Epilogue
One Week Later
The first real snowstorm of the season had dropped almost two feet of snow overnight, though the next morning was cold but bright and sunny.
Sam and a few of the ranch hands had been shoveling pathways around the house and barns since dawn, so that people and animals could move more freely rather than trudging through the heavy wet snow pack.
It was truly remarkable how much the atmosphere at the ranch had changed in just one week. The peace and quiet had returned; there had been no unannounced visits or threats looming over their heads. Wounds were healing—physically and mentally.
Sam took a short break and walked into the barn, where Ruby, Sadie, and Ellen were caring for the horses, giving them extra hay and grain to fight the cold temperature. Ruby was mostly in charge of giving treats like apples and carrots.
As soon as Sadie saw Sam, her beautiful face lit up, warming Sam’s heart. She left her station and rushed over to him, greeting him with a sweet kiss and a beaming smile. Sam responded in kind. Their bond had grown so much stronger and so had their love for each other.
“Papa!” Ruby called excitedly before anybody could say anything. She came bounding toward them. Buster, who was growing like a weed, was right behind her. “Sadie said I can keep him!”
“Keep who?” Sam asked surprised, as his daughter took his hand, pulling him forward. Buster danced all around them and barked loudly. Ruby stopped abruptly and turned to him, lifting her finger.
“No barking in the barn, Buster!” Ruby scolded him.
Buster sat down in front of her—the two of them were almost eye to eye.
“Do a whisper bark,” she whispered to him.
Sam watched in bewilderment as the massive puppy started to bark silently, only releasing the smallest sound.
He looked at Sadie, who grinned from ear to ear.
“Your daughter has a gift!” she told him. “Animals just flock to her. She speaks their language. I might have to tap into that.” Sam smiled at her. Seeing both of his girls so happy filled his heart to the brim.
“Do it! Make her work for all those carrots she’s feeding everybody,” Sam replied with a chuckle.
“Good boy, Buster!” Ruby praised him, hugging his furry head. Then she bit a piece of a carrot she retrieved from her pocket and gave her dog the rest of it, both happily chewing on it as they walked along. Sam and Sadie laughed at that.
“So, who are you keeping?” Sam asked Ruby again, steering the conversation back to its starting point.
“Oh, yes! Sadie said I can keep the horse!” Ruby exclaimed. She ran off toward a stall and when Sam came closer, he saw that it was Walter’s gelding, who’d been left behind. “I named him Stripes!” Ruby added proudly. Sadie winced.
“Why would you pick such a mean name for the poor thing?” she asked Ruby.
Then she turned to Sam to explain his daughter’s reasoning.
“We have been patching up all his welts and open wounds all week. Ruby calls him Stripes because of all the nasty scars crisscrossing his body.” She pulled a face at that.
Sam’s eyebrows shot up when he heard that.
“Stripes doesn’t know that,” Ruby told her matter-of-factly.
“He’ll get lots of love every day and lots of treats, too!
He’ll remind us to always be kind to animals and never treat them badly.
” Ruby walked up to the gelding’s head, and the horse promptly nuzzled into her embrace.
Then Ruby proceeded to feed him carrots.
“See what I mean about her gift?” Sadie pointed out. “He didn’t want to be touched by any of us, but then Ruby comes along and suddenly he loves cuddles.”
Sam smiled at that. He was proud of his daughter.
“I’m just glad that Stripes is staying here now and never has to go through what he’s gone through with your uncle,” Sam said quietly. Sadie nodded.
“I wanted to get my hands on him since the first time I saw this poor boy. He’s in much worse shape than I originally anticipated,” Sadie said with a heavy sigh, as she ran her hands gently over the horse’s body.
He twitched and moved away from her, as if he was uncomfortable being touched.
“He is also much older than I thought. Walter shouldn’t have ridden him the way he did. ”
“Ah, yes. Talking of Walter,” Sam said reluctantly. “I have to go into town today. They are transporting him and Briggs to the prison today, so I want to make sure that everything goes smoothly. Do you want to come with me?”
Sadie shook her head.
“I don’t want to see that man ever again,” she told him.
“After cleaning up the mess he made in my father’s study, destroying so much of the old and important paperwork, I’m done with him.
It took me three whole days, and it made me realize how sick his mind is.
” She nodded pointedly at the gelding. “I know that I have to forgive him one day, but today is not that day. I’m not ready yet. ”
Sam wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him. Sadie leaned into his body and put her hand on his chest when he kissed her gently on the lips. It would have grown into a more passionate one, but Ruby’s giggle reminded them that they weren’t alone. They slowly pulled apart.
This last week and also everything they’d been through together had made it very clear to Sam that this marriage wasn’t just one of convenience or a simple agreement on paper.
He loved his wife and Sadie loved him, so there was no reason to hold back their feelings.
The tension between them could be cut with a knife.
Sam cleared his throat; Sadie blushed.
“Either way, I’m sure God will allow you a couple of weeks to recover from our ordeal,” Sam said quietly. Sadie’s face broke into a wide smile.
“You are?” she jested. “How do you know?” she asked with a single raised eyebrow. “Have you been talking to Him behind my back?” Sam chuckled at that.
“A couple of times,” Sam admitted. “I’m starting to understand a bit more now.”
