Epilogue
September 30th, 1899, Eagle Creek, Montana
“Iam so very proud of all of you,” Mayor Holroyd said, looking at Matthew, Rachel, Andrew, Maud and Dr. Hartshorn, before turning back to the townsfolk gathered in front of the dais they were all standing on. “Eagle Creek is a vibrant and friendly community. We have been blessed with the most dedicated medical team, and cannot thank them enough for their hard work and dedication, particularly through the outbreak of last year. Now, they have help and support from a wonderful new team, who will be here to take care of everyone. I declare the Eagle Creek General Hospital, open.”
A huge cheer erupted. Rachel glanced out over the crowd gathered and saw the faces of her friends, her patients, and her family. Matthew gently wiped a tear from her cheek and held her hand tightly. “We did it,” he said happily.
“Yes, we did,” said Andrew. “Thanks to you.”
“He’ll never tell you how happy he was that you came back, but I will,” Maud added. “When we both saw you walk into the clinic on Christmas Day, we thought we were dreaming. But it was the best gift we’ve ever had.”
“No, you’d already given me everything, months before. I am sorry I pushed it away, and pushed the two of you away. Thank you for forgiving me,” Matthew said.
“You’re family, it’s what you do,” Maud said, then chuckled. Matthew had told them both about his reasons for being a fool. “Not your original family, who were fools, I might add. But the one who chose you.”
“And I will be forever grateful that you did,” Matthew said, giving Maud a quick hug before shaking Andrew’s hand firmly.
“Matthew, I think of you as the son I never had,” Andrew said, patting him affectionately on the back. “But I am certain that when you came back, you promised no more secrets. Yet, I think that you and your delightful wife have been keeping something from us.”
Rachel grinned. “Well, if you will just come and meet my family, then we can tell you all at once,” she said, leading the way to where her father, her sister and her husband were standing, a little way away from the dais. She quickly introduced them all, whilst hugging her father tightly, then stepped away and took her husband’s hand. “We wanted to tell you altogether, but there will be another Inglis joining us in the spring.”
Her father beamed, his eyes misty with tears. She turned to see that Andrew had the exact same expression, and Maud and her sister were grinning from ear to ear. Maud tapped Andrew on the arm. “You owe me ten dollars,” she said. “When are you going to learn that I can always tell.”
“Probably never,” Andrew said, fishing in his pocket and handing over the money. “But one day I’ll win that bet.”
“Not on whether a woman is with child you won’t,” she teased.
“You bet against Maud as to whether I was pregnant or not?” Rachel asked, pretending to be indignant. “Heavens, that’s almost as foolish a bet as Matthew’s with Tom. No, even more so. Who bets against Maud when it is a matter of pregnancy?”
Andrew shrugged. “I know, I know. She’s the master of that, and I am a mere student.”
“We all are,” Rachel reminded him. “And now, she will be training up a whole army of Mauds to drive us all crazy with how much more they know about everything than us.”
“I’ll make sure they know their place,” Maud assured her. “They’ve got a lot to learn before they’ll even be close to as good as you.”
Rachel blushed under her praise and Matthew slipped his arm around her waist. “You have Maud’s seal of approval,” he said, impressed. “I’m envious.”
“As you should be, Matthew,” Maud said with a chuckle. “For you’ve a lot of learning to do before you catch up to your wife, too.”
“Happy to learn from you both, as I always have been,” he said, raising his hands in surrender. “But one day you’ll tell me I’m good enough.”
“Oh, you’re already good enough,” Maud said frankly. “But I have no intentions of letting you get too proud. To be excellent, that’ll take a bit more work. But there’s time. There’s time.”
For the rest of the afternoon, the four of them mingled with all their guests. Rachel spent as much time as she dared with her family. It was so wonderful to have them here, even if it was only a small number of them. She lost count of how many times she hugged and was hugged by her father and sister, and she reveled in them telling her how proud they were of her. But as the crowds began to dissipate, and the event drew to a close, she was glad to fall into her husband’s arms. “It went well, didn’t it,” she said. “But, we’ve done the easy bit getting it built and ready. Now we have to make it work.”
“We will,” he assured her. “Because the people of Eagle Creek need us to. And that, my darling, is what makes us both do what we do.”
“That is true.” She sank down into a nearby chair. “My feet are so sore.”
“I promise I will bathe them and rub them when we get home, but I must go and see Tom and Elise before they disappear up the mountain. He hurried off and Rachel was left alone, looking at all the work they would need to do to clear everything up. Wearily, she got up and began to pick up the trash and stack the glasses and cups ready to be washed.
Matthew came back a few minutes later smiling. “Finally made good on that bet,” he said happily.
“You left them waiting this long?
“Not at all. They wouldn’t take the money from me when I offered it, but they were happy to accept a gift.”
“What on earth did you get them that cost fifty dollars?”
“Tom’s been complaining that he needed a new horse.”
“You bought him a horse?”
“I did. Lucifer, Jonas’ evil stallion that he came looking for me on, when Andrew had his accident.” He grinned.
“Well he’s a very fine animal, but he’s hardly a good herding horse,” Rachel said aghast.
“No, but I heard a rumor that one of his son’s is very good with horses. I figured he can gentle him and hopefully, poor Lucifer will no longer be so very unhappy.”
“You mean Bailey, I think his gift is with dogs, not horses,” Rachel said.
“No, I mean Stephan, the lad who broke his arm recently. We talked a lot while I set it for him. I got the feeling he gets forgotten a little bit, with Bailey being the eldest and doing so well at the jewelry store, and little Alison who is so pretty with her curls.”
“You are a good man. That will make his day, that you think him capable of that, but will Tom really let him keep Lucifer?”
“He has no choice. He was a gift, to say thank you for Elise setting me straight, and to repay the bet he wouldn’t let me pay. I won so much more than fifty dollars. Even an entire herd of Arabian horses wouldn’t come close to what I got from that stupid, wonderful, amazing bet.” He kissed her lips and she held him tight. She couldn’t argue with his reasoning.
“You got so very lucky,” she teased.
“Yes, I did.”