandas gazing out over turquoise waters that stretched to the horizon.
Though sizable, the house bore none of the ostentatious pretense of Montverre’s estate.
Instead, it radiated a quiet strength—weathered stone, sun-bleached shutters, and broad windows flung open to light and air.
Palms and flowering cassia trees offered shade, while wild orchids, hibiscus, and begonias splashed vibrant color against the earth.
It should have calmed her.
Instead, her pulse skidded.
“What if they don’t like me?” she asked at last.
“Impossible,” Caleb replied without hesitation.
“But…?” Her voice betrayed her.
He stopped and turned to face her fully. Taking both her hands, he lifted them and pressed a reverent kiss to her knuckles. “They will love you as I do. I promise.”
She lowered her gaze. “You don’t know that for certain.”
Caleb slipped a finger beneath her chin and raised her eyes to his. “You don’t know my family.”
She attempted a smile and glanced past him toward the sea—sunlight dancing across rolling waves, the air warm and fragrant with salt and flowers. So beautiful. This was her world now. Her time.
From the house came the sound of laughter—bright and unrestrained—followed by the lilting strains of a violin. Family. Something she’d never truly had. Not like this.
“I’ve only recently come to know the Lord,” she murmured. “And they’re all missionaries.”
“Missionary pirates.” Caleb laughed, mischief glinting in his eyes as he tugged her forward once more. “Believe me, love—most of them have done far worse than you ever did.”
She had no chance to argue.
The front door swung open, and a man stepped onto the veranda—his tall, commanding presence unmistakable even from a distance.
Though surely near fifty, he bore the rugged handsomeness of a man shaped by sea and storm.
A woman followed him—his equal in age, yet radiant in a way that stole Desi’s breath.
Caleb’s parents.
The resemblance between Caleb and his father was striking.
The older man descended the steps and drew Caleb into a crushing embrace, then held him at arm’s length, hands gripping his shoulders as though confirming he was real. “Welcome home, my son. You’ve been sorely missed.”
“I have missed you as well,” Caleb replied, emotion thickening his voice. Then he turned. “Father, this is Miss Desi Starr—the lady I wrote you about.”
Desi dipped into the curtsey Caleb had taught her. “My lord.”
The man barked a laugh. “Nay, none of that. Call me Alex.” He cast a knowing glance at Caleb. “Or father, for I hear a wedding is soon to follow.”
Heat flooded Desi’s cheeks. Engaged to a pirate from 1718—she still hadn’t quite wrapped her mind around it.
Yet the warmth cooled quickly as Caleb’s mother stepped closer, studying her with open curiosity. Desi’s throat tightened. Fathers were easy. Mothers… less so.
“The Ring?” Alex asked.
“In the sea, where you instructed,” Caleb said.
Alex clapped him on the back. “Well done, son. That cursed thing is gone at last.”
Caleb’s mother halted, arching a brow at her son before turning her attention back to Desi. “So,”—She cocked her head—“this is the woman who finally stole my son’s heart?”
Alex chuckled. “Egad, what a feat you’ve accomplished, Miss Starr. We feared he’d never settle for just one lady. First Hannah, then Margaret—”
“And Sarah,” Juliana added. “Don’t forget Mabel.”
“That will quite suffice,” Caleb muttered, raising his hands. “There’s no need to recount my entire sordid history.”
Alex winked at Desi. “The lady should be warned.”
Desi met Caleb’s gaze, his embarrassment endearing. She faced his parents squarely. “You’ll find I’m not easily frightened away.”
Juliana smiled—and then, without warning, wrapped Desi in a warm embrace. The scent of jasmine and lavender enveloped her, soothing her frayed nerves.
“Then you will fit in well,” Juliana said. “Welcome to our home.”
Drawing a deep breath, Desi attempted to settle her nerves as they entered the front door.
However, when at least twenty people, including several children, stopped what they were doing and stared at her, she nearly bolted back outside.
If not for the lady’s arm entwined with hers, she would have.
Caleb must have sensed her angst, for he grabbed her other hand and gave it a squeeze.
The main room was large, spanning nearly the length of the home.
Comfortable chairs and couches were scattered atop beautifully woven rugs.
Tapestries and paintings of ships at sea decorated the walls, along with lit sconces that cast the room in a golden glow.
Cutlasses, long knives, and flintlocks filled a cabinet quite in contrast with a huge cross hanging above the fireplace and a stack of Bible on the mantle.
A long table covered with food stood off to one side, while shelves full of books lined the other.
“There you are, brother.” A beautiful woman in her early twenties drew near, her gaze briefly traveling over Desi. “We send you to get rid of a Ring, and you bring back a woman!”
Caleb shrugged. “Did you expect any less?”
“Esther, Caleb’s sister,” Juliana said. “And over there, Emeline, my other daughter and her new husband Blake.” She gestured to a good-looking couple standing by the dining room table, both of whom smiled at Desi.
Desi nodded, returning their smiles, as Caleb’s mother led her around the room, introducing everyone.
Men and women alike embraced Caleb and welcomed Desi as little ones wove through the crowd giggling and playing.
The men were dressed more like pirates than missionaries with their dark breeches, linen shirts, and leather jerkins.
Their hair was windswept and wild, their skin sun-bronzed, and their mannerisms bold yet controlled.
The women wore modest gowns, beautifully embroidered and edged in lace, their hair either swept up in buns or cascading down their backs.
Each one embodied graceful femininity, yet strength shown in their eyes.