“How so?” Sadie seemed very curious.
Sam didn’t answer immediately. He took his time to find the right words.
“I realized that God is not responsible for what we do,” he explained slowly.
“You might not know this, but you have helped me a lot to get to that conclusion, while God has helped me to get here. He sent me and Ruby to you, because you truly are a gift from heaven.” Sam watched as Sadie’s eyes filled with moisture.
“Ruby has taught me how to pray, so I can thank the Lord properly every day.”
“Yes, I have!” Ruby announced proudly as she came to stand in between them, beaming up at them. “Now, I want a sister! Or maybe a brother. I’m not sure yet.”
Sam and Sadie froze for a second. They exchanged a pointed glance. Sam had always wanted more children, but he’d never mentioned it to Sadie. It never came up.
“Hey, I thought I was your sister!” Ellen exclaimed from the stable door.
“You are!” Ruby confirmed with a giggle. “You are my big sister. But I want to have a small sister. Or a small brother. I want to teach them all about Buster and Mister Snickers and Black Shadow and Stripes. So, we can all play together. And I can’t have a snowball fight by myself.”
“Oh, but I can have a snowball fight with you!” Ellen announced then.
She rushed toward the large sliding door at the front of the barn and slipped out.
When she returned, she was patting something white in the palm of her hand.
Then she handed it to Ruby. “There is your first snowball,” Ellen said.
Buster sniffed it and before Ruby could pull her hands away, Buster’s large mouth gobbled up the snowball.
“He ate it!” Ruby called out with big eyes. Then she burst out laughing. Sam, Sadie and Ellen joined in. Sam still had his arm around Sadie, so he squeezed her closer to him.
“What’s so funny?” Daniel asked, as he pulled off his thick leather gloves. Sam immediately noticed Ellen’s face light up. The spark in both their eyes was undeniable.
“Buster ate my snowball,” Ruby told him dryly. Daniel chuckled at that. He was particularly fond of the dog.
“Good boy, Buster!” Daniel told him, roughhousing with the giant puppy right in front of the stable door. “We need more good boys like you!” Sadie grinned at him.
“Yes, I know! If it were up to you, we’d be breeding dogs, not horses,” she said with a laugh in her voice.
“You never know,” Daniel said jokingly. “We could do both.” Ruby got instantly excited when she heard that. Daniel winked at Ellen, who giggled.
“Are you riding into town soon?” Daniel asked Sam.
“To see Briggs and Walter off to their new home?” Sam nodded, even though he didn’t really want to leave all of them.
It was such a relaxed and calm moment—Sam could feel the peace in every one of his bones and it felt good. It was like food for their souls.
“Yes, do you want to come with me?” Sam asked, hopeful. Daniel shook his head.
“I’m very much done with that chapter of our lives,” he said, smiling warmly at Ellen. “And since today marks the end of that chapter, I’d like to start a new one without drama.”
“Yes! I’m all for that,” Ellen agreed with a big nod.
“Amen to that!” Sadie said, leaning into Sam.
Daniel stepped in front of Ellen and took her left hand. She beamed up at him. Then he knelt down on one knee. Buster took that as an invitation and promptly started licking Daniel’s face. Ruby squealed, laughing. Sam and Sadie looked at each other.
“Could you… please take… your dog away… for a second?” Daniel asked Ruby, though he was laughing. The little girl grabbed Buster’s collar and pulled him to the side—once again holding up her finger as a warning sign. Buster sat down.
Daniel cleared his throat.
When he finally looked up, his eyes captured Ellen’s and the solemn expression on his face moved even Sam. He pulled Sadie even closer to his side, because he knew what was coming next.
“We’ve known each other for a long time,” Daniel said to Ellen.
“We’ve been friends for a long time. You and I have been through thick and thin together.
I don’t have a life worth living unless you are in it with me.
I want to grow old with you and have babies with you.
I think it’s time to take the next step and make it official. Ellen, will you marry me?”
Sadie’s hand flew to her mouth and Sam could feel how she was holding her breath, waiting for her best friend’s answer. Ellen stared at Daniel with wide eyes, then she nodded.
“I thought you’d never ask!” she replied, which made everybody laugh. “Yes!” She bent down and hugged Daniel as he got back up onto his feet. Buster immediately joined them again. Ruby let him.
“It’s about time! I wanted to plan that wedding long before I had mine!” Sadie said jokingly. Sam stared at her with a mock shocked expression, but then he just leaned in to kiss her temple. “I love you,” Sadie told him with a cheeky grin.
“I love you too,” Sam replied, and for a moment he got lost in Sadie’s eyes. Then he turned to Daniel and Ellen. “It’s been quite obvious that you two belong together,” he said to the newly engaged couple, congratulating both of them. Everything was falling into place the way it was supposed to.
Sadie began discussing ideas for their wedding.
Sam looked down at Ruby, who stared at everybody with the biggest smile. He went to pick up his daughter and she gave him a fierce hug.
“Are you happy, Sweetheart?” he asked her. Ruby nodded enthusiastically and her big green eyes sparkled as if nothing had ever happened to them.
The knowledge that Ruby was still as innocent as she’d always been filled Sam with true happiness. That was all he’d ever wanted for her. His heart was full.
THE END?
(turn the page)