Epilogue
July 28, 1878—West of Boulder, Colorado
“Where are you taking me, Blake?” He promised her a wedding trip she wouldn’t forget. Gianna glanced around the narrow path that zigzagged up a mountain between tall straight evergreens. The two-horse team they rented at the livery in Nederland strained to pull their buggy up an inclined dirt road.
“Be patient. We’re almost there.”
So far, following their wedding last Saturday, they spent two nights at McQuarrie’s Resort in Spur Springs, about two hours north of Pueblo. While there, they luxuriated in mineral hot springs and watched sheep frolic in the fields from the porch of their rustic, but nicely outfitted, cabin. After a stagecoach ride to Colorado Springs, they boarded the northbound train for Denver. But rather than remain there, Blake had tickets for a short trip to an overnight stay in Golden. The next morning they boarded a train for Boulder, then a stagecoach ride to Nederland, and now, they were in charge of their own transportation.
“Are you sure someone lives out here? We’ve seen only two men on horseback since leaving that tiny town in the valley.” Although the sun shone, the air at this high elevation chilled her exposed skin. If she hadn’t been encouraged to bring along her winter garments, she would never have believed she needed them during what was supposed to be the hottest month of the year.
Blake leaned sideways and kissed her cheek. “I’m sure. I’ve been here before on business. Be patient for a few more turns in the road. And then you’ll see.”
She tightened her grip on his right arm and rested her cheek on her shoulder. “I don’t mind. Really. I’m happy to be spending time alone with my marito.” She watched the tree trunks blur into a brown wall, remembering the moment Pastor Steadman proclaimed them married and the besotted look on Blake’s face as he drew her close for their wedding kiss. Her new husband embodied more passion than she originally thought, and sharing it was everything she’d dreamed of. Just the memory sent a thrill through her. This week’s trip would strengthen their bond so they could return home with a united front that Blake’s mother could not dent.
The buggy shifted, and Gianna looked around. Spanning the width of the trail stood an overhead sign proclaiming Hallbjorn Logging Company. Not long after passing under the sign, buildings of various sizes came into view.
Blake steered the team toward one with a wide porch and overhang. A placard stating Office topped the door’s lintel.
The door opened, and a very tall man stepped onto the porch. He shrugged his arms into a shearling-lined denim jacket. “God ettermiddag, fetter Blake. I see you remembered the way.”
“I did, cousin Gunnar. This time, the drive was much easier because I wasn’t fighting a snowstorm on the way up and a slushy path on the return trip.”
The man with close-cropped brown hair jogged down the wooden steps and pinched the brim of his hat. “Ma’am.”
Gianna smiled.
Blake walked around the back of the buggy and gave Gunnar a hearty handshake. “Sweetheart, this is Gunnar Hallbjorn, who you’ve probably guessed owns this part of the mountain we’re on.” He extended a gloved hand under the buggy cover.
She gripped it as she shifted on the seat and set the back of her left boot onto the metal step, then alighted on the ground.
“Gunnar, please meet my bride, Gianna Rafaello Wymer.”
Gianna held out her hand. “The pleasure is mine, Mister Hallbjorn.” She stumbled over the second part of his name.
“Gunnar, please.” He clasped hers and shook. “We’re sort of related.”
At the strength of his grip, she pinched her lips tight. “Come? How are you two cousins?”
Blake laughed. “It’s a stretch, and we’re either second cousins or cousins once removed. I don’t know the difference. But his mother and my mother share an aunt, I think.”
Gunnar shrugged. “All I know is their great-grandfather was the same. Arkin Delling.”
“Ah, la famiglia is wonderful, no matter where we find it.” She spread her arms to indicate the trees. “I have never seen a cielo so blue.”
A raised eyebrow on their host’s face told her she’d fallen back into Italian. Should she explain?
“Step this way and I’ll show you to your cabin.”
Once inside, Gianna glanced around at a shelf lined with books, snowshoes propped in a corner, and pegs on the wall holding knit hats and scarves. “Mister, um, Gunnar, is this yours?” She reached for Blake’s hand. “We don’t mean to put you out.”