And Desi got the impression any one of them could command a ship as well as the men.
She met Caleb’s aunt and uncle, Gabrielle and Cadan—both in their forties—and their three children, Matthew, Josiah and Cecline, all in their twenties.
Then there were Aunt Reena, Frederick and their daughter Sophia.
And Uncle Rowan, Aunt Morgan and their four children.
And finally, Elias and Charity, and their children Duncan, Rose, and Caleigh, who sat in a wheeled chair.
As Juliana introduced them, Caleb leaned close and whispered a bit about each person.
Some had been thieves and pirates, including his Aunt Reena.
Frederick had deserted from the Royal Navy.
Cadan had rescued a pregnant Gabrielle from prison.
Blake had kidnapped Emeline. Reena had kidnapped Frederick. Charity had killed her husband!
Their histories, along with their obvious redemptions, brought an odd peace to Desi.
Here was a group of people who were once far from God, lost and wicked.
Yet God had pulled them out of the mud and given them new life.
Eternal life. And from their smiles, also a joy and peace the world cannot provide.
Everyone greeted her with warm embraces and genuine smiles, welcoming her into the family. And what a family it was. Her mind spun. No way she’d remember all their names, let alone the wee ones fluttering about her skirts or to which couple they belonged.
Morgan broke from the crowd and eased beside Desi.
The one person she longed to talk to most of all, for Caleb had told her his Aunt Morgan also traveled through time.
Despite being in her forties, the woman had a glowing beauty about her as she leaned toward Desi.
“Don’t worry. I know it’s overwhelming at first. But these are good people.
” She smiled. “I hear you are from the future?”
“I know it sounds bizarre.” Desi glanced at Caleb standing beside her. He’d not left her side, and she was grateful for his strength.
Morgan laughed. “Not to me. It was an amulet that sent me back. You?”
“The Ring.”
Morgan’s gaze traveled to her husband Rowan, who gave her a loving glance in return. “We have much to talk about. Soon. But I believe there’s two more people you must meet.”
Caleb’s eyes widened. “Grandfather’s here?”
Desi stiffened. In the month-long journey to Jamaica, Caleb had told her all about Captain Edmund Merrick and Lady Charlisse, but to actually meet them...
Taking her hand, Caleb followed his father to the far end of the huge room. Hushing, the crowd parted before them as they approached an elderly couple sitting on a couch by the back door.
They had to be nearly eighty years old, yet both had full heads of hair, sat upright, and their tanned skin shone as if they were much younger.
The woman’s long gray hair was swept up in a bouquet of curls, while Captain Edmund Merrick sat at her side, tall and regal, gray hair tied behind him, shoulders wide, jaw firm.
He gazed at his wife with such deep affection, it startled Desi, and she almost hated interrupting the tender moment.
Yet, at her approach, he faced her. It was his eyes that captured her, his gaze penetrating, as if he could see into her soul.
“Child.” He gestured her forward. “Let me see you up close.”
Tentatively, she moved closer. There was a presence about Merrick, a strength, authority, and yet a love and depth of soul that put her at ease.
“I wish to bless you, Desiree Starr. Will you allow me?”
Bless? Her throat tightened. Tears burned.
“Both of you.” Merrick gestured for Caleb and her to kneel before him.
Merrick laid one boney hand atop her head and his other on Caleb’s.
“Father God, Creator of all, we come together to welcome this new soul into our family, sent to us from another time and place. I pray Your blessing upon her, upon her union with our grandson, and upon their lives together. I pray for a fertile womb and a heart transformed by Your love. May Your peace, joy, and strength see them through every trial they face. And may You use them, Father, to bring many into Your Kingdom.”
Tears spilled down Desi’s cheeks. Each word he spoke held power, invoking a holiness that settled over her—love, belonging, home. She could have knelt there forever with this Godly man’s hand upon her, but he released her and leaned back in his chair.
When she looked up at him, nothing but love beamed from his eyes. Here was a man like the Godly men in the Bible her parents read to her about when she was little—an Abraham or Moses or David. A man after God’s own heart who walked with God in the cool of the day.
Lady Charlisse took her hand and squeezed it. “I foresee, my child, you will do great things for the Lord. And out of your womb will come mighty men of God. Five of them.”
Desi gulped. Five? She wiped the moisture from her face. “I don’t know how to thank you both. It’s an honor to soon become a part of your family.”
“A part of God’s family,” Merrick returned, then turned to Caleb. “We need to talk. I’m most anxious to hear what the Lord revealed to you on your journey.”
Caleb gripped his grandfather’s arm. “I know you were praying for me. I felt it.”
Merrick smiled. “’Twas the Lord’s answer you felt, my son.” Then rubbing his hands together, he glanced over his family. “Very well. Let it be so. Now, let us eat!”
Everyone laughed and began hurrying about the table, while others brought in more platters through the back door from the detached kitchen.
Caleb rose and led Desi to the side. “I told you they’d love you.” He ran a thumb over the tear sliding down her cheek.
She leaned into him, heart full. “I’ve never been this happy.”
“Nor I,” he replied, smiling. “And there’s more yet to come.”
A knock on the door shattered the moment and sent Alex to the front where a man handed him a note.
“Frederick, Reena,” Alex called the couple over, his somber expression silencing the crowd. “’Tis your son, Amos. It appears he’s been rounded up by Woodes Rogers and is in prison about to be hung for piracy.”
Joy stilled.
And God—once again—called the Hydes to stand in the breach.