Epilogue
Nora
The farmers market had taken over Main Street.
Booths lined both sides of the road, selling everything from fresh produce to handmade soap to the maple candy that Mrs. Patterson had been making for forty years. The smell of baked goods mixed with the green scent of cut herbs and the distant sweetness of the honeycomb display near the gazebo.
Ellie was on Hunt’s shoulders, her hands buried in his hair, shrieking with delight every time he pretended to almost drop her.
“You’re going to give me a heart attack,” I said.
“She loves it.”
“She’s almost a year and a half. She loves everything.”
“Then I’m expanding her horizons.”
Ellie grabbed a fistful of Hunt’s hair and tugged. He winced but didn’t stop walking, adjusting his grip on her legs as we made our way past the vegetable booth.
June found us near the honey display.
She was carrying a basket overflowing with purchases, her hair pulled back, her face flushed from the warmth of the spring morning.
“There you are,” she said. “I’ve been looking everywhere. Doc Hale wants to know if you’re coming to the grange meeting next week, and Mrs. Patterson says she needs advice about her cat’s digestive issues.”
“I’m not on call today.”
“You’re always on call. You’re the only large-animal vet in the county.”
“Dr. Kim is covering emergencies.”
“Dr. Kim is afraid of Mrs. Patterson. Everyone is afraid of Mrs. Patterson.” June peered at me with the particular intensity she got when she was about to notice what I didn’t want her to notice. “You look tired.”
“I’ve got a toddler.”
June gave me the look that had never once let me get away with anything. “You look more tired than usual.”
“I was up early.”
“How early?”
“Early enough.”
Hunt glanced over at me, a question in his eyes. I shook my head slightly. Not yet.
June was still examining me with her best-friend radar fully engaged.
“You’ve got a secret,” she said.
“I’ve got no secrets.”
June narrowed her eyes at me over the tomatoes. “You’ve definitely got a secret. You’ve got that expression. The same one you had when you were pretending not to be in love with Hunt while he was literally leaving wildflowers on your clinic step.”
“That’s a very specific expression.”
“I’ve known you since childhood. I’ve got your expressions catalogued.”
Ellie chose that moment to demand attention, reaching for June with grabbing hands. June took her from Hunt’s shoulders, settling the baby against her hip with practiced ease.
“Tell Auntie June what your mother is hiding,” she said to Ellie.
“She’s not going to tell you anything. She can’t talk yet.”
“She can communicate. Watch.” June made eye contact with Ellie. “Is your mother keeping a secret?”
Ellie babbled a sound that was suspiciously happy.
“See?” June said. “She confirms.”
“That was a coincidence.”
“It was baby intuition.”
Hunt’s phone buzzed in his pocket.
He checked the screen, and his expression changed. A smile. The particular smile he got when he was planning a stunt I probably should’ve been consulted about.
“I need to make a call,” he said. “Nora, can you watch Ellie for a minute?”
“Where are you going?”
“Just to the truck. I left my wallet in it.”
He was already walking away, his stride purposeful, that smile still playing at the corners of his mouth.
“What’s he doing?” June asked.
“No idea.”
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not lying. I genuinely have no idea what he’s doing right now.”
The answer came five minutes later.
I was standing near the gazebo, Ellie back in my arms, watching a local band set up for their afternoon performance. June had wandered off to argue with the honey vendor about pricing. The market bustled around us, full of familiar faces and friendly greetings.
And then the emergency dispatch radio crackled to life.
It was mounted near the fire station booth, tuned to the county frequency so the volunteer firefighters could monitor for calls. The sound of static cut through the market noise, followed by Hunt’s voice.
“This is Hunt Anderson, broadcasting on the emergency frequency.”
People started to turn.
“I know this is unconventional. The last time I did this, I was proposing to my wife over radio because I’m apparently incapable of doing anything privately.”
Laughter rippled through the crowd. June was pushing her way back toward me, her eyes wide.
“Today I’m not proposing. Today I’m making an announcement. One that I’ve been waiting to share with everyone who’s become part of our family here in Primrose.”
Ellie was waving at the radio, recognizing her father’s voice.
“Lenora Anderson. My wife. The best veterinarian in the county. The woman who gave me a second chance I didn’t deserve and a daughter I spend every day trying to be worthy of.”
