Three Years Later

Caleb groaned as Daniel wriggled and caused him to almost lose his grip. Sighing, he put the little boy on the ground.

“All right, you can wander around, but you need to stay close.”

Whether Daniel understood him was left to be seen. He did have a tendency to ignore everything that was told to him. Samuel had said it was because of his age, and two-year-olds would eventually listen, but Caleb had yet to see it. It didn’t stop him loving his son, but it was exhausting.

He looked down at Huck, who was sitting at his side. The dog gave him a bemused look as Daniel toddled off along the sidewalk.

“Stay with him,” Caleb said.

Huck yapped and trotted after the little boy. At least the dog understood him. Clara had trained Huck very well.

The town hall clock chimed, and Caleb realized that Clara was running late. What was going on? His wife normally came out on time, ready to go home and they headed back together. This time, it was like she’d forgotten that they were meant to meet. It was Lenore’s birthday, and they were having a party at the ranch. Clara had said she didn’t want to miss it, but if she wasn’t coming out, Caleb had a feeling they would be late.

It was almost a half-hour later when Clara hurried out, looking harangued as she caught sight of him. Her expression relieved, she joined him and they kissed.

“I’m so sorry I’m late,” she said. “Things were incredibly busy today. I couldn’t get away.”

“What’s happened for the clinic to be busy?” Caleb asked.

“Probably because of the influenza epidemic, and everyone’s starting to get scared that they’re going to get sick.” Clara shrugged. “I spent most of the time soothing someone while explaining their symptoms mean they’re fine and nothing to worry about, but you know how people are.”

Caleb did know. And people had become more health conscious since Clara had set up the Eleanor Aldridge Clinic almost three years ago. With access to the wealth her family had kept hidden, Clara had decided to make the most of it for a good cause, setting up the clinic as a place of healing.

Apparently, it was something Eleanor had wanted before, but she’d not been able to get it herself before her untimely passing. Now Clara was following in her footsteps.

She’d retrained as a nurse and now worked alongside the doctor at the clinic, showing a true vocation and dedication that made Caleb love her even more. Lydia and Nathan ran the ranch with Samuel, while Clara looked after the clinic.

Caleb never anticipated following his brother and getting more of a family than he anticipated. Now he was glad that Nathan had pleaded with him to come along and live with his wife and her family.

He had a good job, a loving wife, and an adorable child. Daniel was a delight, even when he was a bit of a pain with his tantrums. But they were far and few between, and Caleb was happy to accept it.

“Anyway, we’d better get going. The party is going to start soon, and you need to wash up.” Caleb whistled at Huck and Daniel as his son tottered on the edge of the curb. “Here, boy. And you, Huck.”

Clara laughed and swatted his arm.

“You are so silly.”

“I know.” He put his arm around her shoulders. “Let’s go. Lenore is going to wonder where her favorite cousin is.”

“Her only cousin,” Clara pointed out. “For now.”

Caleb felt his chest swell with pride. It was only the week before that Clara discovered she was pregnant again, and they were keeping it quiet for a while until they were a bit further along. Lenore would be delighted knowing that she would have another cousin; she and Daniel were close, and they were more like brother and sister. Lydia often wondered if she’d had another child and not noticed, much to everyone’s amusement.

Daniel took Clara’s hand, Huck bounding ahead, as they made their way to the horse and cart Caleb had left across the street. He lifted his son into the back and then his wife, kissing her before clambering up the front and urged the horse into walking. Huck ran on ahead, happily bounding back and forth. Caleb had tried to get him into the cart once, but had given up when the dog decided it was a good idea to run around instead of sitting beside his mistress. Clara said he occasionally did that, but he did it every time Caleb was around.

Maybe the dog was more stubborn than anticipated.

