Epilogue
Eight Years Later
“Like this, Papa?” Caleb Birke asked, carefully polishing the silver bell with the soft cloth held in his tiny fingers.
Gunder still marveled every day at the life he and Risa shared.
They still lived in the house she’d once called their shack, but as they added onto it, one room at a time, it was now a solid home with room for them, their daughter, Clara, and their son, Caleb, who reminded Gunder so much of his own father.
“You’re doing it just right, Caleb,” Gunder said, holding his son on his lap, wondering how the boy could already be four. It seemed like he was born just yesterday. Then again, Clara was seven and already making top marks in her class at the newly opened Lovely School.
As more people moved to the area and the mine prospered, the once-ugly town of Lovely was finally starting to live up to its name.
Changes—good changes—had been taking place, and one of the best was the trade Mr. Newton, owner of the mine, had offered Gunder for making a special bell as a gift for the man to give to his wife in celebration of their fiftieth wedding anniversary.
Although Gunder specialized in making custom jewelry pieces, he’d been working hard to hone his bell-making talents. This was the first one that had turned out perfectly, and was his first commissioned piece.
The bell, with a bouquet of roses on the front and back, and acanthus scrolls beneath it, was a beautiful piece with a clarity of tone that could rival the bells Gunder’s grandfather and father had created.
A sigh escaped Gunder, wishing his father could see the bell, but his parents were still in Pittsburgh, for now.
The trade Mr. Newton had made with Gunder was for twenty acres of prime ground just north of town.
The river ran through the acreage, and Gunder had already been working on plans for the house and barn, and a workshop he intended to build.
He and Risa had been frugal with their money, saving all they could in hopes of someday building the home of her dreams.
For Gunder, his home would forever and always be in her arms.
“Are you two almost finished? Supper is ready,” Risa asked as she opened the door and stepped into the workshop Gunder had built by the smokehouse.
The small stove he’d once used in his tent at the mine, one of the few things Maybelle Dutton hadn’t destroyed when she’d unleashed her considerable temper on his belongings, heated the space and chased away the December chill.
Gunder helped Caleb polish the last spot on the bell, then set it in the custom oak box he’d built with a double B— for Birke’s Bells—carved into the lid. Risa had lined the box with padding and dark-blue velvet.
“We’re finished, Ree.” Gunder used the cloth to hold the bell and gave it a ring, bringing a smile to Risa’s beloved face.
“Oh, Gunder. It’s such a pure, wonderful sound. I’m so proud of you.” She hugged him around his neck as he sat on the stool, then watched as he settled the bell in the box and closed the lid.
“I’ll deliver that in the morning, once we arrive in Baker City,” Gunder said, pleased Risa had accepted the invitation to spend Christmas with her father and Gloria at the boardinghouse.
Lars still operated his own freighting business in town, and had been so successful, he’d hired three more drivers to join Hoffman Freight.
Gloria doted on Clara and Caleb like any grandmother would, spoiling them with little treats and unexpected gifts. The children would have a grand time spending three days with their grammy and gramps for Christmas.
“Run in the house and wash up, Caleb,” Gunder said as he set Caleb on his feet and gave the boy a playful swat on his backside.
“I’m hungry, Mama! Let’s eat!” Caleb said, dashing outside, his giggles trailing back to them as he raced up the back steps of the house.
Gunder slid his arm around Risa’s waist and pulled her onto his lap, kissing her deeply, then lifting his head to gaze into her blueberry-blue eyes. He didn’t know how it happened, but he thought she got prettier by the day. Every morning he woke up loving her more than when he’d fallen asleep.
“Do you remember when you ran away right before Christmas the year we wed?” he asked, nuzzling the spot she liked right beneath her ear.
“I don’t think that’s something I’ll ever forget, Gunder Birke. I loved you so much, I scared myself half silly.”
He grinned and kissed her neck. “You nearly drove me mad, wondering where you’d gone and if you’d ever come back, and all while I was working like a crazy person to finish this.
” He lifted her left hand and kissed the ring she never took off her finger.
“I still can hardly believe you were at the boardinghouse the whole time. Shame on you and Gloria for fooling me like that.”
“I knew if I saw you, I wouldn’t be able to resist you, Gunder. Not for a moment, because from the first moment I saw you walking on the road past the house, I knew I loved you, and I love you still.”
“I’m glad, because I love you more every day.
Silas tells me I’m ridiculous.” Gunder toyed with a strand of her hair that had come loose from her bun.
“Just think how lonely we’d be, how long and miserable each night would seem, if you hadn’t agreed to marry me.
Home wouldn’t feel like home, and Christmas certainly wouldn’t feel like Christmas without you here. ”
“Speaking of Christmas, do you mind that we’re spending it with Papa and Mama this year in Baker City instead of here?”
Gunder shook his head. “Not at all. Besides, if the good Lord is willing, next year we’ll be celebrating Christmas in our new house on our new property, thanks to this little bell.”
Risa smiled and lifted the box that was, in itself, a beautiful piece.
“I’m so proud of you, Gunder. I know so many times you wanted to give up when things weren’t going right, but you kept at it, kept practicing your bell-making techniques all these years.
Just look at the incredible thing you created.
It’s not just a spectacular bell, it’s a step into the future we’ve been dreaming of.
Thank you for making so many of my dreams come true, Gunder.
I’m so grateful for you, and for the blessings you bring into my life every day. ”
He felt humbled by her words, but pulled her closer and kissed her sweetly. “I’m the one who is blessed, Ree, with your love and your joy. I wouldn’t trade a single minute of the past eight years with you for anything. I can’t wait to see what the next fifty years will bring.”
“Love, Gunder. They’re going to bring love.”