Epilogue
brISTOL
PRESENT DAY
The last page fluttered shut beneath my hand, the room still caught in that reverent hush that follows a story you don’t quite want to end. For a long moment, none of us moved, as if Brigit’s voice still echoed in the walls around us.
“Whew,” Cameron finally said, blowing out a low whistle. “Forget Netflix. We’ve been sitting on a blockbuster this whole time.”
“Blockbuster?” Paige snorted, wiping at her damp eyes. “Try heartbreaker. That poor woman—what she carried, what she gave up…”
Anna leaned forward, elbows on her knees, her expression tender but fierce. “She crossed an ocean, buried her sister, raised a child that wasn’t hers, and carved out a life in the wilderness. Honestly? I don’t know if I would’ve been that brave.”
“Brave,” Em echoed, her voice soft. “And selfless. She didn’t just survive—she made sure Patrick did too. I can’t stop thinking about that.”
I let my palm rest on the leather cover pressed against my belly as the baby inside me shifted. “She was gutsy,” I agreed. “And stubborn. Guess that means she’d fit right in here in Sterling Mill.”
“And Elijah,” Cam added, surprising us with the warmth in her voice. “He reminds me of Chase. Or Reid. Or Zach. Heck, all of our men. Our guys aren’t building homesteads and gristmills, but they’ve got that same grit who try to make our community better. Who love hard and fast.”
Anna smiled softly, her gaze dropping to her lap. “That’s the legacy, isn’t it? Not just land or old deeds, but this stubborn streak to keep going, to keep loving, no matter how hard it gets.”
The mood shifted when Cam chuckled. “The mood shifted when Cam chuckled. “Okay, all true. But can we talk about the parrot? Apparently, Mayor Sterling isn’t the first bird to leave his mark on Sterling Mill.”
That cracked everyone up, the tension breaking like a bubble.
“And it annoyed Silas,” Paige added with a grin. “Man survives pirate life and the wilderness roads but gets stuck with a loudmouthed bird that gives him grief. Honestly? That sounds so familiar.”
We were still laughing when Anna straightened suddenly, her brow furrowed. “Wait. Did you all notice the name? Bowen.”
“Yep,” I said, nodding slowly. “Same as our current mayor.”
“Mayor Richard Bowen,” Em said, her mouth twitching. “Sterling Mill’s most humorless human is descended from a pirate? Now that’s funny.”
The laughter returned, bubbling louder this time. I could already imagine the memes if the town ever got wind of it.
But as the laughter died down, a more thoughtful silence crept in.
“So,” Paige said at last, eyes narrowing. “If Richard Bowen is descended from Silas… that means…”
“That Silas had a child,” I finished quietly. My hand lingered on the journal, tracing the worn edge of the cover. “Somewhere in all the adventures and secrets Brigit never wrote down, there’s another story waiting to be found.”
The room stilled, every one of us hooked by the thought.
Emalee leaned in, her smile equal parts wonder and mischief. “I hope that means your attic isn’t done talking yet.”
I couldn’t help but grin. “Guess not.”
Somewhere above us, the old house creaked—settling…or perhaps listening.