It didn’t take long for them to return home and get washed up, although most of it was sorting out their son, who seemed intent on making it tougher for them to get ready. He was so excited he could barely sit still. Caleb was surprised at how good his patience was with his son; there had been times when he worried that he wouldn’t have the patience to raise a child, but Clara said he was the calmest father she’d ever met, and Samuel Aldridge himself was pretty relaxed. Caleb liked that.

Finally, they were ready, Clara having changed into a beautiful dark blue dress with her hair left flowing about her shoulders. They left the cabin and made their way up to the main house, where the party was going to be taking place. There were already some guests there, milling around in the garden. A cake was on a table laden down with food, and Samuel was beside it, trying to shoo Huck away as he ran over.

“No, Huck,” he warned. “Don’t even think about it.”

Huck barked and jumped up on his hind legs, but he kept his distance. Clara laughed at the sight, whistling to get her dog’s attention. Huck backed away before running over to Lydia, who was talking to Amos and his new wife. Amos was beaming, looking like he’d won treasure himself as he looked at his bride, who was practically glowing as she engaged Lydia in conversation. Caleb had been surprised when Amos announced that he’d written to a newspaper for a bride, and then Anne had come along. Something about their pairing was surprising, and yet it was clear they were the best-suited couple he’d ever encountered, even more so than him and Clara.

That he wasn’t about to admit, though.

Samuel beamed and crouched, holding his arms out to his grandson. Daniel ran over, almost falling over as he reached his grandfather. Samuel caught him and lifted him up, propping the little boy on his hip.

“How’s my favorite little boy?” he asked, tickling Daniel’s neck and eliciting a squeal.

It had been three years since he’d been kidnapped, but Samuel still had moments where his health failed him and he was left bedbound for days. Caleb felt a stab of sympathy, knowing that he’d gone through so much in such a short space of time. However, Samuel Aldridge was still relatively strong, and he showed his family that they needn’t worry about him. He wasn’t about to let Silas Montgomery’s actions ruin him.

“Lenore!” Daniel cried when he saw his cousin, who was now playing with Huck. He started wriggling. “Down, Grandpa!”

“All right, off you go,” Samuel chuckled, putting Daniel down and watching the boy run off. “It’s hard to believe that he’s this lively now. I can’t remember the last time I saw him sit still. He even wriggles in his sleep.”

“We know all about that,” Clara giggled. “I certainly love babies, but I prefer when they’re not mobile.”

“You mean you’d want to be woken up every night for the rest of your life carrying and cleaning up a little baby?” Caleb asked.

“No, but you know what I mean.”

Samuel smiled.

“It’s an advantage being a grandparent. You can give the child back to the parents.” Then his smile faded a little as he turned to Caleb. “Have you heard the news?”

Caleb knew what he was talking about. He nodded. Clara frowned.

“What news?”

Caleb took a deep breath.

“Silas Montgomery is dead.”

Clara’s eyes widened.

“What? How?”

“Influenza. He’d been sick for some time, and apparently…” Caleb glanced at Samuel, who nodded.

“Nobody treated him. They just left him to die in his cell.”

Clara swayed, and Caleb caught her. He could understand her shock. Both of them had hoped that Montgomery would end up dead on the gallows, but his lawyers had managed to get his sentence turned into life in prison without a chance of parole, both for Montgomery and the gang. That included Fletcher Kane, who had made sure everyone knew he wasn’t someone to mess about with behind bars until he was stabbed during a fight six months into his sentence. Caleb had felt a weight lifting off his shoulders when he heard that. He’d wanted Kane to hang as well, and a life sentence was too good for him.

But Montgomery had made a deal. In exchange for the life sentence, he would tell them about all of his criminal activities. If he left anything out, his deal was void. And, to his credit, he’d done just that, much to the shock and anger of the gang. Caleb was just glad that Montgomery was doing the right thing for the first time in his life, even if it was to get out of being hanged.

He and Clara had accepted that Montgomery had gotten his own way, which was to keep his life. But now this had happened. And Caleb could see Clara felt the same way he did about it when he first heard. Shocked and confused. A little frustrated. Angry. But, overall, relief.

