Epilogue
One Month Later
Anita had never liked heights, and before coming to the town, she would never have expected to find herself on the roof of a church, but here she was, hammering the slate tiles in place and quite enjoying the work.
Andrew and Michael had spent hours deliberating on what Anita, Kevin, Troy, and Lizzy’s punishment would be.
Eventually, the question had been put to the townsfolk, including those whose family members had been injured in the counterattack on the town.
It turned out no one blamed the quartet, and tears had been shed by all four when they’d been completely forgiven.
It was finally decided that they should be tasked with rebuilding the church, which they’d gladly agreed to.
“Anita, there’s someone here to see you,” Kevin called from down on the ground where he was sawing planks to make the pews.
Anita frowned. Who could be there to see her? If it was someone like Emily or Julie, he would just say so, wouldn’t he?
Still, she was due a break. It was hot up on the roof, and Anita was thirsty. She went to the ladder, moving carefully, and climbed down. She was in a pair of trousers she had altered to fit her, and it made things a lot easier than trying to work in a skirt.
Reaching the ground, she turned and found herself face to face with Mrs. Lewis.
Surprised, Anita took a step back. “Mrs. Lewis,” she said, frowning. “What brings you by?”
“You missed the last two markets,” the other cheese maker said. “I was concerned that something had happened to you.”
Anita blinked. “You were?”
“Yes,” Mrs. Lewis said with a curt nod. “It’s not every day that a lady finds a worthy adversary.
You are my enemy, my competition in business, and without you at the markets selling your cheeses, how will I ever be pushed to improve?
How will you ever be pushed to improve, for that matter?
I have learned that complacency is the worst thing that can assail anyone. ” She sniffed. “Don’t you agree?”
“Ah, yes,” Anita said, a little unsure of what Mrs. Lewis actually wanted from her. “So, you came here to make sure that I come to the next market?”
“Of course!” Mrs. Lewis said. “What are you doing building … buildings anyway?”
Anita chuckled. “It’s a bit of a long story, really.
We made a little mess out of things … Actually, it was a large mess, and well, now we have to fix it.
” She looked at the church. It was starting to look good.
There was still the steeple to build, but Troy and Lizzy were working on that.
They were in San Antonio buying a bell for the tower.
They’d promised not to engage with any bandits or dams while they were away.
“Yes, I heard about the attack,” Mrs. Lewis said. “I am glad that you’re all right. Did many of your fellow town dwellers die?”
“No,” Kevin interjected from nearby. “We had about twelve folks injured in various ways, but by God’s grace, no one died.”
“Ah,” Mrs. Lewis said. “Well, that was a blessing. So, you’ll be at the next market?”
Anita nodded. “I’ll be there. Our cows are pregnant, and soon I’ll have my own milk to work with. I’m quite excited.”
“Yes, yes,” Mrs. Lewis said. “Well, I’m off. I have other errands to run. You take care. It’s hard to find a good adversary, so please take care of yourself.” With a curt nod, she stalked off.
Anita watched her go. “She’s really odd, isn’t she?”
Kevin nodded beside her. “Oh yes,” he said. “I think her view of the world is skewed. Coming all this way to see if you’re all right because she likes being in competition with you. That’s a sign of madness.”
Anita chuckled. “I found it rather endearing, actually. Wouldn’t it be funny if she and I somehow wound up being friends?”
He raised an eyebrow and was about to say something when there was the sound of running feet, and Hunter came charging up to them.
“You’ve got to help me,” he said. He was clutching a letter in his hand.
“What happened? What’s wrong?” Anita asked in consternation. There had been so many things going on. What could this be about?
“It’s Grace,” Hunter said.
“Who is Grace?” Kevin asked.
“The woman. The baker who answered my advertisement,” Hunter said, dancing from foot to foot.
“I asked her if she thought she might want to come out here and meet me. Remember? I told you that a while ago! And she said yes! She’s on her way here right now.
She said she was going to send me a telegram when she was on her way, and I got it and the letter at the same time!
What do I do? My house isn’t lady-friendly! ”
Anita couldn’t help but smile. “I think you’d better take this one,” she said to her husband.
Kevin nodded. He put an arm around Hunter’s shoulders. The man was a wonderful miner and such a calm and collected person under normal circumstances, but it seemed that when it came to love, all men were just little puppies who got overexcited.
While Kevin and Hunter talked, Anita went up the ladder to the roof again. It was a bright, clear day, and she could see for miles around. It was quite freeing to be this high and looking down on everyone. She was really happy.
Although her life was nothing like how she had imagined it would turn out, she was not at all disappointed.
Every day in the town, which still didn’t have a name, was a day full of possibilities.
All she had to do was open her door and see what the wind blew in.
It was a lovely way to live. At least for now.
Below her, she could hear snippets of the conversation between Kevin and Hunter, and it made her smile.
Hunter was giddy over this woman he had never met.
It was so sweet. She could only hope that he and Grace would find a love as deep and fulfilling as she and Kevin had found.
It was truly magical, and she basked in the light of it every moment of every day.
Yes, they still had the threat of El Aguila hanging over them. But Anita was certain that they and the other inhabitants of this town could withstand that rotten blackguard.
Andrew was even now sending out scouts to try to find El Aguila’s lair.
He was done with playing it safe and being on the defensive all the time.
While their little dam errand might have been mistaken—they were still uncertain as to whether the bandit leader was behind things; if he wasn’t, they might well be looking at trouble from the dam’s real owners at some point—it had at least galvanized Andrew into concrete action.
It was time to be proactive and take the fight to him.
So, despite being punished for their actions, it seemed that Anita and the other’s little adventure had sparked something in Andrew, and he was no longer content to just fix and rebuild.
He wanted to hunt the source of their trouble down and get rid of him. It was about time.
How all of this would play out and how it would affect them, Anita had no idea.
But she would be standing proud beside Kevin.
Together they could weather anything. As she continued to hammer the nails into the roof, she smiled.
El Aguila had no idea of the trouble that was coming his way.
He’d repeatedly sought to hurt this town and its people.
Well, they were now also Anita’s people, and she knew she’d take every possible measure to help keep them safe.
“Anita!”
Kevin’s call to her from below drew her from her musings. She put down her hammer and smiled. “Yes?” she called back.
“Lunchtime.” He held up a tin pail full of the chicken dish he’d made the previous night.
It was a dish he was considering selling in their café, and plans were full steam ahead for that particular business venture.
They hoped to open the café any day now, using a loan that Mr. Edgar from the bank had gladly given them as thanks to Kevin for saving his life that day when the crazed customer had threatened the bank manager.
But Anita knew as she climbed down to meet him that lunch would involve more than just delicious food.
When Kevin took her hand and pulled her close for a lingering kiss, drawing teasing oohs and ahhs from around them, Anita didn’t even blush this time. She just wrapped her arms around her husband and kissed him back for all she was worth.
Thank you, Lord, for my husband. Thank you for this wonderful life.
Thank you so much for reading our book. We sincerely hope you enjoyed every bit reading it. We had fun creating it and will surely create more.