My heart was pounding.
“She’s pregnant again.”
The market exploded.
June grabbed my arm. Mrs. Patterson dropped her basket of maple candy. Doc Hale, who’d appeared near the edge of the crowd, started laughing so hard he had to lean against a booth.
“We’re adding to the roster,” Hunt’s voice continued over the radio. “Our party of three is becoming a party of four. And I wanted everyone who’s been part of our story to be the first to know.”
He paused.
“Well. The second to know. June found out about five seconds before I made this broadcast, judging by the sound of screaming I can hear from the market.”
June was, in fact, screaming.
“So there it is,” Hunt said. “Official county announcement. The Anderson family is growing. And I’m the luckiest man alive.”
The radio clicked off.
I stood there, Ellie in my arms, June crushing me from the side, the entire town of Primrose pressing in with congratulations and well-wishes and the particular enthusiasm that small communities brought to any news, good or bad.
Hunt found me in the middle of it.
He pushed through the crowd, his face bright with joy, and pulled me into his arms. Ellie squealed between us, delighted by the chaos.
“Was that okay?” he asked. “I should’ve asked first. I just wanted everyone to know. I wanted to share it the same way I shared the proposal.”
“It was perfect.”
“You’re not mad?”
“I’m the opposite of mad.” I kissed him, right there in the middle of Main Street, in front of everyone who was watching. “I’m exactly where I want to be.”
The celebration continued for hours.
June organized an impromptu party at the diner. Doc Hale shared embarrassing stories about my early days at the clinic. Mrs. Patterson cornered Hunt and lectured him extensively about proper prenatal nutrition, despite not having been pregnant herself in forty years.
Waffles appeared at some point, having escaped from the petting zoo tent, and stationed himself at my feet with the air of a bodyguard who took his duties seriously.
When the party finally wound down and we made our way home, the farmhouse was golden in the evening light.
Hunt carried Ellie to her crib while I sat on the porch swing, watching the fireflies begin their evening dance over the pasture.
He joined me a few minutes later, settling beside me, his arm wrapping around my shoulders.
“She went down easy,” he said.
“She had a big day.”
“We all had a big day.”
The swing creaked gently as we rocked.
“Do you remember the day you found me here?” I asked.
“I remember everything about that day. You stood on those steps with your arms crossed and looked at me with murder in your eyes.”
“You deserved the murder eyes.”
“I absolutely did.”
“And now we’re here.” I leaned into him. “Nearly two years later. Married again. One baby sleeping inside and another on the way.”
“And a goat who still judges me for past sins.”
“Waffles has forgiven you.”
“Waffles tolerates me. There’s a difference.”
The fireflies drifted closer. The evening air smelled sweet and green, full of spring.
“I never thought I’d get this,” I said.
“Get what?”
“This. All of it.” I gestured at the farmhouse, the pasture, the life we’d built. “I spent so long being angry and hurt and convinced that happiness was a thing that happened to other people. And then you showed up and refused to leave and made me believe in second chances.”
“You made yourself believe. I just showed up.”
“You did a lot more than show up.”
“I showed up consistently.” He kissed my temple. “That’s the trick. Just keep showing up.”
The radio inside crackled faintly. The emergency dispatch frequency, still tuned from the afternoon broadcast. A routine call, nothing urgent, the steady background noise of a county that kept running no matter what dramas unfolded in its midst.
“You used to hate that sound,” I said.
“I used to live for that sound.” He was quiet for a moment. “Now I know the difference between emergencies and life. The radio calls were always going to come. But you. You were never guaranteed. You were a choice I had to make.”
“And you chose.”
“Every day.” His hand found my belly, resting there against the barely-there curve. “Every single day.”
The last light faded from the sky.
Stars began to emerge, scattered across the darkness, the same stars I’d watched from this porch since I was a girl growing up in my grandmother’s house.
“I love you,” I said.
“I love you too.”
“That wasn’t hard to say.”
“It never should’ve been hard.” He pulled me closer. “Some things are just true.”
We sat there until the fireflies faded and the night grew cool.
Then we went inside, together, to the life we’d built from the ruins of the one we’d lost.
Home.
Finally, irreversibly, completely home.
THE END