Epilogue
Stephanie reckoned that there would come a day when she might want to live someplace other than the little cabin near a pond on the edge of the Russell Ranch, but today wasn’t that day. Not when the May air was perfectly breezy, the flowers in her garden were starting to bloom, the cabin smelled of freshly made bread, and her husband was pulling into his parking spot on the side of their home.
Sitting on one of the chairs on the front porch, she heard the engine shut off, then a dog bark, and finally the telltale excited chatter of their two-year-old, Bridget. Bridget Anderson was her daddy’s girl.
Her family was home.
Well, the rest of her family. Five-year-old Aden Carter Anderson was sitting beside her, his nose in a book as always.
“Dad’s home, Aden,” she said. “Bridget and Stormy too.”
As expected, their boy’s head popped up and looked to his right, obviously checking for Hardy’s truck. Tossing the book on the table, he trotted out to greet them.
Content to simply observe, Stephanie crossed her ankles and put down the quilt square she’d been working on.
“Dad! Hey!” Aden called out.
“Right here, bud,” Hardy said in his low, always scratchy voice. “How’s everything?”
“Good.” He held still for his father to run a hand through his hair, but just barely. The moment he was free he reached for Bridget, who’d decided to sit down on the ground to look at the pansies Stephanie had planted a few days ago. “Bridget, don’t eat the pansies.”
“A,” she said, which was as far as Bridget had gotten on Aden’s name. Stephanie secretly hoped that their little girl would call him that for a while. The way she called out that letter was adorable.
When Stormy clambered up the steps to greet her, Stephanie rubbed the Australian Shepherd’s scruff. “Hiya, hund,” she whispered. “I missed ya.”
After licking her hand, the dog walked to the sunny patch on the porch and lay on his side. He was no doubt ready for a break after spending the morning with Bridget.
“Watch your sister now,” Hardy told Aden before walking to the porch. “How are you feeling?” he asked. “Have you been resting like you’re supposed to?”
“As much as I can.” She looked down at her belly, almost stretched to capacity. Just like she’d been with Aden and Bridget. “This one seems to believe that it’s time to do somersaults the minute I sit still.”
“Not too much longer now.”
She reached out to him. She didn’t need his help to stand up, but she had become spoiled by his attentions. As she’d expected, after glancing at their children one more time, he pulled her up and then enfolded her in his arms. “Better?” he murmured, kissing her neck.
She had her arms around him, smelling his familiar scent, and had two healthy children, plus one on the way, and a very good dog. “Jah. It’s gut. How were things at the big house?”
“Almost the same as here.”
“Truly?”
He laughed. “Of course not. It’s barely controlled chaos over there.” Eyes sparkling, he said, “Bridget fit right in.”
“She loves playing with the older kinner.” Carter and Bev had married a year after she and Hardy but had wasted no time in starting their family. Beverly had gotten pregnant on their honeymoon. They’d also started adoption proceedings with James, a twelve-year-old boy she’d worked with. Now, all these years later, they had a family of seven, with three children they’d adopted and two that Bev had given birth to.
Hardy had once confided that he was glad Carter still allowed him to run the sprawling ranch. Between Carter’s work in Cincinnati and all their children, the man had little time for horses or sheep.
After depositing Stephanie back in her chair, Hardy took the one beside her. “I also drove out to see Seth Zimmerman,” he said. “I gave him the deposit on the house.”
She glanced at him in surprise. Seth Zimmerman was former Amish and a master carpenter. After working for a builder for years, he started out on his own. He was known for building custom homes. Hardy had been wanting to build them a bigger house ever since she’d gotten pregnant with Bridget, but Stephanie had been dragging her heels. This little cabin meant so much to her. It was here that she’d fallen in love with Hardy.
“You don’t want to wait a little longer?”
His gaze softened. “Stephanie. Honey. This new baby is going to take up room. More room than we have.”
“We could do another addition.”
“We’re going to need something more than that. Honey, it’s time to have our own place.”
She slumped. “I suppose.”
“We’ve got to build the whole house, Steph. That ain’t going to happen overnight. It might even take close to a year.”
“I bet by then I’ll be agreeing with you.”
“I feel fairly certain you will. Plus, Aden’s going to want some space. Everyone needs their own space, don’t you think?”
Those words brought back one of the best moments of her life. The moment she knew that she would be willing to leave everything she knew for a future where nothing was certain. She’d walked out of her aunt and uncle’s house with tears in her eyes and a full heart.
So much was uncertain in life. She’d learned the hard way that nothing lasted forever. Not even one’s childhood. But when she’d kept her hope and held tightly to the belief that God would not let her down, amazing things had happened.
Life had happened.
And while every day wasn’t easy, she’d also learned the value of pushing herself and doing what she thought was right.
Her life with Hardy was testament to that.
“Do you ever think about that day?” she whispered.
“Which day is that?”
“The day that Timothy risked everything for Audrey. The day that he made a decision to be different than the moment before. Do you ever think about that?”
“Every day.”
“Me too,” she whispered right before Aden started guiding Bridget toward them. Her hands were dirty and there was a smudge of dirt on her cheek.
“Sorry, Momma,” Aden said. “I tried to get her to not stick her hand in her mouth.”
Pushing herself out of her chair, she walked down the steps to meet her children. She leaned down to kiss Aden’s brow then picked up Bridget.
“Stephanie,” Hardy called out. “You shouldn’t—”
“I know, but I’m okay.” Turning around, she faced Hardy standing on the front porch of the cabin.
“What matters is that I still can do this today. That’s all that matters to me.” Only the Lord knew what tomorrow was going to be like.
But today? Well, today was a very good day. She gave thanks to God.