Relief that he couldn’t hurt them anymore.

“He should’ve gone to the gallows.” Clara looked up at him. “That was his punishment.”

“But he’s gone now. You don’t have to worry about him anymore.” Caleb kissed her forehead. “We’ve got everything, and he has nothing.”

Samuel nodded.

“Caleb’s right, my dear. We’ve got what we need, and Montgomery wasn’t able to get his hands on it. Now you and Lydia can continue without having to look over your shoulders all the time.”

Clara didn’t say anything, and Caleb hugged her tightly. She was tense, but she soon relaxed in his arms and hugged him back.

“I feel relieved that he’s dead,” she said, looking up at him. “Does that make me a bad person?”

Caleb smiled and shook his head.

“Not at all.”

Samuel gave them an affectionate smile, but then he looked past them, and his smile faded.

“Oh, dear.”

“What?”

Caleb turned, and he saw Levi McCall. He was at the edge of the garden, his Stetson in his hands, while he talked to Abby and Jonah. Jonah had an arm around his wife’s waist, and both he and Abby looked tense, but they weren’t walking away from McCall.

“When did he get released?” Clara asked in surprise.

“About a week ago, apparently. I told him that he should give his family some space, but evidently he ignored me.” Samuel frowned. “I’m not sure if Abby has forgiven him for his bad decisions.”

Caleb watched as McCall hung his head. Then Abby reached out and touched his arm, shifting a little closer to him.

“Don’t be so sure. Maybe the space they had was enough for them to evaluate it all without having it shoved down their throats.”

“So you think Abby and Jonah can forgive him?” Samuel asked.

“I have a feeling things will be fine. It just needs to take time.” Caleb caught a flash of black and white out of the corner of his eye and groaned. “Huck, enough!”

Huck had his front paws on the table, and he was yapping as he leaned in to lick at the birthday cake. Samuel grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back.

“No, boy! You are not going to have any cake!”

Huck whined and lowered his head. Caleb caught Clara’s eye and saw her smiling. He knew that she was going to slip him some cake later on, once it had been given out to everyone else.

“Grandpa!” Lenore ran over, holding Daniel by the hand with her long hair flowing out behind her. “Can we go and see the foal? Daniel wants to look.”

“Oh, does he?”

“Please, Grandpa?”

Samuel chuckled and took their hands.

“Let’s go. But you have to stay with me and listen to what I say. The foal is only a few hours old, and the mother is still recovering. We don’t want them to be nervous.”

Lenore nodded eagerly, while Daniel held up his free hand.

“I promise I’ll be good,” he said.

Samuel glanced at Clara with a wry smile.

“Now where have I heard that before?”

“Pa!”

Chuckling, Samuel led his grandchildren away. Caleb laughed at the shocked expression on Clara’s face.

“I think Daniel’s learning better than we thought. He’s picking up on your mannerisms.”

“Given I’m his mother, I’d be surprised if he wasn’t.” Clara turned to him, her eyes shining. “Shall we go and look at the foal? They’re such beautiful things. Have you ever seen one?”

“Not a newborn one.”

“Then let’s look as well.”

Caleb laughed.

“Are you sure you’re not a child as well?”

“It’s a beautiful moment. And a moment you don’t want to miss.” She squeezed his hand. “Just like we didn’t miss our moment. We almost did, but we were lucky. Now we should grab whatever moments we can.”

Caleb knew she was right. And he couldn’t argue with her on that. He pulled her to him and kissed her.

“I love you,” he whispered. “You’re my everything, do you know that?”

Clara smiled back.

“And you’re mine, too. I love you even more.”

“Oh?”

She winked and tugged him to follow her.

“Of course I do. And you are perfectly aware of it.”

Caleb had to smile at that as she led him away. Of course he knew that. He had never doubted it.

THE END