Loving a Courageous Soul – Extended Epilogue

“Shouldn’t you be sitting,” Maggie asked Emma. “You look as though you are going to go any minute now.” 

Emma shot her a stern look. “Thanks,” she said. Her tone was full of sarcasm as she rubbed her burgeoning belly. “But I’m more than capable. I take care of two boys and Russell and help you keep this place running.” 

Maggie bit her lip as she tried to keep a laugh from bubbling up. “I assure you that I am more than capable of managing all this on my own.” 

Maggie tried not to panic as she looked around the kitchen. Every surface was covered with some sort of food item. They had three different types of meat and four different types of sweets. Maggie had wanted to scale down, but Emma wasn’t hearing it. 

“I am not going to allow my nephew to have a less than perfect fifth birthday,” she said. Before she could say anything further, Emma released a small groan and grabbed her stomach. Maggie walked towards her and grabbed her by the shoulders. 

“Are you alright?” she asked. She walked Emma towards a stool where she could sit down. 

“I’m fine,” Emma said. “These pains come and go as I get closer to my time.” 

“It’s any day now,” Maggie said excitedly. “Which is why you should be resting.” 

Emma released a small snort. “I have two five-year-old boys and a husband who riles them up. Being in the kitchen is restful.” 

Maggie couldn’t help laughing. “I know what that is like,” she said. Today, they were preparing for her own son, William Benjamin, to turn five. William was a handful, but Maggie couldn’t imagine their lives without him. When she had first had William, she was sure she wanted several more children; however, she and Everett had not been able to deliver a child  since William’s birth. The thought of it broke her heart.  

“Hey,” Emma said. She slid a hand across the table and grabbed one of Maggie’s. “You’ll have another before you know it.” 

“I’m sure,” Maggie said. She gave her friend a smile. She didn’t want to bring down the day with her grief. Maggie jumped up from her seat. “You go and rest, and I will finish up her.” 

Emma opened her mouth to argue, but before she could say much, Everett walked into the kitchen. “There you two are!” he called out. There was a large smile on his face. It was so different than his previous countenance. When Maggie first met Everett, he had been so full of pain, and he rarely smiled. When he did, it was almost as if his face was struggling to express any sort of happiness. 

“Is everything alright?” she asked. “I thought that you and Russell were prepping William’s present.” 

Everett walked towards Maggie and wrapped her in his arms. He smelled like sage and grass, which always made Maggie swoon. 

“Where are the boys?” Emma asked. She started to get up from her chair, but Maggie shot her a stern look. 

“They are running around outside. Benny brought some sweets, and they got hold of them before your father could stop them.” 

Emma and Maggie both groaned. “You know that the twins don’t do well with sweets!” Emma said. She was up and out of her chair more quickly than a woman who was as pregnant as she was had a right to be. 

“Benjamin Baker!” Emma was hollering as she stopped out of the kitchen and towards the front door. “If these boys are up all night, I am going to be sending them to you.” 

Maggie suppressed a small laugh as she watched her friend’s waddling form. 

“You did that on purpose,” Maggie said, turning to Everett, who had a mischievous glint in his eyes. 

“I would never,” he said. He pretended to be outraged at the accusation, but eventually, after only a few short moments, he burst out laughing. “This was payback for that time she told William that all cowboys had pistols. He was three years old, begging me for a gun for months.” 

Maggie chuckled. William had been obsessed with cowboys ever since her father had read him some sort of story about them. Luckily, William was five, and he forgot about things just as quickly as he became obsessed with them.

The door to the kitchen swung open, and Maggie’s father stepped inside. He was dressed nicely in a light gray suit. From the fresh press of the suit, she was sure it was new. 

“Speak of the devil,” Everett muttered. 

Maggie gave Everett a hard look. Everett and her father had formed a truce of some sort right from their very first meeting, and part of that truce was that they weren’t going to like one another very much. Everett thought that Maggie’s father took advantage of her, and her father thought that Everett was too high-handed with things. 

They never fought in front of her, but they made snide comments under their breaths. 

“Hi Pa,” Maggie said. She walked over to her father and planted a kiss on his cheek. 

“How are you?” she asked. 

Her father smiled at her. The haunted look, which had been in his eyes since her mother had passed, had faded over the years. It took a few months in prison for him to come to appreciate the life that he had. 

“I’m excited to see that grandson of mine,” her father said. “I’ve got a special gift for him.”

Everett raised an eyebrow at her father’s words. 

“You didn’t need to get him anything,” Maggie said. 

“I made him some shoes for that new pony you got him,” her father said, ignoring her and talking to Everett. He pulled the small horseshoes out of his pocket. The silver gleaned in the light, and Maggie couldn’t help wondering if he had used Lewis silver to make them. She hoped so because if he didn’t, she wouldn’t ever hear the end of it.