He crossed his arms. “You’re not. I can easily move into the bunkhouse for the time you’re here. Besides, when Blake contacted me with the reason for the visit and reported that not a single hotel room was available in Denver, I became intrigued and read up on the eclipse. I gave my whole crew the afternoon off so we can hike to the fire lookout for the best view.”
Gianna threw her arms around Blake’s neck. “You remembered our first exchange of letters.” She kissed his cheeks and then his lips. “What a sorpresa fantastica.”
~oOo~
July 28th—about three o’clock
By the time Gianna reached the end of the upward trail, she worried about a physical collapse and missing the celestial surprise. Pulling in enough breaths created loud sucking sounds that were not in the least ladylike. And massaging her air-starved chest didn’t help. Her rasping almost drowned out the birdsong trilling from several nearby trees.
“Gianna, come sit, sweetheart.” Blake waved from where he spread a blanket on the rocky dirt. “Take a drink from this canteen.”
She moved to the blanket and dropped, grateful he insisted she buy a split skirt in Golden. When her breath evened, she sipped at the refreshing mountain water. At the time, she wondered about how much she would use the new garment. But, being in command of their itinerary, he knew what activities were planned.
Accompanying them on the hike were employees of the logging company. Many were Norwegian like Gunnar, some were Swedish, and the rest a mix of men from other countries who enjoyed working out in nature.
“Blake, I can’t believe you kept this a secret.”
He grinned and scooted closer. “I wanted to tell you so many times. But doing all the planning before you arrived kept me occupied and thinking about our future.”
She tilted her head. “If I had decided we weren’t…come se dice…we didn’t like each other?” She rolled her hand in a circle.
His eyebrows lifted. “Compatible?”
“Sì, compatible.” She tapped her nose. “Would you have made the trip, anyway?”
He ducked his head, then looked up and nodded. “Remember when I went to the office last night after we ate? We discussed business, working out projected needs and agreeing on a lumber delivery schedule for the next year.”
Gunnar walked to the blanket, a duffel bag hanging from a hand. “My shop foreman built small boxes for viewing the eclipse without looking at the sun. Do you want one?”
Blake held up his hand, displaying a dark rectangle. “I smoked pieces of glass like I read in a newspaper article. But we’ll take one and use both.”
“Two minutes, everyone.” A voice came from the crowd gathered at the foot of a twenty-foot-tall structure comprised of a roof over a chest-high wall built on a platform atop four sturdy posts.
“Which do you want?” Blake indicated the glass and box on the blanket.
“How do you use the box?” She picked up the slender wooden box about four inches tall by two inches wide and eight inches long, then set it down.
After lifting it, Blake held the device to his eyes. “From this bottom square, you look inside and see a white-painted bottom. Through the hole at the top of the box, so you’ll see a circle of light and then how the moon will move in its orbit to obscure the sun.”
“I read the same article you did and am still amazed how this will happen.”
“It’s starting.”
A cheer went up.
Gianna sat with her back to the sun and watched as a smooth bite was taken from the circle.
“Look at that.” Blake clasped her free hand and squeezed. “Oh, I see Baily’s Beads and the diamond ring.” He passed over the glass.
She turned and saw the brilliant spots just before the moon blocked the sun. The birds stopped singing, and she felt a drop in the air temperature. “I didn’t expect that.”
Blake pulled her to a stand and wrapped his arms around her. “Remember what I wrote? That sharing the event would have a life-changing impact on those individuals?”
“I remember.” In the darkness, she couldn’t determine the color of the eyes she knew so well. But she could cup his cheek.
“I said that before I knew what meeting you would be like. You, Gianna, my bride, are my life-changing event.” He lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers, a hand rising to cradle the back of her neck.
As her pulse raced, she responded, sucking on his lower lip as shivers over her skin. Sharing a kiss with the man she loved under darkness at three thirty something in the afternoon was a sheer delight. She eased away and was glad to feel the security in his protective hug. “And you fill me with such feelings of love.”
“How do you say forever?”
“Per sempre.”
“Per sempre, my precious love. I adore you.”
Her throat thickened, but Gianna smiled. Like she told Alrigo, the love she shared with Blake was…il destino.