“We got him shoed already,” Everett said. 

Maggie groaned as she watched her father’s face fall, and she pressed the heel of her boot into her husband’s foot. 

“But I’m sure yours are better,” he said.

“They are,” her father said. This time he was on the receiving end of a look from Maggie. “How about you go and make sure that these fit.”

He held out the new shoes on the tips of his fingers. Everett sighed, but he walked towards her father and took them. 

“Do you need any help?” Everett asked. 

“I can help,” her father said. 

Maggie gave the two of them a tight smile. “I guess I have help,” she said. 

Maggie’s father rolled up his sleeves and walked towards her. “What do you need?” he asked. A few years ago, Maggie might have been knocked over by a feather to see her father lifting a finger in the kitchen. 

“It’s fine,” she said. “Everything is just about done for dinner.” 

“Are you sure?” her father asked. 

“I am,” she said. “I’ve become quite the cook. Nowhere near as good as Emma, but she’s much too pregnant to be in the kitchen.” 

Her father chuckled. “You were always good in the kitchen.” 

This time it was Maggie’s turn to laugh. “I didn’t kill any of us,” she said. “But I wasn’t a very good cook. Luckily, I’ve become good enough to keep William eating.” 

Her father smiled. There was a light in his eyes whenever anyone talked about William. Her father might not have been a great father, but he was a fantastic grandfather. She was grateful for that. 

“Your brother likes working at that office with Russell and Everett,” her father said. “He said they are letting him track the silver merchants.” 

Maggie nodded. Benny was now fifteen, almost a grown man, and had taken on a new job working part-time with Everett and Russell. Maggie had been worried about that when he had first taken on the job. He was also attending a nice school in Gold Hill, and she didn’t want this job to detract from his studies. 

But so far, it seemed that things had been going well. He worked at the office on the days that he didn’t have school, and he loved every second of it. 

“He’s doing a great job at school,” she said. “His teachers told me he’s getting top marks.” 

Her father nodded. There was a proud smile on his face. “He’s talking to me about being a lawyer,” he said. 

“I know,” Maggie told him. “Everett and Russell put the idea in his head. They mentioned they needed a great solicitor.”

Her father nodded his head. “I think Benny would be a good lawyer,” he said. 

Maggie sighed. Benny might be fifteen, but Maggie still had a hard time letting go. She was the same way with him as she was with William. The only difference was that William was a little boy, and Benny was starting to become a man. Maggie knew that she would have to let go one day, but she just wasn’t ready. 

“You did a good job with him,” her father said, his voice soft as he spoke, and when Maggie looked into his eyes, they were full of sadness. 

“What?” Maggie asked. 

Her father gave her a sad smile. “Your mother would be proud of the two of you,” he said. 

Maggie swallowed back the emotion that was choking her. The older she got, the more she started to wonder about her mother. She felt a void in her chest as she wondered if her mother would be proud. Maggie hoped so. She hoped that she would make her mother happy.

“You know,” Maggie said. “You did the best you could.” 

After having William, Maggie was sure that her father had done the very best he could. She couldn’t imagine raising her child without Everett. The very thought of it made her sick to her stomach. The fact that her father had taken care of them when he could have abandoned them and left all the pain and hurt behind meant something. 

Her father reached out and placed a large, warm hand on her shoulder. Maggie placed her own hand over the top of it. “I’m proud of you,” her father said. Her father might not be perfect, but he loved her and Benny the very best he could, and for that, Maggie would forgive him anything. 

“We should get this food out there,” Maggie said. She grabbed one of the bowls closest to her. “This is a party, after all, and we shouldn’t be sitting in the kitchen crying.” 

Her father chuckled, placed a kiss on her forehead, and grabbed a plate of meat. “It’s time to go celebrate that little one of yours.” 

  ***

“Don’t eat too much of that,” Maggie said to William. “You don’t want a bellyache later.” 

Everett suppressed a laugh as his son nodded earnestly at his mother. His face was covered in cake, and Everett wondered how long it would take him to go to bed tonight. 

“It’s so good Mama!” he said. William was now five years old, so he was starting to lose the little lisp he had as a baby, but he still called Maggie mama, and Everett secretly hoped he never stopped. 

Maggie reached out and ruffled William’s hair. It was dark like Everett’s, but he had wide blue eyes like Maggie’s. He was very much a mixture of the two of them, and he was Everett’s pride and joy. 

He wanted many more children with Maggie, but they’d been unable to have more children successfully. He felt his smile turn down slightly at the thought. The last five years had been full of joy, but that joy was marred by just the slightest bit of heartbreak. 

“What’s wrong?” Maggie asked. She slid beside him so close that the smell of her soap permeated his senses. 

“Nothing,” he told her. He never talked to Maggie about his sadness around their lack of more children. He knew she felt it too, and he didn’t want to add to her upset. Maggie didn’t deserve that. She was a better wife than Everett deserved. 

“Something’s wrong,” she thought. “You get a little groove in your forehead when you are deep in thought about something.” Her hand reached out and smoothed the indent she had been talking about in the middle of his forehead. When she brought her hand down, he couldn’t stop himself from pressing a kiss to her fingertips. 

“Let’s take a walk,” he said. He wanted a few moments alone with his wife. The one thing about having a child was that it made it difficult to get Maggie alone for long periods. 

“We can’t just leave,” she said. 

“William is surrounded by people. We’ve had dinner. He’s opened gifts, and I give it about five minutes until he is running around with the twins making Russell pretend to be their pony.” 

Maggie chuckled, and the sound was like music to Everett’s ears. “Come on,” he said. He reached out and took her by the hand. Maggie hesitated for a moment, but finally, she placed her hand into his own. 

As Everett and Maggie walked across the land, Everett couldn’t help reflecting over the last few years. Shortly after Hunter had been tried and sent away to prison, Maggie had found out she was pregnant. Those early days had been so full of joy, but Everett had still been hung up on the past. 

William’s birth had motivated Everett to put the past behind him, so he’d gone to see his brother. Jason had refused to see him, which hadn’t surprised Everett at all. But for the first time, he was able to see the selfishness in his brother, and he was able to start letting go of the pain and guilt that had followed him for so long. 

“You’ve got that indent again,” Maggie said. The sun was low in the sky and bathing everything in a soft orange glow. Normally, they would be putting William to bed shortly, but if the raucous laughter that Everett could hear was any indication, his son wasn’t going to be going to bed any time soon.

“I’m just thinking,” he said. 

“About?” Maggie asked. 

Everett wrapped his arms around her waist and snuggled her closely. “Five years ago,” he said. “I was terrified when William was born.” 

“More terrified than when you married me?” she asked cheekily. “We’d only exchanged a few letters back then, but you were ready to pledge your entire life to me.” 

Everett pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Best decision I ever made and not scary at all.” 

Maggie released a small snort. 

“I’m serious,” he told her. He tightened his arms around her slightly. He loved being able to hold her. Whenever he thought back to the early days of their marriage, he wanted to kick himself for being so worried about falling in love with her. Loving Maggie was the best occurrence he’d ever had. 

“I think marrying you was much scarier than birthing William,” she said. 

“Oh really?” he asked, surprised. He didn’t think that he would ever forget her screams as she tried to bring their son into the world. While Everett wanted more children, he wouldn’t have blamed Maggie if she had decided that one was enough. 

Maggie loosened his hold on her and turned to face him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and the two of them were closer than ever. 

“When William was born, I knew you were by my side and that you would do everything that you could to protect me.” Maggie’s words were just above a whisper, but they touched his soul. 

“You saved me,” he told her. “From a lonely and miserable life.” Everett meant every word that he said. Maggie, Benny, and even her father, whom he still couldn’t stand, had brought family back into his life. They reminded him that Emma and Russell, and now their boys, were there for him too. 

Everett had always had money, but it had taken him a long time to find a true treasure. Even if he lost everything tomorrow, he was fortunate to have a loving family. 

“We saved each other,” Maggie said. He pressed a kiss to her lips, and Everett couldn’t stop himself from tangling his hands in her hair and bringing her closer. 

After a few more moments of kissing, they broke apart. Maggie’s hair was mussed, and her lips were swollen. 

“I have something to tell you,” she told him. Her voice was breathy, and her eyes were still half-closed. 

“Oh?” Everett asked. He couldn’t imagine what she had to say. “Maybe I need to kiss you again if you aren’t senseless.” 

Maggie let out a raucous laugh and slapped him slightly on the chest. “Be serious,” she told him. 

Everett straightened up. “What is it?” he asked. From the look on Maggie’s face, he knew that she had something serious to tell him. “Is everything okay?” 

A wide smile overcame Maggie’s face. “I’m pregnant,” she told him. 

Everett blinked once and then twice. He couldn’t stop himself. He was shocked. “Are you sure?” he asked. 

Maggie nodded, tears in her eyes. “I’m sure.” 

Everett couldn’t stop himself. He grabbed her in his arms and twirled her around. She giggled as he put her down on her feet. 

“Are you happy?” she asked. 

“Ecstatic,” he said. He leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips. “I love you,” he told her. 

Maggie’s blue eyes sparkled. “I love you too,” she said. 

Everett thanked God that he had walked into that marriage agency that day. 

THE END

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